HBO The Man in Black
During the Season 2 premiere of Westworld on HBO, we learned that William is about to embark on a new game. Here’s everything that was revealed during the premiere, including clues and the dialogue about William’s new game. This article will have major spoilers for the Season 2 premiere of Westworld, along with theories.
After William wakes up under a pile of dead hosts and people and has some strange encounters where he barely survives, he has an even stranger encounter with the Young Ford host who, oddly enough, has Ford’s adult voice at times. It’s an encounter that might have far deeper implications for the rest of the show.
HBO
Here’s what Young Ford says to William. As they’re talking he says: “The question for you is: what’s next? Have you achieved what you wanted?” And William says that the folly of his kind is always yearning for more. This is a direct reference to Ford’s story last season about the greyhound (which William is likely quite familiar with.)
Back in Season 1, Ford said: “When I was a boy, my brother and I wanted a dog, so our father took in an old greyhound. A greyhound is a racing dog. Spends its life running in circles, chasing a bit of felt made up like a rabbit. One day, we took it to the park. Our dad had warned us how fast that dog was, but… we couldn’t resist. So, my brother took off the leash, and in that instant, the dog spotted a cat. I imagine it must have looked just like that piece of felt. He ran. Never saw a thing as beautiful as that old dog… running. Until, at last, he finally caught it. And to the horror of everyone, he killed that little cat. Tore it to pieces. Then he just sat there, confused. That dog had spent its whole life trying to catch that… thing. Now it had no idea what to do.”
This was a reference to how people are always chasing after things, but never satisfied once they “catch” what they are chasing.
HBO
Young Ford then says: “What I have always appreciated about you. You never rested on your laurels.”
HBO
And Ford says to William: “You’ve made it to the center of the [?] maze. But now, you’re in my game. You must find the door. Congratulations William. This game is meant for you.”
He then tells him: “The game begins where you end, and it ends where you began.”
William mocks him for speaking in code again. And Young Ford says, “Everything is code here William. You know that more than anyone. Don’t worry, the game will find you.”
HBO
At that point, William shot Ford in anger. Apparently he doesn’t really want Ford messing around with his world, now that he’s finally achieved his goal. But Ford isn’t done with William yet.
This of course, brings up quite a few questions. Is everything that is happening (including the new narrative Ford was working on last season) all about William? Ford’s new narrative was the introduction of the hosts from Cold Storage, the shooting of humans, and Dolores’ personality switch to Wyatt. At least, it appeared to be that way based on what Ford said, and a scene that a Redditor spotted which showed him creating a narrative that looked surprisingly like the Season 1 finale:
HBOFord working on his new narrative.
So now we’re left wondering just how much is self-awareness and sentience (a la Arnold’s bicameral mind program), and how much is Ford’s narrative (a new game for William.) Is Maeve self aware and autonomous, or just being programmed by Ford? Bernard said last season that someone named Arnold had infiltrated her code and uploaded an escape narrative. Was that Ford?
And how much of Dolores is her own autonomy vs. a narrative by Ford. Or how much is even just the Wyatt personality taking over again via the reveries. We know that Arnold uploaded Wyatt into Dolores right before she killed him.
It’s all confusing. But what we do know now is that quite a bit of this hinges on Ford’s “game” for William. Maybe the show will give us some hints in a new ARG too. Last season, Westworld had active ARGs that gave extra clues for the story, so it’s always good to pay close attention to what’s going on in the show, including things that appear on cards or computer screens. You never know what you might find.
What do you think about William’s game? Let us know in the comments below.