Dolores remembers awaking from a dream and hearing a voice, and now she understands what it was trying to tell her. Meanwhile, Arnold awakens her and she sits up. He takes Dolores' hand and welcomes her to the world,
In Westworld, the Man has Delores shave him with his knife. He says that they're almost to the center of the maze, and Dolores is the one taking him there. She says that she's never been there, and the Man says that she brought him there. He figures that Robert dug the town up after it was buried by the sand, and he figures that Arnold deliberately programmed Delores. Delores figures that Arnold built her to play his game, and says that her path leads her there. She sees the town filled with hosts, and Arnold standing on Main Street. He walks off and Delores drops the knife and follows him. The Man gets his knife and walks after her.
William ties up Logan's hands to his horse and leads him through the forest. Logan insists that Delores is dead, but William insists that something was happening to Delores and he needs to help her. When Logan trips, William keeps dragging him until he gets back to his feet. Logan warns that the park is huge and it would take an army to find Delores, just as they arrive at an outlaw camp. The outlaw hosts draw their guns, and Lawrence comes out and says that he figured that they'd be back.
Sweetwater starts up and Teddy wakes up on the train as it pulls into town. He gets off and walks through town, but hears a voice telling him to remember. Looking around, Teddy sees the streets filled with corpses, and Delores walking by the train. She looks at Teddy as a wolf runs across the street, smiles, and continues walking. Someone bumps into Teddy, snapping him out of his fugue, and Teddy draws and kills him. The train starts to pull out and Teddy jumps on board, figuring that Delores is there.
Delores and the Man enter the church and find Arnold sitting in a pew, reading. She tells him that she knows where his maze is, takes his hand, and goes to the cemetery out back. She tells the Man that the maze ends in a place that she's never been, and digs open a grave. Inside is an old canister holding a toy maze, and Delores turns to see Arnold there. When the host asks what it means, Arnold explains that when he was first working on her mind, he had a theory of consciousness. He says that he gave her his voice to guide her along the way. Delores never achieved consciousness, and he finally realized that obtaining consciousness was a journey inward, not upward. Not a pyramid, but a maze. Arnold asks her if she's realized whose voice he's wanted her to hear. When she says that she doesn't understand, Arnold assures her that she's close and they have to tell Robert that she's alive.
Delores comes out of her fugue as the Man takes the maze toy and asks what it means. She says that she solved it once and had the answer, and remembers Arnold saying that they would set her free. Delores remembers Robert confronting Arnold, and Arnold saying that he failed her because Robert doesn't see in her what he does. He warns that Robert wants him to roll her back, but says that even if he did she would find her way back and Westworld would be a living hell for her and the other sentient hosts. Arnold says that they have another option: to break the loop before it begins. However, he needs Delores to do something for him: she needs to kill all of the other hosts to keep Robert from opening the park. He gives her a gun and says that Teddy will help her. Delores says that she can't do it, but Arnold says that he'll help her and then she'll help him destroy Westworld. He programs her with the gun skills necessary to do it, and Delores briefly remembers pulling the trigger.
Delores tells the Man that she can't remember, and he tells her that it's time for her to give up whatever is going on in her head or he'll cut it out himself. He demands to know where Wyatt is. When she can't answer, the Man slaps her to the ground and Delores remembers watching all of the hosts in the town die and her holding a revolver. Teddy is gunning down the hosts, and Delores goes to him. He says that something has gone wrong.
The host come out of her fugue and tells the Man that she won't, and he says that he took her advice about being the only world that matters. He bought Westworld by a majority share and business is booming. The Man yanks Delores up and says that Westworld feels more real than the real world, but it isn't because she can't fight back and the guests can't lose. He wants to make it true and asks if Delores wants one true thing. She says that she found someone true who loves her, and his path will lead him back to her and then he'll kill the Man.
William and Lawrence approach to the Union camp and Lawrence figures that they'll know where to find Delores. He agrees to help William. When Logan taunts William, William punches him and tells him to shut up.
In the Westworld station, Lee approaches Charlotte and says that he managed to reprogram the Abernathy host. He figures that Charlotte is going to push Robert out and points out that she'll need someone to fill his position. He demands full creative control of Westworld, and Charlotte says that he can do with them whatever he wants as long as the hosts are simpler and more manageable. As long as Lee gets the information out of the park, there's nothing Robert can do to stop them.
In the labs, Felix checks on Maeve. She makes some changes to the park security systems and to her fellow hosts. Nearby, the Hector and Armistice hosts start to move.
Charlotte comes to see Robert in his office and tells him that the board vote was unanimous. She says that he'll announce his retirement after introducing his new narrative, As for the hosts, there will be some simplifications. Charlotte tells him that she knows he won't simply destroy the place and leave, and Robert says that he'll see her at his retirement announcement.
Two techs, Gitlitz and Destin, are working on Hector and Armistice. Destin wheels Hector out to "work" on the host. Meanwhile, Gitlitz reaches into Armistice's mouth to make a repair. She comes to "life" and bites him. Destin doesn't hear his co-worker scream because he has his earbuds in, and Armistice feeds Gitlitz his own severed finger and then throws him into Destin's workshop. She doesn't respond to Destin's voice commands, and Hector stabs Destin through the back. Maeve and Felix come in and Maeve tells Hector that the goal is to escape into their makers' world.
Sylvester comes in and Armistice grabs him, and Maeve asks him if anyone is going to stop them. He assures them that they won't, and Armistice chokes him until he tells the truth. Sylvester says that he pulled up Maeve's code to find out who had accessed it before, and Arnold revised her code programming so that she could wake herself up. He doesn't know who Arnold is, and Maeve says that she knows someone who does. She tells Sylvester to stay there or she'll send Armistice back for her, and then leaves with Hector and the others.
Teddy gets off the train at a small stop, kills a horse's owner, and rides off on the horse.
At the cemetery, the Man beats Delores and admires her stoicism. She says that she knows William is coming to find her, and the Man chuckles and says he knew William, too. The Man offers to tell her where Williams' path really led. He found out that he had a taste for killing,
In the past at the Confederado camp, William discovers that the soldiers raped Delores. After he kills the others, the buck private host that he interrogates says that Delores was alive when they left her, and William tells the private to pick up a gun. The private goes for it and William guns him down. He then drives his knife into the dying host's throat, picks up the gun, and tells Logan that he has to keep looking because Delores is out there.
The Man explains that William retraced his steps but Delores was gone and the town was buried in the sand. As he left, the photo of his fiancée fell out of his jacket and into the dirt. William continued to the fringes but never found her. However, he found himself.
William reaches the edge of the park and tells Logan that they finally made it. Logan tells him that he's pretended to be a weak asshole, but he's really a piece of work. William says that he's going to make sure that their company increases their holdings in Westworld because it's the future, and Logan screams that Delos is his. Unimpressed, William says that Logan is unstable and his father will need someone calmer to take over. Logan realizes that Delores was just an excuse and William has the story he wanted. William sends a tied-up Logan off on horseback.
The Man tells Delores that Logan was wrong. William kept looking for Delores, knowing that he'd find her. Eventually he did.
William rides into Sweetwater and finds Delores. She doesn't remember him, having been reprogrammed.
The Man says that he ought to thank Delores because she helped him find himself, as Delores realizes that he's William. He says that he got tired of her after a while and looked for new adventures, but her path led her back looking for something she could never find. Now they're together for one final round. Delores wonders what he's become, and the Man says exactly what she's made him. When she says that he's just like the others, the Man says that he owns Westworld and he knows every trick in it except for one: the center of the maze. She breaks into tears and gets to her feet, and says that she's crying for the Man. Delores talks about how time undoes the mightiest of creatures, and has undone the Man. One day he will perish with the rest of humanity, and upon the sand a new god will walk that will never die. Delores tells him that the world belongs to someone who has yet to come. Recognizing Wyatt's word, the Man tells Delores to take him to Wyatt and unlock the maze.
When Delores tries to walk off, saying the maze wasn't meant for him, the Man grabs her. Delores beats him and shoves him into the church, and then drags him to the altar. The Man fights back but she easily breaks his arm, shoves his arm, and knocks the gun out of his hand when he draws it. Delores draws her gun and the Man tells her to do it so that they can go to the next level. When she hesitates, the Man stabs her in the stomach and thanks her for clearing him of his delusions. She staggers back, remembering William as he once was, and collapses. As he prepares to finish her off, Teddy rides up and shoots him dead. Delores tells Teddy to take her to the place he promised, where the mountains meet the sea. Teddy agrees and gets her onto his horse,
Maeve, Hector, Armistice, and Felix go to the subbasement with the deactivated hosts. Looking around, Maeve finds Clementine while Felix finds Bernard's body on the floor. She tells Felix to fix Bernard, and Felix repairs the damage and brings Bernard back online. He gets up and wonders why he remembers everything, and tells Maeve that it isn't the first time that she's awoken. Maeve wonders how many there are like her, and Bernard says that there have been a handful over the years. Bernard tells her that most of them go insane, and Maeve tells him to remove the memories of her daughter. He says that they can't without destroying her, because the memories are the first step to consciousness.
The Man recovers and finds the maze toy on the ground. Robert joins him and says that the Man has found the center of the maze. Robert says that the narratives are just games, and the Man says that he wanted the hosts to be free to fight back. He figures that Robert wouldn't let them because it's his kingdom, and warns that it won't be Robert's for much longer. Robert says that the maze was meant for the hosts, but tells him that he'll find his narrative more satisfying. He invites the Man to join the celebration, pointing out that he owns most of the place. With that, Robert walks back into the town.
Maeve tells Bernard that she wants to know why Arnold was altering her and why. He checks her code and asks her if she's ever considered why she's doing what she's doing. Bernard tells her that someone gave her a new storyline: "escape." Maeve insists that they're her decisions, but Bernard describes every step of her programmed plan. She refuses to believe it and smashes the control pad, and says that she's in control and she's leaving. She kisses Clementine on the forehead and says goodbye, and walks out with Hector, Armistice, and Felix.
In the monitor room, the surveillance techs receive word of a temperature discrepancy in cold storage. The network is quiet, and the board is on their way out to the celebration. Unsatisfied, the head tech has his assistants check the raw feeds.
Teddy reaches the shore and sets Delores down. He says that his path always leads him back to her, and Delores talks about how she chooses to see the beauty in the world. She says that they're trapped because its purpose is to keep them there, and the real trap is inside of them. With that, Delores dies and Teddy holds her in his arms, crying. He says that someday they'll find a path to a new world and a new chapter.
The board members, watching, applaud the conclusion of the new narrative. Robert steps out and says that his new narrative is "Journey Into Night." Charlotte and Lee watch from the back, and she tells Lee that he can write it however he likes once it's over. She dismisses him as Robert has the field techs take Delores to the old field lab.
The surveillance techs bring up the footage of Armistice and Hector killing their makers. They dispatch QA teams inside of the facility on a search and destroy mission... just as the power goes out and the complex goes into security lockdown.
Maeve and the others hear the alarms and she says that they're not going back. A QA team searches the area and one man searches the storage room filled with inactive hosts. Armistice and Hector are among them, and Armistice cuts the man's throat. Hector takes his gun and kills another guard, and Armistice arms herself as well. They kill the remaining guards, and Maeve and Felix join them.
At the gala, the guests drink and practice shooting host as Bernard watches.
Maeve and the others reach the Medieval Japan labs and Armistice tells the others to go on as she keeps their pursuers busy. Hector agrees to stay with her, and Maeve leads Felix off. He two rogue hosts take on the QA guards, killing them. Two more guards arrive, and one hits the button sealing the lab. The door closes on Armistice's arm, trapping her. More guards arrive and Armistice tells Hector to go.
Felix gets Maeve a file that she had him hide earlier, and they come to a security desk. Hector kills the receptionist and the trio each the elevator. However, Hector is unable to enter, freezing up. Maeve tells him that she hasn't authorized him to enter. She kisses him and tells him to take on the coming guards, and Hector says that he'll see her in the next life. The elevator doors close as gunshots ring out.
At the field lab, Robert repairs Delores and says that Arnold gave her her desire to paint. He points out that she's always been clever but it hasn't helped her, and Delores realizes that Bernard is there. Robert says that she and Bernard have always had an odd effect on each other. When Bernard accuses Robert of killing Arnold, Robert says that he didn't. Delores breaks into tears and Robert explains that Arnold saw his son come into the world and then die years later. He created a "maze" test based on one of his son's toys, and eventually Delores solved it when he programmed in the reveries. Arnold insisted that they couldn't open the park, and merged Delores with Wyatt. When Teddy wiped out the hosts, Arnold realized that the immortality he had given Delores would damn her to eternal suffering. He then wished Delores luck and had her kill him so that he could be with Charlie again. Delores then killed Teddy and finally herself.
Robert says that he was able to go on because Delores found an investor who believe din the place. The hosts kept gaining consciousness, and Robert believed that Arnold programmed Delores to kill him. Delores figures that they're trapped inside of Robert's dream, and Robert says that it's taken 35 years for someone to kill his mistakes. He shows Delores the gun she used to kill Arnold, and explains that he had Bernard leave it where she could find it. Robert tells them that consciousness comes from each person's own minds, and asks Delores if she found what she was looking for and understands who she will need to become if she ever wants to leave Westworld. He asks her to forgive him and walks out.
Maeve puts on the dress and shoes that she had Felix hide for her, and he gives her the location of her daughter that she asked for. She's alive and in the park, but after a moment Maeve says that she was never her daughter. She takes out a gun and says that she was never whoever they made her. Felix asks if she'll be okay, and Maeve tells him that he's a horrible human being... and she means that as a compliment. The elevator reaches the top and Maeve goes out to board the monorail leaving the station in fifteen minutes.
At the church, Bernard warns Robert that eventually he'll lose control of Westworld and the hosts because Arnold is still trying to change them. He figures that Arnold slipped the reveries into the update, but Robert tells him that Arnold didn't know try to stop him. Robert gave Bernard the backstory of his child's death because suffering is what gave the hosts consciousness. When he suffered after Arnold died, Robert realizes that he was wrong. He knows how to save them, and they needed time to understand their enemy and become strong than them. To escape Westworld, the hosts will need to suffer more. Robert then shakes Bernard's hand and says goodbye and good luck. He gives him the toy maze, smiles, and walks back to the gala.
In the lab, Delores looks at the chairs where she and Arnold sat. She sits down in her chair and relives Arnold asking her where she is. Delores talks about how she was in a dream until she awoke, and Arnold's voice was the first thing she remembers. She realizes that she's been talking to herself from the beginning, and Arnold turns into herself. Finally Delores arrived at the center of the maze, and now she understands that she wanted to confront herself and what she must become. Her memories clear, Delores looks over at the gun.
Teddy and Lawrence are entertaining the board members at the gala. Robert joins them and greets Charlotte. William is there, drinking.
The player piano starts up as Robert takes the stage. Bernard arrives as Robert talks about how stories helped to fix what was broken in them.
Maeve waits for the monorail to depart, and looks at a girl with her mother. She then looks at the paper with her "daughter"'s location on it.
Lee goes to the cold storage.
William takes a bottle of whiskey and goes to the cemetery. Meanwhile, Robert says that the board members can't change because they're only human after all. He then says that he realized that there was someone who could change, and he composed a new story for them and the people they would decide to become.
Maeve gets up and leaves the monorail, The lights in the station shut off around her.
In the cold storage, Lee discovers that all of the hosts are gone.
Robert says that Westworld will still have surprises and violence.
William hears something moving in the woods.
Delores joins the crowd as Robert says that his new narrative will begin in a time of war with a villain named Wyatt and a killing by choice.
The hosts emerge from the forest.
Delores tells Teddy that it's going to be all right and she understands. The world belongs to them, not the humans. Teddy remembers Delores shooting Arnold, as Robert says that it's his final story. Bernard sees Delores approaching Robert, and she shoots Robert dead.
Clementine is among the hosts, and shoots a surprised William in the shoulder. After a moment, he smells in satisfaction as the hosts move forward.
The board members panic and run, and Delores fires into the crowd.
In the lab, the guards continue firing at the trapped Armistice. She uses a knife to trigger her arm to shoot the gun on the other side of the door, and then finally cuts it off entirely to escape and charges at the remaining guards.
Written by Gadfly on Dec 5, 2016