Westworld Weekend: The mystery of the future Man in Black

Westworld Weekend is about to dive deep into the mystery surrounding the season 2 finale post-credit scene!

Westworld gave us something to think about after the season 2 finale thanks to the Man in Black post-credit scene. After season 1, many of us spent the hiatus and season 2 assuming and believing that the Man in Black is a host. Even the man himself began to doubt the state of his existence by the time the end of season 2 rolled around.

The answers are never simple and straightforward on Westworld, and while it was speculated that the Man in Black’s current state was perhaps tied to Ford in some way or somehow connected to William’s daughter, Emily, we were still left with many, many questions. Thanks to an article by Collider, we can start to dissect this convoluted MIB theory.

In the season 2 finale, the Man in Black is seen in the Forge and comes across a host Emily to which he responds, “I knew it.” The Forge looks very different than the damaged, destroyed state it was in moments ago during the finale. There is rubble and dirt everywhere, but where there was once water flooding the room, it is all dried out.

This scene is set to alert fans to a time jump of some sort and to illustrate some time has passed since the events of the finale. Are we years ahead in the future? This is confirmed when host Emily states it has been a long time and that the system is now gone. We’re not sure if this means they’re even actually in the Forge but it appears something very mysterious is going on.

The aspect ratios of scenes was a big giveaway in the second season and helped establish what timeline the characters were in. In this particular scene, there was no letterboxing hence William is most likely in the future, rather than a virtual world like we’d seen Bernard and Ford in while in the Cradle.

All signs point to William being stuck on a loop with a host version of his daughter very similar to James Delos’ situation earlier in season 2. The events play out the same way each time and even though William says he can make his own choices, it doesn’t quite seem that way.

But perhaps the biggest question of all–is future William the same as the William we saw during season 2? Not necessarily. Cast and showrunners have confirmed that William and Emily are in fact “real” during this encounter but could that truly be the case?

Based on the post-credit scene, it leaves us wondering did Delos finally figure out the way to achieve immortality? Is William actually okay with it now or did he get coaxed into somehow? Between where we left him in the Westworld season 2 finale and where he ends up in the post-credit scene there is a lot of mystery to uncover–and we hope season 3 answers some of these questions for us.

What are your theories on the season 2 post-credits scene? Share your comments below or on our Twitter, @BeyondWestworld.