I really enjoyed the season two finale of Westworld and think it was one of the best episodes of this season. Though I can understand how some people were disappointed with it.
Personally, I think this episode answers most of the questions that the casual viewer may have about this season. One, the William who killed his daughter was not a host.
There was only blood under his arm and even Bernard who was pretending to be human had wires under his arm. It’s also more tragic that human William killed his human daughter.
The episode also explains the Valley Beyond aka The Sublime which has multiple meanings for different hosts. It also explains why Bernard’s memories were scrambled and that the first scene of the season was a flash forward, not a flashback to Bernard’s creation.
However, it is reasonable that people may not like the idea that The Sublime is a virtual heaven and might argue that there aren’t any stakes to this world because it isn’t “real.” In the context of the story, it’s real to the hosts though.
Sure, they may not realize what’s exactly happening but they do understand in The Sublime, they’ll be safe from the humans. Dolores evens sends The Sublime somewhere it can’t be touched and I believe this is the writers telling us that these hosts are truly safe.
Another point of discussion is why didn’t Maeve use her power to stop the hosts from fighting sooner. This isn’t really an episode-specific issue but a season-specific issue. This season doesn’t really explain Maeve’s power. My assumption is that her power is limited by how many hosts she can control at once.
Clementine’s virus is derived from Maeve’s power but they aren’t really the same. Clementine isn’t really controlling the hosts but giving their code a virus that makes them aggressive.
Maeve can’t control the hosts like a virus and most of the time when she uses this power, it’s to kill hosts, not make them do something that’s everlasting. Also, maybe Maeve didn’t know if she could stop all the hosts or even better make them run into The Sublime.
It was still a great character moment for Maeve though as she sacrificed herself for her daughter. Though the show probably shouldn’t have gave her this godlike power in the first place.
The weaker point of this episode and probably the most upsetting to some serious fans is William’s storyline. The closure may not be satisfying. William makes it to The Door but cripples himself. He won’t destroy it but Dolores will.
Some people might have been expecting something bigger for him (like a romantic reunion with Dolores). However, I don’t think they can ever be together because for one William may have raped Dolores. He claims he’s done every storyline and one key Westworld storyline is the rape of Dolores.
Even if he ever did once, William is still a board member of Delos, the company that allowed the hosts to be tortured, murdered and raped. William and Dolores can never be together. Westworld could do better job at letting audience members know that they’ll never get back together. The show has set multiple times though that William is irredeemable. He’s not the hero nor is he an antihero.
The show also seems to reveal in a post-credits scene that William has become a host. From a first viewing, if you aren’t watching carefully, then you might not notice the hints that the scene is taking placed some time in the future. It’s very confusing but it’s a post credits scene. It’s not really meant to be a part of this episode but more of a teaser for what’s to come. If you enjoy this scene in that context, then it’s more bearable.
The scene can also make you question what happened to human William. My hypothesis is that he never made it to the elevator and he remained passed out. Notice the episode never showed Bernard’s perspective as he exited The Door. Instead, it showed the dead hosts.
I also don’t think that area was flooded and that would explain how he’s still alive when Dolores escapes the mainland. That’s the only sensible explanation; anything else might be too theoretical.
In fact, this is the problem with Westworld. I’m not a casual viewer, but I’m not a theory-crafter either. I just watched the show because I enjoyed it. I’m not trying to predict what’s going to happen next.
I think the show can be difficult for a viewer who isn’t watching the episode and paying attention to details. However, if one just believes the show’s implications (like that Emily was human), then it’s more enjoyable.
I feel like some Westworld fans can be too worried about predicting the next twist when the show has closed the door to such a twist. Emily was human, for she had William’s profile in hand. And the show explains how she got it, yet some people still might believe she was a host the whole time.
I also think people are less satisfied with the season two finale because it wasn’t predictable and because it left viewers wondering what’s going to happen next to so many characters. With the season one finale, viewers knew exactly where most characters going and dealing with.
If you didn’t like this episode the first time, then I highly recommend rewatching it again without thinking too much about all the theories that surround the show.
