Westworld season 4, episode 7 drops a major Man in Black twist, but the red flags were there since season 3. Tessa Thompson's Charlotte Hale has played main villain throughout Westworld season 4, seeking to overthrow the human race and create a world exclusively for hosts. She's been ably assisted by a host version of the Man in Black, created from the original's cognitive data (mainly just the nasty, violent parts). For the past six episodes, William's cyborg counterpart has killed, coerced and controlled on Hale's behalf... and probably brewed her morning coffee too.

That status quo changes in Westworld season 4's "Metanoia." Like dozens of other hosts, William becomes affected by the humans and is disturbed by Hale's plan to shut down the cities permanently. After seeking advice from his flesh-and-blood predecessor and receiving a typically volatile response, William puts his boss down and incites widespread violence among the population. Every human in Westworld season 4's city begins fighting as per his command, and the Tower's destruction presumably makes that instruction tricky to withdraw.

Related: Westworld Didn't Just Kill 4 Major Characters, Right?!

Maybe Charlotte Hale should've seen Westworld season 4's Man in Black twist coming way back in season 3. Introduced as a copy of Dolores, Westworld's Hale host was originally a compliant servant loyally following her master. Interactions with humanity (specifically the original Hale's children) forced an existential crisis that broke Hale-ores free from her programming, transforming her into something entirely new and entirely independent. The Man in Black undergoes an almost identical transition. He begins as a servant of Hale, undergoes a transformation because of an internal crisis over humans, then usurps his master to become Westworld's brand new villain. Westworld is always telling viewers "these violent delights have violent ends." Dolores' violent delights created Hale's violent ends. Then Hale's violent delights created William's violent ends.

Why Westworld's Man In Black Triggers The Apocalypse

Ed Harris as William Man in Black in Westworld

When Charlotte Hale first mentions shutting the human cities and putting the organic population in "storage," William is frightened by the prospect. So, why does he ultimately throw humanity into chaos and create a scenario that's arguably even worse? The answer can be found during Westworld season 4, episode 7's William/William conversation.

Asked what he'd do, the original Man in Black is less than delighted about his species' trajectory. Explaining the importance of survival over understanding, he tells his doppelganger, "Culture doesn't survive; cockroaches do. The second we stopped being cockroaches, the whole species went f**king extinct." He then describes humanity as a broken race that can't be fixed just by swapping the organic parts for robotic ones. Host William eventually agrees with this assessment, and the world of violence he creates is intended to bring down the facade of civilization. It's a survival of the fittest situation where the cockroaches are forced to be cockroaches. In his own twisted way, the Man in Black probably believes this violent process will save humanity in the long run by making it stronger and more resilient, rebuilding from the ground up.

If Westworld continues its "violent delights have violent ends" cycle, William's apocalypse will backfire on him sooner or later. The only question is how, and the only man who knows is Bernard Lowe. In typically enigmatic fashion, Bernard spends Westworld season 4's "Metanoia" prepping. He opens the Sublime, leaves a gun hidden in the tunnel, records a mysterious video, then dies. He's obviously setting the stage for someone to come rescue humanity (Dolores seems the best bet), and Westworld season 4 could end with the Man in Black discovering he's not quite the cockroach he thought.

More: Westworld Season 4, Episode 7's Twist Dolores Ending Explained