【symbolism eroticism】

This post contains spoilers for Westworld Season 1,symbolism eroticism Episode 4, titled "Dissonance Theory." Read last week's recap here.

The Man in Black has remained one of Westworld’smost mysterious characters. What’s his end goal? Is he just an agent of chaos, or a really dedicated player hunting the game’s final level? Or is there something more? Episode 4, “Dissonance Theory,” provided some pretty big hints.

We know the MiB seeks the maze. This week, he revealed that he believes the maze was designed by Arnold, Ford’s disgraced, deceased business partner, as Westworld’sfinal chapter. And what little we know about Arnold paints him as obsessed with the hosts and convinced that they would eventually achieve consciousness. That’s clue number one.

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Clue two: in episode 2, “Chestnut,” the Man in Black got his first big hint in his quest for the maze, from Lawrence’s daughter. That thread re-materialized this week with the return of the excellent Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Armistice. But recall what the little girl told the MiB: that the maze isn’t meant for him.

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So for whom is it meant? If it was indeed created by Arnold, we can assume it’s meant for a host, not a guest, to find. Bernard confirms this when he sends Dolores seeking after the maze (how Bernie himself even knows about the maze is a question that will hopefully be answered at some point).

Finally, there was a line of seemingly throwaway dialogue between the Man in Black and Lawrence in “Dissonance Theory” this week: “I’m gonna f*cking kill you,” Larry threatens, to which the MiB replies: “Maybe someday.”

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

I don’t believe there isthrowaway dialogue in Westworld. The script is tight, nearly every line imbued with meaning and theme. And these clues provide evidence of what the maze may be: a test for the hosts, one that only a conscious being can solve. And at the goal? A “cheat menu” for the game that is Westworld -- an aberration that will let the hosts break their most important rule, the one that prevents them from hurting guests, which Elsie this episode calls the “Samaritan reflex.” Hence, “maybe someday.” Very coy, Ed Harris.

Arnold, idealistic guy that he was, knew what would happen when Ford let the money-grubbers into the park. He knew horrible things would be done to the hosts. And if his hope for his creations -- that they’d eventually become sentient -- ever bore fruit, he surely must have built them a way out.

Is any of that right? Will the maze lead to the bloodbath the show seems to be building toward? Does Bernie have any idea of the path he’s set Dolores on? Only time (and more episodes) will tell. But that's where I’m placing my bets.

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SEE ALSO: Here's what it was like to experience 'Westworld'

Maeve, at least, finally began to understand the nature of her reality this episode. The “dissonance theory” in the episode title refers to cognitive dissonance, of which the hosts, guests and even the park’s designers have plenty. But Maeve’s discoveries, of her memories of being shot, her multiple drawings of the mysterious figures, and the Native American hosts’ worship of those same beings -- well, just imagine seeing that from her perspective. It would be quite unsettling.

The whole storyline raises some important questions about the park itself. Is it possible that the tribe has its own culture and spiritual beliefs that weren’t written or programmed in? Why haven’t any of the park’s designers noticed that some of the hosts have deified them? Has the virus really spread that far? This week we saw the incredible degree of control the company has over events in the park -- even the MiB’s exploding cigar is just another trick flipped on from the control room like a light bulb. So if the designer-worship waswritten in as part of the story, why and by whom?

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This week I found myself asking similar questions about Wyatt, the villain Ford seemed to make up in last week’s “The Stray.” In that episode, Ford said Teddy’s new backstory is “rooted in truth,” but it hasn’t yet become clear exactly how.

Instead, Wyatt has somehow wormed himself into seemingly every other storyline in Westworld. Or maybe he was always there, and all Ford did was weave Teddy’s story into Wyatt’s for the first time. It is possible that Wyatt has been around in the park for ages, and last week was simply the first we’d heard of him. How else can it be explained that the Man in Black’s quest for the maze, which was apparently created by the long-dead Arnold, leads him directly to Wyatt? The pieces aren’t quite lining up, though hopefully that’s intentional and it will ultimately all make sense.

“Dissonance Theory” answered some questions and deepened the mystery of others, but more than anything it once again highlighted the immense talent of the people working both on-camera and off on Westworld. The script is laden with hidden clues, it seems, and the music -- much of it by Game of Thronescomposer Ramin Djawadi -- toes the line between sci-fi and Western in a way that perfectly encapsulates this show.

From Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores lamenting that “there may be something wrong with this world” to Rodrigo Santoro’s deliberately larger-than-life Hector Escaton -- and especially Thandie Newton’s heart-pounding portrayal of Maeve -- every actor on this show is putting in the work.

What does it mean, Maeve? “That I’m not crazy, and that none of this matters.” I got chills.

What does any of it mean? Well, considering that Ford gave a full-on Bond villain speech this episode and the Man in Black may in fact be working to free the hosts from their tormented slavery, “Dissonance Theory” may mean that our initial assumptions about many of the show’s characters were likely wrong.

Another guest referenced the MiB’s “foundation” this episode, saying it saved his sister’s life -- so what does that make the Man in Black in the “real world”? A rich philanthropist whose sadistic streak within Westworld is simply another part of the game, maybe even meant to spur the hosts forward into sentience via the sheer volume of trauma inflicted?

I know one thing for sure: I’m extremelyexcited to watch Logan and William “go black hat” next week.

Westworldairs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Topics HBO