Doubling Down – Christina is Hale

July 20, 2022

Shat Hosts!

It’s Ken L again, and I’m doubling down – Hale is Christina. Last week I called in and explained why, narratively, I think it makes sense for Christina to actually be Hale inserted into her new world to actually enjoy the benefits of her victory. This latest episode actually adds a lot of subtle (albeit not definitive) support for my theory. And just as importantly, we’ve still seen nothing that can prove my theory wrong.

Here’s some support for the theory:

Christina’s World
Support for the “Christina is Hale Theory” comes from the writers themselves. The choice of the name “Christina” is a direct allusion to Andrew Wyeth’s painting Christina’s World. It’s an obvious reference and what’s more – Jonathan Nolan names the painting as one of the inspirations for Dolores in a 2016 interview. The writers want us to do exactly what we’ve been doing for four weeks – referring to dystopian New York City as “Christina’s World.” Then, in a subtle but important shift in verbiage, when Hale gloats to Caleb that she’s won she proudly says “Welcome to my world!” Whose world is it? Well, Hale is talking, but writers have been implying it’s “Christina’s World” all season – if Hale and Christina are one in the same, this is one hell of a hint.

I’m Doing it For Myself
Looking back to Christina’s awful date in Episode 1, the finance bro derides Christina’s writing work. Christina replies “I’m not doing it for the players, I’m doing it for myself.” and goes on to note that real life is disappointing, there should be more to it. This feels like a classic Dolores line, trying to break out of the illusion. But think of it from Hale’s point of view – it works on both levels and with a cool duality. If Hale chose to erase memories and insert herself into the Christina persona to finally get the life she thinks she deserves , then she isn’t living her life for “the players” (here, the Hosts), but for herself. Real life – life outside Christina’s world – is disappointing, war-torn, and brutal. Hale was looking for something more inside her host paradise. Exactly the opposite of Dolores’s motives.

Rain
Not only does the dialogue support the theory – the setting does too. Why is it that on the one day that Christina is off her loop and sleeps in, it’s gloomy and rainy? Of course using the setting to evoke the mood of a scene is a common writing or film technique, but this is Westworld – every detail counts and every other day in New York thus far has been sunny and lovely. It’s not unthinkable that Hale-as-Christina would still have control over Christina’s World embedded in her – as it is, as Hale tells us , her world. So when Christina starts to spiral, so does the glue that holds the world together – remember, this is like a park and in the parks Delos could control the weather. We’re seeing something similar here.

Maya Acting Strange
Along the same lines, why is it that on the one day Christina starts to spiral, Maya’s conditioning starts to unravel? Because again – Christina (i.e. Hale) coming undone threatens the whole system. So Maya starts to more vividly dream of exactly how she became a mindless slave to the Hosts. Also, while it’s been suggested that Maya exists solely to improve Christina’s life by playing the role of supportive friend and matchmaker, this episode makes it all but certain – in the scene in Christina’s bedroom, she has almost a panicked tone when she swears she’ll find the perfect match for Christina – almost as if failure is a horrifying prospect…

Glassware
There’s also support in one of the props that Christina uses in this episode – her cocktail glass. On Christina’s date with Teddy, she’s holding a class highball glass. Again, this is Westworld and details matter – from certain angles, the glass and liquor make the drink look like Chrstina is holding the tower in her hand. Symbolic of her control over the whole of the world.

No Proof to the Contrary
Finally, it’s worth noting that we’ve seen nothing that can disprove the theory. It’s tempting to assume that the scene where Hale shows off her new world to Caleb is concurrent with Christina’s narrative arc. But there’s nothing that proves it – all we know is that both Hale and Christina have set foot in dystopian New York. It’s entirely possible that a week after the scene with Caleb takes place, Hale embarks on her journey as Christina. Maybe a year later. Who knows? I realize it’s classic crazy person logic to suggest that because we’ve never seen Hale and Christina in the same room together they must be the same person – all I’m saying is that having both Hale and Christina existing in the same city in the same broad time frame does not necessarily require that their stories be concurrent.

Pretty sure I just booked my ticket for Big D’s Crazy Train!
Ken L

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