The following contains spoilers for the Season 4 premiere of Westworld, "The Auguries," which aired June 26 on HBO.
One of the biggest moments in the Season 4 premiere of Westworld came with the reveal that James Marsden's Teddy was back. Many knew the character was returning after sitting out Season 3, but fans didn't expect him so soon. And make no mistake, Teddy was in hero mode, saving Christina (the new version of Dolores) in the real world.
It sparked hope that maybe the lovers could reunite and finally get a happy ending. However, while it did seem like his intentions were altruistic, the series could throw a curveball. It may well be that Teddy's not good, and is in fact, playing a long con in another shocking twist.
Teddy and Dolores' story was a crucial part of the first two seasons, with Dolores becoming self-aware and taking over the park. She turned him from her lover into an enforcer, but in Season 2, he took his own life as he hated being a monster. It was groundbreaking sentience, which ended with Dolores sending his mind to the Sublime -- an afterlife for digital minds.
Now, it could be that Teddy's been sent to protect Christina and liberate her mind, bringing back her Dolores persona. Dolores, after all, died in Season 3, losing her essence in the war against Rehoboam. But seeing as her buddy, Bernard, accessed the Sublime, he could secretly be reviving allies.
Bernard could have found Teddy and uploaded him to a new host, creating a guardian to snap Dolores back in play. Seeds have already been sown with Christina's career as a game writer leading to scripts of Dolores' past in the West, as well as with Teddy saving her from an attacker, Peter, who hates that his history as a host is being scripted into the game. Dolores also found the iconic maze at her apartment, so it does feel like Teddy's trying to jog her memory. A lot will depend on who brought her back to life, though, because if it's Bernard, this may indeed be therapy of sorts to revive her real self.
Conversely, Christina could be part of some sick game with Teddy as a fake-out. Seeing as Tessa Thompson's Charlotte (aka Evil Dolores) was manufacturing host bodies at the end of Season 3, and she hates Dolores, she may have set up a torturous facade for Christina to live in alone. It's easy to envision her using a fake of Teddy to lure Christina back into Dolores-mode, only for this Teddy to betray and kill her. It'd fit the sick vision of Charlotte, who would want to toy with Dolores after losing her family, desecrating the idea of love to make Dolores hurt.
There's also a chance Charlotte and her robotic pawn in William may have gotten wind Bernard created a bubble for Dolores to heal as a writer. They could then have conspired to use their version of Teddy to pretend to be Christina's savior. It could be their way of getting back at Bernard as well, making it clear he won't ever be able to give Dolores a utopia. And again, what better pawn to use than the man she loved. Ultimately, Teddy's return is going to keep raising wild theories, but what's for sure is diehard fans will be locked in, hoping he's genuine in rescuing Dolores from a miserable life as Christina and that, no matter what, neither have a demented puppet master pulling their strings for kicks and giggles.
New episodes of Westworld debut 9pm ET/PT Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.