:-) :-)
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I don't think there are different timelines. There is zero progression of technology between the timelines, however, we see the "old" bartender talking to Robert. If the androids were old in the other timeline, they're SIGNIFICANTLY more advanced than the bartender.

I'm just not sold on the alternate timelines. Not ruling it out, but right now, it doesn't line up for me.
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The different timelines would explain a lot.

I still think that the man in black is the former co-partner Arnold - downloaded into Ed Harris.
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If Harris in an android, he'd have to be pretty special because the bullets bounce off of him.
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I think it's a software issue. The androids are constructed (now) to resemble a real human when shot. They rip open, they bleed, they require blood to operate so they will shut down when they run too low on blood. If an android shoots two targets side by side, one human and one android, the android will kill the android but only sting the human. With the same weapon. So that 'decision' to either maim or simply slightly injure must be built into the system. It could be a combination of the weapon and the android, or even something in the environment considering Ed Harris had to get permission to cause an explosion that freed him from his cell.
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Robot bullets bounce off. And we've already established that the robots treat Anthony Hopkins like he is special.
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But Anthony Hopkins isn't a robot.
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That would be interesting. It would fit in with one possible 'secret' motive for the company to keep running the park; working on offering immortality by transferring your consciousness into an android. It could be that Harris is still just a normal human and that's the prize he's going for though. Maybe he knows what Delos is doing and he's forcing their hand. He has been given tremendous freedom of action. So he's either paying a shit ton of money or he knows something that they want to cover up. Or both. I like to think that they are partially fitting the events of the original movie into the TV show. That the insurrection was similar to the breakdown that happened in the movie. There are several points in the show that describe what the old hosts were like and they've shown a few. Recently Ed Harris' character was talking about it when he bled one out to keep another one going. Anyway-the feel of the park and the hosts in William's scenes is too close to what has been shown to be state of the art in the show's universe for me to buy the multiple timelines. I think they are purposefully drawing comparisons between the two characters to imply that the Man In Black isn't really a villain. That protagonists and antagonists are going to be morally ambiguous in this story, and that you can't really just easily pick a side when a conflict comes up.
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TL/DR:

Ed Harris is the guy that killed Yul Brynner in the movie.

Crazy idea:

Dolores is The Gunslinger (Yul Brynner).
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Stupid question - Is The Park an actual thousands of acres place, or is it like some type of holodeck technology where the caretakers can get in and out of quickly?
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Supposedly it's a real place.

This is supposed to be where all the offices of Delos are inside of this plateau.


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So I'm still not clear on if the hosts can harm humans or not?

It's been established they can't kill guests with guns. But what about other means? They show white hats BIL about to get strangled, then later on its implied that white hat leaves his BIL to get killed by the renegade soldiers.


Can they do physical harm with their bare hands to humans??
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I would say no. You get a feeling for how complex the AI of this universe is when Ed Harris threatens Anthony Hopkins with a knife.
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Think of it like this:

Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

---

http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/robotics.html

The androids are roughing up Rodrigo Santoro when William escapes but he's smiling at the end of the scene because he knows he's not really in any danger. Now remember that every potentially dangerous item is controlled by the company. In one scene a fire wasn't started because the only host with the correct psychological blocks necessary to be allowed to handle an axe wasn't present. The guns don't function correctly when used against a human. The explosives Ed Harris used had to be authorized before they were allowed to work (also meaning that the nitro wasn't going to blow up on that train regardless of whether Dolores shot at it).
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