The biggest 'Westworld' fan theory now has even more convoluted evidence
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Westworld," including speculation of future events.
"Westworld" continued to delight and baffle audiences with its eighth episode "Trace Decay." One of the biggest takeaways for some fans came from the new backstory revealed for the Man in Black.
Combined with some actions on William's part, the Man in Black's speech helped push people further down the path of a fan theory known as the "two timelines" theory or "William = the Man in Black."
Confused? We're going to lay it all out for you.
The multiple time frames we might be seeing
Some people believe we are watching events unfold between three different time periods in the same timeline. A two time frame theory between the Man in Black and his possible younger self was already a big one, but Vanity Fair's Joanna Robinson was the first to posit a three timeline possibility.
Time frame number one: We know the park was started over 35 years ago by Ford and Arnold, and then Arnold died about 34 years ago.
Time frame number two: Then there was a reference to a "critical failure" that happened around 30 years ago, and the Man in Black said he's been coming to the park for 30 years.
Time frame number three: Finally there's what we're going to call "present day," which encompasses the Man in Black's current mission to find the maze and Ford's new narrative with Wyatt.
One potential implication of the multiple time frame theory is the idea that the Man in Black and William are the same person. The theory suggests that we're seeing William's first visit to the park 30 years ago, and at some point he will transform into the Man in Black who is searching for the maze in the present day.
Let's look at just the events in episode eight that could confirm or deny the multiple timelines and William being the Man in Black.
The Man in Black's exposition
Early on in episode eight, the Man in Black and Teddy stumble upon a fresh massacre. They find one host still alive - a woman named Angela. When he sees her, the Man in Black says: "It's you ... I figured they had retired you. I guess Ford never likes to waste a pretty face."
People think this is a pretty big clue pointing to the Man in Black = William, only 30 years later. Angela is the same host who greeted William when he first arrived to the park.
The Man in Black's comment to Angela can be construed as him expressing surprise that she's stuck around for 30 years.
Then there's the story the Man in Black told Teddy about his life in the real world.
"You want to know who I am? Who I really am? I'm a god. Titan of industry. Philanthropist. Family man. Married to a beautiful woman. Father to a beautiful daughter," the Man in Black said. "I'm the good guy, Teddy. Then, last year my wife took the wrong pills, fell asleep in the bath. Tragic accident. 30 years of marriage, vanished."
This parallels what we know about William. He's currently an executive at a major corporation, and he's engaged to the daughter of his company's owner.
If William is just the Man in Black 30 years ago, then the timeline of his pending marriage lines up.
The Dolores effect
Dolores - and her warped sense of reality - is what really throws viewers for a loop. If William is the Man in Black, then that means we've seen Dolores' scenes spread across all three time frames.
In episode eight, Dolores effectively told William that she cannot tell the difference between memory and reality, and often doesn't know where she is let alone "when" she is.
They arrive to the Unclaimed Territory where the white church should be, and Dolores sees a town. She then enters what feels like a combination of a memory and a vision. Dolores sees a group of the original hosts built 35 years ago, they're all in "training" and doing things like practicing dancing or conversing.
Then the scene cut to a massacre. We didn't see who is shooting, but suddenly Dolores was holding a gun to her own head. She snapped back into reality when William grabs the gun from her.
"Where are we?" Dolores asked him. He says they're "here" together.
"Then when are we?" she asked. "Is this ... now? Am I going mad? Are you real?"
"Of course I'm real," he replied.
"I can't tell anymore. It's like I'm trapped in a dream or a memory from a life long ago." she said. "One minute I'm here with you and the next ... "
We believe that the town with the white church and whatever massacre occurred there is based on real events from 35 years ago, and Arnold's death is likely tied to the bloody scene.
That means Dolores and William are in a time frame taking place about five years later, after Arnold is already dead. That would leave the Man in Black in the "present day," seeking the same maze that Arnold created and led Dolores to, but just decades later.
At least, that might be what's happening. The truth is that Dolores is an unreliable narrator. Nothing happening from her perspective can be taken as gospel. For all we know William and the Man in Black are not the same person at all, but the showrunners are playing a major game of deception and clearly want the audience to be drawing connections between the two.
The "memories" Dolores experiences are likely based on real events, but the context of those events and all of the time frames are still a mystery for now. With only two episodes left in the season, we're hoping for more answers to come.