Westworld is a show that lives and dies on theories. The twists and turns of Season 1 dominated the discussion of the show when it came out in 2016. More importantly, those theories that Reddit came up with as a collective all turned out to be absolutely correct. So how are the theory makers doing ahead of Season 2? Currently, one of the favorite topics of discussion is Bernard Lowe, the man who turned out to be a Host. Let's run down the best Bernard Westworld theories for Westworld Season 2, in hopes that one of them might be the correct answer.
Bernard, for those who need a reminder, did not know he was a Host when Season 1 began. He talked about his little boy, who we learned had died of some disease. We saw him talking to his wife via video chat. He's sleeping with Head of Quality Assurance, Theresa.
But things didn't add up. Bernard at one point tells his wife "the pain" of his son Charlie "is all I have left of him," a line Dolores echoes word for word about her parents in the next episode. When shown a picture of the founders, Bernard sees two men and a weird blank space, in a photo that clearly has room for three men. By Episode 7, the answer becomes clear: Bernard is a Host, built by Ford in the image of his partner Arnold. Bernard has walked this loop of self-discovery many times, and each time his memory was wiped by Ford, just like the Hosts in the park.
So what will happen to him in Season 2? Here are the best theories.
One of the worst moments of Season 1 came after Charlotte fired Bernard. Fans at home who had long figured out Bernard was not a real boy wondered what this meant for the character. What it meant was that Theresa had to die so Ford could restore order, and reinstate his right-hand man.
But the reason Ford was able to keep Bernard a secret all these years is that he was there to fix him if anything went wrong. Ford is gone now, and while Bernard is good enough to fix himself in small patches if something major were to happen (like he got shot in the head again) how long until the Human side of this fight realize they've been answering to a Host all this time?
Bernard has experienced memories of killing Theresa, strangling Elsie, and his first day of existence. But there are a good 30 years of deeds in between still to come to the fore. What other things did Ford have Bernard do that he doesn't remember yet?
Some contenders:
- Bernard helped with the data mining project that Charlotte is attempting to hijack and send out of the park.
- Bernard helped Ford program all the "Arnold" code into the Hosts.
- Bernard helped program Maeve to rebel and escape.
- Bernard helped program some terrible secret in the park we've yet to see.
Fans know from the final episodes that Bernard remembers strangling Elsie, or at least choking her out. But fans haven't seen her body, so until told otherwise, the assumption is she'll be back.
One theory: Bernard will suddenly remember the rest of the incident where he strangled her, and where he dragged her off to. If so, he will go rescue her. Perhaps he'll do so to have someone who can help fix him up should he break down. (His other option for a repairman who can keep a secret is Felix, who already knows his true nature.)
This is the point where theories diverge. Based on the trailer, some are theorizing Bernards "I was on the far shore" from the other Hosts dream is proof he's siding with the humans.
But that's forgetting everything the show taught fans at the end of last year. That's not Bernard talking. That's Arnold. Still, from the promotional photos, it looks like Bernard is siding with the Human side of the fight. For now, at least.
The flip side of the coin, Bernard, after seeing how terribly the Humans are behaving towards the Hosts, will decide to back the Hosts in their cause.
Bernard is in a far better position to help the Hosts than anyone else if he can keep his true nature hidden from the majority of the Human side of the fight. He has extremely high-level clearance. He may actually have top-level clearance and not know it. So if needed, he can program the system to help the Hosts in their hour of need.
Also, he is the only one who knows about Charlotte's data mining project. He may be the only one able to break whatever security she has on it to find out exactly what they are trying to get out of the park. In short, Bernard is perfectly positioned to be the hero of Season 2. If he can remember, that is.
In the Season 1 finale, Bernard stumbles out of the White Church and wanders around the party in a daze, having discovered he was made in Arnold's image, that Ford wants the Hosts to be free, and that Dolores has been uploaded with the Wyatt program. As he reaches the bar, he passes the Man In Black, who does a doubletake at Bernard's appearance.
Why?
William never met Arnold, Logan says Delos' lawyers couldn't even dig up "Ford's old partner's name." But William has been a majority shareholder for decades, and the show's entire twist with him is that Jimmi Simpson ages into Ed Harris. More importantly, the show took pains to de-age Ford in the scenes when Bernard was first made. That leads to the theory: does the Man In Black remember Bernard from meeting him decades ago? Is he shocked to see him completely unchanged? Will he realize Bernard is a Host, and unmask him?
