Westworld is nearly halfway through its third season, and it’s already begun to weave a pretty complex tale for its cast of characters. The sci-fi series is currently juggling a series of narratives both inside of the park and outside of it, as it lays the groundwork for an eventual war anchored by Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton). One of the biggest mysteries of the season – which was explored pretty prominently in the third episode – is what exactly is going on with Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson). After the real Charlotte clearly died during Season 2’s massacre at the park, Dolores used one of her replica bodies to smuggle herself – and an array of other “pearls”, containing the consciousnesses of other hosts – out of the park.
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As Episode 3 made abundantly clear, Dolores put one of the pearls into a replica of Charlotte’s body, allowing her to gain information about the goings-on at Delos. As “Charlotte” did that – while dealing with the fractured family that the real Charlotte had left behind – it was never confirmed which host was going through with the whole charade. That certainly hasn’t stopped Westworld fans from speculating about who “Charlotte” could really be — and what ramifications it could have on the show going forward. Here are a few of our favorite theories.
Teddy
This has been everyone’s primary guess almost since the first Season 3 trailer debuted, especially given the cuddling scene between Charlotte and Dolores. Teddy Flood (James Marsden) certainly had a fondness and fierce loyalty towards Dolores, one that ultimately led to his tragic “death” towards the end of Season 2. While there’s the question of how Teddy’s pearl was able to be salvaged after his death, Westworld has certainly written itself out of tighter corners before.
Some elements of “Charlotte’s” behavior certainly seemed to support this theory, particularly in the demure attitude when she was originally brought online. But other aspects – Charlotte’s swearing, and her referring to herself as a “predator” – do feel like some major steps away from the Teddy we knew.
Clementine
Clementine Pennyfeather (Angela Sarafyan) has had an interesting role throughout the show’s tenure, as one of the earliest female hosts designed by Delos’ Argos Initiative. As Season 1 went along, Clementine went from a sex worker at the Mariposa Saloon to one of the most loyal members of Wyatt’s gang – which was led by Dolores, whose consciousness had been merged with Wyatt’s in order to set up the Escalante massacre. Clementine was later deployed as a sort of robotic Typhoid Mary in Season 2, leading many of the hosts into the “Valley Beyond”.
While “Charlotte” being Clementine wouldn’t necessarily be an Earth-shattering plot twist, it still would carry through an interesting plotline from the show’s early days, and further complicate the science and technology behind her last Season 2 appearance.
Angela
Another host who was loyal to Wyatt’s crusade was Angela (Talulah Riley), who has doubled as both a greeter at the park and a member of Wyatt’s gang. Ultimately, she had a tragic and epic death in Episode 7 of Season 2 — but it doesn’t seem completely impossible for her to be brought back.
Again, the reveal of her being “Charlotte” might not be too major of a plot twist, but it certainly doesn’t seem impossible.
Hector
While we have already seen Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro) in Season 3’s second episode, it ended up being in the “Warworld” simulation created for Maeve by Engerraund Serac (Vincent Cassel). This means that the real Hector’s pearl is still unaccounted for — which could potentially build to an interesting deus ex machina.
In one of the trailers for Season 3, Maeve appears to be crying when asking “Charlotte” who she really is, which certainly could indicate that it’s somebody close to her. Dolores recruiting Maeve’s lover over to her side would certainly heighten the tension in their upcoming conflict, and be just unexpected enough to work for the show.ย
The Man in Black
While it does seem like Ed Harris will play some sort of a role in this season (especially with one trailer showing Dolores next to a copy of him), we have yet to see any of The Man in Black so far in Season 3. When we last saw the older version of William, it was in a Season 2 post-credits scene of the far, far future, in which he was endlessly tested by a host version of his daughter, Emily (Katja Herbers). It was never confirmed outright that that version of William was a host, despite him believing as much through a lot of the present-day sequences of Season 2.
What if, after all of this time away, The Man in Black ended up being right? After all, he clearly has a fondness for the hosts and the whole ecosystem Delos has created, which would justify “Charlotte’s” comment that the real version of her “tried to kill us”. And since we know Delos and Incite have been able to mine data from even the most unwitting of participants, it certainly doesn’t seem out of the cards that a pearl of The Man in Black could exist in the present day.
Dolores
Okay, now hear us out.
Dolores has obviously used copies of Charlotte as a way to evade detection before. And while the whole circumstance surrounding Dolores and Wyatt’s fusion was never fully explained, Westworld has built a weird enough canon to where it doesn’t seem impossible for them to be able to be split apart.
There is evidence to support a theory that “Dolores” is actually Wyatt, while “Charlotte” is actually the purest form of Dolores. It would add a new layer to a lot of moments in Episode 3, including Dolores saying that “nobody understands” her like “Charlotte” does. Heck, even the color of their wardrobes – “Dolores” in black, and “Charlotte” in white – could hint at the dichotomy that both of them have.
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Who do you think is the “real” Charlotte Hale in Westworld? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Westworld airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
