Please prepare to have your mind blown, because a lot was revealed during this week's episode of Westworld. Namely, we found out what Delos has secretly been working on, where Elise has been lurking, and what Bernard's been up to. That said, I came away with more questions than answers (and a fair amount of new theories), so let's get right to it.
^ Exclusive footage of me during this episode.
Two Week's Ago: Bernard's Insanely Confusing Timeline
Bernard spent most of this episode in and out of flashback, and the scenes where he re-lives memories by physically watching himself should remind you of Dolores' behavior toward the end of last season. In the case of Dolores, the whole "watching herself thing" happened right before she reached full consciousness, and I think it's safe to assume Bernard is about to do just that. Good job, Bernard! Proud of you, buddy.
Thanks to these flashbacks, we now know that Bernard previously broke into a secret Delos lab and killed all its technicians in order to grab a control unit for Ford—and honestly, if this season doesn't end with Clone Anthony Hopkins emerging from some under ground bunker being all "LOL, hi guys!" I will be sorely disappointed. Unhelpfully, Bernard's timeline is so insane I can barely make heads or tails of it. But I'm going to try.
In Season 2 Episode 1, present-day Bernard was recognizable due to a gray suit with piping, and he's continued to wear this suit throughout all present-day scenes. (Of course, there's also compelling proof that present-day Bernard is living in a loop, but you can read more about that over here, and it doesn't really affect how you perceive this week's episode.)
Present-day Bernard also does *not* have a scar on his forehead.
Flashback Bernard? Well, he's a little more complicated. In Episode 1, flashbacks between Bernard and Charlotte in the underground Drone Host bunker featured him in a black suit and black shirt:
And, you guessed it, he has a scar:
Last week, flashbacks with Bernard and Charlotte involved Bernard wearing the same gray suit he wears in the present-day:
And this week? Things are even more insane. Flashback scenes show Bernard and Elsie (who's been locked up in a cave on Ford's orders!) breaking into the Drone Host lab, with Bernard in the same gray suit, sporting that scar. But here's the weird thing: Bernard doesn't seem to remember visiting the lab with Charlotte in his black suit. He does, however, remember visiting the lab under Ford's direction, printing a control unit for another human, and killing everyone. In these scenes, he's wearing a black suit and white shirt, and he doesn't have a scar.
After re-watching Season 2 Episode 1, I discovered that Bernard and Elsie were in a different underground lab than Bernard and Charlotte (see the photo below for proof), which does explain why he and Charlotte didn't run across a bunch of dead bodies. But why are there more than one of these secret labs, and if James Delos is trapped in Sector 12's lab, who, if anyone, is trapped in Sector 14's lab? (More on Delos in a bit.)
30-ish Years Ago and Two Weeks Ago: Delos' Big Secret
We've officially reached the point in Westworld where fan theories are starting to come true, and this Sunday's episode dropped the bombshell that yep, Delos is secretly working on human cloning. Those of us (including yours truly) who thought Delos was already in the advanced stages of cloning will be disappointed to learn that James Delos appears to be the company's only attempt at cloning (though again, is anyone in Sector 14?!), and their mission has largely failed.
But here's the thing: I find it extremely strange that Westworld would tell the viewer exactly what's going on with the whole cloning thing so early in the season, and I honestly think we're in for a much, much bigger reveal. My personal theory on what that reveal will be? That Ford was also experimenting with human cloning in order to clone himself, and where William/Delos failed, he succeeded. Taking this one step further, I think we'll find out that Bernard was Ford's first successful human clone, and yes, there are two pieces of evidence to support this madness!
1) The fact that the DNA sniffer let Bernard into the bunker when he arrived with Charlotte indicates that he has human DNA, or at least something resembling it.
2) The fact that Bernard's main "symptom" of system failure is a shaking hand—much like James Delos'.
Two Weeks Ago: The Man in Black
The Man in Black spent this episode being obsessed with "Ford's Game," and—as in previous episodes—Ford trolled him via host proxy with some more musings about playing said game, etc. It was nice to see The Man in Black have a real moment of empathy towards his friend Lawrence, but I'm somewhat confused about what he's trying to accomplish. TMIB already knows and doesn't seem to really care that the hosts are sentient, and we know he no longer cares about cloning—so why the hell is he spending his time wandering around the park on horseback? Going off my above theory, I think it's because TMIB knows Ford was also experimenting with cloning, and "the game" will lead him to find Clone Ford in what I hope will be the final shot of this season.
Two Weeks Ago: Ghost Nation and Grace
Confused as to why the hell Stubbs was chilling with Delos in the present-day when he was kidnapped by Ghost Nation last season? Well, we now know that as of two weeks ago he was still with them. In fact, Grace runs into Stubbs and he helpfully informs her that Ghost Nation is only killing hosts—not humans—which makes me think they're working for Delos and/or Ford.
That aside, we now know that Grace is The Man in Black's daughter. Why she changed her name from Emily to Grace is somewhat inexplicable, but there you have it. Also, if you want to have your mind truly f*cked, behold the hilarious-and-probably-wrong-but-still-epic theory that Grace is a younger version of Theresa...which would mean that the events of Westworld Season 1...somehow happened...in the future?!?!?!
WHAT. IS. HAPPENING?!
