Man in Black theory

swimmythafish

I hated it at first but I’m coming around to the Man in Black is a host theory.... or something along those lines.... 

The maze wasn’t for him, but then the game in the second season was. What if, by reaching the center of the maze, by playing soooo deeply, he gave the “control” hosts enough data to actually build a working copy of him, and the game is the fidelity test? 

I think there’s a lot of weight to the fact that he mixed up who in his family was scared of elephants....

Hunkulese

He could be a host, but the way they were talking about it on the podcast didn't really make a lot of sense. William was the man behind the whole process of backing up humans into android bodies. Real William's mind isn't going to be blown if he's locked away somewhere and he finds out there was an convincing android version of himself running wild through the park.

lengmo

When William was making his mind up to end James Delos' host, he said something about the world didn't need James or him (William) either.  I don't remember the exact line, but I wonder if it could be meaningful in light of the MIB is a host theory.

dochielomn

My problem with a show like this is that it tends to lead to people saying "what if (insert person's name) is actually a host and not human".  I think it's just a copout and lazy writing sometimes if we are to watch the show and at any point someone we all thought was human is actually a host.  Hopefully the show doesn't fall into that trap.  It cheapens the effect if over time pretty much everyone turns out to be something they're not.

NervousRhino

@dochielomn I agree. Even though I’ve seen this as a possibility all season I’m still going to be extremely disappointed if they go this route. 

Hatorian

lengmo said:

When William was making his mind up to end James Delos' host, he said something about the world didn't need James or him (William) either.  I don't remember the exact line, but I wonder if it could be meaningful in light of the MIB is a host theory.

Actually I’d say this is more of an argument he’s not a host. Like he’s literally spent 30 years trying to make it work and it doesn’t. To me that comment is more like “I wanted to do this for me just as much as you but now I know it’s unnatural and shouldn’t be done.”

Murderbear

I entertained this thought for a while, especially after that James Delos episode. Maybe thinking that he wasn't trying so hard for Delos' sake, but for his own. I think @Hatorian is right that that COULD have been the case but somewhere along the line, maybe after his wife died, he realized that this wasn't the way to go.

I think his obsession with "the game" and what Ford has planned for him is just too much for a host. Because then wouldn't that mean that Ford could possibly have a hand in his behavior? If that's the case, then Ford is just jerking off his own ego. Ohhh, I'm just so damn clever, aren't I?

I think it would be very hard to pull off William = MIB in season 1 and then MIB = Host in season 2 without the audience going whaaaaaaaaaaaat??? Unless it's done incredibly well with some extra crazy twist, I'd be pretty disappointed.

majjam0770

Maybe MIB died at some point, and what we are seeing in his scenes is his  programmed consciousness playing out a scenario where he thinks he has to ride through West World to a destination.  This destination is "the valley beyond,"  which I imagine is similar to the cradle.  But he is really already there.  And "finding the door" means waking up in a robot body.   This would mean "finding the door" is a game Ford made that preps someone's consciousness to be able to accept its new robot housing without degrading possibly.  

Probably not since we saw the shoot-out with Maeve and likely a million more reasons why it wouldn't work as a theory.  But who knows.  MIB could be human, host, or program.  And so could anybody!

karuna_t

majjam0770 said:

Maybe MIB died at some point, and what we are seeing in his scenes is his  programmed consciousness playing out a scenario where he thinks he has to ride through West World to a destination.  This destination is "the valley beyond,"  which I imagine is similar to the cradle.  But he is really already there.  And "finding the door" means waking up in a robot body.   This would mean "finding the door" is a game Ford made that preps someone's consciousness to be able to accept its new robot housing without degrading possibly.  

(FYI: I’m not wholly committed to the William is host theory – I’m maybe 75-85% there after "Les Écorchés," but I can see a great deal of evidence for it that does not involve surviving an extreme amount of bullet wounds. Then again, I'm willing to give up on it.)

Isn’t the possibility that William, upon emerging from the pile of bodies post-massacre in “Journey into Night,” is only *then* a host? Up until that point, he was having his whole life experience “copied,” perhaps?

 

I love the idea that this is the test/game for a new host/guest hybrid: finding the door, and coming to terms with your new life. That’s not to imply that the whole Host Uprising is about the guests – *not at all* – but I do think William and Ford have a special relationship, so this could be specifically for William. Given all of the parent-child themes running around, maybe Ford is trying to prep William to be a successful example of the continuity (if not immortality) that William sold Delos on (if that is indeed the question no one has asked – it seems silly to me because human beings have been thinking about immortality since time immemorial).

 

Perhaps William as a Host is meant to be a member of the Uprising (maybe bringing the factions together?). Maybe that's part of his white hat-black hat-whatever is going on now journey. 

Then again, it's all just speculation. Goodness gracious, I love this show.

xK

ken hale

I hope he's just a plain old human, because they already did that "host discovers he's a host" with Bernard last season, and frankly the show needs some plain old humans to root for because they can have actual character arcs.