Doctor Ford Represents The Trinity

Published May 30, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey guys,

I wanted to take this opportunity to piggy back off some interesting things I’ve heard over the last few weeks while listening, as well as build on them with connections I’ve made while watching West World. My big focus here is Biblical symbolism, and how I think that Dr. Ford represents the Trinity.

All through season 1 Ford presents himself as a God figure, and this is best represented when he has lunch with Theresa. He talks about how he created this world saying “I designed every inch of it”. He effortlessly demonstrates how he controls it, with everything around them freezing in time without so much as a glance from him. As ford continues to talk Theresa realizes that she is sitting in the same chair she sat in as a child, and Ford replies by saying “We know everything about our guests, don’t we?” Representing a sort of omniscience that Ford, like the Judeo-Christian God, might have.

Then in the finale for season 1 he sacrifices himself in a very Jesus-like way, simply accepting his fate and not fighting back. This puts him in the position of being a “Savior” for the hosts, and freeing them through his death. Ford never fears the hosts, instead he sees them as children, who need guidance and saving.

Now we move to season 2, where William speaks to Ford through multiple hosts in multiple episodes. This again is a kind of Omnipresence that is often associated with the Judeo-Christian God. However this presence can also be interpreted as the spirit, (or Holy Spirit) filling each host and being their connection to their creator.

The only thing left for Ford to do to complete this Trinity and the story of Jesus is to come back and transcend death. But the only thing holding him back is the cognitive plateau observed in James Delos.

At this point I’ve found a sort of dual symbolism and I’m not sure if anyone else saw it. Unfortunately the bit here about Ford is pure speculation until we can confirm some pertinent details. The lab with the James Delos experiment is in a cave. Jesus was resurrected from a cave with the assistance of angels who helped move the stone to set him free. Assuming that the pearl that Bernard prints is ford, this cave could be similar to the tomb of Jesus. Bernard moved a stone to enter the lab and pulled ford out of the cave. This order would have been issued by Ford (in his God role) to complete the cycle.

Before Ford can return he has to experience a kind of suffering like the hosts in a sort of quazi-afterlife of being immortalized in the Cradle. Since the cradle is a simulator for all possible outcomes, and loops are described as being hell, this would be Ford’s journey through hell before coming back as an immortal host.

On a side note, in the episode where we see the Delos experiment, before we move into the episode we are presented with a scene from season 1 where Ford talking about Lazarus emerging from his cave. The Delos experiment is hidden in a cave, and the goal is to bring people back from the dead. I just thought that was an interesting tidbit.

Thanks for your time,

Steven Fair

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