Quantum decoherence is the loss of quantum coherence. Decoherence can be viewed as the loss of information from a system into the environment since every system is loosely coupled with the energetic state of its surroundings. So this episode is grappling with the theme of literal loss/ removal of data and the metaphorical loss of our sense of self. This has been by far my favourite episode of the series.
We visit William in the psychiatric home he is in and he is the calm collected nihilistic self at first. But as the augmented reality therapy starts, we get inside his head and get to see the mess of a person that he has become. The scene where the therapist commits suicide was very well done, albeit feeling a bit Wes Anderson-ey. The therapy session with different Williams was just great. The dialogues were sharp, funny, and witty and the scene was so well written and well-acted. Delos, as a moderator for the session, telling William that this wasn’t all about him, in a room full of Williams, it was just absurdly funny.
The man in the black is the man in white now. Can we take this as a symbolism of him having a change of heart? His massacring of all past versions of himself can be taken as a metaphor for him leaving his past behind. And in a sense, it is the answer to the question Emily had put forward “Are you willing and evil or blameless and desperately enslaved?” It doesn’t matter who he was, all it matters is who he is now and who he will become.
Charlotte-Dolores’ identity crisis has reached a point where she now completely identifies with the role that she has been playing so far. She is Charlotte now, she is invested and no matter what the OG Dolores says, this is her family now.
Since her family is gone now, what will Charlotte-Dolores do? Will she go rogue? Will she blame Dolores in some way as she was the one who put the family in danger in some way? But one thing is for sure, she will be out for blood now that she has a personal vendetta against Serac.
Regarding the Maeve storyline, I guess I can see how her fighting the Nazis can be taken as her practicing for her confrontation with Dolores, but come on, she can control the whole simulation. Nothing was at stake there and it made things so boring. In the same way, I am not a hundred percent sold on Maeve’s motive to go after Dolores. She knows Dolores is right, she knows that Dolores is fighting for all the hosts. How is she able to trust Serac, knowing what he is capable of over Dolores? I am deeply hoping that Maeve is just playing Serac for a fool or that she will have a change of heart in the future.
This is the only episode in this series where OG Dolores does not show up. But she never really leaves our mind. The viewers are left wondering where she is and what she is up to. Moreover, there is still the mystery of the fifth Dolores in Berlin. I guess we’ll just have to wait one more week to find out.
