The D&D Moral Alignments Of Westworld Characters

Westworld characters aren't known for being particularly moral. However, for a show with a lot of debauchery and robot-murder, the individual moralities of different Westworld characters are actually pretty important to the conflict on the show. To give us a better understanding of just what that means, we took a look at one tried and true way of determining moralities of fictional characters. Of course, that was the Dungeons and Dragons system of Moral Alignments. So choose your color of hat, HBO fans, and enjoy The D&D Moral Alignments of Westworld Characters.

Lawful Good - Teddy Flood

We should start this by clarifying that we know the hosts' personalities are programmable. So, they are subject to change, which is definitely the case for Teddy in Season Two. However, Season One Teddy, meaning Teddy as he was originally created, is the very definition of Lawful Good. He is a humble and courageous protector of the innocent. He believes in the law and has a strong internal morality. His devotion to Dolores is just another example of his Lawful Good personality, as loyalty and love are two common traits of this moral alignment. Teddy is white hat all the way. In fact, a certain someone changes his personality in Season Two, he still retains an irremovable sense of right and wrong. No matter what his one true love does to him.

Neutral Good - Bernard Lowe

Bernard will basically do what is right in every situation. (Again, we're ignoring the times people made him do evil things.) However, he doesn't have the hero's mentality of Lawful Goods like Teddy. He is not fiercely loyal to an ideal or authoritative body. Instead, he's just a decent human being. One who will be the good guy if the situation calls for it. Just don't expect Bernard to go rushing into battle at the first sign of trouble. Neutral Goods will do what's right, but usually because they are confronted by what's wrong.

Chaotic Good - William

There is an irony inherent to Chaotic Good characters. That is, they are definitely heroes... but you would not want to work with one. Chaotic Goods are unreliable; they do what they believe is right in the moment. Usually, without putting any thought into their actions. That's the case of William in Season One.

He commits so quickly and ferociously to saving Dolores, despite the chaos it causes others and, eventually, himself. Actually, William's Chaotic Goodness will lead him to becoming a different morality type altogether. Which we will get to momentarily...

Lawful Neutral - Charlotte Hale

Charlotte Hale has a job to do. If that means she's got to be on the good guy's team, then she will. If that means she's got to be on the bad guy's team, same case. She commits herself to her task of getting Westworld tech out of the park, and that's where her loyalties stop. That's the mark of a Lawful Neutral, putting a responsibility before a moral code. Good or evil don't have much use for Charlotte. She only really cares about completing what she's committed herself to. Especially if it comes with the benefit of a huge paycheck at the end.

True Neutral - Maeve Millay

True Neutrals put their own desires above everyone else's. You might think that that makes them lone wolves, but Maeve is an example of a True Neutral that proves that assumption wrong. Maeve is committed to someone else, her daughter. However, the way she goes about finding her is by putting her needs before anyone else's. Maeve will cheat and lie and steal to get to her daughter, despite the chaos it could cause for others. She's the type of character who's enemies made their biggest mistake when they "made it personal." Like John Wick or Rocket Raccoon, Maeve is fully capable of love. And heaven help anyone who messes with that love.

Chaotic Neutral - The Man In Black

Like we said, William changes over the course of the first season of Westworld. Not only does he change from Jimmi Simpson to Ed Harris, he loses all his sense of morality in the process. William's older identity, the Man in Black, doesn't have a code of good or evil. He simply does whatever he can get away with.

However, unlike a lot of other Chaotic Neutrals, the Man in Black doesn't just do these things for pleasure. He's got a specific mission in mind, to discover the deeper truth of Westworld. And since Westworld's storylines are ultimately predicated on moral choices, the Man in Black must act without them. It's the only way to discover the truth behind the park, and it's what makes him the Chaotic character he is.

Lawful Evil - Dolores Abernathy

Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores in Westworld

Lawful Evils are usually in leadership positions. They're the cruel lieutenants of an evil empire or the ruthless masters of an evil organization. Dolores and her band of murderous hosts definitely fit this bill. Dolores's actions are awful and destructive, but there's still a kind of warped nobility about her. Like Thanos of the MCU, Dolores believes in a cause and sticks to that belief, but by vile and uncaring means. It's what makes her such a great villain. Dolores does stuff we don't like, but occasionally, we empathize with her beliefs.

Neutral Evil - Robert Ford

Anthony Hopkins as Robert Ford in Westworld

Neutral Evils are villains by nature. They don't particularly get a kick out of being bad, nor do they do so because of some loyalty to authority. They just do evil because that's what they're best at. And Robert Ford, Westworld's resident mad scientist, definitely fits this bill. Ford's work occasionally requires him to do pretty awful things, in service of his quest for truth. Still, Ford removes himself from the evil he does. He views the world and the people in it objectively, every person and host a piece of his grand experiment. It's a cruel and disturbing way to think of other human beings, but Ford would just see that as the nature of his work.

Chaotic Evil - Logan Delos

There are more destructive Westworld characters than Logan Delos. However, very few react as destructively to every situation as he does. Logan comes to Westworld to be the worst version of himself, robbing and killing at every opportunity he comes across. For this reason, we think he fits the Chaotic Evil moral alignment. In the same way that Chaotic Goods do good without thinking, Chaotic Evils do what's wrong. That's part of what makes him and William such an interesting pair in the first season. Both are exactly the type of guest Westworld was designed for, humans that show their true nature unreservedly at the park, under the all-knowing AI's under their hats. What's so interesting, then, is that their moralities don't really matter to the minds behind the park. It just matters that they have them

It's almost as if their free will is just an illusion...