Did 'Westworld' Season 1 Just Have Its Ned Stark Moment?
The penultimate episode of "Westworld" Season 1 froze all fans's motor functions, leaving our mouths hanging open in shock. For once, in a TV landscape with mysteries stretched out for years, a show actually gave fans a ton of major answers right in the first season. Sure, we still have more questions, but it's like everyone shouted "Analysis" at the TV, and it spoke back.
• Who is Arnold? Bernard is Arnold, or Bernard was created in the image of Arnold.
• Who killed Arnold? Dolores killed Arnold, although we don't know how or why yet.
• Who killed Bernard? Bernard shot Bernard, forced to commit suicide on Ford's orders, as shown at the end of Episode 9, "The Well-Tempered Clavier."Is that really the end of Bernard, aka one of the main characters of the series? He initially seemed to be our human hero, the guy getting answers for us on what was happening with Dolores, and acting as the moral compass counterweight to Ford's god complex. But then it turned out Bernard was a bot himself, created by Ford in the image of his old partner. We still don't have answers on how exactly Arnold died, so it wouldn't be shocking to see Jeffrey Wright back in action as Arnold -- but it looks like that's The End of the Bernard we knew and loved.
Good bye.
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) November 28, 2016
Tissue? #Westworld
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) November 28, 2016
The shocks are coming quickly now, with this episode feeling somewhat reminiscent of Ned Stark's end game in "Game of Thrones" Season 1, Episode 9, "Baelor." Fans who read the book weren't surprised by Ned's death, but TV fans couldn't believe a main character -- arguably THE main character -- could be killed off in the first season, and in the penultimate episode as well, not the finale.
Plus, in another fun GoT connection, it did kinda look like Logan was wearing a Hand of the King pin, ala Ned Stark:
All right, who made Logan hand of the king? #Westworldpic.twitter.com/eEX4olTl0j
— James Hibberd (@JamesHibberd) November 28, 2016
The big moments aren't over yet. The "Westworld" Season 1 finale, "The Bicameral Mind," airs next Sunday, December 4, in a script written by showrunners Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy, and directed by Nolan.
Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores) told the Huffington Post, "I can tell you that the surprises will floor you. Certainly prepare for [Episodes] 9 and 10 to have your heart broken and your mind blown. And that's really all I can say. I'm just over the moon about it." Well, she was right about Episode 9, so now we have to see how Episode 10 blows our minds.The 90-minute "Westworld" Season 1 finale airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.