This recap contains spoilers for Westworld Season 1012 Archives episode 7, titled "Trompe L'Oeil." Refresh your memory of where we left off with our recap of episode 6.

There you have it. With the reveal in Westworldepisode 7, “Trompe L'Oeil," that Bernard is in fact a host, the show has answered one of the most popular fan theories out there with a resounding “yes.”

There was plenty of evidence for this, like Bernie’s sympathy for the hosts, his knowledge of the maze, and certain comments made by other characters (“I know how your brain works,” Ford slyly told Bernard in episode 2). And the biggest clue happened right before the full reveal: just after reminding viewers that hosts simply are unable to see certain things that would interfere with their sheltered worldview, Bernie passed, befuddled, directly by a mysterious door in plain view, and I exclaimed “oh my god, he is a host.” Nice one, Westworld.

Plenty of viewers had guessed or seen the theory online, which may have dampened the reveal for some. But that didn’t lessen the shock of watching Bernard dash Theresa -- his former lover -- against a concrete wall. No doubt this scene will only strengthen the arguments of those who criticizeWestworld’s often graphic violence against women, though -- much like Game of Thrones, which always wants to have its feminist cake and eat its objectification too -- it can’t be denied that the show has empowered many of its female characters, especially its two female leads, Dolores and Maeve.

The former finally had a moment of abandon with William, who confessed he has a fiancé and then immediately changed his mind, because Dolores is just that awesome. And the latter, the now super intelligent and impervious to pain Maeve, has jumpstarted her plan to get the hell out of Dodge.

The steamy scene between William and Dolores was cathartic to watch, both because of the tension that’s built up between them throughout the season and because of what it means for their characters. For Dolores it’s a wholesale rejection of her script; as we learned early on this season she’s meant to be devoted to Teddy, who himself is the “stalwart gunslinger” that guests must overcome if they want to “have their way with” her. In other words, any sex Dolores has with guests is nonconsensual by design, according to her programming. This was not that, thank goodness.

For William, this coupling is a final dismissal of the “real” world and society, and the other shoe we’ve been waiting to see drop all season. More importantly, it’s the latest evidence for those who subscribe to the two timelines theory -- that the events with William, Logan and Dolores are happening in the past, and that William is a younger version of the Man in Black. William’s arc this season -- particularly his growing obsession with Dolores and with Westworld, and his rejection of the real world -- seem to be leading him down a dark path, particularly if his journey with Dolores doesn’t end the way they want it to.

Or, to put it another way, “maybe you’ve got more an appetite for this than you think,” as William's new friend Lawrence tells him.

Bernard being a host is further fuel for this fire, as conspiratorial viewers have guessed that the intimate conversations we’ve been seeing between Bernie and Dolores might take place in the past as well. In those scenes Jeffrey Wright might be actually playing not Bernard, but Arnold himself -- which would make the “present day” character Bernard an android recreation of Arnold.

I was skeptical of all this early in the season, but it’s looking more and more likely. The main evidence against the two timelines theory remains the ending of episode 3, “The Stray,” in which Dolores first escaped her loop to fall into William’s willing arms. The events that led to her resisting her programming and shooting her attacker, the milk bandit, and running off -- not to mention her hallucinations/remembrances of the Man in Black himself in that scene -- suggest it all took place in the present. But who knows what else might happen before WestworldSeason 1 has concluded to change our perspective?

Yet where some mysteries deepen, others are finally cleared up. In “Trompe L'Oeil," viewers learned exactly why Theresa was using stray hosts to smuggle data out of the park to a satellite owned by Westworld parent company Delos: because Executive Board Director Charlotte Hale told her to.

Apparently, Delos’s real interest in the park -- a question first posed in the premiere in a conversation between Theresa and Lee Sizemore -- is a secret “research project” that’s yet to be revealed. “This place, the people who work here, are nothing,” Hale tells Theresa. And while the board (or at least Charlotte) wants to remove Ford, they need to back up 35 years of data so he can’t delete it all before the door hits him in the ass.

Only Ford clearly isn’t going anywhere (and by extension neither is Bernard, probably, despite the charade with Clementine and his firing). Has Ford known all along what the board and Theresa have been plotting?

Attentive viewers may have been wondering what significance the Sweetwater Saloon’s player piano, frequently used for transitional shots and soundtrack, might hold. The metaphor finally came full circle this week when its gears and spools finally ground to a halt, as Maeve noisily slammed it closed. To me, that says she’s going to be the one to shut it all down, not Dolores -- whose entire storyline this season may be taking place decades earlier, remember.

Regardless, it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch as Westworld’s stakes have escalated throughout the season. What started out as a game where no one can get hurt and anyone who dies wakes up in their bed the next morning has become much more: Maeve could be discovered and lobotomized (R.I.P. Clementine), Ford can kill off whoever he wants with his off-grid secret host(s), and Dolores could be killed by Confederados, Ghost Nation warriors or who knows what else.

It’s going to be heartbreaking if we have to watch her wake up in her bed again, her memories wiped and all her precious independence lost like a light switch being carelessly flicked off. And losing Dolores now, after they’ve come so far, could be just the thing to set William off on the dark path to becoming the park’s ultimate villain, the Man in Black.

There’s still no word on Elsie, though it’s looking much more likely at this point that Bernard had a hand in her demise. The Bernie theory was a big one, but there are more theories that have yet to be confirmed or refuted. In its final three episodes, Westworldwill surely have some surprises left.

For example: who wants to bet that Ford makes a host version of Theresa to replace her and do his bidding? Also, that Ford is a host? Calling it now!

Westworldairs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.