‘Westworld’ Season 4: Let’s Talk That Character’s Surprise Return

After a two-year gap, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s ambitious series of Michael Crichton’s classic story ‘Westworld’ has returned to HBO Max. During its time on the platform, the series has excited, confused and, at times, even frustrated its fans since it began broadcasting in 2016. And it is that part of the fun of watching this show is just trying to figure out what’s going on.

Now season 4 has started, and the Westworld park itself is absent from the first episode, “The auguries”. The series picks up a few years after the game-changing Season 3 finale, in which it seemingly liberated the human population from the dystopian future plotted by evil tech billionaire Serac (Vincent Cassel). Caleb (Aaron Paul) has moved on with his life and is now raising a young daughter with his wife. Caleb’s family is threatened by a mysterious group of assassins, but Maeve (Thandie Newton) saves them. Maeve tells Caleb that these dangerous assassins were sent by William (Ed Harris).

While Caleb and Maeve apparently remember the events of the previous season, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) doesn’t seem to remember who she is.. This is surprising, considering that Dolores’s original body was apparently destroyed in ‘Crisis Theory’, the last episode of the third season. The girl now lives under the name of Christina and works as a writer for the video game developer “Olympiad Entertainment”. As we see in this first episode, the young woman is being chased by a conspiracy theorist, who is quite obsessed with her, but a mysterious figure from her past saves her from her.

However, the high point of ‘The Auguries’ is the revelation of Christina’s enigmatic savior. This is none other than her old friend, Teddy Flood (James Marsden). Teddy was initially shrouded in the background when he saved Dolores from her would-be killer. At the end of the episode, while he is standing on the balcony of his apartment, Teddy watches his former master from afar. Although Marsden’s involvement in the season had been revealed during promotion for the fourth season, his return raises many questions about who is really dead in the series.

The character of Teddy has been a part of the series since the beginning. In the first season, the boy starts out like all the other hosts: blissfully unaware that he’s just another pawn on Delos. He doesn’t remember his past, and fulfills his role in the park as a heroic and hopelessly romantic hero of the West. However, he is always doomed to die at the hands of the park’s most evil guests. In one of the most exciting moments of the pilot, ‘The Original’, Teddy realizes that he cannot defend himself when William attacks Dolores.

As Dolores begins to explore her own consciousness, it takes a little longer for Teddy to recognize the “nature of her reality.” Later the character discovers that he is not the hero and that it is Dolores’s wisdom that she should be listening to. However, Teddy remains vulnerable due to the heroic nature of his programming. This creates a rift between him and Dolores in the second season.

In said second season, Dolores begins to embrace the darker side of her personality; she merges with the identity of the ruthless killer known as Wyatt. The girl takes control of Westworld and begins a reign of terror, mercilessly destroying other factions. Teddy has never achieved true independence from her, but he begins to question Dolores’ decisions. In a heartbreaking moment, Dolores decides to alter her lover’s programming and transform him into her personal assassin.

However, the two conflicting ideals begin to haunt Teddy’s mind. He is separated from being the hero he was designed to be and the new man the protagonist wants. Wracked with confusion and guilt, Teddy shoots himself in the head. Dolores is heartbroken and only begins to realize the errors of her ways after the sacrifice of her lover. During the third season, the character did not come out.
So how did Teddy return to what appears to be the real world in Season 4? In ‘Crisis theory’, the last chapter of the 3rd season, Dolores entrusts the data to Bernard (Jeffrey Wright). Perhaps these hosts have found a way to access their original bodies, or perhaps it is part of a larger plot by Bernard.

In ‘The Auguries’, Teddy doesn’t have any dialogue, so it’s ambiguous what his true goals are, aside from protecting Christina.. Even if this is the original Teddy, it’s unclear which side of his programming he’s accessing. Teddy’s brutality when he protects Christina suggests that he has retained the darker side of himself that Wyatt unlocked. However, her loyal look at Dolores in the last shot shows that he is still in love with her (while Lana del Rey’s recognizable ‘Video Games’ plays in the background, perfect for the moment). It seems that Teddy will continue to fight with his true intentions throughout the season.

Season four has certainly created an interesting new dynamic between Teddy and Dolores/Christina.. Dolores has always been the one to bring Teddy to the truth, but for once, it seems that he is more aware of the situation than she is. Perhaps with luck, Marsden’s character has been granted more plot minutes in this new season. Where is Teddy going in this fourth season?