Summary: Flashbacks show Elliot working with Tyrell on the hack, but when things get underway, Elliot reaches for the gun in the popcorn machine. Another flashback shows Elliot fall out of the window and get taken to the doctor. In the present, Elliot is living with a new daily routine at his mother's place and is working on controlling Mr. Robot and his mental health. He is still speaking with Krista. Elliot meets with Gideon who wants help in a legal investigation going on with him but Elliot refuses to help and Gideon threatens to tell the FBI what he knows about him. Darlene continues to lead the expanding fsociety and together they blackmail E Corp for 5.9 million dollars with the threat being that they brick their entire banking system if they don't get it. Scott and Price discuss it with a counsellor and Scott decides that he will give fsociety the money.
The Good: The flashbacks to start the episode were very strong, and they gave us some curious insight into the circumstances of the show. With Elliot recollecting on his hack with Tyrell, the show makes it clear that what happened to Tyrell is going to be a major mystery in the early episodes of this season. Fascinatingly, there's a good chance that Elliot may have killed him (see: The Unknown) and that processing what he's done has furthered the deterioration of his mind. Furthermore, we get another tidbit of Elliot's past as we see the event where he falls out of the window. This scene confirms that it was Elliot who threw himself out of the window, and also gives us further details on his difficult childhood. Elliot's story in the present is very interesting. This episode was mostly scene-setting, but it does so very effectively in interesting ways. From Elliot's constant fighting with Mr. Robot in an effort to maintain control to Elliot listening while Leon rambles on about "Seinfeld", I was captivated by learning more about Elliot's current lifestyle. I have some ideas about what exactly we are watching (see: The Unknown), but outside of theorizing I am still enjoying the suspense and the inner conflict that Elliot is wrestling with. The scenes with Mr. Robot are of course excellent, and I was fascinated by Mr. Robot shooting Elliot in the head all taking place in Elliot's mind. The ensuing scene with Gideon is also terrific as Mr. Robot plays with Elliot's weak attempts to be a better person by reminding him of his own lack of control and the darker side of him that he is struggling to accept as a facet of his own character. The inner struggle is fantastic to watch, and I was compelled by it. I continue to be fascinated with how this show handles narration. It's hard to understand who exactly we are in terms of the story, and it is a clever idea to have Elliot develop a relationship with us, feeling betrayed after what Elliot went through in the previous episode. I especially loved the detail of Elliot hiding his true thoughts about Mr. Robot from us and only trusting it to Krista. This is a brilliant way to make what is clearly a plot device (Elliot's mental state being used to hide details) fit organically into the story, removing the big weakness of breaking immersion that comes up when there is a plot device. I'm not the biggest fan of using Elliot's mental state to hide plot details and needlessly confuse the story (see: The Bad), but if this needed to be done, then the show is doing it in the best way possible. The fsociety storyline continues to progress in an interesting way. I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Elliot is involved again, but for now Darlene has been given the responsibility of running the group, which should be a good opportunity for us to get to know her better. The end of the episode shows another huge hack happen, and now E Corp has to respond to this and do their best to do damage control. This is a good start to the storyline, very plot-heavy so far, but I'm sure that we will get more substance as the season continues. The Bad: There is too much mystery here and that actually detracted from my experience. Don't get me wrong, I love mystery, and I am intrigued by this new season and hungry for answers. But I am asking too many questions throughout the episode, and I don't feel like there was enough substance to make this a great episode. Instead of connecting with characters, contemplating themes, and feeling tense due to the stakes, I was spending my time trying to figure out what exactly was happening and that hurt the emotional effectiveness of the episode. I imagine things will be more effective on rewatch, but I should still be able to feel the beats of the story on my first watch. Take "Lost" for example, that show had a ton of mysteries, but it never let the mysteries take away from the characters and what they went through. I can't say the same for this first episode. Clouding the emotional aspect of the story within a convoluted mystery is a mistake that will make it harder to enjoy this show. The Unknown: A whole load of questions with this one. What happened to Tyrell? Did Elliot kill him and cover it up? It looks like Tyrell has been framed for the fsociety attack, did Elliot set him up somehow? If Tyrell isn't dead, then where is he? Did Elliot capture him and imprison him somewhere? Did he escape from Elliot and go into hiding? Where is he? What did the doctor tell Elliot in the flashback? The directing of the scene suggested that this was when Elliot was informed about some sort of mental disorder. Why is Elliot going through this daily routine? Is he holding himself to it for self-improvement? Is somebody else holding him up to it? Is Elliot's mind reliable right now? A lot of his daily routine seems to be paralleling prison, or some sort of house arrest. Is this a stylistic parallel, or is Elliot actually in a prison, or in a psych ward? Why is Gideon in so much trouble? Did Elliot frame him as well with his actions? Will Gideon tell the FBI what he knows? Or will Elliot manage to negotiate with him? Who is this new character Susan? It seems like she is defending E Corp effectively. Why did fsociety use her house as a new base of operations? Was that out of spite, or is there a deeper plan? Is Darlene the leader of fsociety now? What has she been doing as a leader? What is the goal of this new hack? She seems to be struggling internally over her new role. What is bothering her? How will Scott giving the money to fsociety go down? Will he be successful? Will fsociety spare E Corp when they get the money? What has Angela been up to? She wasn't present in this episode. Best Moment: Elliot and Gideon's meeting. Elliot's decaying mental health is engaging and horrifying to watch and his inner turmoil has been portrayed terrifically so far. Character of the Episode: Elliot. Conclusion: This was a solid start to the new season. The feel of season 2 is already much different to season 1, and while this first episode is somewhat hurt by a covoluted narrative, I am intrigued by the stylistic difference this episode has to season 1. Score: 63
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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