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
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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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