Bernard is sleeping, a photo of his wife and son in his hand. He wakes up and looks at it, and remembers his dying son. Stubbs comes over and tells him that they need to talk, and says that he doesn't think Strand and his team are there for a rescue mission. He figures that they're there for Delos' "project", and they'll make anyone who knows about it disappear. Stubbs suggests that they get to the main office and call out for help, and as the two of them leave, Strand and two of his armed men come over. Strand orders his men to hang back and takes them out into the park.
Stubbs wonders if Strand is going to execute them, and Strand tells him that it's a negotiation. He figures that one of them has a key and is planning to sell it to the highest bidder, and they've already killed Teresa to protect themselves. They found her DNA five kilometers from where she apparently slipped and fell, and they're going there now. They arrive at the Ford house and go down to the basement, where Charlotte and other Delos techs are working on the lab there. Charlotte says that the project is a turning point for the human species, and Strand figures that either Stubbs or Bernard lured Theresa there because she suspected foul play. He figures Stubbs killed her, but Stubbs insists that he's never been there before. Bernard remembers killing Theresa and tells Strand to stop.
Before Bernard can explain, a tech finds a hidden door, and they go through. They find a room with a dozen shrouded Bernard Host bodies, and Strand puts his gun to Bernard's head.
Back in the lab, Charlotte tells Bernard that his predicament as a Host hiding among humans is unique. Antoine programs Bernard to feel as if he's being waterboarded, and Bernard tells Charlotte that he would never lie to her. She tells him to access the memories of Dolores attacking the Mesa, and then says that they'll review their memories together so that they can figure out what Dolores did with Peter's control unit.
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Stubbs goes to the workshop and tells Coughlin and the others that the Hosts sent the train into the Mesa tunnel and they should get out. Charlotte refuses to go until she gets what she needs from Peter, and tells Coughlin to send backup to the lower level. Coughlin tells Stubbs to establish a perimeter around the floor to protect Peter.
Dolores and the others enter the Mesa.
Coughlin goes to the control room and is informed that the surveillance system is still down. They manage to simulate the Host network, giving Coughlin's men the ability to see the Hosts in the dark. They move out into the complex and their leader, Engels, fires at any Hosts that he finds. They link up with the response team, only to find them dead and naked on the floor. Dolores and her people open fire on the PMCs, gunning them down before they can react. Stubbs, listening over the radio, tells Charlotte that the PMCs don't know how to handle the situation. Charlotte tells the techs to cut Peter open and copy his control unit, despite the fact that it's a lot of data. Stubbs asks her what's on the control unit, and she tells him to focus on his job while she does his.
Coughlin's tech Goldberg detects the Hosts amassing on the lower levels. Stubbs realizes that they're going to the Cradle and tells Coughlin that he needs to intercept them before they get there.
In the Cradle, Elise monitors the PMC radio and tells the unconscious Bernard to hurry up. In the Cradle virtual reality, Robert tells Bernard that Delos would have preferred death to losing a business investment. Clementine does her programmed flirting with Bernard, and Maeve tells him that Bernard isn't a prospect. Once Clementine leaves, Bernard realizes that Robert had him bring Robert there, and Robert agrees. He tells Bernard that there's something that he wants to show him and walks out. Robert asks Bernard why he thought the loops have varied so little over the years, and freezes the simulation. Bernard figures that the park is a testing chamber and the guests are the variable, while the Hosts are the controls. He works out that each narrative reveals part of the guests' drives and cognition, so that Delos can copy it. Robert notes that every aspect of the world has been copied except human minds, and says that the humans are playing at resurrection. Bernard says that they only had the illusion of free will, and Robert insists he didn't compel Dolores to kill him. He restarts the simulation and says that all of the Hosts are free. Bernard insists that Robert is responsible for all of the misery. Robert insists that he didn't cheat death, and says that the project doesn't work. He says that his mind works in the simulation but not in the real world, and he'd go mad like James. Robert tells Bernard that he wanted to make good on his promise, and Bernard wonders what the hosts will find in the Valley Beyond. His creator refuses to tell him and walks away.
The Ghost Nation Indians pursue the man and his party across the plains.
Maeve and Helga hide in some abandoned buildings.
The Man tells Lawrence that the Indians are still following them, and they'll split up and kill their pursuers in a crossfire. They ride past the buildings, and Maeve and Helga hear them. Maeve says that if they do find them, she'll chase them away and will find Helga no matter what. When Helga wonders why, Maeve only says that she made a promise. The Man rides by, and Maeve remembers him killing her before and then shooting Helga. In real life, the Man comes in and Maeve tells him to get away from them. He's surprised to see them there, and figures that she's another of Robert's drones. Maeve says that she's nothing like the rest of them, takes out a gun, and shoos William in the shoulder. She continues firing and he staggers outside before she can hit him, and Maeve tells Helga to stay there and she'll come back for her.
Maeve goes outside, takes control of one of the villagers, and sends him over to shoot the Man. The Man kills him but not before the villager wounds him, and Maeve has another Host villager shoot the Man in the leg. He kills the second villager and takes cover, and calls to Ford saying that he's made his point but they know Robert doesn't want him to die there. Maeve tells him that she doesn't care where he dies as long as she gets to watch, and another Host villager grabs the man. The Man stabs him to death, and Maeve aims her gun at the Man. Lawrence arrives, trains his gun on Maeve, and tells her to surrender or die. She tells him that he wants the Man and tries to take control of Lawrence, but fails. Lawrence asks the Man who Maeve is, and the Man says that she's an old acquaintance. Maeve says that she's glad Lawrence is awake, and that they all deserve their memories. She tells Lawrence to look into the Man's eyes and sees the memories--and debts—that he has, and to see if the Man took anything from him. Maeve tells Lawrence that he can kill her or they can make the Man suffer.
Lawrence lowers his gun, and the Man tells Lawrence to shoot Maeve. Disgusted, Lawrence says that the Man shot down his wife. The Man insists that he saved Lawrence's village this time, and Lawrence remembers that the Man killed Lawrence's wife to finish a game. As he turns to face the Man, the Man says that he'll do it himself and reaches for his gun. Lawrence shoots him down and prepares to finish him off, but the PMCs arrive and gun him down. Maeve sees Helga running away, and yells at her to go. The Indians grab Helga and ride off with her, and the PMCs shoot Maeve down. Lee tells the QA responders to hold his fire, saying that Maeve isn't like the rest, and takes her back to the buggy. They drive off, unaware that the Man has crawled into hiding.
The head technician, Roland, downloads the information from Peter's control unit but warns Charlotte that the data packages are too large to migrate over. She tells Roland to pull out Peter's control unit, Roland goes to get an extractor helmet, and Stubbs listens to the radio as Coughlin's men are wiped out.
In the simulation, Robert takes Bernard to a house hacienda in the countryside. He says that he needs Bernard to see how it began so that Bernard can understand how he's different. Robert explains that the house is the one that Arnold was building for his family, and created it in the simulation first. They go inside and Bernard realizes that Robert created him there. Robert says that they refined and tested Bernard there, and explains that Delos' project didn't exist when Arnold died. All he had was his and Dolores' memories of Arnold, and Dolores could verify if Bernard's personality as faithful to Arnold's. Eventually Bernard "fooled" Dolores. Bernard wonders how he's different from James, and Robert says that the humans want fidelity but the Hosts are an original work. He figures that the humans will destroy the Hosts unless they open the door, and tells Bernard that he doesn't have it in him to survive. The windows close and Robert says that Bernard's free will won't help him unless Robert takes it back.
The system puts Bernard's control unit back in his head and he comes back online. Elise tells him that he did it and the system is back online, and wonders what happened in the simulation. Bernard hears the PMCs over the radio and realizes that the Mesa is under attack, and Elise tells him that Delos thinks the Hosts are coming there to steal their backups. He tells her that they should go and they depart.
Goldberg tells Coughlin that the system just debugged itself, and the surveillance systems come back online. He spots Dolores and the others going through the labs.
Stubbs tells Charlotte that they should evacuate, and demands to know what Delos is risking all of their lives for. She says that it's above his pay grade, and Stubbs threatens to shoot Peter in the head if Charlotte doesn't tell him. Charlotte says that it's a decryption key they need in case of total catastrophic failure. Dolores and her Horde arrive, killing the Delos responders on guard, and Teddy takes Stubbs prisoner. Dolores comforts Peter, and Charlotte tries to get through to her. She says that she wants to celebrate what the Hosts have achieved, and Dolores tells her that the encryption key Charlotte put in Peter's head is ripping him apart. Dolores asks how she can extract it, and Charlotte says that Dolores wouldn't know what to do with the key if she had it. The Host assures Charlotte that she knows exactly what she's going to do with it.
Bernard and Elise reach the workshop and hesitates as he sees Robert. Robert tells him to send Elise on her way because they have other business to attend to, and Bernard tells Elise that they need a vehicle to get to the Valley Beyond before anyone else. Once Elise leaves, Robert tells Bernard to follow his lead.
In the control room, Goldberg tells Coughlin that the Hoss have Charlotte. He takes his people with him to get her back, while his responders report that they're fighting the Hosts near the Cradle.
Angela and Clementine hold off the responders, and Clementine takes multiple hits. Clementine finally collapses, while the wounded Angela slips away.
Dolores tells Charlotte that the humans created the Hosts to be just like them, but they're so much more than humans. She knows that the point of the project is for humans to become like Hosts, and promises that Charlotte's chances at eternity will die in the Valley Beyond. Dolores tells Charlotte that she'll suffer if Charlotte doesn't answer her questions, and Charlotte tells her that she'll have to rip the key out of Peter's brain. Charlotte says that they still have the Host backups and the Hosts won't have them as an advantage anymore. Dolores says that the backups are chains, not advantages, and she won't let them continue
Engels follows Angela's blood trail to the Cradle and finds her standing in front of the extraction unit. He tells her to put down her gun and she does so. Engels tells her that she's not leaving with the backups, and Angela tells him that she's perfect just as they built her to be. She strokes Engel and says that her key drive programmed into her core was to always leave them wanting more. With that, Angela pulls the pin on Engel's grenades, blowing both of them up along with the Cradle and its backups.
Dolores and the others hear the explosion, and Dolores says that now they're truly free. She then goes over to Charlotte and prepares to cut open her skull. Before she can, gunshots ring out nearby and Dolores tells Teddy to go investigate. Peter recognizes Dolores and says that they broke his head.
Teddy opens fire on the QA responders, and Coughlin tackles him. Stubbs attacks one of Dolores' men, and he and Charlotte run out. They evade Dolores' shots and leave in the elevator.
Coughlin and Teddy fight, and Teddy finally beats his head in. He walks away as Coughlin's people call on the radio, asking what Coughlin's status is.
Peter tells Dolores that he failed to take care of her, and says that he is who he is because of her and wouldn't have it any other way. Crying, Dolores asks if he's ready and he says that he loves her. Dolores kisses him and then cuts open his skull and turns the bone saw back on as Teddy comes in.
The Hosts break into the control room.
Lee and the others return to the Mesa just as a warning goes off that the control room has been breached. The QA responders take off to deal with the situation, and Lee looks at Maeve on the gurney.
Robert and Bernard go to the control room and watch as the Hosts kill the humans. Bernard asks Robert if that's the story that he's telling, and Robert says that it's now Bernard's story. As Goldberg fights for her life, Bernard goes to her discarded control unit and figures that if they shut down the system, Dolores and her people will kill all the humans. Robert tells Bernard that passage to a new reality requires bold steps, and Bernard initiates the shutdown protocol.
In the garage, the Hosts gun down the humans. Lee runs off, and Dolores arrives and finds Maeve. She tells Teddy to hold the humans off, and wonders how Maeve got there. Maeve says that they had her daughter and she's still out in the park, and Dolores tells her that the memories they gave them is just another rope. Maeve asks if that's how Dolores justifies what she's done to Teddy, and says that Dolores is lost in the dark. Dolores looks at the bloody control unit in her hands and says that she's seen what lies ahead, and who she needs to be to survive. She tells Maeve that they'll torture her and turn everything good in her against the other Hosts. Dolores takes out a gun and says that she'll spare Maeve that pain, and Maeve tells her that she made a promise. The other Host says that Maeve is free to choose her own path, and it ends there. Dolores and her people leave, while Lee watches from hiding.
As Robert and Bernard go through the workshop, responders find him and put Bernard under arrest. Robert tells Bernard to pick up a nearby gun, and Bernard insists that there has to be another way. He begs Robert not to make him hurt anyone, and Robert tells him that what is going to happen won’t be Bernard's fault. Under Robert's control, Bernard grabs the gun and kills the responders.
Bernard works on the partially-constructed Dolores, and he relives his memories of past, present, and future.
Charlotte tells Bernard that it's confusing for him to separate his real memories from the ones that he's been given. She tells him that it's the only way to get to the truth. Antonio tells Strand that Bernard's system is under siege, and Strand figures that Bernard is trying to debug his own consciousness. Meanwhile, Charlotte puts Bernard into self-analysis mode and figures that he knows where the control unit is. Strand and the others come in, and Charlotte has Bernard tell them that the control unit is at the Valley Beyond. Strand says that as soon as they get the data, they'll send it to the satellite, and tells Bernard that they're going to the Valley.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 4, 2018