Westworld S2 Finale update #3: Maeve (Patreon)

Maeve's arc is more subjective than the others – but this, I think, is a fair take:

This season, Maeve’s goal is to find and protect her host daughter. But in Episode 1, Lee says that Maeve’s relationship with her daughter isn’t “real”. It’s “just a story”, “programmed” for the park. So Maeve’s arc explores the realness of host love. She hears the story of Akecheta and Kohana. And she sees Akane’s love for Sakura. These relationships were originally programmed, but the hosts go beyond their code to fight for their love – Maeve says she’s “coded to care about nobody but myself … yet here [she is] willing to risk [her] life for someone else”. Maeve’s relationship with her daughter might have started artificial, but through her struggles, Maeve makes her love real. Still, they are robots in a theme park, which creates complications – like, Maeve’s daughter has a new mother. Maeve is faced with the fakeness of her relationship, like William with Dolores. But Maeve isn’t disillusioned – she only fights harder. She helps her daughter, and the new mother, get to safety in the Sublime – her final act of love is to let go. So Maeve’s story is about the triumph of love over code, but love does have its... downsides. As Dolores points out, it’s love that gets Maeve killed – their “kin” is a “rope … to lash [them] down”. And love drives Maeve to extremes and hypocrisy. In Episode 2, Maeve criticises Dolores for wanting revenge, and for controlling hosts. But then Maeve attacks William for revenge, and uses her voice power to control and kill many hosts. Maeve’s passion leads her to the same kinds of violence she’d criticised – maybe she’s becoming human after all. So Maeve’s story shows that love is powerful and beautiful – but also complicated and bloody.

Do you agree that this is the central meaning of Maeve's arc?

Cheers!

ASX