Westworld gave us an epic season two finale with so many moments to analyze, think about, and drive ourselves crazy from. The finale, titled ‘ The Passenger’, offers a beguiling timeline tango–it was very challenging to keep up.
The Westworld 90-minute, season 2 finale is very Bernard-centric as is most of season 2. However, there are some unique moments among the tangle of timelines with other characters that resonate.
Granted, I’m still very confused, have a slight headache, and in dire need of a linear breakdown (or a slushy margarita from The Mesa) to bring order to the season finale chaos. Here are some stand-alone moments with compelling possibilities.
Caution: Spoilers ahead!
Dolores, Wyres, or Dowyotte?
The threesome of the year must be the Dolores/Wyatt/Charlotte fusion. Dolores/Wyatt is in a naked host body of Charlotte created by Bernard and kills human Charlotte. Real Charlotte finally pays the ultimate price for her insatiable greed. Good! After real Charlotte kills our beloved Elsie, I was not happy.
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So now this DWC amalgamation heads to the mainland with five pearls in her black purse after a nudge-nudge, wink wink, Teddy-esque conversation with host Stubbs. Bernard/Arnold and Ford give her the Frank Lloyd Wright designed house as her new command center. Amenities include lush landscaping, tranquil setting, and a fully stocked on-site host manufacturing system.
Naked and afraid Bernard is there, confused as always. Dolores/Wyatt is back in her original body and sporting a little black dress and pulled back hair. She has host body Charlotte as an assistant but who knows whose pearl is inside her.
Dolores explains that she and Bernard are both necessary for the hosts to survive. But they are no longer friends. She leaves him a full set of clothes including his signature eyeglasses. For not being a friend, she’s darn cool to him. I wonder what kind of battles they will have with each other on the mainland in season 3.
The Door is revealed
Ever since young host Ford brought up “The Door”, it has been a mysterious yet motivating force. Ford and Bernard had set aside a special place for the hosts to leave and (sort of) be free. Dolores calls it another gilded cage. It has a cheesy Quantum Leap production vibe, but it offers the hosts a semblance of a way out.
We finally see “The Door” and its sliver of blue skies and green valley bliss. Not since Evel Knievel or Thelma & Louise has jumping over a cliff been so gratifying. Now we know why all the dead floating hosts were all together at the beach earlier in the season. What will happen in this virtual Eden?
It’s supposed to be filled with joy, happiness, and free will. So, the fact that Ake reunites with his true love there is no surprise. I was hoping the reunion would be more dramatic. But I’m glad they’re back together. Flat out, Ake’s storyline in Episode 9 is my favorite of season 2.
Logan as cornerstone
It was heartwarming to see Logan again even if it was only an assemblage of James Delos’ memories. He was a gracious and informative avatar in The Forge. Logan explains to Dolores/Wyatt and Bernard how each person’s essence is in a book with a finite series of lines. I could spend days in that library!
This is what I imagine the library in Alexandria looked like. He also lets them know what James Delos’ cornerstone is: the last meeting with his only son Logan before he overdosed and died. That pool scene was epic, and Ben Barnes had me crying.
It was Logan at his most honest and vulnerable. I’m really glad we got to peel back all the layers and see Logan as a real human being. Good job Ben!
Maeve’s bulls
We finally get to see the full scene with Maeve and the bulls teased in the Super Bowl ad earlier this year. It’s epic. Of course, Maeve rescues herself from the creepy tech and she has the remaining hosts in the lab repair her. She certainly knows how to delegate.
Everything about Maeve in this scene with the bulls is on point including perfect hair, gray cape, and black combat boots. She is fierce, gorgeous, and determined. QA officers are trampled and gored left and right to the amazement of Armistice and Hector.
I also appreciate Maeve’s ‘talk to the hand’ superpowers to stop the other hosts Groupon killing spree from reaching her daughter. Maeve valiantly completes her mission to save her daughter only to be killed by QA in a hail of bullets just shy of “freedom.” She dies with a smile on her face. Hector and Armistice also die. Together in life; together in death.
MIB fidelity
The MIB’s fidelity scene with host daughter Emily after the show’s credits could be the MIB’s hallucinations because of his dire physical injuries. Maeve and Lawrence shot him earlier and he shot his own hand off with the bullet that killed Teddy. On the flip side, William might be a human host in the future. The Forge looks old and pretty worn down.
So I’m assuming this meet and greet with host Emily has happened way after the host reckoning when The Forge gets flooded and destroyed. Facing the worst moment of your life repeatedly in a loop is exactly what hell is like in AMC’s Preacher.
In that show, Hitler gets rejected from art school repeatedly in hell. So, William must face killing his daughter repeatedly and ends up back at a similar IKEA apartment that Delos lived in. Another great job by Ed Harris. I wonder what record collection the Man in Black has.
What’s left at the park?
The Cradle is destroyed. The Forge is destroyed. What’s left? Guess it’s The Mesa, possibly Westworld, Shogun World, The Raj, The Door, and the other unknown worlds. The mainland is where Dolores/Wyatt/Charlotte are going with five precious pearls in a black purse that looked a lot like Maeve’s when she first boarded the train in season 1.
I’m still holding out hope that Peter Abernathy makes a triumphant return. Will our shaken but remaining tech heroes Felix and Sylvester get to resurrect Maeve, Hector, or Armistice? I hope so. It’s gonna be a long road to Westworld season 3.
Next: Westworld: Breaking down the whirlwind season 2 finale
Let’s pour one out to clever Elsie the engineer (Shannon Woodward) who always fought the good fight and to Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) who finally got to play the hero. I’ll miss his sense of levity.
Our Sundays nights might feel a bit different for the few years, but you’ll always have Beyond Westworld to keep hope alive with new and fresh content relating to the show, the actors, and endless theories.
Catch up on all episodes of Westworld through the HBO Go/HBO Now apps!