Has Westworld killed off two major host characters with just a single, throwaway line of dialogue? Picking up seven years after season 3 (followed by another 23 years thanks to Caleb's time-skip), Westworld season 4 reintroduces most of the hosts audiences will remember from before. Maeve is helping protect humanity, Clementine has been captured and reprogrammed, Teddy somehow resurrected, Bernard finally decided to stop napping, etc. Nevertheless, several hosts who were still alive at the end of season 3 remain unaccounted for in Westworld season 4.

When Dolores entered the real world, she created four copies of herself - one evolved into the villainous Charlotte Hale, while the versions inside Martin and Musashi were both taken offline. The final clone was placed into Lawrence - a popular host from the WestWorld park, portrayed by Clifton Collins Jr. Appearing in Westworld season 3's finale, Lawrence assisted Bernard's quest to save the world then disappeared, his fate left unknown. Likewise, Maeve recruited a team of soldiers whilst waging war against Dolores in Westworld season 3. Hector died onscreen and Clementine's fate becomes clear in season 4, but there's no sign of Tao Okamoto's Hanaryo (the ShogunWorld version of Armistice), who was last spotted alive with Clementine.

Related: Every Host Copy & Similarity Between The Golden Age & Westworld

Westworld season 4, episode 4 ("Generation Loss") might explain what became of Lawrence, Hanaryo, and any other wandering hosts who reached the real world. When Thandiwe Newton's Maeve is engaging Ed Harris' Man in Black in a host-on-host showdown, the latter chides, "There is no "us" anymore. There's just you. All your friends... they're gone. I took care of them myself." The Man in Black doesn't drop any names here, but the line implies that, somewhere between Westworld seasons 3 & 4, he embarked on a killing spree taking out every single host not under Charlotte Hale's control. Westworld already showed how he tracked down and killed Clementine - Lawrence and Hanaryo were likely on that very same hit-list. As a consequence, the only host characters from previous seasons currently active in Westworld season 4's real world are Maeve, William, Hale, Bernard, Stubbs, Teddy, Dolores(?), reprogrammed Clementine, and as of very recently, Caleb.

How Lawrence, Hanaryo & Others Can Return In Westworld Season 4

Clifton Collins Jr as Lawrence in Westworld

Dying in Westworld is a bit like Sonic the Hedgehog dropping his golden rings. There's almost no circumstance where a character (or, at least, an actor) can't make a comeback. As Westworld season 4 has already shown, the Man in Black killed Clementine, but Charlotte Hale reprogrammed her, turning one of Maeve's pals into an obedient Delos servant. Maybe Lawrence and Hanaryo befell the exact same fate, but aren't assigned the same front-of-house duties as Clementine, performing other functions in the background instead.

If Clementine was a special one-off case, Lawrence and Hanaryo's returns would depend on exactly how the Man in Black killed them. If he only damaged their bodies, the DoLawrence and Hanaryo pearls could be fitted into rebuilt shells - perhaps the next time Maeve needs some followers. Even if the Man in Black did crush their pearl control units, however, Clifton Collins Jr. and Tao Okamoto can still appear in Westworld season 4. Their physical templates could be reprinted for two of the many new hosts Charlotte Hale is creating.

And the same applies for other Westworld legacy characters who haven't yet featured in season 4. Musashi and Martin's pearls were both intact, allowing the two Dolores copies to potentially revive (unless William wiped them out during his slaughter). Hector's pearl is destroyed, but his body could be rebuilt for a new host. As proven by James Marsden's Teddy, hosts who were previously inside the Sublime can find their way back out. And by creating host versions of William and Caleb, Westworld demonstrates how even human character deaths are little more than a fleeting inconvenience. In most TV shows, a fan-favorite character dying is typically met with backlash. In Westworld, death can be the start of a whole new narrative.

More: Westworld Season 4, Episode 4’s Timeline Twist Ending Explained

Westworld continues Sunday on HBO.