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Westworld's version of reality is shifting this season

The uprising has become a rebellion and that's not all that's changed in season 2 of Westworld. Spoilers for episode one ahead!

Caitlin Petrakovitz Director of audience
Caitlin Petrakovitz studies the Marvel Cinematic Universe like it's a course in school, with an emphasis on the Infinity Saga years. As an audience expert, she rarely writes but when she does it's most certainly about Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Westworld, San Diego Comic-Con and great streaming properties. Or soccer, that's a thing she loves, too.
Lynn La Senior Editor / Reviews - Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Patrick Holland Managing Editor
Patrick Holland has been a phone reviewer for CNET since 2016. He is a former theater director who occasionally makes short films. Patrick has an eye for photography and a passion for everything mobile. He is a colorful raconteur who will guide you through the ever-changing, fast-paced world of phones, especially the iPhone and iOS. He used to co-host CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast and interviewed guests like Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodard, Stephen Merchant, Sam Jay, Edgar Wright and Roy Wood Jr.
Expertise Apple, iPhone, iOS, Android, Samsung, Sony, Google, Motorola, interviews, coffee equipment, cats Credentials
  • Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
Caitlin Petrakovitz
Lynn La
Patrick Holland
4 min read

It's clear season 2 of Westworld is set to be just as twisty as season one, and that's both a blessing and a curse. 

Good news: CNET has a brand-new after show covering all things Westworld beginning today. We'll post after each episode, going over our favorite moments, the big theories of the week, cast interviews, that soundtrack and all those new gadgets and toys. (Did you *see* that island hologram??)

Bad news: There is so much to talk about we couldn't fit it all in the episode so we've compiled more for you here. 

westworld-whole-lotta-bernarnolds

From the first official trailer.

HBO

Theory 1: There's more than one Bernarnold "alive" in the park, and we are seeing more than a single Bernard's actions/memories.

In the beginning of the episode, we see numerous looks at the uprising, but all either feature or are directly from Bernard Lowe's point of view. The problem is that some of these looks happen where he isn't yet known to be. One flashback shows the room Maeve and Lee are in together later, but if we go by our timeline, we can't see how Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) was there before they were; how would he have gotten there so quickly from the Journey Into Night party and running off with Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson).

It also appears that Bernard has been here on the beach before, and none of this is happening to him as we watch. In case you missed it, Bernard perfectly mimics the tail end of what new Delos Head of Operations Karl Strand (played by Gustaf Skarsgard) is saying to him on the beach: "...isn't ideal." This has all happened already, but Bernard didn't help them find what they were looking for. So Delos reset him, and sent him out again to help Strand find the package.

Theory 2: Dolores will lead Teddy to his death.

First things first, yes that was Teddy Flood in the water at the end of the episode. But then again, "What is dead may never die", meaning maybe this is just Teddy's baptism before his awakening.

I know Bernard confesses to this at the end: "I killed them, all of them." But in conjunction with the theory above, I don't see how this is possible. Dolores seems to truly care about Teddy, but he's not as awake as her -- something she sees as holding her back. 

Teddy is already feeling hinky about Dolores' plans to kill all of "them," telling her he'd rather just run off with her. "Is this really what you want?" he asks the Sweetwater farm girl. Teddy doesn't see the humans with the same memories Dolores does, and his lack of wokeness will be his undoing. 

hbo-netpicks-westworld-season-2-bernard-charlotte
John P. Johnson/HBO

Theory 3: Bernard is the only host with true consciousness.

If you subscribe to the theory that all of the hosts are still being controlled and manipulated by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), then this is an easy one to get behind: Ford meant for Bernard to stay dead and unfound, but when Maeve woke him he began to develop true self-awareness. 

If you think each of the hosts is waking up on different schedules, then I would say look for the holes in the armor. No human self-actualizes at the rate Dolores+Wyatt has. It takes time, understanding, growing up, and a lot of hormones and feelings. And no host has even proven it can walk that path like Bernard.

What do you think? Do any of these theories hold water?


There are more timelines than we know what to do with. Here's some of them as we think we "know" it so far:

  • Day 0: The party // Maeve gets off the train.
  • Night 0: Charlotte Hale and Bernard escape the "party" area. // Maeve saves Lee. 
  • Day 1: Guests are shot in an ambush by Angela. // William wakes up, kills two hosts. // Charlotte, Bernard head to the super-secret hub. // Maeve and Lee team up with Hector.
  • Day A: Host on the beach killed by Dolores. 
  • Day B: Bernard (?) kills the hosts (??)
  • Day A+11 days, 9 hours: (based on scalped host's recording) Delos group find and watches the footage of the host death.

Here's the big thing though: We have no firm time markers for when Maeve, Hector and Lee's family outing begins. If we assume Maeve exiting the train takes place the same night as the uprising, then the above timeline mostly fits. But without interactions with other characters, I'm not convinced this is syncing up. 

Westworld season 2 images: New episode three photos

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Westworld season 2 airs Sunday nights on HBO. Check your local listings for timing and channels.

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