Westworld S4 begins with the humans’ victory over the hosts, but reexamines what that means — Can it even be a good thing? But that’s not the only question viewers will watch as they watch the season. Another big mystery is Dolores, the host who sacrificed herself in S4 but returns with a new identity in S4.
So do we find the truth about her? What exactly goes down in the finale?
Westworld S4 finale depicts how William kickstarts the apocalypse that ends all sentient life on Earth. During this, Christina/Dolores also finally learns the truth and purpose of her existence, which will ultimately connect the real world to the Sublime.
To be fair, the finale is quite straightforward. If you’ve been keeping an eye out for all the clues planted this season, most of the reveals in the finale will make sense and pay off well. Still, to clear any doubts, here is a detailed explanation of what happens:
1. The Plunge into the Apocalypse
You may remember how William has been obsessed with solving the ultimate puzzle of life. First, as the Man in Black, he was on the lookout for the Maze he believed Arnold had created for him — and went to the extent of killing his daughter Emily as what he thought was part of the requirement.
This would not be his last murder. We see in S4 Ep 7 that William even kills off his human counterpart. But before he can deliver the final blow, he has a chat with human William that enlightens him about his new purpose: To destroy the Sublime and ensure he survives at all costs.
Because of this, he hacks Hale’s tower in the finale and gives a command that drives all the humans into violent acts. Why would he do this? Well, the smug William thought he would win this battle of “fittest” and be able to kill off the humans.
Ironically, he gets taken down by a resurrected Hale, who also crushes his pearl. But his death comes too late since there is no solution to putting an end to the rogue humans.
2. Humans vs Hosts: Who wins?
The answer, to the shock of most, is that everyone loses. Season 4 itself started with a dearth of AIs and hosts, so the season finale is more about humans being the cause of their own doom than having to fight for survival against the hosts.
After William’s trigger, there’s very little to reverse. Although the episode’s last few scenes show that a few escapees and outliners survive the initial rampage, Dolores’ narration clarifies that they too will eventually die, ridding the planet of any sentient life.
3. Who is Christina?
Seeing Dolores back in the S4 premiere was a big relief, especially after how she sacrificed herself in S3’s finale. But she didn’t come back as Dolores and was instead introduced as Christina — a change that was never really explained.
Turns out that Christina was not just a mere writer (duh!) Hale had saved Dolores’ pearl because of the invaluable information stored in it and installed into control tower. This is how Dolores was able to bring herself back through the shielding identity of Christina.
S4 itself begins with Christina realizing something is amiss and her “real” life cracking at the edges. It’s in the finale that she has to accept that she (as Christina) is not real, and neither are Maya and Teddy.
Although Hale was first adamant about not letting Dolores have her way, she changes her mind after her encounter with Williams. There she comes across another set of instructions from Bernard, who confirms that Dolores alone can carry forward the future of humanity and the hosts.
So after she manages to put down William and stop him from destroying the Sublime, Hale installs Dolores’ pearl into the Sublime, uploading her whole world (including Teddy and the others) into that system.
After Dolores (in her signature outfit) witnesses the mayhem in New York’s burning streets, she returns to the Sublime to conduct a “test.” It is also revealed that the settling of this test happens to be Sweetwater. Talk about going full circle.
4. Who dies in the Westworld S4 finale?
We end the show basically saying goodbye to all of humanity, so it is only given that most of the main characters are also dead.
When it comes to Hale, she kills herself by pulling off the flesh from her robotic body and destroying her pearl — Ouch! She doesn’t believe there’s any place for her in the future and chooses to snuff out her own lights.
The other characters get taken down during the rampage, like Stubbs who is shot in the head by Clementine. But bad karma catches up, as Clementine meets her own end when she tries to kill Caleb but is instead shot down by his daughter Frankie.
This doesn’t mean Caleb and Frankie get a happy ending. Since the past few episodes, it’s been implied that Caleb’s body isn’t fit for being a host, and as such, he won’t live for quite long. So he awaits his death, saying one final goodbye to Frankie who sets off in a boat.
5. Will Westworld be renewed for S5?
The Sublime is most easily explained as AI heaven. While it was in some ways misused and monitored by Hale, things might be different now that Dolores has control over it.
But what it ultimately means is that not only is Dolores going to be perpetually dreaming, but also that everyone and everything within the Sublime is going to be controlled by her dreaming.
It would be interesting to see what this Dolores-controlled AI world would look like in a new Westworld season. But to believe that creating a utopia is possible is naive, no matter how many test runs you put it through.
With so many characters dead or uploaded to the Sublime, there seems to be very little possibility that Westworld will be renewed for S5. As an unconfirmed series finale, Que Sera Sera is bittersweet but fulfilling.
6. About Westworld
Westworld is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film Westworld, written and directed by Michael Crichton. It was followed by the sequel film Futureworld (1976).
In 2016 a new television series based on the original film debuted on HBO; the critically acclaimed series has broadcast three seasons, with a fourth currently streaming on HBO Max.
The series follows a dystopian world within the limits of Wild-West-themed amusement parks open to the elite to enjoy and are populated with human-like androids created for their enjoyment. But things take a dangerous turn when the robots malfunction and start killing the park’s patrons.
The TV Series follows the same universe as the films and features a star cast including Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Tessa Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Simon Quarterman, and Aaron Paul.
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