Summary: Elliot and Darlene make up and prep for their next plans. Elliot meets with Leon and goes to see Olivia. He drugs her and blackmails her with sending in a drug test to get her to lose custody of her child if she doesn't comply with him and make a phone call. Olivia is horrified and eventually tries to kill herself, but Elliot gets her to make the phone call anyways. Olivia is disgusted by Elliot's actions. Vera is holding Krista and after threatening to kill Jason, he gets her to give up Elliot's personal file. Later, Krista calls Elliot telling him that she was kidnapped. Elliot decides to spring the trap and agrees to meet her, getting picked up by Vera's men in the process. Darlene is found by Dom but refuses to give up Elliot. Dom reports this to Janice who tells Dom to kill Darlene. Dom is unable to do it and knocks her out. When Darlene wakes up, Dom tells her to kill her but Darlene can't do it. Janice walks in and sees what Dom was trying to do.
The Good: This was a brutal episode. There were 3 storylines, and all dealt with characters in dark situations being forced to do terrible things to get what they want. The episode was a ruthless barrage of emotions and it was difficult to watch at a number of points. This is far from being a fun episode to watch, but it is remarkably good at showing us the overwhelming brutality in this world, which is what the episode was going for. Elliot's story is difficult to watch. Back in "403 Forbidden", the show did a terrific job of showing us the connection that formed between Olivia and Elliot. It was sweet, it was real, and it was exactly what Elliot needed. I totally bought into it. And now we get to see Elliot give up his soul as he goes back to Olivia's place, exploits her weakness by forcibly drugging her against her will, blackmailing her, and revealing that the connection they had was never real and that she meant absolutely nothing to him. This is a brutal gutpunch as Elliot takes this genuine connection and steps all over it, using it to accomplish his own personal goals with no regards to Olivia's wellbeing. He has sacrificed her life (almost literally) to further his agenda in the same way that the main villains of the show would, and it is deeply uncomfortable to watch. I want to root for Elliot. I've followed him for 4 seasons and I do like him. But what he has done here is so undeniably evil. We know it. Mr. Robot knows it, and is powerless to stop Elliot. Elliot knows it too, as he shoots us a brief sad look as he goes into Olivia's apartment, knowing full well that he's about to ruin this woman's life. This is the most evil we have seen Elliot, and Olivia saying he's an even scarier monster than those he is fighting is hard to dispute. We see Elliot consider it for a little bit too, realizing that he has undeniably gone too far in his quest for revenge, but struggles to face up to it. This was uncomfortable to watch, but stunningly effective at what it sets out to do. Dom and Darlene encounter one another for the first time since season 3, and their reunion lives up to its high stakes. Both characters are given fantastic moral conflicts to deal with. Dom is forced to contend with if she is able to murder Darlene for the sake of her family, with there also being the added possibility of her killing herself to be rid of all of this. Grace Gummer is phenomenal here, and she does a magnificent job of making us connect with Dom's struggle, understanding why this is such an agonizing choice for her. Darlene is fantastic too as she has to contemplate giving up Elliot to save her own life and to help Dom out, someone who Darlene has already screwed over in the past and feels guilty about. But she finds it impossible to give up her only family, and is left begging to try to stop Dom from killing her. Again, the performance by Carly Chaikin is incredible, and it adds so much to the drama. The constant swings as Darlene and Dom both struggle to come to terms with killing the other was effective and intense, adding to this episode's dark and brutal tone. Vera's return has been excellent so far. At this point in the story, it's clear that Vera has a role to play and I'm excited to see what that is. I've greatly enjoyed his return so far. Vera is intimidating, scary, and unpredictable; the perfect wildcard. He plays that role perfectly here as he works on Krista to help get information on Elliot. He terrifies her, intimidates her, makes her understand the situation, and gets her to open up a little bit as part of his own plan to get to Elliot. It's magnificent to watch, and the dialogue is written and acted to perfection. Vera carries a lot of personal emotional stakes for Elliot (he killed Shayla), so I am very excited to see how Elliot interacts with him and where this story goes. What really sold these three storylines was the acting. Everyone involved delivers outstanding performances to make us feel every little emotion that the characters are going through. All of the actors playing Elliot, Olivia, Dom, Darlene, Vera, and Krista are at the top of their game, elevating the experience of this episode. The Bad: Whiterose being so blindly obsessed with Elliot is the one bit of poor writing here. There is literally no reason that Elliot is allowed to live, considering the risk involved, but the show needs Whiterose to make a mistake so that she can be defeated. Hubris bringing about the villain's downfall is a trope as old as time, and it doesn't feel like it is being utilized in an organic way here. The Unknown: What is Janice going to do with Dom and Darlene now? Will they be able to get away from her? What does this mean for Dom's family? What will Vera find in Elliot's file? How will this affect his interactions with Elliot? How does Krista actually feel about Elliot? Surely Leon isn't only going to be used in this single scene. I'm certain that he's going to be showing up again in the future. When will he show up again, and why? Will Elliot call for his help when dealing with Vera? Best Moment: Again we are spoiled for choice. I'll give it to Dom trying to will herself to shoot Darlene. The conflict that both characters went through was compelling, and the performances were tremendous. Character of the Episode: Dom. Conclusion: This episode is dark, difficult to watch, and unstoppable in its brutality. Despite how uncomfortable it can be to watch, I can't deny that this was effective television that made me feel exactly what it was trying to make me feel. I felt for all of the characters involved and was horrified by much of what I saw. Because of that, I can say for certain that this is excellent television, certainly the best of the season so far. Score: 73
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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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