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WESTWORLD Fan Theory Espouses Multiple Timelines, Presents Them Chronologically

Warning: The above video and the article below are chock-full of Westworld spoilers. If you haven’t discovered the deeper levels to this show yet, mosey along now. 

There’s no doubt that Westworld is an intricate narrative with a lot of philosophical layers, but once we start including talk about the likelihood of multiple timelines—the very high likelihood of multiple timelines—well, all we can say is maybe HBO should start some kind of graduate school.

In one of the latest fan theory videos, which comes via /Film, YouTuber Zen Zep takes a look at Westworld according to a pair of timelines that he, and many others, presupposes. Zen Zep’s take is unique however, as Zep’s video puts all of the pieces of show in chronological order (if they are indeed not in chronological order as taken).

It seems that the biggest multiple-timeline fan theory out there is that the story involving William, Logan, and Dolores takes place 30 years before the timeline involving Robert Ford, the Man in Black, and (future) Dolores. This would mean everything we’re watching when William and Logan are on screen has happened 30 years prior to the rest of the narrative.

This, of course, raises a lot of questions (so many frakin’ questions…). For example, if William, Logan, and Dolores’ timeline does indeed take place 30 years in the past, then is it William or Logan who becomes the Man in Black (if it’s even one of them at all, and it probably is)? Zep’s chronologically ordered story seems to point toward William transforming from good guy into bad guy (from white cowboy hat into black cowboy hat), because as the story progresses his ethics appear to fall apart (e.g. he shoots a lot of people in the back). But, the obvious choice for who becomes the Man in Black is still Logan, seeing as how, y’know, the dude wears all black.

Aside from who eventually becomes the Man in Black, the multiple-timelines theory also begs a lot of questions about Arnold and Bernard. It seems like Zep’s chronological order points to Bernard being Arnold, but then that means the present-time Bernard is… his son? A clone? A robot clone? A bucket of electronic guacamole? It’s hard to say. And again, that’s if there really are multiple timelines (which there probably are).

What do you think about Zen Zep’s supposedly chronological take on Westworld? Give us your own lecture on the profundity of robots or consciousness or timelines or really anything that’s very confusing in the comments below!

Images: HBO

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