Six weeks into Westworld, the show has given the audience significantly more questions than it has answers.
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Among the questions which arch over Westworld’s grand scheme are, “What is Ford creating?”, “Who is Arnold?”, and, “Why are certain hosts developing consciousness?”
However, the biggest and most consistent question is regarding the Man in Black’s identity. Everyone wants to know who he is, what he wants, and whether or not he is a host. For now, all signs point to one answer: yes and no.
Last month, ComicBook.com unveiled its first theory of the Man in Black’s identity. The theory claimed that Ed Harris’ character was one of the original hosts, based on the fact that the title of the first episode was, “The Original,” among other factors.
Somewhere along the way, the Man in Black’s wave of hosts was recalled in their entirety but he was left behind and thought to be deactivated or otherwise found a way to fly under the radar, posing as a human guest. The security team behind Westworld has stopped tracking him, as a result, and in that time he has developed consciousness without his hardware being reset after regular conversations.
In Sunday’s episode, we saw four (of five total remaining) rogue hosts which are not being monitored by the Westworld security team. They were made of stronger, yet more basic materials than the hosts we have come to know throughout Westworld‘s first season. The fifth of rogues must be the Man in Black.
ComicBook.com’s original theory went on to say that the Man in Black’s wave of hosts was recalled in favor of a less expensive version, which has since been confirmed on the series. The four rogue hosts were made of material too strong for the weakened bullets of Westworld to penetrate, furthering the theory that the Man in Black is one of the original hosts.
Back when Westworld was first created, the idea of humans killing hosts and hosts killing hosts was undeveloped. The hosts were made from stronger (probably more expensive) material. Once the idea of introducing storylines which required gun fights and death came about, the invincible wave of hosts was recalled. Except the Man in Black.
We now know the Man in Black was not the only original host to survive the recall. However, the Man in Black’s identity likely goes beyond being solely a host.
Tweaking the theory a bit, the Man in Black is likely a combination of both host a human. Given Arnold’s sudden death/disappearance – which is retold in several different ways by various characters on the show – it would appear his consciousness has been, in some form, uploaded into the Westworld system and is occupying the Man in Black as an attempt to break free of the park
After all, Ford and the Man in Black seem to be caught in a bit of a chess match as they measure each other’s next move and manipulate the world around them to further their interests.
MORE WESTWORLD: Mythology Of The Maze Revealed / What We Know About Dolores So Far / Angela Sarafyan On Host Evolution / The Man In Black Is Going To Free The Hosts / Who Is Arnold / The Man In Black’s Backstory Revealed / What Planet Is Westworld On / Logos May Reveal Two Seperate Timelines
Westworld airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
