There’s only one episode left of the twisty, turn-y first season of HBO’s Westworld. That’s the bad news. The good news is, episode nine, “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” confirmed so many theories about our mysterious Hosts and their world full of lies. The way, way worse news is…
Bernard is dead!
At the behest of Westworld’s new HBIC, Maeve (Thandie Newton), Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) takes an intense trip down memory lane and finds out some unpleasant truths about his origin. The “Bernarnold” fan theory checks out!
https://twitter.com/ericmandl/status/803073485840887808
https://twitter.com/storitewart/status/803074709621501953
But Westworld’s amoral overlord, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), is in no mood to let his newly sentient “old friend” run amok in the park. So he does the only thing an evil genius could do: script a horrifying suicide scene to do away with our dear Bernard.
https://twitter.com/Afoith/status/803076365935398913
The internet came together in mourning on Sunday night, led off by a somewhat troll-y tweet by the actor who plays the fan favorite:
https://twitter.com/jfreewright/status/803071348834566145
https://twitter.com/ShelbyDWood/status/803080797246865409
https://twitter.com/therealgesus69/status/803071523665813505
https://twitter.com/bohemianriveira/status/803072328204587009
Of course, if we have learned one thing this season, it’s that nothing in the world devised by Dr. Robert Ford and his compatriots can be taken as gospel. Bernard, as a Host, could simply be cleaned and rebooted (although, because nobody else knows that Bernard is a Host, it’s entirely up to Ford whether that happens).
https://twitter.com/imakeinternets/status/803072902212022272
https://twitter.com/LBrothersMedia/status/803075817861304321
Meanwhile, inside the park, the multiple timelines theory — explained in careful detail in this Reddit post — is also gaining ground. Episode nine may have confirmed the suggestion that William (Jimmi Simpson) and the Man in Black (Ed Harris) are the same person when Logan (Ben Barnes) reveals a photograph of his sister/William’s fiancée to be the same photo that sent Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum) off the deep end in episode one.
https://twitter.com/CourtneyWRocket/status/803074766538149888
https://twitter.com/ginacarbone/status/803060673517387776
Speaking of timelines, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) seems to be bounding along in every narrative at the same time. She jumps in and out of her own memories with such frequency that even she is not sure what’s real and what isn’t. Besides, as the oldest Host in the park, any time she appears on screen it could theoretically be in any timeline.
https://twitter.com/NeverNeverDan/status/803085941883682817
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Tonight, Dolores’ trip to the center of the maze finally concluded with a perplexing tour of the old robot factory — and a realization that it was she who killed Arnold 35 years ago. Which creates a whole new theory, right before the season finale!
https://twitter.com/AbstractTonyy/status/803070156851347456
Westworld’s 90-minute season 1 finale airs Sunday, Dec. 4 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO
