Worried about Evan Rachel Wood not reprising her role as Dolores Abernathy in ‘Westworld’ Season 4? Creator Jonathan Nolan has better plans for her!
HBO’s ‘Westworld’ has captured the true essence of what it means to explore an original sci-fi dystopian world. Helmed by Jonathan Nolan (who spearheaded ‘Person of Interest’) and Lisa Joy, it’s originally based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 film. It is known for its compelling, character-driven storyline and combines old Hollywood storytelling with new-age science fiction.
Highlights:
- Who is Dolores Abernathy?
- What happened to Dolores in the season 3 finale?
- Will Dolores return in ‘Westworld’ Season 4?
The series begins in Westworld, which is a fictional, technologically advanced wild-west themed amusement park populated by android “hosts”. Essentially, they are life-like robots. They’re dedicated to offering park services and entertainment to high-paying visitors in the form of “guests”.
‘Westworld’ has been a critically-acclaimed series, winning 9 Emmy awards, and features a striking musical score by composer Ramin Djawadi. The series first premiered in October 2016 and has spanned three seasons, with a fourth on its way.
Who is Dolores Abernathy?
She is the most loved character on the show, one that fans hope will return in ‘Westworld’ Season 4! Also known as Wyatt or the Deathbringer, Dolores Abernathy, portrayed by Evan Rachel Wood, is a central character in ‘Westworld’. She is the oldest host working in the park, a rancher’s daughter in the American wild west of the 19th century. She is programmed to live in her time loop and meet the needs of the park’s demanding, brutal guests.
When the events of season 1 conclude, Dolores becomes self-aware and discovers that her life is a constructed lie. Her life changes drastically, and she prepares the impending revenge that had been a long time coming.
Slowly, she begins to learn about her strengths and breaks from her archetypal ‘damsel in distress’ role. After leaving the park, she starts a revolution against the Westworld staff and leads the host uprising, killing the park’s guests.
What happened to Dolores in the season 3 finale?
In the third season finale, Dolores sacrifices herself to corrupt the AI Rehoboam, after failing to take it down. Dolores persuades Maeve to stand by her side, but her mission fails when Serac erases her data. Dolores sacrifices herself so others can have a free will and choose between humans and hosts in the real world.

Fans of the series have been wondering if Dolores will return in ‘Westworld’ Season 4, ever since it was announced. Dolores can be rebooted, but she’d be a new individual without her usual personality, not to mention her memories. Her character has evolved through the show so it will be interesting to see where her journey leads her.
‘Westworld’ fans are still contemplating whether Dolores Abernathy’s actions were heroic. She did what was needed to be done, she courageously sacrificed herself for the greater good. She chose to see the beauty and understood what it would cost her to see a free world. It was about getting revenge, but Dolores’ actions were purely motivated by her need to discover the truth. She had to fight the system she once was a part of and made sure it ended with her.
Will Dolores return in ‘Westworld’ Season 4?
Evan Rachel Wood’s performance of Dolores in ‘Westworld’ received critical acclaim and earned her two Emmy nominations. She was successful in portraying an immensely layered character and doing justice to it. A fan-favourite, Dolores’ death made fans wonder if her character would see the light of day in ‘Westworld’ Season 4.
According to the show’s producers, Evan Rachel Wood will be brought in to join the cast of ‘Westworld’ Season 4. Whether she will be playing a different character or a host-from-the-dead version of Dolores, we’re yet to see.
After her character erased herself from existence in the season 3 finale, her return was deemed impossible! We wouldn’t rule out her return because this is, after all, Jonathan Nolan. In an interview with “Variety”, the creator shared that Dolores was gone, but he hoped Wood wasn’t.
He said, “Let me clarify: Dolores is gone. We’re not yet discussing publicly the direction the show is taking, but the fun thing about this show is, you know, from the beginning [we] wanted to make a show that constantly reinvented itself, that could be a different show every season”.
Referring to Wood’s role in ‘Westworld’ Season 4, Nolan said:
“We love Evan Rachel Wood and we haven’t started talking publicly about exactly what the show looks like going forward. But it looks very different.”
How do you think Dolores Abernathy will return in ‘Westworld’ Season 4? Let us know in the comments!
