If you’re looking for a villain, Lee Sizemore is basically the only human in the Westworld season 2 finale who isn’t your man.
As Westworld wrapped up its second season, it appeared to take a pretty harsh stance on humanity, in general. In short, we’re doomed and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the Westworld season 2 finale.
After running millions of simulations trying to crack the human “code,” the much more polite, artificial version of Logan Delos discovered where they were going wrong. Delos collected years of footage and data in order to authentically replicate the most complex beings on the planet only to realize that humans really aren’t complicated at all. We’re simple. Simply screwed.
According to Westworld, humans, like hosts, have a cornerstone-like-moment that basically encompasses who we are as a person. Based on who we are, it doesn’t really matter what choices we’re presented with and make. We’ll always end up back there.
The concept of free will is a very interesting one for a show like Westworld to play with. Season 1 was all about the hosts’ journey to free will, so to turn things around and question if the people pulling the strings ever had it in the first place is intriguing.
That humans are simply products of our brain chemistry and circumstances, having no real means to make our own choices, is a common theory. According to the theory, we are a combination of what we were born with and what our circumstances forced us to do with it. In other words, you didn’t really choose to read this article. Because of your brain chemistry and your circumstances, you were always going to click on it.
It seems that Westworld, at least in season 2, is going all in on this theory. And it looks like they’ve even taken it one step further. If the season 2 finale is to be believed, not only are humans cursed with an absence of choice, but we’re also doomed to repeat our mistakes, both as individuals and as a collective.
When it comes to opinions on the state of humanity, this is about as pessimistic as it gets. No matter how hard we try to better ourselves and/or society, we will fail. That’s a pretty sour cherry on top of Westworld season 2.
The message only gets more bleak when you look at the humans who populate Westworld. Greedy, manipulative, irreversibly “stained…” The show definitely hasn’t been painting the prettiest picture of our kind since it started. Even Elsie ended up betraying Bernard (although we’re not really sure we blame her).
It’d be really easy to walk away from the Westworld season 2 finale feeling hopeless. Maybe we should just let the hosts take over! But wait…before you give in to the Dolores revolution, there might be one clue that the show isn’t quite as cynical as it seems. There could be hope for us yet!
In the Westworld season 2 finale, that hope came in the very unlikely form of Lee Sizemore, the seemingly shallow, out-for-himself, head writer for the park. You know, the guy who just couldn’t get enough auto-cannibalism in his narratives.
After being fairly flat in season 1, Lee went through an interesting journey in season 2. He was essentially kidnapped by Maeve in WWHQ and has since been both literally and figuratively stripped down.
He’s sacrificed his dignity, he’s had his beliefs of the hosts and their narratives shattered, and he’s now relied on the hosts for his safety on numerous occasions. Throughout this journey, he’s come to appreciate the hosts as his equal (or even better) counterparts. He’s also gained a sense of both compassion and purpose that he never found in pen and paper.
He’s gone from one of the more useless humans that Delos had to offer to one of the most nuanced. In the end, he even got to become the “hero” that he’s yearned to be since he created Hector, and even before. Yeah, it did kind of seem like his death was pointless, but the act of him standing up and making that speech was a profound choice for Lee Sizemore and a very important moment in the season 2 finale.
In that moment, Lee embodied the opposing viewpoint to the dark and dreary message of Westworld season 2. Essentially, he was the “Bernard” to the finale’s “Dolores,” and there can’t be one without the other.
Lee Sizemore’s sacrifice thankfully proved that Westworld isn’t telling the story that humans are doomed to repeat the same destructive patterns. There is hope. Through his story, Westworld showed that given the right motivation, people can change and do better. Where there once was apathy, with greater understanding, kindness can grow.
So, Lee Sizemore, your death may not have bought Maeve much time, but in a way, you did kind of save all of humanity.
RIP in the Valley Beyond!
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