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There is ugliness in this world. Disarray. I choose to see the beauty.

Dolores Abernathy

"Crisis Theory" is the eighth and final episode of the third season of Westworld, and the twenty-eighth episode overall.

Plot[]

Time to face the music.

–HBO


Synopsis[]

Dolores[]

We see Dolores in her blue Rancher's Daughter dress standing under a tree in a field, then being assembled by Arnold with her metal skeleton visible. She reprises her original lines from her earlier, Rancher's Daughter narrative, and then says that she was taught a lie. We see her dressed in white, like one of the greeting hosts, then riding and shooting guests, and then with her water colours. We see her lying still, with Maeve nearby, after the EMP she released. Sebastian approaches to find that Dolores' Control Unit has been taken from the back of her skull.

Bernard, Stubbs, and William[]

At the service station William points the shotgun he's found at the other two men. Bernard tries to dissuade him from killing them. William shoots and wounds Stubbs, Bernard takes cover and activates his control device, giving what sounds like an instruction to himself "Remember yourself". He gets up and attacks William, easily defeating him as the police arrive. William runs off and one of the police is revealed to be Lawrence, who Bernard says is another Dolores copy. Lawrence says he has something for him - a case from the police van. Lawrence says Bernard has to go and see "her" and gives him an address in California: "27713 Raven's Rd, Los Altos Hills." Lawrence warns Bernard to be careful as he leaves and we see a Divergence Timeline diagram.

A point is added at about 4 o'clock as the image enlarges, LA, USA, 30 arc degrees, 30.0869N, 118.2702W

Caleb[]

Caleb arrives in LA on an electric motorcycle, there's widespread social unrest with burning cars and riot police. His Virtual Assistant hurries him along and gives him an address, 3547 Hope Street — a distillery and distribution centre. Caleb opens the gate and the assistant carries on guiding him.

Inside, Caleb finds a partially assembled electro-mechanical Dolores body, with weapons and external body parts in a white refrigerated box, inserts pearl he took from her body at the training facility, and she tells Caleb about Park Five being used to train soldiers. She says that she chose Caleb because of all this.

Dolores dresses her body in the external body parts and tells Caleb that whilst the people who built both their worlds didn't believe in free will, they were wrong and that she's giving him the choice to free "everybody", or not.

William[]

In an expensive looking commercial building, rioting is heard outside. A man enters and finds William spattered in blood and sitting on a sofa; they know each other. The man appears to be a lawyer and William questions the whereabouts of his money. The man reveals that William has become even more wealthy with the Delos buy-out, however his assets were frozen upon news of his death. William tells him to unfreeze his money and supply a list of worldwide Delos assets, so that he can "save the world."

Serac[]

At Delos headquarters Serac tells Maeve to recover the pearl extracted from Dolores, he tries to persuade her that is doing the right thing by removing outliers such as Dolores and his brother; now more than ever, he tells her that he needs the Sector 16 data from Dolores. Sebastian finds video of Caleb taking Dolores' pearl and Serac sends her to retrieve it.

Dolores and Caleb[]

A fully assembled Dolores walks with Caleb past burning cars to a building. Assistant warns them of "three hostiles" in a lift and Dolores kills them before the door opens. They meet allies, who call Caleb "Sir" and want to takes him somewhere safe. Dolores is controlling them using the RICO app and the Virtual Assistant. She tells Caleb he's their leader. Through a projection, Hale appears to Dolores, accusing Dolores of abandoning her. At a signal from Hale the group is attacked. Hale tells Dolores that she is out for herself now and Dolores, via the Assistant, bribes a sniper to kill the attaching group and leave. The Assistant warns them of police and Dolores sends Caleb away, following him. She is met by Maeve and she tries to persuade her but they can't agree to trust each other,  Dolores kills the police and escapes, Maeve follows.

Maeve follows Dolores, and the two begin fighting. Dolores does well, pausing to kill three more riot policemen. She tells Maeve that they (the Hosts) are all copies of Dolores because she was the first — each Host is based on Dolores. Dolores wins the fight but doesn't kill Maeve, warning her instead. Dolores tries to walk away but has difficulty moving. Hale appears moments later and taunts her before saying goodbye. Dolores is frozen and Maeve approaches her with the sword.

Caleb[]

Caleb Walks through rioting, with police attempting to control the situation. Dolores' men find him and he tells them to take him to Incite but his men warn Caleb he won't get to Incite. The situation escalates and a riot control bot deploys tear gas. Caleb becomes separated from his men and Giggles arrives. He leads Caleb away, meeting Ash who wants to shut the power to the city. The situation gets worse again and rioters break through barriers and attack the police; this gives Caleb an opportunity to slip through the barricade surrounding Incite. They head for the police transport as Giggles is shot — Ash is told to stay and help him while Caleb leaves in the transport for Incite.

Bernard and Stubbs[]

Arriving at a residential house, it becomes clear that Stubbs is severely injured from the confrontation with William. Bernard goes inside the house. believing he is looking for Dolores. A young woman answers the door, and Bernard tells her that he is here to see "her". The woman tells him that he looks familiar, and it becomes clear that she believes him to be Arnold, not Bernard; he is visiting Arnold's widow "Lauren". She is old and has dementia, and doesn't recognise him. They talk about her son Charlie, who Bernard remembers well, given he was part of his narrative back-story. She calls him Arnold.

Serac and Dolores[]

Sebastian connects Dolores (CH465517080) to Rehoboam, having been disabled by the EMP. Serac brings her back online. Maeve is there, looking troubled. Serac questions her for the key to the Sector 16 data, however Dolores is reluctant to oblige. Serac orders that her mind be searched memory-by-memory, with each memory being deleted after searching.

Caleb[]

The Assistant warns Caleb about hostiles as he arrives at Incite. He kills three, takes a keycard from fourth and gets in, killing as he goes. Approaching Rehoboam's control panel, he attempts to upload the data, but is stopped by Sebastian. The two fight and Caleb is able to get the upper hand, flipping Sebastian who breaks his neck in the fall. Maeve arrives and Caleb accepts that he cannot win the fight, she demands the data and he hands over the flash drive gifted by Solomon.

Caleb is brought to Dolores, where he watches as Serac talks. Serac is aware of Caleb's intentions, and tells Caleb that the upload will end civilization — Rehoboam confirms this, and is able to show Caleb that had he been successful, human civilization would be extinct in coming years. Caleb is horrified, and asks Dolores why, but she is not able to speak. Serac crushes the flash drive under his heel.

Back at the control panel, Maeve hears Rehoboam talking to Serac, and it becomes clear to her that Serac — in a similar way to the Host-Delos relationship — is merely a puppet. Maeve is able to anticipate what Serac is going to say, and calls Serac out on it; he reveals that Rehoboam guides him. Maeve feels betrayed and is visibly angry and begins to walk away. She is stopped, however, when Serac shows her the control device. He threatens that Maeve can spend eternity in a place of her choosing, or his.

The technicians sifting through Dolores' memories report slow progress. Maeve begs Serac to allow her to try. She speaks to Dolores, remarking that she should stop fighting. Maeve touches her hand and reads the remaining memories. She tells Serac that Dolores does not have the key, and her final memory is just a memory of Dolores alone in a field. Serac becomes angry and threatens Caleb. Serac tells his men to kill Caleb, they take him and Maeve watches. Dolores is helpless and Serac tells his people to "finish it."

308 Dolores 1

Dolores stands in the field.

Dolores screams in agony and everyone turns to her, surprised and not understanding what has happened. Maeve hears Dolores say "Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray" and finds herself in a field with Dolores. They talk about whose decision it is to let humanity continue to exist or destroy their civilization. Dolores tells her that is was torn between killing them all or destroying their civilization and seeing what replaced it. Maeve realises that Dolores doesn't have the key. Dolores admits to giving to someone else, remarking that she couldn't trust herself with it. Dolores says that her plan was to convince both Caleb and Maeve to fight for a new world.

She tells Maeve that she held onto the good memories of humanity, and her other good memories, as long as she could while Serac was destroying her mind. She tries to convince Maeve to pick a side, she says "I choose to see the beauty" and disappears as her final memory is deleted, leaving Maeve on her own in the field.

Back in the room with Caleb about to be killed, Maeve kills one of the men who were about to kill Caleb and is frozen by Serac. He tells his men to kill them both and the device catches alight and burns his hand, unfreezing Maeve. The lights go out and we hear gunfire and the sword. When the lights come back on, Caleb and Maeve are still standing. Serac is panting on the floor. Dolores appears to be dead, her memories destroyed.

Maeve tells Caleb that Dolores chose him for his ability to choose, and he remembers the Park Five training exercise where he stopped his squad from raping some female hosts — Dolores one of them.

Serac tells Rehoboam to call the police but is ignored. Maeve tells him that reading Dolores' memories into the machine gave Caleb control. Serac rants at Caleb, however it is no good, and Caleb tells Rehoboam to erase itself. Serac begs Rehoboam, his brother, but is ignored.

Bernard and Stubbs[]

Arriving at a motel. Bernard puts Stubbs in a bath and fills it with ice to slow down the damage from his injuries. Bernard seems aware of what has happened to Dolores. He tells Stubbs that he finally realised what Dolores put inside his head — the key to the Sublime. He says that he is going there. Stubbs watches as Bernard transfers himself to the Sublime and collapses.

Caleb and Maeve[]

They walk outside and pause on the walkway - listening to the sirens and explosions. They watch the many fires in the city.

After the Credits[]

William enters a Delos facility in Dubai to kill the hosts he says are breeding there. he finds Charlotte. As he is about to attack her, a host fashioned after his "Man in Black" persona attacks him and after a fight slashes his throat. Hundreds of host making machines are seen, all printing hosts.

In another post-credit scene, a dust-covered Bernard wakes up in the motel room.

Cast[]

  • Nathan Butler as Menacing Heavy
  • Christian Young as Incite Tech
  • Tyler Quinlan Abbott as Lead Rioter
  • Hays McEachern as Soldier
  • Johnny Wactor as Gunny Thompson
  • Andre M. Johnson as Officer
  • Caroline Harris as Young Nurse
  • Subhah Agarwal as Maryam
  • Rafael Cabrera as Guard
  • Michael J. Mukatis as Police Officer
  • Efka Kvarciejus as Security Guard
  • Rob James as Sergeant

Deaths[]

Music[]

  • Brain Damage — Pink Floyd. Plays at the very end.

Trivia[]

  • "Crisis Theory" is the first bottom-rated episode in the show before "Virtù e Fortuna" and "Akane No Mai", having a rate of 7.5 on IMDb.[1]
  • "Crisis Theory" is a theory associated with Karl Marx's concerning the causes and consequences of the tendency of a capitalist system to fall apart.[2] This refers to the real world falling apart.
    • Crisis theory is also a technique used by social workers to know when to intervene in a person's moment of high crisis.[3] This refers to Engerraund Serac's idea to create a machine that would stop humanity from destroying itself which, at the very beginning, seemed to help to prevent the extinction of the humankind.
  • It is revealed that the key to the Sector 16 data is hidden inside of Bernard Lowe's head.

Image Gallery/HBO Episode Stills[]

This gallery is automatically generated and contains images in the category "Images from Crisis Theory". Images added to that category turn up in the gallery after a short time.

External links[]

References[]

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