Westworld season 2: Who is the second human host that Bernard made?

(HBO)

'Who is secretly a human/host?' debates have been going on in Westworld conversations since the pilot but are usually pretty speculative. That changed with season 2 episode 4, 'The Riddle of the Sphinx', however, in which Bernard had this exchange with Elsie:

"I think I know why Ford sent me here, he had me print a control unit for someone else, another human."

"Who?"

"I don't know but I need to find out."

This came shortly after the pair discovered James Delos - or what remained of him - in the wake of William's experiment to implant the complete data of his mind in a host body which went awry.

Bernard's flashback visions implied that he made off with a red pearl (apparently used in the case of adapting humans, as opposed to the white, bulb-like 'brains' the hosts have) after laying waste to the secret lab where Delos was conducting the experiment.

So what or which "other human" did Bernard "print a control unit for"? Here's our best guesses:

Arnold Weber

This is by far the most simple and plausible explanation, but perhaps too simple and plausible for a show like Westworld that revels in trying to confuse you and throw you off the scent?

Bernard has been acting odd all season, suffering glitches and malfunctions not dissimilar from those experienced by James Delos. But if Ford reawakened Arnold as the Bernard we know and love, why would his synthetic body only now be rejecting his human-originating brain/control unit?

Well, maybe this isn't the Bernard we know and love at all. Perhaps Bernard was indeed a host made only in Bernard's image, whereas the Jeffrey Wright character who washed up on the beach is, in fact, Arnold himself given a fresh set of limbs, veins, organs etc.

It's worth noting that in Dolores and Arnold's lab conversation in season 2 episode 1, it seems as though it's her questioning him. “I’m sorry, Dolores, I was lost in thought," 'Arnold' says. Perhaps she was testing his cognitive plateau, just as William did James Delos?

All this circumstantial evidence stacks up nicely, but motive could be where the Arnold theory falls apart. Why would Ford, morally flawed though he is, force life back onto an old friend whose, in Ford's own words, "personal life was marked by tragedy"?

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Robert Ford

On the other end of the plausibility spectrum, there's the idea that Ford had a backup of his own mind printed. The possibility of Ford returning will come to the delight of fans who, like myself, were disappointed to see the show's most compelling character get Ned Stark'd at the end of season 1, and could explain his somewhat eager death.

However, why would Ford use this reincarnatory science - that we suspect he didn't approve of - on himself, and what purpose would it serve? Just to say "ta da, I'm back! Start overpouring my wine!"?

Grace/Emily

We now know that old William/the Man in Black's daughter, previously referred to as Emily, is the woman going by the name Grace in The Raj park. We saw her test that another guest wasn't secretly a host by trying to shoot him, but what of her own biological make-up? If Ford is out for revenge, a colder option could be...

Juliet

Old William once told Teddy that his wife, Juliet, died a year ago after taking the wrong pills and falling asleep in the bath, though Emily/Grace believes she committed suicide and blames her father for mistreating her mother. Might Ford force Old William to face up to his actions? I'm not sure I can see it.

William (young or old)

Now this theory has dramatic chops. Allow me to set the scene: following the kind of intense gunfight you would expect from a boss battle designed for an uber gamer like William, the Man in Black, filled with bullet holes, finally makes it to The Door (while on death's door, no less) to find whom behind it? Himself.

Ford has perfected the technology William couldn't and, to teach him a lesson, presents him with the poisoned chalice that was his own creation. Old William has been repeatedly discussing his new-found appreciation for death lately, but has he denied himself it? To quote father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer, "I am become death."

Westworld airs on HBO in the US and through Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.