MIB Recognizes Angela

Published December 1, 2016 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi guys,

(Don’t necessarily agree with you all the time but I appreciate the thought and care you put into it and thus how you challenge my thoughts about the show.)

I have never subscribed to the popular Man in Black being William for textual reasons (it is far more likely to me that he’s Logan, William’s traveling companion) and IF MIB TURNS OUT TO BE WILLIAM, I WILL BE SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED IN THE WRITING FOR PROMULGATING ABSURD VIEW OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR, RED HERRINGS AND UTTERLY VIOLATING GOOD CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

The MIB and Logan both use the language of “the game” over and over. It’s what drives both of them.

A note to those who say, but the MiB recognizes Angela in the present and says I thought they would have retired you by now She was William’s greeter thus why MiB recognizes her” watch the initial greeting scene again. Logan talks to William as he’s being led away by Angela so both William and Logan have seen Angela in that greeting role.

Now, Logan, William and the MIB (and for that matter the writer Sizemore too) all have used a significant phrase (in 4 separate episodes) about the Westworld showing the guests who they are” so we could say the use of that phrase is a wash. So, more significantly Ford in episode 1 shuts down Sizemore after he uses that exact phrase and says, no, WestWorld gives the guests a chance to become who they could be.

We know that William’s life in “real life” was marked by ambition, hardwork and denying his deeper humanity in order to climb the corporate ladder” thus why his imagination in books felt more real to him. His upcoming marriage to Logan’s sister isn’t for love but what is expected of him” part of that corporate climb. Yet, he’s innately decent – NOT for show but innate. He helps hosts off the ground for no gain, etc. He falls in love with Dolores partially because she’s breaking her behavioral loop just as he is himself. In essence, both of them are using WW to become more human. So, for him to become the MiB, violates both what he wants to become but also the way human beings act in general.

Humans don’t change that way. Changes in real life are small and gradual in functioning human beings. Massive, sudden changes much more likely lead to actual breakdowns in people that could take years to recover, if ever. For William to be the MIB, he would have had to be a sociopath from the beginning and the show did not show us a sociopath. You don’t become one without at least already exhibiting signs of narcissism and lack of empathy.

Even using the example of how people act in war, that war behavior (of violence) remains isolated to that time in their life or if it comes out post-war, it’s sporadic and uncontrolled marked prior by depression, anxiety and other marks of mental stress or even severe illness. The MIB actions are all controlled with a clear goal. So those who argue William becomes so traumatized by something in the next two episodes ignore actual human behavior and consequences of such trauma.

Also, there is the notion of theme.

All of these plot and character developments should have an ultimate meaning. The show in episode 1 makes its disdain very clear regarding human evil (the sympathy is all with the hosts and the view of humanity is exceedingly dark and cynical). It’s only in episode 2, we meet an actually clearly decent human being. Yes, there are other characters, especially those played Jeffrey Wright, that have nuance and kindness” but again as it appears Wright is playing 2 different characters, his actions become much less clear. Thus, we are really only left with William as a clear audience point of view character.

If William turns evil – what does that give the show, narratively and thematically?

That, yup, all humans are evil and irredeemable. Whipdidoo, we got that in the 1st minutes of the show. So there would be no point for these hours of watching the show.

On the other hand, a if not the major theme that has been evolving since the first episode is what is consciousness and what is sentience? If William (and I assume William’s death) plays a major part in the host Dolores’ pathway through maze of / to consciousness, then that would make thematic sense. William would exit for an actual reason rather than some superficial cool plot thing.

Finally, there’s a little textual clue in episode 8, with body of Theresa, a.k.a Tess in the background, the security chief tells Ford and Charlotte (the Delos corp rep) that Theresa has a brother who will be notified of her death. With a show that is so deliberate in everything, why a brother and not “family”, “husband”, “sister”, “brothers” even? In the show, mention of siblings is very rare. I believe Ford does so once. But definitely and prominently, there is Logan talking about his sister (and that his family are considering bailing out Westworld). I don’t have deep evidence for this, but I believe Theresa is Logan’s sister. If so, it’s clear, she never married William and like Logan (again my choice for the MiB), she had trouble making deep emotional connections except and values loyalty to Delos, the corporation, above all. Theresa’s behavior and motivations, while not an exact mirror to the MiB are nonetheless rather similar. – Julius

Subscribe Now