Westworld is about to make its triumphant return to HBO, and since Reddit basically solved every single plot twist during the show's first season, fan theories are of maximum importance for people wanting to know what to expect on April 22. Westworld devotees are already hard at work deciphering hidden clues—and we've rounded up their most compelling theories below.
🚨 Possible spoilers for Westworld Season 2 below—proceed with caution! 🚨
1) Ford will return...potentially as a robot.
Remember how Ford was building a secret host in his lab and we still have no idea who it is, what it is, or why he was making it?
Some fans think Ford was playing God to the extreme and creating a host version of himself, which will be a character throughout Season 2.
To bolster this theory, Comicbook.com discovered that Ford's knuckles look slightly off in the scene where he says goodbye to Bernard: "It looks like one of Ford’s knuckles is out of place. In the original Westworld movie, the only way to tell the difference between a host and a human was by looking at their hands. This could be a subtle nod to fans of the movie that Ford might not be as dead as we might think."
2) On that note, what if Dolores shot Host Ford, not Real Ford?
If Ford built a host version of himself prior to his death, is it possible that Dolores shot host Ford instead of real Ford? Westworld creators low-key hinted that they were on board with this theory during a Facebook Live, saying it was "really, really good."
3) Ford was a robot the whole time.
In fact, what if he was Arnold's first host? A popular Reddit theory breaks it down, explaining that among other things, "he can control hosts without voice commands," "he has a secret host family," and—most amusingly—"he is the only member of the corporation in what is seemingly the future, who dresses in a vintage fashion from a bygone era." Reddit also points out that 1) Ford being a secret robot could explain why he sees the human-populated corporation as such a threat, and 2) Ford may have killed Arnold upon realizing he was a human.
This one would be truly mind-blowing, but we expect nothing less from Westworld.
4) There will be several new worlds.
The latest Westworld trailer seemed to confirm the existence of at least one new world:
Here are the stills, in case you missed them:
But it also teased something entirely new—a modern world filled with shiny technology...and Dolores.
Perhaps this is Futureworld, a nod to the 1976 Westworld movie sequel. Or perhaps it's something entirely different, which brings us to....
5) Dolores is modeled on a real-life person from outside the park.
While Dolores' modern garb in the Westworld trailer could be an indication of Futureworld, one popular Reddit theory is that Host Dolores was modeled after a real-life person, and we're being treated to flashbacks of her.
Here's what one Redditor thinks:
"One of the most gravitas-heavy moments in the show was Dolores looking at Anthony Hopkins and asking 'Are we very old friends?' The question struck him in a way that was more complex than necessary. There was almost an anger in his response. This woman that Host Dolores was modeled after was someone that Arnold was in love with. That he cheated on his wife (Gina Torres) with. Maybe this Real Person Dolores is actually the one who put it in Arnold's head that the hosts can achieve consciousness and there are serious ethics issues at play here? It would make sense for Anthony Hopkins to despise, on some level, this host who looks exactly like her."
6) The Young Ford Host will continue Old Ford's work.
Young Ford briefly appeared in the Westworld Season 2 trailer, but what is his purpose? "I don't think [Ford] replaced himself with a replica, I think he 'uploaded' himself into the young Ford host that Arnold built for him," explains one fan on Reddit. "Who is the only person he can trust with 100% certainty? Himself. Who has been wandering around the park and interacting with people undetected? The young Ford host."
7) Elsie is alive.
Elsie's status was somewhat unclear at the end of Season 1, but after trolling around discoverwestworld.com/findthedoor, Reddit found code that revealed a clip of Elsie's voice—indicating that she is, in fact, alive.
8) Maeve hasn't really achieved consciousness.
Everyone seems to agree that Maeve's decision to leave the park and find her daughter marks her first truly conscious moment (the Nolans even confirmed this), and is therefore an indication that she's operating on her own. But fans discovered that her code says "override func," implying that the decision to appear conscious was actually written in.
9) The show takes place in 2052.
If you're wondering when the world will be taken over by robots, that's something we can all look forward to in 2052! Thanks to HBO's easter egg-infested website for Delos Corporation, fans realized that security camera footage from Maeve’s escape had a time stamp: June 15, 2052.
This is less of a theory and more of an observation, but we're including it since there's no confirmed timeline on the show as of yet.
10) Westworld is entirely meta and there are no humans.
Per a Reddit theorist that just blew our collective minds:
"The guests and Delos employees were just a second tier of hosts that believed they were from the modern world. All actually synthetic androids themselves. The real guests come to be part of a meta Westworld experience where they get to play as Westworld hosts leading a robot rebellion against the host guests and Delos employees."
For more on Westworld Season 2, head below:
