Westworld: Is The Maze a Storyline Loop?

In last week's episode of Westworld, Dolores finally reached the entrance of The Maze, a mysterious "secret level" of the park designed by Arnold. Dolores and the Man in Black have sought out the Maze all season, with the cryptic maze symbol appearing at least once in every episode.

Although Dolores seemingly found the Maze, Westworld really hasn't elaborated on what the maze is. The Man in Black seems to think it's a secret area of the park where guests aren't protected from the violence and danger of the park. However, recent events in last night's episode suggests that the Maze isn't a place, but rather a unique "loop" created for self-sentient hosts.

We've seen that the hosts are meant to operate on self-sustaining "loops", a set storyline that plays out over and over again unless a guest intervenes. Dolores's initial loop includes meeting with Teddy in Sweetwater, painting alongside the river, and then returning home to see her parents killed by bandits. Most of these loops were designed to lead guests down a narrative and were created by Ford. Ford has noted that an aspect to his storylines is the subtle details, meant to entice and draw guests into the narrative.

However, we've that Arnold was interested in more than using the hosts to tell stories. He wanted to make the hosts truly alive by artifically creating self-sentience. Although Arnold died before his work was (supposedly) complete, last week's episode subtly revealed that Ford knew his creations were coming alive and has suppressed them for years.

Last week's episode revealed that Ford kept a workshop underneath the church at Escalante, the first town created at Westworld. Although that town was "buried in the sand" at some point, assumably after Dolores murdered Arnold under unknown circumstances, we've actually seen Dolores visit that workshop at multiple points throughout the season. Although the show led us to believe that Bernard was interviewing Dolores in secret, last week revealed that it was actually Arnold (who Ford modeled Bernard after) interviewing Dolores all along, seeking out signs that she had become self-aware.

So if the maze leads to the church/workshop and Dolores has visited that workshop before, then it stands to reason that the Maze is just another narrative loop within the park, designed by Arnold to trigger a host's curiosity in the hopes that they'll become self-aware. Arnold could use the Maze to keep track of the host's progress, periodically checking to see if the Maze triggered any spark of life within their robotic consciousness. This also explains the numerous (and seemingly malfunctioning) hosts sitting inside the church when Dolores walks in, each of which are missing that push to give them full consciousness.

If the Maze is meant for self-aware hosts, it also explains why various hosts keep warning the Man in Black that it's not meant for him. As a human, the Man in Black isn't meant to gain anything by the Maze, although he'll be bitterly disappointed when he learns Arnold's plans for the Maze.

Perhaps the biggest clue that the Maze was meant to be a loop was when Dolores and William (in the past) visited Escalante, but found only the steeple of the church remaining. Since she was unable to visit the church, she couldn't complete the Maze's narrative loop...which nearly led to her breaking down and killing herself before William stopped her. We've seen that hosts that stray from their loops will often malfunction and require staff to retrieve them and place them back where they belong. However, with the reconstruction of Escalante (which now ties into Ford's new narrative), Dolores was able to visit Arnold's workshop once again and trigger memories of her past, including her involvement in Arnold's death.

In a recent episode, we saw Ford look at the Maze's symbol when designing his new narrative. It's likely that Ford has reconstructed the Maze, which explains why we saw a reconstructed Escalante. Ford doesn't have the same motives as Arnold, and it's likely that Ford is using the Maze as part of his plan for the self-aware hosts. Whether it's a trap or a way to keep the hosts thinking they're finding a way to leave the park, we're guessing that Ford has no interest in checking on the well-being of his hosts. How the Maze ties into Ford's new grandiose plans is still a mystery, but one we're guessing will be answered in next week's finale.

The Maze has been one of Westworld's most intriguing mysteries and next week's episode should shed some light as to its origins and purpose within the park. Let us know about your Maze theories in the comments below!

MORE WESTWORLD: 90-Minute Finale Will Have Answers / Arnold's Identity Revealed / Arnold's Killer Revealed / How The Man In Black Is Connected To Westworld / Who Is Arnold / The Man In Black's Backstory Revealed / What Planet Is Westworld On / Logos May Reveal Two Seperate Timelines

Westworld airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.