Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
Westworld’s fourth season surely has many surprises in store for viewers and characters alike. The series has demonstrated a clear proficiency in flipping the script on what audiences expect. There have been shocking twists and turns in every season and complicated characters are one of the core elements of the show.
From the very first episode, these characters have been on disparate journeys that lead each of them down dark and winding paths. None of them are wholly innocent, but that doesn’t stop us from rooting for or against certain of the ensemble. The most likable characters in the show are not necessarily the kindest but are always striving to do better amongst all the horror.
Engerraund Serac
Some may ire him for his business acumen and the lengths to which he has gone to remain anonymous, but Serac is a subtly detestable villain. Using his wealth and power he has made himself into a ghost-like puppeteer steering all of humanity with his and his brother's invention Rehoboam.
Not only has he trapped the whole of humanity into algorithmic cycles they can never break out of, but he also experiments on humans, and traps anyone who poses a threat to his creation in stasis. Though he has done relatively little objective violence on screen, the scale and the way he weaponizes his power make him one of the most despicable characters we've seen yet.
The Man In Black
Despite his origins as a well-intentioned young man, it’s difficult to forget the image of him dragging Dolores into the barn at the end of the very first episode. He’s proven himself time and time again to be selfish, cold and violent.
The character's transformation from William into The Man in Black was a stunning reveal at the end of the first season. Since then, he has continuously been single-minded in his pursuit of "real danger". The effects his time in the park has on his family is enough to mark him as a monster, but the way he's willing to play with people and hosts no matter the cost is unsettling and evil.
Dr. Robert Ford
One of the two founders of Westworld, Ford is responsible for much of the chaos that plagues the universe of the show. Impeccably portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ford has some of Westworld's best quotes, and is the embodiment of a cruel creator. There is a constant feeling that he is playing games with every other player in the Westworld scheme, be they host or human.
He's not wholly a villain, ultimately coming to see what his partner Arnold had seen long before him, that the hosts did not deserve the hellish life they were given in the parks. Even still, his plan to release them unleashes a cataclysmic war with incalculable death and destruction. As charming as he can be at times, it's hard to ever really feel any kind of affection for him.
Lee Sizemore
The smarmy self-important narrative director of the park is a comedic annoyance for the entirety of the first season. Most of the time characters who are brought low through hubris become more relatable and likable, but even when he is humbled by Robert Ford after his despicable presentation of his new storyline, his reaction is detestable.
The turning point for Lee comes in his progress through season two. Going from a completely self-involved snob to a person willing to give his own life in aid of others. It's a long journey, but finally managing to deliver the speech he had longed for, he sacrifices himself to help the group carry on to the Valley Beyond in a true act of nobility.
Charlotte Hale
Charlotte's character is a complicated one, especially if one takes into consideration the Dolores-version of Charlotte who is introduced after the real Charlotte is killed, an event that has spawned some wild Westworld fan theories. The plot threads involving this clone and her family are moving and give a lot of depth to an otherwise callous character.
If one is to only consider the original Charlotte, she is villainous in her duplicity and scheming. She's a successful businesswoman with all the ego and apathy that accompanies the power-driven. She arguably does less harm than some of the more beloved characters and is always a joy to watch in no small part because of the way Tessa Thompson brings her to life.
Caleb Nicols
Living a meager life due to the constraints that Rehoboam has placed on all of humanity "in service of the greater good", Caleb is trapped in a way that echos the plight of the hosts. He's unable to progress and take control of his own narrative because of what others have decided he will be.
This war vet demonstrates through the few actions he's allowed to take in the series, that he is committed to being as good a man as he can be. Caleb's journey is all about free will and the ability to choose. The reason Dolores puts her trust in him to save the world is that when given the choice, he does good rather than harm.
Dolores Abernathy
Dolores is many things. At some points in the series, she is literally multiple personalities embodying the farmer's daughter and the murderous Wyatt in strides. She has a great capacity for love and awe while being destructive and rageful too.
Evan Rachel Wood gives a dynamic and humane delivery of such a complicated patchwork of emotions and desires in Dolores. Even through all of her righteous fury and the violence she enacts as a result, she is able to come around and wants Caleb and Maeve to save humanity, hosts included. Dolores' sacrifice will be important to before Westworld's fourth season, as it’s sure to be a key factor.
Teddy Flood
He's introduced as the archetypal hero, a heart of gold who only wants to settle down with the love of his life. It would almost be boring if he were not tragically doomed to lose in the story he's trapped in. After countless deaths in the park, The Man in Black drags him on a torturous trek. Then Dolores ropes him into her crusade.
Teddy wasn't built for cruelty, though. In the end, Teddy is a lover and not a fighter, and so rather than watch and participate as Dolores continues down her violent path, he takes his fate into his own hands and dies by suicide. As helpless as he can seem at times, and despite the murderous role he is forced to carry at times when Teddy finally does get to choose, he chooses peace.
Bernard Lowe
The iconic reveal of Bernard's host status was a shocking one. This quiet protagonist has suffered the most wrenching of losses, from the perceived death of a son to the realization that he is quite literally not the man he thought he was. Bernard is one of the most touching threads in the series.
He is forced into violence by others and circumstances, but it is clear this torments him. One of the most "innocent" characters in Westworld, he is constantly in pursuit of means to help others, be it saving the humans in the park at the start of the rebellion or searching for the key to the Valley Beyond. Bernard rarely, if ever makes the selfish choice and that's what makes him so irable.
Maeve Millay
Giving an intelligent, driven, saucy character a simple goal like reuniting with her lost daughter is a sure-fire way to get any viewer invested, but Maeve is so much more than that. Not all of her choices have been good ones in the scope of the show, but from her point of view, she has maneuvered around obstacles deftly to reunite with the little girl in her memories.
Once she was able to get her daughter ed to a safe place, her journey became murkier but she’s had some of the best lines and best fights of the series. Not to mention the outstanding performance by Thandiwe Newton in one of her best projects that ensures Maeve steals any scene she’s in.