Mr. Robot (TV Series) eps1.2_d3bug.mkv (2015) User Reviews

More of a slow burn type of episode, but leaves you hungry for more nonetheless.

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 7/10 · 8 July 2015]

This episode was packed with character development. Tyrell took center stage for the first time. We get a very interesting glimpse into his life. Everything seems to be about power for him.

Rami Malek continues to kill it as Elliot. In this episode, he tries to lead a normal life. This led to some of the series' funniest moments so far. The soundtrack when he lists the things that make a normal life was absolutely brilliant, and really added to the hilarity. It was also a really clever moment when Sheila interrupted his inner monologue. Up until now, she has been a nothing character, not particularly deep or developed. In this one, we see a bit of who she is, and why she's perfect for Elliot.

But the highlight of this episode is Christian Slater as Mr. Robot. He steals every scene he's in. He really feels like he could end up being the hero or the villain. Only time will tell. His actions lead to a shocking reveal late in the episode.

Second account, fake profile

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 9 July 2015]

Just as the series portrays the theme of false visage of modern society, this episode is mainly tailored for the antagonist Tyrell (Martin Wallström), who is exceptionally manipulative to a fault. He uses others in such pathologically deceptive and abusive way, it's almost creepily horrible as though he plays in a horror thriller yet you can't look away.

Martin Wallstrom is a different kind of villain, for a protagonist as peculiar as Elliot, it's fitting to have equally, or more bizarre adversary. There's a vivid conviction in his actions while Elliot himself currently weighs on his life decisions. Rami Malek delivers the consistent performance of slightly antisocial genius, but he's now trying to fit into social norm.

It's strangely playful, a tad liberating in the contradicting fallacy to see Elliot mingles with his peers and boss. The episode also brings more depth to side characters as it delves further into personal territory. Christian Slater as Mr. Robot, despite being titular character is playing a magnetic side character.

That doesn't mean he's any less than the leads. On contrary, being in just enough portion of scenes makes his persona more intriguing while keeping the mysterious vibe intact. For most part, the show has given contrasting light for its visual. I enjoy the subtle change tone according to the mood playing at the moment, Elliot is given more lighter tone in his scenes while Tyrell is mostly covered in darkness this time around.

There's a balanced pace at work here, it divvies the spotlight just in healthy dose between characters as it keeps the main plot operating smoothly.

Elliot Tests Out a Normal Life

[uawiseguy2 · 9/10 · 28 February 2020]

This episode feels more like a "what-if" story that shows what Elliot's life would be like without fsociety. We get to see Elliot experience happiness for a change and develop the healthier parts of his relationships, but of course the joy doesn't last for long. This is contrasted by Tyrell's increasing acts of American Psycho-esque violence when his career plans don't go as planned. A character-building episode rather than a plot-building one.

Great series so far

[851222 · 10/10 · 28 July 2016]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Mr. Robot" is a very good, non formulaic (although first season of Dexter" comes into a mind very quickly, but in a good way) new show.

Pilot was superb, second episode was good and this one is just great.

Acting by all involved is superb although i kinda expected something more from Christian Slater who won Golden Globe for this - he is very good in here but he does his usual "Christian Slater thing" - it is a colorful character, but not a "chameleon" type of acting. Writing is great, involving, intriguing and provoking. I also love music in this show.

Overall, "Mr. Robot" so far is a superb show. Not typical and sometimes provoking with great craftsmanship, this is a must see for all who tired of generic and dull series.

It's that thing again........

[qadirmagsi · 9/10 · 9 July 2015]

The spoiler alert is just a warning. I have tried to shy away from specifics in the following review.

Mr Robot has me hooked that's for sure. The character development in Ep3 is excellent. I reviewed Ep2 a few days ago and remarked on the way that Complete Control is played off against Complete Lack of Control.

Mr. Tyrel, the SVP and CTO wannabe of Evil Corp was shown in the last episode as a man who exerts complete control over his life and over the life of many others. This episode shatters that illusion and shows us his almost pathological desire to control situations that are slipping out of his grasp.

This guy Sam Esmail is a genius. The story is woven so intricately that the viewer gets lost in it. Each character is being fleshed out even more as the story progresses and it is getting curiouser and curiouser.....

Bottom line; This is a must see for anyone looking for a TV show with substance and gall. This one boldly goes where TV dreads to tread, i.e the realm of the thinker.

One last thing, Christian Slater is amazing. I still don't get why he has been off the radar for so long.

Them Swedes, huh?

[TheCorniestLemur · 9/10 · 6 September 2022]

Context: I'm Swedish.

But Tyrell is really starting to show his crazy side at this point, and I love that. He's easily the most entertaining character to watch because you just never know what he'll do next.

I will however, say that I don't think it's made clear enough exactly what his plan is later on in the episode. The guy who he gets to take him home is seen for like two seconds before that scene so you don't recognise him, and I don't even think that the guy he's targeting was mentioned by name until the very end.

You still get the impression that he's up to something dodgy, so it's not a huge deal, but I did get a little confused by his last scene.

Some other little nitpicks are that I think Shayla's actor feels a little...held back somehow, and I find it really, really funny that they chose to have child Elliot also wearing a black hoodie as though it wouldn't have been obvious from the dialogue that it's Elliot as a child.

Some of you might also think it's a little unrealistic that Elliot is willing to work with Mr. Robot again after the events of the last episode, but trust me, that is anything but unrealistic once you get to the end of the season. If you are watching this for the first time though, then I totally get how you would feel that.

And speaking of Elliot, his part of the episode is hilarious and tragic all at once, as he tries to adapt to a normal life, and the results are funny, but also sad because you want him to be okay. Thankfully, his relationship with Shayla is really damn sweet and you feel as though there is a chance for him...before it all comes crashing down.

Side note, his monologuing about people's "bugs" is brilliant the whole way through.

I forgot just how much of a ponce Ollie is, but man do I want to whack him. Thankfully, his and Angela's plot line around the dilemma of them being hacked is shaping up well, so it's not like he's unbearable to watch.

If I remember right though...the next episode is where things get reeeeeally whacky.

Rewatch, 8.55/10

[dcdude-26988 · 8/10 · 28 June 2023]

When I first watched this series, this was definitely my least favorite episode in the entire show/series. My favorite things about this episode were the Protagonist, the music, and the pacing. My favorite characters this episode we're Elliot, Angela, and Gideon. The plot twist in this episode was very good but kind of eh compared to 407 and 413. Overall, this was definitely on the same level as 3x10 BRBA, so yeah it was a great episode, but compared to the others? That's crazy to think that it is better than the next one. My least favorite things in this episode were the amount of nudity used and enjoyability being a downgrade.

A distinct drop in quality from the previous episodes.

[FallonTimberlake2016 · 6/10 · 15 June 2016]

The first two episodes of Mr. Robot are absolutely incredible. With Rami Malek and Christian Slater's great performances, the unique direction, and the thought-provoking commentary on society; I was thinking that this show was simply too good to be true. This episode makes me think I was partially right.

Now don't get me wrong; this episode was still good in many ways. Rami Malek and Christian Slater are still very strong performance-wise; as are basically every other actor except maybe Portia Doubleday as Angela. I got no emotion from her in a scene where there should have been quite a lot. The direction was also just as, if not stronger, than the last two episodes.

However, the thing that really made this episode not work for me was the focus on other characters besides Elliot. The previous episodes really thrived on you seeing the world through Elliot's eyes, but this one decided to have entire story lines that had absolutely nothing to do with that narrative. If you're reading this review you are probably arguing that this was just character development. I'm fine with there being character development, but the way they did this, with Tyrell especially, just bored me. I feel like there are other ways to show you what's going on behind the scenes. I'm not specifically suggesting anything, I'm just saying that they could have done it better.

You had a connection to Elliot as a viewer in the first two episodes, but that connection was lost in this one. However that does not mean that this still isn't very good television and that I won't continue watching the rest of this series.

I give Season One, Episode Three of Mr Robot a six out of ten.

The episode is good but it's be slower than that before it

[badr-67715 · 7/10 · 5 January 2021]

I have one problem why would they put this kind of sex it's disgusting and crazy who did this i dont know who likes this

Give Me a Break

[some_cretan · 3/10 · 30 July 2016]

This episode sucked. So much promise to this unique show but unfortunately the writing is lazy and the characters two-dimensional.

Tyrell pays money to a homeless guy to use him as a punching bag since he had a rough day at work -- yeah, okay, I guess that's what your typical capitalist does in his spare time too. Not to mention his wife, who (big surprise!) is in to BDSM. I mean, aren't all desperate housewives? I really love when so-called feminist male writers can't help but paint female characters as being into BDSM. I see this waaay too much on TV these days.

Also, this is small but hey, details count -- Christian Slater's character really chooses to drink an Appletini at the bar? Oook, my intrigue for that character just went down. Those are what 21-year olds fresh out of college drink.

People Who Get Violent Get That Way Because They Can't Communicate

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

So with his own aspirations of becoming the new CTO of ECorp, we follow Tyrell as he plays around with his own psychosis. Paying an old homeless man so he can beat him. +1 Star.

One weird thing about this show is they actually found someone who is actually shorter than Christian Slater to play Eliot. That's just hard to do.

Haha. Eliot decides he's going to play the game of being a perfect labrat, all set to the tune of Len's Steal My Sunshine. Love that song. +1 Star.

More plotline revealed as Tyrell Sutherland seems like he's going to be the main villain of the story as well move forward. 7/10.

Interesting characters development

[caupolicanre · 7/10 · 12 January 2024]

I don't have too much to say about this episode, it didn't have a plot, but it built a pretty good character development, talking about Tyrell's personality.

Also, we got to see more about Elliot and Angela's past, how they met and their father and mother's history.

I really liked the debug and bug analogy about life. Comparing the hard work of managing a bug, with having a "bug free" life. Moreover, this lifestyle didn't last long for Elliot.

I felt happy for Elliot asking Shayla to be his girlfriend, leaving her past job behind and starting a new beginning. It was very cute how she opened to Elliot about her hobby.

I hope things go well for Angela, after Ollie's mistake.

Elliot Can't Be Normal, No Matter How Much He Tries [7.5/10]

[panagiotis1993 · 7/10 · 11 June 2023]

My Reaction / Review for Mr. Robot Season 1 Episode 3: The second episode was good and I gave it a rating of 7.5/10, I hope this one is just as good or better, let's see. Tyrell is a real weirdo. Tyrell about to lose it because he wont be CTO. Paying a homeless guy to give him a brutal beating? That's 100% disturbing stuff, makes me sick. Tyrell is nuts. Elliot decides to change his life and be more positive etc. Well I don't see that lasting very long (yup). Shayla is a kind person, she could be a good match for Elliot but I don't really see enough chemistry between them, one reason probably being how completely socially awkward Elliot is. Elliot was pretty awkward at his boss' party, what he saw on tv triggered him and it seems like he is going back to his old ways. Tyrell's wife seems weirder than him. My rating is 7.5/10.