Summary: Mr. Robot speaks with young Elliot and Elliot's mother in Elliot's mind. In the real world, Mr. Robot meets with Darlene to prepare the hack since Elliot is unable. Mr. Robot speaks with price who gives him instructions to destroy Whiterose's machine afterwards. Price goes to the meet but Whiterose is the only one there and she has figured out he is working with Elliot. Darlene and Mr. Robot determine the real location of the meet and Darlene goes there to pull off the hack. Elliot remains near Price's location, suspecting that Whiterose is inside. Darlene records an fsociety video, doxxing the Deus Group meeting which results in all of them using their phones and getting their accounts compromised by Darlene. Price and Whiterose taunt each other until Mr. Robot calls. Mr. Robot speaks with Whiterose who tries to coerce him to her side. Elliot emerges after Angela is mentioned but he rejects Whiterose. Ellito manages to hack a satellite tower on top of the building and gets Whiterose's account. Darlene executes the hack and the Deus Group lose all their money. Whiterose is furious and Price taunts her. Whiterose kills him openly and has to go into hiding.
The Good: I loved so much about this episode. "Mr. Robot" always nails the hacking scenes, and this episode was the most enormous and satisfying hack so far as Elliot and Darlene bring about the destruction of the Deus Group. Since the first episode, Elliot has wanted to bring down "the top 1% of the top 1%" and he's never successfully been able to do it. Even the 5/9 attacks all played into the hands of the rich, and screwed over the lower class people, making it all a waste for Elliot. But now, Elliot has finally achieved his primary goal, and it is so satisfying to see it all happen. This moment is what we have been waiting for since the very first episode, and that long road filled with countless failures and defeats made this success feel so so sweet. I was actively cheering alongside Elliot and Darlene, a sign that this show completely invested me in its story and characters. I've been eager to see Whiterose taken down ever since the E Corp bombings and the moment did not disappoint. Whiterose was so pompous and overconfident as always, but the cracks started to show early in the episode, and were quickly exploited by Elliot and Darlene to bring about her downfall. It was immensely satisfying to see Whiterose taken down and I was grinning from ear to ear. BD Wong has quietly been brilliant in this role, but he outdid himself here in portraying Whiterose's almost childish rage when she realizes she has been defeated. Finally seeing her so scared, angry, and vulnerable was cathartic and it contributed a lot to this episode feeling so satisfying. Price was the star of this episode. Despite his aspirations to be the most powerful man in the room, the past couple of seasons have made it explicitly clear that Whiterose is a step above him. Despite his best efforts, Price is always going to be second to Whiterose and there's nothing he can do. Understanding this makes it unbelievably satisfying when Price eventually turns the tables on Whiterose. Throughout the episode, Price is a total blast as he gets drunk and taunts and trashes Whiterose whenever possible, taking advantage of her volatile nature. I especially got a good laugh at his "bad management" comment when Whiterose's assistant quit. Price has nothing to lose here and he decided to go down swinging at Whiterose to give himself some satisfaction. Their scenes throughout the episode are thoroughly enjoyable, well-acted, and well-written. Whiterose is still in charge as always, but Price does well to enjoy himself and get in whatever jabs he can. By the end, Price does die at Whiterose's hand, but true to what he had said back in season 2, he lost but ensured that he made Whiterose lose in the process. After Whiterose loses her money, Price's speech to rub everything in Whiterose's face and honour Angela was outstanding and one of the most satisfying monologues in the show. And as an added bonus, Price's scathing comments provoked Whiterose enough to kill him in public, condemning herself to her fate and ensuring that Price has the last laugh in the end. The character of Price received a perfect conclusion as he got to extract sweet vengeance on Whiterose while advocating for the ideals of his dead daughter in his final speech. I'll miss Michael Cristofer's brilliant voice and line delivery, but this was the perfect ending for Price. Elliot and Darlene are our heroes here and they have terrific moments throughout. Starting with Elliot, it's notable that he's absent for a sizeable portion of this episode. It's Mr. Robot in his shoes for much of this hack because Elliot is too emotionally damaged to do this hack. Mr. Robot does well and I enjoyed his interactions with Darlene greatly. But it's when Elliot returns that I really got emotionally invested. There's an excellent moment where Mr. Robot gets on a call with Whiterose and she attempts to manipulate him the same way that she did with Angela. And the moment she mentions Angela, there's a terrific cut to reveal that Elliot is suddenly there. He's not going to sit by idly as Whiterose talks about Angela. For a moment it seems like Elliot might go along with Whiterose's manipulations, but he rejects everything that she proposes, damning her ideals and everything she stands for. It's a moment of tremendous resolve for Elliot which feels natural after all that he's been through this season. Darlene having a major role in this hack was a brilliant decision. Darlene has wanted this even more than Elliot so it makes perfect sense that she gets to play such a significant role in gathering the details that Elliot needed for the hack. I was overjoyed by the return of fsociety in this episode, especially since the group has been absent for so long. Darlene's plan was genius, and it made perfect sense for her to do it to ensure that the Deus Group members all got on their phones to ensure that Darlene could get all of their account information. To end this section, I have to give a special mention to Mac Quayle's soundtrack in this episode. The music here was spectacular, utilizing a more retro 1980s style to create a truly cinematic experience with soundtracks that had never been used elsewhere in the show. The music elevated every single scene, raising the stakes, increasing the suspense, and contributing to the charismatic nature of this episode. Even in some of the most heated moments of drama, I found myself remarking at how incredible these tracks were. Mac Quayle has always done terrific work on this show but he outdid himself with this one and deserves a lot of credit. The Bad: I suppose it is a bit silly that the Deus Group people were all comically mean-spirited assholes. That was a bit much. Other than that, I have no issues with this. The Unknown: Interesting opening scene. Clearly Mr. Robot is hiding something from Elliot. What? How will Elliot destroy Whiterose's machine? What will Whiterose do now? Can she survive being doxxed? Where is she now? Is she going to die in this place? How is the world going to change now that the Deus Group has been revealed? Best Moment: The plan being a success is easily the most satisfying moment in the whole show. Whiterose has always been a step ahead and this is the first time that she's been outsmarted. Having the good guys finally score a real victory after 4 seasons of failures delivered the emotional highs that you would expect. Character of the Episode: Price Conclusion: This was another fantastic episode. The cinematic style, suspense, and thematic significance made it clear that this was the climax of the entire series and it was tremendously satisfying and gripping to watch. "Mr. Robot" continues to impress in its final stretch of episodes. Score: 81
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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