‘Westworld’ Spoilers: Ed Harris On The Man In Black’s True Motivations

All the guests of Westworld have something up their sleeves, but Ed Harris’ character, the mysterious Man in Black, is something else.

The Man in Black seems devoid of any emotions and can easily kill and torture hosts without feeling any remorse. He is using his VIP status in the theme park to search for a hidden maze. But for what reason?

Harris earlier told Slash Film that the Man in Black, just like everybody else, originally went to the park just to explore and enjoy whatever they want to do. But then something changed.

“I think something happened to him at some point that this part of him that’s very dark, very violent, all of a sudden he recognized this was a real part of him he’d never really lived with in his life outside, obviously repressed in civil society for many years and realized this is a part of myself I should check out and see where this takes me,” he said. “But there’s also a much deeper purpose for him being here at this point. He thinks there’s some deeper level to what’s happening in this park.”

Harris added that the Man in Black’s destruction is not random, since there’s a certain narrative he’s following.

There’s a theory now that the photograph of the woman found by Peter Abernathy in the first episode is actually the dead wife of Harris’ character. At the same time, Harris might not be raping Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) in the barn, but actually altering her code. Because of this, Dolores had an “awakening” of sorts.

With so many possibilities for “Westworld,” show creator Jonathan Nolan told Entertainment Weekly that it’s best if fans just “assume as little as possible when watching this show,” since the show is intentionally ambiguous.

“Westworld” airs every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.