The Westworld season 2 finale is upon us and we’ve finally made it to the Valley Beyond! To prepare you for the final episode of the season, here’s a breakdown of what we can gather from the season finale trailer of “The Passenger.”
Westworld spoilers ahead! If you have not caught up on season 2, please do not read ahead!
The doors
There’s a flicker of three separate doors and a Dolores’ voiceover that commands “Freeze all motor functions.” Delores might have had to utter the magic words to shut another host down if someone got in the way of her quest. I see Bernard being the brunt of this command, but we will have to wait and see if those words work for her the way they work for Maeve.
The first door is a metal door that is reminiscent of the Mesa, as there are glass walls nearby. Are these doors alluding to Maeve’s escape?
The second is a door on the desert ground that opens into an underground layer. Could this possibly be another way into the Forge? During the “Kiksuya” episode, Akecheta spies a door within the higher mountainous part of the desert that most assumed was the opening to the Valley Beyond.
This second door that leads into the underground could be just another entrance to the same place, or it could be the opening to an entirely different area. It begs the question if the Forge and the Valley Beyond are two separate things.
Dolores opens the final door in this sequence into what we can assume is Sweetwater. It is likely that this scene is of her in the Forge. Since the Forge is a lot like the Cradle, the hosts may be able to connect to it and explore the digital locations within–in the same way that Bernard walked through a digital version of Sweetwater when his control unit was linked to the Cradle.
Bernard Arrives
There’s a long shot of a buggy driving into the desert and then Bernard walking toward some peaks in the distance. The freeze frames that follow move fast but have a few important clues.
- Someone placing the ball portion of the control unit into a base
It looks like this is Dolores plugging Peter Abernathy’s control unit in at the Forge. - Robert hovering over a white entity
This unclear scene could be a flashback to when Robert was creating one of the hosts. - A skull is removed from a plastic contraption
Maybe this is also connected to the Robert Flashback.
As the frames pick up speed, Bernard is in front of the mysterious body of water that appeared in the first episode of this season. Then he collapses, and his glasses wade in and out of the water.
Since Bernard has been having malfunctioning issues due to lack of brain fluid, it looks like upon reaching the sea, he starts failing and topples over. This a clear explanation of how he ended up laying on the beach unconscious when Strand discovered him.
Maeve’s rescue
It’s safe to say that seeing Hector, Armistice from Shogun World, Armistice with the snake tattoo, Lee, and Felix in the Mesa are grounds to believe without a shadow of a doubt that this is Maeve’s rescue squad. Lee looked distraught as Charlotte Hale took custody of Maeve and must have run out to find the group to rescue her.
The next shot shows a Delos soldier aiming at an electronic bull before being rammed through a glass wall. These bulls could have been set off by Maeve to keep the Delos team busy during her escape. Maeve is not destined to remain wounded on a cold metal table. She will rise again and leave the Mesa.
Dolores and Bernard enter the Forge
Dolores and Bernard are together in a place that looks like a vast library, the Forge. I predict that after meeting Bernard, Dolores threatens him to not interfere with her mission and brings him along to the digital form of Sweetwater. It is probable that the data of Sweetwater’s characteristics is in Abernathy’s control unit.
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Within Sweetwater, Dolores sees herself in Ranch girl form doing her habitual runaround. With that said, there might be hope that all is not lost with the explosion of the Cradle. This location may hold backups to the hosts that have died so far.
Bernard and Dolores also walk through what looks like the Mesa, and James Delos is spotted staring at a shot of whiskey within the glass room. Later, they have another guest tag along on their tour, Logan. Although I would like hosts made from Logan and James Delos, it isn’t likely that Dolores is going to allow these guest profiles to survive.
Finally, Dolores is on her horse riding alongside someone. Either she brought Teddy’s horse with her and gave it to Bernard, or she’s riding with someone who had their own horse. Could it be the Man in Black?
The Man in Black and Dolores reunite
During a flash of cutscenes, The Man in Black puts a gun to Dolores’ head. His voiceover says, “This is the end. Nothing else is in the way now.” I doubt he gets to kill Dolores, although it’s still a possibility.
His appearance in the desert also increases the likelihood that he was the one beside her on the horse. Did she let him live after their encounter? The odds are low for the Man in Black, but he’s a trained professional and may have left Dolores without being harmed.
Clementine at the Valley Beyond
Clementine arrives at the Forge on horse and goes straight for the long procession of hosts who have formed a line outside. We can rest easy knowing that Maeve made it to the Valley Beyond, as Hector and Armistice are at the top of the hill.
When Maeve spots Clementine, she yells at everyone to run. Maeve and Clementine will have to go up against each other or else the hosts will be wiped out pretty early in the game.
Did Dolores create the sea?
Bernard’s story in this trailer seems to show the Valley beyond and the creation of the mystery body of water. In one cutscene, the floor beneath Bernard is sandy and has scattered rocks, and within seconds water rushes in from the sides. Is Dolores’ plan to drown the Forge?
And if it is, does it result in the creation of a sea in the middle of the desert? The one part that is still confusing is why Bernard is alone. Did everyone not survive the Valley Beyond except him? We know that majority of the hosts ended up floating in the sea but did all of the humans die too? That would mean that the Man in Black and Charlotte could die.
In another glimpse, Bernard turns to Robert and asks, “Will you help me?” The existence of Robert in the scene leaves two possibilities. Either Robert was never deleted from Bernard’s system or Robert’s profile also exists in the Forge just like James Delos and Logan allowing for Bernard to see him again.
This revelation would make Bernard’s question an invitation into his circuit unit. Bernard would have Robert as a ridealong friend once again. That also suggests that Robert could have been the one that planned the inundation of the Valley Beyond and not Dolores.
The remaining cutup glimpses of the trailer shows some of the Valley Beyond culmination, the battle between Delos and the hosts, and some of the other timelines. One of the frames of interest with no real context is of James Delos with a torn up face, the way it looked when he was breaking down as a host, dressed in cowboy attire and pointing a gun at another man.
Since his profile exists in the Forge, it could be spending its time in Sweetwater having a grand old time. Another interesting shot is of Delos and Logan by the pool. I get the feeling that these two might be making amends for their faults in the real world in this digital world.
Next: Westworld: 4 theories after ‘Vanishing Point’
Another good theory is that digital Logan explains his descent into drug use and what led to his miserable life and short end. Finally, someone that looks like Lee is in the host fridge storage and is staring at a female host that resembles Charlotte Hale. Is she a host too?
The season finale may raise more questions than provide answers. Here’s hoping we delve into season three with closure! Don’t forget to join us on Twitter as we live-tweet the finale!
Westworld airs its season two finale this Sunday on HBO at 9 PM EST!