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Westworld Recap: Season Finale, ‘The Bicameral Mind.’

By Reuben Levine

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The Westworld finale pulls no punches. Get ready.

The season finale of Westworld opens at the beginning. The first meeting between Arnold and Dolores is sweet, unnerving, before it cuts away to a scene of Dolores shaving the Man in Black. It’s a perfect way to sum up the series, and Dolores’ confusing, hallucinatory story. Westworld has been heading fast towards this conclusion, meticulously building hidden paths that would pay off later. Now we’re here, and the payoff is indeed worthy.

Westworld continues to fall apart. Dolores is a mess, Teddy is remembering and is now off his loop, and Maeve is building an army. The maze, finally, reveals itself to be a test of higher consciousness for worthy Hosts. This test is what would divide Arnold and Ford, and eventually lead to Robert’s death. Westworld has heavily been hinting at this for a while now by simply telling  us more about Arnold.

What is a surprise, however, is that Arnold had her and Dolores effectively massacre the other Hosts. The reasoning behind this is shaky at best, and is driven by Arnold’s own attachment to Dolores. Not unlike William’s. The finale, more than any other episode, never stays put for too long. Characters are visited briefly, then pushed aside to make room for others. It’s really the only way to touch on everything. Fortunately it never gets bogged down or tired.

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It is confirmed that Dolores and the Man in Black are in the future, while Dolores, Logan, and William are in the past. Westworld is more content to show us William’s downward path rather than just tell us. While it’s frustrating because we’ve been waiting so long, it is more rewarding to actually witness it. Yes, William is the Man in Black. That’s where his path leads after not being able to find Dolores. We’re told, through voiceover, that William finds himself in the park. He does, of course, gradually wear more and more black. It turns out that this is actually a story of lost love. When Dolores loops back around, she doesn’t remember him.

Westworld has done great work to pull off this twist. But even through its greatest twist of storytelling, Westworld refuses to let go. Fortunately that doesn’t totally drain it of its power. After all of these years, Dolores gets one over the Man in Black. The maze was never meant for him, and she has decades of anger to work off. What’s more powerful than the actual reveal that the Man in Black is William is watching Dolores take control of her life by completely thrashing him. And then watching Teddy finish the job. At least for now.

But there’s so much more to unpack than just that.

Meanwhile, Maeve continues to supercharge herself. This leads to a bit of a bloodbath involving Hector at the Host with the rad snake tattoo, and then a revival of Bernard. Bernard was too good a character for Westworld to just discard, even though this does rob the show of the emotional weight of his forced suicide. While Maeve never really stops to think and consider her actions, Bernard acts as a thoughtful counterweight. The sort of foil that she needed as far as a few episodes ago. Maeve is so far in it now that she can’t even see the obvious signs that she is just acting out a storyline.

James Marsden (Credit for all: John P. Johnson/HBO)

“This is the real deal, not whether or not the Man in Black was William.”

All season the park has seemingly been slowly thrown into chaos, but that’s not the full story. During incidents that would have necessitated Ford’s intervention — such as Marve’s uprising — he has never shown. Surely he knew about it, if he is as omnipotent as he appears to be. And that’s been the trick the entire time. This is the real deal, not whether or not the Man in Black was William. Ford is the true villain of Westworld. He is the true architect. And he will stand as not only the best written character on this show, but perhaps one of the best villains that HBO has ever offered.

We’ve all been had. Dolores and Teddy have been part of a narrative, Maeve has been part of a narrative. But nobody knew except for Ford. Of course he’s not going to sit idly by while Delos takes over his life’s work. Watching everything collapse as he envisioned is the greatest thrill this show has ever offered. Ford’s narrative is unveiled in a spectacle fit for Westworld, with guests treating Hosts like toys.

Maeve and her band continue to make their way through the lab, dispatching security as they go. Their escape has a decidedly different flavor since we know that Maeve is acting out a narrative. It’s no surprise when Hector has to stay behind, ostensibly to die. But he’ll probably loop around again.

“Westworld can now be cemented as one of HBO’s crowning achievements.”

Back at Ford’s hidden compound he personally services Dolores. It’s then that we learn that Dolores is Wyatt, a change which was deemed necessary to have her dispatch the Hosts with Teddy. And yes, Dolores killed Arnold, but at his behest. It’s then that he utters the now familiar phrase, “these violent delights have violent ends.” Watching Westworld has been like watching an accident unfold over and over again. ‘The Bicameral Mind’ answers so many questions, and none of the answers are hopeful.

Maeve gets to wear a modern dress and enter the terminal to leave while an ad plays on the screen featuring her and her daughter from a past life. In the end she can’t leave; it’s not that easy.

As Ford says, the Hosts, are at least the ones he deems worthy, are going to have to suffer even more before they can be free. The reveal of Ford’s new narrative is perfectly soundtracked by Radiohead. He brings in a dark world, one that will have to be reckoned with in season 2.

Next: People come together and break apart in Divorce.

‘The Bicameral Mind’ succeeds on every front. It is a perfectly executed season finale that brings out the best of what Westworld has had to offer. Watching Dolores slaughter Ford’s guests is sublimely shocking. Westworld can now be cemented as one of HBO’s crowning achievements.

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