Westworld: The Man in Black’s [SPOILER] Explained

Warning: Spoilers for this week’s Westworld.

Grace was introduced as a guest in The Raj, the sixth Delos Destination park adjacent to Westworld. Grace’s stay in The Raj coincided with the Host uprising that occurred at the end of season 1. The Hosts’ rebellion seems to have affected every park on the island, as Grace’s plans to go on a Bengal tiger hunt ended up with her on the run; first from Ganju, a Host who tried to murder her as he did the other humans, and then from a tiger. Grace survived the attacks, crossed the body of water separating The Raj from Westworld, and was captured by the Native American Hosts called the Ghost Nation.

Related: Westworld’s Two New Parks Explained

Grace/Emily is a new wrinkle for the older William, whose season 2 mission is to find “The Door”, a new game meant for him by his nemesis, the late Robert Ford. However, William’s daughter has been teased even before now.

Who Is Emily?

In “Trace Decay”, the eighth episode of season 1, the Man in Black first made mention of his daughter. The older William revealed to Teddy Flood that when his wife died by suspected suicide, Emily blamed him and held him responsible. This is reiterated in this week’s Westworld,  “The Riddle of the Sphinx”, by William to the host-human version of James Delos.

Emily’s first appearance, however, came as a young girl in the second episode of season 2, “Reunion”. In a flashback to the opulent retirement party for her grandfather James Delos, Emily briefly approached Dolores, who was playing the piano as “the entertainment”, and told her she was beautiful. Her mother Juliet immediately called her away, seemingly intent on keeping her children from fraternizing with the company’s property.

Why Is Emily/Grace In Westworld?

Posing as Grace in The Raj, Emily was an aloof but particularly knowledgeable guest of the park. She strongly suspected Nicholas, the British man who hit on her, might have been a Host. While determining Nicholas’ humanity (by shooting him with a gun that’s non-lethal to humans), Grace displayed a thorough understanding of Hosts’ programmed narratives and the underlying intentions the Delos Corporation has for guests. She was also adept at using the park’s weaponry, and most mysteriously, carried a journal with a map of the park that seems to include markers for Delos’ facilities.

Related: The Real Purpose Of The Westworld Parks

As for why she staying in the park to begin with, Grace’s answers to Nicholas’ questions offer some hints. When he asked, “So what brings you to this part of the world?”, she cooly replied, “I have a little time to kill. Among other things.” Nicholas assumed she meant killing Bengal tigers on one of the park’s hunting expeditions. But what if Grace’s response has a hidden meaning – that she’s there to kill not something, but someone?

In “The Riddle of the Sphinx”, Grace rather easily escaped from Ghost Nation after revealing she understands their dialect, further indicating she has spent time in Westworld before. Meanwhile, the Man in Black and his sidekick Lawrence are taken hostage in Las Mudas. Lawrence urged the elder William to save his family by mentioning William’s daughter. The Man in Black does indeed save them, but Robert Ford, speaking through Lawrence’s Host daughter, taunts William that one good deed doesn’t make up for the past, something the Man in Black disputes. Clearly, the pair have some unfinished business, set to come to a head soon: when leaving Las Mudas, Lawrence and the Man in Black then run into Grace, who greets William with “Hi Dad.”

Now that they’ve come to face-to-face, Westworldwill surely delve deep into Emily and William’s baggage. But big questions remain: Is Emily tied to “The Door” Ford is leading William to? Is she in Westworld to force her father to atone for the past – perhaps by killing him? What really did happen to Juliet Delos? And will fans finally learn their family’s surname?

Next: Westworld’s Two New Parks Explained

Westworld airs Sundays @ 9 pm on HBO.

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