The eighth episode of Westworld, "Trace Decay," might have just confirmed a popular fan theory... but we'll argue otherwise.
This article contains major spoilers from Westworld episode 8, “Trace Decay.”
Yes, as much as I am loathed to admit it, last night gave some heavy ammunition for those convinced that William and the Man in Black are one in the same. And that evidence came in the form of Ms. Tallulah Riley, who is back in the park, but in a very different role.
For those of you who might not recall, Riley played the host who welcomed William into the park during the second episode. We have not seen her since then, save for on the screen of Westworld infomercials, but here she is in the park, having apparently gone through some intense modifications since the second episode. Now, I have not been keeping intense track of how many days have passed since the second episode where William and Logan’s vacation started, but I’d humbly speculate that’s it’s been about eight days (I assume they got a two-week package deal?). The Riley robot looks like she’s been out in the wilderness a lot longer than that.
And quite tellingly, the Man in Black was surprised to see her, saying he assumed she was “retired years ago.” He then shrugged that she is just one more pretty face that Ford has gotten wrapped up in the new storyline he is developing. Thus in theory, it could mean that he is recalling her from his very first trip to Westworld, as she was the first host he ever met as a young(ish) man named William, who was reluctantly dragged to the park 30 years ago.
It’s fairly convincing, and it would also mean that Dolores’ visions of the massacres are actually just that, visions. “Dreams” that Arnold has put there, urging her toward the maze, which will lead to the revolution and mass murder to come, and which William/the Man in Black will then thwart, earning him VIP status with Ford forevermore.
However, I am still going to argue against that theory, not least of all because I am not a fan of it. At all. First, as the Man in Black pointed out, the Riley robot could have been a victim of exactly what he suggested: just one more busy bee set loose to help build Ford’s new storyline. We’ve heard Theresa and Charlotte complain at different points about how Ford is using close to 50 percent of the park’s commissioned hosts to build this strange narrative. Also, Dolores and William found the old burned down remnants of the church that Dolores appears to be having convincing memories from—memories of the infamous massacre that was presumably instigated by Arnold. And I still speculate they’re memories (not fantasies) since Maeve is there, all docile like, learning to dance with no preconceived notions of revolution.
If those are not visions, but actual memories, then it happened a long time ago since that church is such a scorched relic, and no amount of “digging,” as Charlotte mentioned earlier in this episode, could restore it. Conversely, we previously saw that scorched church in disrepair in the second episode when Ford became sentimental and went out to it, first with the android version of his boyhood self, and then again with Bernard.
Finally, I just don’t like the idea of the Man in Black and William being the same guy. It feels less like a brilliant twist, and more like a storytelling cheat, in the vein of M. Night Shyamalan movies from the mid-2000s. There are too many holes that I’ve pointed out in past weeks (such as William shooting hosts that clearly bleed while the Man in Black talking about hosts appearing to have mechanical insides, as glimpsed inside mini-young Ford’s face). Plus, it means the Dolores we followed for the first three episodes, who developed the ability to stand up against her assaulters and fire a gun at fellow hosts, is not the Dolores we’ve been watching for these past five weeks. Thus, where is the one we were so captivated by during the show’s gunblazing beginning? She ran off into the night, and we just dropped her story thread for the resto f the season?
I say no to to the “William in Black” theory. No, I say!
Still, last night made it that much more likely these two men of vast differences—as indicated in their choice of hats—could possibly be one in the same.
