This post isn’t going to be as long or as clean as it probably should, but I just want to get this out there. Put my thoughts on paper.

After watching episode four of Westworld, I now have a theory. I’ve had Westworld theories before, but they’ve always been smaller ones. This one, is a little bigger.

It comes in 3 parts, the first two I’m much more confident in than the third.

Part 1: The Man in Black is dying
In episode four we find out a couple of things. He doesn’t “have time for this pain by numbers bullshit.” He is low on time. He also runs an organization that helps sick kids (maybe more, that’s all we know right now). This leads me to think he may be dying, and he’s come here not for vacation, but for immortality. I think the Man in Black believes that if he can reach the center of the maze, he can live forever. Probably by uploading his consciousness into one of those lovely host robots.

Part 2: The Man in Black is very wrong about what the maze is
He is told that the maze isn’t for him. So, what is it for? I believe that the maze is where the hosts go when they are on the path to gaining consciousness. If a host makes it through the maze, I believe that they are not destroyed (as I’ve heard elsewhere) but, in fact, like Pinocchio, they become real. Or, at least, robots that and sentient, and self determined. They are freed. (Or, maybe he is right, maybe it does both.)

Part 3: Bernard was a host who made it through the maze
This is the most out there part. But there are plenty of theories about Bernard being a robot. Often citing the way people interact with him. In this version, he would have been a robot, but was freed by making it through the maze. Now, he has sent Dolores on the very trip through the maze he took himself. Trying to free her.

That is where I stand right now, as of episode 4. Any thoughts, leave them in the comments. I’m sure we’ll discuss on this week’s episode of The Way We Nerd.