I was not a fan of this episode when it first broadcast; I was deeply frustrated by a combination of unanswered questions and scenes that seemed pointless to the overall story. I think my frustration might also have been amplified by the fact that I had to wait two weeks to see this episode; the broadcast was pushed back at the last minute due to a similarity between a scene in the episode and a real-life tragedy.
However, having re-watched the episode after seeing the resolutions to these mysteries and where the story goes in seasons 2 and 3, I like this episode a lot more and completely understand why Esmail decided to structure the story in the way he did. While I no longer agree with it, I have included my original review below as I don't believe in erasing history.
My ORIGINAL REVIEW
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Too many questions, not enough answers.
Holy hell, where to start? I suppose with the controversy. Yes, the episode was postponed due to a "graphic on-screen shooting". Having now seen it, I am glad that USA network chose not to water it down, but simply delayed a week. The impact of that scene was too important. Most networks would have just made the show-runners change it.
First of all, we check in with that loser from the first episode who was dating Christa. While the scene was good, it had no effect on the story, and stole runtime from things that DESPERATELY needed it.
The time jump at the start was initially confusing, but once I got a grip on it, I really liked where they were going with this. Overall, I thought the scenes with Angela working at E(vil) Corp were the strongest. They were beautifully written and acted.
Meanwhile, Darlene and the hackers celebrate and dispose of the evidence. Again, while these scenes were okay, they really felt like they were just detracting from the precious runtime.
Finally, Elliot and Mr. Robot. When that big twist was revealed last episode, I initially thought that it was full of holes. Then, I spent the extra week re-watching the show, and found that everything fit very well. There was only one hole I could find (the one mentioned in my review of last episode), and even that I believe I have an explanation for. In the end, it actually works out better than Fight Club, with fewer holes, less contrivance, and a more compelling and multi-layered character arc.
BUT, I felt like they wasted that setup in this episode. Sure there were some cool scenes involving conflict between Elliot and Mr. Robot, but they tried to go for an ambiguous ending, which blew up in their face. That's been the one flaw with this show since episode four; it doesn't know how to handle absolute ambiguity. It tries to be arty but ends up confusing. For the record, I am not opposed to ambiguity. I LOVED the post-credit scene and all the questions it raised. I just honestly thought that the final scenes were directed poorly. Once we see season 2, the whole thing will probably be given artistic resonance, and become clever. But until that happens, this is a weak ending to a great show.
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END OF ORIGINAL REVIEW
Again, having now seen the later seasons of the show I no longer feel that way about the episode. If you find this episode as frustrating as I did back then, just be patient. In time, the show justifies every decision made in this episode.
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