Things Get Clearer After Rewatching

August 15, 2022

Guys,

I experienced some of the same confusion with the arcs of Hale, Caleb, and Christina from my first watch but going back I clarified my doubts.

First, William had a pretty good head start on Hale to the Sublime site. He left in the truck before the title credits and Hale was just getting fished out of the pond and returned to the shop after he left. Her initial motive for going after him seemed to be revenge for destroying her dream but after hearing Bernards recording she realizes she can give Delores the final victory by allowing her to run the test in the Sublime. I dont think she miraculously changed her character but realized she could choose to have the final triumph over William. He was within a few hours of the Sublime on horseback by then while she was just leaving the Tower site in her VTOL craft so allowing some dramatic license it wasnt impossible for them to meet when they did.

Calebs arc was indirectly a further indictment of the whole Delos immortality project. His value to the plot was in persevering against Hales torture to reunite with his daughter. The tragedy of course is that when they finally meet she immediately sees he hasnt changed a bit in 23 years and could not be her real father. Frankie and Caleb have a few hours together to reach some closure and Frankie seems willing to accept a host father substitute without saying it to his face. Caleb however knows what his degeneration will involve and doesnt want Frankie to see him die. This further adds to his tragic hero arc. Frankies real value is in remembering her father which might have allowed his fidelity regeneration in the future but from Deloress final narrative it seems all life, including the outliers, will go extinct so I dont see how her role in Season 4 mattered at this point.

Christina was finally revealed to be the central AI that Hale had installed to create the narrative of her dream world. The interactions she had were all just facets of her own identity that spoke to her through characters she also created. As with her experience in Season 1 she eventually sees the corrupt and enslaving real world behind her idealized one and seeks a world that is an authentic equilibrium between good and evil, beauty and ugliness.

Some things that continue to bug me however are:

Maeve was never really the weapon that was going to bring down Hales city. Her only skills were in being a good fighter and I think something more spectacular was expected.

The showrunners have painted themselves into a corner if Season 5 is going to be in the Sublime since every episode will need to be in letterbox format. Im assuming there are still some fabrication sites in the real world with power and supplies that can make drones and other hosts under the control of the Sublime AI. Without this outside support the Sublime is going to break down and cant have any real effect on the physical world. Whatever final test Delores runs will be a waste of time since the Universe and entropy have the final word on everything in the end.

Hoping for a green-lit Season V announcement,

Dave Wright
San Diego

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