Westworld EPs Address if SPOILER Could Return in Season 4

A lot of fans are still reeling from the events of Westworld‘s Season 3 finale, as the buzzworthy HBO series got plunged into a whole new status quo. One of the most surprising developments within the finale was the storyline for Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), who was sent on a path that fans might not have expected. Obviously, spoilers for the season finale below! Only look if you want to know! The episode saw Dolores being tortured at the hands of Engerraund Serac (Vincent Cassel), which seemingly culminated in her destroying his artificial intelligence, Rehoboam. Dolores, as we know her, appeared to be sacrificed in the process, confirmed in a poignant scene of Dolores trying to convince Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton) to join her cause and carry on her memory.

The moment seemed to signify a tragic end to Dolores’ years-long storyline, something that co-creator Jonathan Nolan recently confirmed in an interview with Variety. But in the process, Nolan certainly seemed to hint that Wood will still remain on the show, even if it’s in a completely different capacity.

“I f—ing hope not,” Nolan explained. “Let me clarify: Dolores is gone. We’re not yet discussing publicly the direction the show is taking, but the fun thing about this show is, you know, from the beginning Lisa and I wanted to make a show that constantly reinvented itself, that could be a different show every season. I think it’s important with a show in which death can be impermanent — these are robots, after all — to mark the occasion with Dolores. That version of that character is gone. We love Evan Rachel Wood and we haven’t [sighs] started talking publicly about exactly what the show looks like going forward. But it looks very different.”

While Dolores’ end was certainly tragic, those working behind-the-scenes on the series have argued that it is incredibly poignant, and provides an interesting full-circle moment for her storyline.

“I think that it was painful, you know? It was painful to watch and perform on set,” executive producer Denise Thé added. “It was painful to write. When we saw these memories of her being sucked out of her, you got to kind of re-live her life with her and see these different atrocities that were done to her. So, for me that moment where she says that she chose to see beauty is much stronger and that much more beautiful because you kind of have walked this road with her again and re-lived these moments with her. For me, it was a very powerful kind of transcendent moment of her completing her arc and really coming full circle, choosing to love these beings that, in some ways, just tore her life apart, and rising above it.”

Westworld‘s fourth season does not currently have a release date.