Westworld: 5 Questions The Finale Needs to Answer

HBO’s Westworld is quickly ramping up to be another hit series for the network, with a slow-burn sci-fi mystery that has hooked fans with big questions, and some pretty big reveals in answer to those questions.

As the Westworld season 1 finale approaches, we’ve taken a look back over the season to identify some of the larger overarching questions that have been built up all season. We hope each and every one of them gets addressed, so that we have both the appropriate amount of payoff and great setup for season 2.

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Here are 5 Questions the Westworld Finale Needs to Answer.

Is William the Man in Black?

This is the biggest lingering mystery that’s been dangling in viewers’ faces since the season premiere, and it absolutely needs to be settled by the time the season 1 finale is over.

There’s been evidence peppered throughout the season to suggest that Jimmi Simpson’s park visitor William is actually a younger version of MIB, which would also confirm the theory that there are two different timelines we are witnessing in season 1.

The showrunners have done a significant job getting us invested in the characters, but to really pay off the journey, we need to know who MIB is, and that revelation will hopefully twist our impression of him (and/or William) into the shape of something exciting for season 2 (MIB actor Ed Harris is already confirmed to be returning).

Who Are Dolores & Teddy Really?

Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden) are two of the central characters in Westworld, and are arguably two of its biggest “heroes” – or so we thought.

Like so many things in Westworld, perceptions about Dolores and Teddy have changed and flipped as the season has gone on. Both characters have shown more teeth, and we’ve learned that their respective histories contain some very dark, violent, acts.

As Westworld’s finale approaches, we need to find out – for sure – just who these two central characters are in the larger drama. Are they heroic rebels? Secret agents of destruction? Sentient spirits or tragic puppets of Ford and the park? Is Teddy really Wyatt?

The fact that Dolores and Teddy have been so interesting while still being so mysterious is pretty remarkable.

Westworld Season 1 Finale Teddy Dolores Spoilers

Is Arnold Still Alive (Somehow)?

Westworld may have its focus set on solving a maze, but at the center of that labrynth sits one man: Arnold.

We’ve seen evidence of Arnold’s presence in Westworld all season long, culminating with the reveal that Ford designed Bernard in homage to Arnold. However, with Dolores and other hosts hearing that strange disembodied voice in their heads, we have to wonder if Arnold hasn’t found someway to survive in Westworld all this time.

It wouldn’t be a survival of his physical body, per se, but if Arnold was such a master of consciousness, it’s hard to believe that he’s not some kind of ‘ghost in the machine’ still haunting the park, biding his time until more hosts evolve beyond their chains, giving him the perfect army to take on Ford with.

Can The Hosts Every Get Free?

HBO’s version of Westworld has flipped the script on the premise of the original movie, by taking the robotic hosts and transforming them (specifically the Man in Black) from looming threat to tragic victims.

As the season progressed, the hosts’ bid for true freedom and awareness has become one of the central objectives of the storyline. However, Westworld has proven to be a cruel trap, where Ford has remained three steps ahead of the other characters.

Despite the efforts of Dolores, Teddy, Maeve and other hosts to break on through to the proverbial ‘other side,’ Ford could end up revealing that the puppets never got loose of their strings. By the end of the season 1 finale, we need clear indication of whether or not the robot revolution is real, or just another loop we’re stuck in.

Westworld Season 1 finale Maeve and Bernard

Are There Other Parks?

We’ve been wondering what kind of note Westworld’s first season could end on – and we have no bigger wish than the final sequence to be a reveal that there’s a much larger world outside this single park; in fact, there’s a whole franchise of parks in operation.

Revealing other park locations would be in keeping with the original Westworld story, in which there were spinoff themed “worlds” like Medieval World and Roman World.

For host characters like Maeve (Thandie Newton) other worlds would mean more hosts that could potentially be “awakened” and formed into a conquering army. For viewers, the new locations would instantly renew the show’s mystique, intrigue, and leave plenty of room for exciting new characters.

Is there anything popular nowadays that isn’t instantly franchised? Something tells us Delos would’ve seized that opportunity long ago.