Editor's Note: The following contains Westworld Season 4 spoilers.Westworld has definitely been a journey (and a commitment) for longtime fans. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s first season gave television some of its most compelling mysteries and coolest Easter Eggs since the original run of Lost. By combining sci-fi philosophy, complex narratives, shocking plot twists, and compelling characters, Westworld truly felt like HBO’s next blockbuster event series after Game of Thrones.
Westworld has always been playing its own game. The next three seasons continued to double down on the mystery boxes, but keeping track of the show’s various timelines may have turned off casual viewers. Season 3 suffered from a serious ratings decline, and failed to land with any impact at the Emmy Awards. Unlike the first two seasons, Season 3 did not receive a nomination for Best Drama Series.
Season 4 is admittedly ambitious, but it ends with even more questions for what’s next. The show has yet to be renewed, so fans are waiting in limbo to see if any of their burning questions will be answered. Here are all the unanswered questions we have after Season 4, Episode 8, "Que Será, Será."
What Is Christina's Test?
Westworld almost seems to acknowledge that the show was at its best when it stuck to its original title. Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) creates a new test within The Sublime that resembles the original version of Sweetwater from Ford’s (Anthony Hopkins) park. The train arrives, and Dolores is dressed in the same blue dress that she had in the first season.
But what exactly is this “test” that Dolores has created? She is apparently bringing back the memories of all the hosts and humans, but it’s unclear what will make this any different from what we’ve seen before. It would seem out-of-character for Dolores to design another game that’s identical to Ford’s. Whatever this test is, it will offer the final word on humanity, as the real world is now beyond saving.
What Happened to The Outliers?
In one of the more emotional scenes of "Que Será, Será," the host version of Caleb (Aaron Paul) bids farewell to Frankie (Aurora Perrineau) as he chooses to remain on the dock. Although Frankie and Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) had saved Caleb from Olympiad’s headquarters, he realizes that they are on different paths. Caleb reflects that he got to experience every parent's dream; he saw his daughter grow up.
Based on Dolores’ closing monologue, it sounds like life on Earth is bound to end, and that mankind truly will destroy itself in the end. The only hope for the future rests in the hosts that are now in The Sublime. However, we never see Frankie or the other Outliers die, so perhaps there is a brighter future for some humans.
Which Hosts Are in The Sublime?
Since Dolores is capable of bringing back anyone that she’s met, almost any character on Westworld could appear in this new “test” that she has designed. It seemed like William (Ed Harris), Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), and Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) all died for good in the real world, but now that Dolores is drawing from her memories, anyone is fair game.
The “real” Teddy is obviously somewhere in The Sublime, as are all the other hosts that entered the digital afterlife at the end of Season 2. Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) conferred with Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon) earlier in the season, but several hosts, such as Hector (Rodrigo Santoro), Armistice (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), and Hanaryo (Tao Okamoto) sacrificed themselves before reaching “The Door.” It’s also possible that Dolores could bring back the characters that she created to help her this season, such as her roommate, Maya (Ariana DeBose).
Did Humanity Fade Away?
Based on Dolores’ final words, it doesn’t look like there’s much hope left for the real world. The rest of the hosts and humans seem to be duking it out in a bloody brawl as the world enters into an apocalyptic future. Frankie and Odina (Morningstar Angeline) managed to escape from the city on a boat, but they seem to be among the few humans that haven’t been infected with the virusal signal that Hale was transmitting.
It’s a bleak way to close the door on mankind. Both Joy and Nolan have seemed to indicate that if there is indeed a fifth season, it will be based around the original park. Will we get any glimpses of the outside world? Perhaps, it’s better if it's left ambiguous.
Will Dolores Bring Back the Other Parks?
Westworld quickly moved past its western locales. We’ve also seen FantasyWorld, The Raj, Shōgunworld, WarWorld, the “Golden Age,” and the mysterious “Park Five.” Dolores’ new test looks like it’s only bringing back Westworld, but it's possible that there are more layers to her game than the brief glimpse that we saw.
Even if the other parks don’t return, it would be interesting to see some characters from other worlds pop up again. The Shōgunworld storyline in Season 2 was one of the show’s highlights, and featured many characters that haven’t reappeared since. Combining all these different genres together could be a fun way to keep things unpredictable.
Do Stubbs and Caleb Make it to The Sublime?
Bernard told Stubbs that he wouldn’t make it, and so far, all of Bernard’s predictions have come true. Stubbs is brutally shot by Clementine (Angela Sarafyan) during Caleb and Frankies’ escape from the city. It’s one of the more brutal moments in the finale. Is Stubbs dead for good? While his consciousness hasn’t made it to The Sublime, there is a possibility that Dolores could bring back a new version of him from memory.
Caleb ultimately chooses to watch Frankie go and remain in the city. It’s a fitting end to his character arc; Caleb wouldn’t want to live to see Frankie grow old and die, and it’s best if he has one last hope to cling on to. We don’t see Caleb perish, but his likelihood of survival is slim considering how dangerous the city is. Caleb doesn’t know the location of The Sublime, but like Stubbs, a different version of him could be recreated by Dolores.
Will We Get a Season 5, and Is It Even Necessary?
Based on Joy and Nolan’s comments on the finale, the intention is for Westworld to reach its conclusion in a fifth and final season. The “five season arc” is something that they’ve mentioned since the show’s inception, so as hard as it is to believe, things are going according to plan. However, the show has yet to be renewed. Ed Harris has noted that he thinks Season 5 could be shooting next spring, but HBO is notoriously ruthless in its cancellation of popular shows, particularly those that declined in ratings.
If Westworld isn’t renewed, then it's not a completely unsatisfying conclusion. The show has made many bold predictions about mankind’s nature, but Dolores’ test will fundamentally determine if the hosts are capable of making a better world. The hosts are capable of great (and terrible) actions. Which course they will choose is unclear, but maybe we don’t need one last loop.