Summary: Elliot wakes up in the alternate universe and finds out things are different. His dad is alive, and his so is his mother, who is know very loving. Elliot learns he's supposed to marry Angela and tries to go see her. He runs into her parents, including Price, at her apartment. They get a call from the other Elliot and Elliot picks up. This causes an Earthquake. Elliot runs out and goes to his apartment where he hacks the other Elliot. He learns that the other Elliot created drawings of fsociety, including of our Elliot and Darlene. The other Elliot returns and meets Elliot. Both of the Elliots speak and learn what is happening, but an Earthquake happens and the other Elliot cracks his head and is knocked out. After calling with Angela, Elliot decides to kill the other Elliot and take over his life.
The Good: This episode is divided into two halves. The first takes place during the events at the end of the last episode, catching us up to what our Elliot has been doing in this other world. Then the second half moves the story forward in a dark new direction. Starting on the first half, I thought this was very satisfying to watch. It's engaging to see Elliot slowly realize the truth about the world that he is in, and there are a few delights along the way to make this even better. Elliot encountering his living father and running away from "his monster" is the first of such delights. It's a great reminder of Elliot's fear of his father, despite him being so seemingly kind and spirited. We also get some other delightful scenes with characters from Elliot's past. Elliot interacting with his mother was a blast, especially with how unexpectedly kind she was with him. I also enjoyed seeing Price again, acting as a jovial father-in-law, which is a curious contrast to the villain that he has been throughout the show. I enjoyed this first half for its intentional whiplash effect with how different things are. Additionally, I found it immensely satisfying how several little details tied this into the sequence at the end of "eXit". We get to see what happened to Elliot's father's phone, and what happened to Angela's parents when other Elliot went to visit them. The second half of this episode gets more intense, exploring what this world is and what that means for Elliot. Elliot breaks into his own apartment using his own key and ends up hacking his other self. It's a lot of fun to see another hacking sequence, and the editing and cinematic flair is as magnificent as ever. I've always loved how this show portrays the activity of hacking, dramatizing it while still remaining realistic. Elliot's hacks lead into a startling truth that makes us question the nature of this world: the other Elliot has personal drawings of our Elliot, Darlene, and fsociety. Suddenly it became a realistic possibility that this world is reality and the world we have been following all along has been false. I have my gripes with this idea (see: The Bad and The Unknown), but it was a big twist that completely uprooted my understanding of what was going on, opening up further possibilities about how this series will wrap up. This was an exciting change that raised the drama of the episode. Then we get into the big moments at the end of the episode. The two Elliots meet and their interactions are fun to watch. Rami Malek does well at playing two slightly different versions of himself, and it's exciting to see how these two different characters slowly come to the same conclusion about the reality of who they are. Our Elliot faces the possibility of him being a fake, while the other Elliot has to comprehend that a fake character has somehow sprung to life in front of his own eyes. Both of these characters' plights are engaging and add an emotional element to the episode. Then out of nowhere, the episode takes a massively dark turn as other Elliot gets knocked out in an Earthquake and our Elliot decides to murder him to take over his life. The moment is a shocker, as Elliot has gone against his own morals just for the chance to spend his life with Angela. He's accepting the possibility that Whiterose was right, and decides to murder his other self for personal gain. This was shockingly dark, and I wonder if there will be consequences for Elliot making this unexpectedly bleak decision. I loved the return of Elliot's narration. It has been missing this entire season, so it feels monumental to have it back. Getting back into Elliot's head is fitting for this finale, and emphasizes that this show has always been about him and his experiences. I couldn't think of a better time to reintroduce Elliot's narration. The Bad: As I had feared in the last episode, I'm struggling to fully invest in this finale because this is a different world than the one we have spent the whole story in. Even if this is all in Elliot's head (see: The Unknown), it feels so disjointed from the rest of the series. We are spending an absurd amount of time in this world without enough emotion-driven storytelling to make it feel worth it. It's cool to see alternate versions of characters who have already died, and events that would never happen in the real world, but I don't have enough of an emotional connection to all of this for it to hit me hard. Perhaps all of that is being saved for the final episode and this episode is purely set-up. I certainly hope so. I really hope that Mr. Robot isn't about to jump the shark in its final act, but there is a chance that this happens. There are a lot of ways that this final episode can go, but some of the suggested ideas in this episode, like the entire plot of the show being fake, feel immensely cheap and unsatisfying. While I enjoyed much of the content in this episode, it didn't quite gel with me for some reason. I haven't fully connected with the direction that the show has gone in since "eXit" and I'm not entirely sure why. But a lot of the drama here never sniffed great for me, despite it all being logically sound and enjoyable to watch. Perhaps after the finale I will be able to better articulate why this parallel universe storyline hasn't been "Mr. Robot" at its best. The Unknown: What is this alternate world? Did Whiterose's machine work, or is this something else entirely? Is this all some sort of fever dream in Elliot's head? Was Elliot created by this other Elliot? What does this mean? Does this mean that much of the story we have seen so far has been fabricated? If so, I can't help but feel that this is a bit of a cheap ending. I hope that there's more to the story than that. Will Elliot be able to find peace in this world? Will he be able to seamlessly replace the other Elliot or will there be problems? Where is Mr. Robot? Why is he not in this world? Or is he hiding for some reason? Best Moment: I was horrified by Elliot opting to murder his alternate self. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: What a curious way to kick off the series finale. I'm not sure about what to feel about most of this, but it was certainly interesting to watch. This was well written with some good emotional scenes, and I suspect that the more impactful stuff has been saved for the final episode. Score: 67
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|