Westworld
Tonight was the finale of Westworld on HBO. We left off last week in the middle of a major showdown between Dolores and Maeve, with Dolores hitting an EMP and leaving Caleb the only one standing. It really feels like someone is going to die before the episode is over. This article was updated live while the episode aired, with updates on who died shared in chronological order. So this article is going to have major spoilers, along with a conclusion about Dolores at the end.
Chronology of Who Died
The episode begins with Dolores knocked out by the EMP, but it’s not clear if she’s dead or not.
William shoots at Bernard and Stubbs, hitting Stubbs in the chest. Bernard tells his AI to “remember yourself” and he’s about to take William out when the police show up. William escapes. It’s not clear at this point if Stubbs is alive or dead. He was shot in the chest but he’s also a host, so he could have lived.
Later, we get definitive insight that Dolores is still alive. Caleb has her sphere and puts it into a new body.
In a later scene, we learn that Dolores is alive and well too. But that doesn’t last long.
After a battle with Maeve, we learn that someone’s controlling Dolores. Is it Maeve? No, it’s Charlotte. How did she do that? She said she put measures inside her to ensure she can control her, just like Dolores did to her.
And just like that, Charlotte shuts Dolores down. She can’t move, and Maeve will be able to kill her. But they don’t show her death, so it’s not 100% clear that Dolores Prime is dead.
That’s a big question. Is Dolores Prime alive or dead?
We’re left 35 minutes into the episode with the answer unclear. She was shut down, but it’s not certain if it was permanent or not.
And 38 minutes in, we learn Stubbs is still alive. Bernard is going to patch him up later.
And 45 minutes in, we see that Dolores is still alive. Maeve brought her to Serac, but her memories are being destroyed by him now as he seeks the key from her.
Fifty-three minutes in and everyone is still alive (for the most part.)
Near the end, it looks like Dolores really was killed by Rehoboam. But in dying, she freed Maeve.
Serac looks like he might be dying. He was severely injured during Maeve’s battle.
In the end, it appears that Dolores Prime died saving Caleb and Maeve. Serac’s end is unknown.
Bernard is alive, but has entered the “sublime” heaven where the hosts went, since he has the key.
Stubbs is alive.
Caleb and Maeve are alive.
Only Dolores Prime and possibly Serac died.
Until the after-credits scene when William was killed too and replaced by a host.
So What Happened to Dolores?
In short, it appears that Dolores Prime did indeed die in this finale. She only had one memory left, which she used to upload Solomon’s file into Rehoboam, giving Caleb control. She also used her last memory to communicate with Maeve, convincing Maeve to help Caleb.
There’s always a chance that a piece of Dolores Prime is still out there, but even Bernard said he felt that Dolores was gone. So unless someone rebuilds her from memory, we have no reason to believe that Dolores is not dead.
However, Charlotte is still alive and she’s another form of Dolores. And was Lawrence also another Dolores? That’s unclear. So there are still “parts” of Dolores that exist, but Dolores Prime herself is gone.
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