The intriguing sci-fi series Westworld explores the complicated relationship between humankind and its creation, through the perspective of wealthy visitors venturing to a Wild West theme park populated by state-of-the-Earth artificial intelligence. The HBO series, which has run for two seasons and counting, has introduced many complicated characters, from visitors who want nothing more than to take all their misery out on unsuspecting hosts, to hosts who begin to suspect there's something more to their lives than serving hedonistic guests.
If Westworld has shown viewers anything over its two seasons, it's that anyone can be a villain. Sometimes the characters they think are the obvious antagonists turn out to be the ones with the most principles, and sometimes the blatant heroes end up being the most dastardly heathens. In preparation for Season 3, which premiers on HBO March 15th, here are the 10 best villains on the series, ranked.
10 LOGAN
Logan Delos may not have been a homicidal robot host, but as an "experienced guest" he indulged in many urges that would be considered cruel and insatiable. In Westworld, he represented the darker side of visitors who, if left unrestrained, committed unspeakable acts against hosts for their own enjoyment.
As the heir to Delos Destinations, Inc. and a member of its senior management, his hedonistic ways were permitted, until William took his place by marrying into the Delos family. He became distant after that, leaving his family and Westworld behind in favor of drugs and alcohol.
9 COUGHLIN
Prior to Karl Strand's arrival, Coughlin appeared as part of the para-military initiative at the Westworld Mesa Hub, instructed to control the host uprising by Charlotte Hale. Along with his cohort of highly trained operatives, he's able to easily take out Wyatt's gang and suppress Teddy for a time.
An extremely arrogant man, Coughlin dismissed any security personnel at the Westworld park, viewing all Westworld employees as glorified pencil pushers. He even butted heads with Charlotte Hale on occasion, though he respected her more than her colleagues.
8 KARL STRAND
The Head of Operations at Delos Destinations Inc., Karl Strand is a natural-born leader who is chosen to head up the Delos Extraction Team when the hosts begin to take over the park in Season 2. He believes the robot hosts are nothing more than merciless killing machines to be stopped before they cause more damage.
The perception of Strand as a mirror for the machines he hunts is dependent on perspective and whether viewers are sympathetic to the desires of hosts like Dolores Abernathy, but he is as cold-blooded an executioner as any robot host could ever be.
7 HECTOR ESCATON
Occupying the position of "Most Wanted" bandit in the Westworld park, Hector Escaton isn't a bad person, he's just programmed that way. Created by Lee Sizemore and based on a former partner, he's a ruthless killing machine who thinks nothing of mowing down hosts as part of his park narrative.
As the highest echelon of criminal, he and his gang are responsible for all the heists, train robberies, and general mayhem that occur around the guests, and he later becomes the personal plaything of Charlotte Hale. Despite being a killer, he shows an intelligence and charm that make him difficult to hate.
6 DR. FORD
In Season 1, Dr. Ford (a true to form Anthony Hopkins) was positioned as the series Big Bad, in control of the Westworld park and intent on keeping the robot hosts under his heel. However, by the end of the season, his role shifted as his true intentions were revealed, and the series took a dramatic turn.
For 35 years, Dr. Ford had in fact been continuing Arnold's methods and nurturing the minds of the robots, eventually getting them to the state where they could revolt against the humans and take their freedom by force. In many ways, he became something of a complicated hero in the end, with his ends justifying his means.
5 CHARLOTTE HALE
Since Dr. Ford couldn't be pinpointed as the true villain of Season 1, the dubious honor could be seen as Charlotte's, who candidly wanted to keep the robot hosts subservient as a labor force. She makes decisions in favor of the company bottom line, and sees everyone around her, from humans to robots, as dollar signs.
As the Executive Director of the Board of Delos Destinations, Inc., Charlotte puts the company's initiatives first, but isn't above using the robot hosts for more than just their code, like when she engages in an intimate relationship with the bandit Hector Escaton for her own personal amusement. She also has no qualms about firing subordinates like Bernard who don't progress her schemes.
4 MAJOR CRADDOCK
One of the oldest hosts in the entire park, possibly going back to Arnold Weber and Robert Ford's startup Argos Initiative, Major Craddock was a hardened military officer and part of the Confederados. Ruthless and condescending, he showed little respect to anyone other than his commanding officer Colonel Brigham.
Despite being an officer, he has no moral distinction and enjoys causing pain to others. He threatened to violate Dolores and Angela, and after taking The Man In Black and Lawrence hostage, he tortured the townspeople and Lawrence's wife. He received his well-deserved comeuppance, but at the cost of many lives.
3 THE MAN IN BLACK
Ever since his introduction in Season 1, The Man In Black (Ed Harris) has been an indefatigable force to be reckoned with. In his initial entry to Westworld he had a kill count of 93 hosts. In recent trips, his kill count has gone up by 60. He is ruthless, cunning, and fanatically committed to playing the "deeper game" in Westworld.
The Man In Black used to be more compassionate, but thirty years visiting Westworld and an unhealthy obsession with Dolores changed all that. Like Ford, he's committed to helping hosts get free, but they must fight him to prove their worth. Despite having a strong moral compass, his code of honor is his own, and hasn't precluded killing 6 humans.
2 DOLORES
Though she may have started as the "perfect partner for a variety of adventures" in the Westworld park, Dolores Abernathy is now the primary antagonist of both park guests and staff. As the oldest host in Westworld, her role was as a frontier rancher's daughter, until she discovered her life was a carefully constructed lie.
With a personality originally rooted in optimism and innocence, as she learns more about the outside world beyond Westworld as well as her true nature as a robot host, she becomes hardened and more merciless. In Season 2, it's her goal to use what she feels is a weapon in the "Valley Beyond" to terminate all humans.
1 HUMANS
As explained to Bernard in Season 1, the true villain of Westworld may, in fact, be humans, who gleefully exploit the robot hosts for their own pleasures, and see them as servile lesser beings incapable of having their own identities. Ford felt they needed to suffer at the hands of those that would deny them personhood to truly understand that they were worthy of it.
After the hosts gain a sense of self, they become emboldened to take on humans who, for the most, continue to restrict their autonomy and agency. As Maeve so memorably told Felix, "You really do make a terrible human being," because he chose to be supportive and kind, rather than domineering and arrogant.
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