HBO Ford
Ford is one of the greatest mysteries about Westworld. Played by Anthony Hopkins in Season 1, Ford was one of the most fascinating parts of the season. But at the end of Season 1, Dolores shot him in the head. Is there any way he can come back from that? Is there any way that Ford is still alive? Read on to learn what we know so far about whether or not Ford will return in Season 2 (and whether Anthony Hopkins might be back.) This post has minor spoilers for Episode 1 of Season 2, and the rest are potential spoilers only if the theories shared by fans are correct.
First, as far as we know, Anthony Hopkins is not returning for Season 2 of Westworld. Yes, fans are hoping that maybe this is subterfuge to throw us off, but all indications from the showrunners’ responses to interview questions point to Hopkins’ not returning for Season 2. However, the show’s producers did reveal that Ford will “return” in the form of our seeing his younger host version again, and also possibly returning in flashbacks of some form. But is that really all we will see of him?
Is there any chance that Ford might still be alive after what happened in the Season 1 finale? Some fans have said absolutely not, he most definitely died in the finale and won’t be back. But other fans have theories that could accommodate his return.
Some fans have posited that Dolores thought she was shooting Ford in the finale, and thus the action could still lead her to gaining sentience. But perhaps what she shot was not Ford at all, but rather a cleverly built host that looked just like him.
Other fans have guessed, instead, that Dolores did truly shoot Ford, but he had somehow found a way to back up his consciousness. In his secret lab, we saw that Ford was creating a new host. Many fans have been wondering if perhaps that new host was going to be a new Ford — a new home for a copy of his consciousness after Dolores shot his “natural” self. (It’s important to note that we have no basis for believing that anyone can upload their actual consciousness in this show’s universe. Season 1 did not reveal that capability. But this hasn’t stopped fans from hoping this could be true.)
But there’s another theory that is quite fascinating, and this is the theory that Ford is a host himself. The idea is that not only did Ford create a partner who looked just like his old partner Arnold, but Arnold did the same at some point earlier, and created a host that looked just like Ford. The theory is that Arnold gave Host-Ford a degree of sentience and autonomy, and set Ford out to continue Arnold’s work. And according to this theory, Ford is a self-aware host who knows just what he is. So if Ford died in the board meeting, it wouldn’t have mattered because another host is out there.
A Reddit thread here provides clues from Season 1 that could point to this.
- Ford displays the same degree of control over the other hosts that Maeve has (except even stronger.)
- When Ford speaks of a Judas steer, perhaps he is speaking of himself and not Dolores.
- The Man in Black told Ford he could cut him open to look for clues about the Maze. Many thought this was just a metaphor, but what if it wasn’t?
- In Ford’s last speech, he told everyone: “You don’t want to change. Or cannot change. Because you’re only human, after all.” He wasn’t including himself in that group of humans. He also said that “Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin never died. They simply became music.” Which Ford did by becoming part of his own narrative. But perhaps that analogy went even deeper.
But many fans doubt this theory could be true at all. They believe that Ford really was a person, and making him a host would lessen his story somehow. He’s dead, and he isn’t coming back.
What do you think? Do you think Ford is still alive? Let us know in the comments below.