'Westworld' Season 2, Episode 6 Preview: "Phase Space"

Arnold and Bernard are in an impossible loop, thanks to the first look at “Phase Space.”

[This story contains spoilers through season two, episode five of HBO’s Westworld, “Akane No Mai.”]

“If you outgrow this place, outgrow us, what would become of you? I think I have a choice to make.”

“No. He didn’t say that.”

For such a secretive show, the first look at the next episode of Westworld has seemingly given up an astounding amount of information. The preview for “Phase Space,” the sixth episode of the HBO drama’s second season, begins with a moment that casts a shocking light on the very first scene of the year, which was already shrouded in confusion.

In that scene, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) sat opposite Jeffrey Wright’s Arnold — unless it was Bernard. The Emmy-winning actor’s work in the series is mystifying by nature, but especially in the show’s second season, given that at least two different time periods and two different characters are in play within the same actor. The first scene appeared as if it was an exchange between Dolores and Arnold, before the current robot revolution Dolores is so firmly spearheading. But even then, many viewers (yours truly included) assumed that something different was playing out: Dolores taking control over Bernard, and making him think he was Arnold.

Cue: the preview for “Phase Space,” which doesn’t fully confirm the theory, but certainly speaks toward some unknown oddity surrounding the scene between Dolores’ and Wright’s characters. In the opening minutes of the trailer, Wright quietly examines and reflects upon his own stance, his voice lowering ever so subtly, the same way it often occurs in his work as Bernard. As if that audio cue wasn’t enough, Dolores snaps back at his internal analysis: “No. He didn’t say that.” It strongly suggests that the scene we’re seeing isn’t between Dolores and Arnold, but Dolores and Bernard, sometime after Dolores has gained consciousness. That’s very bad news for Bernard indeed, especially given his current temporal confusion, another highlight of the preview.

In the present timeline — and by “present,” we’re talking about the point in time two weeks following Dolores’ killing Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) — Bernard has expressed few to zero indications that he remembers his time since the park descended into chaos. It’s led some fans to the theory that this isn’t Bernard at all, but someone walking around in his skin. One of the popular theories centers on Teddy (James Marsden) somehow winding up in Bernard’s shell, especially since Teddy’s husk is one of the corpses recovered in the season premiere. Adding further fuel to that theory: Teddy and Bernard walking past each other in Sweetwater in the preview, with Bernard seemingly experiencing yet another one of his unusual temporal shifts.

Are we closer to cracking the theory about Bernard’s and Teddy’s roles in the season two mystery? It sure looks like it — but as often is the case with Westworld, looks can be deceiving. Indeed, as one might say: “That doesn’t look like anything to me.”

Watch the preview for “Phase Space” in the video below.