Westworld: Understanding Bernard’s visions in season 2
By Ariba Bhuvad
Were you confused by all of Bernard’s visions in Westworld season 2? Don’t worry–we got the ultimate breakdown.
Westworld got fans good with all the timelines, visions, and everything in between in season 2, and while we still may be trying to piece it together, The Ringer created a frame-by-frame breakdown of Bernard’s visions, so we are going to present them here to help us all process exactly what was going–and when.
When season 2 started, a lake of dead hosts was seen floating around and Bernard was seen looking out in horror repeating that he “killed them all.” This scene basically kickstarted the debate of when we are because as the episodes continued it became clear that everything wasn’t happening in a linear fashion.
We did a quick glimpse into Bernard’s visions which were a random assortment of past moments, possible future moments, and perhaps things that occurred in between. Some of the visions include Bernard learning he’s a host and images of his family.
But what else do we see in these visions? Well, keep in mind that when we see the images and moments that are running through Bernard’s mind, we were very early in the second season of Westworld. So, they will sound familiar to you now, but at the time we had no idea what they meant.
One of the Bernard visions is of Dolores in a black, sleek dress, unlike the Western outfit we were used to seeing her in. We speculated that Bernard was seeing Arnold’s memories, that Dolores left the park in the past, or in between the start of the rebellion and the present.
Another vision was that of Peter Abernathy spazzing out while Bernard watched from a distance. At the time of this episode, we weren’t sure how or when Abernathy could or would return. So seeing him in a vision instigated some speculation into how he would play a role in season 2.
How about the vision where Bernard is blowing men to smithereens? Maeve and Lee did enter this same room in the season 2 premiere where dead bodies were everywhere, but it was unknown if they went into the room after Bernard had been there.
The allure and mystery of these visions were sort of understood by the Westworld season 2 finale, and while some of it may still be unclear, going back to Bernard’s visions does help put certain things into perspective–at least we like to think so.
Do you have any theories or comments about Bernard’s visions? Share with us below or on our Twitter, @BeyondWestworld.