‘Westworld’ Season 2: What Was That Red Ball That Bernard Took From The Lab In Episode 4?


In Episode 4 of HBO’s Westworld Season 2, Bernard Lowe was seen discreetly taking an object from the destroyed laboratory he and Elsie Hughes were exploring. So, what is this red ball and how significant could it be moving forward in Season 2 of Westworld?

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 4 (titled “The Riddle of the Sphinx”) of HBO’s Westworld Season 2. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Episode 4 of Westworld saw Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) not only discover where he had placed Elsie (Shannon Woodward) after he attacked her in Episode 6 of Season 1, but also find a secret laboratory in the same location. When the pair entered the lab, they discovered absolute devastation. Bodies were strewn everywhere and the place was a complete mess.

As they explored, though, Bernard was seen pocketing a small red ball. So, what is this item?

According to Vanity Fair, this red ball is actually a human’s developed mind. When viewers saw William (Jimmi Simpson) trying to replicate James Delos (Peter Mullan) after he died of cancer, William would have been implanting one of those red balls inside the man-made host body.

As viewers saw in Episode 4 of Westworld, though, there is still a lot of work to be done in regard to creating immortality by placing one of these red balls inside a host. It turned out to be not as simple as they first thought. As William ended up explaining to a glitching James Delos, he had been working on the project for many years and it still wasn’t working properly.

These red balls differ to the white orbs seen inside the hosts’ heads in Season 2 of Westworld, so that is how viewers know that this red ball belongs to a human who once lived as opposed to being created entirely for the Westworld theme park.

But, who could this person be?

Many fans are predicting that Bernard just pocketed the developed mind of Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins), who died in the Season 1 finale of Westworld. Considering Ford had already created his own, unauthorized, hosts for the park, it does seem possible he may have his own mind printed off and ready to go should something happen to him.

However, considering Bernard had been sent to destroy the lab, was the collection of the red ball a part of the plan? Some fans are already suggesting that maybe the Man in Black (Ed Harris) has gotten to Bernard and he was the one who instructed Bernard to destroy the lab, not Dr. Ford, since viewers have already seen the suggestion that the Man in Black is not happy with the human/host amalgamation. However, if this were the case, then Bernard wouldn’t have taken the red ball.

Unless someone else has programmed him to.

Of course, some fans are also predicting that Bernard pocketed the mind of Arnold, the man he is based on. This would make sense after Bernard has been seen glitching out since he sustained a head injury and it might be a way to fix this — so long as the human-to-host procedure had been perfected.

However, viewers will just have to tune into further episodes of Westworld Season 2 to find out which human’s mind Bernard has stolen.

Season 2 of Westworld returns with Episode 5 on Sunday, May 20, at 9 p.m. ET. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this episode will be titled “Akane No Mai.”

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