Summary: Whiterose is attacked in a raid but her men kill all of the attackers. Whiterose heads to the Washington Township Plant. Elliot says his goodbye to Darlene and also goes to the plant where he finds everyone has been killed. He uploads his malware to destroy Whiterose's machine but is found by sandwich guy who takes him to see Whiterose. The two talk about their contrasting views and Whiterose kills herself, activating the machine and leaving Elliot with the choice of whether to let it activate or not. Elliot tries to stop it by playing a game but is engulfed in a flash. The episode resumes in a parallel universe where Elliot is the confident CEO of Allsafe and is slated to marry Angela tomorrow. He lands F Corp as a major client after a meeting with Tyrell. Elliot plans a surprise gift for Angela with his father. Upon returning home, Elliot encounters the hooded Elliot from the main universe.
The Good: This episode had an air of finality to it. It felt like we were building up to the final confrontation and closing out the story of the whole show in this episode. This started from early in the episode. We got to see the rest of Darlene and Elliot's conversation from the last episode, and their goodbye is as sweet as you would expect. I maintain that their relationship is the emotional crux of this show, and I've adored seeing how close they have become since season 1. After this moment, the episode delves into long music sequences as Elliot goes to the Washington Township Plant. These scenes are not strictly necessary, but they add to the atmosphere and sense of finality, creating a sense of spectacle. There are plenty more long, slow-paced scenes in this episode, and while they aren't the most dramatic, they create a unique feeling for this episode that I appreciate. This all built up to a meeting between Elliot and Whiterose. Whiterose did not go down in that final scene in "409 Conflict", and the cold open showed us that she was still prepared enough to murder every cop that raided her compound. The title drop in this episode is as gorgeous as ever, overlaid on top of the massacre in Whiterose's mansion. She ends up heading to the Plant where she leaves even more carnage in her wake. This episode has an interesting motif of dead bodies, as we have multiple wordless sequences where we see bodies everywhere. Once in the nuclear plant, Elliot finds everyone to be dead, and after he installs his malware, he's finally taken to meet Whiterose. Now this meeting is one I have been waiting to see for a long time. They have not interacted since season 1, and with their second meeting finally happening after such a long time, this feels monumental. The dialogue in this meeting does not disappoint. The scene goes for 11 minutes and this fateful confrontation is a highly satisfying philosophical debate that highlights the differences between these two characters. Elliot perfectly gets to showcase his development from season 1. From once having such a pessimistic worldview, Elliot has learned to appreciate the good in this world, and this is what he argues about to oppose Whiterose. Meanwhile, Whiterose fully believes that she's doing her best for humanity and that she's sacrificed everything for the betterment of the world. Evidently, this is not true, but she has deluded herself into believing it, and BD Wong's unhinged, emotional performance completely sells it. Whiterose is so passionate about her project that she quite literally gives up her own life for her cause. Her delusions are far too strong to be reasoned with, and it's quite tragic to see that this character who rose so high and accomplished so much did it for such a ridiculous cause that could never be true. But the ending of this episode turns that all on its head. Whiterose kills herself and we get a tense sequence as Elliot plays eXit to shutdown the machine (see: The Unknown). This is a typical suspense-heavy scene and it's very good, but what surprised me was the result. The machine seemingly does go off and we're thrust into a parallel universe where Elliot is living a happy "normal" life and everything is different. A few examples include Tyrell being a hoodie-wearing visionary, E Corp being replaced by F Corp, Elliot's father is still around, Angela is alive and slated to marry Elliot, and Darlene doesn't seem to exist. These final scenes are curious to watch, and they raise a ton of questions. They aren't very emotionally effective, but they have moved the story in a bold new direction that I wasn't expecting. I presume that the emotional impact will be coming in the two-part series finale, and I'm interested to find out what's going on and what this all means for Elliot. I was pleased to see the sandwich guy one final time. He's managed to become a fun character through a few sporadic experiences where he eats a sandwich, having no dialogue. This is how to make a memorable minor character. It was pleasantly surprising to get some answers on what Whiterose did when she spoke with Angela back in season 2. While I don't remember quite enough to fully understand every little detail of what was answered, I'm certain that the answers were there, and I'm excited to rewatch this show to see what I can put together about Whiterose. It was cool to see a lot of repeated elements in Elliot's meeting with Whiterose. A blank room with a fish swimming in the background, blocked faces, pieces of the character's childhood, and that mysterious eXit game all called back to Whiterose's meeting with Angela. The Bad: For all that this episode does right, it's not a next-level episode. I enjoyed seeing the parallel universe, but the sequence is more intriguing and mysterious than it is suspenseful and emotionally engaging. It's good set-up for whatever is going to happen in the final two episodes, but it isn't enough to stand out on its own in this episode. As of right now, all I have is a whole barrage of questions about the final sequence of the episode. I'm also concerned about how this parallel universe will affect my emotional engagement in the story. Having alternate versions of characters is always difficult because they do not feel like the same characters we know and love, and that can completely throw off emotional engagement by creating an uncanny valley effect. These characters look the same, yet they feel different. The final season of "Lost" was bogged down for similar reasons, and I am concerned that the series finale of "Mr. Robot" may suffer from spending too much time in a world that I am not invested in. The Unknown: What happened at the power plant? What was that flash? Was it Whiterose's machine activating? What did it do? Did it send Elliot to a different universe? Did it send everyone to a different universe? Did it even work? Why is the alternate universe Elliot so disoriented? Is this the same Elliot that we know, or is he a different one? Why is he getting these headaches? Why isn't anyone else getting the same feeling? What was that Earthquake? Was the hooded Elliot at the end of the episode our Elliot? How is he in this world? What will result from this interaction? Does Darlene not exist in this parallel universe? What did Whiterose show Angela? Did she put her in this alternate universe too? Or did she do something else with Angela? I recall the kid asking Angela similar questions from the eXit game. How does that all add up? Why did Whiterose kill herself and leave Elliot with the choice? Was she that confident that her machine would work? Was she that desperate after being defeated in "409 Conflict"? What did that eXit game accomplish? What was its purpose? Did Elliot shut down the machine by choosing to stay, or did he fail? Best Moment: Elliot and Whiterose's conversation was outstanding. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This was a bold, risky episode that pushed the final act of "Mr. Robot" in a direction that I was not expecting. It works very well, and I'm excited to see how the series finale resolves everything. Score: 70
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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