‘Westworld’ Season 2 Finale Theory: Maeve Is ‘The Passenger’ Inside Bernard


Ever since Season 2 of HBO’s Westworld premiered, viewers have been speculating that something was off with Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) in Episode 1. The host seemed dazed and confused, not even needing his glasses at some points in the episode. Some fans theorized that Bernard had been taken over by someone else. But if this theory is correct, did Episode 9 just reveal who had taken over Bernard?

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 2 of HBO’s Westworld. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all the episodes from this season so far and wish to avoid spoilers.

Episode 1 of Westworld Season 2 saw a confused Bernard wake up in the theme park after a major catastrophe. It was soon revealed that it had been two weeks since the events of the Season 1 finale of Westworld and Delos had only just reclaimed the park from the hosts. Throughout this episode, Bernard seemed unsure of what was going on and by the end of the episode, when a lake filled with dead hosts was revealed, makes the announcement that he had killed them all.

Since that episode aired, viewers have been slowly learning how the two weeks prior to that event unfolded within the theme park. Many viewers assumed that Bernard had been taken over and that was why he was acting so strangely. And with the revelation that Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) was still “alive” albeit within the minds of the hosts coding inside The Cradle, many fans suspected the Bernard seen in Episode 1 of Season 2 of Westworld was actually a version of Bernard that had been taken over by Ford’s coding.

However, a couple of things that happened in the penultimate episode of Season 2 of Westworld could actually prove this isn’t the case according to a Reddit theory.

Firstly, viewers saw Bernard actively turn off Dr. Ford’s programming so he could no longer instruct Bernard. Now, whether Dr. Ford has a backdoor built into this coding that will allow him back into Bernard’s mind is yet to be seen. However, something else happened that could indicate that Bernard is now being led by someone else in Episode 1 of Westworld.

As Vulture points out, in Episode 9 Dr. Ford speaks to Maeve and seemingly unlocks “something in her programming.” Could this be Ford unlocking code inside Maeve that allows her to “escape” via Bernard? As Vulture also points out, Episode 10 of Westworld Season 2 is titled “The Passenger,” so it could be an indicator that one of the hosts hitches a ride out of the park via another host.

Of course, viewers will just have to tune into the Season 2 finale episode of Westworld to find out if this theory is correct or not.

Season 2 of Westworld returns with Episode 10 on Sunday, June 24, at 9 p.m. ET. According to HBO’s scheduling, this episode is titled “The Passenger.” As yet, no synopsis has been revealed for the Season 2 finale episode.

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