‘Westworld’ Season 4: Jeffrey Wright on Bernard’s Fate and His Resilient Faith in Humanity

thewrap.com:

Note: The following contains spoilers for “Westworld” Season 4, Episode 7.“Westworld” viewers know well enough by now that “dead” doesn’t always mean dead in the HBO sci-fi series, but Episode 7 of Season 4 sure seemed to seal the fate of one of the series’ most beloved characters.Since returning from the Sublime, Bernard has maintained that after running simulations, there is only one way to save the world – and in that scenario, he doesn’t make it out alive.

After teaming up with a revived Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) to take on Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) and her tower that has human citizens of New York City under control, Bernard was confronted by the William host (Ed Harris) and subsequently shot to death.When asked by TheWrap if Bernard is dead in a recent interview about the episode, Wright replied simply, “It seems so.”The actor wouldn’t let on more than that, and in a season that has seen the return of James Marsden’s Teddy, Wright’s answer seems to leave the door open a smidge for Bernard’s survival – either in the real world or in the Sublime.

And with one episode left this season, it’s hard to know for certain where this is all going.Wright did allow, however, that he was intrigued by Bernard’s storyline for Season 4 as a path towards emancipation for the character.“I’ve been looking forward to Bernard’s emancipation in a sense, and it’s been a journey for him from the beginning of the series, really, toward that.

And so when [co-showrunner] Lisa Joy described to me what Bernard had discovered in between seasons, I was pleased that he could kind of further embrace his own agency this season,” Wright said. “But at the same time, I kind of understood that he was on a pretty precarious path.