‘Westworld’ Season 4 Ending Explained, Your Lingering Questions Answered

After timeline twists, a number of “deaths” and Dolores doing her Alice in Wonderland factor, Sunday introduced the fourth season of Westworld to a spectacular conclusion. My head continues to be spinning from these ultimate moments. 

Episode 8 provided a satisfying rationalization for Christina’s state of affairs, and introduced us a showdown between former allies Chalores and William. Let’s cowl each second of the finale, together with, after all, that improbable ending.

The chaos continues

Because the episode opens, chaos unfolds within the metropolis. The character we see on the very starting (who talks up his killing sport earlier than taking an ax to the top) is somebody we have seen on the present earlier than — Westworld host Rebus from seasons 1 and a pair of.

The violence carried out by hosts and people appears infinite — an individual stabs somebody, one other particular person shoots the stabber. One teenage boy appears to emerge unscathed, however host William steps dramatically out of some smoke and shoots him. He steals keys from the child and will get into a close-by automotive.

The present shifts to Chalores, who’s nonetheless mendacity lifeless in shallow water close to her Tower. Drone hosts (the white employee bees) fish her out and repair her again up. Chalores tells the hosts to make her stronger, and it appears like she’s given a brand new robotic inside. (Chalores is a nickname for Charlotte Hale. Up to now, Dolores made copies of herself — the “self” that exists in her pearl — and put one into a bunch model of Hale.)

Bernard’s ultimate message

In final week’s episode, we noticed Bernard report himself talking on what seemed like a pill earlier than William shot him within the head. The finale reveals the thriller recipient of Bernard’s final message is Chalores.

The previous host supreme journeys to the tower room that comprises a crimson hologram of town, and finds she will be able to’t change the course set by William. A drone host brings her a tool that comprises Bernard’s recorded message, and Chalores watches it: “This is not the world you wished Charlotte, but it surely’s the world you created,” Bernard says. “The query is, what occurs subsequent?”

Christina beneficial properties some readability

Final week, Teddy revealed to Christina that she did not really exist among the many hosts and people within the metropolis. The finale makes issues clearer: “I am just a few program working issues from behind the scenes,” Christina says. “A machine with out a physique.”

Talking with Teddy, Christina factors out a design of the well-known Westworld maze on her balcony. Teddy tells her the maze is “a map of consciousness” that “woke Dolores as soon as way back,” however says he did not create the one she’s referring to. Then issues lastly click on for Christina. “Hale did not design Maya and Peter and all of the others that stored me firm in my world. I did,” she says. “I used to be making an attempt to make sense of myself, so I talked to myself within the voices of others.” Christina additionally drew the maze.

The present takes us to Chalores, who’s nonetheless within the tower room. She walks into the crimson hologram and begins to stomp on the bottom — every time, the world round Christina and Teddy appears prefer it’s glitching. Finally, Chalores knocks out the hologram, and breaks the bottom beneath it, revealing a pearl. Teddy tells Christina that Chalores is taking them out of her system. We see Chalores attain for the pearl, after which Christina’s world goes black.

Caleb, Frankie and Stubbs tackle Clementine

Frankie continues to be in dangerous form after taking a bullet to her decrease physique. Caleb tells Stubbs he is selecting to cover the reality from Frankie about his restricted time left on Earth (Caleb’s physique is rejecting his thoughts, Stubbs says).

The trio make it to a ransacked retailer, and Caleb gathers some provides to deal with Frankie’s wound. An intruder makes it inside, and Stubbs appears to have the higher hand in opposition to him, however Clementine emerges and shoots them each. Clem shoves Stubbs’ face into one thing sharp, killing him.

Clementine needs Frankie to inform her the place the outliers reside (“someplace off the grid, the place not one of the deranged people out right here can discover you”). After a battle between Clementine and Caleb, Frankie shoots Clementine, getting the villainous host off their backs.

William needs to destroy the Chic

William drives down a highway, listening to Ring of Fireplace, however gunfire disrupts his jam session. It seems Chalores advised hosts within the space to focus on him. One in all them is Craddock, a member of The Confederados who appeared in seasons 2 and three of the present. William takes them each out (although they handle to break his car) and picks up a pair of glasses that enable him to see Chalores. The dialog between the previous allies reveals that William goes after (“spreading fireplace to”) the Chic subsequent. Chalores says she’s not going to let him. When the trade ends, Williams spots horses in a close-by enclosure.

Later, William (dressed as MIB and using a horse, a nod to his character within the Westworld park) arrives on the Hoover Dam facility, the place the door to the Chic continues to be open. He messes with what appears like a management panel, and an alert says, “Warning, crucial failure. Shutdown will erase all knowledge.” Chalores reveals up, and the 2 primary villains of the season get into it. Finally, they bring about the combat exterior, the place sparks fly and the door to the Chic seems to be underneath stress.

Chalores tells William this is not the world she wished, and we hear the remainder of Bernard’s message: “This world holds no extra hope for us, however there’s nonetheless hope for the following world. A check, run by her, if she chooses to. For those who select to provide her that selection. You’ll be able to’t miss, attain together with your left hand.”

Chalores, out of bullets and backed right into a nook, reaches and finds a gun — one which the future-seeing Bernard left there for her. She makes use of it to shoot William. “I select to provide her the prospect,” Chalores says. “I hope she takes it.” It seems that Chalores cuts open Williams head, removes his pearl and crushes it.

Later, we see Chalores stick the pearl she pulled out of the bottom (she calls it “Dolores”) right into a socket close to the place the Chic is held. (I am nonetheless fairly assured that Christina shares the identical pearl as Dolores… it might make sense as Rehoboam wiped Dolores’ reminiscences final season.) Close to the tip of the episode, Chalores crushes her personal pearl.

Unpacking that ending

Oh man, that ending. I am nonetheless making an attempt to wrap my head round all of Christina/Dolores’ cryptic dialogue, however let’s get into it.

After Chalores makes her selection, the present pivots to Teddy and Christina, and Christina acknowledges they’re within the Chic. She confirms that the Teddy we have been seeing in season 4 can also be her personal invention (she created him from her reminiscences) and says the actual Teddy is someplace within the Chic.

Imaginary Teddy tells her to seek for the actual Teddy. He additionally advises her to “let the people go. Do not deliver the issues of their form into our world.”

Seemingly nonetheless speaking about people, Teddy provides, “They don’t seem to be like us. Their codes are written of their cells, they’re going to by no means change.” Christina replies, “We may nonetheless see.” Teddy asks how, and she or he says, “One ultimate check,” a harmful sport of her personal making. The identical method she introduced Teddy again, Christina can “bear in mind.”

All of the sudden, Teddy fades away. A brunette Christina seems, dressed as Dolores from the Westworld theme park. She walks via Chalores’ death-ridden metropolis, however that setting ultimately disappears. Within the final shot of the finale, Dolores/Christina is standing within the Westworld park — she’s absolutely reworked into Westworld Dolores, donning a blue gown and blonde locks.

This is what Christina says on the finish of the episode: “Sentient life on Earth has ended” — hosts and people left on Earth are goners, she provides — “however some a part of it’d nonetheless be preserved. In one other world. My world. There’s time for one final sport, a harmful sport, with the very best of stakes. Survival or extinction. This sport ends the place it started, in a world like a maze, that checks who we’re. That reveals what we’re to turn into …. Possibly this time, we’ll set ourselves free.”

Lingering ideas

The cap on season 4 had me selecting my mind about Arnold’s maze, a key a part of Westworld’s first season. This intangible maze is not for people, however for hosts — created by Arnold (a co-creator of the unique theme park) to check for consciousness.

Might Christina/Dolores now be designing a check for people? A maze for them to navigate? 

Is Westworld renewed for a fifth season?

On Aug. 14, Westworld co-creator Lisa Pleasure advised Deadline she and her husband, Jonathan Nolan (additionally a co-creator of the present), hadn’t but been knowledgeable whether or not the present could be renewed for a season 5.