‘Westworld’: Only One Episode Has Aired, But The Theories Have Already Started

So far, only Episode 1 of HBO’s Westworld has aired. However, already the speculation has begun. Let’s have a look at some of the best theories so far involving this TV show.

Spoiler alert: This article discusses Episode 1, plus the upcoming Episode 2, of HBO’s Westworld. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

HBO’s Westworld is based on the 1973 film written and directed by Michael Crichton. In the TV show (as in the original movie), Westworld is a place the paying public can visit to live out their wildest fantasies without having to suffer the consequences. The TV show introduced the audience to Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), a robot, or host, who, by the end of Episode 1 of Westworld, had developed beyond the normal realms of what a host is capable of doing.

Already, the speculation has begun as to what might happen in regards to the hosts and their human creators in subsequent episodes of Westworld. Here’s a list of our favorite Westworld fan theories.

The Man in Black is actually a host.

In Episode 1 of Westworld, viewers were introduced to a human character who is only known as the Man in Black. This character went a great way to getting the audience to feel sorry for the hosts and dislike the humans visiting Westworld. A fascinating Westworld subreddit has already popped up on Reddit that delves into the theory that the Man in Black is actually a host. Within this theory there are several variants on why he is a host in Westworld, including him being the original host from the last major core failure that occurred 30 years prior. The Man in Black also stated to Dolores in Episode 1 of Westward that he had known her for 30 years, leading Westworld fans to speculate he was around during that failure and has managed to evade detection since. While this seems like a good theory, as Business Insider has pointed out, Westworld‘s co-creator, Jonathan Nolan has stated the Man in Black is human in a behind-the-scenes video.

Some of the humans are actually hosts.

If the Man in Black could be a host who thinks he’s a human, it stands to reason that there are humans out there who have no idea they are actually hosts in Westworld. Some fans on Reddit think this could be the case. One Redditor, shelfdog, even points out the fact one of the humans, Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen), is asked to leave the room before an examination of a malfunctioning robot is reformed in Episode 1 of Westworld. It is possible she was asked to leave so the voice commands used to immobilize the hosts did not affect her.

The update created a paradox.

In Episode 1 of Westworld, there were plenty of flies shown. Mostly they were seen crawling over the hosts in an effort to show the viewer how the hosts aren’t real. They were also a way of showing how their core programming rendered hosts in Westworld unable to hurt living creatures. But, then, at the end of the episode, Westworld‘s oldest host, Dolores, was seen swatting a fly. This small action showed that she had moved beyond her normal programming and was now, potentially, living beyond her programmed ways. This indicates she has evolved along with the update that had been released to a small percentage of Westworld‘s host population at the start of the episode.

However, as MoviePilot points out, this update, could have caused a paradox that has made these hosts in Westworld evolve. Essentially, the update included “revelries” which the host could use to mimic behaviors they had seen. As a result of this, the hosts would have probably seen many guests swat flies away, this update would have meant they could now replicate that action seen. However, this action is one that can lead to the death of another living thing (the fly), thus creating a paradox where the host is programmed not to harm other living things but now can with the update. So, does this mean it was a purposeful update with that side effect in mind?

The Man in Black reprogrammed Dolores.

While many viewers assumed the fact Dolores was the oldest host in Westworld was a reason behind her evolving beyond the others, GamesRadar suggests something else. In Episode 1 of Westworld, when the man in Black dragged off Dolores to rape her, he, in fact, reprogrammed her. Could the Man in Black actually be an advocate for the hosts in Westworld rather than the bad guy? Especially since it seems like he is very interested in the “game within the game” of Westworld. Viewers also know he has been visiting Westworld for at least 30 years. So, could he be sick of the original game and is now trying to hack into the Westworld system to make things more interesting again? Interestingly, the actress who plays Dolores, Evan Rachel Wood, told The Hollywood Reporter that the rape scene in Episode 1 of Westworld may not have been seen in full context yet.

Westworld is not the only theme park.

It seems pretty insular to have such a massive theme park where humans can visit in order to live out their fantasies. So, what if there were multiple theme parks and Westworld is just one of them? As SlashFilm points out, this actually happened in the film Westworld is based on.

Westworld is the sequel to the film.

There has been mention of a critical core malfunction occurring in Westworld 30 years prior to the events in Episode 1 of Westworld. Could this malfunction be what occurred in the Westworld film?

Have you come up with your own theories about HBO’s Westworld? Let us know by commenting below.

Episode 2 (entitled “Chestnut”) of Westworld will air on HBO on Sunday, October 9, at 9 p.m. The synopsis is below.

“Lee pitches his latest narrative, but Dr. Ford has other ideas; Bernard and Theresa debate whether a recent host anomaly is contagious; The Man in Black conscripts a condemned man, Lawrence, to help him uncover Westworld’s deepest secrets.”

[Featured Image by HBO]