So, Who Is Charlotte Hale (Really) in "Westworld"?

This is gonna be the big reveal of Season 3, but maybe the internet already solved it.

Last night, the second—and surprisingly good!—season of Westworld came to an end in exceptionally bloody fashion. But if you don’t want any further details about “The Passenger” spoiled, click away.

Pretty much every major character died in some form or another—except, amazingly, the increasingly mutilated Man in Black—which would be shocking, if this show wasn’t, you know, Westworld.

However, the real surprises came in the closing moments, when we discovered that the version of Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) escorting Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) across the park in the timeline after the flooding of the Forge was actually Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), hiding inside a host of Charlotte’s body. Twist!

(Don't cry for Tessa. Thompson has called the death of OG Charlotte "pretty sexy".)

Then, we learnt that the "fidelity" test we kept flashing back to, between Bernard and Dolores, was actually taking place in the near-future, in the real world, after Charlotte/Dolores escaped the park with Bernard’s consciousness—along with four other yet-to-be-revealed robot brains.

At the episode’s end, we see Dolores, back in her body, and Bernard, back in his. But Charlotte’s there too, raising the question: Buh?

In an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Lisa Joy cheekily sidestepped the question of "who" Charlotte Hale is nowadays, only saying there’s a "creature… inhabiting Hale’s body". She then elaborated to say the identity of Charlotte Hale’s consciousness will be "one of the things we’ll explore next season".

Except… we’re pretty confident we know who’s in there. And though it’s irresponsible to shoot your shot with a show like Westworld, which tries to throw you off kilter at every step, we’re doing it!

Potential spoilers for Season 3 of Westworld ahead.

A couple of weeks ago, we ran an internet theory about Charlotte Hale’s identity, suggesting she was actually "Charlie", the presumed deceased "son" of Arnold (the park founder who died and was rebuilt by Dolores into Bernard).

Highlight at @ATXFestival - sharing #Westworld theories late at night in the lobby with my long #Lost friend @moryan! Like my longstanding crazy theory that Arnold Weber's son Charlie is actually his daughter...Charlotte Hale. 🤠 pic.twitter.com/qdS6kCOXkv

— Jo Garfein (@jopinionated) June 10, 2018

At the time, it was just a bit of fun—but convincing nonetheless.

However, the final ‘official’ scene of "The Passenger" (not including the futuristic glimpse of Earth’s collapse with the Man in Black that came after the credits) hints heavily that Charlotte is Charlie.

When Bernard embarks out into the real world, he realises he is back in Arnold’s original home, and briefly reflects on a picture of Charlie, which is basically the show telling us to remember that, yes, this character with an unreliable memory is pretty certain he had a son back in the day.

Meanwhile, here’s what Dolores says in her voice-over narration: "We each gave the other a beautiful gift." She later clarifies by saying her gift was "a choice," making them "the authors of our stories now."

But maybe the real gift was bringing Charlie back?

Does this mean Charlotte Hale—the evil one Dolores eventually killed with another Charlotte body—was also a host? Perhaps a corrupted version of the "Charlie" Arnold developed when the real one died? Or was Arnold mistaken about Charlie’s death? And has Bernard misremembered his child’s gender? And if so, does that mean Dolores actually killed the real son of her new enemy?

What are we, mind readers? See you next season!

Photo: HBO