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
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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