‘Westworld’: Winners & Losers Of Season 2

It’s no secret that HBO’s Westworld is a complicated show. Belaboring that point further would be the dialogue surrounding last night’s season 2 finale “The Passenger.” The 90-minute episode crammed just about everything it could think of, jumping from past and present, all to set the stage of season 3: hosts existing outside the park.
While the world tries to figure out what’s happening going forward, let’s kick back and do a little assessment of the biggest winners and losers this season – and everything in between!
It goes without saying, but SPOILERS for Westworld follow.

Winners

Five Hosts In A Purse

While the bulk of host-consciousness, now freed from their bodies, will be uploaded to the cloud somewhere, Dolores/Hale managed to leave the park with FIVE control units stashed in her purse in a ‘blink and you miss it’ shot in the finale. We already know she used one to print a new Dolores body for herself and another for a Bernard body. Your guess is as good as mine regarding who she put inside Hale’s body and who the other two who hosts will turn out to be. Nevertheless, getting out of that park is a major win.

Maeve Millay

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Let’s cut right to it, Maeve absolutely dominated this season. Not only did she accomplish her objective of saving her daughter, she advanced her programming to the point of controlling others, and as Dr. Ford confessed, she was always his favorite. To top it all off, Maeve has both hosts and Delos employees willing to fight for her, stand by her, and give their lives for her. Want to know if your cause is just? Look at Maeve’s crew then look at Dolores’.

Lee Sizemore

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A shocking addition to the winner’s list, Lee Sizemore really stepped his game up this season turning from sleazy Delos narration writer to protector of Maeve and savior of her crew. He saved Hector from delivering the final dying speech and took the role in his place, giving them a chance to escape, which they successfully did. Way to change, Lee!

Dolores Abernathy

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While her logic is nowhere near as sound as Maeve’s, Dolores did also complete her objective this season by getting the hell out of the park and taking her place amidst the humans. She left a crazy body count behind, but Dolores never failed to pull out all the stops (including inhabiting other host bodies) to get what she wants. Her ruthlessness will no doubt make her a capable survivor in the real world.

Bernard Lowe

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Bernard had a really rough year. His memories were so scrambled that throughout the course of this season I almost prayed for a full malfunction just to alleviate myself of the unceasing questions about life and consciousness and fidelity. However, there was a method behind Bernard’s literal madness. He was more in control than even he knew, with or without Dr. Ford’s assistance. Bernie is now free to roam about in the real world – that is if Dolores doesn’t decide he’d be more useful to her as a footstool or coat rack.

Losers

The Man In Black

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Not only did William murder his daughter, lose his mind, and blow off a hand this season, he also uncovered that he’s been a host for god knows how long, perhaps the entire duration we’ve seen him as Ed Harris on screen. That’s a real kick in the gut for the guy who told his father-in-law Jim Delos that he opposed his whole immortality scam and was adamant that no system could ever control him. To add insult to injury, he had to learn he was a host from some form of human/host program in the form of his daughter. Guess you got what you paid for William!

Charlotte Hale

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The show would be crazy not to keep an actress like Tessa Thompson on for next season, but Hale’s corporate background isn’t the most interesting trait in a land of robots. In fact, besides Sizemore, Felix, and Stubbs, none of the Delos team brings much to the table. How do we give her better material? Let’s have her die by the hands of her own host body and then be infused with the most sadistic host, Dolores’s control unit, and kill numerous coworkers in the process of getting to the mainland.
Sorry Charlotte, I doubt this was covered in the corporate handbook.

Teddy Floods

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One thing Dolores underestimated was that giving hosts free will meant they were capable of making their own choices… even if those choices weren’t aligned with her own. Teddy loved her, but he couldn’t love the person she was turning him into, and he took his own life. The big reason Teddy is on the loser’s side of this list isn’t that he checked out on his own terms, but because Dolores snagged his control unit and will do lord knows what with it, thus taking away his choice. Fingers crossed we don’t see Teddy’s consciousness inside Hale’s body next season.

Dr. Robert Ford

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Sorry to say, but Dr. Ford was brought back in season 2 way too late in the game. He was already dead and gone and pretty much forgotten by the time he popped back in Bernard’s consciousness. Sure, he served a purpose controlling the system from within and allowing the hosts the ability to escape, but an omniscient presence can only hold our interest for so long. I love Anthony Hopkins but Dr. Ford has left the building. Unfortunately, I’m sure they’ll find a way to bring him back Yoda-style for season 3.