Ready to journey down the Reddit rabbit hole?
Westworld is back and ready to f*ck with our minds again, so we’re combing the deepest, darkest threads on Reddit to try to make sense of this new simulation. Each week, we’ll break down the craziest predictions and most-likely explanations fueling this season’s biggest storylines and will do it with wisdom gleaned from Reddit users — a.k.a. the internet’s personal conspiracy theorist support group.
Most of these are wildly incorrect, but some of them may be spot-on. Have fun trying to tell the difference.
1. Do Rehoboam’s Biblical Roots Forecast a Showdown?
The masterminds behind Westworld – the TV show, not the actual park… although, probably them too – have always had a weird fascination with etymology. There’s meaning in a name has never rung more true than for some of the corporations and characters on this show but in season three, the writers have really outdone themselves. The all-knowing A.I. currently running the human world known as Rehoboam is the successor to a previous system called Solomon created by Liam’s father, but both names have biblical ties. Solomon was a wealthy and wise king who joined the kingdoms Judah and Israel under one rule, but he was punished by God for building false idols. When Rehoboam came into power, God took his revenge, splitting up Solomon’s son’s kingdom through rebellion. Some Redditors theorize this might foreshadow the eventual showdown between Dolores, who clearly has an interest in either destroying Rehoboam or controlling it, and the A.I. who’s grown so powerful, it cannot be controlled.
Here’s entire Reddit rabbit hole for you to explore:
2. Divergences Vs. Anomalies?
Speaking of an all-knowing A.I. who predicts patterns of behavior, those strange, Arrival-like circles that dotted episode one are almost certainly how Rehoboam views the world. Just before we meet Caleb’s character, the system detects an “anomaly” in L.A. while in China, Dolores’ actions signal a “divergence.” Some took that as confirmation that “divergences” are host driven – particularly Dolores driven – while anomalies might refer to humans (if Caleb is one) “waking up” from their own loops.
Here’s the full run-down:
3. Caleb Might Be A Host?
One of the most exciting additions to season three might be Aaron Paul’s new character, Caleb Nichols. Not much is known about the Army-vet-turned-construction-worker other than his mother might be suffering from dementia, he’s in therapy for his PTSD, and he’s forced to take on less-than-savory work to make a living because, as his friend Francis says, “the system is rigged.” But Reddit believes Caleb may actually be part of that system. The first clue comes from how we meet the character, as he goes through his loop in a way that closely mirrors Dolores’ beginnings on the show. We see glimpses of his past through memory-like flashbacks that continuously change, again, drawing a parallel to Dolores’ own awakening. His mother, who he visits regularly, claims he’s not her son – and odd herring to drop so early in the season and Caleb himself admits the military ran on the same algorithms now being used to control the real world. He also makes a passing joke about having already been shot in the head once when he’s delivering a case to Liam’s bodyguards who plan on killing an incapacitated Dolores.
But the best indication that Caleb is a host – or at the very least, that he’s being manipulated by an A.I. – is his double life. He regularly claims jobs on an app that looks like a TaskRabbit for criminals, something plenty of Redditors think is actually controlled by Rehoboam. There are links to Rehoboam’s divergence detections and Caleb throughout the episode, which might signal that Caleb is some kind of fail-safe Rehoboam has adopted to help stop Dolores from taking over.
Here’s a theory on Caleb’s potential as a host:
And here’s the theory on why he’s being set up to stop Dolores:
4. Are We In FutureWorld?
Of course, all of these theories could be wrong because the “real world” that Dolores seems intent on conquering might not be real at all. At the rooftop party with Liam, Dolores has a conversation with his friend, Roderick who questions whether their world is just a simulation in a simulation, leading some to speculate that the show is gearing up to reveal Dolores is actually operating in FutureWorld. The idea being that Rehoboam is actually running an elaborate fidelity test much like William was in season two. Fans have also guessed that Dolores, Charlotte Hale, and Bernard might be working in different timelines, which lends credence to this particular theory.
Here it is in its entirety:
And here’s something to really f*ck with your mind: The song playing right before Dolores has her conversation with Roderick is “Dissolved Girl” by Massive Attack, the same song playing in Neo’s ear when we first meet him in The Matrix.
5. Who The Hale Is She?
Probably the most pressing question fans have after that season premiere has nothing to do with simulations and algorithms and everything to do with one Charlotte Hale. We know that the human Charlotte is dead, but Tess Thompson is back and her character is in charge of Delos in the real world which means she must be a host. Dolores is no longer operating her system, but she did smuggle five pearls out of the park and Reddit guesses that one of those pearls was used to place Hale in a position of power with the company. But who? Some think Charlotte might be Teddy because of how devoted she appears to Dolores, while others predict its Dolores’ father or even Angela who might now be residing in Hale’s body.
Here’s the case for each:
6. What Is Serac’s True Form?
It’s still too early to name a big bad of the season – although, depending on who you ask it could be Dolores or humanity as a whole – but one thing’s for sure: there is a mysterious power player who’s about to change the game. Serac is the co-creator of Rehoboam, largely operating behind the scenes after the death of his creative partner. Fans assume newcomer Vincent Cassel will be playing him, but who Serac is, and what he wants remains a mystery.
We like this theory though:
