Westworld Season 1 finale recap: What the hell just happened?

Maeve’s Mission Is Just Another Narrative

We were all waiting for the big twist at the end of the season. What major thing would happen that would change the series and set it up for a second season. The red herring was about William being the Man In Black. That ended up being revealed, but like we thought it wasn’t the big reveal that the shoe had up its sleeve. Instead, we were hit out of left field a couple of times, knocking us off our feet like we weren’t expecting.

It all started when Maeve woke up Hector and Armistice, ratcheting up their aggressiveness to max amounts. This resulted in the death of two technicians and set them loose on the complex behind Westworld. That was a set up to the twist, it wasn’t the twist itself. The first of those came when Maeve woke up Bernard, who revealed that Maeve’s revolt was nothing more than a narrative that someone had come up with.

This was unexpected. It’s also what makes this show so great. Rather than make the resurrection of Bernard the big twist, we saw the stakes taken to a new level with the reveal that Maeve is still having her strings pulled. The mystery now is who is pulling her strings? Is it Ford, in an attempt to stay in control of his park, or is it someone else who wants to get rid of Ford in the most aggressive way possible?