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'Westworld' Season 3 theory solves the show's biggest new mystery

What is "Solomon" and who created it? The answer may be staring us right in the face.

The end of Westworld Season 2 saw the Hosts escape the real world, and Season 3 will explore HBO’s show’s vision of a future where artificial intelligence has been virtually perfected. Previous trailers have offered a look at what new and old characters are up to in Season 3, but the latest Westworld teaser (above) offers a shockingly direct explanation for what’s been happening on earth between our own present-day and when the year 2058 where the series takes place.

In doing so, this new Westworld Season 3 trailer teases the introduction of a mysterious new “system” with unknown origins that seemingly brought about world peace — at least for a short time. We’re not meant to understand this system just yet, but one fan on Reddit may have already cracked the mystery. Let’s dissect.

From the 'Westworld' Season 3 trailer.

HBO

Possible spoilers for Westworld Season 3 below.

The Westworld trailer points to several instances throughout history that have resulted in what is being called a “Divergence.” This begins with real-life events from our own time, namely the Hong Kong protests and President Trump’s impeachment. From there, the timeline veers into dystopian predictions, including the assassination of the U.S. president-elect in Buenos Aires and Russia’s second civil war.

Also, this apparently happens...

HBO

To help set the world on the right course and stop any more chaos from happening, a system called “Solomon” is initiated in April of 2039. As a result, the worldwide chaos, illustrated by what looks like a series of soundwaves, fades away. For a while, at least.

Chaos returns in 2058 (aka, the show’s present), presumably as a result of those pesky Hosts escape the park and creating havoc in the real world.

HBO

Ok, but let’s back up for a second. What exactly is Solomon and who created it? Could that be the same unidentified voice narrating the Westworld Season 3 trailer?

Reddit user irtizaaa16 suggests that Solomon is a complex artificial intelligence created by Incite (a new fictional tech company competing with Delos) to “give direction to a directionless world.” The AI system was developed and put into place to control everything, including all humans.

It’s a bit like George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, except instead of a ruling oligarchy controlling everything and spying on everyone, it’s just a super-smart AI. After all, we know Incite is all about collecting and analyzing data. It’s possible the company created Solomon by using the data to control people’s choices, stripping them of their free will, and keeping them occupied so they didn’t realize they were inside such a system.

The Reddit theory even argues that Solomon is similar to a Matrix-style program that keeps people in a loop so as to avoid real-life catastrophes, with the implication being that the real world outside of Delos’ parks isn’t real at all. This would explain why Aaron Paul’s character seems so despondent in the initial Westworld Season 3 trailer, as if the “real world” he’s living in is no different from the Delos parks where the Hosts were contained.

The theory concludes that the first episode of Season 3 will include flashbacks to before Westworld’s present-day timeline to explain the AI’s “betrayal.” Is it possible that Solomon and the Hosts are working together against humanity? After all, Solomon was presumably able to keep the world in order for roughly two decades, so how could a couple of confused robots stop it unless this was always part of the System’s ultimate plan?

Westworld Season 3 premieres on Sunday, March 15 on HBO.

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