This post contains speculation for Westworld but no spoilers as long as you’re all caught up through Season 1, Episode 7. If you’re not, now is the time to either slip into a deep and dreamless slumber or scurry back to your little loop.
Those arguing that Westworld conspiracy theorists were off their rocker had to take a step back last week when it was revealed that, just as many had been predicting all season, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) is secretly a host, not a human. So, perhaps, it’s time to take some of the other crazy-seeming Westworld theories a tad more seriously including the most popular and controversial of them all: the multiple timeline (or time period if you’re pedantic) theory.
If you’re unfamiliar, the multiple timeline theory posits that Westworld audiences are watching at least two (if not three) eras in the history of the Westworld park. It’s easy to confuse audiences on this front when some of your characters—the robot ones—never age. This theory posits that the character of William (Jimmi Simpson) is the same character as the Man in Black (Ed Harris), progressing through the park 30 years apart in time. (You can read more about all that here.) I call the theory controversial because it has sharply divided the Westworld fans over on Reddit into warring factions. Seriously, I haven’t seen anything like it since, well, last Tuesday.
But the William/MiB deniers will have to grapple with a few new bits of evidence that make their case flimsier than ever. First, let’s talk about wardrobe. We know the clothes you pick as you enter the park in Westworld are very important—and we’re not just talking about those white and black hats. Everyone noticed a few weeks ago when Dolores got a change in wardrobe courtesy of El Lazo and the depraved folks of Pariah. Gone was the blue dress and in its place we got a sporty pair of trousers and a crisp button down. But did you notice that William changed too? (Maybe you did and I was just too dazzled by Dolores’s pants to give William his due.) He traded in the pink and red checked collared shirt he picked out at Westworld HQ. . .
. . .for a collarless long-sleeved grey shirt with subtle pintucks on the bib in front. (That's what those little pleats are called: pintucks.) You may not have noticed it because William (ever the gentleman) usually has his coat on. But this week, when the Confederados arrived, he was a little (ahem) underdressed.
Another dapper gent of Westworld who likes to keep a coat, vest, and neckerchief on his person at all times is the Man in Black. But way back in Episode 2, he took his jacket off to give us the best look of the series at his shirt. It is, oh yes, a collarless long-sleeved grey number with subtle pintucks on the bib in front.
Am I saying the Man in Black and William are wearing the same shirt? I am. Does that make them the same person? Well I think so! Clothes maketh the man. But perhaps that doesn’t seal the deal for you. Maybe you look at those matching (aptly, grey) shirts on those two men and say “That looks like nothing to me.” Well, then, allow me to introduce Exhibit B.
In an interview with Female First back at the end of September, Ed Harris said, “Beforehand, they told me enough to understand what kind of life my character had in the outside world and why he was coming to this park. But then you get the script for Episode 7, say, and you’re going, ‘Oh! Thanks for telling me, man! I didn’t realize THAT about myself!’” Worth noting here that Ed Harris’s character does not appear at all in Episode 7, but William certainly does. Is there some wiggle room with the use of “say” in that Harris quote? For sure. But let’s take a closer look at what’s revealed in Episode 7.
As Slashfilm points out, William, basking in the pre-coital glow of Dolores’s company, opens up to her about his youth. “The only thing I had when I was a kid were books. I used to live in them. I used to go to sleep dreaming I’d wake up inside one of them ’cause they had meaning. This place, this is like I woke up inside one of those stories. I guess I just wanna find out what it means. I don’t wanna be in a story. All I want is to not look forward or back. I just wanna be… in the moment I’m in.” That’s William enjoying the real connection he thinks he’s found with Dolores. As you’ll recall, he wasn’t really interested in the fake pleasures the park had to offer choosing, instead, to fall for Dolores because he believes she is waking up and rejecting her looping life.
In other words, Logan was right. William has been thoroughly seduced by Westworld.
William, giving in to the temptation of Dolores and cheating on his fiance Juliet, later says, “I’ve been pretending my whole life. Pretending I don’t mind, pretending I belong. My life’s built on it. And it’s a good life, a life I’ve always wanted. But then I came here, and I get a glimpse for a second of a life in which I don’t have to pretend. A life in which I can be truly alive. How can I go back to pretending when I know what this feels like?” That sounds an awful lot like the Man in Black who, in Episode 2, promises Lawrence, “this time, I’m never going back.”
But it’s worth noting that if William has become the Man in Black, he is no longer suffering under the delusion that the park is more real than real life. 30 years (we presume) later, he has suffered some devastating blow potentially related to his busted up relationship with Dolores.
In Episode 4, the Man in Black is back to thinking of Westworld as fiction and says, “This whole world is a story. I’ve read every page except the last one. I need to find out how it ends. I want to know what this all means.” I suspect, that both William and the Man in Black are on a collision course with Dolores and some harsh reality about the cruelties of Westworld. Yes, I believe they are the same person and, yes, I believe they both want the same thing: her.
If you’re not convinced by the little pieces of evidence that keep stacking up (shirts, logos, philosophies) etc., it’s worth remembering that Westworld is the kind of show to lay these little clues out like breadcrumbs.
Okay one more piece of evidence tucked below this spoiler warning. Footage from upcoming episode trailers to follow.
So, really, William and the Man in Black are wearing the same shirt and carry the same knife? One Ford looks at with consideration in Episode 5 like he’s seen it’s dirty work before? And you still don’t think they’re the same person?
Somebody needs to have their bulk apperception bumped up a few notches.
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