Summary: Santiago grabs Darlene and tries to take her away. Dom confronts him so he knocks her out and takes her too. Santiago takes them to a barn where they are kept under Leon's watch. Elliot panics when he realizes Darlene has been captured and connects with Mr. Robot for help. He's found by Irving who also takes him back to the barn. Irving takes Dom and Santiago. Irving murders Santiago with an axe and threatens Dom's family to ensure that she is the new Dark Army FBI mole. Dom returns to the barn and Grant arrives. Grant hears Elliot out and Elliot offers to get Whiterose's project transported in a day. Grant doesn't believe him and orders Darlene to die but Leon kills everyone else and puts the gun on Grant. Grant kills himself and Elliot has a deal with Whiterose. Leon gets Elliot to do it and then he is let go. Dom holds a grudge against Darlene for everything that happened. Elliot learns from Darlene that his father never pushed him out of the window. Elliot gets Mr. Robot's help and learns that the encryption keys were saved by him. Together, they undo the 5/9 hack. Meanwhile, Price has kept Angela locked away. He goes to talk to her and reveals that he is her father. He informs her that Whiterose manipulated her and encourages her to accept it and move on. In a post-credits scene, Vera returns and meets Darlene.
The Good: The drama at the barn was exciting to follow. I was genuinely concerned that Darlene or Dom might end up dying at some point, so I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. We were treated to some great scenes here. Elliot's showdown with Grant was dramatic, and Rami Malek delivered another lovely performance in conveying Elliot's desperation to cut a deal with Whiterose. Unfortunately for him, Grant has never liked him and you feel that Grant is looking forward to killing Elliot and Darlene. Leon's ensuing betrayal is an excellent twist, and it makes sense considering his fondness for Elliot and because the last time he let Grant take over, Mobley and Trenton ended up dead. So this time, Leon takes things into his own hands and delivers a great twist to conclude the barn sequence. But perhaps the best part of this storyline came from Irving. Irving has been around a lot this season and he seemed to be a kind-hearted free spirit that simply does his job. That all changed here. In a tremendous callback to "chopping logs" with Tyrell, Irving dons his axe and ruthlessly massacres Santiago, letting out all of his frustrations with simultaneously threatening Dom into cooperation in a terrifying manner as he casually reads names off of his hand while chopping up Santiago. This scene was brutally affecting and it landed perfectly. Irving leaving for Barbados suggests to me that he may not be coming back for the next season, which is a shame because I greatly enjoyed his performance. He at least went out in style by talking down to Grant and reminding him that Whiterose is simply using him, setting up nicely for Grant to be sacrificed by Whiterose. You can't help but feel for Dom in this episode. She hasn't done anything wrong. She did her job the best way that she could to get to the bottom of everything, and she tried her hardest to create some sort of a happy ending for Darlene. And as a reward for her troubles, Dom has her loneliness exploited and manipulated by Darlene, and she is forced to abandon all of her virtues and values under threat of torture for her family. That is absolutely brutal, and you have to feel for Dom here. Her rage-filled rant towards Darlene is powerful and affecting, even if it is misdirected in her direction. It's a brutal moment for Darlene too, adding yet another thing on her already guilty conscience to contend with. The acting from both Grace Gummer and Carly Chaikin is superb and that makes this scene work really well. It is a terrific pay-off for this season's Dom/Darlene storyline. Elliot has a great episode with a lot of big moments. His breakdown upon realizing that Darlene's life was in danger felt real, and it was conveyed perfectly. This show does a terrific job of making us feel the anxiety that the characters feel. Another big moment was Elliot finally forcing a direct conversation with Mr. Robot again, for the first time this season. I liked the callback to season 1 with the discussion taking place on a ferris wheel. It's nice to see them talking again, and instead of any kind of conflict, it feels like there is a mutual understanding between them now. Mr. Robot is addressing that there is a part of Elliot inside of him, and that is key for Elliot feeling like he can trust him again. I liked the reveal that it was Mr. Robot who left a way to undo the 5/9 hack, not Romero. There is much more significance to it being Mr. Robot, and you can sense that this reveal has allowed Elliot to trust his alter ego once more, accepting that Elliot needs Mr. Robot to fight back against the Dark Army. The conversations between these two towards the end of the episode were rich and filled with emotion. The dialogue is written so well, and it's good to see Elliot accept that he has to undo 5/9 to help him contend with the guilt he feels for causing the complete mess that was his misguided "revolution". We're treated to a couple of big reveals in this episode. The first is that Price is Angela's father. I'm surprised that I never picked up on this one (the hints were definitely there), but it was an effective twist that clears up why Price was always so invested in Angela. I don't think it's that big of a moment, but it takes place in a great scene as Price gets to play the father and help Angela recover from her deluded state. Combining the twist with the emotions of Angela accepting what happened to her strengthened the moment significantly. It was good to humanize Price a bit by seeing him put in some effort to help Angela move forwards. The second twist is the reveal that Elliot's father never threw him out of the window. I predicted this back in season 1 (and for a while I thought it was actually confirmed), so this one did not surprise me much. However, it was an effective character moment so I'm grateful for its inclusion. Elliot had spent much of this season trying to cut Darlene out, thinking that she was bad for him. But now Elliot understands more than ever that he needs her, and that she is his connection to a past that he cannot seem to properly remember. This reveal is also more consistent with what we have seen from Elliot's father in previous episodes, showing him as a kind and gentle soul, certainly not the type of man to push someone out of a window. The Bad: There were a few minor things that lowered the episode's quality. The two twists didn't amount to very much in the end, so they don't feel like the monumental moments that the episode is trying to tell us they are. This episode used the rapid intercutting trick that was used back in "eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx" and "eps3.5_kill-pr0cess.inc" to build tension. Since we have seen it multiple times before, it was less effective this time and didn't carry as much suspense with it. It even used the exact same music as the first time, so it felt repetitive. Leon's betrayal and Grant's death are good dramatic moments, but they can't help but feel a little bit underdeveloped compared to most other storylines. Usually we see more depth and care put into storylines than this. This show usually portrays hacking with thorough detail and care, but that didn't happen in these final few episodes. Elliot hacks the Dark Army with no issues whatsoever. I thought they had set a trap, but apparently not. Furthermore, he simply solves Whiterose's shipping problem without batting an eye, which was underwhelming due to its simplicity. Again, we usually see more depth in storylines like this. I have a few final quibbles. Dom looks like an idiot for allowing herself to be knocked out so easily. Cameras or not, she is smart enough to keep her guard up against Santiago. Lastly, I was disappointed that we didn't check in with Tyrell. He is a major character and I feel like he wasn't quite used to his fullest this season, though what we got from him was very good. The Unknown: Why did Leon betray Grant for Elliot? Was it just because he liked Elliot and didn't want to see him needlessly suffer? Is Whiterose okay with this? She claims that she loves Grant, but I don't buy it. Irving clearly suggested that Grant was expendable. Why did Elliot jump out of the window himself? Why doesn't he remember this? Did Mr. Robot remember this? We know that Mr. Robot didn't come into existence until after Elliot's father died, or could he have existed before? Are there still further secrets about Elliot that we don't know about? What will be the fallout of undoing 5/9? It definitely won't make everything better. Will it cause more problems in the world? I suspect it will. What problems? How is Dom going to handle being a mole? I suspect that it's only a matter of time before she actively starts fighting against the Dark Army. Vera has returned! The post-credits scene was done in one long take as always, but I was hugely surprised by this reveal. Vera hasn't even been mentioned since season 1 I believe. Where has he been? Why is he back? What does he want from Elliot? Best Moment: The final few minutes between Elliot and Mr. Robot. It's great to see them back together again. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This finale was consistently good with a few flashes of brilliance. There was quality storytelling with tense scenes, memorable performances, and engaging dialogue that set up season 4 superbly. Season 3 was exceptional. I had a lot of concerns about this series following season 2, but its immediate improvement surprised me, and season 3 ended up being a fantastic season. The storytelling was easier to understand and that resulted in more memorable and effective character arcs. Every character had their best season yet, and I was engaged in everyone's storylines. The only major flaws come from Angela's story (again), but her story is still watchable as Portia Doubleday offers up a good performance and she was involved in some intense moments throughout the season. Outside of the characters, this season was still superb. The production value was as good as ever, and we had some of the biggest events in the whole series happen in this season, providing major twists, dramatic moments, and loads of pay-off for two seasons of build-up. Furthermore, this season provided a deeper and more insightful look at the show's themes, and it challenged us by changing what we believed to be true about the show. There are certainly still flaws here but they are much less abrasive than they were in previous seasons. I loved this season, and in my opinion, it's up there as one of the all-time great TV seasons. Score: 70
3 Comments
Summary: A flashback shows E Corp hiring Allstate. Price takes notice of Angela, and while Allsafe weren't very impressive, Price hires them anyways. In the present, Tyrell returns to his house and grieves his losses. He is visited by Mr. Robot and the two argue. Tyrell starts beating him up but the doorbell rings. It's Price and he promotes Tyrell to CTO but tells Tyrell he will be a pawn. Tyrell is frustrated and allies with Mr. Robot again. Mr. Robot learns that the Dark Army control the FBI and leaves a message for Elliot. Elliot arranges a meet with Whiterose for "stage 3". He tasks Darlene with getting access to Romero's old files which are possessed by the FBI. Darlene attempts this through seducing Dom but she is caught and taken in for interrogation where she reveals Elliot's plan to undo 5/9. Santiago shuts it down and takes Dom off the case. Elliot meets with Grant, Whiterose's right hand, and they take Elliot's files on stage 3. Whiterose is frustrated that her project shipping to Congo has been delayed. Grant informs her about Elliot and they have determined that he is laying a trap for them. Angela continues to spiral and loses faith in Elliot. She wanders the streets and is picked up in a white van.
The Good: It isn't "Mr. Robot" if the show doesn't mess with the chronology a little bit. We start with Elliot disoriented and reading a message from Mr. Robot about the FBI, and we spend the rest of the episode catching up on what Mr. Robot did while Elliot executes his plan. I'm not sure that messing with the chronology was necessary here, but I did enjoy the way that the episode was put together. The story catching up with Mr. Robot was the most interesting to me. He goes to visit the grieving Tyrell in his house, and their confrontation is excellent. With Tyrell unleashing a mass terrorist attack against Mr. Robot's will, tensions were high between them, and I loved how the scene slowly escalated into Tyrell pulling out the gloves (a lovely nod to season 1) and beating down Mr. Robot. But their conflict was interrupted by the arrival of Price, who installs Tyrell as a pawn at E Corp. The moment is an excellent revelation for Tyrell who finally gets everything he has been fighting for since season 1, but is faced with the cold realization that he's only being used by people with more power. There's an excellent moment when Tyrell thinks he has found some leverage but Price breaks down that Tyrell is nothing, saying "I'm not out of moves, you're not worth one". Mr. Robot also gets some lip from Price who gives him a reality check about how sloppy his revolution was since he didn't take any control or lead in any way. The dissection of Mr. Robot and Elliot is superb, and I really enjoyed what was accomplished in these scenes. Elliot's attempt to get through to the Dark Army involves a plan with himself meeting Whiterose, and Darlene getting access into the FBI via Dom. Both plans are engaging to watch. Elliot's work gets him into contact with Leon again (fun cameo as always), and he ends up meeting Grant instead of Whiterose. His plan is a success and there's a bit of hopeful optimism when Elliot succeeds. Or at least there would have been, but Darlene's failure tips off the Dark Army and they are after Elliot now. Darlene's failure is certainly disappointing, but she tried her level best to outsmart Dom. Unfortunately, Dom is too good and while her loneliness does allow Darlene to seduce here, it also results in Dom being highly paranoid and suspicious of her. It is both personally and professionally disappointing for Dom that Darlene tried to use her, and you can't help but feel bad for both parties. Darlene's failure leads to her admitting to what she's doing in front of the compromised agent Santiago, which is a sad bit of irony. Elliot had Darlene not confide in Dom because he didn't trust the FBI, but Dom was the one person that Darlene could have safely gone to. But now that chance has been wasted, and Darlene has screwed up enormously. Let's hope that she hasn't gotten Elliot killed with her weak plan. Whiterose melting down was a surprising scene, but it's great to see that "Mr. Robot" isn't beyond making its most successful characters face consequences. Whiterose executed her plan sublimely, but the plan itself interfered with Whiterose's personal goals. It's great to see her frustrated by the delays as she falls victim to time once more. The last scene provided an interesting dynamic for her relationship with Grant that I'm curious to learn more about. I love that the opening flashback helped explain why a massive corporation like E Corp was with a company like Allsafe which always seemed to be slightly incompetent. It has nothing to do with Gideon or the company's abilities, instead it was all because one person in power had a hunch (see: The Unknown). It's very fitting with the themes of the show. The Bad: Angela has been frustrating in the last few episodes. She seems to have fully descended into madness and it does not feel earned at all. This goes all the way back to my frustrations with season 2 because we never knew what Whiterose told Angela that led to her becoming such a firm believer. To add to the irritation, Angela herself also refuses to reveal anything, which continues to frustrate. After last episodes terrific Elliot/Angela scene, I had expected that the character could have started to recover by reconnecting with Elliot. But she immediately goes back to not trusting him, which was a disappointing follow-up to such an emotionally powerful scene. The Unknown: It seems that Price bought Allsafe specifically because of Angela. Why? How did he know about her beforehand? Why has he been so interested in her? There are a lot of questions here. Perhaps he knew about her through her mother? Was he aware of her similarly to how Whiterose has been aware of Elliot for a long time? What is Price's plan for Tyrell? Will it work out for him? How will Mr. Robot and Tyrell try to turn things around on Price? Why did the Dark Army allow Elliot to hack them? Have they laid a trap for him? How are they going to try to kill him? Did Darlene really betray Elliot by trusting the FBI? Or has this been planned? Is Dom going to go after Santiago now? Surely she knows about him. How will Irving handle the situation with Darlene? Is he going to try to kill her? Where is Angela being taken? Who picked her up? Whiterose? Price? Why was her dad calling her? Best Moment: Price speaking with Mr. Robot and Tyrell was engaging. It was very well-written with lots of interesting details, and all three characters were given a thorough examination by each other. Character of the Episode: Mr. Robot. Conclusion: This was a good episode of table-setting before the season finale. There were some good storylines and interesting scenes which furthered the plot and character arcs. This is certainly a step down from the last four incredible episodes, but it's still good stuff. Score: 66 Summary: A flashback shows Elliot's father dying at the movie theatre. Elliot goes to watch the movie anyways and creates Mr. Robot. In the present, Elliot despairs in his apartment for weeks and ultimately wipes down everything and gets rid of the Mr. Robot jacket. Darlene visits and tells him that Angela is breaking down but he doesn't care. Darlene wants to help him but Elliot says he needs time. Elliot buys a ton of morphine from a drug dealer, intending to kill himself. He tries to pay respects to Mobley but his brother isn't doing anything for Mobley. Elliot visits Trenton's family, pays his respects and then goes to Coney island to die. But Trenton's brother Mohammed has followed him and won't leave him alone, so Elliot tries to take care of him. Elliot ends up taking him to the movies, but Mohammed leaves partway through. Elliot finds him at a mosque and they argue with each other. But after, Elliot sits next to him and they talk about Trenton and Mohammed reveals his guilt over Trenton leaving. Elliot says it is his fault. Elliot takes Mohammed home and Mohammed gives him a lollipop. Elliot finds his resolve renewed and goes back to Mobley's brother, demanding that he hold a funeral for Mobley. He also gets rid of his morphine. Elliot then visits Angela and they share a moment together. Elliot goes back home, retrieves the Mr. Robot jacket and gets back to his computer where he sees an email from Trenton.
The Good: Themes of suicide are always a tricky topic to hit in a TV show, but this episode nailed it. The topic was given respect, and the narration connecting it to deletion of a file provided an interesting simplification of the theme. I appreciated the way that depression was examined in this episode, realistically showcasing what it is like for people when they lose the will to live, making it feel like they have nothing. Elliot was in this state, and Rami Malek portrayed it fantastically. Perhaps even better than how this episode conveyed depression was how effectively this episode conveyed what it feels like to come back from depression. That sense of triumph, satisfaction, and self-belief is overpowering after it has been absent for so long, and the end of the episode perfectly captured this feeling and has mentally prepared Elliot to keep fighting even after his latest failures. The episode starts with another interesting flashback to fill in Elliot's childhood. This one is really important as it showcases two huge events that were surprisingly linked: Elliot's father's death, and the origin of Mr. Robot. The death of Elliot's father is an impactful moment, especially because Elliot's final words to him are telling him that he does not forgive him. The scene is brutal and sad, and the way Elliot processed his father's death was equally heartbreaking. Rather than stick around or express any emotions, Elliot simply went to watch the movie anyways, and created Mr. Robot to help cure himself of the loneliness he feels without his father around. It seems that Elliot's disorder stemmed from his struggle to process the death of his father. In the present, Elliot is similarly lost when processing his role in the execution of stage 2. He's locked himself away in his apartment, but this time he can't rely on Mr. Robot to help him handle his loneliness. Darlene visits him early in the episode, Elliot's most meaningful connection. But even Darlene can't save Elliot from himself. Their scene is touching and their relationship is one of the strong points of the show, but Elliot is closed off here. He refuses Darlene at every turn, continues to hold Angela accountable, and is unable to find any sense of purpose for himself. Darlene sees it but she is powerless to stop him. Even the ones closest to Elliot are unable to pull him out of despair. And so Elliot decides he is going to kill himself. The episode takes a somber and melancholy turn and the directing reflects it. Elliot's choice feels final, helped by little details like him getting rid of the Mr. Robot jacket, and the inclusion of a gorgeous piece of music that captures Elliot's mental state perfectly. There is some magnificent filmmaking here, making this episode feel much more cinematic and emotional. Elliot's final hours sees him try to pay respects to the families of Mobley and Trenton with mixed results. It's sad to see how much the Dark Army's actions have affected these families. Mobley's family hates him now and views him as irredeemable, while Trenton's family is lost and confused, ready to move away and leave behind the country that has been so terrible to them. After paying his respects and being once again reminded of the cruel nature of the world, Elliot decides that it's time to end it all. But what stops him is surprising. Trenton's brother Mohammed heard Elliot talking about his sister, and so he followed him, looking to find someone else who might understand how he feels. It's unexpected, and Elliot's put off by now having this annoying kid to watch over. Their interactions are funny, but they feel realistic. Mohammed acts like a kid would typically act when dealing with Elliot. He lies to get his way, asks questions over and over again, and refuses to cooperate. It's delightful to watch Elliot bond with this kid as he slowly rediscovers his will to live. A nice touch is that this story takes place on Back to the Future day, a day that Elliot would doubtless have always looked forward to, but he forgot it was even happening. By taking Mohammed to the movies, Elliot is reminded of some of the smaller delights in life, and he gets some enjoyment out of discussing his passions with this kid. Finally, after lots of stalling, Elliot and Mohammed are able to open up to each other when they get to the mosque. They briefly argue to let out their frustrations, but right after they are able to come clean about everything. Mohammed brings up his guilt, and Elliot consoles him by revealing his own role in Trenton's death. They both open up to each other, and in doing this, Elliot forms an unexpected meaningful connection that reminds him of the virtues of life. Mohammed certainly doesn't know it, but he saved Elliot's life by simply caring enough to show him some attention. The moment near the end of the episode when Mohammed gives a lollipop to an emotional Elliot is a beautiful climax to this storyline, perfectly conveying the emotions of coming back from depression. This story was beautifully written, beautifully executed, and ends up being one of the most emotional parts of the series so far. The end of the episode shows us what Elliot can do now that he is coming back from the brink. There is another terrific music choice with "In Time" to herald Elliot's return as he goes around doing the things that we expect Elliot to do. He addresses the disrespect by Mobley's brother by hacking him to ensure that he gives Mobley the funeral that he deserves. This is reminiscent of the very first time we see Elliot when he hacks a pedophile to do justice, and it's symbolic of a rebirth of sorts for Elliot. It's great to see him taking actions to make a difference in the world once more. Furthermore, we get an outstanding moment between Elliot and Angela. Elliot's choice to forgive her is one that you can't help but feel happy about. Angela has made bad decisions, but so has Elliot. They are both down and hurting, and they needed each other more than ever so I was very happy to see Elliot decide to stay by her door and talk to her, especially since Angela wasn't ready to see him just yet. Their moment together is incredibly sad, hopeful, and, again, beautiful. Beautiful really is the way to describe this episode. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. I suppose that a little kid helping an adult overcome their problems is a trope, but its usage is warranted here, and a powerful message is told through this story. It's not an issue for me. The Unknown: How is Elliot going to work to undo the hack? I took a look at Trenton's email thoroughly, but I certainly don't have the computer knowledge to know exactly what she's talking about. What's Elliot's next move going to be? Best Moment: Again we are spoiled for choice. Mohammed giving Elliot that lollipop probably clinches it for me. So emotionally powerful, and it perfectly conveys the idea that all it takes to be saved from yourself is an act of kindness and connection from anyone out there in the world. You can find purpose and meaning from the most unexpected of places. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: A beautiful experience. This episode didn't do much for the plot, but it provided a tremendous examination of depression and suicide while examining the character of Elliot as he handles the despair of everything that just happened in the world. This was such an emotionally charged and powerful episode, and it succeeded at everything that it tried to do. Score: 83 Summary: Leon has killed Mobley's friend and is holding Mobley and Trenton hostage. He takes them out into the desert to bury him and Mobley and Trenton try to escape but crash. Leon takes them to a house where Whiterose's right hand man awaits them. He sets up a scenario to make it look like Trenton and Mobley were the leaders of fsociety, and he promptly kills them to make it look like suicide. The FBI has captured Tyrell who offers a deal to lead them to 2 fsociety operatives who kept him captive. Dom doesn't buy it but Santiago makes it happen. He also informs Tyrell of Joanna's death and threatens him into sticking to the plan. The FBI get the names of Mobley and Trenton from Tyrell and they track them to a house where they find them dead. Elliot panics upon seeing the news and goes to Krista but can't bring himself to face what happened. Mr. Robot comes out and all but admits to Krista that he was the architect of 5/9 while venting. Krista is bound by confidentiality and is unable to tell anyone about this. Upset, Mr. Robot confronts Irving who shows him a rich party happening on the same day. He tells Mr. Robot that his revolution was only allowed to happen because it was paid for by the top 1%. Angela is shell-shocked about the explosions and tells herself that she can rewind time and everyone will be okay. Price is angry at Whiterose who has ensured that Price will be fired. She reveals that she lied to Angela to ensure she stops being a problem, and that she turned on Price because she has to ask him twice.
The Good: The three words that I will use to describe this episode are emotional, devastating, and terrific. This was a harrowing and bleak experience as every single character went through some sort of mental trauma and the fallout of the attacks made things worse for every single character. That is, every single character except Whiterose. Among a world filled with chaos where everything is terrible, one person reigns supreme and that is the single most evil and sadistic character in this universe. This is a dominating win from the bad guys, and the episode does not shy away from examining how terrible this is for everyone else involved. Let's start with Elliot who had just learned about the attacks at the end of the previous episode. Poor Elliot can't handle what he has learned. Even though he isn't directly responsible for what happened, he is wracked with guilt for the role he played. This is shown to us in a fantastic way through Elliot's breakdown at Krista's house, with Elliot being unable to say what he has done as the audio and video crackles and makes it clear how overwhelmed Elliot feels. This was outstanding stuff, brutally effective and scary. Then we get to see Mr. Robot come out and he takes over the rest of the episode from Elliot. Mr. Robot has always been the force that we root for Elliot to overcome and yet that changes here because he's been played every bit as much as Elliot has. His rant to Krista is great. In this moment, he loses the ability to control what he says because of his need to vent. He was the mastermind behind fsociety, but now he has to watch as the organization and revolution he created gets morphed into something completely different, abandoning the morals that he followed. From being a noble revolution against the top 1%, fsociety is just another pawn for the top 1% committing terrorist attacks and murdering innocents. Mr. Robot is rightfully angry about this and goes straight to Irving to protest what's been done. And it's here that Irving tells him the sad, terrible truth: Elliot and Mr. Robot were always just pawns. He wasn't an architect for anything. The only reason his revolution happened was because the top 1% allowed it to happen and even funded it. This revelation is horrifying for Mr. Robot and it's horrifying for us. This is Irving bleakly telling us that it's all meaningless, because no matter what happens, you cannot take down the people sitting at the top. No economic crisis, dead bodies in the bathroom, or terrorist attacks around the country are capable of stopping them, so what can be done. Irving has the energy of somebody who has given up on changing society and has simply accepted his small, overlooked role in everything. But for Mr. Robot who was a revolutionary with enormous goals, this moment signifies a realization that he will never succeed in his goal, and that his entire purpose was doomed to only make things worse from the start. It's bleak, it's sad, it's hopeless, emotions that this episode does a fantastic job of making you feel. Another character thrown in a hopeless scenario is Tyrell. Tyrell has been strictly loyal to the Dark Army in spite of everything. We have seen the extent of his sacrifice. He avoided his family, he shot Elliot, he changed his plans accordingly, and now he's let himself be arrested and framed two innocent people for everything. Tyrell worked hard and loyally, and this episode we see how he is rewarded: a stoic FBI agent who doesn't even like him tells him that his wife died and was cheating on him, and threatens to ensure a terrible life for his son if Tyrell doesn't continue to comply with everything the Dark Army asks of him. This scene is outstanding and Martin Wallstrom's acting is unbelievable. He conveys Tyrell's pain so well that you can't help but feel for this sociopath as he realizes that he has lost everything to the Dark Army and now has to keep working for them while having nothing to live for. The scene is perhaps the most painful of the episode due to the extent of Tyrell's grief and the heartless brutality of Santiago's words. Speaking of Santiago, he had a pretty good episode. He continues to be humanized a little bit through his calls with his mother, and I'm curious to learn more about his personal situation and why he is working for the Dark Army. I'm pleased that the character is being expanded upon so that he is more than just a 2-dimensional villain. Revealing that Santiago is a double agent was a good call because all of his scenes with Dom contain more tension. We know that Santiago is working to further the Dark Army's agenda, so it's easy to root for Dom to overcome his influence, though she fails every time. This episode utilized their story perfectly as Santiago does just enough to remain credible despite actively sabotaging the FBI's operation. They end up capturing Mobley and Trenton at the end of the episode but naturally Dom doesn't believe it. She has interrogated Mobley and she knows that he is not leadership material. He has been framed, Dom knows it, Santiago knows it, and I suspect that Dom is starting to realize that Santiago's string of poor decisions is not just coincidence. The interplay between these characters and the slow realization that Dom is having is engaging to watch, and it leads to a tremendously satisfying moment at the end of the episode. Santiago congratulates Dom for a successful capture, but Dom isn't having it. She knows better, and she's not buying into Santiago's plan. She rushes off to investigate on her own and confirms that the Dark Army is responsible for this. The final moments of the episode are fantastic and perfectly sum up the purpose of this episode. Dom knows that Whiterose did this, but the entire world remains clueless. She is one person caught in a storm without anybody to trust. She feels powerless, and she faces the harsh realization that Whiterose is "actually going to get away with this". A bleak, depressing message to conclude the episode, letting us know that Whiterose has won and that she will not be facing repercussions from what she did. Whiterose's scenes with Price are thrilling in this episode. From being frustratingly vague in seasons 1 and 2, this relationship has evolved into being one of the most captivating and exciting things to watch. The show is also making an effort to explain what exactly was going on between the two characters in season 2. We get some nice reveals that Whiterose installed Price to obey her, that Price's only job was to take care of Angela, and that Whiterose lied to Angela to prevent her from interfering with his plans (more on this in a bit). It clears up a lot of mystery, while also reinforcing the villainy of Whiterose as she reveals her petty reasoning for screwing over Price entirely: she had to ask him twice. It's awful, it's frustrating and it ensures that we feel a sense of hopelessness as this terrible, terrible person continues to succeed without any sort of consequences. Michael Cristofer continues to be a stand-out performer in this show. His rage upon realizing that he was played by Whiterose is fantastic, and you can't help but feel for him as he has been screwed by a character who is proving to be the absolute worst in the entire show. We know that Price wants to be the most powerful man in the room, so being thoroughly outplayed by Whiterose must be an awful feeling for him. I wonder if "Mr. Robot" will attempt to humanize Price further and even get us to sympathize more with him. Angela did not have very many scenes in this episode, but you can't help but feel for her. She is in a deluded state, replaying the building collapses over and over again. Once more, she is echoing whatever belief that Whiterose instilled in her, hopeful that everything can be undone. But she sounds more and more insane with each thing she says. It only gets worse when we learn that Whiterose was likely lying about everything, and that the cause Angela is so invested in is likely nonexistent. It's a brutal reveal because we have seen how much Angela has been affected by everything. It's terrible to see Angela in an almost catatonic state as a result of all she has been through. She was once the optimistic moral compass of the show, and look where she is now. It's very sad. Mobley and Trenton's story is the main focus of the episode, and I enjoyed it a lot. Leon's presence thankfully injects some comedy into this bleak episode to ensure that it isn't an entirely miserable experience. Leon's constant TV show references are as fun as ever as he takes on "Frasier" and "Knight Rider" in this episode. I haven't seen either, but I appreciate that the episode's intro was done to the "Knight Rider" theme song, a funny reference. Leon continues to pull out some great lines like "that's no way to treat a caddy" and a funny reference to "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme" when he refers to where his knife has been. While Leon is funny and charming, Mobley and Trenton feel very real in their efforts to escape. Their banter is a lot of fun, making me wish that we had seen more of them up until now. In the end, their fate ends up being a sad one. We are hopeful that they can at least get away safe in spite of all the horror that has happened in this episode. Even though they aren't the deepest characters, we understand that they simply wanted to get away and that they were in over their head. These emotions are relatable and it ensures that we are invested in their plight. In an episode where everything is going terribly, we would at least liek to see these two minor characters get out alive. But of course, the cherry on top is that it doesn't happen. The Dark Army lead Trenton and Mobley away and it slowly becomes clear that the plan is to murder them and frame them for everything, which is such a tragic fate considering that they weren't very invested in the revolution anyways. The FBI raid is intercut with the Dark Army preparing their deaths, and it leads us to hope against hope that somehow they can get there in time and save Trenton and Mobley, and perhaps uncover the truth about the Dark Army. But of course, in a clever editing trick, we are seeing two different timelines and by the time the FBI enter the building, it's much too late. Trenton and Mobley are dead, and framed for one of the world's biggest crimes, a crime that they weren't even involved in. One final gutpunch to conclude an episode filled with them. The Bad: It's mostly little things that detracted from some of this. I still find it tough to connect with Angela's delusions because we didn't see what made her like this. Whiterose and Price arguing loudly and openly in public should surely be a bad idea. They wouldn't want anyone else to hear what they are up to. Mobley and Trenton's deaths were sad and impactful, but they could have hit so much harder if these two were developed and explored properly in the previous seasons. They hardly felt like characters by the time of their deaths. The Unknown: Why did Leon kill Mobley's roommate? What will Krista do with her information about Elliot? How will her relationship with him change? Will Tyrell remain loyal to the Dark Army after what has happened? I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Dom finds some proof on Santiago. Does she already suspect that he's compromised? Why is Santiago so frustrated? Is he a double agent by choice or is he being forced by the Dark Army to be a double agent? What is on Trenton's email? Who did she send it to? Darlene? How long does Price have left at E Corp? Will he attempt to get back at Whiterose somehow? Who will he select to be his replacement? Is Angela proposing that Whiterose is attempting time travel? Judging by Whiterose's later conversation with Price, it sounds like everything she told Angela was a lie to manipulate her. How will Elliot process what happens when he emerges again? Best Moment: We are really spoiled for choice here. I'll go with Irving's speech to Mr. Robot for its thematic significance combined with that sense of bleakness that permeated the entire episode. Character of the Episode: Whiterose. This was her victory, through and through. Conclusion: Despite not being as intense as the last two episodes, this was even better. This episode examined Whiterose's victory to perfection, created a devastating and upsetting episode that makes it explicitly clear how hopeless everything is. These emotions were perfectly realized and this episode hits hard in a way that very few episodes of television can. Simply fantastic stuff as "Mr. Robot" continues to tell an incredible story in season 3. Score: 85 Summary: Flashbacks show Angela at a party for her mother who is going to die soon from cancer. Elliot's father speaks with her and she goes to talk with her mother. In the present, Elliot confronts Angela about what she did and Angela gets him to leave by reminding him that he's been fired and isn't allowed in the building. Elliot goes to the Recovery building to stop stage 2, but Mr. Robot fights him for control and forces him to backtrack whenever he takes over. Elliot continually fights Mr. Robot in an attempt to reach the battery room to prevent an explosion from happening. He is able to communicate that there aren't any paper records in the building and Mr. Robot ceases after realizing it's true. Elliot prevents an explosion and leaves satisfied, but he realizes that the Dark Army instead bombed the 71 other E Corp buildings where he distributed the records. Darlene tells Dom that Tyrell is in the Red Wheelbarrow, and she goes to Santiago to turn in Tyrell. Santiago says to be cautious and warns Irving they have been found. Dom and Norm go investigate the Red Wheelbarrow anyways but find nobody there. Irving gives Tyrell instructions on what to do next. When Dom goes outside, Tyrell runs around screaming to stop "the attack" and he is arrested. Angela returns home and finds Darlene who tries to convince her to stop what she's doing. They both receive notifications of the attack and are shocked. Whiterose and Price speak at a party and Price is later given news of the attack.
The Good: Angela's flashback was an effective way to start the episode. We haven't delved too far into her upbringing, so it's good to see how the events of the past have shaped who she is. To start, the casting choice for young Angela was picture perfect. I immediately knew I was looking at young Angela without needing a word of dialogue. The opening scene was interesting because it paralleled Angela's mother's words to her with Angela's current belief that she can prevent her death by following Whiterose. It's a curious connection that helps us understand why Angela would have been susceptible to whatever it was that Whiterose told her. There's also a great scene with Elliot's father, reminding us how capable of a parent he was as he sees Angela feeling sad and alone and goes over to help her out which simultaneously looking out for Elliot. I found these scenes to be surprisingly emotional and impactful, complete with an excellent soundtrack and memorable lighting scheme that helped give this scene an almost heavenly feel to symbolize that we are celebrating a character's death. But immediately after this lovely flashback, the episode launches into another thrilling and intense experience. We start in the midst of a terrific dramatic confrontation between a betrayed Elliot and Angela who is trying her best to defend her actions to ease her own inner conflict. Their argument is brilliantly written and the acting is top-notch. It's a huge turning point in their relationship that lives up to being a monumental moment. We don't even get to see a proper resolution because Angela runs away from their debate, retreating into her cold business personality to get Elliot away from her in an attempt to keep believing the illusion that she is doing the right thing for the betterment of the world. But the rest of the episode makes it clear that she doesn't believe this anymore. She's like a ghost as she echoes her belief that nobody will die when she faces down a thief with a gun later in the episode. Having just listened to how much the 5/9 hack has affected the lives of two senior ladies on the subway, Angela falls into guilt, so much so that in this moment you suspect that she may have even welcomed being shot to get away from the guilt she feels. Then in the final moments of the episode she is confronted by Darlene, who knows her well enough to want to give her another chance. But once again Angela hides away from the truth, until reality checks in for both of them with a simple phone notification. Angela has been handled much better this season, and once you get over how sudden her character change is, there is a great story being told with her. Elliot's efforts to stop stage 2 are highly dramatic. The episode makes it crystal clear what Elliot's goal is and why. He is going to stop stage 2 and save the lives of the many and prevent the Dark Army for blowing up society into being even worse than it has already been in the past couple seasons. It's easy to root for him, and the episode does a terrific job of giving him setbacks that originate within his own mind. It's dramatic to see him working hard at a solution that may work only to be forcibly shoved away by Mr. Robot who emerges to make him lose time. It's disorienting, and every time Mr. Robot takes over, you can feel the suspense rising as the explosion gets closed and closer to going off. We eventually make our way to one of the episode's most creative and most "Fight Club" sequences when Elliot is physically fighting himself while walking down a hallway. It's equal parts dramatic and hilarious, especially when a random worker walks past Elliot as he continues to harm himself while heading down that hallway. The build-up is suspenseful, the comedy is nicely integrated, and there's a nice bit of exploration of Elliot's relationship with Mr. Robot as he uses messages to try to talk some sense into him. All of it leads to a great climax where Mr. Robot realizes that his plan isn't going to work so he allows Elliot to save everyone in the building and stop the explosion. This worked pretty well, and it was a relief to realize that Elliot succeeded and stopped the attack. But the relief feels hollow and you can't help but escape that sense of dread that something is not quite right. Whether it's Tyrell screaming to stop the attack, or Angela and Darlene getting mysterious notifications, you get the sense that something big is about to happen. The dread comes from the fact that Elliot has not clued in and believes that he has won. It's a slow and scary moment when Elliot realizes that something has gone wrong and we are hit with a stunning reveal that Elliot's interventions ultimately made things worse as Tyrell attacked 71 different E Corp buildings instead, executing the plan flawlessly while murdering thousands. This moment is outstanding and the realization hits like a truck when you learn that Elliot failed and that the Dark Army may have just successfully ended E Corp. This is a monumental moment and it absolutely feels like it. Kudos to Sam Esmail for telling this story well enough that we understand the consequences of this scene. We also get a strong storyline as the FBI close in on Tyrell. Darlene relays intel from Elliot to Dom and they work on stopping the Dark Army. But unfortunately they have to go through Santiago, and knowing that he is a traitor raises the suspense massively. We know that Santiago is actively working against Dom and Norm and we hope that they can find a way to prove him wrong. This helps make them going rogue feel like such a satisfying moment. It's not just a bold and rash decision, it's the only move that can stop Tyrell and the Dark Army, so we can celebrate when Norm and Dom feign asking each other to go get food. The suspense picks up as Dom's investigation begins while we are shown scenes of Irving and Tyrell packing up to leave. There is a whole load of tension as we await to see if Dom can make it in time, and there's even some extra tension in Irving giving Tyrell the letter because we know that Tyrell learning about Joanna's death is a bomb that is waiting to drop on him. Cutting these scenes together added to the suspense, and it led to an interesting and exciting moment later in the episode as Tyrell is arrested, presumably on the Dark Army's orders (see: The Unknown), and Dom is still struggling to put the pieces together on how this all adds up. What made all of these storylines so effective and so intense was the choice to splice them together and frequently cut from scene to scene, creating an enormous sense of tension. It's a trick similar to "eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx" which made the ending of that episode so heart-poundingly thrilling. The tension rises exponentially through the episode, and all of the already exhilarating storylines that I discussed above were elevated to a whole new level of tension. Furthermore, the return to regular pacing when cutting between scenes at the end of the episode helped create that false sense of security that made the ending twist hit even harder. I appreciate that Santiago was humanized in this episode through an excellent call with his mother (see: The Unknown). It's great to see the minor characters in this show proving to us that they have some extra depth. The Bad: Nothing I would call outright bad, but I do have some reasons for not scoring this above an 80. Despite being an astonishingly intense experience, I did not feel personally invested with the characters as much as I would in a top-tier episode. A consequence of the rapid cutting between scenes is that each individual character feels more disconnected from myself, and that hurts my investment in the individual storylines even if the episode as a whole remains intense. I know it's a strange complaint, and it's tough to put into words why it affected me, but this problem meant that this episode did not hit the same highs as "eps3.4_runtime-err0r.roo". The Unknown: Who is Angela mother's anonymous benefactor? How will this character play a role in the story? Will Angela come to realize that she's fighting for the wrong cause here? It's hard to justify blowing up 71 buildings and killing thousands no matter what you believe. Did Mr. Robot do anything else while he was in control of Elliot's body? What were Tyrell's instructions? Is the Dark Army making it look like Tyrell was a hostage while someone else was doing this attack? Who are they going to blame if not Tyrell? Did Tyrell end up finding out that Joanna died? Why did Santiago tell his mother to stay home? Was it to make sure she doesn't get caught in the explosions? How much did he know about what was happening? How does he feel about it? How are these explosions going to affect the futures of E Corp and the world at large? How is Price going to handle what just happened? Best Moment: The twist reveal at the end completely caught me off guard. What a brilliant way to end the episode, sharply switching our emotional state from relief to dread as we realize the scope of what just happened. Even though we didn't see it happen ourselves, it's easy to understand that this is a monumental event that could potentially change everything. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: Another fantastic and suspenseful episode that completely changed everything. The twist at the end was a brilliant piece of work and I'm excited to explore the fallout of stage 2's success. Season 3 has been firing on all cylinders so far, and it is well on its way to being a terrific season of television. Score: 78 Summary: Elliot arrives to work but is confused and has no memory of the past few days. The news reveals that it is the day of the Congo vote. Elliot goes to log in and realizes his account has been locked. Samar tells him someone is going to be fired and Elliot realizes it's him. He realizes that stage 2 is happening and evades security in an attempt to find a terminal to work. He is found and escapes into an elevator. He accepts it is too late and changes focus to evacuating the building. After being escorted out through the mass protests, he is met by Darlene who reveals she has been working with the FBI and that Angela has been working with Mr. Robot. The protest turns into a riot and the mob attacks the E Corp building. Angela gets instructions from Irving to find Elliot, but in the chaos she knows she won't find him. Angela goes to the security room and does the hack herself. She is spotted there by Lydia and reports to Irving who says he will take care of her. Angela manages to escape from the rioters by wearing an fsociety mask. She returns to her office where Elliot is waiting for her.
The Good: It took me about 10 minutes to realize that this entire episode would be done in a single free-flowing camera shot. Or at least, with the illusion of a single shot, but whatever cuts there are were expertly hidden away to create a phenomenal, highly personalized real-time experience within the E Corp building. I can't understate how unbelievably impressive this episode is from a technical standpoint. The skill needed to execute something like this is unbelievable, and to even consider doing this requires some remarkable creativity and vision. I have to give points to this episode for pulling this off so perfectly. Not once did the style of this episode take away from the drama and the suspense, and it was a really inspired decision, contributing to this being such a brutally tense and suspenseful experience. And what a tense experience it was. From the opening minutes, things were suspenseful and I was on the edge of my seat. Elliot started the episode disoriented, but through a well placed bit of news we were told that it was the day of the Congo vote, meaning that it was the day of stage 2. Establishing this immediately ratcheted up the tension. Elliot was way behind on knowledge and so the first few minutes got their tension from us waiting for Elliot to catch up and realize what was happening. And from then on the episode grabbed on and never let go. From Elliot escaping security, to Darlene revealing the truth, to the pure chaos of the riot, and finally to Angela's suspenseful mission. This was non-stop suspense and I was on the very edge of my seat watching it the entire time. The episode is divided into three distinct parts, and all of them are great. The first focuses on Elliot getting his bearings and realizing what is happening. This sequence is terrific and highly engaging. Elliot is completely disoriented upon returning to his own consciousness and the episode does a splendid job of showing this through moments like the glitching effects and Elliot's brief rant to Samar, who provides lots of laughs early in the episode. But the entire sequence is shrouded in suspense because we know that it's the day of stage 2 and that Elliot's preparations have been overcome. It is a long and tense wait for Elliot to catch up with us and realize that stage 2 is underway, he has been fired, and that there is nothing he can do to stop it. The entire experience is fantastic and dripping with suspense once Elliot realizes what is going on. His attempts to escape are a joy. There's a brilliant moment where he tries to prey on an older lady only to discover that she's unexpectedly tech-savvy, forcing him to instead use intimidation to get a younger care-free guy off of his terminal. But the results are devastating for him, and his attempt to escape leads to him hiding and stalling within a conference room in a terrific scene that forces Elliot to confront his own social anxiety for self preservation. Rami Malek conveys this beautifully and elevates the scene further. Following this, we are treated to another excellent scene as Elliot's mind form a sort of "fake" Mr. Robot with almost perfect accuracy, which is sensible because Mr. Robot is part of him. And here we get a nice connection to "eps1.5_br4ve-trave1er..asf" as Mr. Robot plays the same role of telling Elliot that resistance is futile and that it is too late; he can't stop stage 2 no matter how he tries, so what he should focus on is minimizing the damage. The show portrays the gradual acceptance of defeat perfectly and it is impactful. With that, the episode shifts into the second part as Elliot steps outside and we are greeted to a protest far more intense than any we have seen in the show so far. I have to applaud the writers for turning these protests into a major plot point following a season and a half of them happening. Set-up that goes unnoticed followed by a pay-off is always so satisfying. Anyways, once we're outside we get greeted by Darlene who immediately changes everything by revealing all to Elliot. I was caught off guard by this, but I'm pleased that this wasn't stretched out. Elliot's entire world is turned upside down by Darlene's reveal, and suddenly he is unable to trust her and Angela, his two closest confidants. The moment lands well and works perfectly as an emotional hit in the midst of this chaotic episode. But the emotional slowdown is short-lived as we are immediately thrust back into chaos as the protest turns into a riot as several people invade and vandalize the E Corp building. It's a shocking moment that wonderfully pays off of the growing tensions in the community following 5/9, and the single-take is especially impressive here as we witness the sheer chaos in its full glory. At least that's what it seems at first until we get a fantastic reveal that the riot is a sham, just a distraction organized by the Dark Army to ensure that stage 2 goes through. This caught me completely off guard and did a terrific fob of reinforcing the themes of the show. Free will and power to the people is always an illusion; nothing can get done without somebody in the top 1% justifying it. This is further explored when you remember that all of this chaos and death does not actually have a greater purpose to it; Whiterose didn't need to execute stage 2, she did it only to punish Price because of a wounded ego. The middle and lower class people will always face the worst consequences while the top 1% indulge themselves in their petty power struggles. The riot also serves as a perfect transition to Angela, who now has the difficult task of executing the plan for stage 2 under enormous amounts of pressure as she endangers her life by walking around the destruction in the E Corp building. The scenes with Angela are ridiculously intense as she goes from bad situation to bad situation, relying on her resourcefulness and terrible lies to help get her through. She quickly realizes that using Elliot is not an option and that she will have to do it all herself. And accomplishing this task comes at the cost of her soul, and Angela knows it. She can remind Irving about the evacuation all she wants, but she knows deep down that he is doing nothing to save the people. I'm sure that a part of her is already accepting it. After all, in her scramble to make it out unscathed she gets lives put on her conscience. She calls over the rioters to the security guard, knowing full well that they will kill him, and she informs Irving about Lydia, knowing full well that "taking care of her" means that she is going to die. Angela's actions have a big cost, and we can see at the end of the episode that it weighs on her (see: Best Moment). There are some lovely little details in Angela's story. You can see that her deflecting skill is getting better, especially when she makes a joke to the security guard in the elevator. The pepperspray moment is intense and you can't help but feel the pain for Angela as she has to put on that mask covered in pepperspray to get out safely. Furthermore, Angela wearing the mask is a lovely bit of symbolism. Even though she isn't officially part of fsociety, she may as well be with all of the work she is doing to further their goals. The Bad: I have one problem with this and it is that I was unsure if I should be rooting for the success of stage 2 or not. I felt that I shouldn't because the Dark Army is surely bad news, but with so many characters on different sides I felt confused. When following Elliot, I was sure that I would be rooting for him to stop it. But then when the episode switched to Angela, I wanted to root for her to survive and succeed, but I was unsure if I should be supporting her because her actions were to promote stage 2's success. It was a strange change in my own morality to root for Angela, and that created some uncomfortable discontent within myself when I was watching, and I don't think that it was intentional and it did weaken the experience for me a bit. The Unknown: Who was the German man at the start? What did he say? What caused Elliot to glitch? Did Angela and Mr. Robot set this up somehow? What else happened on Elliot's missing weekend? What did he do to prepare stage 2? Did Angela execute everything correctly? Or did she miss something? Are there any loose ends that she may have left behind? What's in the package that Angela was given? Was it really just food, or did she receive something more important? What did Elliot do while Angela was working on stage 2? Did he successfully evacuate the building? I strongly doubt that Irving actually did evacuate the building, but maybe he was aware of Elliot's actions? Will stage 2 be successful? I suppose we're going to see in the next episode. What will Elliot say to Angela? How will their relationship be affected by what happened? How did Elliot get back into E Corp through all of the chaos? Best Moment: Angela completes her task and gives the package to the Dark Army operative who always seems to be eating something. In return she receives a package in a Red Wheelbarrow bag. What's in this package is anyone's guess, but I think it would be a wonderfully fitting twist if it really is just a meal. Angela has risked it all and potentially is now responsible for the deaths of dozens, even hundreds, of people. And all she gets is a fast food meal from the higher-ups, because this kind of carnage means nothing to them. Regardless of what's in the bag, what comes next is brilliant. In the final tracking shot of the episode, Angela heads back to her office and she starts to break down. She can't hold in her emotions anymore, and I can only assume that she is really contemplating the weight of what she's done. She has gone past every boundary and broken down every moral barrier, and for a cause that she is starting to feel increasingly uncertain about. Is it worth all the chaos and death for whatever it is that Whiterose has shown her? It's a fantastic moment that more than delivers. And at the end of her walk, Angela already seems to be facing her reckoning: Elliot is waiting for her, his anger and disappointment clear as day. It's a perfect place to conclude the episode. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: A magnificent episode. The technical prowess is what everyone will be talking about, and it is astonishingly impressive, but let's not let that hide the fact that this was an anxiety-inducing, tense experience as the ever-building plot of "Mr. Robot" reached a thrilling climax. I can't wait for the next episode. Score: 82 Summary: Darlene returns to her apartment and Dom informs her that Elliot is there. Darlene covers her tracks as a precaution rather than informing on him and Elliot believes it. Elliot gets close with her again and Darlene convinces him to work against stage 2. They make a deal that Darlene will follow him to Tyrell when he becomes Mr. Robot. Later that night, Mr. Robot meets with Angela and Darlene sees. They leave in a taxi and Darlene can't follow. They meet with Tyrell and they all realize that Elliot has been causing shipping delays and other problems. Tyrell is furious but Angela tries to calm him down. Mr. Robot glitches back to Elliot so Angela sedates him and moves him to her house. Angela calls Price to get Elliot fired from E Corp. Tyrell speaks with Irving about Elliot and their setback, and Irving tells him the deadline can't be moved and that Tyrell has to find a way. Irving eventually convinces Tyrell to keep working and take control himself. Darlene meets with Dom and tells her she has a plan, but has to proceed without a wire. The FBI bust the man who made the fsociety video, but they get nothing from him.
The Good: Darlene's guilt is a primary focus of this episode and it explored in a brilliant way. From the opening scene, the episode makes it clear that we are getting a personal look into Darlene's head. She comes off as almost tragic in her opening scene as she allows the pickpocket to steal from her because she feels such guilt for all that she has taken away from the middle and lower class people as a result of 5/9. The only thing that she believes is worth saving is a polaroid, the significance of which we don't find out until later. The rest of the episode plays up this idea of guilt with some lovely touches. Elliot lets her into Shayla's apartment, reminding us that both of them have a shared connection of losing a loved one too soon. It's clear that Darlene is thinking of Cisco here because of a subtle scene where we see her searching up Budapest trips, which is what Cisco wanted. Then, towards the end of the episode we finally pay off of the polaroid. It's not a picture of Cisco or anything like that, but it is a picture of her family, highlighting what Darlene values the most: her relationship with Elliot. This makes it even more heartbreaking when we learn about the extent of Darlene's situation in that final scene with Dom. She is desperate for some sort of ordinary social interaction without any guilt, but Dom can't even offer her that as even when they do talk Darlene is reminded of Cisco's death. With everything being so full of despair, Darlene opens up to Dom about everything and we realize the extent of her problems. If she doesn't help the FBI, she is going to jail and losing out on her whole life. But if she does help them, she's going to lose the one thing that's keeping her tethered, the one thing that she values most: her family. It's a truly awful situation to be put in, and it's no wonder that Darlene spends the episode so depressed when you consider the no-win scenario she is currently in. I can't imagine any way out for her right now where she gets a happy ending, and that is devastating. What makes it hurt all the more is that Darlene's scenes with Elliot are a great reflection of their relationship. All of their scenes share a warm sibling bond that is mostly unspoken but you can very much feel it when they are together. That little bit of care and love they have for each other is noticeable, no matter the situation. Even at the start of the episode when they are arguing, the main conflict is not about what happened and why. It's about their bond, about Elliot feeling betrayed that his own sister hacked him, and about Darlene being concerned about him cutting her out. Once they start opening up to each other afterwards, it feels like they genuinely want to help each other and be good familial support. It's very sweet and the emotion is there throughout the episode. Darlene feels genuine when she tries to get Elliot to turn against Tyrell and co. And that's because she is. She could easily turn Elliot in with everyone else, but she clearly wishes for him to join her so that the FBI would likely be lenient with him, like they have been with her. Meanwhile Elliot's anger against Darlene entirely dissipated when he is faced with the horrifying reveal that he hurt her when he was Mr. Robot, and his regret is immediately evident and it leads to the episode's best scene (see: Best Moment). The plot-oriented scenes with the other characters are good too. It's great to see how Tyrell's mental state has changed further following the reveal that Elliot has multiple personalities. His newfound faith was shaken and it results in more angry temper tantrums from one of the show's most unhinged characters. And once again, it's up to Irving to handle him and he gives him the brutal bit of reassurance that he will see his wife after his work in complete, knowing full well that it's a lie. This brings up some interesting questions (see: The Unknown), while simultaneously reminding us how remorseless and cruel Irving can be. Angela has a strong episode. It's honestly frightening how she changes from cold-hearted business to being sweet and friendly when Elliot began to emerge in place of Mr. Robot. She's become a cold operator under Whiterose's service and I am saddened to see her like this. She has also gotten better at hiding her emotions, like when she discovered that Elliot was up to something in E Corp, which by the way was a hilarious moment as Elliot cooked up an awful lie. The Bad: Elliot saying that he wanted to follow through with stage 2 deep down does make sense, but it feels like it came out of nowhere and is unsatisfying. If he wanted it to be followed through, then why would he work so hard on delaying shipments and everything? This seems like a hamfisted explanation to address the big plot hole of why Elliot wouldn't just go to the FBI with an anonymous tip to stop the plan, which seems like an easy solution. I feel like the show could have come up with a much more realistic and effective reason for Elliot to not do this but rearranging aspects of the story, like perhaps establishing that ratting to the FBI would almost certainly result in Elliot's death or something along those lines. The Unknown: Who is the guy on the inside that the Dark Army is going to use? What did Whiterose show Irving and Angela? We have seen how it changed Angela, but how did it effect Irving? Irving is a very strange character, and I wonder what his actual story is. Who is the man that the FBI busted for the fsociety video? He seemingly wanted to be busted, proven by him grabbing the mask and by how easy it was for the FBI to track him. Why did he want to be busted? What is he doing? Who is he working for? Is he Dark Army? He seemed to have a slight reaction when Dom mentioned Whiterose. Is Irving actually arranging an emergency evacuation of the building? I don't buy it. We saw him coldly lie to Tyrell about going to Ukraine with his family, so I suspect he was lying with Angela too. This also brings up the question of what the Dark Army will do with them once the work is done. Will all of Elliot, Tyrell, and Angela be killed after the plan is executed? Is Price aware the Angela is compromised and that Elliot is involved with her operation? Whiterose revealed to Price that he got through to Angela, so it's entirely possible that Price has figured that Angela is no longer his agent. Does this mean that Price will not fire Elliot? How much will Elliot remember when he wakes up? Will he realize that Angela has betrayed him? Will he even remember at all or think it was all a dream? Best Moment: Elliot saying "whatever he does, it's not me" to Darlene was really sad. This episode gorgeously examined this relationship and how much Elliot and Darlene mean to each other. Elliot's apology to her and his wistful acceptance that he may not be able to control her had power to it. But perhaps even more effective was Darlene's simple "I know". Even though we know Darlene is working against him and that Mr. Robot did manhandle her two episodes ago, Darlene absolving him felt like it came out of a place of true familial love. These two have a wonderful sibling relationship. Character of the Episode: Darlene. This was her episode. Conclusion: This was mostly simple set-up, but elevated by the emphasis on Darlene's internal struggle. Another good episode as the plot continues to heat up. Score: 66 Summary: Flashbacks show that Elliot tried to kill Tyrell in the arcade but the gun jammed. Tyrell takes it as a sign of fate and Elliot thinks he's crazy. Irving and the Dark Army show up while they work on stage 2, revealing that Tyrell has been exposed for the hack. Irving takes him to a safe location and Tyrell remains out of contact with Joanna and his son. Tyrell is questioned by the Dark Army and they determine him trustworthy due to his loyalty to Elliot. Tyrell stays there alone, waiting for Elliot to get out of prison, doing his job. After missing Joanna for some time, Tyrell tries to sneak out but is caught by a cop. The cop calls the FBI but is killed by Santiago, who is working for the Dark Army. Irving speaks with Tyrell and fakes a story to relate to him and restore his resolve. Eventually, Elliot is freed and Tyrell is taken to a hotel where he waits to meet with him. After Elliot is shot, Angela tells Tyrell about his multiple personalities. Another flashback shows Whiterose is allied with Frank Cody and intends to bring Trump into power.
The Good: I don't think that the story of what happened during the 3 days needed an entire flashback episode to be explained, but Sam Esmail ran with an idea and created a thorough and satisfying character exploration of Tyrell. I enjoyed Tyrell a lot in season 1 and was disappointed that he barely featured in season 2. But this episode satisfied the entirety of the time he was missing and explored the character's more emotional side, recontextualizing the events that we saw in season 2. Tyrell is such a loose cannon. He's insane, unpredictable, and unhinged, with a strange new religious side and an obsession with Elliot, whom he apparently loves. Martin Wallstrom brings these aspects of the character to life tremendously well, and he's thrilling to watch. Tyrell gets a lot of fantastic moments throughout the episode. His near-breakdown with Elliot during the hack did a terrific job of bringing his obsession with god, fate, and destiny to light, an aspect of his character that was suggested in prior episodes. It was an exciting scene that was acted to perfection. I also thoroughly enjoyed his interrogation (see: Best Moment), which dived into Tyrell's natural reflex to hide from the truth by lying. His relationship with Elliot is also recontextualized nicely by showing us Tyrell's perspective. Where we thought that Tyrell's scenes in Elliot from season 2 were from a man who knew everything, we now realize that Tyrell did not know everything and was simply excited to be back with Elliot again. His confidence, sleek persona, and charm is all just to make himself look more desirable to Elliot; in truth he did not know much more than Elliot about anything! This was a surprise, and I appreciate that Tyrell's plot-heavy scenes in season 2 have been given an emotional context, retroactively making them better. Tyrell's phone call with Elliot is turned into a moment of ecstasy as Tyrell finally reconnects with him, only to be disappointed that Elliot sounds so confused and different. Additionally, the events of the season 2 finale also have more emotion to them, as we can only imagine how heartbroken Tyrell is that Elliot doesn't seem to care for the plan they created together, the plan that Tyrell had waited so long to resume. Another aspect of Tyrell that gets explored is his family life. Tyrell is motivated by the idea of coming back to Joanna and his son, but as time goes on, he gets hurt by the distance and the troubling news that suggests that Joanna is divorcing him. It's clear how much this affects Tyrell, who we know wants nothing more than to return to her. His attempted escape makes unfortunate sense, and as expected, it goes badly almost immediately. This leads into a terrific scene where Irving decides to relate with Tyrell to keep his resolve going. Irving delivers a terrific speech about his own family life, which has such an air of tragedy to it. Irving tells a good story and connects to Tyrell's heart, making it clear that Tyrell is forcing himself through this to make his return all the more sweeter. But of course we know that Tyrell is not going to have a family to return to, which adds a strong sense of tragedy to the scene. Further, we also get a reveal that caught me almost entirely off guard: Irving was lying the entire time! This caught me totally off guard and further characterizes Irving nicely; he's a man who does and says what he needs to, no matter if it is true or not. He does his job, and it is as simple as that. Here's someone who has nothing other than the work he does, and I think that's a good set-up for a character to be expanded upon. I enjoyed how this episode pulled back the curtain on him. This episode did well to answer a lot of the questions we had about the 3 days, finally closing out the mystery and fully catching us up with the narrative and characters. Now instead of looking backwards, we can finally push forwards with a new story. So many loose ends were answered: the bullet in the arcade, what Elliot and Tyrell's arrangement with the Dark Army was, where Tyrell was all this time, what he was doing, what happened to the femtocell, how Tyrell's phone call to Elliot came to be, and confirming that it was Whiterose who arranged the shootout in China at the FBI hotel. There was a lot of ground covered, and a lot was cleared up. And for good measure, we also got a significant reveal that Santiago was a Dark Army agent. This caught me off guard, yet it makes so much sense with how difficult he was during Dom's investigation. It has now clicked with me that he knew about the impending shootout in China, and that he was likely the one who informed the Dark Army on Cisco's location so that they could kill him. That's great foresight by the writers, and I'm sure that rewatching season 2 will be much more rewarding now that we know more about Santiago. I enjoyed a lot of little things. We had some welcome cameos from Leon and Cisco. Leon is a free spirit and is fun to watch every time he appears. Meanwhile Cisco's scenes were more tragic in nature, furthering that he has long been doomed by his association with Darlene and the Dark Army. I also enjoyed the brief scene with Whiterose. Frank being a Dark Army associate is a good reveal, and I liked the small moment where Whiterose chuckles about Elliot stealing Michael's dog. The Trump scene is a fun connection to real world politics, and while it's a bit cheesy, I don't think it takes away from the episode. The intro sequence referencing the opening of "The Shining" was a nice touch. The Bad: The only issue I take with this episode is a question of its necessity. This was a good experience, and it was satisfying to finally catch up on everything. But did we need an entire episode dedicated to the past in a season that has been making such big moves to propel the plot forwards? I'm not entirely sure that we did. Perhaps there was a better way to tell this story, maybe even throughout season 2 to help make that season feel more satisfying. This episode feels like it is slowing the momentum of season 3 because it feels like it is much more connected with the plot of season 2. The Unknown: Why does Tyrell love Elliot so much? This is seeming like an obsession more than anything else. Why is Tyrell afraid of becoming his father? What was his father like? It seems that Angela told Tyrell about Elliot's multiple personalities. How will this affect their relationship and Tyrell's obsession? I suspect that Tyrell is "in love" with Mr. Robot rather than Elliot. Is Whiterose going to help Trump rise to power? How will this affect the story of the show? What will come from Frank Cody being a servant of the Dark Army? What happened when Elliot woke up with Tyrell and Angela? This was clearly Mr. Robot. What did he say? What was he told? Why is Santiago working with the Dark Army? What does he expect to get from them? Will he be found out by Dom? Best Moment: Mr. Williams questioning Tyrell. The editing was outstanding, and the show did a tremendous job of making us feel the intense pressure in Tyrell's mind that led to him breaking. Character of the Episode: Tyrell. Conclusion: This episode wasn't an essential experience, but it was a strong episode that filled in blanks, offered up some twists, and explored Tyrell in a unique way. Another great episode for season 3, which is off to a great start. Score: 69 Summary: Elliot gets a job at E Corp and works on preventing stage 2. He appeals to the management to make digital records and works to sneakily move paper records across multiple facilities. He is successful but finds himself falling into loneliness and he opens up further to Krista. Darlene meets with Elliot and they spend a night together. However, Darlene is working for the FBI and puts something on his monitor. Mr. Robot notices this and harasses Darlene as she leaves. The next day, Elliot brings out Mr. Robot to speak with Krista, and from her he is able to discern some details about what Darlene did. At home, Elliot sends an email on his computer. The FBI notice this but it is a trap and Elliot traces them to Darlene's safehouse and he arrives there with Dom and another agent in the building. Scott has been charged for Sharon's murder and Joanna gets away from Derek now that she's done with him. But Derek isn't happy and he shoots Mr. Sutherland and kills Joanna. Mr. Sutherland kills him and passes out. Price is angry that China hasn't accepted Ecoin as currency and remains fixed on bitcoin. He speaks with Whiterose and tries to threaten her into working with him, but Whiterose reveals he has spoken to Angela and holds control. Whiterose tells one of her men to go through with stage 2 despite the Congo deal likely being a success specifically to get back at Price.
The Good: The opening sequence is everything that I love about this show and its ambitious filmmaking style. It's in times like these that Elliot's narration works wonders. His dialogue allows us to understand what he's doing and why, and with the exposition out of the way, the visuals can focus on showing the story in as aesthetically pleasing of a way as possible and it's glorious. The day-to-day repetition is executed to perfection with the use of visual motifs, and there's a lot of fun to be had as Elliot works and works before finally getting his plan through to management to make digital records of everything. It's a blast to see Elliot hacking regularly again, especially as he hilariously brings down one incompetent manager after the other. This sequence does a great job of showing how Elliot's opinion of E Corp has changed. He knows that there are villains in the company, but the company itself is misunderstood. The development is shown to us magnificently through Elliot no longer referring to it as "Evil Corp", a nice way to show us how he has grown. This sequence is used perfectly as a backdrop to explore Elliot's character in interesting ways. Surprisingly, Elliot's dedication to his new work has resulted in him falling back into the crushing loneliness that was ruling his life back in season 1. And with Mr. Robot gone, he's feeling it worse than ever. This is such a fascinating bit of character exploration. Elliot is working hard and doing big things for the world, but the constant repetition and the lack of socialization compared to when he was working with fsociety has resulted in him struggling to maintain his mental health. There is a lovely idea being explored here that no matter how important your work is, you will still feel that loneliness if you aren't interacting with other people. This leads to Elliot finding that interaction in surprising places. He opens up with Krista essentially for the first time, and tells her about his father shoving him out of the window for the first time. It's a major bit of trust that Elliot is putting into Krista, showing us that he is looking to satiate his loneliness by talking with her. Elliot sharing the snowman story is really sweet, and it's something that we know he would not have done back in season 1. It feels good to see Elliot taking steps to open up and take care of his own mental health, and I can't help but smile. The episode's big conflict comes from Darlene. Elliot's loneliness leads to him meeting with Darlene and inviting her over for the night. Darlene is ready to leave and ditch the FBI, but she gets a final chance here to get information from Elliot. And unfortunately, she has to betray his trust to do so, and it is a sad moment when she realizes that she's preying on him to get what she needs. But the sadness is short-lived and the tension ratchets up when Mr. Robot wakes up and confronts Darlene, threatening her and scaring her. It's a great scene and creates a unique bit of tension as Mr. Robot knows something and can't tell Elliot, and the suspense comes from us wondering if Elliot can somehow find out about what Darlene did. The solution that the show comes up with is genius. Elliot manually brings out Mr. Robot, and he has Krista speak with him to get information to pass on to Elliot. Their scene is fantastic, the sudden change in demeanour to Mr. Robot is unsettling and you can only imagine what Krista is thinking as she interacts with this presence that is in every way the complete opposite of Elliot. The scenes with Price and Whiterose are much better than what we got in season 2 because now we have a clearer idea of who they are and what they are after. They are playing a power game with each other, and while they are technically working together, each man is operating with the intent of besting the other and gaining more power. Their dealings are gripping to watch in this episode, and I enjoyed the veiled threats that they threw at each other in an attempt to get what they want. Right now it appears that Whiterose has the advantage as Price needs her more than she needs Price. Price tried his best to turn the tables on her, but it was never going to work and it resulted in Whiterose revealing that she has taken Angela to her own side as a bit of extra leverage. It's a terrific moment that puts Price in his place. He has much more work to do if he is to be the more powerful person in the room with Whiterose. Unfortunately it seems that Price's play in this episode completely backfired, as Whiterose's pride was wounded and she now wants to teach him a lesson through stage 2. I'm excited to see where this power struggle goes next. I enjoyed some little things in this episode. The ending cliffhanger is really good, and the twist that Elliot tracked down the FBI makes perfect sense and is a terrific dramatic reveal. I always like seeing the FBI be competent, so I was happy that they tapped into Elliot's phone call with Tyrell from early in season 2. Flipper's return was welcome. I'm happy to see her and I'm sure that she's going to play a role in helping Elliot with his loneliness. I was also pleased to see Michael's frustration at Elliot somehow managing to get out of jail, which is in character. The Bad: Joanna's death was a total disappointment and a misuse of one of the show's most intriguing characters. Joanna grabbed my interest in season 1 with her chilling ability to stay calm and read people, but we never saw her do much after that, and we did not learn much about her. This made her storyline in season 2 quite tedious and uninteresting, and I never got into it. But surely there was a plan in place for her right? Nope. She returns this just to be given perhaps the most underwhelming and stupid deaths of a main character in a TV show, cementing that all of the time spent on this character was useless. Derek was always meant to be a stepping stone for her; the characters never took her seriously and neither did I. It sends a cool message that he is the one to kill her, but it's also one of the most anticlimactic and underwhelming ways to conclude this character's story. Surely he knew too much to be left alive. Mr. Sutherland should have killed him on the spot, and it's ridiculous that they would not think that he would try to go after Joanna. Furthermore, it's hard to understand why Joanna's major role in the story was so necessary. She got Scott fired from his position and immediately died. Was that her only purpose? To remove Scott who is not an important character? It's not like Tyrell, the most wanted man on the planet, is going to be going for Scott's position. So what was the point of it all? I can't seem to think of any reason that we needed this Joanna storyline, so I have to look back on her entire arc as a waste of time that failed to capitalize on any of the potential it had. What a waste of a character who I was looking forward to seeing more of. Darlene says that she only ever did fsociety to be closer with Elliot, which is clearly a major retcon. If she was only doing this for Elliot, why has she been so fanatical about fsociety's goals in previous seasons? Why did she keep the group going last season with such passion when Elliot was in prison? Nothing adds up when the explanation is that she only did everything to be close to Elliot. I get what the writers are trying to do in building up this relationship, but this statement from Darlene is outright untrue, a rare piece of sloppy writing. The Unknown: What made Elliot think of the snowman story and tell it to Krista? Was it his underlying loneliness or something else? Who made the new fsociety video? Is it real or is it misleading in some way? Did Elliot make it? Why is the Congo vote so important for Whiterose? What does she get out of it? Why would its success be sufficient for her to back out of the attack on E Corp? How will this currency war be resolved? Will Whiterose wait to help Price until after she succeeds? Or will she allow things to get worse for him? What is Elliot going to find by reverse tracing the FBI? Will the FBI meet with him or bring him in? Will he meet Dom? How will this change things going forwards? How will Tyrell react to Joanna's death? What will happen with his son? Best Moment: The opening montage was masterful. I was delighted watching the whole thing. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: Season 3 is picking up the pace and the drama and I'm loving it. Much of this episode continued what I liked about the season premiere, with the only thing holding it back being the awful ending to Joanna's storyline. That hurts the score, but otherwise this was another great episode. Score: 67 Summary: Irving is a fixer who works for the Dark Army. He is called by Tyrell and saves Elliot. Power goes out in the city. Later, Elliot wakes up with Angela who confirms everything that happened to him. Elliot goes back to his apartment and meets with Darlene. He tells her about stage 2 and tells her that he wants to stop it by blocking the backdoor. Darlene takes Elliot to a hacker tournament to use the internet there, since the city is blacked out. Elliot closes the backdoor, but he and Darlene are picked up by the Dark Army who take them to Irving. Elliot tells him he is backing out of the deal and Irving accepts. Elliot returns to Angela and asks for a job at E Corp. He also asks Angela to watch him and make sure he isn't Mr. Robot. He kisses her again but Angela says it is a mistake. Elliot stays the night. Mr. Robot wakes up at night and Angela meets with him, taking him to Irving to get stage 2 back underway. Mr. Robot is taken to where Tyrell is being kept. Later, Mr. Robot speaks with Angela who reveals why she is okay to betray Elliot like this. Power returns to the city.
The Good: This was an immediate improvement on season 2. The biggest notable change for me was the removal of the frustrating teasing that made season 2 so convoluted. This episode was very open with us about everything, and that immediately played dividends, in ways that I will describe below. Where season 2 left us in the dark and created drama from us questioning what was happening, season 3 returns to more conventional storytelling and it works wonderfully. Every character's motivations are immediately cleared up. Elliot gets a lengthy speech to establish that he has taken a completely 180 from his viewpoint in the pilot; he no longer believes in the revolution he created. We finally understand what Angela is doing for once and why: she's now working with Whiterose and the Dark Army in order to create a reality where her mother never died, a natural change in direction from the revenge she was seeking in season 1. Now these sound like very basic ways to tell a story, and they are. But you have to understand that in season 2, the reveal of this information would have been teased for episodes and it would never be told to us outright. Seeing the show step back to basics and address character motivations, relationships, and plot details is so refreshing and it's a sign that Sam Esmail's ambition can now work alongside the story rather than working against it. I'm overjoyed that season 3 is immediately correcting the biggest problem I had with season 2. Now let's dive into more specifics, because it is much more exciting to talk about "Mr. Robot" now that I have substance to appreciate instead of simply grasping at straws in the hopes that I am comprehending the story. I loved the opening sequence of the episode. We start at The Red Wheelbarrow, which was mentioned on a flyer in the season 2 finale, and we soon learn that it's a meeting hub of sorts for the Dark Army. Here we meet Irving, played wonderfully by Bobby Cannavale. Unlike with Dom in season 2, "Mr. Robot" nails the introduction of this character. He charms us immediately, and through a clever interaction at the restaurant we know everything we need to know about his personality, and we immediately also figure out that he's a fixer working for the Dark Army because he is called by Tyrell to help save Elliot. And that's it, no smoke and mirrors, no needless mystery, no needless confusion. We are introduced to a new character, we learn who he is and what he does, and we learn why he is essential to the plot in quick time. It's perfectly paced, entertaining to watch, and makes the most out of Sam Esmail's unique directorial style without falling into the trappings of season 2. I hate to keep harping on season 2 over and over again since it's not like I utterly hated the season, but I feel that it is necessary to properly convey what a step up this episode felt like. Whiterose is another character who gets a fantastic bit of clearing up to start the season. She's only here in one scene, but the scene does a terrific job of finally clearing up that messy mystery that season 2 introduced and completely failed to turn into a compelling narrative. This single scene completely cleans up the mess that was left behind and tells us exactly what is important. It would seem that Whiterose's project at the Washington Township Plant will have something to do with time or even a parallel universe (see: The Unknown), and that is a much more fascinating bit of detail to ponder on than simply thinking "oh I wonder what Whiterose is doing". The mystery has been streamlined in a way that it is now far more effective. Furthermore, Whiterose even goes as far as to connect this to Elliot and his father, letting us know why we should care about this - it is directly linked with the main character! Plus, we get another added detail that Whiterose will be looking to kill Elliot when she is done with him, adding in a sense of danger as well. The sense of danger is important because it creates a level of suspense that makes it much more interesting to explore this story. Again, it's so great to see "Mr. Robot" adhering to the basic rules of writing a story, and the show thrives as a result. As for Elliot, I really enjoyed his story in this episode. Upon waking up, season 3 is quick to resolve the messiness of season 2 and push forwards, which I think is the right decision. Elliot starts to ponder the existential questions of last season in terms of being in control and whether Tyrell is real or not. But Angela immediately confirms what's what for Elliot, and from there, there's no looking back. We finally get to see Elliot on a mission, fully understanding himself and what he wants. There's an excellent sequence in the middle of the episode that sees Elliot launch into a rant in his own head about what he needs to do. The scene is shot masterfully, and it conveys what this character feels with perfection. Elliot's opinions have changed sharply since his hate-filled rant in the pilot, and season 3 needed to address just how much he has grown after the 5/9 hack. He still hates the rich people at the top, but he no longer believes that his revolution accomplished anything. The only thing he did was create a world of chaos that is incredibly hard on the average person, but is a world of opportunity for the high-ranking businesses. I appreciate the show addressing this idea and I think that the question of if 5/9 was a good idea or not is a brilliant one to explore this season. It's wonderful to see Elliot spend time with Angela and Darlene in this episode since we haven't seen a whole lot of developing character relationships last season. This has immediately changed and we are given some exciting stuff to start off with. Elliot and Darlene catch up and he takes her along to help him stop stage 2. Their interactions are a lot of fun, and I like that Darlene is grateful for him and willing to help, but still cold and angry since Elliot, in his haste, ends up ignoring her emotions following Cisco's death at several points in the episode. There's also the added intrigue of if Darlene is an FBI informant and if Elliot knows this, which added another layer to their interactions (see: The Unknown). Things with Angela are just as interesting. Finally the show is pulling the trigger on bringing Elliot and Angela closer together and it is working so far. Their friendship is beautiful and effective, and it's nice to see it develop further. It's sensible that Elliot trusts Angela to keep him in check to help them reverse 5/9. What I was not expecting was the fantastic twist that Angela is betraying Elliot by working directly for Whiterose, and she is willing to lie to him and deceive him to accomplish her goals. Her scenes with Mr. Robot are terrific. Vulnerable and emotional Angela is gone, and the hardened businesswoman Angela emerges when she deals with Mr. Robot. I love this added depth to Angela, and it makes good use of the different aspects of her personality that were developed, albeit messily, throughout season 2. More than the plot reveals and the set-up, I loved Angela's conversation with Mr. Robot on the way back home. I'm sure I'm sounding like a broken record by now, but it feels so good that this episode didn't leave us with mystery as to why Angela is working with Whiterose and why she is willing to turn on Elliot. We get a lengthy bit of conversation as Angela reveals what she is fighting for, why she is fighting for it, and why she is willing to work with Mr. Robot and betray Elliot. It's a bit expository, but it just feels so good to know for certain what is going on inside of Angela's head for once. Furthermore, I thought that this scene did a terrific job of explaining why Angela was hesitant to get together with Elliot. Elliot's explanation of Angela not wanting to be with people who love her reeked of typical poor writing of female characters at first. But that's not the case, and I was pleased to realize that this was just Elliot's incorrect interpretation, which makes sense considering his poor social skills. Instead we are shown that Angela is likely hesitant and crying because she would feel awful getting emotionally involved in a relationship with someone who she is openly stabbing in the back. I feel for her conflict here, and I found this to be very compelling. Some small things were also great. I enjoyed the idea that the entire episode took place in New York with power out. That gave the whole episode a darkly effective tone. Elliot's mute button on life was a clever bit of filmmaking stemming from a relatable desire for quiet. I was captivated by Darlene's panic attack upon seeing the Dark Army. It's great to see the detail that Darlene has lost her ability to keep cool as a result of PTSD after watching Cisco's death. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. This was very consistent. The Unknown: Ir Irving just a fixer for the Dark Army or is there more to his role in the show? How does he already know Elliot and Tyrell? Why did they interact with him before? Could he have been the one that organized Tyrell's hiding? Is this location the place where Tyrell has been staying this whole time? Whiterose apparently had Elliot's father working for her. Why? For what? Does this have something to do with the secret project at the Washington Township Plant? Whiterose was observing a strange scientific structure at the plant. Is this her project? Is this a particle collider? That's my immediate thought upon seeing it. What is Whiterose doing with it? Does this have something to do with undoing everything, like Angela suggested later in the episode? Is Whiterose trying to manipulate time? Also, I noticed a lengthy bit of dialogue on parallel universes while we were at the Washington Township Plant with this mysterious structure. This hearkens back to Whiterose's discussion with Dom where she ponders on what a world without 5/9 would look like. That seems to be a clear indicator that Whiterose is actively looking to possibly create a parallel universe where 5/9 never happened. Is this the case here? Is Darlene an FBI informant? We never saw what became of her after Dom showed her everything. I suspect that this is because she caved in. Her behaviour in this episode matches an informant. She continually asks Elliot for further details, suggesting that she might have a wire. Elliot claiming that stage 2 wasn't his idea could very well have saved him since we know that the FBI is waiting like a python to get the ringleader. Who did Darlene call on the phone? I suspect that she may have called in the FBI agents that Irving had to shake in the ensuing scene. Elliot says that Angela is the only one he can trust right now. Does this mean that he doesn't trust Darlene? Is he suspecting that she has been compromised? How are the Dark Army still going to pull off stage 2 with the backdoor closed? Will Elliot find out that Angela is deceiving him? What does Angela have to do to help accomplish Whiterose's plan? Why is it so important to Whiterose that stage 2 happens? Best Moment: While this was consistent, not much stood out about this episode. I'll go with Darlene's panic attack at the hacker tournament. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This was a great season premier. There is a marked change from season 2 in the pacing and structure of the show, and I hope that means that we are moving past the mistakes of last season to tell a worthwhile story. While there is nothing Earth-shattering about this episode, I'm feeling excited, and I hope that season 3 continues this momentum and grabs a hold of the opportunity to tell a worthwhile story. Score: 68 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|