‘Westworld’ Season 2 Finale: The Dolores Twist Changes Everything

Lauren Gallaway
TV HBO
TV HBO Sci-Fi

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Westworld Season 2 finaleepisode “The Passenger.” Proceed with caution.

The Season 2 finale of Westworld was a masterpiece. It tied up weeks of storytelling in a symphony of action, twists, turns, and genuine surprises. In a season that was a web — nay a maze — of different timelines and characters arcs, everyone did indeed make it to the Valley Beyond in the finale. Dolores, Bernard, Maeve, even the Man in Black all found what they were looking for and more.

Dolores, the Season 1 protagonist turned Season 2 antagonist made the most interesting decisions in this episode. One in particular sets up a fascinating storyline for her character in Season 3. Let’s jump into her biggest moments from “The Passenger”.

Destroying the Forge

Westworld Dolores Bernard

When Dolores found the Valley Beyond, she was surprised to find Bernard there, waiting for her. Once inside, the two of them entered a virtual reality simulator called “The Forge.” The Forge was the system that held, tested, and processed the data of the four million humans who had ever visited Westworld.

The Forge was run by a simulation that was programmed to look like Logan Delos. He showed Dolores and Bernard around the program and revealed to them that humans had more basic programming than Hosts. Humans could essentially be boiled down to a few key moments in their lives, enough moments to fill the pages of a book.

These truths led Dolores to believe that humans were not worth saving, so she initiated the destruction of the Forge. This would have also led to the destruction of the Valley Beyond, a digital world built only for the Hosts. A doorway to this world opened up in the Valley, and many Hosts walked through it, leaving their bodies behind in Westworld.

When the new world was in danger of dying as well as the humans, Bernard shot Dolores. He couldn’t stop the flooding of the Valley, but he could save the minds of the Hosts from disappearing forever.

Becoming the Passenger

Westworld Charlotte Hale Season 2

After Bernard shot Dolores, he decided to remake her. He knew that the only way Dolores could escape the park was to do so in the body of a human. Since Charlotte Hale was the most senior ranking Delos employee on site — and because he wanted to get revenge on Charlotte for killing Elsie — he uploaded Dolores into the body of a Host that was designed to look like Charlotte. My, my, my how the tables turned on Charlotte this season.

Once inside Charlotte’s body, she could return to the Forge and upload all of the hosts into the Delos satellites. Charlotte/Dolores did exactly that. She had a change of heart and mind and decided to save all of the Hosts who made it to the Valley Beyond. This included Teddy, Akecheta, and many others.

By this time in the timeline, Delos had sent rescue teams to the island. They had been waiting for all the human minds to be saved before they returned to the park. Once the satellite upload took place, they arrived on shore. Dolores was able to escape with the rescue crew disguised as Charlotte Hale because Stubbs vouched for her humanity. He knew she was a Host, because other Hosts can always sense their kind. *wink*

Once in the real world, Dolores made it to Albert’s home. Ford had finished it, even after Arnold had died. The house was fully equipped with a Host simulation testing program and a cradle-like machine to build more Hosts. She and Bernard had one last chat about being enemies and how their rivalry to kill humans or save humans will be the focal point of Season 3.

So, did you see that twist coming? Are you excited to see more of actress Tessa Thompson as Dolores in Season 3? Did you happen to catch the post-credit scene that also revealed that the Man in Black was a Host? So many crazy things happened in this episode and all throughout Season 2. Let us know your thoughts and reactions to this episode on social @getFANDOM.

Westworld will return for Season 3.

Lauren Gallaway
TV editor at FANDOM. Creator of The Marvel Report. Journalist, Comic-Con reporter, Podcaster.