Bernard Lowe's Path in 'Westworld' Hasn't Always Been the Easiest (SPOILERS)

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PUBLISHED Jun. 25 2022, 12:50 p.m. ET

Bernard Lowe in 'Westworld'
Source: HBO Max

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for Season 1-3 of Westworld.

Like many HBO Max television shows, Westworld's complexity is only rivaled by its intricate storytelling. Fans have been eagerly watching season after season as a show that started at a theme park escalated into the "real world." One of the characters, Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), has been on a journey of self-discovery throughout the series.

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Here's what happened to Bernard during Seasons 1-3 of Westworld, and where his Season 4 journey might take him.

Bernard Lowe in 'Westworld.'
Source: HBO Max
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What happened to Bernard in 'Westworld'?

To start, "Bernard Lowe" is not a human being — anymore. Bernard is an android or "host" made with the image and memories of Arnold Weber, Westworld's co-creator and founder, who is also portrayed by Jeffrey Wright. Before he was Bernard, Arnold was a co-creator of Westworld, the theme park, alongside Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins).

Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), the farmer's daughter, was the first host created. The amount of time Dolores spent with Arnold allowed Ford to replicate his friend based on Dolores' memories of him after his death. Before his death, Arnold was fixated on the idea that the hosts could develop consciousness, although his concerns about this idea begin to outweigh the benefits.

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Robert Ford and Bernard Lowe in 'Westworld.'
Source: HBO Max

Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), the farmer's daughter, was the first host created. The amount of time Dolores spent with Arnold allowed Ford to replicate his friend based on Dolores' memories of him after his death. Before his death, Arnold was fixated on the idea that the hosts could develop consciousness, although his concerns about this idea begin to outweigh the benefits.

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Ford is unhappy with Bernard's decision and buries the massacre, literally and figuratively. He reconstructs his friend in the form of top Westworld engineer Bernard Lowe (whose name is an anagram for Arnold Weber) but without Arnold's concerns about the hosts. Ford designs the hosts with "reveries," or the ability to remember their past pains and traumas in hopes it unlocks their consciousness.

Bernard Lowe and Dolores Abernathy in 'Westworld.'
Source: HBO Max
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In the meantime, Delos, the corporation that owns Westworld, has been copying guest consciousnesses in a "key" inside one of the hosts, Peter Abernathy (Dolores' father). After Ford turns Dolores and Teddy on the board members in a massacre, hosts and humans struggle to get out of the park due to an override code by a hive mind known as "the Cradle." Even after death, Ford's consciousness is running the show.

Dolores destroys the Cradle and gets the key from her father's mind, which opens "the Forge," where host bodies are created. Dolores wants to destroy the Forge, but after a struggle where Bernard shoots her, hits a failsafe that floods Westworld. A virtual heaven known as "the Door" opens where the remaining hosts have their consciousnesses be at peace. Bernard decides to side with Dolores against Delos after Charlotte Hale kills his friend Elsie.

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Bernard Lowe and Ashley Stubbs in 'Westworld.'
Source: HBO Max

Bernard wakes up when the Delos security team arrives. It's revealed that Bernard scrambled his own memories in the Forge and placed Dolores' drive inside a host Charlotte, killing the real Charlotte. Char-lores grabs the virtual Eden data, 5 "mind pearls," and gets out. Chief Security Officer Ashley Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) is also a host, with his goal to protect other hosts. He makes it out of the park with Char-lores. The Man in Black is also able to escape the park.

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Char-lores discovers a small Forge in Bernard's (Arnold's) home on the mainland, where she creates a new body for Bernard and a new Dolores body. Three months later, Bernard is in hiding after being accused of the Westworld massacre, and Dolores is still bent on the robot revolution. Meanwhile, she has implanted the key to all the host data in Bernard's mind in hopes of creating a world where the hosts are "truly free."

Bernard Lowe and Charlotte Hale in 'Westworld.'
Source: HBO Max
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Stubbs and Bernard rescue the Man in Black from a mental institution, where he has spent time wondering if he's a host. Unfortunately, the Man in Black attempts to kill them both, but Dolores sends a rescue party and takes Bernard to visit his human wife, who has been suffering from dementia. The season ends with Bernard realizing he has the park data in his head and learning to access it.

Season 4 of Westworld could see Bernard accessing the virtual Eden, called "The Sublime," and re-creating old hosts now that the forces opposing Dolores have been mostly eliminated. "The Sublime" also contained data that Season 3 villain Serac needed to complete a hostile takeover of the human world, so now that he's gone, it might be safe for Bernard ... or so fans hope.

Westworld Season 4 premieres on Sunday, June 26, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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