Entertainment

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Why Is William's 'Westworld' Logo Different? It May Prove A Popular Theory

Westworld has about a million tiny plot details nestled into every single episode, giving hints as to some of the more mysterious plot elements of the show. Luckily, plenty of fans are out there pouring over episodes to catch them and share theories, so you don't have to. One of the details fans have caught onto is that, in scenes involving William, the white-hatted guest love interest of Dolores, the Westworld logo is altered from other times fan see it. Specifically, it looks like a more dated graphic. So why is William's Westworld logo different? It seems like it points to the fan theory that predicts viewers are watching two different timelines on the show.

William's timeline is speculated to be a flashback to the past, while the scenes that play out with Elsie, Logan, and Dr. Ford are playing out in the present day. Much of what remains unknown about Westworld is the veiled mishap that took place in the park 30 years ago, which lead to the death of its co-creator, Arnold. Many fans believe William's storyline may be from that period and that his character arc will reveal what really happened to Dr. Ford's partner. Eagle-eyed Redditors spotted that what fans believe is the "modern" Westworld logo has a proprietary tagline underneath it: "A Delos Destination."

John P. Johnson/HBO

The theory goes that, whatever happened 30 years ago, it caused the park to shut down or hemorrhage money so badly that it needed a corporate buy out. Delos is the corporation that rebranded the park, and likely also produced the shady investors at the top whom viewers never see, but often hear middle management stressing about. In Episode 6, entitled "The Adversary," fans see Ben access an old computer system of the park's on a sub-basement level. The computer displays William's Westworld logo twice — both on the login screen and during boot up. William's Westworld logo is also spotted on the lab coats of the technicians in an earlier flashback of Dr. Ford's. This solidifies the idea, at least, that William's storyline takes place in the past.

It's a smart plot device, and it gets used extremely judiciously by the show. In an early scene, we see the outdated Westworld logo on the wall in William's dressing room as he's choosing to be a white hat or a black hat character. In the more recent computer screen appearance, the logo on the computer is shown in two separate shots. The series is showing them to us on purpose. The question is whether the dual timeline theory is the right explanation for it.