This episode has none of the in-your-face stylish quality or deliberate sense of perplexing mystery that I love so much about this show, and it was far from my favourite episode as a result. However, I can't deny that this episode was necessary and that it probably couldn't have been executed any better. It's 45 minutes of fleshing out characters, relationships, and plots; shuffling pieces along the board without incident. Not exciting, but presumably vital to later events in the season.
Although several characters get significantly developed in this episode, the most interesting (and the one with the most screen time) is Darlene. She shows her dark side to a random woman on the train, mends her relationship with Elliot, and laments her situation over drinks with Dom. I already thought she was in a very interesting position between story lines at the start of this season, and this episode made things even more interesting, showing her and her motivations from multiple angles.
The primary source of tension in this episode arises from the cat-and-mouse game between Elliot, Mr. Robot, Darlene, Angela, Dom, and Tyrell. They each have their own agenda and it's fascinating to watch them weave around each other trying to achieve it, putting themselves or each other at risk and interacting in new and unexpected ways. These manoeuvres ultimately don't lead to anything particularly significant in this episode, but I'm sure they'll result in some major stuff down the line. For now, it's entertaining enough just to watch them do it.
On the whole, I didn't mind this episode. It just didn't get me very excited, either. I enjoyed it fine for what it was, but I hope the coming episodes pick up the pace and bring back the stylishness.
Although several characters get significantly developed in this episode, the most interesting (and the one with the most screen time) is Darlene. She shows her dark side to a random woman on the train, mends her relationship with Elliot, and laments her situation over drinks with Dom. I already thought she was in a very interesting position between story lines at the start of this season, and this episode made things even more interesting, showing her and her motivations from multiple angles.
The primary source of tension in this episode arises from the cat-and-mouse game between Elliot, Mr. Robot, Darlene, Angela, Dom, and Tyrell. They each have their own agenda and it's fascinating to watch them weave around each other trying to achieve it, putting themselves or each other at risk and interacting in new and unexpected ways. These manoeuvres ultimately don't lead to anything particularly significant in this episode, but I'm sure they'll result in some major stuff down the line. For now, it's entertaining enough just to watch them do it.
On the whole, I didn't mind this episode. It just didn't get me very excited, either. I enjoyed it fine for what it was, but I hope the coming episodes pick up the pace and bring back the stylishness.
