Summary: Fuches is shot and left for dead by the bikers but he's saved by a rural family living on a farm with goats. Fuches again contemplates turning a new leaf but ultimately heads back to LA to go after Barry, contacting Janice's father next. Barry is invited to dinner by Chris's wife Sharon. Barry heads over there but is confronted by Taylor's sister's biker group. A chase ensues as they try to kill him and he drives away. Eventually the bikers get wiped out and Barry arrives at Sharon's, but she has been contacted by Fuches and poisons him. Hank realizes his operation has been shut down and ponders his next move. Sally has an interview for a position in the writer's room at BanShe but doesn't know if she should take it. Gene gets an offer for his own new show and offers to give the entire pay to Annie.
The Good: This episode dived deep into absurdity, and had an immediate comedic impact. This episode is funny and it shows in every single scene. Barry's story is the centerpiece, particularly that incredible chase sequence towards the end of the episode. I've praised how this season has married the comedy and drama together in a way that previous seasons struggled with. Instead of bouncing between drama and comedy in this sequence, every beat of this chase sequence offered both drama and comedy at once, avoiding the tonal whiplash that I used to feel so often with this series. Some highlight moments include the absurdly unsubtle way that the bikers recognize Barry, the gun "hand-off" which ended in a hysterical disaster, and Taylor's sister shooting through the roof at the store only to be killed by that one guy who thought his ex-wife was coming for retribution. I was laughing the whole time, and also in suspense to see how this chaos would finally end. Another thing to praise about this sequence is its direction. The framing, creative shots, and editing is all stellar and makes the experience feel much more cinematic. The conclusion of the episode is another stunner that caught me completely off guard. I did not expect Sharon to have been contacted by Fuches already, and the ending is a big surprise that makes me excited to see where the show goes from here. Fuches' story is another absurd example of combining drama and comedy. On paper, there's a really good character story here. Fuches is shot and karma catches up to him, but by some miracle he's saved by a group of people and once more brought to a peaceful farm life where he's given a chance at redemption. But ultimately Fuches is immune to good decision-making and decides to continue pursuing revenge. It's a simple character drama story. The only difference? This episode presents this story as pure comedy and it is fantastic. While the story beats are presented logically enough, they are very clearly exaggerated to be played for laughs and it works spectacularly. Fuches' ability to somehow end up on farms with hot girls and goats is funnier than it should be, and what really sent me over the edge is the overdramatic music that plays over all of his scenes. The laughs are all there ("what do your people call water", "there's a Starbucks right over that hill"), and what we end up with is a character exploration that is seamlessly converted into a comedy. Also up there in absurdity is Mitch and the entire concept of the beignets store. The details about it are slowly revealed over the course of the episode, but I really laughed at how much of a commodity Mitch and his idiot wisdom was, and he somehow did seem to pierce the heart of the issues that our characters were having. This show really knows how to create memorable side characters that can make you laugh, and Mitch is quite possibly the best that we have seen so far. I loved the suggestion that people would line up for miles outside the beignets store specifically to use him as a simple therapist. Perhaps even funnier is the subtle suggestion that people might not even realize why they keep coming back, since they seem to be unrealistically obsessed with the beignets. Or maybe the beignets really are that incredible, and Mitch is just an added bonus. Who knows? This concept is so genius and funny, and I was delighted every time we returned to Mitch as he rambles on in that same position with that same facial expression. The side stories in this episode are fine. Gene surprised and impressed me by making a genuine effort to repair Annie's career, and there was the delightful bit where his agent breaks into his house dramatically for seemingly no reason. Sally gets an interesting career choice in this episode, with a highlight scene being that hilarious meeting where her agent and the BanShe manager (Vanessa Bayer) used ludicrous noises to represent what Sally could provide. Hank continues to spiral as he loses everything, and I did get a good laugh out of his complete misunderstanding of what "red flag" means. The scene of Barry using voice-to-text in the store, leading to him sending the most nonsensical message to Sally was another fantastic comedy highlight. The Bad: The dive into absurdity did have some big downsides though, and I can't help but feel that the show loses something whenever it has these insane episodes where the rules no longer seem to matter. A lot of the happenings of this episode make no sense, and that will make it hard for the show to carry dramatic weight when the story tries to be more serious. This is very similar to my problems with "ronny/lily" from season 2, and while these episodes are some of the show's finest, there's no denying that they have also managed to hurt the show a lot. A lot of details in this episode don't add up. How did the bikers find Barry casually on the road? How did they find where he was staying? Why did they even shoot Fuches? Why did they make some of these batshit crazy decisions? Like shooting Barry out in the open with no regard for who else they kill. Also isn't Taylor's sister an olympic gold medalist? Why on Earth is she so concerned about $1700? The logistical details in this episode don't work at all, and that unfortunately drags down the experience because you realize that the rules don't matter, so there are no real stakes. It's still funny, but the drama gets significantly downgraded because the details are no longer there. Again, I still feel that having all the characters on their own with their own personal stories is a mistake. The season is still too crowded, and you can really feel that with how many side stories there are that barely progress in this episode. We are always jumping from place to place and that prevents these side stories from gaining any momentum. The pacing of the show is still badly hurt by the sheer amount of disconnected storylines that are being told at once. The Unknown: How will Barry survive that ending? Will somebody save him? Will Sharon be unable to murder him? Will Albert get involved somehow? How will Janice's father play into things? How will Sally move forward at BanShe? Will she take this opportunity? Will Gene and Annie's partnership last? Best Moment: The sheer insanity of that chase sequence. Character of the Episode: Barry. Conclusion: This episode delved head-first into absurdity, and while that resulted in both ups and downs, we ended up getting what was easily the best, funniest and most focused episode of the season. I still have my problems with this third season and how it is handling its story, but there's no denying that this show has a competent team who know what they are doing. Score: 73
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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 Summary: Albert arrives at the LAPD to investigate Moss's murder and immediately tells them to round up the Chechens. Cristobal's wife arrives in LA and attacks the Chechen compound. Batir is facetiming home from above and watches the Bolivians and cops attack and destroy the compound at once. Barry is upset about Sally and gets advice from Hank and Cristobal. After he leaves, Cristobal's wife reclaims him and Hank hides. She realizes Cristobal was cheating on her. Sally's show gets cancelled and she is torn up. Barry visits and sees her break down. He offers to terrorize the show manager and a frightened Sally sends him away, When Barry leaves, the vengeful mother and son are in a nearby car. The mother accidentally shoots her son. Fuches meets with Taylor's sister and sets her up to go after Barry too. Gene apologizes to everyone he can but still struggles to overcome his past.
The Good: There's a lot to enjoy about this episode. Sally's show being cancelled caught me totally off guard and is a great way to push this character down a peg. It seemed like she had done everything right, but naturally "the algorithm" decided her fate and took it all away from her, which is a funny and depressing take on society, especially with how much algorithms are used on platforms like YouTube. It's an interesting critique on the concept, and also a critique on the people in power who are submissive to these devices. It's easy to feel for Sally as she tries to process her own failure. Barry's story intersects with Sally's by the end and it is well told. I got a good laugh out of Barry visiting Hank and Cristobal for advice, and Hank's passive aggressive words for Barry are really funny. It's sensible that Barry would look for help to get Sally back, and I smiled at how he interprets Hank's words. His ridiculous collage is funnier than it should be, and that final scene where he tries to connect with sally is both hilarious and sad. Barry doesn't even realize that what he's saying is wrong when he offers to drive the person who cancelled Sally's show insane, and that's a perfect example of his disillusionment with the social world. He thinks he's being reasonable, but in reality he's scaring Sally with how calmly he is offering to do these psychotic things. But the episode still keeps things light with some of Barry's suggestions like replacing her dog with a slightly different dog to make her think she's going insane. The scene is both funny and impactful, and is the quality content that I've come to expect from this show. The incompetence of the Chechens is still extremely funny to watch. The entire sequence where Batir facetimed the Bolivians and the cops destroying the operation was a blast and it really made me laugh. I was expecting Batir to be an intimidating character, but I appreciate that he's every bit as clueless as every other character in this show. There were so many good jokes in this sequence. The entire secret operation being visible from a nearby parking garage, Batir trying his best to impress his bosses, Akhmal getting shot again (his delivery of "ah f*ck you" is pure gold), and the cops running away from a single suicide bomber all made me laugh hard. The sequence was perfect. Gene's apology tour was a good use of the character. You can tell that he genuinely does want to turn a new leaf and leave his old life behind, but the episode does a good job of confronting us, and him, with the possibility that even these apologies are motivated by selfish reasons. It's a sad truth that was conveyed effectively. Albert's return was a surprise, and I'm curious to see where this goes. It's great to see a competent character for once, and Albert immediately stands out as a threat for being nowhere near as comically inept as the rest of the LAPD. The Bad: Again there is way too much going on in this show for any of it to be truly impactful. With each character having their own individual storyline, there is too much here for a 30 minute episodes. Scenes feel incredibly short, and you have to go through far too many scenes before returning to a character. By spreading things out so thin, it becomes difficult to invest in the characters and storylines. We are jarringly thrown from storyline to storyline in an effort to keep up with the plot, and it makes the show much less interesting to watch. A lot of this season's good ideas are being wasted because everything feels so rushed. The character of Barry is suffering a lot because he feels like an afterthought in his own show. In previous seasons, Barry was very clearly the centerpiece of the entire story. But now with every other main cast member having their own story, Barry has become no different from any other character and he has been shifted to the background. I want to be invested in his story, especially with how much I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, but Barry has been so marginalized that his story no longer feels fluent. I'm not sure how I feel about the Bolivian threat resuming once again. The story was flat and ended prematurely last time, so it feels strange to bring it back with Elena instead of Fernando. It's repetitive, and I can't help but question the decision to make this plot so needlessly dense. I enjoy Hank and Cristobal, but they aren't enough to make me interested in this. I'm not sure what to make of Kyle getting shot at the end. It's such a random scene that is so bleak and depressing, despite also feeling like black comedy. I'm not sure what I was supposed to feel or how I even felt about it, so the scene felt like a flat way to end the episode. The Unknown: What will Albert's role be in the series? Will he meet Barry? Is he going to die? How wilL Sally move on from Joplin's cancellation? What's next for her? How will Elena's arrival change things? Will she go after Hank now? What is Hank going to do now that he knows about her? Will Kyle survive getting shot? Who else is Fuches going to contact? Best Moment: The sequence at the Chechens plant store really made me laugh. Character of the Episode: Sally. Conclusion: This is entertaining stuff, but this season still feels like it has too much going on to really stand out. I have a good time with these episodes, but the story is not grabbing me the way that it used to in the first two seasons. Score: 65 Summary: Lalo sets up in the sewer across from Lavanderia Brillante and watches it. He places a call to Hector but realizes that the line was tapped. He tells Hector he will surprise Gus that night and watches as Gus's men leave the laundry Mike meets with Gus and tells him that he's pulling his guys to protect Gus from Lalo. Jimmy gets the crew back together and they do reshoots for D-Day. Jimmy gives the new photos to Howard's PI. Howard sees the photos right before an important meeting with Schweikart. The photos are coated in a substance that causes Howard's pupils to dilate. At the meeting, Howard recognizes Casimiro and accuses him of being compromised, but the photos are swapped for other photos and Howard ends up looking crazy. Cliff meets with Howard and Howard tells him that he was played. Cliff seems to believe him but they are forced to settle anyways. Jimmy and Kim are overjoyed by their success and have sex. Later, Howard visits Jimmy and Kim, confronting them about what they did and bashing their lifestyle. Suddenly, Lalo arrives and shoots Howard in the head before turning to Jimmy and Kim.
The Good: Wow, what an episode. Before I get into the specifics, I have to praise the structure of this episode and how it provides a complete emotional experience from start to finish. The start of this episode is traditional "Better Call Saul" at its methodical and experimental best. We open with an intriguing dialogue-free scene with Lalo, and then transition to a funny and entertaining con as Jimmy and Kim do their reshoots. The episode starts off so delightful and fun by doing several "Better Call Saul" staples, and that gives it a sense of comfort and familiarity. We've supported Jimmy and Kim through many cons, so it's easy to be engrossed in their work yet again. But this episode doesn't allow us to sit in comfort, and it shifts our emotions expertly as we watch the con executed from Howard's point of view. For the first time since "Fall", I found myself totally disgusted by what I was watching. I started the episode enjoying Jimmy and Kim's handiwork, but as the con got going and we saw poor innocent Howard suffer a terrible humiliation, I felt myself gradually shift towards discomfort. I'll get into more specifics later, but this part of the episode was ruled by feelings of disappointment and disgust towards Jimmy and Kim for what they have done to Howard. The sequence is so long and engrossing that I completely forgot that the episode opened with Lalo. After a brief reminder that he exists, we end with a satisfying scene as Howard fully illuminates the selfish, childish, and morally wrong nature of Jimmy and Kim's behaviour. And after what I had just seen, I found myself agreeing with Howard's analysis. This was a step too far for me and it alienated me from Jimmy and Kim in a way that made me want to see them have some sort of comeuppance for what they had done. But be careful what you wish for, because when that comeuppance came at the end of the episode, it was an anxiety-filled horror-show. From feeling so sad and angry for Howard, the episode suddenly turned towards pure terror as Lalo arrives and executes Howard coldly and callously in a scene that left me emotionally devastated and stunned. The emotional journey that this episode took me on from delight to sheer terror was tremendous and is one of the main reasons that this episode was so spectacular. The reshoots at the start of the episode are a blast, and I was grinning throughout pretty much every scene. Thomas Schnauz had a lot of fun with the direction, especially using 1 memorable long take followed by a dynamic spinning camera motion as Lenny was prepared for the reshoot. The comedy is top notch too. Jimmy convincing Lenny to come back is quite funny, and I laughed at Lenny's fascination with his character when he learned that his character's arm is broken ("the plot thickens!"). The film crew got another chance to shine for what might be the final time. I was amused by camera guy's character consistency as he is so condescending about his camera in the lecture hall, and he forces Jimmy to give him a significant pay raise for the shoots. The entire sequence uses many of the signature stylistic elements that "Better Call Saul" has become known for, and it utilizes them with terrific efficiency. The sequence concludes with a big reveal that Howard's PI has been compromised by Jimmy, which is a great twist that raises the stakes for the ensuing scenes with Howard. Watching D-Day go down was deeply uncomfortable. We spend almost all of this time in Howard's point of view and its so sad to see him gradually fall into the trap. "Axe and Grind" laid down so many hints about what's to come so we end up figuring out the scheme shortly before it happens. But I think that this aids the entire sequence, and it becomes all the more painful when we know what's coming because we are rooting on Howard to figure things out and save face, but he falls just short of seeing the bigger picture. Jimmy and Kim are just too good, and it is tragic as Howard uses his head and figures things out; the only issue is that him figuring it out is all part of Kim's plan. There's an air of tragedy here, and I found myself sympathizing more and more with Howard with each passing scene. But while I sympathize with Howard, there's Jimmy and Kim relishing in his humiliation, and that made me gradually feel more and more disgusted by their actions. The big pay-off comes at the end when they have sex while Howard's career goes up in flames, an act so despicable and malicious that it made me completely lose all sympathy for them. I no longer enjoyed seeing their cons at play, and now I feel like I finally see them in the way that Chuck did. Chuck has a lasting role in this episode, and I feel that this is one of those few times where he is vindicated. This is the exact nightmare that Chuck wanted to stop. Jimmy and Kim using their powers to tear down a hard-working lawyer is the "chimp with a machine gun" that Chuck described way back in "Pimento". This episode is careful to parallel Chuck at every turn. Howard starts the episode reminiscing about Chuck while telling a story to the young worker Carey, allowing us to remember Chuck and think about him before the episode starts making its parallels. And the parallels are glorious. So much of the con that happens here resembles what Jimmy did to Chuck back in "Fifi" and "Nailed". In those episodes, Jimmy forced Chuck to make a legal error which cost him Mesa Verde and Chuck knew exactly what had happened, but he sounded so crazy that nobody believed him. This was mirrored in this episode when Howard makes a legal error which costs him the Sandpiper case and he knew exactly what happened but nobody believed him. The key difference between these two separate incidents is how I felt about what was happening. With Chuck, what Jimmy did almost felt justifiable because he was doing it for Kim, and Kim needed Mesa Verde to succeed financially and be willing to branch out with Jimmy. But Jimmy and Kim only did this Howard scheme because they could. There's no reason and no justification for this, and that resulted in me empathizing with Howard and finally seeing what it is that Chuck saw back in "Nailed". Chuck may have gone about it the complete wrong way, but his disgust for these types of schemes was absolutely not misplaced. In the wrong hands, actions like these can end innocent careers, and in the case of this episode, end innocent lives. The parallels with Chuck don't end there. Much like Chuck, Howard is unwilling to back down and let Jimmy win by settling Sandpiper, and you get the sense that he understood the position that Chuck had found himself in back in seasons 2 and 3. In this moment he finally accepted that Chuck was right about Jimmy and that there was no other way to look at it. Poor Howard did nothing wrong to deserve all of this. Patrick Fabian does tremendous work throughout the episode and you can't help but feel for him and what he went through. Howard's craziness is portrayed perfectly because what he's saying and doing is perfectly reasonable, but the situation has been engineered beyond his control to ensure that he looks bad. It's frustrating to watch, and it's frustrating for him to understand and accept that he got played. Howard got absolutely nothing out of everything that happened. At the very least this makes his rant at Jimmy and Kim at the end of the episode thoroughly satisfying. All of his vitriol is right on the money, and there's nothing he says to the two of them that isn't true. They are soulless. Howard did not deserve what they did to him, and he illustrates that perfectly. Sure Howard sided with Chuck, sure he kicked Kim into doc review that one time, but he had reasons for doing so, and there is no world where this can justify them attacking him so personally. Howard is completely accurate with all that he says, and it really hits home when he comes to the conclusion that Jimmy and Kim did this purely for the fun of it. Because they did. They have been justifying their actions throughout the season, but it's crystal clear that they did not need to go through with this scheme. Howard lays this truth bare, and it's a harsh truth for us to accept that the characters we have been rooting for all along have stepped too far and become bad people. The episode handles this idea with care and utilizes it perfectly to impact us while we watch the episode. The final minute of the episode is where it came crashing down. The last minute of the episode felt like an eternity and ramped things up to an unbelievable level of suspense and terror, the likes of which this show has not reached before. When there was a knock at Jimmy and Kim's door, my heart immediately took me back to "Bad Choice Road" and I was scared that it would be Lalo. Thankfully it was just Howard, but I fully think that this brief moment of fear was intentional. We had cut right from a scene with Gus and Mike fretting about Lalo to this moment, which leads me to believe that I was supposed to think it was Lalo. What this accomplished was putting me into a false sense of security which was immediately shattered when Lalo arrived in the final minute of the episode. Signaling his arrival with the flicker of a candle is such an ominous, unsettling image, and I think that it was a superb decision. It didn't take long for me to fear for Howard's life, and seeing Lalo standing right next to him, casually screwing on that silencer was frightening. By this point I knew that Howard would be dying, and that slow build-up to an eventual inevitability is a hallmark of great tragedy. Howard's death is filmed in such a way that it still manages to be a sudden, anxiety-inducing surprise that made me flinch and gasp in shock. It's such a devastating moment especially because of how little Howard deserved his fate. He was simply in the wrong place at the worst possible time and he paid for it with his life. Even more devastating is Jimmy and Kim's shocked reactions as they are unable to articulate and immediately begin to panic, having witnessed Howard's murder right in front of them out of nowhere. Lalo's arrival came right out of left field, and it's a terrifying moment that puts a damp and depressing end to an episode that took me on an unbelievable emotional ride. Lalo had other scenes in this episode, and all of them were great. The opening scene is a marvelous piece of wordless filmmaking. It's a gradual revealing of information that sets the scene for the episode. We start wondering who we are looking at, and after a slow zoom-in we quickly realize it is Lalo. The next question is where he is, which we are told subtly through the use of a New Mexico license plate, which is a clever bit of scene-setting. Then finally our last question is what is he doing. Through this sequence we get to see Lalo's daily routine as he showers up, catches an hour of sleep (consistent with what he told Nacho back in "Something Unforgivable"), grabs some food, and returns to his spot. It's not until the final reveal, done with a lovely dynamic bit of filmmaking, that we realize what exactly Lalo is up to. This type of slow-paced mystery-solving is typical of "Better Call Saul" and it's a joy to watch. Lalo is really fun here as he records a video for Eladio and sums up for us how much he has learned about Gus's operation from Casper and what his current plan is. It's surprising that Lalo left Germany so quickly, but I do like this decision since it's much less exciting to watch Lalo when he's so far away geographically from the main plot. But Lalo gets found out while placing a call to Hector, which is a detail that I loved. Lalo does not know that Gus is onto him, and so he falls right into this trap. Gus has been so paranoid, so it's no wonder that he bugged Casa Tranquila. But unfortunately Lalo's smart enough to notice that the phone line has been bugged, and he is resourceful on his feet to lie and set up a distraction to create himself an opening. Lots of wonderful little details in this episode. I'll give bonus points for Lalo noticing the cockroach and thinking of Jimmy, who he described as "la cucaracha" last season. There is a distinct theme of rotation throughout this episode, which adds to the anxiety. The sweeping shot revealing Lalo to be watching the laundry, the rapidly rotating camera while Lenny is being prepared for the shoots, Howard turning the soda can to dispel the pressure build-up, the shot of Howard running up the spiral staircase, and Lalo putting on the silencer all added to this feeling. I smiled at Lalo's delight when recognizing Mike, almost like he had stumbled upon an old friend. Lenny practicing some lines while pushing shopping carts is one of those little things that make this show richer than most others. Showing us a quick second of Lenny's life makes the character feel so much more real. The camera guy telling Jimmy and Kim "you can't rush the process" surely has to be a meta joke about the slow pacing of this series. I chuckled at that. The double meaning of "Plan and Execution" has to be one of my favourite uses of an episode title. Of course the title means that execution of Jimmy and Kim's plan for Howard, but the "execution" aspect can also refer to Howard's death at the end of an episode that was filled with characters making plans. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: What does Lalo want from Jimmy and Kim? How will they help him move against Gus? How will Jimmy and Kim react in the wake of Howard's death? How will this tragedy change them and their beliefs? How will Jimmy and Kim cover up Howard's death? Will they stage it as suicide or a spat with his drug dealer? Will Lalo take care of Howard's body for them? Will they have to call Mike for help? Will Jimmy learn that Kim knew Lalo was still alive? How will this affect their relationship? Best Moment: It has to be that shocking ending. Everything after the candle flickered had my heart pounding with tension and fear, and I will not soon be able to shake the image of Howard being murdered from my head. Character of the Episode: Howard. He didn't deserve what happened to him, and I will greatly miss Patrick Fabian in this show. Conclusion: What a masterful episode. This was everything that I love about "Better Call Saul" packed into a single episode, and it resulted in an emotional, exhilarating, and shocking experience. I know this wasn't intended to be a midseason finale, but it functions perfectly as one. An all-around terrific episode. Score: 87 Summary: Dom is not allowed to see her family since she has not been cleared. Terrified of the Dark Army, Dom forcefully checks out of the hospital and returns to her apartment. Darlene finds her and convinces her to go with her on a road trip. Darlene meets with Elliot who says he isn't going and will instead head to the Washington Township Plant. Darlene leaves with Dom, and Leon drives them. Along the way, Darlene releases the money from the Deus Group to everyone else in the world and convinces Dom to celebrate it. Dom reluctantly does. Dom agrees to go to Budapest with Darlene to escape the Dark army, but at the airport she runs into Irving who reveals that the Dark Army are not after them. Dom tells Darlene to believe in herself and go anyways, and heads back to see her family. Dom has a change of heart and runs back to the flight, but Darlene has a panic attack and goes to the bathroom. Darlene chooses not to get on the flight and Dom leaves for Budapest in a peaceful sleep.
The Good: Poor Dom has still found herself in a nightmare of a situation after all she's been through. The episode opens in a brutal scenario as Dom is isolated from her family, not trusted by the FBI, and still hunted by the Darm Army. It's a horrible nightmare for her, and the episode is smart to open on such a downer note to remind us that despite getting away safely, Dom still has to navigate the fallout of being a Dark Army mole. Starting on such a negative note allows the episode to stand out when it transforms into something much more uplifting. Darlene arrives to meet Dom, and with her she completely changes the tone of the episode. Darlene's appearance is a reminder that despite all of Dom's problems, they did win and that means that there is something to be happy about. Sure, Dom is on the run, but she gets to enjoy a roadtrip with Darlene and Leon after Darlene convinces her to join her and overcome her personal problems with commitment and loneliness. Darlene gets her to open up again in a good way, and it feels like Darlene is trying to atone for what she caused in Dom's life. Seeing them bond again over the course of this episode is lovely and heart-warming, and I was grinning ear to ear in the great scene where Darlene redistributes the Deus Group's money to the entire world. Sure, it's illegal and it definitely won't solve every problem in the world, but it's a moment of triumph where the top 1% of the top 1% were finally taken down a peg. Darlene realizes this and celebrates, and eventually Dom comes around to it too. These two characters also have their own personal journeys in this episode which are mirrored beautifully in an ending that parodies typical romcoms with the use of a Carly Rae Jepson song as Dom and Darlene both nearly have a cliche reunion at the airport. Having them barely miss each other and swap roles was a funny twist on the idea, but it also fit their own personal journeys. Darlene's journey was about learning to be happy with herself. She's always been one to be concerned about other people as we learned back in "404 Not Found", and that has had a great detriment on her mental health. But Darlene doesn't know what it's like to live for herself and she breaks down in the bathroom when dealing with the idea. But ultimately, she gets in control and makes a decision for her future, maintaining her own agency. On the other side we have Dom who has always been too afraid of making life-changing decisions and she always keeps a tight hold on what little she has in life without ever reaching for more. This has left her feeling lonely and unfulfilled, and she opens up in this episode about the insomnia she has as a result. This is why it's so beautiful to see Dom finally take a risk and go to Budapest. Even if Darlene is not going to come, Dom commits to forging a new life, and in doing this she finally reaches inner peace and she has what we can only assume is a deep and restful sleep during her flight. The tragic element of this ending is that both Darlene and Dom do not have each other in the end. But it is bittersweet because without each other they never would have been able to reach the level of self-actualization that they have at the end of the episode. They may not have each other in the end, but they still managed to forge a healthy future for themselves. I enjoyed the cameos of Leon and Irving greatly and how their interactions with Dom contrasted. Leon has totally forgotten about the barn and shrugs it off entirely. Meanwhile Irving immediately recognizes Dom and reflects on the incident with Santiago as "fun". These two are amusing to watch once more, and I thoroughly enjoyed what I can only assume will be their farewells. Leon's random insights are as enjoyable as ever, and Irving's quirkiness is a lot of fun. I'm glad that Irving finally finished his book, even though it's likely terrible. Who the hell names a book "Beach Towel"? The Bad: This episode feels too cheesy to an extent. While I get that parodying a romcom road trip was very much an intentional choice, it is too much of a departure from the norm for "Mr. Robot". The style, lighting, tone, and emotions are all starkly different in this episode. I usually like it when shows do this, but it felt like a step too far in this case because of how jarring it was. Following the biggest episode of the show that resolved most of the main plot, it was strange to halt the plot for a romcom story, especially when so close to the end of the show. I enjoyed the story that was told, but the eccentric choice did not entirely work for me. Furthermore, this episode felt like a come-down episode after 4 sublime intense episodes in a row. It told a nice story, but it felt like a rest-stop on the way to the real conclusion of the show. Irving's appearance at the airport was a bit too convenient for my liking. I'm surprised that he still knows so much about the Dark Army and that they aren't after Dom or Darlene. Furthermore, I'm confused that Dom would simply take his word for it. She should have no reason to trust Irving. Irving is here as a contrived way to get Dom to want to go back to her life at the airport, and it's such an unbelievable coincidence that I find it nearly impossible to buy. The Unknown: Is the Dark Army really not after Dom or Darlene? What are they doing then? Are they all protecting Whiterose? What is Elliot going to do at the Washington Township Plant? Is that it for Dom? Will she come back or is she going to start a new life? What is Darlene's next move? Will she reconnect with Elliot or go her own way? Best Moment: The ending sequence was beautifully done. It's such a cliché that Dom would run back and likely encounter Darlene, but I was really pleased with the twist that they missed each other and still ended up tragically alone in opposite positions of what they wanted. And despite being tragic, it's hopeful because in doing this both characters found their peace. I appreciate the subtlety in conveying Darlene and Dom's peace of mind through them both overcoming the personal problems they discussed (panic attacks and insomnia respectively). This ending was a wash of emotions that went through me, and it was a gorgeous experience. Character of the Episode: Darlene. Conclusion: This was an interesting episode. It's a great self-contained story that resolves the Dom/Darlene story perfectly, yet it feels so different and out-of-place compared to the rest of the show, so I have my reservations about it. All in all, it's a pretty good experience, but not quite the masterful standalone episode that it was trying to be. Score: 68 Summary: Mr. Robot speaks with young Elliot and Elliot's mother in Elliot's mind. In the real world, Mr. Robot meets with Darlene to prepare the hack since Elliot is unable. Mr. Robot speaks with price who gives him instructions to destroy Whiterose's machine afterwards. Price goes to the meet but Whiterose is the only one there and she has figured out he is working with Elliot. Darlene and Mr. Robot determine the real location of the meet and Darlene goes there to pull off the hack. Elliot remains near Price's location, suspecting that Whiterose is inside. Darlene records an fsociety video, doxxing the Deus Group meeting which results in all of them using their phones and getting their accounts compromised by Darlene. Price and Whiterose taunt each other until Mr. Robot calls. Mr. Robot speaks with Whiterose who tries to coerce him to her side. Elliot emerges after Angela is mentioned but he rejects Whiterose. Ellito manages to hack a satellite tower on top of the building and gets Whiterose's account. Darlene executes the hack and the Deus Group lose all their money. Whiterose is furious and Price taunts her. Whiterose kills him openly and has to go into hiding.
The Good: I loved so much about this episode. "Mr. Robot" always nails the hacking scenes, and this episode was the most enormous and satisfying hack so far as Elliot and Darlene bring about the destruction of the Deus Group. Since the first episode, Elliot has wanted to bring down "the top 1% of the top 1%" and he's never successfully been able to do it. Even the 5/9 attacks all played into the hands of the rich, and screwed over the lower class people, making it all a waste for Elliot. But now, Elliot has finally achieved his primary goal, and it is so satisfying to see it all happen. This moment is what we have been waiting for since the very first episode, and that long road filled with countless failures and defeats made this success feel so so sweet. I was actively cheering alongside Elliot and Darlene, a sign that this show completely invested me in its story and characters. I've been eager to see Whiterose taken down ever since the E Corp bombings and the moment did not disappoint. Whiterose was so pompous and overconfident as always, but the cracks started to show early in the episode, and were quickly exploited by Elliot and Darlene to bring about her downfall. It was immensely satisfying to see Whiterose taken down and I was grinning from ear to ear. BD Wong has quietly been brilliant in this role, but he outdid himself here in portraying Whiterose's almost childish rage when she realizes she has been defeated. Finally seeing her so scared, angry, and vulnerable was cathartic and it contributed a lot to this episode feeling so satisfying. Price was the star of this episode. Despite his aspirations to be the most powerful man in the room, the past couple of seasons have made it explicitly clear that Whiterose is a step above him. Despite his best efforts, Price is always going to be second to Whiterose and there's nothing he can do. Understanding this makes it unbelievably satisfying when Price eventually turns the tables on Whiterose. Throughout the episode, Price is a total blast as he gets drunk and taunts and trashes Whiterose whenever possible, taking advantage of her volatile nature. I especially got a good laugh at his "bad management" comment when Whiterose's assistant quit. Price has nothing to lose here and he decided to go down swinging at Whiterose to give himself some satisfaction. Their scenes throughout the episode are thoroughly enjoyable, well-acted, and well-written. Whiterose is still in charge as always, but Price does well to enjoy himself and get in whatever jabs he can. By the end, Price does die at Whiterose's hand, but true to what he had said back in season 2, he lost but ensured that he made Whiterose lose in the process. After Whiterose loses her money, Price's speech to rub everything in Whiterose's face and honour Angela was outstanding and one of the most satisfying monologues in the show. And as an added bonus, Price's scathing comments provoked Whiterose enough to kill him in public, condemning herself to her fate and ensuring that Price has the last laugh in the end. The character of Price received a perfect conclusion as he got to extract sweet vengeance on Whiterose while advocating for the ideals of his dead daughter in his final speech. I'll miss Michael Cristofer's brilliant voice and line delivery, but this was the perfect ending for Price. Elliot and Darlene are our heroes here and they have terrific moments throughout. Starting with Elliot, it's notable that he's absent for a sizeable portion of this episode. It's Mr. Robot in his shoes for much of this hack because Elliot is too emotionally damaged to do this hack. Mr. Robot does well and I enjoyed his interactions with Darlene greatly. But it's when Elliot returns that I really got emotionally invested. There's an excellent moment where Mr. Robot gets on a call with Whiterose and she attempts to manipulate him the same way that she did with Angela. And the moment she mentions Angela, there's a terrific cut to reveal that Elliot is suddenly there. He's not going to sit by idly as Whiterose talks about Angela. For a moment it seems like Elliot might go along with Whiterose's manipulations, but he rejects everything that she proposes, damning her ideals and everything she stands for. It's a moment of tremendous resolve for Elliot which feels natural after all that he's been through this season. Darlene having a major role in this hack was a brilliant decision. Darlene has wanted this even more than Elliot so it makes perfect sense that she gets to play such a significant role in gathering the details that Elliot needed for the hack. I was overjoyed by the return of fsociety in this episode, especially since the group has been absent for so long. Darlene's plan was genius, and it made perfect sense for her to do it to ensure that the Deus Group members all got on their phones to ensure that Darlene could get all of their account information. To end this section, I have to give a special mention to Mac Quayle's soundtrack in this episode. The music here was spectacular, utilizing a more retro 1980s style to create a truly cinematic experience with soundtracks that had never been used elsewhere in the show. The music elevated every single scene, raising the stakes, increasing the suspense, and contributing to the charismatic nature of this episode. Even in some of the most heated moments of drama, I found myself remarking at how incredible these tracks were. Mac Quayle has always done terrific work on this show but he outdid himself with this one and deserves a lot of credit. The Bad: I suppose it is a bit silly that the Deus Group people were all comically mean-spirited assholes. That was a bit much. Other than that, I have no issues with this. The Unknown: Interesting opening scene. Clearly Mr. Robot is hiding something from Elliot. What? How will Elliot destroy Whiterose's machine? What will Whiterose do now? Can she survive being doxxed? Where is she now? Is she going to die in this place? How is the world going to change now that the Deus Group has been revealed? Best Moment: The plan being a success is easily the most satisfying moment in the whole show. Whiterose has always been a step ahead and this is the first time that she's been outsmarted. Having the good guys finally score a real victory after 4 seasons of failures delivered the emotional highs that you would expect. Character of the Episode: Price Conclusion: This was another fantastic episode. The cinematic style, suspense, and thematic significance made it clear that this was the climax of the entire series and it was tremendously satisfying and gripping to watch. "Mr. Robot" continues to impress in its final stretch of episodes. Score: 81 Summary: A flashback shows Kim getting caught for stealing. Her mother chews her out, but swipes the earrings that she stole and gives them to her. In the present, Howard continues to get intel on Jimmy from his PI. Jimmy and Kim continue to prepare for D-Day. Jimmy and Kim visit Caldera for a substance that dilates your pupils. Jimmy gets Francesca to make a call to Sandpiper to get information on a meeting. Jimmy also gets a friend Lenny to cosplay as Judge Casimiro and takes pictures with him. Kim is offered an interview for pro bono funding by Cliff but it will be taking place on D-Day. Jimmy tells her to do it and she agrees. On D-Day, Jimmy goes to buy Zafiro Anejo to celebrate but runs into Casimiro who has broken his arm. He calls Kim to cancel the plan, but Kim turns around, choosing to double down on making the plan happen. Mike has assigned protection for his family, and calls them at night, accepting that he is unable to see them in the current situation. Lalo tracks down Casper, who hides when Lalo finds him. Casper hits him in the chest, but Lalo turns things around and cuts his foot off with an axe, preparing to question him.
The Good: Kim is the star of the show here, and it all starts with her flashback. The opening flashback was a lovely scene that showcased how deeply ingrained Kim's desire for conning is. We know that Kim had a rough childhood, and this one decision to steal suggests that she did it for attention. But surprisingly we learn that her mother is happy to let her get away with stealing, and that she conned the guy at the office into letting Kim off the hook so that she could get out with the earrings. This was Kim's first ever con, and it's curious to explore how this shaped her. For one, we see that Kim is still wearing those same earrings that were stolen, so clearly this con held a place in her heart. Secondly, it's interesting how Kim's mother parallels Jimmy, and I can't help but wonder if Kim chose to marry someone that was just like her mother, which is an interesting bit of depth for her. This isn't the first time that Jimmy has paralleled Kim's mother, as there was another instance back in "Wexler v. Goodman" where a flashback to Kim's past with her mother helped to illuminate her relationship with Jimmy in the present. I always appreciate how this show includes such depth for its characters. Kim's character comes up to a delightful choice by the end of the episode. Throughout the episode we get to see Jimmy and Kim further preparing this con, and we plainly see how exciting it is to them. So it is somewhat painful for Kim when she realizes that she is going to miss the big "D-Day" because she has an important interview for her pro-bono work that will be huge for her work and her clients. Obviously Kim's career is more important and so she will prioritize that - the whole point of the con is for her career anyways! Or at least that's what Kim may have been telling herself, but the end of the episode reveals this to be untrue for Kim. After the slightest of details goes wrong, the entire plan is in jeopardy, and the tension escalates rapidly and suddenly. The rise in suspense makes it easy for us to connect with Kim and feel the anxiety that she feels as she makes her choice to turn around and give up on her interview. The choice is a nightmare for us because it signifies Kim prioritizing the thrill of a con over the wellbeing of her clients, doubling down on Kim's decayed morality. This moment is a disaster because it's an enormous risk. Kim is actively putting her life and career in danger by turning around, and I can't help but be terrified for her. The rest of the Jimmy/Kim story is all set-up for D-Day. It's not quite done as delightfully as I have come to expect from "Better Call Saul" (see: The Bad), but the scenes are all solid. We get a great return for Caldera as he passes the torch to Jimmy by revealing that he plans to leave town to pursue his vet career, which is totally in line with what we have seen from him in the past. We spend more time at Saul's office, seeing it continue to develop. It's going to be a slow and harsh change for Francesca from the look of things, and I'm enjoying it a lot. She is so hopeful as she decorates the office to look lovely and cozy, but it just doesn't fit. We already see her horror as Saul's clients are abusing the decor, putting out cigarettes and urinating in the office. Furthermore, Francesca now has to get used to being Jimmy's phone call lady, as she does her first scheming phone call to help Jimmy with his con. It's also nice to see the film crew return again to help Jimmy take some pictures. The set-up is solid, and it still leaves plenty of questions about what's going to happen next (see: The Unknown). I've enjoyed how this season is handling Howard. After getting a suggestion of home troubles back in "Hit and Run", we get to see what Howard's home life looks like and it is a sad picture. He's very endearing, and he certainly tries. That latte he made looked like it was made with a lot of effort, but his wife is so alienated by him that she seemingly doesn't care and immediately dumps it into a thermos. You can't help but feel for Howard since he's absolutely made mistakes in the past, but is working hard to get his life back together. He doesn't deserve what Jimmy and Kim are trying to do to him. Gus and Lalo's war continues to build up slowly but surely with some solid scenes. In this episode we learn that Mike is using his resources to watch him family, sacrificing his own personal protection. The phone call scene with Kaylee was a terrific showcase for Jonathan Banks. We can see how much it is eating at him that he can't spend time with his family, and that gives him plenty of personal reasons to take out Lalo. Speaking of Lalo, he has tracked down Casper and is going to quiz him for answers about what Gus was doing. The sequence of him going after Casper was tense, and you can't help but admire Lalo's resourcefulness and sheer brutality. Casper had the heart to hit Lalo with the blunt part of the axe, but Lalo is not so kind. It's brutal when he cuts off Casper's foot, another great showcase for Lalo's psychotic nature. The Bad: This is another slow episode that is dedicated to set-up. On its own, that's not a terrible thing, but the problem is that we've now had three slow episodes in a row and it is starting to feel like there is too much set-up happening here. Set-up is good, but we need more storytelling momentum to carry us through the season. The biggest issue is that there isn't a whole lot of dramatic and exciting sequences in the past couple of episodes. Lalo in Germany at the end of the last episode was good, but this episode doesn't have anything that approaches that same level. Lalo and Casper's scene is good, but Casper isn't a deep enough character to make this any more than a fun showcase of Lalo's brutality. Likewise, Mike's scene is well-acted but it can't help but feel a bit unnecessary in the grander scheme of things. I appreciate that this show is willing to give us these details, but I am becoming hungry to get some more emotional storytelling. I found myself a bit disappointed in how "Better Call Saul" gave us the set-up for D-Day. There were lots of different details being prepared, and typically we would get some inventive and exciting filmmaking from the show to convey these details. Perhaps also a unique reflection on the characters. But this episode didn't have any of that ambition or cinematic flair that I've come to expect. It was simply one scene after the other, and I honestly expected more when it came to the filmmaking. The Unknown: How did Kim feel after her successful bit of thievery in the first scene? Was this where she first developed her love for conning? What exactly is the plan for Howard? There are a lot of details that were set up in this episode. Jimmy has withdrawn a lot of money. Why? Was he counting on Howard's PI seeing this? We see that Jimmy has created some photos of him interacting with "Judge Casimiro". Is he going to give these to Howard's PI? Is Howard's PI somehow working for Jimmy and Kim? What is the use of these photos? Why did Jimmy need to learn the information about the Sandpiper meeting? What will he use that obvious cocaine alternative for? What is he planning for D-Day? I'm sure that Jimmy ends up getting the book from Caldera. Will he buy it from him? If so, then when? How will Jimmy and Kim attempt to correct the plan? Will they do reshoots with a broken arm? Or are they going to switch up the plan? Will this go wrong? What information will Lalo learn from Casper? Where is he going to go next? Best Moment: Kim's decision to turn back to finish the con is a massive moment to the character, and it's filled with dread. I'm very excited to see the next episode, and I'm concerned that Kim might pay the price for making this choice. Character of the Episode: Kim. Conclusion: This was another solid episode that further explored the characters and provided a lot of set-up for later episodes. It's done well, but I can't deny that the slow pacing of the show is starting to get a bit grating after three episodes where not much has happened. I'm patient and this show has certainly earned my trust, but this feels like a few too many slow episodes. Score: 64 Summary: Fuches contacts the families of Barry's former victims, giving them a chance for revenge. Barry gets the bomb from Hank and is supposed to bomb Cristobal's house while he is gone to pilates. Barry tries to detonate the bomb, but the app doesn't work. Cristobal returns home but finds out that Fernando has learned about his affair. Cristobal runs outside and right then the house explodes, killing the Bolivians. Barry brings a shocked Cristobal back to Hank. Gene prepares to leave town but finds out that his role has been increased in his show and that he's starting to become well-liked due to how he helped Barry. Gene returns home and Barry tells him he will leave him alone and that his family is safe. Sally attends her TV show premiere and is overjoyed. Katie tells her about her concerns about Barry. Sally has a realization and chooses to break up with Barry after he arrives late.
The Good: The entire bomb plot was really funny. This required the usual suspension of disbelief that "Barry" requires of us due to its inherent ridiculous portrayal of the real world. But if you can do that, this is fantastic comedy. To start, the reveal that Hank decided to keep the bomb out in a parking lot in broad daylight due to pure fear of blowing up was fantastic. Then the bomb starts speaking in some other language and doesn't stop speaking, and I couldn't help be love the absurdity of that. Barry plants the talking bomb and it works so well because we see Fernando accusing Cristobal suspensfully while their men investigate this mysterious sound they are hearing in the background. This is surprisingly funny. I also really enjoyed the entire concept of the detonate app which has a consumer-friendly customer service number. This universe never ceases to amaze me. The remaining three storylines are good but unremarkable. Gene's story is solid as he panics and tries to get out of dodge as fast as possible, but he's constantly barraged with career successes that give him good reason to stay. It's a good conflict for him, and features some funny bits like Gene's endless nicknames. Fuches is out for revenge, and building an army of vengeful past victims is a creative idea. I'm curious to see where this story heads. Lastly, we have Sally who is great in her scenes. Sarah Goldberg again portrays her brilliantly as she is overcome with emotion during her TV premiere. I greatly enjoyed the irony of newbie Katie being mature and composed, while experienced Sally stutters and screams in excitement like a baby. The emphasis on rotten tomatoes scores was a great touch. This takes me to the end of the epiosde where Katie finally confronts Sally about Barry, and after a moment of introspection and realization, Sally makes the harsh decision and immediately breaks up with Barry. I'm shocked that it happened so soon and so suddenly, but I'm happy that Sally was able to get away from Barry's dangerous messiness. The Bad: Something about this didn't quite click for me. One big issue I have is that this show has burned down a lot of its key relationships. The relationships between Barry/Sally, Barry/Hank, Barry/Fuches, Barry/Gene, Sally/Gene, and Hank/Fuches have all either been burned down, or hardly have much going on at the moment. This is a significant problem because good comedy depends on there being relationships between characters that allow for the humour to emerge. Right now we don't have very much character interaction that isn't marred by characters being cold towards each other and that hurts this show's ability to make you laugh. Season 3's best episode so far got laughs out of the Barry/Gene relationship, but since then there has been a lack of focus on relationships. The comedy is suffering, but so is the drama. This is mainly because every character is on their own at the moment, resulting in too many story threads that aren't able to be fully explored. With so many disparate story threads, it makes these short 30 minute episodes feel unsatisfying since these episodes can only spend 7-8 minutes on each storyline as there are so many stories squeezed into each episode. This makes the stories feel rushed, and it makes them less emotionally effective as the stories we have seen in seasons 1 and 2. This third season has already resolved a lot of the storylines that started off the season, but I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to any of it. Barry and Sally's break-up was good, but it didn't have that emotional level to it. Likewise with Barry's decision to stop going after Gene. The resolution of the Bolivian threat was also very abrupt and anticlimactic. Since "Barry" is juggling so many storylines, it has struggled with giving them the time to breathe, making them lose a lot of their power. There was too much crammed into this short episode, and nothing hit me as hard as I expected it to. The Unknown: Will Fuches be able to take revenge on Barry? How will Barry respond to people coming to his place to kill him? Is the location Sally's house? Will she get caught in the crossfire? How will Barry handle Sally breaking up with him? I don't imagine that this relationship will simply end so suddenly. What's next for Gene? He's definitely going to be sticking around, but how will he remain important to the show? Will Cristobal be okay after the explosion? Will this change how he interacts with Hank? Best Moment: I laughed the hardest at Barry going to pick up the bomb which was placed comically far away from the Chechens. Character of the Episode: Barry. Conclusion: This was solid story progression, but I had some concerns about the state of the show and some pacing problems that are hurting this third season right now. Score: 64 Summary: Janice ties up Dom and Darlene. Darlene refuses to give up Elliot so Janice stabs Dom and leaves her to bleed out in 15 minutes if Darlene doesn't cooperate. Janice threatens to murder Dom's family and has her men round them up, so Darlene gives up Elliot's location. However, it only leads to his phone so Janice continues her threats. Janice is unable to reach her men and Dom reveals that she had contacted Deegan and allied with them. Janice calls Deegan and learns that her men died and he has Dom's family safe. Dom pulls out the knife and kills the guard next to her, and she shoots Janice. Darlene frees herself and runs away as per Dom's instructions as Dom places a phone call for help. Krista helps Elliot process the situation and they escape the apartment. Krista gives Elliot some advice and heads to a police station. Elliot processes what has happened and realizes that he was fighting back against his father and didn't simply hide from him. Mr. Robot returns with Elliot an hour away from the Deus Group meeting. Mr. Robot apologizes and helps Elliot deal with his trauma. Elliot hugs Mr. Robot and tells him he can't do the hack.
The Good: This episode focused on two different stories, one methodical and emotional, the other urgent and suspenseful. Both worked very well. The first is Elliot's story in the wake of the harsh truth he realized in the previous episode. I'm very pleased that "Mr. Robot" is exploring Elliot's struggle to deal with this instead of simply brushing past this reveal for more dramatic plot. This was a pivotal moment in Elliot's life, and the show is treating it as such. I appreciated that Elliot was so out of it that Krista had to be the one to step up and get Elliot out of the apartment after she had killed Vera. Elliot is so lost that he doesn't know what to do with himself anymore. It's sad to see, and I like that Krista was able to connect with this and assure Elliot that she will continue to be there for him as his therapist. After going through such an intense and emotional experience together, it's sensible that Krista would prefer to keep in touch with him in spite of their rough history. That's some good awareness of how real people act. The rest of Elliot's story continued to be a great exploration of Elliot's difficulty to move forward with his life. His visions of his younger self were mysterious (see: The Unknown), but are symbolic of his regret for letting the younger Elliot down, allowing his father to abuse him so significantly. You can tell that this is the hardest part for Elliot to come to terms with: he is angered that he didn't fight back and simply let his father have his way with him. But then Elliot learns that he wasn't just a victim and that he did fight back, taking his father's key and hiding it. The flashback at the start of the episode shows this nicely, and also connects nicely to the past. We have heard Elliot and Angela reminisce about running away from home before, but now we have a better idea of why Elliot was so eager to run from home. It wasn't that he wanted to explore, it was that he was terrified of staying at home. Anyways, Elliot is able to learn from his younger self that he did fight back, and this brings immediate relief to him. Enough relief that Elliot decides to get back to work on the hack, which is coming up rapidly. The episode could have simply had him move on here, and I'm sure that most people would not complain. But this episode goes the extra mile and shows that even after making his peace, it's still not enough for Elliot to handle this kind of trauma. Elliot brings back Mr. Robot at the end of the episode because he realizes that he won't be able to handle things alone. Their bond is stronger than ever in this final scene, and I really felt the emotion with Mr. Robot apologizing for what he's done after seeing Elliot in this condition, cementing that he really just wanted to be there for Elliot and that he's not another monster like Elliot's father was. The bond between the two feels emotional here on a level that we haven't seen since "eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes". This allows Elliot to really open up and reveal that he finds himself unable to even do the hack because of what happened, which is a sad and realistic scene that explores the extent that trauma effects your day to day life. There is another fascinating layer to this conversation. Elliot remarks that if he hadn't gone through all of this pain, he wouldn't be the person he is, and he wouldn't have Mr. Robot. He doesn't know it, but Elliot has directly opposed Whiterose's entire worldview with this statement, a great reminder of why Elliot is our protagonist and Whiterose our antagonist, and what makes them so different from each other. Whereas Elliot's story is emotional and reflective, Dom and Darlene are wrapped up in an intense experience that had me at the edge of my seat. The main reason that this works so well is Janice. I have my concerns about her (see: The Bad), but as a whole I thought that she was fantastic in this role. She's such a despicable, capable, and evil villain that her presence raises the stakes enormously. She stabs Dom so suddenly and ruthlessly that my jaw dropped, and I fully believed that she would kill Dom's family in a heartbeat because that's just the kind of heartless person that she is. There was a really effective monologue by Janice which reflects how shockingly normal her sadism is. It was unsettling, it was creepy, and it certainly raised the stakes. Darlene's choice was fantastic to watch. She says she will never give up Elliot no matter what Janice does, and it is easy to believe that. But Janice's methods are so shockingly brutal and unexpected. I never expected that she would sacrifice her big asset Dom to get Darlene to cooperate, but Janice takes the gamble and it is horrifying when you realize that she would actually let Dom die. Having to force Darlene to choose between Elliot, who she loves, and Dom, who she feels immense guilt for hurting so badly, is brutal. It's a terrible situation and it is easy to relate to Darlene as she struggles through this. The most heartless moment happens when Darlene's information ends up being useless and Janice decides to murder Dom's family anyways. It's a hopeless moment that only works because of how bleak "406 Not Acceptable" was. I fully bought that Dom might suffer the ultimate price and even die brutally here because "Mr. Robot" has done that good of a job of raising the stakes and establishing that consequences happen in this world. I think that's what made me love the reveal that Dom had concocted a back-up plan to save her family all along. It was a much-needed injection of hope in an otherwise bleak episode, and the realization that Janice had been outsmarted, coupled with Dom's brutal and spectacular escape had me almost jumping out of me seat. This all felt so satisfying and cathartic, a just reward for Dom who has been suffering all season and had to use her resourcefulness to successfully break free. Ordinarily Deegan would feel like a plot device, a cheap way to solve Dom's problems, and I would be unsatisfied with skipping over how he magically killed so many men. But I actually think it was the right decision to save this moment as a surprise. If we had seen any more than the small hints we had received in previous episodes, the elation of Dom turning the tables on Janice wouldn't have been anywhere near as satisfying. I love the decision to keep Dom's plan under wraps, and I think that it significantly elevated the drama of this episode. The fallout of Vera's death was well done. Elliot and Krista managed to escape in a realistic way, and I greatly enjoyed how the goons reacted to Vera's death. Their insistence to come back inside anyways was sensible and human, and I got a laugh out of them deciding to steal Vera's cash before leaving the scene. Someone like Vera was never going to inspire much loyalty from his goons. The Bad: Nothing outright bad, I just have a few small gripes and thoughts. Janice was a great villain, but I can't help but feel that she was used simply to plug in the hole that Irving left due to Bobby Cannavale's unavailability. That's not a bad thing necessarily; I think that she filled his role well and managed to stand out as her own character. But I can't help but lose my immersion a bit when Janice is on screen since I view her as a replacement to Irving. Dom surviving for so long after being stabbed is a bit unrealistic. The 15 minute time limit seems very loosely adhered to. Are you telling me that Darlene was able to correct her phone, track down Elliot, and wait for Janice's men to find his phone and report back in less than 15 minutes? These little details did not quite add up. While Janice being so ruthless with Dom did add to the intensity, it wasn't the most efficient move in actuality to leave Dom to die in a way that nobody would be able to help her. The Unknown: Will the key have another role in the show outside of helping Elliot cope with what happened? Is the kid Elliot vision just a vision or artistic choice? Or is there something more to Elliot hallucinating a kid version of himself? Will Dom survive? She was looking in rough shape and surely it had been 15 minutes by the time she called for help. I hope that she does. How will Darlene feel about leaving Dom? I'm sure she won't be happy about it, but will it cause her further grief? I expect that we will see Darlene follow up on Dom at some point because there is certainly a conclusion to their relationship that we will need to see. Will Elliot be able to do the hack or is he going to back out? How will this affect Price during the meeting? What is going to happen during the meeting? Best Moment: Dom turning the tables on Janice was immensely satisfying, and a great end to that storyline. It feels good to see the good guys finally get something to go their way. Character of the Episode: Dom. Conclusion: To follow up on the show's best episode so far, we get a surprisingly intense and emotional episode that delivers in every way I had hoped it would. This wasn't exceptional like the last one by any means, but it's still an excellent episode. Score: 72 Summary: Vera brings Elliot into Krista's apartment and tells him why he came back and his proposition, but Elliot forces him to prove to her that Krista is alive. Vera takes him to Krista and tells him that he wants to talk with Mr. Robot. Vera threatens to rape Krista and Mr. Robot comes out. Mr. Robot negotiates with Vera and breaks down his business plan, forcing Vera to prove why Mr. Robot should help him. Mr. Robot agrees that if Vera lets Krista go, he will do a hack that results in Vera getting a lot of money. Elliot shows Vera the plan and tries to kill Vera with the gun in his bag, but the gun was emptied by Vera. Vera brings in Krista and threatens to kill her, but Elliot tells him he needs her. Vera realizes Krista helps Elliot and so he sits them down and forces a therapy session to happen. During this session, Krista helps Elliot remember the truth about the day he jumped out the window, with Elliot realizing that he created Mr. Robot to process that his dad molested him when he was a kid. Vera exploits Elliot's fragile mental state and tries to convince him that he's there to help him. It almost works but then Krista comes up behind Vera and stabs him, killing him.
The Good: This episode feels like a movie. More than that, it feels like an exceptionally well produced stage play set to film. Everything surrounding the production and presentation of this episode was superb, making this feel like a unique and special experience. The five act structure makes this feel like an old school play, and it's creative how the lighting, main ideas, and character dynamics shift significantly in every act. The five act structure isn't the only unique bit of direction that makes this feel like a play. The only time we switch scenes is in between acts, with no jump cuts to different rooms throughout the episode. Furthermore, this episode never shows us the fourth wall in the room. We only ever see three walls, making this feel like it was a stage production. For a show like Mr. Robot which is so often flamboyant with its camera movement, this is a major change in filmmaking style which is immediately noticeable. The technical aspects of this episode are truly astounding. On top of this, the episode utilizes music tremendously well to elevate its scenes, and the thunder sound effects create a really intense atmosphere. It's a bit cheesy, but somehow it works and fits perfectly with this episode. Lastly, I greatly enjoyed the extended credits sequence to start the episode, making things feel even more cinematic. Each of the five acts are impactful and enjoyable in different ways. The first act is much more brightly lit, and lighter in intensity compared to the rest of the episode. The colours pop, and the lighting doesn't yet create a sense of unease. This feels like a typical situation that Elliot has to work his way out of, and while the episode sets up the story, we get to enjoy his interactions with Vera. Vera is a blast in these scenes. Elliot Villar plays him to perfection, injecting humour, suspense, and unpredictability into every scene. I thoroughly enjoyed his story about why he came back to New York and his connection with his shaman. The story is both engrossing and funny due to Vera's eccentricity. The whole thing is somewhat ridiculous, but it fits in nicely with Vera's pretentious nature, and it works as a believable transformative experience for him. Elliot's cold reactions to Vera are in-line with how he should be reacting. Vera killed Shayla, and Elliot has not forgotten that. He's not trusting at all, and he makes it explicitly clear that he is concerned about Krista. These interactions are fun to watch, and they introduce the main concept of the episode nicely; Elliot's priority is to save Krista and get out of there, while Vera wants to recruit Elliot as his partner at any cost. The second act escalates things as Krista comes into the picture, and so does Mr. Robot. The highlight of this act is Mr. Robot negotiating with Vera, and systematically tearing down the absurdity of his "plan" which is just another pretentious and unrealistic vision. Mr. Robot identifies this, and you can tell that he relishes in using his logic and confidence to steal control of the conversation from Vera. Every line of dialogue adds to the scene, making it so fun to watch these two verbally spar with each other. Mr. Robot's obvious disdain for Vera, who he views as beneath him, is superb as he personally trashes Vera at every opportunity. His line about getting Vera into real estate is especially dismissive and funny. But while Mr. Robot is accurate about Vera being pretentious and short-sighted, he still has common sense, and that is enough for him to prevent Mr. Robot from walking all over him. Mr. Robot paints a picture for Vera, showcasing a reality where he has all the money in the world. This is Mr. Robot manipulating Vera based on his love for visionary storytelling. But Vera sees what Mr. Robot is doing, and he is not willing to let Krista go, recognizing that this means that Mr. Robot would have no reason to cooperate after that. Despite Mr. Robot's best efforts, it won't be this easy to defeat Vera. This leads into the brief third act, which sees Elliot actively try to kill Vera to get out of the situation. This sequence is tense and it ratchets up the tension continuously to build up to the enormous fourth act. The lighting has progressively gotten darker up until this point, and this feels like the breaking point in the story. Elliot draws his gun after a tense wait, and you get the sense that he might turn things around here. But the reveal that the bullets have been taken out was fantastic. Better yet, this proves that Vera is smarter than you would expect, because he predicted that Elliot would still try to kill him. This still ends up being a turning point, but not for the reasons we expected. Elliot's actions ramp up the risk of Vera losing faith in him, and Vera becomes capable of manipulating Elliot into cooperating with him and doing the climactic therapy with Krista that dominates act four. The way this act amps up the suspense and shifts the focus of the episode to its most important act was perfect. Act four was phenomenal television. This act sees the show at its darkest and most emotionally focused. The use of wide shots and frequent cutting early in the act reminds us of Vera's presence at every turn. Krista and Elliot try to engage in a session, but there is always the reminder of the situation which makes things feel fake. It is intentionally difficult to get into. But once Vera brings up what he read about Krista's suspicions, things take a darker turn. Suddenly, the situation does not matter, and all that matters is to find out what secret Krista and Mr. Robot are hiding about Elliot's upbringing. After four seasons, learning that there is still such a major secret that is being kept from Elliot feels like a betrayal, and the emotional significance of that overpowers the significance of Vera's threat. The episode knows this too. Once Elliot starts demanding answers, the shooting of the episode changes. This is as dark as the episode gets, and the camera starts to fixate on the faces of the characters, pulling away from the usual bombastic filming style. This style helps make things feel entirely personal. Vera is hardly focused on now, because we are a stand-in for him in this scene, mere bystanders to watch as Elliot realizes the horrifying truth about his father. The slow-burn nature of this sequence is astonishing and perfect. We realize the truth well before Elliot does, and we needed to. That Elliot is the last one to accept what happened to him is really important in making this realization so gutwrenching and heartbreaking. It took him a long time to accept this enormous change in how he viewed his father, and why wouldn't it? All this time Elliot, much like us, viewed his father as a rare shining light in his childhood. Revealing that to be a lie is devastating, and it hits hard. Rami Malek does an unbelievable job here, and his shock, horror, and despair is conveyed to perfection, allowing the horror of this reveal to land to full effect. Furthermore, this twist is so effective because it makes perfect sense. Previous scenes involving Elliot's father align perfectly with this reveal, as does Elliot's discomfort with physical touch. Not only is this a shocking twist as you go through the story, but the way that this twist recontextualizes past scenes improves the rewatchability of "Mr. Robot". The fifth act concludes this story, and it is completely unique from the rest. After a dark and chilling fourth act, the light starts to return for the fifth act. Elliot is suitably horrified and I'm impressed at how realistically this episode portrayed a character learning a truth that shatters their world. Nothing is important to Elliot anymore, and all he can think about is what just happened. Krista does not matter. Vera does not matter. The Dark Army does not matter. The only thing that matters is the intense struggle to handle this trauma that he just uncovered. And who is there to connect with Elliot and exploit his fragile mental state to further his own goals? Vera. Vera's speech to Elliot is both sweet and beautiful, yet terrifying and disgusting. He connects with Elliot perfectly, and it feels like he genuinely wants Elliot to process this trauma and get past it. Elliot Villar is fantastic here as he empathizes with Elliot and genuinely attempts to get Elliot through this. But then you remember that Vera is exploiting Elliot, and while he may be genuine, he's using Elliot's deeply buried pain for his own gain. It's pure emotional manipulation and it is uncomfortable to watch once you remember this. Vera's manipulations provide a wash of emotions, and the episode succeeds in making you think that he is about to succeed. But in a surprising and thankful twist, this is the end for Vera. Vera has finally connected with Elliot and gotten everything he wanted, but now he's dead. In a terrific twist, Krista takes her chance and chooses to stab Vera, poetically killing him with the same knife that killed Shayla. The moment is sudden and shocking, and it feels like a Pyrrhic victory as Krista has killed Vera, but at tremendous cost to Elliot's mental health. There is also a nice bit of irony in this moment. Vera has proven to be so street-smart at every turn. But his biggest flaw has been his obsession with spirituality and it costs him here. Vera gets so lost in his connection with Elliot that he forgets the basics. He is so quick to speak with Elliot that he forgets that he untied Krista, and he forgets that he sent his goons out of the apartment. Krista is allowed to roam free, and it's completely sensible that she murders Vera, being unable to stomach any more from this psychopath as he manipulates one of her clients. It's a brutal and effective ending to the show's most perfect episode. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: What will be the consequences of Elliot learning about his past trauma? How will this affect him going forward? Mr. Robot told him that he can't protect him anymore. Is this just temporary or is he going to be gone for good? Best Moment: Elliot finally realizing the truth about his past was fantastic. Rami Malek gave an astonishing performance that felt so real and made this moment hit incredibly hard. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This was incredible. A highly focused and personal experience that featured nail-biting suspense, top-notch acting, heavy emotional weight, and a stunning reveal that completely changes how we perceive Elliot, Mr. Robot, and this show as a whole. Simply outstanding television, and one of the greatest TV episodes that I have ever seen. Score: 89 Summary: Elliot and Darlene make up and prep for their next plans. Elliot meets with Leon and goes to see Olivia. He drugs her and blackmails her with sending in a drug test to get her to lose custody of her child if she doesn't comply with him and make a phone call. Olivia is horrified and eventually tries to kill herself, but Elliot gets her to make the phone call anyways. Olivia is disgusted by Elliot's actions. Vera is holding Krista and after threatening to kill Jason, he gets her to give up Elliot's personal file. Later, Krista calls Elliot telling him that she was kidnapped. Elliot decides to spring the trap and agrees to meet her, getting picked up by Vera's men in the process. Darlene is found by Dom but refuses to give up Elliot. Dom reports this to Janice who tells Dom to kill Darlene. Dom is unable to do it and knocks her out. When Darlene wakes up, Dom tells her to kill her but Darlene can't do it. Janice walks in and sees what Dom was trying to do.
The Good: This was a brutal episode. There were 3 storylines, and all dealt with characters in dark situations being forced to do terrible things to get what they want. The episode was a ruthless barrage of emotions and it was difficult to watch at a number of points. This is far from being a fun episode to watch, but it is remarkably good at showing us the overwhelming brutality in this world, which is what the episode was going for. Elliot's story is difficult to watch. Back in "403 Forbidden", the show did a terrific job of showing us the connection that formed between Olivia and Elliot. It was sweet, it was real, and it was exactly what Elliot needed. I totally bought into it. And now we get to see Elliot give up his soul as he goes back to Olivia's place, exploits her weakness by forcibly drugging her against her will, blackmailing her, and revealing that the connection they had was never real and that she meant absolutely nothing to him. This is a brutal gutpunch as Elliot takes this genuine connection and steps all over it, using it to accomplish his own personal goals with no regards to Olivia's wellbeing. He has sacrificed her life (almost literally) to further his agenda in the same way that the main villains of the show would, and it is deeply uncomfortable to watch. I want to root for Elliot. I've followed him for 4 seasons and I do like him. But what he has done here is so undeniably evil. We know it. Mr. Robot knows it, and is powerless to stop Elliot. Elliot knows it too, as he shoots us a brief sad look as he goes into Olivia's apartment, knowing full well that he's about to ruin this woman's life. This is the most evil we have seen Elliot, and Olivia saying he's an even scarier monster than those he is fighting is hard to dispute. We see Elliot consider it for a little bit too, realizing that he has undeniably gone too far in his quest for revenge, but struggles to face up to it. This was uncomfortable to watch, but stunningly effective at what it sets out to do. Dom and Darlene encounter one another for the first time since season 3, and their reunion lives up to its high stakes. Both characters are given fantastic moral conflicts to deal with. Dom is forced to contend with if she is able to murder Darlene for the sake of her family, with there also being the added possibility of her killing herself to be rid of all of this. Grace Gummer is phenomenal here, and she does a magnificent job of making us connect with Dom's struggle, understanding why this is such an agonizing choice for her. Darlene is fantastic too as she has to contemplate giving up Elliot to save her own life and to help Dom out, someone who Darlene has already screwed over in the past and feels guilty about. But she finds it impossible to give up her only family, and is left begging to try to stop Dom from killing her. Again, the performance by Carly Chaikin is incredible, and it adds so much to the drama. The constant swings as Darlene and Dom both struggle to come to terms with killing the other was effective and intense, adding to this episode's dark and brutal tone. Vera's return has been excellent so far. At this point in the story, it's clear that Vera has a role to play and I'm excited to see what that is. I've greatly enjoyed his return so far. Vera is intimidating, scary, and unpredictable; the perfect wildcard. He plays that role perfectly here as he works on Krista to help get information on Elliot. He terrifies her, intimidates her, makes her understand the situation, and gets her to open up a little bit as part of his own plan to get to Elliot. It's magnificent to watch, and the dialogue is written and acted to perfection. Vera carries a lot of personal emotional stakes for Elliot (he killed Shayla), so I am very excited to see how Elliot interacts with him and where this story goes. What really sold these three storylines was the acting. Everyone involved delivers outstanding performances to make us feel every little emotion that the characters are going through. All of the actors playing Elliot, Olivia, Dom, Darlene, Vera, and Krista are at the top of their game, elevating the experience of this episode. The Bad: Whiterose being so blindly obsessed with Elliot is the one bit of poor writing here. There is literally no reason that Elliot is allowed to live, considering the risk involved, but the show needs Whiterose to make a mistake so that she can be defeated. Hubris bringing about the villain's downfall is a trope as old as time, and it doesn't feel like it is being utilized in an organic way here. The Unknown: What is Janice going to do with Dom and Darlene now? Will they be able to get away from her? What does this mean for Dom's family? What will Vera find in Elliot's file? How will this affect his interactions with Elliot? How does Krista actually feel about Elliot? Surely Leon isn't only going to be used in this single scene. I'm certain that he's going to be showing up again in the future. When will he show up again, and why? Will Elliot call for his help when dealing with Vera? Best Moment: Again we are spoiled for choice. I'll give it to Dom trying to will herself to shoot Darlene. The conflict that both characters went through was compelling, and the performances were tremendous. Character of the Episode: Dom. Conclusion: This episode is dark, difficult to watch, and unstoppable in its brutality. Despite how uncomfortable it can be to watch, I can't deny that this was effective television that made me feel exactly what it was trying to make me feel. I felt for all of the characters involved and was horrified by much of what I saw. Because of that, I can say for certain that this is excellent television, certainly the best of the season so far. Score: 73 Summary: Elliot and Darlene infiltrate Virtual Realty to give Elliot access. Darlene poses as a worker and allows Elliot to sneak in. Together, they head to the server room and Darlene starts hacking to create an account for Elliot. The security guard realizes something is amiss and investigates. Elliot and Darlene make their escape but the police are called and their exit is blocked. Elliot runs out and the cops chase him, giving Darlene a chance to get away. Darlene poses as a girl who went to the gym in the same building and is able to make her way outside. She takes her car to Elliot's location and picks him up after a lengthy chase. Dom wants to be with her family on Christmas, but Janice has her go to the burned van scene to ensure everything is covered up. Dom gives Janice information from a nearby traffic light camera and Janice determines that Elliot and Darlene are responsible. She tasks Dom with finding them. Price is given the location and time for the Deus group meeting and informs Elliot. Krista prepares to go on a date but she is met by Vera.
The Good: The heist is gripping to watch and it's a lot of fun. This is quite possibly the most suspenseful and dramatic that "Mr. Robot" has ever been. Darlene and Elliot's infiltration is signature "Mr. Robot", and there are a lot of neat details that are included here. We aren't exposed to their plan, so every step is a delight to watch. The way that Darlene distracts the guard to allow Elliot to come through was so simplistic, but logical, and I loved the way that Darlene ensured that she could copy the guard's fingerprint to get into the server room. The plan is good, but as always, something is going to go wrong. And naturally things do go wrong as the security guard realizes something is wrong after the tiniest of mistakes (the elevator panel is left slightly open). What follows is one of the most delightfully tense sequences of the whole show as Elliot and Darlene work to finish the hack in the server room while trying to avoid the guard that is hunting them down. The sequence is magnificent, and while their escape is a relief, "Mr. Robot" is ruthless with the tension and follows it up with a fantastic chase sequence. This chase scene had every chance of being ridiculous and overdramatic, but I think that it ends up being just about believable. The cops are slow and take a while to get back-up, which makes sense because the heist takes place during Christmas. At every turn, Elliot finds a realistic way to stay one step ahead of the cops, but he isn't quite able to get away. I love that getting on the bus was not enough for Elliot to get away, and he was only able to escape once Darlene picked him up. I also got a good laugh out of Elliot going through the ice rink only for the cops to simply run around it. All of these details, plus the heart-pounding music, made the chase sequence a blast to watch. Furthermore, we had it intercut with Darlene attempting to escape the Virtual Realty building. She comes up with a fittingly creative escape by coming out of the gym. Naturally the cops wouldn't suspect her because they already thought that they found their man (Elliot). The heist story is dramatic, but I'm pleased that it ends on an emotional note as Darlene and Elliot hold each other's hands after the grueling experience that they just went through together. The other characters in this episode have solid storylines too. Dom's eternal struggle against the Dark Army is as engaging as ever. She simply wants to spend Christmas day with her family, but Janice doesn't let her, because Dom is once more forced to clean up their messes. Dom is given a brief heist moment of her own as she hacks into the local police department to get the intel she needs. The sequence is well shot and quite fun. Price is given some time to reflect in this episode as the Deus group prepares for their meet. There are some lovely shots here as Price sees a family and is reminded of Angela, and also a lengthy shot showing Price looking up at the E Corp building, perhaps tinged with sadness since he is leaving his post. Lastly, we come to Krista who is living her usual life until Vera arrives to turn her world upside down in an exciting cliffhanger scene. The elephant in the room about this episode is that there is hardly any dialogue here. It's almost entirely silent, making this another bold gimmick episode. For the most part, it works here. The heist doesn't require much dialogue, and the writers do a good job of finding ways to tell the story without dialogue. For a silent episode to really work, there needs to be excellent music and this episode over-delivers in that department. From the Christmas music to the brutally tense heist music, the episode is a joy to listen to even without dialogue. Of course, this is not a surprise because "Mr. Robot" has always had spectacular music, but it is especially good in this episode. The episode is also aided by some lovely cinematography. I would call this one of the more cinematic episodes of the show because of how well it is shot with many dynamic shots adding to the experience. I liked the two lines of dialogue that book-ended the episode, with Darlene saying "it's okay, we don't have to talk" at the start, and Vera finishing things with "time to talk". The Bad: The silent gimmick is pretty enjoyable, but unfortunately the strict adherence to silence in every scene takes away from the episode. What do I mean by this? Well for a show that features a whole lot of talking, there needs to be an explanation given for why everyone has suddenly stopped talking. People like to talk, even to themselves, so it's hard to buy that in every scene in this episode, there is no speaking at all. Some scenes feel awkward because you get the sense that the writers specifically had to go out of their way to stop the characters from talking. Take Darlene's interactions with the security guard which feel wooden because the characters inexplicably refused to speak, or Dom's silence during the can investigation which is out of character for her (her awkwardness typically makes her somewhat chatty). These scenes feel strange because they have been manufactured to not include any speaking. What's more frustrating is that the episode doesn't commit to having no communication. There is frequent texting going on to replace speaking, which is tedious to follow, and you get the sense that these scenes would be more effective with phone calls instead of texts. Overall, these factors all create the feeling that this episode is being modified to accommodate its gimmick instead of telling its story in the way that it should be told. Compare this to "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00", which was a gimmick episode where the story could not have been told in any other way. "405 Method Not Allowed" felt like it was forced into its gimmick, which is a huge immersion-breaker while you are watching the episode. Another major problem is the nature of season 4 as a whole. The main story feels like it has been disconnected for the sake of these gimmick episodes. This week is the silent episode, last week was the trip into the woods episode, and the week before is the Whiterose backstory episode. These episodes don't flow well into each other and feel very disconnected. A big consequence of that is that I have forgotten a lot of the random plot details that have been introduced. Cyprus National Bank, the Deus group, and Virtual Realty are all important to the plot, but they aren't interesting story details that I am invested in. As a result, I don't care enough to remember how all of these things are connected, and that meant that I actually forgot why Darlene and Elliot had to hack Virtual Realty in the first place. When I finally remembered, I realized that this highly intense experience served no story purpose; its only role was to further a minor plot detail by giving Elliot access to the servers. Compare this to the emotional importance that Elliot's previous hacks have had, and it doesn't hold up favourably. Had there been more effort to emotionally connect us to Elliot's goals and actions in this season, this heist could have meant a lot more. But as it stands, it feels like a plot event that is disconnected from the story. I have some issues with the details of this episode too. I wish that we had seen more of the preparation that Elliot and Darlene took before this hack. We never got to see how they organized their entry and the necessary steps that they had to plan out. These details weren't completely necessary, but they would have enriched the experience. I sense that accommodating the silent gimmick is one of the reasons that these details were excluded, which is disappointing. I'm not pleased with the suggestion that Darlene and Elliot got away from this scot-free. Elliot was spotted, so surely people will be on the look-out for him. Furthermore, I found it a bit hard to believe that Darlene was able to get out of the building so easily, when such a serious crime had happened. Lastly, shouldn't Virtual Realty take steps to figure out what exactly was changed by Elliot and Darlene? The guard knows the exact place where they were working. Surely it wouldn't be hard to figure out what they had changed and undo it. I'm a bit confused by Dom bugging the police department. Perhaps I missed something, but how did she move the officer's phone? Plus, how did she ever place the bug with nobody noticing? There were several other officers in that room, and not one of them questioned what she was doing? That's ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, the "all about that bass" ringtone made me want to cry. Who in their right mind would ever have that as a ringtone? This was too much for me to handle. The Unknown: How will the Deus Group meeting go for Price? Who is Deegan Maguire? Why did Dom take notes on the Dark Army van? Is she planning something? Is she going to hunt down Elliot and Darlene? What is she going to do with them? What is Vera planning to do with Krista? Best Moment: The entire chase sequence through the city was a wonderful dramatic spectacle that was packed with tension. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This episode saw "Mr. Robot" execute another impressive gimmick episode, but this time it felt like the story had to accommodate the gimmick at times. Furthermore, the disconnected storytelling style of season 4 is also hurting the show at this point. There is plenty to enjoy about this episode and it is as suspenseful as the show has ever been, but its flaws prevent it from hitting the highs of season 3's best episodes. Score: 68 Summary: Kim chooses not to tell Jimmy about Lalo being alive. Jimmy goes to work and hires Francesca at the new office. Kim meets with Viola and learns about the judge in the Sandpiper case. Cliff confronts Howard and Howard realizes that Jimmy is damaging his reputation. Howard tricks Jimmy into meeting him at a boxing ring where Howard convinces him to have a match which Howard wins. Howards gets a PI to follow Jimmy. Jimmy returns home to find Kim and they reflect on their next moves. Gus continues to panic in his daily life, unaware of where Lalo is. He visits the superlab and plants a gun inside. Lalo is in Germany and he meets with Werner's wife Margarethe. He quickly charms her and takes her to her house. When she leaves for work the next morning, Lalo sneaks inside hunting for a connection to Werner's workers. He finds a trophy. Margarethe returns home but Lalo is able to sneak out without having to kill her.
The Good: This episode continues those themes of paranoia that were present in the last, especially in this opening few minutes. It's great seeing the Jimmy/Kim storyline and the Gus/Mike storyline united by the characters all being terrified of Lalo's re-emergence in the early scenes. Even though he isn't on-screen, Lalo is the main focus here and it's fascinating to see how the different characters are dealing with his impending arrival. Gus continues to panic, and it's a great bit of continuity with the anxiety we saw him suffer from back in "Namaste" last season. Gus is unable to focus even at work (shown through another great long-take), and every second is spent worrying about when Lalo will show up. Gus makes sure to check the face of everyone in the kitchen to ensure that none of them are a disguised Lalo. By the end of the episode, Gus has overthought everything and that leads to him setting up an interesting trap for Lalo (see: The Unknown). Jimmy and Kim dealing with paranoia is even more interesting. Having learned about Lalo's return, Kim consciously chooses not to tell Jimmy about it, which is pretty surprising. Usually it's Jimmy who is hiding things from Kim, but now the opposite is true. Kim is in deeper than Jimmy is now, and so she has started to take things further than him. Another interesting bit of depth is that Kim barricades the door with a chair and then immediately removes it after speaking with Jimmy. Did she manipulate him into talking about Lalo by putting the chair on the door? If so, then that's a perfect indicator of how far Kim has gone, that she is now manipulating Jimmy with ease in the same way that he does. A sad reflection of Kim's fraying morality comes later when she meets with Viola, who is so sweet with how she looks up to Kim in ways that simply aren't true anymore. Rhea Seehorn conveys the discomfort that Kim feels to perfection, understanding that she is no longer the legally pure being that she used to be. Where Kim and Viola have a wholesome working relationship, we get it paralleled with Jimmy working with Francesca. It's great to have Francesca back and we begin to see the origin of the Saul/Francesca dynamic which was so entertaining back in "Breaking Bad". Jimmy's new operation is beneath what Francesca wants to do, but she initially goes along with it because Jimmy promises her lots of money and an escape from the DMV. And of course, we know that Francesca will continue to work for Jimmy for these same reasons. Howard has a stand-out episode, possibly Patrick Fabian's best work in the series, only contested by his excellent scenes with Michael McKean in the back half of season 3. We open with an excellent scene as Howard saves the Sandpiper case by selling the reasoning for continuing it to the senior citizens who are upset that the case is continuing. After a good laugh from Cliff's assuming Howard's anxious fidgeting is related to an addiction, we get to see Howard in his element. Funnily enough, the way he talks and sells so flamboyantly is very reminiscent of the Jimmy McGill that we saw back in the early seasons of the show. This connection between Howard and Jimmy caught me off guard and it is exactly why Howard liked Jimmy so much: he saw a bit of himself in Jimmy. There's an air of tragedy to that because in another world Jimmy and Howard would have been a perfect pairing at HHM. But Chuck had to get in the way, and then once Chuck was out of the picture, it was Jimmy himself getting in the way. These parallels between Howard and Jimmy are an effective reminder that Howard is a good person and that we should not be cheering on Jimmy and Kim for what they are doing to him. I ended up cheering on Howard in his next moves. Cliff confronting him about his problems was fun, and the scene had a terrific conclusion as Howard cancels everything to resolve his "Jimmy McGill problem". The boxing ring meet-up was exciting, and I got a good chuckle out of Howard's alias of Mr. Ward. There was something so satisfying from seeing Howard being relentlessly real with Jimmy, while Jimmy deflects and tries to act aloof. The boxing match was a total blast. The filming was inspiring, and it was immensely satisfying seeing these two sloppily throw punches at each other, with Howard ending up on top and delivering a scathing line to Jimmy ("don't mistake my kindness for weakness"). Howard is totally hell bent on stopping Jimmy, and he has gone as far as to hire a PI to follow Jimmy too, which may be something that Jimmy did not expect (see: The Unknown). Ordinarily I would be unhappy with straight-laced Howard having the connections and confidence to hire a PI, but we know that he has done it before for Chuck back in "Witness", so it is perfectly reasonable. But Howard is missing one thing: Jimmy is not the mastermind here. He assumes that Jimmy is responsible for everything, but in reality it is Kim who is behind it all. And Kim hasn't even crossed Howard's radar at this point, which is indicative of how shocking and disappointing Kim's fall from grace was. Even Jimmy isn't at the same level as she is and he feels immensely guilty about what he's doing. Jimmy didn't have to fight Howard, but he did, knowing he was going to lose, because he felt bad about what he was doing to Howard. It's painfully clear that Kim is the real one that Howard needs to go after, and so long as he doesn't see the bigger picture, he's never going to escape what they have planned for him. The episode ends with an exciting twist, finally showing us where Lalo has been. The Germany reveal caught me entirely by surprise, but it makes perfect sense because Werner was the only lead that Lalo found. It's a chilling moment when you realize that Lalo has Werner's wife in his sights. Margarethe was only just introduced in this episode, but because we cared about Werner, and because Margarethe embodies that same loveable friendliness in her (helping the Germans playing the quiz game), we immediately care for her. It's an impressive bit of character writing and acting that we are immediately terrified for the life of this woman who we only just met. Lalo is an exciting terror in this episode. He has dialed up the charm to 11 in his conversations with Margarethe, and he is so so impressive at it. It's no wonder that Margarethe is enchanted by him, and a number of horrible thoughts enter your mind: is Lalo going to sleep with Werner's wife? Is he going to kill her? Thankfully, Margarethe doesn't let him in, so Lalo simply waits until the next day when she leaves for work to get the proof that he needs to track down why Werner was working for Gus. But of course it isn't that easy, and the end of the episode teases one final bit of brutality as Margarethe returns and becomes suspicious of somebody being in her house. Unfortunately, she's too smart for her own good, and that intelligence had a very real chance of getting her killed. Kudos to the writers for making me afraid about the potential death of a character I had only just met. Thankfully, she was okay, and I wonder if Lalo choosing not to kill her was a sign that he genuinely did connect with her and feel bad for her. Or perhaps, Lalo simply learned from the TravelWire incident and has decided to limit the number of casualties in his wake. I always appreciate how "Better Call Saul" subtly illuminates more about its characters through small decisions like Lalo's decision to escape rather than kill. The Bad: There's nothing outright bad about this, but I did find this episode to run a bit too long. It's a slow episode, even by "Better Call Saul" standards, and I'm not sure that it needed to be quite as long as it was. Having multiple episodes of Gus being paranoid for example was a bit too much. The scenes were all good, but it took a long while to get to Lalo's return, and not a whole lot was done in that time. The slow pacing is especially felt because this episode is a transitional episode. I suspect the final two episodes of the half-season will be much more exciting and this episode's set-up will certainly have been necessary. However, future events being good does not make this episode more exciting. The Unknown: What did Lalo find on that trophy? Will it lead him to Werner's boys? He made note of the company that made the trophy. Is that where he will be heading next? What is Howard going to do about Jimmy? He has sent a PI after Jimmy. Is Jimmy expecting this? Or will it catch him off guard? Will Howard's PI get found out by Mike's men? That could put Howard into a lot of trouble. What is the next step in the Howard plan? How is it going to be so much worse for him? Why did Gus leave the gun in his lab? Has he figured out that Lalo will be going after the superlab? Does he expect that his next meeting with Lalo will take place inside the lab? What is Gus planning? Best Moment: It's tough to choose. There are lots of great moments but none that really stand out. I'll go with the cathartic conversation between Howard and Jimmy before their boxing match. There's something so satisfying about seeing Howard standing up to Jimmy, even if it was all part of the plan. Character of the Episode: Howard. Conclusion: This was more set-up and build-up, but as expected of "Better Call Saul", there are several storytelling flourishes that make this more engaging. A good episode. Score: 67 Summary: Barry and Gene prepare for their scene, but Gene freaks out and hits Barry, telling him to stay away from his family, and runs. When Batir realizes they were hit, he orders Hank to get revenge on Cristobal. Hank tries to redirect things to Fernando and tries to call in Fuches, but Fuches is happy on his own. Fuches calls Barry and they have another argument. Fuches decides to return to LA to get revenge. Batir wants Hank to blow up Cristobal's house so Hank calls Barry to do the job. Initially Barry says no, but after Gene's outburst he agrees. Sally and Katie do interviews and Katie struggles to hide her discomfort towards Barry.
The Good: The character dynamics here are as good as ever. Barry and Gene continued the fun from last week. Gene is almost like a puppy being trained by Barry so that Barry can be satisfied. He says he's doing this for Gene, but there's no way that 1 line in a TV show can replace Janice. Gene's obvious hatred for Barry and Barry's inability to see it does make for some interesting dark comedy once again, and good drama too. There's a good scene where Gene asks Barry if Janice died fast, and Barry has to snap back to reality. Hi assertion to Fuches that he and Gene talked out there issues rings false, and Barry realizes that at the end when Gene lashes out at him in another great scene (see: Best Moment). Having the lines reflect Barry and Gene's situation is an idea that this show has overused a little bit, but it still works here. Barry and Fuches continue to have a sad relationship. It's obvious that Fuches cares about Barry but he's still so selfish and short-sighted and all he can think about is that Barry betrayed him, even though it was Fuches who tried to kill Gene. It's no wonder that Barry is unable to forgive him, and Barry's inability to forgive Fuches nicely parallels Gene's inability to forgive Barry. Fuches' time in Chechnya looks like it is coming to an end, and his total misinterpretation of the anti-revenge fable was a hilarious but fitting conclusion to the episode. Hank is a blast in everything he does. He continues to have great lines as he awkwardly bumbles around trying to protect Cristobal and get Barry and Fuches working for him. There are some good laughs in this episode like with Hank being grateful for the almost expired groupons, and Akhmal being terrified of the bomb. Cristobal also had a good moment where he actually convinced Fernando to go home, but it looks like Batir's bomb attack will likely continue this war. I really appreciated that the main character of "Laws of Humanity" is named "Hugh Manity". That's a great hidden joke. I would love to see a Marvel movie entitled "Cake Boss". The Bad: Katie does not interest me very much. She has been only a partially realized character so far and many of her scenes are dull. It seems like she is being set up to cause some sort of friction in the Sally/Barry relationship and that is fine, but her scenes are never particularly funny, interesting, or dramatic. Sally's story as a whole suffers from being a bit unclear. I couldn't quite recall the importance of these interviews, and I was confused by people switching out just to ask a single question. I might be missing something, but I spent more time confused than I did laughing. This episode feels like a transitional episode so it suffers in that regard. Every story is in an in-between situation, and while there is some comedy extracted from these scenes, this episode is all about moving characters and it doesn't do this in a particularly interesting way. The main issue is that everything is quite predictable. We know Fuches will come back to LA so this episode gives him a reason why. We know that Gene won't be able to stand Barry and that Barry will work with Hank again, so this episode gets to that point. These storylines have interesting ideas and jokes within them, but they aren't the most exciting to watch. The Unknown: What is Batir suspecting about Hank's actions? Will he figure out Hank has a relationship with Cristobal? What will be the consequences of Gene running from Barry? What is Barry going to do now? What is Hank going to tell Barry to do with the bomb? What will he use it for? How is Fuches planning to build an army to take revenge on Barry? Is Katie going to leak information about Barry's abusive behaviour with Sally? How will this affect the show? Best Moment: Gene's scene with Barry was great. The way he flinches when Barry touches him is a brilliant piece of writing, and you can't help but wonder what Gene does next. His rage-filled outburst was superb as it made sense for Gene to be unable to accept any apology from Barry, and it shows Barry that Fuches is right and Gene will never be the same with him. Character of the Episode: Fuches. Conclusion: This was decent progression, but it felt like a transitional episode to get the characters to where they need to be. There is nothing too offensive here, but nothing stands out either. Score: 60 Summary: Tyrell knocks out the guy in the van, thinking that he's killed him. Elliot and Tyrell drive the van to a distant gas station to dispose of the body, but when they go inside, the man in the van drives away. Elliot and Tyrell walk through the forest as a shortcut, get lost, and face the reality that they are doomed. Elliot and Tyrell argue and then have a heart to heart. Tyrell agrees to help Elliot get back so he can at least warn Darlene to get away. Darlene goes to Elliot's apartment and sees that he's missing. She tracks his coordinates and tires to hotwire a car but is caught by a drunken man named Tobias. Darlene agrees to drive him home on the way. Darlene is frustrated by him but ends up opening up to him about her frustrations. Dom is lonely on Christmas Eve and tries to hook up with her online friend "HardOnHarry" and finds out she is a girl. Dom invites her over but she ends up being a Dark Army agent and tries to drown her. Dom wakes up, it was all a dream.
The Good: I usually really enjoy episodes like these. While this one had a lot of flaws (see: The Bad), there was a lot that it did right. "Mr. Robot" is a plot-heavy show, but its heart lies in its characters. Thus, an episode that puts away all of the plot to focus on every character's quest to find purpose and find their own happiness will be a memorable experience. Elliot, Tyrell, Darlene, and Dom all get a thorough exploration in this episode as they try to deal with the many struggles in their life. Elliot and Tyrell's trip to the woods was a lot of fun. There was some ridiculousness here (see: The Bad), but the episode has a good premise to send them out into the wild. It starts off as humorous with Tyrell immediately knocking out the man in the van, and remains humourous with the poor talkative lady at the gas station who strikes up conversation with the wrong people. I really got a lot of laughs out of this lady and Elliot and Tyrell's continued frustration with her. Following this, Elliot and Tyrell go on their trip through the woods which served as a perfect setting to explore their relationship with each other. Their interactions are enjoyable to watch and well-acted. Their argument was sad and powerful, especially for Tyrell who is forced to understand and accept that Elliot will never feel much more than contempt for him. But there is a part of Elliot that does care about Tyrell, and that part is Mr. Robot. A lovely touch is how Elliot walks away from Tyrell, but Mr. Robot is unable to leave him. Elliot may not care for Tyrell, but Mr. Robot has a strange sort of bond with him after their many interactions over the past few seasons. And Elliot recognizes that part of him, and finds himself unable to leave Tyrell behind to die. Tyrell is annoying, he's sloppy, he's dangerous. But Elliot has that spot of fondness for him because, as he says, Tyrell is about the only person in the world that actually likes Elliot, and that little bit of human connection means that Elliot cannot leave him behind. This was a beautiful exploration of their relationship and why its been such a compelling part of the show. Another key emotional aspect of this storyline is Tyrell finding peace in his failure of a life and ultimately dying. Tyrell is the star of this episode for sure. While the past few episodes have done a poor job of showing his struggles (see: The Bad), this episode makes it clear what Tyrell has been going through without his family. He fought hard against his own insecurity to rise to power, but the cost was everything that he loved. He has the power, but he no longer has the family that motivated him to get power to begin with. Tyrell is adrift, he's lost his purpose, and he doesn't know what to do with his life. Elliot is all he has left now, and Tyrell has to make peace with the fact that despite all that he does, he's never going to have anything more than a passive friendship with Elliot anyways. On this walk, Tyrell comes to terms with his life, how little it has amounted to, and how little he has left to live for. It's depressing, it's powerful, and it's relatable. And all the while the wolves/coyotes howl in the background, telling Tyrell that death is calling for him. Tyrell knows he is doomed, and that's why he spends so much time in this episode contemplating life and his own worth. Tyrell's mind is explored beautifully, and when he decides to give up, you understand exactly why. But surprisingly, Elliot is able to pull Tyrell back. Elliot has always been one to shut himself off from reality, but in hearing Tyrell's plight, he accepts that they are more than likely going to die. But Elliot wants to do just one thing; not destroy E Corp or pull off any crazy hack, but to warn his sister so that she can get away. And it's in this task that Tyrell finds one last purpose in his life. He's no longer being a selfish, insecure, power-hungry prick, and in this one moment he decides to keep going for a purely selfless reason: to help Elliot call his sister. It's a great moment of redemption for Tyrell, and though he ends up going to his death, there is a sense of acceptance in Tyrell's actions. His death is sad, but the way that the character is written in this episode makes the death fit him. He could have tried to prolong his own life, but he tells Elliot to go, and ends up taking a short, peaceful walk through the forest to meet his fate. There's a lot of beauty to this sequence, and it feels like Tyrell did become fulfilled as a person in his final moments. Darlene's inner conflict is also explored nicely here. The first scene with her is a lot of fun as she viciously rants at Elliot in a way that only she can. It's a nice touch that she deletes the voicemail because of course she doesn't wish that Elliot is dead. That's a nice way to highlight that Darlene is mad at Elliot, but she still loves him because he is all that she has. The rest of the episode explores this idea further as Darlene manages to form a hilarious connection with the drunken Tobias. Tobias was terrific in the role, and I got some good laughs out of him. I laughed at the reveal that Tobias' dark backstory with his dead wife, morbid statements, and addiction problems was a misdirection and that everything was totally fine. It was just that Darlene was in such pain that she easily read Tobias' problems as more serious than they are. Tobias served as a wonderful way for Darlene to let out her fears, pains, and guilt, and his final words for Darlene were an affecting way to conclude her story for the episode. Dom's story is short and flawed, but it's an effective way to show us how broken she feels. She's as lonely as ever, masturbating to Darlene's interrogation, which tells us that she did actually connect with Darlene in spite of all that has happened. She spends her Christmas Eve alone in her room, hiding from the family that she can no longer protect. Even her dreams aren't safe anymore as she finds her own sense of freedom and happiness attacked by the Dark Army. The Bad: This episode is very similar to "eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko", but this one fails to have that same impact. I don't think that stalling the plot to have this character-based experience was necessary like it was in season 3. Season 3 had to show how Elliot would cope with the E Corp bombings and "eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko" was dedicated to showing that. This episode doesn't have that same sense of purpose and necessity that demanded it exist. Because of that, no matter how artful or emotional this episode is, it will not hit the same level of exceptional television. And unfortunately for this episode, it is very imperfect. The entire premise of this episode is based off of characters making incompetent decisions, and coincidences. Having 1 or 2 of these bits of sloppiness can be overlooked, but when it's repeated then it becomes a major problem. And it is repeated over and over in this episode. Tyrell's inexplicable inability to shut up at the end of the episode is followed up by Tyrell and Elliot's laughable refusal to check if the man in the van was dead. That should be the first thing they do! And if he's not dead, then tie him up. Then after that, the two of them both go into the gas station for some reason, allowing the other man in the van plenty of time to drive away. There are two of them, why not have someone wait in the van? Especially when Tyrell is so easily recognizable, wouldn't you want to keep him away from unnecessary interactions with people as much as possible? As for coincidences, isn't it lucky that the guy in the van just happened to smash into a deer? That was a convenient solution to Elliot and Tyrell's problems. Furthermore, he conveniently manages to shoot Tyrell from an angle where he never would have hit him, allowing the show to write off the character with ease (more on this later). And in other storylines, Darlene happens to steal the one car that is exactly like Tobias', and he happens to be the one person who lives upstate which is where Darlene is heading. Furthermore, why was Tobias on his own anyways? Surely he had arranged for someone to drive him home rather than Darlene. As mentioned above, Tyrell's death was emotionally satisfying from a character writing perspective. But it can't help but feel like an enormous anticlimax. Tyrell was presented as a major, important character in season 1 and I can't help but feel that he has been misused since then, and his death here feels completely underwhelming. The end of season 3 set up an interesting storyline for Tyrell with him being in that higher-up position that he always dreamed of. This was a good idea because it gave us a prime opportunity to explore Tyrell's character and to see how he adapts to life following the loss of his family, also allowing him a good way to keep working with Elliot. But this season hardly showed Tyrell at all and we got no sense of how he was adapting and what his role in the show was. That's a huge underutilization of one of the most interesting characters. And now the show decides to finally give him some time to express himself only to rush his story arc by giving him sudden closure that has zero relevance to the plot, and then he dies. What a waste of a potentially interesting storyline for Tyrell. It feels like the writers did not know what to do with Tyrell, so instead of concluding his character arc meaningfully, they gave him a send off and killed him off. This show really struggles with killing characters. Tyrell joins Joanna and Angela as another major character who still had much left to offer the story, but was given a rushed and unsatisfying end that left an awful taste in my mouth. Tyrell deserved a better and more significant ending than this. Dom's dream reveal felt cheap. Her dream scenes were intercut with the rest of the episode, so it feels like the show was lying to us specifically to misdirect us. The Unknown: Did the man get around to sending Elliot and Tyrell's conversation to the Dark Army? What did Tyrell see in the forest at the end? Was it something important or was it just a visualization of death? Best Moment: Elliot and Tyrell's argument in the snow was powerful and effective. Character of the Episode: Tyrell. Conclusion: Episodes like these are where my scoring system is never entirely accurate. For me, this was the single most polarizing episode of the show. There were aspects that I loved and aspects that I hated. It's difficult because I got more enjoyment out of this episode than any other this season, but also more frustration. Mixed feelings would be putting it lightly. As for my thoughts on season 4 so far, I've enjoyed it but the grievous mishandling of Angela and Tyrell has left a bad taste in my mouth. Score: 65 Summary: Flashbacks show Whiterose trying to become ambassador to USA. He is with a lover who wants to live in USA where their relationship will be allowed. Whiterose gets a higher promotion instead but this means that they have to remain in China. Distraught, his lover kills himself. In the present, Whiterose suspects Elliot and Price are working together but arranges the Deus meeting anyways, intending on making Tyrell the next CEO. Darlene tells Elliot that Susan's contact is Olivia, but after getting this information they fight when Elliot doesn't let her work with him. Elliot breaks into her house and discovers that he needs her USB key that she has on her. Elliot tracks her down to a bar where she has been stood up and tries to sweet-talk her to get the USB, but they end up forming a genuine emotional connection. Elliot texts the USB code to Darlene and heads home but notes he is being followed. He gets home where Tyrell is waiting for him with news that he is going to be CEO. Vera is watching Elliot and takes note when he visits Krista.
The Good: Mr. Robot and Elliot remain the beating heart of this show. I thoroughly enjoy seeing how their dynamic alters every season. After a 3-season rollercoaster ride of situations for these two, we now find ourselves at a place where Elliot and Mr. Robot's roles are reversed. Now it's Mr. Robot who is talking to us and who is trying to pull Elliot back from executing a ruthless plan. The story has developed organically to get to this point, and I'm enjoying this new dynamic where Mr. Robot intervenes to ensure that Elliot does not go too far in his quest for revenge. And Mr. Robot's intervention led to Elliot finally making another meaningful human connection with Olivia. They connect at a bar in hilarious fashion (see: Best Moment) with Elliot being his socially awkward self, and Olivia connects with a lot of what he feels and struggles with. Their heart to heart near the end of the episode was a terrific scene, helping Elliot feel less alone and reminding him of his own humanity. Some nice touches included Elliot mentioning his promise to Mohammed, and Olivia revealing that her bottle of oxycontin is just a reminder. The latter especially was nice because it meant that Elliot's brutal plan of blackmailing Olivia actually would not have worked, and that Elliot making this connection was the only way that his plan would have worked. It's nice to see that in a cruel world, sometimes it is still the right move to do the more humane thing. Elliot's moment with Krista was sad. Elliot has been reliant on her for much of the show's run and they had developed to have a good relationship last season. But now that she knows what she knows about him, their relationship has been fractured, and it is brutal to see Krista shouting so viciously at Elliot, who had just wanted to thank her. This scene hurts, but it also appears to have significant plot relevance as it ties back in with Vera. Vera's scene was a good catch-up to see what he's been up to. He isn't a threat (yet) but he is setting up his own goals which I bet will interfere with Elliot's plan at the most inconvenient time. I enjoyed the scene where Vera murders his guy for being incompetent in terms of reading people. Vera is a wonderful, unpredictable personality and I'm happy that he's back in the show. I really like how this season has been visually conveying the Elliot/Mr. Robot dynamic. With both of them on screen together at all times (often 1 in the foreground and the other in the background), you never know when the other is going to intervene and take over. Sure, it might not logistically make sense when Elliot and Mr. Robot are doing different things, but I'm reading this as an artistic liberty, not an actual depiction of what is happening. Obviously Elliot would be doing both tasks in his own time. I think the small suspension of disbelief is worth it to get such creative filmmaking. Whiterose's backstory opened the episode. I had my problems with it (see: The Bad), but it was nicely visualized. The sequence was stylistic and it told a sensible story that explained some of Whiterose's behaviours. She is likely looking to make a parallel world where she would be able to spend all of her life with her lover, a man that she likely projected onto her many other paramours that she has had over the years. Further, this sudden death is likely why Whiterose picked up her obsession with time (an obsession that her lover also had), understanding that every second she has is precious. The funeral flowers Whiterose picked out for her lover was a cool origin for the Whiterose name. The Bad: While I liked Whiterose's backstory and I think it makes sense, it can't help but feel anticlimactic and underdeveloped. Whiterose isn't just some villain with a sob story, she is a massive powerful world figure, and surely there is more to the creation of this urban legend than just the story of a lover killing himself. I wish that Whiterose's backstory had spent more time on the struggles that a transgender person in China would have to endure. That would have been much more illuminating on her character than what we actually got. Plus it's much more original than the story of a loved one dying causing a character to become evil, which is an overused trope. Tyrell looked like such an idiot at the end of the episode. Sure he isn't the smartest character in the show, but he's certainly intelligent enough to understand that Elliot shushing him means that something is up and that he should not reveal his confidential plan. If this moment is how Elliot's plan gets busted by the Dark Army, I will be very frustrated. Tyrell is unhinged with a god complex, he has never been written as this stupid. The Unknown: Is Vera turning his eyes onto Krista now? That can't be good. What is he going to do with her? He wants to partner up with Elliot. How does he plan to get Elliot to accept? Will Elliot accept? Why did the episode spend so much time on Olivia? I imagine that he role in the show is far from over considering how important she was here. Now that Elliot has a connection with her, will he endanger his plan by remaining close to her? Will he be able to screw her over, knowing that the Dark Army will likely kill her if he does? Who is following Elliot? Is it actually the Dark Army or is it someone else? Have they bugged the apartment? Did they hear what Tyrell told him? What does this mean for Tyrell's new position and Elliot's plan? Best Moment: Elliot being incredibly awkward while talking with Olivia in the bar was hilarious. The best part was that I somehow did buy into it actually being enough to charm her despite how ridiculous it all was. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: Another solid episode as season 4 lays its foundations. Score: 66 Summary: Harrow starts using Ammit’s power and Layla follows him. Harrow revives Ammit and Layla revives Khonshu and refuses to be his avatar. Marc goes back for Steven and they are both saved by Osiris’ gate opening. Khonshu returns to Marc. Layla becomes Taweret’s temporary avatar. Marc and Layla fight Harrow while Khonshu fights Ammit. Ammit is defeated when Marc’s third personality intervenes. Marc doesn’t kill Harrow. Marc refuses Khonshu. The third personality, Jake, kills Harrow and is still working with Khonshu.
The Good: Layla had some good scenes here. I enjoyed her standing up to Khonshu to force him to stop Ammit on his own. Becoming Taweret’s avatar was fun. Taweret is a unique and fun interpretation of a god. Layla’s costume looked great and there was some good action towards the end. The Bad: Naturally the last episode was just a misdirect, and served to have no real purpose in the grand scheme of things. It’s a shame because exploring Marc’s trauma is far more interesting than watching yet another action sequence of good guys beating the bad guys. The only purpose of the previous episode was to be a plot device to bring Marc back to life, which destroys any sense of stakes and consequence knowing that Marc and Steven can just cheat death. Marc somehow saving Steven and himself reeked of plot convenience. Their reunion didn’t have much emotional impact because of how cheesy and rushed it was. Osiris was never even a character, just a plot device to bring them both back to life. The action was honestly quite boring. Harrow stopped being a character the second he became Ammit’s avatar and the fight against him was lifeless and lacking in suspense, drama, and emotion. I did not care for a CGI fight between Ammit and Khonshu. Both are hardly characters and I don’t care about seeing them fighting at all. The CGI was also completely unimpressive. I was curious about the Ammit vs Khonshu scenes earlier in the show, but all they amounted to was both gods screaming their ideologies at each other. Yawn. The Unknown: What is Jake like? Where does he fit in with Marc’s traumatic upbringing? WHy doesn’t Marc know about him? What will Khonshu do with Jake? What happened with Layla? WIll she remain Taweret’s avatar? What became of her relationship with Marc and Steven? Best Moment: I got a good laugh out of Taweret giving away Layla’s position out of pure excitement. Character of the Episode: Layla. Conclusion: This season finale was flat and disappointing, like most of the season finales in the Marvel and Star Wars TV shows. For my thoughts on season 1 as a whole, you can access my review of the entire season here. Score: 46 Summary: Steven and Marc have met Taweret who is guiding them through the afterlife. They have to balance the scale to succeed so Steven takes an adventure through Marc’s memories and past traumas. They routinely flash back into the psych ward with Harrow. Steven learns that he was created by Marc to cope with his trauma. The scales are not balanced and the unbalanced souls attack. Steven is taken overboard, he freezes in the sands and the scales balance.
The Good: This more than lived up to my expectations from the end of the last episode. The episode constantly bounced between realms in a way that never allowed you to fully figure out what was going on, making for a gripping out-of-body experience. Oscar Isaac is phenomenal here, conveying this confusion in such an emotional journey for two different characters. Steven is facing a harsh reality about his existence while Marc has to drop his cold exterior to face the trauma that he has buried so deeply. Marc’s story is brutally sad with lots of impactful scenes that make you feel for this character. It’s an engaging experience that serves as a sad and realistic reason for Steven’s creation. Marc has been a flat character, but we understand so much more about him after this. These scenes also answered quite a bit, such as by showing us Khonshu manipulating Marc to use him as an avatar, a surprising reveal. I enjoyed Taweret, and her voice and mannerisms were the opposite of what you would expect from a goddess in the afterlife. It was a wonderful subversion. The Bad: The Egyptian themes are used too much here. They never felt fleshed out enough in this series, so it doesn’t work to have an entire episode set in the Egyptian afterlife. Furthermore, you just know that this “afterlife” is going to be a plot device. While much of this episode is emotionally impactful, it is lacking subtlety in a few places. Some dialogue is used for exposition and feels hamfisted. The Unknown: Is Steven dead? We learn that Steven was created by Marc and is a part of him. Does this mean that if Steven dies that Marc will be “cured” of his disease and will embody traits of both characters? It seems that Khonshu manipulated Marc from the beginning. Is he actually an evil force that needs to be taken out? How does this psych ward storyline fit in with everything? Is Harrow somehow causing this? Is this reality? I’m very confused with how the psych ward fits in and I’m curious for answers. Best Moment: Marc’s past traumas were affecting, and the best to experience was Marc’s reaction at his mother’s funeral. He thought he was strong enough to attend but couldn’t do it in the end, and the sense of weakness and disappointment is brilliantly conveyed by Oscar Isaac. Anyone can relate to this. Character of the Episode: Marc. Conclusion: I loved a lot about this episode. Never mind all the plots, villains, and superheroes, what we got here was a powerful look into the mind of a troubled man, and it was great. When the MCU gets out of its own way, it can produce some really compelling storytelling. Score: 70 Summary: Steven and Layla go into Ammit’s tomb and hide from a creature. They split up and Layla kills the creature. Harrow finds her and reveals that Marc killed her father. Steven finds Ammit but is confronted by Layla who forces Marc out. Harrow and his people arrive and Harrow shoots Marc. Suddenly, Marc is shifted into a psych ward. Layla is a kind nurse and Harrow is a therapist. He is confused and runs away, finding Steven in the process. They encounter an Egyptian hippo goddess.
The Good: I loved the ending sequence. It caught me completely off guard and left me stunned trying to comprehend what was going on. This is far better than a by-the-numbers story which is what we had been getting so far. I’m excited to find out what exactly happened at the end of the episode. Prior to that, we had some good stuff. Layla had her best episode yet and she had some fun action scenes. The tomb was nicely realized and the creatures within it were spooky and terrifying. Some of the suspense as Steven and Layla tried to hide was excellent. The Bad: There have been dozens of tomb raider movies, and while I like the homage, it isn’t enough to save this show from its mediocre characters. Steven is fun, but Layla and Marc are still woefully boring. The love triangle that is happening here is a creative take on a trope that nobody likes, but I’m not interested at all. I care even less about Marc having killed Layla’s dad. I know nothing about the relationship between Marc and Layla and what they like about each other, so this reveal meant nothing to me. Harrow was slightly more interesting in this episode, but he remains a huge missed opportunity. Instead of doing anything interesting, here he is manipulating the main characters in a way that every bland moustache-twirling villain does, complete with sloppy writing that doesn’t even make him come off as smart and crafty in the way that the show wants him to. The Unknown: Who attacked Steven and Layla in the desert? What is the significance of Marc being there when Layla’s father died? Why did they get together? What the hell happened at the end of the episode? Is this a real mental asylum or did Harrow somehow bring on this illusion? Did Marc actually die with this all happening in his mind? Who is the weird hippo goddess? I’m very confused. Best Moment: Everything after Marc got shot. Character of the Episode: Layla. Conclusion: This was an average episode of thrills with an excellent ending that opens up the show to much more interesting avenues. Score: 63 Summary: Harrow reaches Ammit’s tomb. Marc gives chase by hunting Harrow’s men but is unsuccessful. Khonshu meets with the gods to accuse Harrow but they don’t listen to him. Hothar, Khonshu’s friend, gives a tip to find Senfu’s sarcophagus which could lead them to Ammit’s tomb. Marc and Layla go there and a fight breaks out when Harrow arrives, but they get the clue they need. Khonshu turns back the sky so that they can track Ammit’s tomb but he is imprisoned in stone.
The Good: Switching to Marc’s POV instead of Steven’s was a nice shake-up. Again, this was a very well-produced episode of television. The action was enjoyable enough and woke me from my slumber throughout the episode. The Bad: This was a snoozefest. The interesting part of the show, Steven and Marc’s conflict, had zero development. We spent most of the time with Marc whose personality I can describe as “flat soda”. Marc is boring and adds nothing to this episode. This is especially problematic because Marc being boring ruins his relationship with Layla. I don’t care about them at all. Harrow continued his descent into being a boring, uninspired villain. The plot in this episode was terrible. It was just a chase for MacGuffins that was entirely uninteresting. Anton was a useless character and the whole trip to Senfu’s sarcophagus was a boring waste of time. The gods were laughably lifeless, and their presence feels like useless filler. I can’t fathom why Khonshu would arrange a meeting without a single point against Harrow to condemn him. It becomes even more baffling when Khonshu manipulating the sky gets him encased in stone later in the episode. If he didn’t do the stupid meeting earlier, he would be fine! It becomes explicitly clear that the story isn’t natural and the writers are simply forcing what needs to happen for the plot. The meeting and the sky manipulation all happened as a forced way to remove Khonshu. Furthermore, Khonshu created several supernatural phenomena in this episode and somehow the world acts like nothing even happened. This should have enormous consequences around the world and it’s ignored. Why should I care about this story if nothing that happens is important? The Unknown: Who is Lagoro, the woman in the opening scene? Is there a third personality outside of Steven and Marc? Why did Hathor help Khonshu? Apparently Marc was in control until recently. What changed? How will Marc/Steven save Khonshu? What will they find at Ammit’s tomb? Best Moment: The action sequence I suppose. Character of the Episode: Steven. Conclusion: This episode was a chore. An uninspired plot filled with sloppy writing, exposition, MacGuffins, and weak characters. I did not enjoy this at all. Score: 41 Summary: Steven is fired from the museum. He goes to a storage locker that he apparently owns and speaks with Marc. He is followed by a creature and runs. He is picked up by Layla and taken home. Cops arrive and Layla runs away with the scarab. Steven is taken to meet Harrow who reveals he is working for Ammit, and that Steven is Khonshu’s avatar. Layla arrives with the scarab and gives it to Steven. Steven hands control to Marc who fights Harrow’s group. Marc and Layla escape but Harrow gets the scarab.
The Good: The tension built nicely throughout the episode. Khonshu is scary and the episode takes on a horror movie atmosphere when he appears. It was good to see Harrow’s neighbourhood, humanizing him a little bit. The show seems to be setting up themes of justice through the Ammit vs Khonshu conflict. The action at the end is exciting. Steven trying to fight in his “suit” was very funny and brought some much needed levity. The entire action sequence at the end was a blast to watch. The Bad: The tension built nicely but I’m disappointed in the result. The show already seems to be simplified into a boring hunt to find Ammit’s tomb. That’s not interesting at all. Harrow lost steam rapidly. He started off interesting, but has rapidly devolved into a generic, boring villain. Murdering the man who happened upon the scarab is such a typical villain scene, it made me roll my eyes. Harrow also looks really sloppy for simply allowing Layla to show up, take Steven, and run without any trouble. Typical writing for a villain by making them competent only when they need to be. The exposition scenes were quite blandly written. They weren’t very interesting and were very uninspired. The Unknown: Why didn’t the hound appear on the footage? What does it mean to be Khonshu’s avatar? What is Harrow’s story? Why did he turn against Khonshu? What is Marc and Khonshu’s agreement? Why does he belong to Khonshu? Whose body are they in right now? Does it belong to Steven or Marc? Best Moment: Steven arguing with Marc was a good spectacle, highlighting the moral differences between them. Character of the Episode: Steven. Conclusion: This episode built well and was entertaining, but it lost some steam with the simplification of the plot. Score: 61 Summary: Steven works at a gift shop but suddenly has his consciousness go elsewhere and he finds himself far away with a gold scarab. He’s hunted down by Harrow, an agent of Ammit. Steven tries to escape but his mind continues to blank out. He eventually wakes up in his own bed but soon discovers that several days have passed. He goes back to the museum and is found by Harrow and attacked. He learns he has another personality “Marc”, and lets him take over to help.
The Good: Steven is introduced well. He’s charming, likeable, and easy to connect to as he tries to get a grasp of what is going on. The multiple personalities are introduced naturally, and I enjoyed the editing throughout the episode. In fact, everything involving directing, editing, music choice, and cinematography was terrific. It’s nice to see this show take a more mature and violent approach, allowing it to stand out from the MCU and forge its own identity. The Bad: But like much of the MCU, this lacked feeling. The plot points were developed without much care for drama, suspense, mystery, or character. The various plots in this episode could have really used more time to breathe instead of trying to throw us from one thrill to the other. Some bad timing for me is that I’m also watching “Mr. Robot” while I watch this show, and “Mr. Robot” has far better themes, ideas, and storytelling with the similar premise of a main character with multiple personalities. Do we really need Steven to spout out every British trope you can think of? The Unknown: Who is Harrow? Why does he put glass in his shoes? Who is Ammit? Why does he support her? What are his goals? Who is Steven/Marc? Who is the person that is narrating in Steven’s head? How long has Steven had these split personalities? Why is he only noticing them now? Why is Steven missing significant portions of his memory? What happened to Gus? Why did Steven/Marc get a new fish? What does Harrow mean when he tells Steven he has chaos? Best Moment: Not much stands out. I’ll go with the craziness of Steven trying to give up the scarab but his body doesn’t let him. Character of the Episode: Steven. Conclusion: A solid enough pilot episode. Score: 60 Summary: Steven works at a gift shop and is gunning for a promotion that he doesn't get. He starts having black-outs and ends up in possession of a scarab. A man he encountered, Harrow, is after the scarab. Steven learns he is sharing a body with Marc who has a wife Layla. He also has special powers as the avatar of Khonshu. Steven gives the scarab to Layla and is captured by Harrow's men. Harrow reveals that he wants to the scarab to revive Ammit. Layla comes to save him but Harrow gets the scarab. Steven and Layla track Harrow to Egypt and they find the tomb, but Khonshu gets sealed away. In the tomb, Marc is shot by Harrow who gets Ammit. Marc dies and traverses the Egyptian afterlife, but he finds a way to come back. Harrow resurrects Ammit and Layla revives Khonshu. Khonshu returns to Marc and Layla becomes Taweret's avatar. Layla and Marc fight Harrow and defeat him. Ammit gets sealed away again. Marc and Steven reject Khonshu, but Khonshu remains with them in their third personality, Jake.
The Good: Oscar Isaac's performance is the best thing about this show. What makes this more impressive is that this is not an easy role to play, but Oscar Isaac nailed it consistently in every difficult scene. He's playing three completely different characters and he shifts between them all seamlessly when he needs to. It's remarkable that just through his facial expressions alone, we can tell which character he is playing. Steven and Marc are brought to life by such a compelling performance and I thoroughly enjoyed these characters. The mystery of who Steven is builds up nicely in the early episodes. It was engaging to learn about Marc, and Steven's confusion and fear upon learning about his other half was terrific. Again, I have to give full credit to Oscar Isaac for portraying this so well. The early episodes were good because of the performance and my genuine interest in uncovering the mystery of what's going on. Things were less interesting once the questions were answered (see: The Bad), but these opening episodes were engaging and fun. Steven and Marc became interesting characters to learn about, and they carried the emotional core of the series, with the best work on these characters coming out in the terrific fifth episode "Asylum". "Asylum" felt like a gamechanging episode. While that did not quite pan out, it remains a gripping experience. Steven has been so likeable with his innocent hopefulness, sense of humour, and nervous body language. But Marc was boring because of his simplistic cold, hard exterior. This episode pulled back the curtain on Marc and reveals to us why this character is so cold and emotionally distant, allowing us to connect more with him. His hidden trauma was beautifully realized and surprisingly deep-rooted. It's easy to feel sympathy for him and understand him as we see the extent of his struggles. This episode was again elevated by Oscar Isaac who had the tough ask of showing the reactions of both Marc and Steven to Marc's traumatic past. Both characters react wildly differently, and Oscar Isaac captured this range tremendously while still maintaining the different ticks of each character. The episode also featured a curious storyline that took place in a psych ward, offering up an interesting alternate reality that made us question what reality even was. This made for an engaging out-of-body experience that was the creative highlight of this series. Another thing that helps this show is how well directed it is. Every episode has great shots, transitions, and editing. There is real creativity in how the show looks and that helps make it much more watchable and interesting. There are some dynamic shots in every episode, and I loved the clever ways that the show illustrated Steven talking to Marc. I also loved the original musical score and the song choices. They fit the style of the show very well and the music always complimented and bettered the story. The Bad: Much of my praise is centered around Oscar Isaac, which means that the natural consequence of that is underdeveloped side characters. Layla has cool moments and May Calamawy does well, but the character is uninteresting and nothing can save that. Her relationship with Marc was never developed and the show did not do anything of substance with her. All she was given was a bunch of half-baked story ideas that were never utilized to the fullest. The story with her father, the weird love triangle with Steven and Marc, and becoming Taweret's avatar were all half-baked ideas that never got the time they needed to stick. The show sloppily hashed these ideas together, and the result is a character that does not have much merit to her. Harrow fares even worse. Harrow is every bit as boring as I had feared. Again, the show touches on unique ideas like Harrow's devotion to Ammit's belief of the scales, and his relationship with Khonshu. But none of these ideas go anywhere, and Harrow gradually devolves as the series goes on, ultimately becoming another uninspired, two-dimensional villain who exists specifically so that Marc and Layla have someone to fight at the end. Action itself is not interesting. We need emotional investment to make the action interesting, and Harrow's boring character never accomplished that emotional investment. On the topic of having too many ideas, the whole show is trying to balance too many ideas and ends up fumbling most of it. The main focus of this show is to be an MCU show (which brings about a host of problems I'll discuss later), but it also tries to parody tomb raider movies, incorporate Egyptian mythology, tell a story about a character with DID, and explore themes of justice, among many other things. This is far too much, and that results in these ideas being half-bakes and uninteresting. The Egyptian mythology especially suffers and can't help but feel tacked on. None of the Egyptian ideas are explored enough to feel meaningful and memorable. It may be cool to see a show with Egyptian themes, but if you take them away, the show won't suffer any loss in quality because of how extraneous these ideas are. The gods are bland, especially Khonshu and Ammit who are significant characters in this story. And yet I felt nothing for them, and the themes of justice that they represented were never explored in meaningful ways. The gods were another flat inclusion into a show that did not need them. It's sad to say that the gods are not necessary in this story because they feel like they should be. But the truth is that they play zero role in the emotional story of the season and are not necessary. I feel the same way about many ideas in this show. There is so much going on here, none of it feels important, and the show fails to establish an identity for itself by failing to manage its ideas properly. Episode 3, "The Friendly Type" is the one that suffered the most from the show not having its own identity figured out. By this point the show was promising to be a mature action thriller with a compelling main character dealing with DID. But this third episode completely screwed that up by introducing too many ideas. It tried to be a fast paced adventure film out of nowhere, and left behind the interesting ideas that had been brought up in the previous episodes. Instead it focused on a silly love triangle story, an adventure movie plot, and played up its campiness rather than the maturity that it was promising. Add in more of those half-baked Egyptian themes and the episode was an uninteresting mess of ideas that went nowhere. This episode encapsulated all of my biggest issues with the show: it was boring, uninteresting, rushed, and packed with far too many half-baked ideas. I feel like a broken record by this point, but another MCU show has fallen victim to the usual trappings. You can read my previous reviews of "WandaVision", "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", and "Hawkeye" if you don't know what I'm talking about by now, but the same problems persisted in this show. Tonal issues, shallow exploration of themes, over-emphasis of bland action scenes, and a terrible final act all happened again in this show. It's frustrating to watch so many shows that have these exact same issues, and it's like Disney is not even trying to do anything creative or new to improve the boring formulaic nature in these TV shows. I am growing weary of it, and it's frustrating to devote 6 weeks of my time to watching a show that doesn't offer anything that I couldn't have gotten in a 2-3 hour movie. Best Episodes: E04 The Tomb: A fun tomb raider inspired experience with an excellent twist ending. E05 Asylum: This was a unique experience, as we follow Marc and Steven through their confused reality as the show dove deep and found a compelling narrative in Steven learning about Marc's traumatic childhood. This was by far the best content in the show. Worst Episodes: E03 The Friendly Type: This episode felt like a waste of time. It was driven by an extremely bland and generic plot, and offered nothing of substance. E06 Gods and Monsters: A typical, boring MCU finale that failed to satisfy me. We need to have better finales to these shows. Character of the Season: Steven. He's so much fun. Conclusion: This was certainly another Marvel show. Familiar problems and squeezing in too many ideas in too short of a time hurt this show badly and made it nothing special. But there is stuff to enjoy here, particularly Oscar Isaac's outstanding lead performance as Marc and Steven. I had some fun in this show, as is expected of the MCU, but this show doesn't succeed enough at what it tries to do to stand out and be something special like "Loki" was. This is a fine show, and nothing more. Summary: Kim meets with Cliff while Jimmy, dressed as Howard, steals Howard's car while he is at therapy. Jimmy picks up Wendy and makes a show of kicking her out of Howard's car right next to where Kim and Cliff are sitting. Jimmy returns the car, but someone else stole Howard's parking spot. He moves a sign and just about makes it work. Kim drops Wendy off and notices somebody is following her. Kim has lunch with a client and sees that car again. She confronts the people in the car and they drive away. Kim returns to the diner where she is met by Mike who explains that he has men following her and Jimmy in case Lalo emerges. Jimmy goes back to the courthouse where he gets a negative reception from everyone. However, his business booms at the nail salon. Mrs. Nguyen kicks him out and so he finds a new office which he shows to Kim. Gus has constant surveillance of his house. Upon returning home, he goes through an underground tunnel to a second house where he speaks with Mike about Lalo and security.
The Good: This episode was a blast, perhaps one of the most fun of the series. The episode quickly dives into the Howard scheme that was being set up in the previous episode and it is so much fun to watch. Kim might be the mastermind, but it's Jimmy that does the heavy-lifting here. Jimmy busts out the Howard outfit from back in "Hero", one of many callbacks in this episode, and his committed Howard costume is hilarious in all of its spray-tanned beauty. I have always appreciated that this show covers the details, and seeing Jimmy in such a brash, creative outfit was really funny. Jimmy's antics here are wonderful. His interactions with Wendy (great cameo) are fun, and he is clearly enjoying himself doing this con. He goes from hilariously disgusted at Howard's music choice to completely enjoying it while celebrating his success. But his success is short-lived as he finds that someone moved the cone that he so cleverly placed to reserve his parking spot. Bob Odenkirk's delivery of "what kind of asshole moves a cone!?" was outstanding comedy, made better by the irony of Jimmy stealing someone's car, yet it's moving a cone which is unforgivable to him. And in another subtle callback, naturally the perpetrator was driving a shiny white pearlescent BMW, not dissimilar to the one he described Chet driving back in "Marco". The ensuing sequence of Jimmy moving the sign, Howard incredulously not noticing anything amiss, and the sign promptly falling over was brilliant comedy. This whole sequence was a blast, filled with laughs and fun, and it was directed and edited as brilliantly as ever. This was all great fun. But on a more serious note, this sequence serves as an effective reminder of how ruthless Kim and Jimmy have become. They are not doing the right thing here and they have jumped to the nuclear option of tearing down Howard without considering any other options. What hits hard is that Kim conceives of a fake plan that she will tell Cliff to form a pro bono firm of sorts. Surprisingly, it actually seems to work! This means that Kim could potentially have done all of the good she wanted in the world without ruining Howard's career, but Kim and Jimmy never looked for any alternatives. And even after hearing this, they don't stop working on scamming Howard. This is completely indicative that no matter what these two tell themselves they are scamming Howard for, the truth is that they are ruining this man's life purely for the thrill of it all. And Howard doesn't deserve this. A glimpse into his therapy session reminds us of Howard's humanity, hinting at some strife he is dealing with at home. It's a sad reminder that Howard is a genuinely nice person who does not deserve what is happening to him. I've noticed a new side to Kim's moral decay. Her moral decay is shown through her realization of how much power she has and how often she can use it. We have seen Kim gradually confront people more and more, and as her confidence increases, she brings out her powerful side in increasingly dangerous situations. It happens in this episode too when she confronts her followers. But in a surprising twist, Kim's actions lead her into a conversation with Mike, a delightful scene which is the first that these two characters share. Mike clearly has respect for Kim's ability, and Kim fits right in with Mike, connecting with him in a way that Jimmy never did. She even recalls his time as a parking attendant, another of many connections to season 1 in this episode. As fun and well-written as this scene is, it feels ominous. Kim adjusts to this side of the world a little bit too well, and who knows how much deeper she might go and who else she might meet (see: The Unknown). Jimmy gets a good conflict in this episode. While it takes a while to realize what exactly is happening due to an unfortunate timeskip (see: The Bad), we clue in that Jimmy is facing the consequences of being known as Lalo's lawyer. All of his connections at the courthouse treat him like dirt and Jimmy feels the pain and loneliness that sacrificing all morality will bring you. There are more nice callbacks here with the lady that Jimmy bribes with stuffed animals refusing him, and with Bill once more struggling with the vending machine. But more than callbacks, the story pushes forwards and changes. Jimmy negotiating with Bill has been happening since way back in "Mijo". They have always felt like two equals, down on their luck and struggling in a difficult world. But now Bill has a moral high ground over Jimmy, beautifully realized by him leaving Jimmy behind at the bottom of the stairs. He also gets a fantastic line as he tells Jimmy that even though he can't prove it, knowing what Jimmy did is enough for everyone to turn on him. But when faced with the consequences, Jimmy also gets some unexpected positives as his business explodes within the realm of criminals. And as we know, Jimmy is going to double down on this business. The ruin of Jimmy's courtroom relationships feels like the final nail in the coffin for Jimmy McGill in his transformation to Saul Goodman. Now, by the end of the episode, he's opening up his office and now there's no turning back to Jimmy McGill. A final callback that further cements Jimmy's change to Saul is that he is finally kicked out from the nail salon where he has been set up since the first episode. Mrs. Nguyen has finally had enough, and after one final "cucumber water for customer only", she is done with Jimmy. It's sad how flippant Jimmy is about leaving this nail salon, and there is a sense of finality to Jimmy leaving the nail salon behind and opening up a new office. This episode has a theme of paranoia. Of course that applies to Kim, but more seriously, it applies to Gus. This episode sees Gus taking every precaution to prepare for Lalo and I appreciate how thoroughly "Better Call Saul" shows his preparations. He has men hired everywhere, watching his house, following Lalo's associates, and even working with him (though that man is not up to "Pollo Standards" which is a hilarious touch). Furthermore, Gus is wearing Kevlar constantly, keeping a gun on him, and hiding out in a separate house that is connected to his own house to further ensure his safety. I enjoyed the show's creative ways of showing all of this. The cold open sequence is a blast, a perfect use of the random disconnected scene that gradually becomes important trope. Further, I loved the long take as Gus goes through the tunnel from one house to another. The Bad: For once I actually found myself disappointed by the lack of detail-work in this show. It's surprising because this show is usually so good at addressing the little things, but I had problems here. For one, there was no follow-up on Nacho's death whatsoever. I was really shocked by that since it was such a huge moment which should have had some sort of effect in the story. But none of the characters even acknowledge that it happened. Furthermore, we never learned what Gus's explanation for capturing Nacho was, which is a significant oversight. Another skipped detail was Jimmy's decision not to rat on Lalo. Kim presented Jimmy with the option in the previous episode, but we skipped Jimmy making his choice. This is very unlike "Better Call Saul" which is often so good with showing us these key choices and extracting drama from it. Instead, Jimmy made his choice off-screen and we are left playing some confusing catch-up over why everyone at the courthouse is so upset with him over a simple rumour. The scheme to start the episode was a blast but it was a bit too much to suspend my disbelief by the end. I find it hard to believe that Howard never noticed that his car was in a different spot. That was a bit much. Furthermore, Howard would certainly have likely heard Jimmy's footsteps when he ran, which wouldn't have been a dead giveaway, but it would have heightened his awareness so that he would notice that his car was moved. Jimmy moving the sign would make little difference because if Howard didn't notice the stripes beneath his car, he certainly wouldn't have noticed the sign. These are very minor things, but they do bother me. The Unknown: Did the scheme go off properly? Does Howard suspect anything? How about Cliff? Mike treating Kim with such respect was a surprise. We know that Jimmy will never meet Gus, but can we say the same for Kim? Is she going to meet Gus and get involved in his business? It would be surprising if Kim ends up meeting Gus, but then again, she's already gone much deeper than we ever expected her to go. Where exactly is Lalo? Where has he gone to find proof? Why is it taking so long for him to return? Best Moment: Kim meeting Mike was delightful. They shared a great scene with quality dialogue. Character of the Episode: Kim. Conclusion: Outside of a few rare gripes, this was a fun episode with plenty to enjoy. This isn't one of the show's best episodes, but it's a good time. Score: 65 Summary: Barry tries to get Gene a part to revive his career. He goes to Sally but when she can't help him he blows up in her face. Barry eventually succeeds in getting Gene and himself a part but Gene runs away. Barry hunts him down but Gene gets away. Gene returns home but Barry is already there and Barry threatens Gene to cooperate or he will attack his family. Sally is pressured while working on her show. Upon returning home, she falls back into her same patterns when waiting for Barry to return. Fernando, Cristobal's father in law, comes to America to meet with him and kill the Chechens. Cristobal breaks up with Hank and tells him to run.
The Good: This was great comedy. The entire concept of Barry and Gene's story is fantastic, and I loved that the show poked fun at its ridiculousness when Gene encountered the lady late at night to call for help. So much of this storyline had masterful humour stemming from its complete ridiculousness. The show extracted everything possible out of Barry keeping Gene in his trunk, with terrific moments like Barry giving Gene some fast food, and Barry shouting at Gene while trying to go through security. Better yet is when Gene tries to run away from Barry. The lady who has way too many jokes was easily the best joke of the season so far. Not only is it funny that Gene would get attacked by so many dogs, but there's a brilliant slow reveal that the arguing couple are arguing over the excessive amount of dogs. Terrific comedy. Much like the first episode, the comedy is blended perfectly with the drama. There is such a scary undertone to Barry in this episode. He loves Gene and views him as a father of sorts, but you can tell that Gene does not feel the same way. This pays off hugely at the end of the episode as Barry threatens Gene's family if Gene does not give Barry a second chance. Barry is smart enough to realize that Gene doesn't love Barry, and why would he, but he instead orders Gene to show him that love that he so desperately desires. The scene is wonderfully acted by Bill Hader and Henry Winkler, and it is chilling and sad. Tremendous work from everyone involved. Sally is at her most sympathetic in this episode. She continues to work on her show, but her relationship with Barry takes centre stage. We didn't realize it in the first episode, but with Barry's falling mental state, Sally has found herself in yet another abusive relationship that she is unable to get out of. There is an astonishing scene where Barry yells at Sally in a scene that shocked and scared me thoroughly. It was a harsh realization that Barry has transformed into such a cold person, and that selfish and annoying Sally is far from the biggest problem in this relationship. It was devastating to watch Sally prepare the house to satiate Barry at the end of the episode and fish for an "I love you" on the phone call without success. Perhaps even worse is that Barry doesn't even notice what he's doing to her and how he's paralleling her previous relationships. Barry is still as ignorant as always, and while it was endearing before, there's a dark side to it now as he unintentionally mistreats Sally. Cristobal and Hank provide the odd laughs. Cristobal's sudden change in expression when Fernando hugged him was subtle and brilliant. I laughed at the Chechens taking a tour of the city, and I smiled at the extra long shot of Hank watching Cristobal leave. The Bad: The Bolivians story doesn't quite work. It's much less interesting than everything that's going on with Barry, Sally, and Gene, so I found myself waiting to move on during the scenes with Cristobal and Hank. The comedy also isn't quite as good in their story this time around. The incompetence of the Bolivian elite squad is mildly funny, but it is far too big of a suspension of disbelief to be truly effective. This show is funnier when the incompetence of the major gangs is more subtle. The Unknown: How will Cristobal deal with Fernando? Will Fernando find out about Hank and Cristobal's relationship? I can't imagine that Hank will run away. What is his next move? How will Barry's new part with Gene turn out? I can't imagine that everything will go as planned. Will Sally continue to be with Barry or will she gain the courage to fight him off? Will the early premiere of Sally's show end up being successful? Or will she be woefully underprepared for it? Best Moment: Barry losing control and shouting at Sally. Character of the Episode: Barry. Conclusion: A great episode, and a step up from the season premiere. This episode got the story moving, had some brilliant scenes, and brought the laughs. Good stuff. Score: 69 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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