Charlotte Is Dolores Theory

Have a Theory? Share It Now!

I’ve previously written in to you about Game of Thrones, but wow – it seems particularly appropriate when writing about Westworld to address you as “hosts” in a show about hosts.

While the more important question of this past episode is probably what is going on with Serac (person? virtual manifestation?) and the mirror world(s) created by Rehoboam, I know that many want to know what is going on with Charlotte whose pearl is inside of her. My wife and I thought about this for a while with many possibilities, but only one made sense given the context of last week’s episode: Who is inside Charlotte? Dolores.

But if Dolores is inside Charlotte, then who is inside Dolores? Wyatt.

Let me explain: As we know, Arnold merged Dolores with the Wyatt narrative so that she could massacre all the hosts in Escalante and then kill Arnold himself. Throughout Season 1, Dolores slowly remembered that she is Wyatt, which unlocked being able to tap into Wyatt’s character (or rather, allow Wyatt to take control) to override her programming – ie. she has a man’s strength and a soldier’s fighting skills, both from Wyatt, as well as the ability to defend herself and shoot a gun. Similarly, her world views could reflect Wyatt (“this world doesn’t belong to you, or the people who came before. It belongs to someone who is yet to come.”) rather than Dolores herself (“I choose to see the beauty [in this world]”).

This means that somehow Dolores managed to separate herself from Wyatt. If the characters/personalities could be merged then it makes sense that they could be pulled apart – this could be a reason that they’re showing Bernard being able to separate his “fighter/killer” side of when he was controlled by Ford and his “kind/peaceful” side.

In the beginning of this episode, Dolores tells “Charlotte” to bring herself back online to “remember who you are.” After freaking out and questioning in the same way that sweet, naive Season 1 Dolores would, she remembers who she is. She does so by staring at Dolores. This mirrors the scene at the end of Season 1 where Dolores sat in a chair across from herself and realized who had been talking to her the whole time – one dressed her in more Wyatt-influenced clothing and the other in her farmer’s daughter dress. We saw a similar scenario when Dolores came face to face with herself at the fortune teller’s table in Season 1 Episode 5 “Contrapasso” and began pulling a thread from her arm and ripping her skin open (“You’re unraveling,” the other Dolores tells her). This is exactly what “Charlotte” does sitting in the hotel lobby in this past episode. Furthermore, Dolores says that “Charlotte” is a creature of beauty and power and that she trusts her, words that would make a lot more sense in reference to herself. She later says “You’re not alone. You have me. No one knows you like I do. No one knows me like you.” In addition, a mirroring effect is used during this moment to multiply the personalities in the room. We know that Westworld likes to play with the cinematography in order to emphasize parts of the show – ie. The Forge and other simulations change the screen aspect ratio with the black bars on top and bottom. Dolores also says “You belong to me” and “Charlotte” says “If I ever lost you, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Another key aspect is that “Charlotte” (as the sweeter Dolores) asks Dolores in reference to Bernard’s pearl, “Why did you bring him back? He tried to stop us.” This in reference to Bernard killing Dolores to stop her in Season 2 and the only person who knows that is Dolores. The “us” can only mean Dolores – not any other host that could be inside of “Charlotte.”

No other characters make sense given these words and contexts. Evan Rachel Wood even said in an interview that “the original version of her [Dolores] is still in there somewhere.”

We think that once you think about this theory it’s pretty hard to see any holes in it and would love to know what you think too! And we haven’t even gotten to all the parallels between Caleb and young William regarding Dolores and finding something “real” within in a simulation!

Thanks for your time,
Mike B

Subscribe Now

• Android: https://shatpod.com/tv/westworld-android
• Apple/iTunes: https://shatpod.com/tv/westworld-itunes

Help Support the Podcast

• Contact Us: https://www.shatpod.com/contact
• Commission Movie: https://www.shatpod.com/support
• Support with Paypal: https://www.shatpod.com/paypal
• Support With Venmo: https://www.shatpod.com/venmo
• Shop Merchandise: https://www.shatpod.com/shop
• Shop Amazon With Our Affiliate Link – https://www.amazon.com/?tag=shatmovies-20
• Theme Song – “The Ecstasy Of Gold” (Hip Hop Instrumental Version)  by Dj 2 Bad
• Outro Music – By Simon Eric Haywood