Summary: Flashbacks show that cops were at Elliot's door at the end of season 1 and they arrested him. But now, Elliot is free from prison and reunites with Darlene. Darlene tells him that Mobley and Trenton are missing and Elliot demands they meet with Cisco to figure out their next move. With Cisco, Elliot hacks into the phone of Xun, Cisco's Dark Army contact. Elliot meets with him and asks about Stage 2 but they don't reply. Darlene listens in and realizes that Stage 2 was set up by Elliot. Darlene also realizes that she left behind an important tape at Susan's house. Cisco goes back and finds it, along with something else. Elliot returns to his apartment and sees Joanna waiting for him. Angela hacks her boss and retrieves critical files on the Washington Township Plant. She takes them to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission but leaves when she detects that they are after her. At home, Angela is visited by Dom who offers to help her, letting her know that she is on their radar to be arrested soon. Whiterose meets with Price who asks for more cash to get through their plan. They threaten each other.
The Good: The flashbacks to start the episode did a terrific job of filling in all the blanks from the season 1 finale to now, making it explicitly clear how Elliot's prison story worked out in the grander scheme of things. Elliot was arrested as a result of Michael's actions against him, and we learn that Leon was there since the beginning to protect him, and Ray was the warden which explains his presence. This was all good stuff, clearing up all loose ends and setting up for what should be a more focused narrative going forwards. I am enjoying whatever it is that the show is setting up with Elliot and Mr. Robot. The strange disconnect they are experiencing was surprising and completely caught me off guard. The show neatly captured the feeling of not being in control and being powerless to stop your own actions. The creative filmmaking ensured that this stuff was chilling, and anxiety-inducing. I have to especially praise the subway scene as Elliot is physically unable to reach Mr. Robot as he talks with Cisco, with some unsettling keyboard playing in the background making the whole thing feel that much more sinister. Angela's hack was tense and exciting. I really enjoyed seeing her make use of her new skillset to further her own goals. The visitor mistaking her for Monica was a wonderful moment that again highlighted how little these high-ranking people think of the assistants (he couldn't even remember her face). There was wonderful suspense in this sequence. I'm also happy with Dom's story connecting to Angela, and I hope that this goes somewhere big. Price and Whiterose's scene is very well acted, especially from Price. His angry rant that he will ensure that Whiterose fails no matter what if he betrays him was fantastic and very gripping to watch. Michael Cristofer is engaging in every single scene. Magnificent casting. Darlene and Elliot's hug was nice. The Bad: Unfortunately this episode pushed me close to my breaking point. Season 2 has frustrated me plenty with its convoluted storytelling, slow pacing and lack of substance, and all of that really got to me with this episode. Following the flashback sequence, I had figured that we would be leaving the mysteries behind and go to a more emotionally satisfying story. Instead, as has been the case this season, Sam Esmail opts to jerk us around with more mysteries, more convoluted storytelling, and even more frustrating teasing without offering us any clear answers. With season 2 coming closer to its end, I have grown weary of this. I have been patient a long time but now I am actively annoyed that just 4 episodes from the end of the season we are still being exposed to these games. Smoke and mirrors alone do not make a good TV show. We need emotional substance to feel something. This episode was all smoke and mirrors, and zero substance. Every scene left me with more and more questions, nothing became clear, and I struggled to connect with every character. The show is so fixated on setting up its plot through these frustrating mysteries, and it loses sight of its characters in the process. So many potentially good storylines have been abandoned for the sake of preserving mystery and developing the plot. I'll start with Elliot's storyline. The Darlene/Cisco reunion wasn't anywhere near as impactful as it should have been. Darlene went at Cisco full swing with a baseball bat last episode, and it had zero consequences! What? Come on, that feels so cheap. Both characters act like nothing even happened outside of a single underwhelming scene, and that was so disappointing. The conclusion to this storyline at the end of the episode angered me. The use of cliffhangers was terrible and by this point I am angered at how this show manipulates us into watching more by giving no answers. What did Cisco find behind the couch? Who is at Darlene's door? Find out next time! The impact of these reveals is nullified by this garbage cliffhangers and that irritated me massively. Elliot's story ends with a meeting with Joanna. This should be an exciting moment, but I find myself rolling my eyes because I know that we won't get any plot movement or character building from this. We will likely just be jerked around and teased with answers at the start of the next episode before "Mr. Robot" moves on to its next convoluted story. I'm frustrated that after 9 episodes in season 2, we still haven't moved on from the frustrating storytelling of the early episodes. Angela's story is so confusing for me. One of the biggest weaknesses of "Mr. Robot" is how it tells its story. By hiding so much from us, it becomes difficult to understand what characters are trying to do and what their motivations are. The people creating the show know what's going on, so they can understand just fine, but the audience is left clueless. As a result, so many storylines fall flat because we can't understand the characters. Angela's story is the biggest consequence of this problem. I still have no good idea of what her motives are or what she is trying to do. What is her goal? Why is she moving up in E Corp? How invested is she in this place? How does she feel about alienating her father and her friends? None of these questions have concrete answers, and that's problematic because these are the essential aspects of her character that we need to connect with. Angela's story here is hurt because I have no idea about anything that she's doing. Why did she do that hack now? I have no idea. Was it always her plan? Did she just come up with it when her new boss pissed her off? I have no idea. Did Price want her to do this? I have no idea. What is her endgame with this information? I have no idea. It's one frustrating question after another and I find myself just craving for some simple details on Angela's character so that I can better understand her. Price and Whiterose had what should have been a fantastic scene. Instead, I found myself only able to appreciate the acting because I have no idea what they're talking about! So far every scene between these two serves as a tease of what's actually happening but nothing is ever revealed. Just more and more questions, and I'm left feeling cold about the whole thing. By this point, I'm not sure if any reveal would be able to justify the ridiculous amount of teasing and set-up that has been done this season. Just give us some answers and a story that we can connect with for the love of god. At least the early season 2 episodes had some fascinating storytelling with Elliot and Mr. Robot to keep me interested, but this episode doesn't have that luxury. This episode had no emotional core at all and nothing was clear. The Unknown: What did Darlene say to Elliot when they hugged? Why did Elliot visit his mother? Is she physically unable to interact with him, or does she just choose not to? Why does Whiterose hate the word "accident"? Did she cause the plane crash that killed the former E Corp CEO? It was pretty amusing when she pissed on his grave. What's the deal with whatever she has going on with Price? Is Price really able to fight against Whiterose? What is with the suggestion for World War 3? How can they make that happen? Why is the Washington Township Plant so important for Whiterose? What is going on there? What's going on with Elliot? Why is he "glitching" with Mr. Robot? What is happening to his mind? How is this happening? Why did Angela do this E Corp hack? What motivated it? Why was the US Nuclear Regulation Commission after her? Are they somehow complicit in whatever is happening at the Washington Plant? What does Dom want from Angela? What is her plan? Why is she extending an offer to her? Will Angela accept it? What did Mr. Robot say to Cisco? Is Elliot going to get a meeting with Whiterose? What will he learn from that? What did Cisco find in Susan's house? It sounded like a bound person? Was it Mobley and Trenton? Someone else? Who left it there, whatever it is? Apparently Stage 2 was Elliot's plan. Did he come up with it during the 3 missing days? What does it entail? Why did the Dark Army agree with it? Did Elliot meet with Whiterose during this time? Who was at Darlene's door? What does Joanna want from Elliot? Best Moment: Angela's E Corp hack is signature "Mr. Robot". Character of the Episode: Dom. Conclusion: The most frustrating episode of the show. I've been patient for a long time, but this episode is where I finally had enough. All of season 2's biggest weaknesses were on display here and no amount of gorgeous camera work can overcome that. We need something of substance fast for this season to be salvaged. Score: 48
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Summary: A flashback shows Mobley and Trenton meet while they wait to meet Darlene. In the present, fsociety listen in on an open discussion on Operation Berenstain and release the discussion to the public. Susan suddenly returns home and they are forced to imprison her. After much debate on what to do, Darlene kills her, exacting revenge for her father. She claims to the others that it was an accident but nobody believes it. Mobley and Trenton try to find a way out. Mobley is taken in for questioning by the FBI and is questioned by Dom who wants to be led to Tyrell. Mobley requests a lawyer and the FBI are forced to release him after Operation Berenstain went public. Mobley texts to meet Trenton to skip town and Trenton waits for him but he doesn't arrive for 2 hours. Somebody arrives to see Trenton. Darlene opens up to Cisco about her horror and she stays with him but learns that he is secretly working with the Dark Army against them. Darlene destroys his computer and knocks him out. Angela is on a date at a bar but ignores her date and confronts an old friend, Steve, who accuses her of being a traitor. Her date is revealed to be a plant from Dom who is investigating Angela.
The Good: It's strange to have an episode without Elliot at all, but I think this decision actually had a lot of upside, allowing the side characters to develop more naturally. This episode did wonders for the likes of Darlene, Mobley, and Trenton who I now understand much better, and I'm starting care about them. After almost two seasons this is long overdue, but it's better to get this development late than never. I thoroughly enjoyed everything involving Mobley and Trenton. The flashback to kick off the episode was good and it revealed a little bit more about their personalities through their little debate over android vs apple. There's also a cheeky line as Darlene shows up and Mobley and Trenton ask about Elliot, foreshadowing that he is not going to appear in this episode. In the present, Trenton and Mobley were fairly compelling. They are clearly in over their head here and there is something easy to relate with as the two of them try their best to make it out alive as they feel the walls closing in around them. Mobley is paranoid and regretful of what he has done, while Trenton is scared and in denial of the fact that she may have to leave her family. All of these emotions are easy to understand, connecting us more with these characters. There were several great scenes here. Trenton failing to convince her family to move, Mobley sending the pizza guy to scan his apartment (and then asking for his other pizza), and of course Dom's interrogation of Mobley. I'll focus on that last one a bit more because there is more substance to explore. Dom is growing on me quickly. She's so dedicated to her job in spite of her weak home life, and it is refreshing how smart and capable she is. Her shakedown of Mobley is effective, pinning down his identity perfectly, and when you consider how Mobley has acted prior to this scene, there is a genuine sense that he might break. But in a lovely twist, Mobley shows his brains as he hits Dom with "lawyer", ending the interrogation, and securing his freedom from the FBI (from the Operation Berenstain hack) even if he doesn't realize that just yet. The entire Susan Jacobs scenario was very engaging. While it does feel a little convenient that nobody was checking for her return, this does double down on how unprepared fsociety is for what they're doing, which is an idea that "Mr. Robot" has been examining for quite some time. You get the sense that had Darlene not been there, they may even have let Susan get away because of how much her appearance caught them off guard. Darlene was the only person prepared here. Mobley freaks out, Trenton stupidly lets Susan out of her bindings, and nobody can agree on what to do so they desperately try to hack her. Darlene is the only one who understands that the only way out of this situation is to kill Susan, and that any outcome where she survives will not end well for them. Her confrontation with Susan is fascinating, exposing a darker side to the character that we had not previously seen (see: Best Moment). I really liked Darlene murdering her in cold blood, and her follow-up is fascinating. Mobley, Trenton, and Cisco all know what she did, but say nothing. Darlene then sits on the subway and reflects, horrified at what she did, and confused as to why nothing stopped her from committing murder. It's a realistic and sad portrayal of what pushing past a moral boundary does to a person. Carly Chaikin is terrific throughout the episode and brings Darlene's conflict to life. I loved the montage of the FBI hack coupled with Angela's karaoke performance. The music choices in this show are always immaculate, and that's the same here. The lyrics to the song perfectly reflect the struggle of pretty much every character in this episode. It's a wonderful song that adds emotion to a hacking sequence. The Bad: Angela is treading water here. Her confrontation with Steve, the plumber, feels very familiar. Somebody calls Angela out for being a sell-out and she shuts them down with confidence. We have seen this before and it adds nothing to see it happen again. Everything involving Angela feel completely flat and it was a waste of time. I wish that a more unique storyline could have been thought up for Angela. I still feel that little bit of disconnect in who she is, so I would have liked some scenes that explored a different aspect of the character to help clear up her motives and goals, which are currently extremely messy. Of course, an episode of "Mr. Robot" without Elliot feels like it's missing something. I enjoyed most of what was offered here, but something is always going to be missing when you remove the best character in the show for an episode. The Unknown: Did the FBI get any kind of clue from the man who originally owned the gun that Darlene had placed for Elliot? Have they been directed towards her now? Who visited Trenton at her house? Why did they go to see her? What was the purpose? Where did Mobley go? Why didn't he meet with Trenton? Did somebody get to him? Who entered the shop to meet Trenton? Will Dom's plan to get information out of Angela work? Who is the older man that Angela was talking to? What are the Dark Army planning? What is stage 2? Why did Cisco need to keep an eye on Darlene? Will Darlene escape from him now? Best Moment: Darlene's speech to Susan was chilling. You get a dark sense that this was exactly what she was hoping would happen based on how much she enjoyed tormenting Susan with her story. Darlene has never been a particularly violent person so you never really suspect that she's going to outright murder Susan, but then she does. It's the most driven by emotion we have ever seen Darlene, a terrific moment that reveals a lot about the character. Character of the Episode: Darlene. Conclusion: Elliot's presence was missing in this episode, but the side characters desperately needed this episode to develop further and become better realized. While this isn't a particularly special episode, it's a fun thriller that connects me more to what was a woefully underdeveloped cast of side characters. Score: 65 Summary: Elliot talks to Mr. Robot who tells him that he killed Tyrell. Ray takes Elliot to a computer and tells him to finish the site migration. Elliot does so and plays a game of chess with Ray. Ray accepts that Elliot likely informed the cops and accepts his fate. The cops arrive and arrest him. Later, several gang members come after Elliot for what he did but Leon defends him and kills them, revealing that he works for Whiterose. Elliot meets with Krista and reveals to us that he's been lying and living in an illusion; he was in prison the entire time. Angela is able to get Dom away and finishes the hack, but Dom quickly realizes they were hacked and that Angela played a role. Angela gets the contingency dropped and meets with Price asking to be moved to being manager in risk management. She moves in and tries to take an important position, but her new boss stops her and reveals that he has been given the authority by Price to do whatever he wants with her. After feeling continually frustrated with her life, Joanna gets divorce papers for Tyrell and shows them to Derek.
The Good: The Angela story from last week resolves really well. Angela handles Dom with expertise and intelligence that fits her, but of course she looks incredibly nervous so Dom easily realizes the truth immediately, she's just unable to prove it. I was thoroughly impressed that Dom was written competently enough to still be suspicious of Angela and immediately understand that the FBI was hacked. Both characters were portrayed perfectly and the result of their scene was the most logical and realistic. Dom also brings up Angela's inner character conflict ("this isn't you") which segues nicely to the rest of Angela's story where she tries her best to make the changes she wants without giving herself up to the corporate lifestyle. She tries to offer peace to her father, but he isn't hearing it and in the episode's best scene (see: Best Moment), he tells Angela straight up that he does not trust her anymore. On the other hand, Angela gets the result she needs from Price, but is unwilling to give herself up to him which may have hindered her ability to make the change that she wants to make (see: The Unknown). It seems clear that while Angela wants to change E Corp from within, she's finding it tough to stray from the temptation of changing herself to adapt to a cushy life in E Corp instead. All of her attempts to do the right thing result in her failing to make any impact. Elliot's story in this episode sees the conclusion of the Ray mini-arc and it is compelling barring one bit of disappointment (see: The Bad). Ray's dead wife had been a detail that wasn't really explored much, so I am pleased that it factored into the conclusion of Ray's arc. He admits that his wife was the one who started the business, which makes sense considering that Ray seems too kind of a person to make something so ruthless. His own personal guilt over the website is brutally realistic and hits hard emotionally, and it made sense that he wanted to continue the business in tribute to his wife. But in the end, after he abused Elliot and RT he realized that he was becoming a real monster and decided that being busted by the FBI was a better outcome than living life with constant guilt and shame. This was an emotionally satisfying conclusion, and Ray's final chess game with Elliot was a good send-off to a good side character. The big reveals in this episode definitely delivered. We learn from Mr. Robot that Elliot likely killed Tyrell. I'm not sure if I believe it (see: The Unknown), but it is big for Elliot to finally put that uncertainty to rest. The Leon twist caught me completely off guard and was a pleasant surprise. It makes sense that The Dark Army would do something to protect Elliot if they view him as important, and having Leon be his guardian angel was a good way to raise the importance of the character. The ending prison reveal worked well too. I appreciated the way that it was revealed, making clear what each setting represented in prison; the dining room was the prison meeting room, the church group was in the prison, the restaurant was the cafeteria, Elliot's room was a prison cell, the streets were hallways, etc. With this, the reveal made perfect sense and the entire first half of season 2 makes more sense in retrospect. I did suspect this twist, but seeing the reveal was still satisfying. I do appreciate that an explanation was provided for Elliot keeping this secret from us, and while it wasn't perfect (see: The Bad), it at least prevents this reveal from feeling like a lame shock without any purpose at all. This show is portraying a changed world really well. With the economy in tatters, it makes sense that there is chaos everywhere and the show shows this whenever it can. From failing businesses to trash burning in the streets, it's clear that the world is a completely different place. The Bad: The conclusion to Ray's story felt somewhat anticlimactic. The escalation of Ray into a villainous character was superbly done in the last couple episodes, so it is pretty underwhelming that he immediately gets cold feet after beating up Elliot and essentially lets Elliot turn him in. That's a very convenient end to the storyline even if it did make emotional sense for the character. It feels like the escalating suspense led to nothing. It's a shame that the newly developed intimidating side to Ray was so short lived. The big surprise twist at the end of the episode isn't as impactful as the show thinks it is. Sure, it's a good reveal that recontextualizes the story, but it feels more like a trick executed through misdirection rather than a story beat. Elliot's reasoning is that he didn't trust us so he kept secrets, but why tell us the truth now? It feels a bit lazily thought out and convenient, giving off the impression that the writers wanted this meaningless shock in the story and constructed a narrative around that idea rather than letting the narrative develop organically. It's a forced reveal that feels like it wasn't entirely necessary. I think the season honestly would have been stronger had the story been honest with us about what was happening. At least then it wouldn't have been bogged down by frustrating mysteries and confusing storytelling. Joanna's story continues to bore me. Her scenes do not evoke any sense of emotion and I can't understand her as a character because I'm very unclear about what she knows and what she thinks is happening with Tyrell. With Elliot we always know what he's thinking and what he's perceiving, so the show's vague style of storytelling works well with him. It does not work with Joanna. I was disappointed by Price inviting Angela to celebrate his birthday, which read to me like he was asking her for a sexual relationship. We have enough two dimensional creepy corporate assholes on this show as is, I really hope that Price isn't just another of them. The character has potential to be so much more. The Unknown: Did Elliot really kill Tyrell? That's what we're told but I'm not sure that I entirely trust Mr. Robot. What did Darlene see on the computer? Apparently something was supposed to happen tomorrow. What? Why is Joanna deciding to divorce Tyrell? Is it real? I imagine that divorcing a missing person does not go through so easily. Why did Price ask Angela to celebrate with him? Was it as sexual of a request as it sounded? Was Angela's rejection why Price didn't offer her further help in her new position? How will Angela adjust to her new position? Will she be able to make the changes that she wants to make or will it be harder than she thought? How will she try to get through to her new boss? What did Elliot's letter say? Was it a release letter? Where is Whiterose going to meet Elliot? Why is she going to meet Elliot? I suppose that this reveal means that Leon is working for the Dark Army. How did they get someone into prison to watch over Elliot? So Elliot was in jail all along! Why is he there? What was he arrested for? Surely not the 5/9 hack or Tyrell's murder. I suspect that he's there for what he did to Krista and Michael, which would explain that random scene in the season 1 finale where Michael went after Elliot but that story had no follow-up. I suspect that this also means that the person at Elliot's door was the police. This reveal changes a lot of things. Does this mean Ray was another inmate? Or maybe a prison guard? His house was always strange because he had an empty office as the first room in his house. It would make sense if his house was just an office instead. Best Moment: Angela's scene with her father was sad and a perfect way to show us how much she has changed from the sweet, honorable woman of season 1 into a cold-hearted, ruthless businesswoman who is finding that changing herself is far easier than changing the system she is working in. The plight of both characters in this scene was understandable; Angela is trying to prove that she is still on a righteous path, avoiding facing how she has changed, while her father is disappointed that his wonderful daughter is working for the business that is responsible for the death of his wife. Sad stuff. Character of the Episode: Ray. Craig Robinson put in a great performance and I enjoyed his time on the show. Conclusion: We finally got some answers, the Ray story was finally resolved, and there was some decent progression on other fronts, but emotionally there was not a whole lot here, just a "shocking" twist without much impact. Add on a degree of dissatisfaction with Ray's story and this is a solid episode overall, but nothing special. Score: 64 Summary: Mr. Robot puts Elliot in a sitcom-like fantasy in his head to help him process his beating. Elliot wakes up in the hospital and is thrown into a room by Ray. He embraces Mr. Robot and thanks him for his help. Mobley teaches Angela to hack and she has 24 hours to learn because the FBI are leaving the E Corp building in one day. Cisco delivers the femtocell late after a hold up with the Dark Army inspecting it. Angela recognizes him but doesn't do anything. Angela goes to work and after some close calls she sets up the femtocell, but the wifi doesn't work. Angela goes back to her monitor and gets instructions on how to get the wifi back but she is interrupted when Dom arrives to question her. Price learns that the US can no longer borrow money from China after the attack and is unable to contact Whiterose. A flashback shows the time that Elliot's father told him about his condition, and he gives Elliot the opportunity to name his new computer store.
The Good: What an incredible 15 minute opening sequence that was. The whole episode was great, but this sequence stole the show. Following the tense cliffhanger from the last episode, it comes completely out of left field when we are spontaneously thrown into a 90s sitcom fantasy world with Elliot being every bit as confused as we are. It takes a little bit before we realize that this is Elliot's mind dealing with what happened to him and I adore this concept. I can tell that this episode likely influenced a certain episode of "BoJack Horseman", and seeing the original concept in action is a blast. The jokes are surprisingly funny and charming, and I got good laughs out of ALF (a fantastic and unexpected cameo) horrifyingly murdering Gideon and Tyrell crashing into the green screen. The self-awareness and obviously intentional cheesiness made this even funnier. Better than the laughs was the subtle hints about the various aspects of conflict in Elliot's mind. Gideon's laughable death is indicative of how Mr. Robot wants Elliot to accept what happened and move on without carrying that baggage. And as for Elliot's literal baggage, Tyrell, Mr. Robot again tells him to pretend like it's not even there and to move forward. Tyrell might be dead for all we know, but it shouldn't matter to Elliot. And then there is poor Angela who Elliot still wants to save, but Mr. Robot offers the bleak reality that he may have to leave her in E Corp because she has made that choice. The framing of these scenes as "lessons" that Mr. Robot is trying to teach Elliot is really beautiful, and it comes off as touching and honest, proving to us that Mr. Robot does care for Elliot. The pay-off at the end of the episode is extraordinary as Elliot embraces Mr. Robot during this painful and uncertain time, and it feels honest, earned, and emotional. I suspect that this will be a key moment in the story, and the creative way that it was set up only adds to its effectiveness. The rest of Elliot's story offers up some solid moments. Elliot looks half-dead following the beating, and "Mr. Robot" has done a fantastic job of making Craig Robinson feel threatening. It took time to turn Ray into an interesting character but we have finally got there. Ray initially seemed like a genuinely good person, kind, caring, and understanding. But now we get a full look at his terrifying, sadistic side and his speech to Elliot, telling him that he belongs to Ray is tense and intimidating. I'm very excited to see how this storyline is going to be resolved. The flashback at the end of the episode is a curious decision but I think that it works as a book-end scene, another reminder of how deep the bond between Elliot and his father was. "Mr. Robot" has been slow and sometimes tedious in this second season, but the emotional ending to this episode served as a reminder that this show has enormous potential and that the early parts of this season are likely setting up for even better things down the road. Angela's story is excellent and it is refreshing to see her integrated with the main story again. Without the focus being on Angela's internal character arc, the episode overcomes a lot of the problems I've had with her character development. My enjoyment of the story no longer depends on Angela's confused sense of morality, and all I need to know to enjoy her storyline here is that she has a much more aggressive personality compared to the first season. That is enough and it allows me to really enjoy how she handles herself as she executes this intense mission. Angela shines here, starting even before the mission begins when she stares down Cisco and sends him a brutal message without saying anything. I loved that moment, and we got a few more similarly intense scenes. Angela's efforts in the bathroom were suspenseful, and even better was when the FBI guy confronted her afterwards and Angela was forced to find a way out of there. The scene was superb, and Angela playing along to find her way out was excellent. The femtocell sequence was also very suspenseful, and I genuinely thought Angela was done there. But of course, true to real life, something goes wrong and Angela now has to do an extra hack from her own terminal. This final scene was absolutely outstanding. The extreme close-up of Angela's face puts us right in her shoes as she does this hack, and Darlene's quickfire instructions are tough to follow even for us, adding further to the tension. We are never given any shots of the environment around Angela, making us feel the anxiety she feels that somebody may be watching, somebody might see, somebody might hear her talking to Darlene. The anxiety is portrayed with sublime accuracy through stylistic filming choices, and it is an impressive accomplishment. Angela losing her place was totally realistic, and the fear that she felt in that scenario was perfect. The sequence finally ends with Angela inputting the final command, and right when you think she finally succeeded, "Mr. Robot" throws one final twist as Dom shows up right out of nowhere. It's a tremendous moment filled with dread, one that was set up beautifully in an earlier scene (you can see Dom in the background when Angela heads downstairs). I would normally complain about the FBI being so lax with their security, but credit where credit is due, a previous episode established that Dom is one of the only people that actually cares about security and that others don't really pay attention. Excellent foresight by the writers to include that scene to ensure that we can buy into the poor FBI security in this episode. The Bad: Angela's story was too similar to the Steel Mountain mission in "eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv" for my liking. Sure, this time it was Angela instead of Elliot, and the concept was different, and the scenes were structured differently. But there were so many similarities along the way that it felt like I was watching the same exact thing. I still enjoyed it, but it took away from Angela's scenes when I realized how incredibly similar they were to a previous storyline. The Unknown: Is Mr. Robot killing Tyrell indicative of the fact that Elliot has killed Tyrell? Where has Elliot been taken by Ray and Lone Star? What are they going to do with him? Why did the Dark Army investigate the femtocell? Did they cause this wifi problem? Or is there something else planted in that femtocell that is yet to be revealed? I feel sad for Ahmed, the store owner who has to close down. I thought his scene with Dom was well written and I definitely felt for him. But what was the point of this scene? I wonder what Ahmed's role in the story is, because he has been shown two times now. Surely he will play some sort of role in this story instead of just being a reminder of how difficult the world post-5/9 is. Why is Whiterose ducking Price's calls? What is her goal? What will Price do without China's help? How will Angela deal with Dom? Will she find out what Angela has done? Angela gave Cisco quite the staredown. Will she do something to him later? I can't imagine that their storyline ends with just a glare. Best Moment: If I can get away with it, I'll give it to the entirety of the 15 minute opening sequence. Every second of that was a winner. If not, then I'll have to go with Elliot's emotional embrace of Mr. Robot, a terrific pay-off of six episodes of storytelling. Character of the Episode: Mr. Robot. Conclusion: Finally season 2 has started to progress and it is immediately paying off. Elliot and Mr. Robot's reconciliation provides the emotional edge that the show has desperately needed, while Angela's mission offers up some of that signature high-octane suspense that "Mr. Robot" is becoming known for. And then you add on that magnificent sitcom parody to start the episode, and this is a stand-out episode, quite possibly the best of the show so far. Score: 74 Summary: Elliot starts the process to hack the FBI and when asked by Lone Star, he requests to speak with the previous technician for help, RT. RT arrives and he secretly communicates to Elliot and Elliot finds out that Ray runs a black market website. He is torn about what to do about this information as he goes to sleep, but he's suddenly woken up and abducted. Ray's men have picked up Elliot and they beat him up. Darlene asks Angela to help them with the hack by going to the FBI floor in E Corp. She initially refuses but after realizing Ollie has told the FBI about the CD she returns tot he plan. She meets with Elliot, they catch up and Angela agrees to help. Angela is introduced to fsociety by Darlene. Kareem backs out of the deal with Joanna so she has him killed. Joanna gets a phone call from outside her house but nobody is there. The FBI head to China to investigate everything there. They are greeted by Minister Zhang who is actually Whiterose. Dom speaks her intentions to investigate the Dark Army and Whiterose later pulls her aside for a conversation. Later at the FBI hotel, a bunch of shooters attack and kill many people, but Dom manages to stay alive.
The Good: The entire hacking storyline is great, a breath of fresh air after a slow start to the season. The opening scene does a fantastic job of showing us Elliot in his element, and I love the use of darkness to illustrate how cut off from the outside world Elliot is when he is hacking. It also serves for a terrific reveal to remind us that Lone Star is watching this entire time; something that comes into play later when it turns out that RT and Elliot weren't as slick communicating with each other as they thought. The rest of the story is tense and dramatic. The episode is so fixated on the FBI hack that Ray's business becomes a side-thought, so it is a real shock when we learn exactly how depraved Ray's business venture is, and how dangerous it is. The black market website reveal is significant enough to completely upend Elliot's mission, forcing him to sidetrack and ponder what to do about Ray. It completely changes the complexion of the entire episode in a way that immediately ratchets up the tension. Angela gets some good scenes which naturally build to her agreeing to help Elliot and Darlene with the hack. Her initial refusal makes sense, but when investigating Ollie she learns a harsh truth about his motives and that he has revealed what he knows to the FBI, significantly endangering her. That scene develops perfectly as Ollie's constant flattery and nostalgia feels off from the first moment, and followed by his immediate mention of the CD and his slightly nervous demeanor gives away his plot very organically in a way that is scary for both us and Angela. Once again, "Mr. Robot" does a fantastic job of putting us in a character's shoes by connecting us with Angela's slow discovery of Ollie's intentions during the meeting. Having Angela abruptly leave after getting all she needs makes perfect sense as well; why should she respect the man who cheated on her and screwed her over? Following this, Angela returns to Elliot and their reunion is a lovely moment. The acting here is great, making it clearly that they still do deeply care about each other. Elliot wanting to be rid of Mr. Robot before seeing her feels earnest, and it leads into a fittingly sad moment when he admits that Mr. Robot is still there behind her and that he failed to be rid of him. Angela ultimately agrees to help and it looks like this is going to lead to her being actively involved with fsociety which is a big development and an important one, finally linking her story directly with Elliot's. Joanna's scenes haven't done a whole lot for me as a story, but they are quite impressive to watch at times. Take this episode where Mr. Sutherland goes to kill Kareem. That scene is executed perfectly (pun intended), overlaying Joanna's questioning and Sutherland's descriptions over top of the scene where Sutherland murders Kareem. It's an artful sequence that tells us more about Joanna as she explains why she wanted to drug Kareem before he died. Plus the chance is also taken to explain how Sutherland will deflect suspicion away from Joanna, ensuring that Kareem's death feels natural. While this sequence still suffered from the same problems I've had with Joanna's scenes all season, I was impressed with how much was accomplished and with the filmmaking skill that was on display. The lengthy dialogue between Whiterose (who I will address as a woman until we get a gender confirmation) and Dom was fascinating. Both characetrs seem to have ulterior motives, and I was fascinated to see them slightly test each other as they discussed their lives, slowly learning more about each other. Dom's backstory is told to us naturally through Whiterose's curiosity, and we can understand that she's here at the FBI after running away from commitment. Meanwhile Whiterose has strangely opted to show off her feminine side to Dom and I'm not sure why. Dom was clever enough to figure out that "Minister Zhang" doesn't have a sister and that something is up, and I'm left wondering if this was a slip-up on Whiterose's part or if it was intentional. I can also point out the possibility of it being intentional because Whiterose had organized a plan to kill Dom by attacking the FBI hotel, which happens later in startling fashion as gunshots start firing completely out of nowhere. The gunfight was brief, but it was tense and exciting. The Bad: This was solid plot progression, but it did not have the high level of character work that we saw in the last four episodes. I enjoyed seeing the plot finally develop with characters making big decisions, storylines connecting, and some twists and turns finally happening. But to accommodate all of this stuff, the ambition and emotion that was so prevalent in the first four episodes has severely diminished. While that's definitely fine - not every episode needs to be a cathartic masterpiece - it does mean that this episode isn't as big as it is trying to be. It kicks the story into motion but it does not do enough to be a great episode, merely ending up as good. The Unknown: What will come from the discovery of the raspberry pi? What else will the FBI find from it? Why did Whiterose take such interest in Dom? Why did she show Dom her closet? What was the point of that? Did Whiterose send the men to attack the FBI in the hotel? If not, then who did? Why did they kill themselves? Will Dom make it out alive? How many will survive the attack? What was the point of those two masked individuals that Dom saw? Were they part of fsociety? The Dark Army? Something else? Joanna is apparently protecting Elliot. Why? How? Was the toy for the baby a gift from Tyrell? Who was on the phone? Was it Tyrell? The call seemed to be taking place right outside her house. Is Tyrell much closer than everyone thinks? What was the purpose of that call? What will Elliot attempt to do about Ray's website? Lone Star is beating Elliot up now. How far will he go? What will Ray's follow-up be? Is Darlene telling Angela about fsociety and what they did? Will their plan to hack the FBI work? Best Moment: The opening sequence did well to make us feel how good it is for Elliot to be back in the zone of hacking. I'm starting to look forward to the creative ways that "Mr. Robot" starts off its episodes. Character of the Episode: Whiterose. Conclusion: This was better stuff. While it lost some of the fascinating dynamic between Elliot and Mr. Robot, this was a more plot-heavy, tense episode that had a comparatively easy-to-follow plot with a few exciting twists and turns. Score: 67 Summary: A flashback shows Darlene return to Elliot for Halloween and Elliot conceives of the idea for fsociety. In the present, Elliot is visited by Darlene and he tells her to stop furthering fsociety's goals but she doesn't listen. Elliot plays chess with Ray and is challenged by Mr. Robot to play a decisive game to determine which of them remain in control. Elliot consults Krista for help and she tells him not to play but he refuses to listen. Elliot plays the game and discovers he is in a permanent stalemate and that he can't be rid of Mr. Robot since he's a part of himself. Darlene learns from Cisco that the FBI found the arcade and that the Dark Army think somebody turned and will likely go after them. With her life in danger, Darlene phones Elliot to get on a computer. Elliot agrees to help Ray and uses his computer. He learns about Romero, the FBI, and the Dark Army from Darlene and decides to hack into the FBI. Angela speculates on Price's motives and gives him a proposition, but Price does not accept it. Joanna is running out of money while waiting for Tyrell and tries to negotiate Tyrell's severance pay from Scott, but Scott refuses.
The Good: These early episodes of season 2 have done a good job at expanding the world-building of the show and developing the many aspects of the plot in preparation for later. The opening scene does this perfectly. It starts off as a tease of answers from the season 1 finale, but eventually it becomes clear to us that we are watching a flashback. The scene is structured impressively subtly so that there are a number of different points where the viewer may realize it's a flashback. I was tipped off by Darlene's rhythmic knocking, but I'm sure that other people will clue in about the time jump at different points. Continuing on, the scene does a great job of filling in some gaps for our characters. The Darlene/Elliot relationship is explored and we get a better idea of the dynamic that they had prior to Elliot losing his memory. We also get a better understanding of Elliot, learning what he did before Allsafe and why he was seeing Krista (mental health concerns after his hack). This informs us more on Elliot compared to what he has told us from being inside his mind, and is changes our perception of him a little bit. Plus, we also get a better idea of the origins of fsociety. Where in the pilot it seemed like a highly organized team of hackers, now we get to learn of fsociety's true origins: the ramblings of a man who may or may not be crazy. It's a fascinating bit of expansion that brings to light how unlikely fsociety's success really was. The sequence then concludes with a clever jumpscare title drop, capping off what was a fascinating and inventive 11-minute (!) opening scene. If there's one thing this show has, it's ambition. This was skillfully executed and it held my attention the entire time. As has been the case this season, Elliot's story continued to develop his inner conflict with Mr. Robot as he continues to live in his uncertain environment cut off from the world around him. The past few episodes have seen Elliot try to wrestle control away from Mr. Robot and try to escape from him. This episode finally brings Elliot to a point of reckoning where he learns that this is not feasible. Ray tells him to open up, and Krista tells him to accept Mr. Robot as a part of himself but Elliot doesn't budge from his stance. Instead it's the unlikely source of Leon who gets through to Elliot. Leon asks Elliot what he is fighting for and that's when Elliot realizes that his main goal should not simply be freedom from Mr. Robot, it should be to build a future that he enjoys, a future that is beautifully realized by Sam Esmail in a top-quality dream sequence (see: Best Moment). With this in mind, Elliot is able to find new hope to keep moving forwards. His vain attempts to quash Mr. Robot's existence are finally halted after their chess game forces Elliot to realize how futile it all is. There is nothing he can do, and he better accept Mr. Robot soon or else he will be in a never-ending torrent of misery, accomplishing nothing. Finally Elliot understands what he needs to do, and he allows Mr. Robot to exist as he finally makes his move. With Darlene in danger, Elliot finally breaks away from his monotonous lifestyle and is back on a computer. And with big ambitions to hack the FBI (see: The Unknown), I can't wait to see what he does next. It has been very slow going to get to this point, but it feels huge that Elliot has finally accepted Mr. Robot as a part of him, and this exploration of the character was done very well. Angela's story has some good elements to it. She is learning how to carry herself and use her power, and it is great to see her compete with Price in attempts to outsmart him. But her desire for further power and ascension up the ladder ring a bit hollow. The encouraging voice she listens to every day tells her "my beliefs create my own reality" and "all of my dreams are coming true right now". But Angela's reaction indicates that she clearly does not believe this. She is starting to sacrifice her own sense of self for power, and that troubling road can potentially lead her somewhere very dangerous. The Bad: The problems I outlined in my last review still stand. I can tell that this will be fascinating to rewatch when I have a complete understanding of everything that is going on, but for now I am left feeling frustrated with the storytelling. So much mystery, so little clarity, and such slow pacing is not a good combination. I don't have enough of an understanding of the plot to emotionally connect, and the slow-burn makes it even tougher because there is so much I want to know, but episode after episode I get no answers or clarity. I'm willing to be patient and wait for it, but it is frustrating when we get so many scenes that are specifically constructed around not giving us any answers and it is immensely frustrating. Price and Whiterose's conversation should have escalated the stakes and cleared up the motives of both characters, but instead it serves as an almost infuriating test of my patience as both characters say so much while somehow revealing absolutely nothing. I feel similarly about Joanna's scenes. I have no idea what to make of her and her situation because I know nothing about her or her situation! The scene with Scott did nothing for me because I'm unclear on Joanna's goals and why she needs the money so badly. The constant barrage of questions are making this story incredibly convoluted, and my interest is waning as things become increasingly difficult to follow along. I'm concerned that the season may end up like "Westworld" if it isn't careful and if it starts relying on random shocks, twists, and misdirection too much. Angela's story is good on paper and there are some creative choices made in how it is told but it still doesn't entirely work for me. I was disappointed that Angela's decision on whether or not to use the evidence against Jim and Saul was skipped over. At least we saw the fall-out, but this is a huge moment for the character. Why on Earth was it skipped? I also find myself struggling to follow along with what Angela wants from E Corp, and this is likely continued problems from the whiplash effect of how Angela's character changed between seasons. She seems to genuinely want more power, and yet she is still helping her lawyer with the case. I'm confused by this and I want more clarity on Angela and her motives so that these scenes can mean more. At least there wasn't such excessive monologuing in this episode, but the slow pace is really starting to kill me after four episodes. Especially with there being so many hour-long episodes where very little actually happens. Let's see some plot movement now. Even "Better Call Saul", a notoriously slow TV show, has much more plot progression and character work happening in every episode. "Mr. Robot" seems to be trying to hide its slow pace and inefficient character development behind flashy cinematography and directing. The Unknown: What were the FBI pages for? What was Romero looking into? What is Operation Berenstain? Who started that operation? Does it have something to do with Elliot or Tyrell? What deal did Kareem agree to with Joanna? Why did it lead him into danger? He is the same man who confronted Elliot about Tyrell's car being parked for 3 days. Did he have a deal with Joanna by this point or did that come after? Why does Joanna need this money? What is she funding? Why is E Corp keeping Tyrell's money? Apparently the FBI were supposed to guarantee that he gets his money. Why? Are the government in on Tyrell's disappearance? What are Whiterose and Price planning? Why is Angela so important (I presume the "she" that they discussed in Angela)? Was Angela wrong when she confronted Price? I suspect that she wasn't, and perhaps Price simply did not like that Angela attempted to take power from him, so he rejected her. What is Darlene's plan to avoid being killed by the Dark Army? Will she help Mobley and Trenton too? What is Elliot's plan? How does he plan to hack into the FBI? What will this accomplish? Will Ray be fine with this? Best Moment: Elliot's dream sequence was wonderful and does nicely to illuminate Elliot's inner desires. He does wish the hook up with Angela, he genuinely cares for Darlene and wants her to be happy, and in a lovely moment, he still feels guilt over what he did to poor Bill Harper back in "eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv", and wishes to make up with him. The sequence was nicely edited and was genuinely moving as we finally got to see Elliot dare to dream of a better future to fight for. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: Another slow-burn episode that patiently develops the story, but loses me at several points along the way. I'm sure that this is going somewhere interesting, and the visual style of the show is tremendous, but the frustration is setting in and that is hurting the show. Elliot's story keeps me going, but I need more substance to connect with the story that is being told. Score: 56 Summary: Scott burns $5.9 million at the request of fsociety. Price makes a deal with government officials to get another loan. Elliot meets Ray who wants to become friends with him but Elliot keeps his distance. The next day, Ray tells Elliot that they talked at night and Elliot realizes it was Mr. Robot. Mr. Robot makes another attempt to subdue Elliot but Elliot refuses to give in and demands that he learns where Tyrell is. Elliot has another blackout and reawakens on the phone with Tyrell. Angela settles into her new job at E Corp and wants to keep it. She informs her lawyer about this, who is disappointed in her. Joanna continues to live her life and finds another lover. She receives a package with a phone in it. Gideon is met by Brock in a bar who kills him "for the country".
The Good: The opening sequence was well done. I appreciate the immediate follow-up to part 1's cliffhanger as Scott immediately springs into action. Fittingly, E Corp have him watched and they are well prepared to capture anyone who shows up for their own game. Scott remains sensible however, and he understands that any wrong move can have drastic consequences and he simply obeys fsociety's commands. And the result is that he is publicly seen burning millions of dollars at the mercy of fsociety, a public display of weakness and indifferent disconnect to a whopping $5.9 million, an amount of money that everyone on the street around him likely would never see in their lifetime. Fsociety's plan becomes clear immediately without a word of dialogue in this moment, confirmed by Darlene's smile as she watches it all unfold. Similar to "Breaking Bad", "Mr. Robot" tells its story beautifully, going the extra mile to utilize the format of televised media to the fullest in order to artistically convey the story as opposed to simply telling us everything bluntly. On the topic of E Corp, Price's speech in DC is brilliant. This character is likely being set up as a major villain, but we hardly know anything about him yet. What makes this extended speech work so well is that it tells us everything about this character's motivations and ideals organically in a scene that advances the plot (it explains why E Corp isn't undergoing any changes after repeated failures), while also treating the audience to a tremendous performance from the talented Michael Cristofer. This scene accomplishes a lot in terms of building this character up, and it does so without a word of exposition. After this speech, we know everything that Phillip Price is about, and it is easy to dislike him considering his inhumane morality, yet understand him because his perspective is pragmatic and logical. I praised Michael Cristofer's performance, and I suppose I should take this time to praise everyone creating this show. The extra effort put into this show is obvious just from watching. The performances are excellent, the dialogue is eloquently written, and the directing is truly something else. This show has stylistically wowed me since the first episode, and I don't say that often enough. While I firmly believe that character writing, immersion and emotional engagement is far more important than these other little things, these little things are what take a good show and elevate it further into greatness. If "Mr. Robot" can correct its major flaws, then the show has all of the potential to be fantastic because Sam Esmail pays so much attention to these little details and he nails them every time. Additionally, the music is always terrific in this show. The original score is mesmerizing and the song choices are always memorable and fitting. Now is as good a time as ever to appreciate the detail-work in this show, especially since I often do not give myself the chance to praise these details. Elliot's story remains a fascinating mystery (see: The Unknown), but we get some very good storytelling as Elliot battles his inner self. I've ignored the elephant in the room for a while, but there are very clear "Fight Club" inspirations in this show, particularly with Elliot's relationship with Mr. Robot. I don't think that this weakens the show as there is enough unique ideas and storytelling to differentiate from "Fight Club", and I think that the many homages made to "Fight Club" actually add to the series. Elliot's conflict with Mr. Robot is brilliant here as he navigates interactions with Ray, an outgoing individual that seems to have an interest in Elliot's experience as a hacker. Elliot wants nothing to do with him, but Mr. Robot is more than willing to give in to Ray and connect with him. These scenes are done really well. Ray is endearing and likeable (helped by the fact that he is Craig Robinson), but we can understand Elliot's desire to stay alone. This eventually leads to a brilliant reveal when we learn that Elliot isn't in as much control as he thought and that Mr. Robot still managed to slip out while he wasn't paying attention. It's as jarring to him as it is to us, and Elliot's panic at this realization leads to a fantastic confrontation with Mr. Robot (see: Best Moment), connecting to the episode's theme of wearing masks and how Elliot's mask is one that takes over his entire character. This story doesn't advance the plot much, but it is compelling to watch. Poor Gideon is given death as the cherry on top of all that he has been through. I do think that this moment was somewhat lacking emotionally, but it is effective as a plot moment. Elliot identified Gideon as a genuine good guy, and now he has died as direct fallout from Elliot's revolution, helping to paint the idea that maybe revolution isn't as good as it initially seems. The Bad: Angela's story work because it is hard to buy this sudden change in her character. I felt like I was finally starting to understand her and connect with her in the late episodes of season 1, but suddenly the character has done a complete 180 out of nowhere. It's incredibly difficult to buy into her sudden morality change into a stonehearted leader who treats others poorly. The show is trying to prove a point that capitalism has turned a sweet person into a monster out of self-preservation but I just do not feel this story at all. Where is the drama? Where is Angela learning to stop being sweet and embrace her darker side? We don't get to see this transformation dramatized in any way, so instead of feeling tragic, it feels like the traits we learned about Angela last season have sloppily been stripped away. It's such a shame to see that happen after I had finally started to warm up to Angela last season. Now I feel like I'm back to square one with being indifferent to her storyline, which feels so disconnected from everything else. The show's production and directing is superb, but it doesn't make up for poor character writing. Joanna's BDSM scenes make me feel extremely uncomfortable. I suppose they are supposed to add more depth to her, but they are not interesting to watch and they do not add enough substance to justify how difficult these scenes are to watch. Perhaps they will illuminate Joanna further in future episodes, but for now they do not make for compelling television. I would rather explore literally any other aspect of her character. Again, the vague storytelling does hurt the show. It's always easier to become emotionally invested when you have a clear understanding of the motivations of the characters' and the stakes of the conflict that you are watching. So much is being kept from us while we watch this two-part premiere that we never get that clear understanding, and that detracts from the episode's quality. Like I said before, I'm sure that this will be more engaging on rewatch, but on first watch this is missing something. The Unknown: Who is the guy that is watching Joanna? Who is the man she is using for her BDSM stuff? Is he someone important or just a stand-in for Tyrell? Why doesn't she go with him in public? What was that phone for? Who sent it? Was it Tyrell? Why was it sent? What is the significance of Joanna missing the call? Why did Brock kill Gideon? Was it just because of the revolution or did he have ulterior motives? Who is DiPierro and why is she important? The show made a point of introducing her briefly. What did Ray want from Elliot? What did he talk to him about when he was Mr. Robot? What else did Mr. Robot do during Elliot's black-out at the end of the episode? How did he get in touch with Tyrell? Where is he? Is he even alive? Why has Angela had such a sudden change of heart? Why do so many people at her job hate her? Is she not bothered by this? She has changed so much from season 1. Why does Angela have Qwerty? Best Moment: Elliot's psychotic laughter in the face of Mr. Robot trying to demoralize him by saying that Elliot's social identity is Mr. Robot. A bone-chilling scene that perfectly encapsulates Elliot's fraying sanity as he tries to fend off his alter ego's manipulations. Character of the Episode: Elliot again. Conclusion: A solid second part to what was a consistently good season premier. This two-parter isn't mind-blowing by any means, but it sets the stage for season 2 in good fashion. Score: 63 Summary: Flashbacks show Elliot working with Tyrell on the hack, but when things get underway, Elliot reaches for the gun in the popcorn machine. Another flashback shows Elliot fall out of the window and get taken to the doctor. In the present, Elliot is living with a new daily routine at his mother's place and is working on controlling Mr. Robot and his mental health. He is still speaking with Krista. Elliot meets with Gideon who wants help in a legal investigation going on with him but Elliot refuses to help and Gideon threatens to tell the FBI what he knows about him. Darlene continues to lead the expanding fsociety and together they blackmail E Corp for 5.9 million dollars with the threat being that they brick their entire banking system if they don't get it. Scott and Price discuss it with a counsellor and Scott decides that he will give fsociety the money.
The Good: The flashbacks to start the episode were very strong, and they gave us some curious insight into the circumstances of the show. With Elliot recollecting on his hack with Tyrell, the show makes it clear that what happened to Tyrell is going to be a major mystery in the early episodes of this season. Fascinatingly, there's a good chance that Elliot may have killed him (see: The Unknown) and that processing what he's done has furthered the deterioration of his mind. Furthermore, we get another tidbit of Elliot's past as we see the event where he falls out of the window. This scene confirms that it was Elliot who threw himself out of the window, and also gives us further details on his difficult childhood. Elliot's story in the present is very interesting. This episode was mostly scene-setting, but it does so very effectively in interesting ways. From Elliot's constant fighting with Mr. Robot in an effort to maintain control to Elliot listening while Leon rambles on about "Seinfeld", I was captivated by learning more about Elliot's current lifestyle. I have some ideas about what exactly we are watching (see: The Unknown), but outside of theorizing I am still enjoying the suspense and the inner conflict that Elliot is wrestling with. The scenes with Mr. Robot are of course excellent, and I was fascinated by Mr. Robot shooting Elliot in the head all taking place in Elliot's mind. The ensuing scene with Gideon is also terrific as Mr. Robot plays with Elliot's weak attempts to be a better person by reminding him of his own lack of control and the darker side of him that he is struggling to accept as a facet of his own character. The inner struggle is fantastic to watch, and I was compelled by it. I continue to be fascinated with how this show handles narration. It's hard to understand who exactly we are in terms of the story, and it is a clever idea to have Elliot develop a relationship with us, feeling betrayed after what Elliot went through in the previous episode. I especially loved the detail of Elliot hiding his true thoughts about Mr. Robot from us and only trusting it to Krista. This is a brilliant way to make what is clearly a plot device (Elliot's mental state being used to hide details) fit organically into the story, removing the big weakness of breaking immersion that comes up when there is a plot device. I'm not the biggest fan of using Elliot's mental state to hide plot details and needlessly confuse the story (see: The Bad), but if this needed to be done, then the show is doing it in the best way possible. The fsociety storyline continues to progress in an interesting way. I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Elliot is involved again, but for now Darlene has been given the responsibility of running the group, which should be a good opportunity for us to get to know her better. The end of the episode shows another huge hack happen, and now E Corp has to respond to this and do their best to do damage control. This is a good start to the storyline, very plot-heavy so far, but I'm sure that we will get more substance as the season continues. The Bad: There is too much mystery here and that actually detracted from my experience. Don't get me wrong, I love mystery, and I am intrigued by this new season and hungry for answers. But I am asking too many questions throughout the episode, and I don't feel like there was enough substance to make this a great episode. Instead of connecting with characters, contemplating themes, and feeling tense due to the stakes, I was spending my time trying to figure out what exactly was happening and that hurt the emotional effectiveness of the episode. I imagine things will be more effective on rewatch, but I should still be able to feel the beats of the story on my first watch. Take "Lost" for example, that show had a ton of mysteries, but it never let the mysteries take away from the characters and what they went through. I can't say the same for this first episode. Clouding the emotional aspect of the story within a convoluted mystery is a mistake that will make it harder to enjoy this show. The Unknown: A whole load of questions with this one. What happened to Tyrell? Did Elliot kill him and cover it up? It looks like Tyrell has been framed for the fsociety attack, did Elliot set him up somehow? If Tyrell isn't dead, then where is he? Did Elliot capture him and imprison him somewhere? Did he escape from Elliot and go into hiding? Where is he? What did the doctor tell Elliot in the flashback? The directing of the scene suggested that this was when Elliot was informed about some sort of mental disorder. Why is Elliot going through this daily routine? Is he holding himself to it for self-improvement? Is somebody else holding him up to it? Is Elliot's mind reliable right now? A lot of his daily routine seems to be paralleling prison, or some sort of house arrest. Is this a stylistic parallel, or is Elliot actually in a prison, or in a psych ward? Why is Gideon in so much trouble? Did Elliot frame him as well with his actions? Will Gideon tell the FBI what he knows? Or will Elliot manage to negotiate with him? Who is this new character Susan? It seems like she is defending E Corp effectively. Why did fsociety use her house as a new base of operations? Was that out of spite, or is there a deeper plan? Is Darlene the leader of fsociety now? What has she been doing as a leader? What is the goal of this new hack? She seems to be struggling internally over her new role. What is bothering her? How will Scott giving the money to fsociety go down? Will he be successful? Will fsociety spare E Corp when they get the money? What has Angela been up to? She wasn't present in this episode. Best Moment: Elliot and Gideon's meeting. Elliot's decaying mental health is engaging and horrifying to watch and his inner turmoil has been portrayed terrifically so far. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This was a solid start to the new season. The feel of season 2 is already much different to season 1, and while this first episode is somewhat hurt by a covoluted narrative, I am intrigued by the stylistic difference this episode has to season 1. Score: 63 Summary: Krista meets with Michael who has been tracking Elliot and wants to turn him in for hacking. Elliot wakes up and discovers that he and Tyrell executed the hack and the revolution has begun but he has no memory of what happened. He hunts for Tyrell but doesn't find him. Elliot gets Mr. Robot to appear and tries to figure out what happened but he has no luck and has intense visions when trying to undo what he has done. He goes back home after accepting what has happened and gets a knock at his door. Angela has her new job at E Corp and witnesses an executive, Plouffe, kill himself on air announcing that it is a disaster. Angela is traumatized and speaks with Price who is the CEO and is surprisingly confident. Price has full faith that E Corp will recover. Later, he goes to a meeting and speaks with Whiterose.
The Good: I expected this episode to be a typical tension-based finale showing Tyrell and Elliot working together on the hack with some twists and turns in there. But surprisingly, this episode completely took me off guard by skipping all of that and dropping us jarringly alongside Elliot in a world after the hack happened with no idea of what happened. This was a bold decision and one that I loved. This proved to me that this show is motivated to do something completely unlike any other show, utilizing mystery, unreliable narrators, and internal conflict within a character in creative and meaningful ways. Elliot's scenes are fantastic, especially his inner conflict that is examined on-screen by his conversations with Mr. Robot. The early parts of the episode have Elliot on his own desperately trying to recollect his emotions and figure out everything that happened. We are deeply connected with his desire for answers, so we feel his plight, and as ever, Rami Malek elevates Elliot's dilemma with some stellar acting. The mystery and intrigue creates an engaging atmosphere, with the best example of this being Elliot's fantastic scene with Joanna. Joanna is terrifying because she speaks to Elliot with a terrifying, almost mischievous sparkle in her eyes that suggests that she knows things that we don't. This creates a terrifying sense of paranoia throughout the scene, as Elliot gradually realizes that Joanna is a threat. The scene doesn't go anywhere (yet), but it is a masterclass in suspense and mystery. And then the episode gets to Mr. Robot's re-introduction. With this, things elevate to a new level. The acting, directing, dialogue, and thematic value is all superb in the scenes between Elliot and Mr. Robot and it becomes clear what exactly Elliot's battle with himself is about. Mr. Robot represents the more radicalized side of Elliot that wants to see the world changed because it is the world that put him in such pain. Mr. Robot is vengeful, angry, and out for blood. Elliot, however, is passive, scared, and just wants to be free of the pain that he carries with him despite understanding deep down that he can't escape. It's his inability to escape that allows Mr. Robot to creep back into his mind and continue to imprison it, which is made clear by the final exchanges between Elliot and Mr. Robot in the episode. There is plenty more to dissect here, and I would likely be here all day talking about the layers within Elliot's mind and what they all mean. I was hugely impressed by the depth of exploration done on this character, and I found this to be an immensely satisfying season finale from a character standpoint. Angela has a significant story in this episode, and it seems to primarily be about setting up Philip Price as a key new character. Angela herself has a strange storyline (see: The Bad), but Price emerges as a stand-out villain. He is unnerving in how calm and composed he is, and the tension builds and builds until we finally see Price's corrupted capitalist mind reveal itself in a chilling moment when he tells Angela that he is glad that Plouffe killed himself. I appreciate that the revolution is shown to not be as good as it was said to be. With the world in such a case of chaos, it doesn't feel like a victory to anyone in fsociety. Elliot is breaking down and wants to undo everything, and while Darlene tells everyone that they should celebrate, deep down she feels that same emptiness. The show hasn't taken a stance on capitalism in the world and is instead looks to be setting up to explore pros and cons of it, which is the best way to explore capitalism. Michael and Krista's story to start the episode was a welcome surprise. I didn't expect them to return in the show, but the writing is strong enough to make good use of them. Krista looks like she still has more value to offer the show, while Michael looks like he may play a key role in the next season. I love that the small detail of Elliot taking Flipper has backfired on him. Elliot has hacked Michael but he doesn't know every little detail about him, and that is backfiring now. The Bad: I'm still not invested in fsociety as a group. These characters are still a bunch of nobodies to me. All of their scenes were the dullest parts of the episode, and it does not help that we missed out on the moment when these characters executed their plan and tasted success. Seeing the aftermath is good, but it would have meant more if we got to see their immediate reactions to the plan. Angela's arc in this episode is strange. I did not expect her to already be working at E Corp this soon. It feels like we skipped her decision entirely. Now it looks like the show is trying to convince us that Angela is turning to the dark side but that is so unbelievably stupid. Wasn't she only doing this job to take down E Corp from the inside? Yet we are given this woeful scene where Angela is accosted for working there by the rudest person ever at the shoe store. I mean seriously, who the hell acts so unsympathetic and judgmental when a customer reveals that they witnessed a suicide hours earlier. This guy is the total worst and Angela is completely justified for shutting him up because he completely crossed the line. But the intention of the scene is clearly that Angela seems to be using her new power for bad, which is unearned, ridiculous, and heavy-handed in its execution. I'm not happy with this sudden change at the end of the season. While I praised the format of this episode, I am a bit concerned about it. Scrambling the narrative like this can certainly work, but it also sets the stage to fill future episodes with twists and turns instead of telling a genuinely compelling narrative. This first season did well to mostly avoid this problem, but there is a chance that season 2 gets lost in making needless shocks and surprises to the point that the story gets lost in the shuffle. Add this potential issue with the pre-existing flaw of how poor this show has been with emotional engagement, and there are certainly some credible reasons to be a bit nervous about the future of the show. The Unknown: How is the world going to change after the revolution? What is Michael going to do now? Will he continue going after Elliot? Will Krista protect him? Why didn't Krista inform Michael that Elliot has been hacking? What happened before Elliot woke up in Tyrell's car? Why doesn't he remember? Where is Tyrell? What did he do? Why was he acting strange? Why did Joanna grill Elliot so much? What is she hiding? What is Price's relevance to the story? Why is he so optimistic about E Corp despite the tragedy? Where did the boardwalk fail video come from? Why was it in Tyrell's car? Did Tyrell film it? Where did it come from? Who is at the door? Is it Tyrell? Krista? Michael? Someone else? Has Price discovered Elliot already? He says that he's going to turn somebody in. Why is he meeting with Whiterose? Is Whiterose playing both sides? Whiterose also seems to be gender fluid, which is interesting. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. Best Moment: Elliot's crazy hallucination scene in the streets as he tries to come to terms with all that's happened. It looks like he is ultimately embracing Mr. Robot and will allow himself to be rules by his alter ego's tendencies. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: Again, this was a very solid episode. Unique storytelling, terrific directing, and a compelling mystery permeated the episode and season 2 was set up in an enjoyable way. I still think that the problems with engagement persisted, but overall this was another great episode. The first season of "Mr. Robot" was a definite success. I enjoyed this show's approach to television, as it was not afraid to take risks, show off its style, and innovate with its storytelling. There isn't much that is outright great about this season outside of the splendid pilot episode, but this is a consistently good time that lays the foundation for future seasons to build on this story and expand it. The superb technical aspect of the show makes this easy television to analyze and appreciate. The only issue right now is that the show is struggling to suck me in on an emotional level. The show intrigues me and captivates my imagination, but I'm not feeling a close personal connection to the show and its characters just yet. If season 2 can accomplish that, I suspect that this show can easily go from good to being excellent. Score: 68 Summary: A flashbacks shows Elliot's father's relationship with Elliot in the store he owned, "Mr. Robot". In the present, Elliot talks with his father, furious that he's been alive all this time. Mr. Robot takes him on a journey for answers, taking Elliot to his old house where he reveals that Elliot threw himself out of the window out of guilt. Elliot throws Mr. Robot out of the window and then they go to Elliot's father's grave. Darlene gets in touch with Angela and lets her know that Elliot has forgotten again and they track him to his father's grave where Elliot realizes that Mr. Robot is somebody inside his head - an alter ego. Tyrell is rejected by Joanna and he returns to work only to be fired. He finds Elliot and threatens him to tell him about fsociety. Tyrell intends to join Elliot. Gideon tries to put the honeypot back online but finds no success. He goes to meet Tyrell, who has given the order to keep it offline, but finds that he's fired. Angela goes back home where Colby is waiting for her. He offers her a job at Evil Corp.
The Good: I appreciated the flashback to open the episode. Elliot's relationship with his father is a critical aspect of this episode, so it is important that we get to see it and conclude things about it ourselves. This opening sequence tells us everything we need to know about Elliot's father, and we learn about his morals, his righteousness, and his parenting style, and we can see why Elliot formed a connection with him. Furthermore, this flashback helps explain why Elliot is so willing to play the hero and punish people doing bad things in previous episodes, like with the child pornography supplier back in "eps1.0_hellofriend.mov". The flashback pays dividends in the present because we now understand what exactly Elliot's father meant to him. So we can understand why he feels so betrayed when he finds out that his father seemingly faked his death. Rami Malek portrays Elliot's rage superbly, and it is incredibly jarring in a good way since we have always seen Elliot maintain his calm in practically every situation. Hearing him shout and feeling his rage emanate from him is a completely new feeling, and it adds that extra level of engagement in his scenes. The rest of the episode takes Elliot on an interesting journey as he accepts his guilt over his father's death by revisiting the pier, his old home, and ultimately his father's grave. This is all fascinating to watch, and while we can clue in pretty quickly that Mr. Robot is only a vision of his father that is in Elliot's head, it is engaging to see Elliot make this realization and see how it affects him mentally. This captured the questionable reality of a schizophrenic perfectly, and I'm curious to see how Elliot's loose grip on reality affects his future. Tyrell's story is pretty strong. Logically, he faces major consequences for what he has done. Joanna, while she saved him from imprisonment, is unwilling to put up with him any longer. Funnily enough it seems to not have anything to do with Tyrell being a murderer, but more that she is tired of putting up with someone who is so impatient, reckless, and unhinged. Following this, Tyrell gets fired from his job and he is properly set adrift. The firing scene is fascinating, capitalizing on Tyrell's unhinged personality perfectly with his initial rage at Philip's revelation, which eventually devolves into pathetic begging. The scene is acted brilliantly and it is easy to empathize with Tyrell's loss. It's impressive that the show can make us feel something for a man who murdered somebody in cold blood two episodes ago. Tyrell's losses take him straight to Elliot where he threatens (or maybe trusts? See: The Unknown) him into revealing everything about fsociety. The other characters had decent progression. Gideon appears to be built up for something in the next episode. Angela has been hit with a big choice in this episode and I'm intrigued by the prospect of her working for Evil Corp. Angela and Darlene got some nice moments to bond more and expand on their relationship with Elliot as they hunted for him in this episode. The Bad: I'm not quite feeling this show as much as I should be just yet. This is all very good stuff, but "Mr. Robot" seems to have plateaued at very good. This is because the show has several flaws in how it tells its story. For one, it bounces around a lot. You get the sense that we needed an episode centered specifically around Elliot as he goes through this intense emotional experience, but the episode spends lots of time away from him with other characters. And that sucks the emotion and momentum out of his story because we are getting his story in pieces. It takes something that can potentially be great and turns it into something that is only good. It doesn't help that the other characters are nowhere near as interesting as Elliot. Every second we spend away from him is time that I'm itching to get back to Elliot. The others stories and characters are fine, but that's just the problem. They are only fine, and never threaten to be anything better. Tyrell is fascinating but I'm not emotionally engaged in his plight. Gideon is a good man but he's not fleshed out enough for me to care. Angela has been given a lot of time all season but she never felt relevant. Darlene has taken time to grow on me, but I still don't quite care about her. These characters need screentime to develop further, absolutely, but don't focus on building up their stories when the main character is going through an intense emotional experience. Just imagine if "eps1.5_br4ve-trave1er.asf" was bogged down by other characters' storylines. The tension would dissipate and the emotional stakes would not have been there. Unfortunately this episode is bogged down by those problems, and its suspense and drama suffers as a result. This episode has some centerpiece scenes but they don't land emotionally in the way that the final five minutes of the previous episode do. Elliot discovering that Mr. Robot is fake is actually hurt by predictability because we know what's going to happen pretty early in the scene, and the emotional impact isn't as strong as it should have been. And of course, the episode is quick to cut away to someone else. The final scene between Elliot and Tyrell had all the right pieces to be fantastic. Engaging dialogue, great acting, a fantastic soundtrack. But it just doesn't have emotional impact. On paper, this scene is a huge winner but it ends up feeling more like spectacle than something emotional. We don't have a clear enough picture of how Elliot and Tyrell feel about each other, so I'm not sure how to feel about them working together. It's an exciting plot development, but nothing more. All spectacle, but no substance. The Unknown: So are all the scenes with Mr. Robot meant to be Elliot instead? Is it just an alternate ego of him? When Elliot is Mr. Robot, is this when he remembers everything? Does he only forget when he is Elliot? Did Darlene only return because of fsociety? Or did her return spur Elliot on to create fsociety? Why did Elliot forget all about her and his own creation of fsociety? How did nobody else notice that Elliot forgot about their entire plan? I have a lot of questions about the timeline of events. Is there more to learn about Joanna's past? How was she affected by giving up her baby? What's Gideon's plan to attempt to save Allsafe? Will he be successful? Will he get in the way of Elliot's plan in the finale? How will Tyrell bounce back from being fired? What is his plan? Why has he joined Elliot? Does he actually intend on working with him, or is this a ploy to turn Elliot in and win back the trust of E Corp? Also, did Tyrell threaten Elliot into revealing everything about fsociety by threatening to kill him? Or did he perhaps intend to reveal his darkest secret in the hopes that Elliot would take this as a sign of trust and reveal his own secret to him? I can make a case for both interpretations. Will Angela accept Colby's offer? I suspect that she will because her storyline would be aimless if she doesn't. Best Moment: Elliot throwing Mr. Robot out of the window was the highlight for me. A nice moment of realization for Elliot while continuing to give Rami Malek the chance to shine as he portrays Elliot's unyielding rage. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: I have some reservations about this, but for the most part I was impressed. "Mr. Robot" is doing something very unique with its story, and while this first season hasn't been perfect, its been consistently good due to its innovation, style, directing, and unique storytelling. It's difficult to find something so inventive and consistently well written. The show still has problems with engagement and hopefully that's something that is corrected with time. There's still 1 more episode left and I'm interested to see how this season comes to a close. Score: 66 Summary: Elliot prepares to meet with Whiterose. He goes back to work but Ollie gives him instructions to go to an appointment, and Elliot understands that this is the Whiterose meeting. He goes to the meet and Whiterose informs him that Gideon is using the CS30 server as a trapped honeypot. She gives Elliot 50 hours to rectify the issue and prepare his new plan. Elliot agrees to take care of the issue, and with Darlene's help, he distracts Allsafe with an fsociety video and hacks Gideon's phone. However, Gideon notices that Elliot was absent and intends to have a big talk with him. Elliot meets with Darlene and is elated by his success. He kisses her, and Darlene, horrified that he has forgotten, reminds Elliot that they are sisters. Elliot mentally breaks down, and upon going home he realizes that Mr. Robot is his father. Mr. Robot arrives and says that they need to talk. Tyrell hides what he's done from his wife and avoids the police at work. The police arrives at his home and Joanna learns what he's done, and she induces labour by breaking her own water to protect Tyrell.
The Good: Before I talk about this episode I'll talk about the ending of the previous one. It turns out I was wrong about Elliot, and he still ignored Gideon's advice and only talked to Krista to help her, not to help himself. This is distressing news because it means that Elliot still isn't facing any of his own problems and continues to run away from grief and embracing his human emotions, just like Tyrell. It's a sad twist on last episode's ending. As for this episode, it's heavily built around tension. The build up to the meeting with Whiterose is very suspenseful as it becomes apparent that Whiterose wants to meet with Elliot himself. I enjoyed Ollie's role in the story, tying up the loose end of Cisco's connection to him, and I like that Elliot was intelligent enough to figure out that Ollie was compromised and was being used to set up the meeting. The meeting itself was tense and exciting, and Whiterose was very interesting. I hope we see more of her because she has potential to be a very fascinating character. Her interactions with Elliot were cleverly written to be tense, funny, and creative. I'm certain that Elliot will be meeting her again. The best thing that the Whiterose meeting did was add a time limit. Elliot's inner monologue worked tremendously here because it highlighted Elliot's anxiety in an interesting way, which ramped up the suspense. The attempt to hack Gideon was excellent, and the plan was good while still having clear flaws which raised the risk of Elliot being caught. Gideon finally confronting and lecturing him was extremely suspenseful and a perfect climax for the main plot of this episode. But the real twist is that the episode kept going from there and it completely upended everything about this first season with a brilliant final five minutes. The Darlene twist caught me entirely off guard, just as it did Elliot. I was about to roll my eyes at how forced this romance felt when the clear tension was building, but I was not expecting the twist that Darlene was Elliot's sister. And yet it made perfect sense. There were little inaccuracies throughout the season that I'm suddenly realizing were intentional instead of moments of slight awkwardness. Plus this perfectly explained the perplexing opening scene where Angela and Darlene confusingly seemed to know each other, a scene that made me question if I had maybe skipped an episode at some point. Looking back, that opening scene is a terrific bit of foreshadowing that sets up this twist. And when I say this changes everything, I mean it changes everything. We cannot take anything we see in this show at face value because Elliot cannot be trusted as a protagonist. Evidently, he's mentally ill and crazy, so we have no idea if what we're seeing is even real or not. The show toyed with this idea early on but ignored it for much of the season, which I was displeased about. But it turns out that much of what we saw throughout the season wasn't an accurate rendition of events at all. This is a massive twist, and it gives much more value to the scenes we are watching when get the added tension of being uncertain about what is reality and what is not. And perhaps more fascinatingly, we can't even be sure that we are just viewers of this show. Perhaps our role is more important than we thought. The ideas that this show is throwing around are so fascinating, and they are explored expertly. Tyrell's murder progresses well and he is suitably unhinged. Even though I do not relate much with Tyrell, he is so enigmatic that I am immediately hooked by his unpredictability when he's on screen. He is entirely unstable throughout the episode as he avoids facing up to his crime. The police arrival at the end was intriguing and I was expecting another tense sequence. Instead, Joanna surprised me by taking Tyrell's side and coming up with a clever way out of the situation by inducing her own labour. That was a gruesome moment, but was very revealing about this character and the pragmatic way that she thinks. The Bad: Nothing outright bad. I suppose I am a little disappointed that the lengthy Ollie storyline with Cisco only served to set up Elliot's meeting with Whiterose, which is a lame pay-off. The Unknown: Who was that man that Darlene slept with? How well does Darlene know Angela? I was confused by their meeting at first, thinking that I had missed or forgotten the scene where they met. But with the ending reveal it makes perfect sense that they know each other. Why is Whiterose working with fsociety? What are her goals? Will she go through with the plan this time? This episode hams up on Elliot's interactions with us, and that interests me. What are we exactly in the context of the show? Is the fact that we are watching the events of Elliot's life going to be a significant aspect of the show and Elliot's mental state? I thought that Elliot talking to us was just a gimmick but the show is promising that it is something more. What is Mr. Robot's dirty secret? How does Tyrell know him? What is their relationship? What is Tyrell's agreement with him? Now the big one. How did Elliot forget about Darlene? Clearly he's known her his whole life, so how does he simply forget? Didn't he meet her for the first time in the first episode? Or perhaps that scene was written differently and I just don't remember. How are Elliot's memories locked away? Who did this? Why? Is Mr. Robot Elliot's father? I thought he died. Is he still alive? Did he fake his own death? Or is he still in Elliot's head? Best Moment: Elliot's complete mental breakdown after the shock reveal by Darlene. The sequence was so effective and horrifying. I could feel Elliot's panic, paranoia, confusion, and fear conveyed perfectly by both the acting and directing. This is one of the most stylish TV shows that I have seen, and it puts that style to good use in this sequence. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This was a huge episode that upended everything, yet looking back, it explains a lot of the oddities that we had seen in this first season. The big ending twist was earned, and it comes at the end of another beautifully tense episode. This is great stuff. Score: 70 Summary: Flashbacks show when Shayla first met Elliot. Elliot goes back to work and hides from grieving over Shayla. He finishes his therapy, but ends up returning and opens up to Krista about his hacking and even tells her that he hacks her regularly. Angela arranges a meeting with Colby and proposes that he testify for her case against E Corp and in return she will make a testimony that helps him out. Colby agrees to the deal, but when Angela returns to Allsafe she realizes that her testimony would likely kill the company. Mr. Robot works on getting fsociety back together for the rest of his plan. Darlene is able to arrange a meeting with Whiterose, who leads the Dark Army. Tyrell continues to scheme against Scott and Sharon, and after inviting Sharon to the roof in secret, they start making out and Tyrell ultimately ends up strangling her to death.
The Good: Elliot has a good story here as his life transitions following Shayla's death. The opening flashback is quite sad and it emphasizes Shayla' importance to Elliot; they clearly had a connection from the moment they met. Elliot spends the rest of the episode failing to process his grief or even accept it. He's back to work and he refuses to take time off. For times like these, Elliot's inner monologue works really well because it allows us a glimpse into his inner psyche when he has emotionally shut himself off from the world. The "view source" theme in the episode is relevant to Elliot's story, exploring how Elliot has to understand his true self and reveal it to those around him. And by episode's end he finally does that when he opens up to Krista. What he says to her is quite horrifying, but it is honest. It will be interesting to see how Krista responds to him and if she is willing to open up to him too (see: The Unknown). The other storylines in the episode also adhere to the "view source" theme as literally every character has to accept truths about themselves. This works really well because it gives all of these side characters more depth than what they had going into the episode. I've been critical of how this show has handled its side plots because these side characters aren't anywhere near as interesting to follow as Elliot. But after this episode, I am much more invested in the side stories that are happening. Romero and Trenton were flat characters who we knew nothing about, so they were never characters that I wanted to explore. But now I know more about what makes them tick and I can start to sympathize with them. I'm sure that I will grow to care about them soon if this keeps up. We learn that Romero is a smart and gifted guy, but that he is hesitant to support fsociety. But Mr. Robot essentially threatens him into coming back, which could be an important point of conflict for the future. We also get more insight on Trenton and I found it to be really interesting. Her motives for making a revolution are sensible, and I appreciate that she does secretly look down on everyone else for having "lesser" motives. It's a nice human detail that makes her easier to understand and empathize with. Angela gets the most screentime in this episode and her story is pretty strong. It's engaging to watch her negotiate with Colby and we get to see the character's strengths emerge with how she handles herself. She is never afraid of backing down and says and does what she needs to without ever being deceitful or manipulative. It's a good story to follow and Angela's actions make it very easy to root for her. Her deconstruction to Colby of how painful it is to be in the lower class is a great moment that lines up nicely with the themes of the show. Tyrell's story is very interesting. I do not like Tyrell at all, but I find him so fascinating to follow. He is not a character that we are supposed to like. He's a true villain, manipulative, deceitful, egotistical, and an outright sadist. His scenes in this episode were filled with intrigue. Unlike Elliot and Angela who don't back down from the truths about themselves, Tyrell fires his employees out of rage when the subject of their discussion unintentionally forces Tyrell to face the reality of his own patheticness. It's a brilliant scene with rich thematic value. Then of course we get to the episode's huge moment as Tyrell murders Sharon in cold blood. I'm uncertain if this was planned or not (see: The Unknown), but the horror of the moment is conveyed superbly through the directing, and Martin Wallstrom is superb as he breaks down in the aftermath of what he's done. The Bad: Angela's story has some flaws within it. There was a month-long timeskip in this episode, and in all that time Angela was planning her deal with Colby. Did she really never think about the consequences of Allsafe being shut down by her testimony in this time? She shouldn't have needed Gideon to tell her that. I'm not a huge fan of Colby's characterization. I was hoping that he would be a somewhat decent guy outside of business as it would give him some depth and make him feel like a more unique character. Instead he tells Angela to suck his balls and beg to him, and admits to making his fateful decision in 1993 while drunk and not taking things seriously at all. The actor plays the role well and the scene of his reveal is good, but the "smug, creepy asshole in power" character offers very little originality and it doesn't explore any ideas that I haven't already seen from other TV shows. The Unknown: What's wrong with Flipper? What did he eat? What was the point of showing that scene with the vet? Will Angela be able to go through with her testimony? If not, what will be the consequences of her choice? Now that she has a deal with Colby, I imagine that it won't be good for her if she backs out. The meeting with Whiterose has been arranged. Who is Whiterose? Where are they meeting? What will happen at this meeting? Why did Tyrell murder Sharon? Was it just purely out of rage? If it was planned, then why? Will Tyrell really be able to get away with this? How is Krista going to respond to Elliot? Will she condemn his actions or accept them? Likewise, will she attempt to strengthen their relationship by relating to his struggles with loneliness? Best Moment: Elliot's final scene with Krista. His revelation is a big moment that is suitably terrifying, and I'm genuinely excited to see how Krista responds to it. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This is a transition episode, but it is packed with a lot of rich character work and plot development. I am finally starting to get invested in every aspect of the show, and though it has taken a while to get there, I am glad that I reached this point before the season reached its big climax. I'm excited to see what's in store for the final three episodes, so this episode certainly did its job as a transition episode. Score: 67 Summary: Elliot meets briefly with Shayla who is held captive and he's put on the phone with Vera who tells him to get him out by the end of the day or Shayla dies. Elliot goes to his house under the supervision of Isaac and begins to work. He hacks into Isaac's phone immediately and enlists Darlene for help in secret, but with no time Darlene isn't successful and she is found and used as a hostage by Isaac. Elliot comes to terms with the likelihood of Shayla dying abut comes up with a final plan. He meets with Vera in jail and reveals that he plans to open all prison cells after accessing the prison's wifi. He threatens Vera, telling him hot to kill him or Shayla or he will leak the gang's operation, having accessed it all by hacking Isaac's phone. The set-up for Elliot's plan works but Isaac takes Elliot away and prepares to kill him. Elliot realizes Isaac wants Vera dead because Vera is going to kill him and talks Isaac out of murdering him. The prison escape happens and Elliot and Isaac wait for Vera. Vera has his henchman kill Isaac and lets Elliot go. He gives Elliot the keys to Isaac's car and Elliot finds Shayla dead in the trunk.
The Good: This was good stuff. It was essential that Vera was a legitimate threat throughout this episode for there to be tension and it was managed perfectly. We learn that he is still in prison, but that his gang is fully operational and highly capable. The opening scene with Elliot and Shayla talking is superb. It's clear that something is wrong through some great acting, and then we get the big reveal as Shayla is once again abducted in broad daylight, with everyone in the restaurant pretending to be oblivious - obviously they have learned to turn a blind eye to the gang's dealings out of fear, which is a masterful way to establish a threat without any exposition or needless dialogue. Vera himself is really entertaining as a villain. I like the connection he has developed with Elliot. Vera is obviously not intelligent, but he excels in street-smarts after running a gang for so long. That makes him both a loose cannon, and incredibly dangerous, but it also makes his strange fascination with Elliot more plausible. Vera seems to be fascinated by Elliot more than he is frightened or interested in revenge. It feels like he is taking revenge simply because that's the way the world works, but deep down he respects Elliot's intelligence and his guts. It's an interesting dynamic, especially with how one-sided it is. Elliot couldn't care less for Vera, but Vera can't help but admire Elliot's drive. We spend a lot of time with Elliot in this episode and his experience feels highly personal. There is loads of suspense as Elliot works to find a way out of this scenario he's got himself trapped into. This leads to some great tension-based drama, but also a lovely moment of introspection as Elliot talks with "Mr. Robot" (see: The Unknown) about the situation with Shayla, and he comes to terms with the fact that he might not be able to save her, and that she was dead the moment that she did business with Vera. And unfortunately that is true, because looking back, there is no outcome no matter what Elliot does where Shayla comes out alive. It's a depressing reality that Elliot desperately tries to avoid, but he ends up facing it at the episode's end in an outstanding scene (see: Best Moment). The plot itself is pretty good. There are some small quibbles in the writing (see: The Bad), but overall this plot is suspenseful, effective and well-written. Darlene's involvement further increased the stakes, and I appreciate that Isaac was smart enough to understand that Elliot was working with her. I also liked the twist with Isaac where it's revealed that he has to kill Vera in order to survive. On the surface it sounds like a meaningless surprise, but when you consider that the entire operation was organized by Isaac, it is sensible that Isaac will be blamed, and a loose cannon like Vera absolutely would kill Isaac. So it is sensible for Isaac to desperately look for a way out where he lives, but he ultimately dies anyways. I liked the developments in Tyrell's story. That Tyrell's power move in the previous episode failed was a big surprise to me. This is the kind of storyline that would always work in TV shows, but impressively "Mr. Robot" shows off a bit of extra realism by having Tyrell fail as Sharon shares everything he did with Scott. Tyrell's intentions and weaknesses are immediately found out and exposed as Scott utterly demolishes him in the power game. It's a surprise twist that I really enjoy. I find it difficult to relate to characters when they are unrealistically intelligent, and seeing Tyrell's move in the last episode get thrown back in his face is superb writing. It leads into a lovely bit of film-making as Tyrell rages uncontrollably in the background while his wife calmly snacks in the foreground. The Bad: I have some reservations about this episode. I question the need to have a gang-related storyline in this show. For a show about hackers and psychological drama, do we really need a drug dealer subplot? It feels like a plot too many, especially considering that Angela and Tyrell have had their own stories going on in the background. Vera is a cool character, but I never expected him to be more than a flashy side character. Yet now he has killed Shayla, so he has to be a major player now or else this episode will feel inconsequential. I just question the need to include this storyline, not every show after "Breaking Bad", "The Wire", and "The Sopranos" needs to have gangs included in some way. Shayla's death fell a bit flat because I never cared about her as a character. The death was telegraphed early on in this episode so I had a feeling it was coming. And while it was tragic when we learned her fate, I felt bad for Elliot instead of feeling bad for her. That tells me that Shayla was poorly realized as a character and never emerged past being a plot device for Elliot's character development. I wish that the show had found a way to connect us more with Shayla so that her death could have more meaning. There is some suspension of disbelief that has to be done in this episode. A lot of the hacking feats feel a bit far-fetched. Darlene's USB scam is so risky because there is a very low chance that the guard who picks up the USB will be dumb enough to fall for the trap. Any sane person would ignore the obvious bait. Thank god that it did not work. Even worse is the prison security. Elliot being able to open all prison cells without ringing all alarms is a step too far in my opinion. Furthermore, the prisoners' escape is far too easy. Surely the guards roaming the building would be able to stop, or at least try to stop, the hoard of prisoners escaping through the courtyard. Jailbreaks are not this easy. The Unknown: How did Vera learn about Elliot's hacking ability? Was that just speculation or did somebody tell him? Why did Vera leave Elliot alive? Does he intend on using his talents later? When will we see him again? I'm certain that he's not gone for good. What is Tyrell's plan to handle Scott? It seems like he does not intend on completely pulling back. Is Tyrell married to his wife because of her intelligence? She comes off as more patient and intelligent than he is. I wonder if they are pragmatic enough to marry due to a mutual desire for power rather than any form of love. Mr. Robot's random appearance in this episode suggests further evidence that he is in Elliot's head. But we have seen him interact with others, so I wonder if only some of his scenes are in Elliot's head. Something very strange is going on with him and I'm not sure what. Why did Angela visit Colby? What is she planning to do with him? How does this connect to her attempted lawsuit on E Corp? Best Moment: In the final minutes of the episode, Vera gives Elliot the keys to the car he has been in this entire time, telling him that Shayla has been "with him the entire time". Elliot opens the trunk, and for a long time the camera doesn't pan to what he sees. We are just fixated on Elliot's reaction, which Rami Malek conveys superbly. We suspect that we know what he found in the trunk, and the slow escalation of Elliot's reaction followed by the horrifying concluding shot of Shayla's dead body is a perfect explosion of emotion to conclude the episode. This show's biggest strength remains its directing. The decisions made when shooting these scenes make the show so much better. With just a shot of Shayla's body, this scene wouldn't be anything special, but by fixing us on Elliot's reaction for such a long time, the scene goes from being just good to being terrific. Character of the Episode: Vera. Conclusion: This was another brutally tense episode, this time with a painful and emotional ending. The overall experience of this episode is excellent, and it more than delivers. I did have some reservations and concerns about this episode, but regardless, I still think that this is great television. Score: 69 Summary: Fsociety reaches Steel Mountain and Elliot is sent in. He gets access to a tour by using a fake identity verified on wikipedia. Elliot emotionally attacks the tour guide Bill to get into contact with a supervisor to be let into the restricted second level. However, the plan fails when a different supervisor arrives - the other's wife had a baby. Mobley manages to draw the new supervisor away with a text and Elliott tries to get tot he stairs to level two. However, he is found by Tyrell who takes him out to lunch on the second level. Elliot is unnerved by Tyrell but sneaks into the bathroom and installs the raspberry pi. Tyrell tells him that he knows he framed Colby and then leaves. Fsociety return to the amusement park where they learn that the Dark Army in China backed out. Darlene wants to go through with the plan anyways, but Mr. Robot and Elliot stop her. Elliot goes back home and discovers that Vera has abducted Shayla. Tyrell goes to dinner with Scott and enchants his wife. Angela breaks up with Ollie and moves in with her father.
The Good: The heist is a lot of fun to watch, and it is tense because it is uncertain if fsociety will succeed or not. I enjoyed the execution of the plan, and fittingly there were some unforeseen problems throughout the episode. I liked the Sam Sepiol plan, and while the wikipedia page certainly isn't airtight, it's easy to believe that the tour guide would be fooled after a quick google (people trust anything they find online), especially with Elliot saying over and over to "look me up". Following this, the plan is a blast to watch as Elliot is forced to tear down poor Bill (see: Best Moment), and then face a major problem when things fall apart as Wendy doesn't show up and they have to take care of Trudy instead. The tension is raised immediately, and the show comes up with an organic solution, though it isn't entirely satisfying (see: The Bad). What makes it easier to suspend our disbelief is how good Elliot is in these scenes. He is wonderfully awkward, and Rami Malek does a terrific job of raising the stakes and the suspense. But then the episode hits a whole new level of tension and unpredictability with Tyrell's arrival. By reconnecting with Tyrell, "Mr. Robot" played its wild card and went in a totally different direction from what I was expecting. Before now, fsociety had been exposing weaknesses of characters we had never met before, but now Elliot had to do that same thing with a key antagonist that we are familiar with. It was a fascinating dynamic, and seeing Elliot attempt to squirm away fearfully was superb. The bathroom scene is excellent. There is a lot of tension as Elliot tries to install the raspberry pi, and things ratchet up when once again, Tyrell comes into the room and grills Elliot, revealing that he knows that Colby was framed. It's a fascinating sequence that reveals a lot to us about Tyrell, and he proves that to systematically analyze the weaknesses of other people, you have to disregard your own humanity. This is a bleak message for Elliot who was doing the same thing minutes earlier with Bill. Hopefully Elliot won't lose his human side as Tyrell seems to have. Elsewhere we get to see more of Tyrell's personal life and his apparent lack of humanity. When having dinner with Scott and Sharon, he isn't there to have a good time. He's probing for weaknesses and is not afraid to show his hand a little bit to Scott. This leads to a terrific scene as Joanna distracts Scott, allowing for Tyrell to establish dominance over Sharon, after identifying a potential weakness in her. The moment in the bathroom is terrific and intense as Tyrell seems to have infiltrated Sharon's defenses. He's bold and certainly reckless, but the plan looks to have worked. I'm intrigued to see more. This is a decent start for a story that has been shot and written in a very engaging way. Now we need to see the story expanded upon in an interesting and creative way. The end of the episode saw some big changes. The reveal that the Steel Mountain mission would be a failure because of the Dark Army backing out was a real surprise that lead into some genuine tension at the episode's end. Darlene's fight with Mr. Robot is intense, and Darlene herself is given a really good moment as she is forced to accept her failure and that she's let everyone else down. I still don't particularly like Darlene, but this is improvement. We get a big cliffhanger at the very end as Vera has returned to the story and abducted Shayla. Exactly how he has done so is unclear, but this was a very surprising turn for a character who I did not expect to have such a key role in the story. I won't complain about it, as the actor playing Vera was terrific in his scenes a few episodes ago. It was nice to see him exhibit some intelligence and immediately understand that Elliot got him sent away. I'm intrigued by this storyline. Angela's story gets decent progression. I'm happy to see her break up with Ollie officially, which is what the show seemed to be building up to. Having her break up with him while also endangering his career is a very logical explanation for her actions in the previous episode and answers some of the logistical concerns I had raised. I enjoyed meeting her dad. He seems like a very sweet man. The Bad: This biggest problem with Tyrell's appearance in Steel Mountain is that we already pulled back the curtain on his personal life a few episodes ago which ends up deflating the tension of why he's there and if he is after Elliot. We learned two episodes ago that Tyrell's primary goals are involving Scott so he definitely is not only at Steel Mountain for Elliot. This does hurt the drama of their ensuing scenes because had Tyrell still been shrouded in mystery, the suspense in these scenes could have been on a whole other level. Darlene continues to bother me. It is shocking to me that she is still trusted as part of this careful hacking team when she is so careless and frustrating. I was flabbergasted when she openly talked about the attack on Steel Mountain in a silent library, which is quite condemning. Shayla is still quite flat as a character. Frankie Shaw gives a good performance and I buy into her getting involved with Elliot, but they seem to be much closer than they should be based off of what we have seen. I also feel that Shayla hasn't quite grown into her own as a character just yet. Now she's been abducted, and while I'm interested, I'm not worried for her life the way that I would be if I cared about the character. There are some things about the heist plot that don't entirely work. Like with the last episode, I'll say it again: shouldn't a high security place like Steel Mountain have everything under watch with cameras? It's hard to believe that Elliot would ever be able to pick locks without being seen on camera. Furthermore, the supervisor should have quickly been able to realize she was scammed (1 phone call to her husband solves that) and been immediately suspicious of Elliot. The lack of continuity from there is disappointing. The Unknown: What did Tyrell sign off on with those guards? Was it just for his helicopter? What will Tyrell do with his newfound knowledge of Elliot? Is he suspicious of Elliot's presence at Steel Mountain? What is Tyrell's plan for Scott and his wife? Will he try to depose him somehow? Will the installed raspberry pi come into play in a future episode? Who is Whiterose? Why did the Dark Amy back out? What are their goals? How did Fernando manage to get out of imprisonment? Did he escape or was he somehow exonerated? What does he plan on doing with Shayla? What was so significant about the paperwork that Angela found in her dad's place? How will this affect the story? It seems that her dad is in debt, but who is this debt to? Evil Corp? Best Moment: Elliot destroying Bill was a fantastic and depressing scene. We know that Elliot does not want to lose his humanity by viewing Bill as simply an obstacle instead of as a human being. Which is why it's so brutally sad that he ultimately does this, drawing from his past experiences with his mother to tear down the insecurities of this sweet, lonely tour guide. The scene is powerful, and at times darkly funny, and it's easily the worst thing that Elliot has done so far. To make things even more uncomfortable, we see that Elliot is content with what he did later in the episode, further realizing the horror of this scene. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to Tyrell this time. He was imposing the entire episode. Conclusion: A much stronger effort from "Mr. Robot". The show is still developing, but a high degree of tension, some intense emotional scenes, fascinating dialogue exchanges between Elliot and Tyrell, and a surprise cliffhanger resulted in the best episode since the pilot. Score: 68 Summary: Elliot makes a plan to use the climate control system within Steel Mountain to destroy all of the data. However, the data is going to be spread out across multiple facilities within 3 days, so the group leaves immediately. However, Elliot faces withdrawal symptoms and the group is halted to take care of him while he has visions. Darlene and Trenton go to meet with Darlene's hacker contact. After searching the whole night, they finally meet Cisco, who is the same hacker threatening Angela and Ollie. Angela looks for freedom in her life and does drugs with Shayla. Following this, she immediately acts and uploads the virus onto Allsafe's network.
The Good: I enjoy detail-oriented heist storylines so I am excited to see where this Steel Mountain story goes. The planning scenes early in the episode were well done, and I am excited to see this plan put into action. But of course the plan gets derailed by Elliot's withdrawal. This story is built up nicely as we open with a close-up on Elliot's final line, and the turning point in the episode comes when he finally takes it, leading to withdrawal symptoms when he leaves with fsociety. The rest of the episode took an interesting turn as we get a terrific drug trip sequence as Elliot contends with withdrawal. This sequence is directed beautifully and is wonderfully mysterious. I was at the edge of my seat trying to figure out these mysteries and understand what exactly is going on in Elliot's head (see: The Unknown). The rest of the episode has a bit of a drug theme going on as well. Angela also ends up doing drugs with Shayla which was a surprising development for her. We get to understand Angela's deep-rooted fears and her desire to break free from them. Ultimately her experience with Shayla leads to her doubling down on infecting the Allsafe servers without even asking Ollie about it. She's done with worrying, and is acting purely in her own self-interest. Finally some of these disparate storylines started to combine as we learn that the hacker who is blackmailing Ollie is actually Cisco, Darlene's ex-boyfriend. While this doesn't have any impact on the story yet, it is good to see the story threads starting to connect. The Bad: The two side stories did very little for me. The writing is okay but the big problem is that I am not emotionally invested in these characters and their stories yet. The only character I am invested in right now is Elliot, so every story in this show should be connected to him somehow. But they aren't. Angela and Ollie have their own thing going on, and with Angela going off on her own, her weaknesses as an individual character reared their head. I don't understand much about her, and she doesn't have enough of interest going on to make me care about her story. Her kiss with Shayla also reeks of fanservice. Similarly, I find Darlene to be really annoying, and her scenes with Trenton did nothing for me. Again, I do not care about these characters at all. Their story seemingly has plot relevance, but it's hard to invest in it since we know that the plot has been stalled to accommodate Elliot's withdrawal. Which brings me to my next point. This episode feels like it is 50% stalling. The first part of the episode gets the Steel Mountain plot underway and builds excitement to see it. But then the second half of the episode sees no plot progression at all. Elliot's visions are interesting, but the plot stopped entirely to accommodate them, and the pacing of the show suffers. Furthermore, Darlene and Trenton's story is substantially less interesting and tense because we know that there is no time crunch, and it doesn't really matter if they succeed because none of the others have even made it to Steel Mountain. The scene of Angela installing the infected code did not work for me. I am confused as to why she did it in secret the way that she did. Did she really have to go to Allsafe before it opened to install it in secret? This is a security building, surely they have cameras and security protocols in place that would quickly reveal what she has done. Installing it during work hours would have been far less suspicious. Hell, Ollie almost did it himself in the previous episode! So Angela's covert trip to Allsafe felt entirely unnecessary and either makes her look stupid, or makes the company look incompetent. Furthermore, why did Angela show up at a time when someone else was about to enter the company? Surely she could have come a little earlier to decrease the risk of getting caught. The logistics here were very poorly thought out. Elliot's voice-over is not working for me anymore. It attempts to connect the themes of the episode to computer terms, but rather than make me view the episode in a different way, it feels forced, unsubtle, and cheesy. The daemon theme was ofttimes confusing, and it did not add to my experience of the episode. I'm concerned that hacking will be used as a plot device now. We saw some of the fsociety members steal a car by hacking it. There was no attention to detail or exploring the preparation that needed to be put into place to steal this car. We are just expected to go along with it because they are hackers so that means they can do anything. That's very poor storytelling, we need to understand how this stuff works and the effort required to make it work, or else the show will be increasingly susceptible to using hacking as an unsatisfying plot convenience to solve problems. The Unknown: Will Elliot's plan work? Will they be able to execute it before the backups are created? What will be the consequences of Angela uploading the CD? Did she do it on Ollie's computer? Will they be punished for it? Will Darlene get involved in Cisco's blackmail attempt of Angela? How will these stories connect? What the hell was Elliot's drug trip? What was the symbolism of the key supposed to mean? What does it open? What is Elliot's monster? Why is he afraid of it? What does it mean? Is his identity not what he thinks it is? What happened to the house in his flashback? Why is it missing? Is this meant to symbolize that a part of his own memory has been removed? How did this happen? Who did this? Is it post-traumatic amnesia? Who was the little girl? Why was Qwerty talking? What was the significance of Elliot proposing to Angela and her telling him not to go through with it? Does this suggest that Elliot wants to pursue Angela but is afraid of doing so? What other purpose is there to this sequence? It should be noted that Mr. Robot didn't have any significant interactions with anyone throughout the episode outside of during Elliot's dream sequence. Does he really exist? The show is being delightfully ambiguous when dealing with this question. Best Moment: Elliot's trippy sequence was really well executed. The directing was exceptional and there was a sense of wild fantasy, mystery, and unease the entire time. There's plenty to analyze and speculate on, and I am a sucker for such interesting out-of-body experiences like these. I'm sure once we get to the end of the show we will be able to look back and see some amazing foreshadowing and set-up in this sequence. Character of the Episode: Elliot. None of the other characters have stood out enough yet. Conclusion: The first weak episode of the show. The side characters still haven't made a mark on me, and the storytelling in this episode was slow-paced and uninteresting. The visual presentation of the show remains excellent, but now the story is starting to lag behind. Score: 55 Summary: Elliott is offered a position at Evil Corp by Tyrell who reveals his intent to leave Allsafe. Elliott declines the position. After, Elliott hacks into Tyrell's account, but perturbed by how easy it was, he stops and destroys his computer in case he was allowed in. Elliott returns to work where he learns that fsociety has gone public. Later, he is met by Darlene who takes him back to the amusement park. Mr. Robot tells Elliott that their next move is to blow up a gas pipeline to destroy essential Evil Corp data. Uncomfortable with killing people, Elliott refuses and walks away, but realizes that he can't turn them in without being culpable. He goes to get more morphine from Shayla and finds that she has been raped by her supplier, Fernando. Elliott agonizes but ultimately chooses to turn in Fernando, knowing that it will cut off his own supply. He talks with Krista, who connects Elliott's current inner conflict with that of his father who refused to do anything after getting cancer. Ultimately, Elliott returns to Mr. Robot who lets him rejoin fsociety after Elliott tells him about his father's death.
The Good: This episode is all about choices. I mentioned in the first episode that I was impressed with how this show deals with Elliott's inner conflict, presenting him with key decisions and exploring his character through the choices he makes. This episode doubles down on this idea and the whole episode is centralized on Elliott's choices and what these choices mean to him. The first minutes of the episode give Elliott a major choice as Tyrell presents him with the option of joining Evil Corp. Of course Elliott declines, opting to instead focus on his newfound dream of bringing down the corporation while also being unwilling to abandon Angela and Gideon to the dissolution of their company. But this opening sequence ends up being a very small-scale choice compared to what comes later. When presented with the decision to stay with fsociety as they do terrible things, Elliott walks away and ends up muddled when his current decision is traced back to his own past with his father, who similarly did not act at a time when he should have. This inner turmoil is explored in a fascinating way throughout the episode, culminating in a superb final scene between Elliott and Mr. Robot where Elliott is forced to contend with his own contempt for his father in a really unique way (see: Best Moment). I enjoyed this storyline a lot, and I thought that Elliott's inner conflict was explored in a meaningful way that resonates with you when you watch the episode. The show's style, pacing, and ability to connect you with Elliott compliment this story really nicely. The story with Fernando was also pretty well done. I appreciate the attempts made to expand on Fernando's character. He is a thug, but he's given a thorough monologue to expand more on who he is, and why he behaves the way he does. Rather than being just some two-dimensional villain, Fernando's role is expanded on a little bit to make him feel more real. It works pretty well, and by making Fernando feel human, it creates more stakes when Elliott views him as a threat to Shayla and ultimately decides to turn him in. This was a good conflict to watch, as it was not only suspenseful, but it also developed Elliott's relationship with Shayla, his morality, and it expanded on the episode's theme of choice. I enjoyed the time spent on this brief storyline. There were lots of little things that I enjoyed. The sequence where Elliott hacked into Tyrell's account was done really well. It was interesting to learn more about Tyrell at first, but then the editing and directing kicked it up a notch to really make us feel Elliott's fear when he realizes that Tyrell may have let him into his account. The realization is scary and intense, and the montage of Elliott destroying everything is masterfully done. I also really appreciate that this show portrays junkies realistically. Whether he believes it or not, Elliott is a junkie, and I like that even though Elliott has his own set rules, the need for more morphine allows him to give up said rules on a whim. Another little detail I appreciated is the presence of Flipper. Obviously Elliott can't just have a dog without needing to worry about taking care of it, so it's nice to see Elliott struggle with Flipper and try to find a solution to take care of him. Finally, I have really enjoyed how much this show makes us question reality. By constantly reminding us on Elliott's schizophrenia through the presence of suited men chasing him, we are being trained to question what we see in this show. It adds a whole new level of tension to the show when we constantly wondering if a scene is real or if it's just in Elliott's head. This is an interesting dynamic. The Bad: It is obvious from the moment that Elliott walks away that he is going to return to fsociety eventually, and this raises some problems. For one, there is less suspense throughout the episode because we know that his return is a given to push the plot forwards. But it also actually makes fsociety look incompetent. It's obvious to us that Elliott will return because this is a TV show, but the characters involved in fsociety should not be as certain. In fact, there's a good chance that Elliott will attempt to turn them in. Frustratingly, fsociety do not seem to have put any plan in place to respond to this. They seemingly just let Elliott go, which is alarming because they have already entrusted him with significant information on their plans despite him not being a trusted member yet. It's hard to buy into the credibility of this highly intelligent secret organization when they are sloppily taking risks like this. The Unknown: How does Tyrell feel about Elliott declining his offer? He seemed visibly upset, but was he upset to the point of taking action against him? Did Tyrell actually expect Elliott to hack his account? Why did he expect this? Why did he let Elliott in? Is Gideon also suspicious of Elliott now? It is certainly strange that Elliott would not have known what was on the disc he gave over, and it is realistic of Gideon to question this. Who is Darlene? How did she know where Elliott lived? Is she also schizophrenic? How did she have the same exact visions as Elliott? Or was that just a coincidence where Darlene suddenly jumped into the train? What is Elliott's idea to attack Steel Mountain? How will he do so without hurting anyone? What is Elliott's relationship with Shayla? In the first episode he seemed to not care much for her, but he is much more involved here. Why? Who is the man who sold the "album" to Ollie? He has now hacked Angela's webcam. What is his goal? What is he after? Who is he exactly? Best Moment: Elliott returns to see Mr. Robot, having decided to join them with a modified plan. But Mr. Robot isn't quite so quick to forgive. He demands that Elliott tell him about his father's death in order for them to move forwards. Elliott does so, and in a fascinating monologue we get to learn a ton about Elliott. He was once really close with his father, but when he contracts leukemia, Elliott is ordered to keep it secret. Naturally, Elliott does not because he wants something to be done so his father can live. And Elliott's father pushes him out a window and never speaks to him again for the rest of his life. It's a brutally tragic story that helps us understand Elliott's difficult social development and his inability to open himself up to the world. But Mr. Robot reads into it in a completely different way that surprised me thoroughly. Rather than empathize with Elliott, Mr. Robot brings up that he betrayed his father's trust and that on some level, his father was just in what he did. Mr. Robot then pushes Elliott off of the pier in a fascinating little moment. It seems that Mr. Robot took this trip into Elliott's past as an opportunity to teach him about loyalty and commitment, which is a direction I did not expect and I was fascinated by. I'm excited to learn more about both of these characters, and their scenes together have been gripping so far. Character of the Episode: Elliott. Conclusion: A good episode of story development as "Mr. Robot" continues to win me over. Score: 66 Summary: Elliott is an introverted hacker and he skips his friend Angela's party to turn in a child pornography supplier, Ron. Elliott works at Allsafe as a cybersecurity engineer but during his therapy sessions it is revealed that he is disillusioned with society, specifically E Corp (dubbed Evil Corp by him), the main company that Allsafe protects. Elliott spends his time doing morphine and ends up having sex with his drug dealer. He also spends time hacking accounts and follows his psychiatrist Krista's current boyfriend who he doesn't trust. He's suddenly called in to work at 3AM to resolve an intense DDoS attack which he barely manages, but finds that some of the code left by the hackers was addressed to him. The next day, Elliott is picked up to join a secret hacker group called fsociety, who give him the data to frame one of the higher-up of Evil Corp, Terry Colby, for the hack. Elliott is skeptical, but when Colby mistreats Angela, he goes through with it, and Tyrell, another man at Evil Corp, takes notice. Elliott discovers that Krista's boyfriend is no good and gets him to break up with Krista. A few weeks later, Colby is arrested and Elliott is happy but he is suddenly picked up and taken to meet Tyrell.
The Good: This episode did a superb job introducing us to Elliott and we learn everything about him through a deeply personalized experience. Having narration is a cliche, but this show does really well to immediately establish that this narration is a stylistic choice unique to this show, one of the things that makes it stand out. We quickly learn that Elliott is mentally unstable, and with him being so introverted, it becomes a necessity to have this narration or we would always be disconnected with Elliott's thoughts and emotions. Rather than having this narration be a plot convenience, it's a compelling method of exploring this character, which is what is done for the rest of the episode. Through Elliott's inner monologue and Rami Malek's wonderful performance, we learn more and more about him as the episode goes on. We can't condone everything that he does, yet he is human enough that we still connect with him in spite of all of the creepy, morally questionable actions he takes throughout this first episode. I really appreciate the way that this character is presented. The show understands that we need to like Elliott, and so our first scene with him shows his more noble side as he is responsible for the arrest of a man deeply involved in child pornography, something that everyone can condemn. With this, we are already sympathizing with Elliott whether we like it or not, and the so the episode has free reign to take more risks with the character, showing us his flaws. I loved the accurate portrayal of the mind of an introvert, highlighting the awkwardness of social situations while making it clear that while Elliott is a highly intelligent man, he is woefully behind everyone around him in terms of social cues and gestures, being unable to present himself properly in social settings. This is very accurate to how I've experienced introverts (like myself) interacting in unfamiliar situations, and I appreciate the attention to detail. Furthermore, I found the editing of the show to be terrific, portraying Elliott's internal thoughts, lies, and paranoia in a way that really grabbed me and made me feel it alongside him. This episode was wildly successful at being the highly personalized experience that it wanted to be. I am immediately interested in the concept of hacking being central to this story. I am not particularly experienced with this stuff so I likely won't be able to critique it as well as other aspects of the show, but I'm excited to see how "Mr. Robot" is able to communicate this complex world to its audience. So far, it has done a very good job. The big DDoS sequence in the middle of the episode was executed very well, utilizing metaphors and problem-solving to neatly communicate these advanced concepts to the audience in layman's terms without it feeling forced. Additionally, I find hacking on a smaller scale to be a very interesting way to explore Elliott. We see him go through the process of hacking Michael's information in this episode, and I appreciate how detail-oriented this was. Elliott didn't just magically get access to his information - he had to earn it every step of the way, and it was really gripping to watch (with the exception of one moment, see: The Bad). This show does a nice job of presenting Elliott with dilemmas and exploring why he makes the choices that he does. We have several terrific moments throughout this episode that center around Elliott making a key choice. Does he delete the code he found after the DDoS? Does he follow the mysterious homeless man who has been following him? Does he go through with fsociety's plan and frame Colby? Does he turn them in? We get to see Elliott grapple with these questions, leading up to him making satisfying choices that feel both earned and in-line with what we have learned about the character so far. These moments are great, feeling so human, and so nail-bitingly intense. The episode had me at the edge of my seat several times. I liked a lot of smaller things here, which is a sign that this show will be right up my alley. I appreciated that Elliott sleeping with Shayla came back to bite him when Angela found her sprawled on his bed. There's nothing I like more than seeing a character's actions have consequences. I had a few laughs at Elliott's awkward behaviour and one-word replies in awkward situations (Gideon tells him he's gay and Elliot's response? "Thanks."). The presentation of this episode was really impressive. This was not done on a massive budget like so many TV shows in modern times. Instead, it used the best of its limited budget to create a stylistic atmosphere that suggested mastery of the art of film. Great shows like "Breaking Bad" even took several seasons to fully find their stylistic flair, but "Mr. Robot" has it figured out in just one episode. The cold colour scheme, creative editing, and fantastic score all add to the experience of this episode. The Bad: While I praised the writing of this show a lot, there was one small oversight that I was disappointed by. We saw Elliott discover that Michael's name was likely an alias, yet we never got to see how he managed to find Michael's real identity. It's a real shame because every other step of this process was so thoroughly explored, and I would have loved to see how Elliott executed this final step. Unfortunately, it was glossed over. One small concern I have is that we don't get many scenes in this hour+ experience that emotionally connect us with the characters. The plot and story is interesting and engaging, but not quite emotionally impactful. It's a minor quibble though, and I'm sure that if the story continues to be this compelling, the emotional investment will come. The Unknown: Who are all of these men that Elliott is seeing from his schizophrenia? How does this tie into his past? What's the story of his father and mother? Evidently, he has some trauma there. Who is Tyrell? Why did he talk with Elliott immediately? What does he know about Elliott's role in bringing down Colby? What will he do about it? Who is Mr. Robot? Why did he recruit Elliott? Who are the members of fsociety? What is their goal? What is the project they work on? Where did they go after Elliott gave the forged data of Colby's IP address? What are Elliott's feelings for Angela? The show has suggested that he loves her, but I wonder if that is really the case. Elliott is such a blank slate at times that it is hard to get a read on who he is and what his desires are. Best Moment: Elliott's brief inner breakdown after his meeting with Mr. Robot. It was compelling and fascinating to see him contend with the reality of his situation, wondering if his experiences were all delusions or if they were actually genuine. Character of the Episode: Elliott. Conclusion: I really enjoyed this. A highly personalized pilot episode with tons of style, uniqueness, creativity, and unpredictability. What else can you ask for from a first episode? I'm really excited to watch this show as it promises to be unlike anything else I've ever seen. I'm all in after just this episode, so it is clear to me that this pilot episode has done its job. Score: 74 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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