Mr. Robot (TV Series) eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg (2015) User Reviews

Successfully avoids the "second episode syndrome".

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 9/10 · 1 July 2015]

What I loved about the previous episode is how they showed that Elliot has absolute power, the ability to topple lives and manipulate fates, yet he mostly uses it to fit in with people. He did some things for moral reasons, and didn't do some things he probably should have for personal gain. In this episode, he is challenged frequently on when to use that power. Straight off the bat, he is given opportunities from both sides of the shadow war. His indecisiveness is brilliantly handled by the show runners.

One incident that really stood out was his encounter with a drug dealer. This drug dealer was dating his neighbor, and the only reason Elliot hadn't taken him down is that he is the source of his morphine. This leads to a very interesting moral dilemma. The episode was generally filled with very clever dilemmas for Elliot. I have noticed that the second episode of a series is often one of the weakest in the season. This avoids that pattern, and is even arguably better than the pilot.

The plot twist at the end is even more intriguing than last week's. If people weren't hooked by the pilot, this'll do them in.

Choices

[toastedslipers · 9/10 · 2 July 2015]

After an unbelievably engrossing pilot, Mr. Robot hurls us deeper into the rabbit hole that is the life and tribulations of Elliot Alderson. This episode, while having the very simple premise of "choices", expounds on it in a way that almost mirrors some of the greatest linguistic poets of our time. Everything merely tricks us into believing that there is more to the shades of "black and white" that consume our everyday lives. Coke and Pepsi, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, McDonalds and Burger King I love the direction this show is headed in and I applaud USA for picking up such a daringly different and bold series

Browse your selection of options. Effects may be permanent

[quincytheodore · 8/10 · 2 July 2015]

Mr. Robot has established an amazing foundation by its pilot. Now it puts the atypical protagonist in tough spots as he is presented with myriad of choices, both for his life and also others'. The dilemma arises after situation escalates with fsociety trying to up their hacktivist acts. By now, Elliot is already connected and must determine his course of actions one way or another.

The show keeps interesting balance between his personal life and also his more bizarre one. Since Elliot himself is narrating, speaking to audience in a manner, we get a good look of his insights. Still, even having hearing his thought, the show smartly lures the audience with portrayal of Elliot in his worse days. It maintains a hint of mystery as he might just be paranoid, and yet intriguingly relatable for the audience to invest on his character.

Cinematography is clean throughout, most of the shots are done with characters in the side and giving the environment more space. It presents the setting, from the old subways, dark interior or wide streets of the city as an integral part. The shift in color tone is visibly presented to differentiate the location they are in. It's almost a reminder of Michael Mann's style, especially in Collateral.

Script is highly engaging, conveying a lot of private issues aside from slight anarchy banter. This is one of the shows that keep the allure so effectively, it captures audience's interest like a large shining billboard.

...... and i thought the first episode was good!

[qadirmagsi · 10/10 · 2 July 2015]

It has been one month since the pilot aired and it caught me by surprise. I am a kind of movie freak that has watched a lot of movies and TV and doesn't get impressed easily. The feeling the pilot gave me was similar to what i felt when i watched the first episode of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or The Twilight Zone (Original); i would also add MASH but its a comedy.

It mesmerized me, the lead actor seems almost tailor made for the role, great casting choice and Christan Slater......., saw him after a long time and must say that the way he is handling the part, I am starting to wonder why has he not been working in better movies. The sisterish friend of the lead may be considered a bit weak but not by much. Anyways, the point was that i was in awe of the pilot and during last month saw it 3-4 times.

I was apprehensive that the followup episode may not be able to carry the momentum. We have all seen shows that show promise in the beginning but then very soon stoop down into driveldom, or at-least loose our interest.

This is not one of those. The second episode was at par and maybe even a bit better then the first. The characters are fleshed out during the course of the 46 odd minutes. The absolute power image of the pilot is brought up against the absolute powerlessness that the characters sometimes feel.

I loved it too much, so ill keep on chattering..... you guys go see this. But remember..... you need your brains about you with this one... in-fact you may even need to borrow some from the local chop shop.

Have fun.

As good as the pilot. Getting really intense.

[Brettyboy007 · 10/10 · 3 July 2015]

Episode 2 was very good. The pilot left us off with a cliffhanger as the Linux guy (Tyrell) had Elliot brought to him. Why? To offer him a position at E Corp. Elliot has to decide. He has no interest in working there.

On the other hand, Mr. Robot is moving more and more toward his plan of toppling a conglomerate and deleting debt. He wants to do something that will be bad for a lot of people that Elliot wants no part of.

There are little subplots involving Portia and her boyfriend. A lot of people have mentioned Mr. Robot being like Fight Club. It very much is with him being inside his head a lot. They will probably tell you the truth before the end of the season.

Episode 2 does leave us with...another cliffhanger. USA is doing Mr. Robot right and hope it lasts for 5-8 seasons.

The Stakes Go Up

[uawiseguy2 · 8/10 · 22 February 2020]

Where the pilot presented Elliot with the chance to start a revolution by eliminating debt's stranglehold on the 99%, this episode shows the violent sacrifices Mr. Robot's fsociety is willing to make for their mission. Elliot's personal relationships also get darker and more complex as his dependency on morphine reaches a new level. One scene with his therapist came off as a little too presentational, but everything else this episode sets up made Elliot's world a lot more intense.

A slower, but still solid, second episode

[DVD_Connoisseur · 8/10 · 17 January 2019]

The pace slows somewhat for the second episode but it still remains a quality slice of television drama.

This is confident storytelling and I'm looking forward to seeing the direction this series takes.

The cast is remarkably good. The performances are all very satisfying and there's a quality feel to the whole production.

Getting Better

[matdeman · 8/10 · 18 February 2021]

A great improvement from the first episode. I swear to god at least 80% of the shots in this ep is composed and framed perfectly. I was also able to attach myself to the plot even more for it gave room for the viewer to breathe and soak in the meat of this thing. Very good ep, we'll see where it goes.

Rewatch, 8.8/10

[dcdude-26988 · 9/10 · 27 June 2023]

Another great episode. Episode 1 was definitely better, but by 0.5. My favorite characters in this episode were Elliot, Shayla, and Darlene. I haven't said this yet, but basically, I am watching this show with my mom. So far, I am still wondering what she will think about episode 8. The only flaws I could find in this episode were the character development of Mr Robot, the change of music, and the 25% of corny comedy, but i don't honestly care to be honest. This episode was still great and should've definitely kept it's 8.7/10 rating. Again, it wasn't better than episode 1, but still was very very good.

Will you fight?

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 6/10 · 21 January 2016]

The second episode of "Mr. Robot" is not as amazing as the first, and the flaws are more clearly seen, but is an enough good episode. We repeat the same mistakes as in the first episode: way too "smart" people that seem to live above everyone else. Sadly, it all becomes a little bit repetitive, as the story barely advances. Mr. Robot does an "offer you can't refuse" to Elliot and that's basically everything that happens. The cliffhanger from the pilot is dealt in a very childish way (let's come here, Elliot, I'm going to talk to you in private and show you a whole new world...). That Elliot seems to be able to say "no" to all the offers he is getting is the best part of all.

The other part of the episode, the "lonely vigilante", is quite lame. That Elliot is a great hacker seems obvious. But all the story and how is dealt with reeks of laziness. A "Sherlock hacker" deserves better.

Yeet

[TheCorniestLemur · 9/10 · 23 August 2022]

I don't think that this episode packs quite as much punch as the pilot, but it most definitely delivers some great set up for the future.

It starts with Tyrell being shown to have a pretty weird fixation with Elliot, and for the rest of the episode this is left as kind of a mystery.

Then there's the introduction to Vera, who you'd think from this episode would only serve as a reason for Elliot to not have morphine anymore, but you would be so wrong. And man is he a piece of work, and perfectly played by Elliot Villar.

Then there's Elliot doing more morphine than he should, Ollie getting hacked, and all of this is brilliant set up because it still remains interesting to watch, and everything that I noted was amazing about the first episode is also amazing here.

I did still note a few cheesy or questionable lines of dialogue, and it seemed to me like we kind of entirely skipped over Elliot figuring out how to hack Steel Mountain without killing anyone. There's a single shot that hints at what he's planning, but it's not something you'd ever be able to make a connection between it and the hack unless you've already seen the show, so it feels a little rushed when in the very next scene, he tells Mr. Robot that he has a different plan that we barely got to see any of.

But so far, the show is just as great as I remember, if not more so, and I'm really glad I decided to return to it.

Second episodes are never the best

[hugocaetano · 7/10 · 21 June 2020]

After a fantastic pilot, we have a slower episode, and I think it is way too slow... I usually like slow series, like Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under, but this episode is frustrating, because it doesn't add anything new to the story.

Nevertheless, Angela's story is the most captivating here. This CD mysterious man should probably have a bigger role in the future, and it is a reminder of the dangers of being hacked and spied by other people.

What I hope for the next episodes is more information about Tyrell, and a development in the relationship between Elliot and Mr. Robot, after this cliffhanger, that, unfortunately, was poorly executed.

Choices, True or False, 1 or 0

[caupolicanre · 9/10 · 11 January 2024]

Well, this episode was just as amazing as the pilot episode.

To be honest, was a little bit slower than the first one, but that didn't affect it at all.

During the episode, I felt deeply represented by Elliot's personality, mainly because of his difficulty in making decisions. He's offered to be part of both sides, and hesitated in both cases.

The section of the episode when he talks to his therapist, is actually pretty good, and I hope there are more of them. The session in this episode was better than the first one, the speech that Elliot tells, is really how I feel, and how "living and adapting to this society" feels like. I think that was the fragment of this episode that resonated with me the most.

On the programmer side, just keeps getting better, we can see in deep his tools and ways of doxing whoever he wants.

Talking about the last scene, it is just perfect. The photography of the walk, the conversation about Elliot's father, and suddenly, the last thing to keep you hooked and watch the next episode.

Steel Mountain, The Hacker's Dilemma.

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 7/10 · 8 September 2021]

We continue to explore the Eliot character and his affinity for women who shower in his place when he doesn't even know how they know where he lives....and also about his dog that 'shats' in his bed.

Tell me something Eliot, are you a 1 or a 0 ???

Eliot ponders all his dislikes in life as he also sabotages his drug dealers' supplier. Getting him arrested. Putting his own supply in jeopardy to help his dealer get out of a jam was interesting for the character. +1 Star

ECorp wants to recruit him and he puts that idea to bed as well. +1 Star

7/10.

Good but Not as Cool as the Pilot [7.5/10]

[panagiotis1993 · 7/10 · 10 June 2023]

My Reaction / Review for Mr. Robot Season 1 Episode 2: The Pilot was awesome and I gave it a rating of 8/10, I hope this one is just as good or better, let's see. Tyrell had a great offer for Elliot to work for E Corp but he doesn't seem to like the idea which is normal since he hates e corp with a passion. I don't think that taking more than his usual dose is a good idea. F society is demanding some crazy stuff. Why they want Terry Colby released though? We see more Mr. Robot in this one. It seems like Elliot found a new enemy, his drug dealer, nice! It seems like the relationship between Elliot and Mr. Robot has become heated. Good episode overall, my rating is 7.5/10.

Elliott and Mr Robot

[safenoe · 7/10 · 20 December 2023]

I am impressed by the episode titles of Mr. Robot and this one, eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg, the second episode of season one, starts to delve into the psyche of Elliott. We also delve into his connection with Mr. Robot and we get more backstory about Elliott's father and the tragedy of some of his life.

Even though eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg debuted in 2015 which in internet years is like a million years ago, so many of the issues - hacking, corporate overlords, CDs, emails, are still relevant to this day more so than ever. Anyway, I look forward to continue watching Mr. Robot and what other IT issues arise.