To no one’s surprise, the mysteries of Westworld are beginning to pile up. At the end of Episode 2, Thandiwe Newton’s Maeve and Aaron Paul’s Caleb entered Delos’ new park, the Golden Age.
It is in this prohibition-era resort where Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) and the Man in Black (Ed Harris) continue plotting humanity’s demise.
Maeve and Caleb discover just how dark the Delos rabbit hole is in Episode 3 of Westworld Season 4, “Annees Folles” (“Annees Folles”—named after a period of Paris in the 1920s analogous to the Golden Age).
Fortunately, there is a powerful ally on the horizon. Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard has finally awoken after sleeping for two episodes. The most enigmatic android of Westworld joins a group of human resistance fighters in the desert with his loyal companion Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth).
It’s time to rethink our reality yet again, as Episode 3 reveals the true purpose of Hale and William’s Golden Age park.
Season 4 of Westworld remains a long way from spilling its secrets, but “Annees Folles” offers plenty to ponder.
There is a sinister truth revealed about Golden Age, Bernard’s plan to save the world is teased, and Caleb meets his daughter for the first time.
We break down the bonkers ending of Westworld Season 4 Episode 3.
Westworld’s Golden Age Teases a Secret Level
On the surface, Delos’ Golden Age signifies the company’s rebirth.
In addition to being the first park built since Season 2’s Westworld massacre, it’s also the first built on American soil, thanks to William and Hale’s replacement of key politicians with copies of themselves.
Delos’ human owners, however, have been replaced by robotic hosts, raising the question of why a new park was built in the first place.
As opposed to previous parks, which had two levels—the actual game and the “behind-the-scenes”—Golden Age has three levels.
A new middle layer has been added to Golden Age, replacing the historical resort on top and the scientific operation at the bottom.
It is another stage of the park’s “fun”, resembling Westworld’s old backstage area with its glass labs and robot testing rooms.
A recreation of Dolores’ action-packed breakout from Westworld Season 2 has allowed Golden Age guests to participate in the bloodshed, killing hosts dressed as Delos employees and rampaging through the nearly identical labs.
This storyline was included by Hale solely to illustrate humanity’s need for violence—fervent guests will happily act out a real-world massacre for their own sick amusement.
What are the Chrysalis in the Golden Age park?
Delos usually uses white drones rather than sentient employees for its top-secret projects in Golden Age’s true underground area.
They are creating tar-like black fluid from their drones—the same fluid Anastasia Whitney emitted after Maeve shot her in Episode 2. Then, in Episode 3, that weird goop is imbued in flies, which seems to confirm that they are indeed natural insects, not some tiny robots.
This “Annees Folles” scene explains the fates of the members of Westworld’s Cartel gang, Jim Navarro from the Department of Justice, and Anastasia Whitney. Hale and William inserted goop-infected flies into all three, and they became subservient.
Besides turning humans obedient, this goop also affects the behavior of flies.
As demonstrated when they gather behind glass in front of Caleb instead of Maeve, insects do not generally crawl into your eye by choice. However, they have been modified to seek flesh and blood.
When a fly enters a human vessel, it is controlled by a series of four musical tones that are outside of the audible range—just like a malfunctioning TARDIS.
Humans are compelled to carry out tasks anywhere from handing over an opera ticket to shooting themselves in the head as a result of these sounds.
Golden Age is actually a testing facility for this fly-goop-noise combo, designated as “Project Chrysalis,” which is misleadingly chirpy.
Navarro is one of the guinea pigs (following his capture in Episode 2), and the controlled humans appear to be fighting against their new programming.
Why is the testing facility for Project Chrysalis directly underneath Delos’ Golden Age theme park? While in the saloon, Maeve and Caleb find the answer to their question on the table they sit at.
As Maeve remarks on how the drinking establishment’s standards have slipped since her days as a host, she notices a dead fly next to her arm.
Several factors suggest Golden Age is a honey trap, luring human guests to places where they can be infested with Delos flies simultaneously.
Is Caleb’s daughter a host?
The simple answer is no, as are neither the Project Chrysalis test subjects. Caleb and Maeve infiltrate an underground facility full of real humans like Navarro, with the exception of Frankie, an old-fashioned host who looks like Caleb’s daughter.
Probably because of Robert Ford’s archaic design for opening the face, Maeve does not immediately realize Frankie is a robot.
Caleb and Maeve were lured to Golden Age by Hale. Westworld’s villain knew her enemies were coming because the infected Anastasia Whitney invited them.
Frankie intends to catch Caleb off-guard, and when he succeeds (understandably), he gets swatted by a swarm of flies. The entire operation—the opera, host Frankie, William keeping Maeve busy—was apparently designed to get a fly in Caleb’s ear.
It’s not clear why Aaron Paul’s character is so important (must be science!) but after the riots of Season 3, maybe Hale recognizes Caleb’s annoying natural ability to inspire humans.
Possibly, Hale believes that the Sublime data, which is almost certainly stored inside Hoover Dam, can be accessed because Caleb and Dolores were friendly.
Westworld’s real Frankie is fine.
Caleb’s family was pursued by Hale and William (perhaps as a means of gaining leverage), but once the teen realized her dad’s friend was replaced by an impostor, they were able to flee.
It’s not clear what happens to Caleb’s daughter after that, as she and her mother run onto the streets without supplies.
What is Bernard looking for?
Episode 3 ends with Bernard and Stubbs accompanying their new friend into the desert. Human resistance fighters search for a weapon buried beneath the sand, but what kind of weapon would justify endless days of trekking through the dusty wilderness?
The only clue in “Annees Folles” is Bernard’s narrative placement compared to this season’s present day. Westworld has already confirmed that Caleb and Maeve’s storyline will take place seven years after Season 3, at which point we also know the fight against Incite is over.
Even Caleb’s wife chastises him for trying to hang on to a war that has already been won. Bernard and Stubbs’ timeline has the human resistance once again organized and prepared, unlike during the Incite riots.
Stubbs intentionally leaves out the number of years Bernard was asleep but notes the fact that they left without any indication of his existence. Hence, Bernard’s timeline is further into the future of Westworld.
Bernard’s weapon could be a host—a robot active in Westworld Season 4’s present but not necessarily present during Bernard’s long slumber—or an old Delos computer holding vital information.
If Incite (or Delos, as it turns out) should ever undo Dolores’ revolution, she might have left behind a special weapon.
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.
Source: HBO
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