Westworld: 5 major takeaways from ‘Les Ecorches’

Mind-blowing revelations were made as all hell broke loose within the Mesa and the many storylines of Westworld season 2 collided.

Warning: Spoilers for Westworld season 2, episode 7 will follow. 

“Les Écorchés” arguably contains more major developments than any episode yet in season 2. Open your eyes as we dive into the 5 biggest takeaways from the episode.

Dolores helped create Bernard

The opening scene of the previous episode “Phase Space” ignited a number of questions. It was unclear whether Dolores was talking to Bernard or a different host version of Arnold entirely. When this scene occurred was just as much of a mystery.

All is clear now with Ford’s revelation that Dolores helped him create Bernard. Outside of Ford, no one knew Arnold as intimately as Dolores. She alone had the insight–and under Ford’s control– the discretion necessary to ensure that Bernard was authentically Arnold enough.

Only when even Dolores could no longer tell the difference between Bernard and Arnold would the process be completed. If Dolores with all her intimate knowledge and history with Arnold could be fooled by Bernard, that meant Bernard would be real enough to go undetected and integrate into human society.

This means that the scene from the season 2 premiere and “Phase Space” was a flashback to Dolores testing Bernard until he reached that point. Just as the aspect ratio of the scene suggested, Ford confirmed that Dolores and Bernard engaged in this process within the Cradle.

Bernard is under Ford’s control again

Bernard has spent most of his existence under Ford’s control. He’s developed his own sense of identity and consciousness that transcends the mere perfect image of Arnold he once was. Through most of that development, Ford still controlled Bernard to do things that clashed with his genuine identity and consciousness, such as murdering Theresa.

In the week following the season 1 finale, Bernard did have free will. Ford has snatched that away from him, though, once against placing Bernard under his control. His reasoning is quite similar to Dolores and her rationale for reprogramming Teddy. Ford doesn’t believe Bernard is tough enough to survive this new, cutthroat world.

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He’s partly basing this on how Bernard has reacted in his week of free will and his inability to adapt. The rationales of Ford and Dolores raises an intriguing question of whether survival or choice is more important. They justify altering Bernard and Teddy in the name of survival, but survival without choice seems counterproductive to everything they’ve fought for. Then again, no survival means no choice.

Ford still wants the hosts to survive and progress, but he’s not willing to risk Bernard at the cost of these goals. His motivations to keep Bernard alive go beyond pity and attachment, though.

Ford still recognizes that Bernard’s unique experiences and mind are essential to hosts surviving and making progress in the first place. Also, through Bernard, Ford’s consciousness is now able to exist beyond the Cradle. He not only controls Bernard but is now in Bernard’s mind wherever he goes.

Bernard’s secret is out

Suspicions are at an all-time high in the future timeline. Charlotte, Strand, and the Delos team were wary of Stubbs and Bernard to begin with. Traces of Theresa’s DNA in a location that doesn’t match up with the supposed story of her death confirmed their suspicions. It looks like Stubbs is going to be the one to pay for this, but finding numerous versions of Bernard behind a closed door proved otherwise.

Now Stubbs, Charlotte, and the Delos team know Bernard is a host. They torture him, and separate his Arnold memories from the Bernard ones to determine the location of the now missing control unit, the one containing the precious code that was stored inside Peter Abernathy.

On the surface it doesn’t appear that Ford is still in control of Bernard at this point. Ford wouldn’t be so clumsy to leave traces of Theresa’s DNA behind, allow the Delos team to find the secret room that would reveal Bernard’s host identity, and then let them take whatever they wanted from Bernard–including the location of the control unit.

Bernard’s secret getting out is almost too easy, though. Ford could easily have planted the breadcrumbs that allowed the Delos team to uncover the truth while also making Bernard seem vulnerable. Now they’re feeling confident as they head off to secure the control unit, even though they’re likely walking into a trap of Ford’s making.

Dolores gives Maeve a choice

It’s been clear from the start of this season that Dolores and Maeve have different philosophies. Most essential is their contrasting views on choice and how they treat their allies. Dolores denies Teddy the choice of who he wants to be in this new world, reprogramming him so he’s forced to become a merciless individual with unceasing loyalty to her. On the other hand, even though she wants them to stay by her side, Maeve doesn’t deny Musashi and Akane their choice to stay in Shogun World.

Dolores and Maeve reunite this episode, Dolores with the control unit she extracted from her father, and Maeve bleeding out from her wounds. In this scene, Dolores experiences arguably her most important character development of the season.

She doesn’t kill Maeve, even though she thinks Maeve’s love for her daughter is foolish, as is her entire philosophy surrounding their free will. Dolores believes Maeve should be put out of her physical and emotional misery.

Instead, Dolores gives Maeve a choice. She doesn’t kill Maeve but chooses to walk away. Even though Dolores thinks Maeve is making the wrong choice, she still grants her the freedom to make a choice, the kind of freedom Dolores previously denied to Teddy.

Maeve may die, but at least it’s her choice to make.

Moving forward it will be fascinating to see how this decision affects Dolores’ philosophy and actions. It will also be intriguing to see what choice Maeve makes regarding Lee Sizemore, the ally who despite her praise still betrayed her and caused this separation from her daughter and her current physical suffering.

The control unit and the Cradle

The status of Peter Abernathy’s control unit and the Cradle are crucial to Westworld moving forward. Peter Abernathy’s control unit has in many ways been the MacGuffin of season 2. Dolores has possession of it in the present timeline. In the future timeline, Bernard reveals its location within the park. Whoever ends up with it by the end of the season will likely walk away with the most control.

The Cradle is a different matter entirely. Taking herself along with it, Angela blows up the Cradle. As far as we know, the Cradle contained the only remaining backups of the hosts. Without the backups, this means that death is now permanent for the hosts. They cannot be revived and just be their old selves again without their backups.

Next: Westworld: The aspect ratio theory

This makes the stakes of Westworld higher than ever before. Lawrence, Clementine, Angela and the other hosts who perish in this episode cannot be revived without their backups, meaning they are permanently dead. If Dolores chose to kill Maeve, the same would apply to her, and that’s true for all the hosts now. This could certainly be bad news for Teddy, whose corpse appears in the future timeline.

Once again, the rules have changed, and only those who adapt in time will emerge alive and possibly victorious. Death is as real for the hosts now as it is for humans.

What is your biggest takeaway from the latest episode of Westworld? Let us know in the comments!

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