Spoilers for last night's episode of Westworld are all over this article. If you don't want to see how the series has now blurred the line between guests and hosts, please hop out of this article right now.
Westworld hasn't even aired a full season on HBO, yet, but that hasn't stopped fans of the show from speculating about some wild theories, including whether people are hosts and hosts are people. From the beginning, there's been a little bit of mystery surrounding Bernard. We've known that he felt very deeply about his son who died, but this week, it was revealed that was simply the programming he was given. Yes, Bernard is a host, and the reveal that he is not actually a human has come with a major change to the series. Not only is Bernard a host, he has now killed a human on the series, changing the game.
For some weeks now, we've known that Bernard is one of the most prominent scientific minds in Westworld. He works on the park's backend, solving big problems, and working alongside Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins). While the two men have proven to be the major scientific minds in the park, they are not close, as was proven when Bernard asked Ford about his former partner and Ford reluctantly shared a small amount of information about the past.
This week, Bernard was unceremoniously fired after Theresa and the woman from the board put on a show that made it seem he was unfit for his job. He later took her to Ford's offsite place, noting on the way:
The longer I work here, the more I think I understand the hosts. It's the human beings that confuse me.
It was to be foreshadowing.
The backstory about Bernard and his son Charlie was ripped wide open when Bernard and Theresa Cullen searched Ford's personal space for new information, learning that Ford has cultivated a slew of hosts that are living and working off-the-grid, much like the family we saw last week. Bernard is one of those hosts, and after the big reveal, he was programmed by Robert Ford to kill Theresa, his lover and his ally.
Show creator Lisa Joy explained why she feels the scene is so affecting in an interview with THR.
The scene is terrible and devastating on a couple of fronts. One, of course, because of Theresa's death. The other is because of what it means for Bernard, who did not want to do that. There is blood on his hands that he would never want there now, and he realizes that he's a pawn in a game he can't control. There are two great victims in that scene, and for me, that really enhances the tragedy of it.
More importantly, though, it means that the rules have changed in Westworld. Although Elsie went missing last week, this week is the first instance of a host murdering a human, against all of the rules of programming that were built into the hosts. While the scene was tragic in numerous ways, it also opens the door wide open in the theme park for other outcomes, especially considering the plans Maeve was hatching this week. As Theresa noted before she died, perhaps Ford has been "playing god," for long enough. But as the scene played out and Theresa died at the hands of her own robotic lover, it seems that perhaps Ford is just getting started.
New episodes of Westworld air on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET,only on HBO. To find out what else is coming up at midseason, check out our TV premiere calendar.
