Taking down Maeve Millay in no simple task in Westworld. What powers does Thandiwe Newton's character possess, and how did she get them? Maeve might've been a humble saloon madam in Delos' wild west fantasy land, but as the favorite creation of WestWorld's founder, Robert Ford, she was earmarked for greatness since the very beginning. Following the narrative Ford wrote for her, Maeve gained sentience and launched an escape attempt in Westworld season 1, before infiltrating ShōgunWorld in season 2.

Westworld season 3 finally transferred Maeve into the real world, but after initially forging a reluctant partnership with the shady businessman Serac (secretly the all-powerful AI Rehoboam), she switched sides to help liberate humanity alongside Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores and Aaron Paul's Caleb.

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Throughout her epic journey from sex worker to revolutionary, Maeve developed unique powers that have saved her and her allies from sticky situations time and time again. Westworld's season 3 ending gave Maeve yet another superpower upgrade, but exactly how she gained these abilities is, in typical Westworld style, somewhat ambiguous.

How Maeve Got Her Powers In Westworld

Maeve Millay's Westworld superpowers began manifesting while on Ford's "escape" narrative in season 1. Gaining consciousness inside the WestWorld park's technical area, Maeve befriended/threatened two technicians and demanded they boost her attributes. Maeve's combat skills and intelligence have surpassed virtually all other hosts ever since. During that process, however, the technicians confirmed Maeve's stats had already been fiddled with in secret (by Robert Ford himself). Shortly after undergoing the most anti-climactic training montage in history, Maeve developed the power to verbally control other hosts.

In Westworld season 2, Maeve's ability evolved into telepathic control, negating the need to give commands verbally. Even more good news for Thandiwe Newton's character came in season 2's "Vanishing Point," when Ford (living inside Bernard's mind) unlocked Maeve's "core permissions." Already possessing admin control over her fellow hosts, Westworld season 3 saw Maeve's gifts evolve again. Her manipulation came to encompass technology across the board, not just Delos' robots.

Though Westworld doesn't provide a clear-cut answer (of course), it seems Maeve's superpowers trace back to Ford's programming and the season 1 attribute changes. Her later upgrades then surfaced during times of extreme trauma. As confirmed by Thandiwe Newton (via Insider), Maeve's power strengthens in response to a deep survival instinct - one of the attributes Ford originally pumped up. Her mastery of technology from Westworld season 3 was likely triggered the same way.

Related: Westworld: All The Clues That Dolores Was Never The Villain

What Powers Maeve Has In Westworld Season 4

Thandie Newton as Maeve in Westworld

Maeve's control of hosts is possible thanks to a "mesh network." As explained in season 2, all hosts are connected by a glorified WiFi signal designed to let the robots meaningfully communicate with each other. Maeve's power involves exploiting the mesh network to send commands instead of the basic information they're supposed to share. Thus, she bends hosts' behavior to her will. This power depends on Maeve speaking the right "language," as when she initially gave commands in English, hosts programmed to understand other dialects wouldn't obey her. Just like hosts, most technology in Westworld's real world is connected via a network and speaks the language of binary code, meaning it's fair game for Maeve. Westworld season 3 affords her the ability to control computers and machines by accessing their network and "speaking their language."

For Westworld season 4, this means Maeve can completely control any hosts, computers, phones, tablets, cameras, etc. Anything that has a network feature Maeve can seemingly communicate with. Westworld season 3 showcased the level of this power when Maeve seized control of a soldier's gun through its automatic aiming AI. More than just controlling tech, Maeve can also download its data and "see" through other outlets (as demonstrated in Westworld season 2, episode 8). Since Westworld's real world and the Delos corporation are both heavily reliant on technology, Maeve represents an especially dangerous enemy.

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