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Mr. Robot: eps3.5_kill-pr0cess.inc (2017)
The defining episode of Mr. Robot
"Kill Process" is one of the most intense and thrilling episodes of any drama show I've ever seen. Every character is affected by what's going on in the story, so the tension is high no matter who is being followed for any scene and the action never lets up for one second. From Angela, to Elliot, to Darlene, to Dom, to Tyrell, the intensity continues to ramp up until the very end when it seems like Elliot saves the day with no time left to spare. But the final realization at the end was what the episode was building up to. It's one of the most shocking twists in the entire series, and it shows just how evil and petty Whiterose really is.
Mr. Robot: Hello, Elliot (2019)
groundbreaking finale
All I really have to say is that this episode, and this series, will undoubtedly go down in history now that we've reached this end point. Rewatching Mr. Robot is going to be such a blast now that I know the full truth.
Also the final 10 - 15 minutes are some of the most moving moments I've ever seen on TV, period. This finale brought serious Six Feet Under vibes for me.
Mr. Robot: Hello, Elliot (2019)
groundbreaking finale
All I really have to say is that this episode, and this series, will undoubtedly go down in history now that we've reached this end point. Rewatching Mr. Robot is going to be such a blast now that I know the full truth.
Also the final 10 - 15 minutes are some of the most moving moments I've ever seen on TV, period. This finale brought serious Six Feet Under vibes for me.
Mr. Robot: whoami (2019)
brilliantly foreshadows what we find out in 413
When Elliot talks to himself at the end, it basically explains who the real Elliot is and what this other Elliot is supposed to be. The foreshadowing to the full reveal is so brilliant it honestly speaks for itself. There are so many more connections I'm sure will be made in future rewatches through the series as a whole.
Mr. Robot: eXit (2019)
elliot refuses to give up on society
Elliot and Whiterose finally meet once more so she can show Elliot her project. The scene between the two of them is debatably one of the series best (definitely BD Wong's best performance yet) and Whiterose leaving the project's fate up to Elliot was quite shocking. Despite trying to do just that, it looks like the fire from the power plant melting down leaves him and Mr. Robot with no way to escape, so they say their goodbyes to one another.
After it seems like they're consumed by the explosion, we see Elliot in what seems like a parallel reality that seems so perfect, that it can't be real. And the ending of the episode brings up this question even more so. I have faith that the final two episodes will bring Mr. Robot to a spectacular conclusion that makes sense, though, and I don't know how I'll wait another 7 days to get it.
Mr. Robot: 410 Gone (2019)
character-driven to the core
Dom and Darlene lead this cooldown episode, and I love their dynamic. I never realized before this episode how different, but how similar at the same time, these two are. Darlene struggles to handle taking care of herself because she's always chosen to take care of other people and Dom has always chosen living through her job without ever giving herself a break. The ending allows these two to confront their biggest flaws as characters, the answer to Dom and Darlene becoming better people isn't in their relationship with one another, it's in them going outside their comfort zones. The only way to change is to take action.
Leon was entertaining as hell and seeing Irving again was a trip. It makes sense that the dark army is buckling down on something very specific and have no time for Dom. They're most likely scrambling to figure out what to do with the Washington Township plant, since it's been Whiterose's biggest motivation for this entire series. I'm so excited to see Elliot find out what Whiterose's project actually is, it's hard to believe that we're getting the answer to Mr. Robot's biggest mystery in just one week.
Also I can't wait for Elliot to figure out what's going on in his head. And for him to narrate at least one more time. The endgame of Mr. Robot is on the horizon.
Mr. Robot: 409 Conflict (2019)
it's like we got a finale early
The episode we've been waiting for since the season 3 finale, hell, the pilot. Whiterose undoes nearly everything she's worked for and it's amazing to watch it all unfold. I love how Price's arc ends with him actually getting to watch Whiterose lose, so in a way he gets to finally win.
And that first scene was insane. So the Elliot we've been seeing this whole time since the pilot has not been the real Elliot. The "other one" is the real Elliot. The connections this will make will surely blow my mind and I cannot wait to see Mr. Robot show Elliot whatever he "did" to bring him back.
Cannot wait for more.
Mr. Robot: 408 Request Timeout (2019)
elliot tries to keep moving forward
Great episode, especially considering how revelatory last week's was.
It speaks so much to me that Elliot's younger self showed Elliot what he did as a child to fight back. To keep Elliot moving forward knowing he wasn't taking his father's abuse lying down. It makes perfect sense now that I see it that Elliot actually needs Mr. Robot now more than ever. Just because he resembles his father doesn't mean he is his father. He's just the father Elliot has needed, but didn't have.
Janice hurts Dom to get information out of Darlene, and it's brutal. I knew something was going to come from Dom reaching out to Deegan McGuire, but this was even more satisfying than I expected. Dom is so strong-willed when it comes to her family that she's the exception to the rule that dark army moles start taking on evil traits like everyone we've seen so far. I'm hoping Dom survives after she took out Janice and saved Darlene but if she doesn't, this honestly feels like a good send off to her character. She saved her family and the woman she had a romantic connection with, putting herself before others just like she's done since her character was introduced.
Mr. Robot: 407 Proxy Authentication Required (2019)
and the truth comes out
Vera's purpose for coming back is finally brought to light. This bombshell of a reveal has been a part of the show's core since the very beginning. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. We would get more information on Elliot's fall out the window every season, pieces to the puzzle. And we just got the core piece, the most important one: the contextual one. The real reason why he jumped out that window. It all comes full circle and this now seems like something that there will be no turning back from. Elliot will never be the same, nor will his relationship with Mr. Robot, if he will even have one anymore after this.
In short, this episode is a game-changer.
Mr. Robot: 406 Not Acceptable (2019)
an episode of confrontations
All three plot lines contain incredibly stressful, intense confrontations. All of them were incredible, but those between Darlene and Dom were my favorites. I've never felt so nervous for a character in my life then when Dom was ordered to kill Darlene.
The Deus meeting is on the horizon and Whiterose is saying that Elliot should be shown her project so he sees that they're on the "same side". It's starting to feel like an insane reveal of some kind is happening very soon.
Mr. Robot: 405 Method Not Allowed (2019)
masterful execution
This episode contains no discernible dialogue except for in the very beginning and the very end, and it's amazingly well-done. The direction and editing are basically perfect, especially with the hack on virtual realty following Elliot and Darlene. This is something that seems incredibly difficult to pull off convincingly and it seemed very natural to me. They're forced to rely solely on visual storytelling, yet the pace was kept fluid throughout.
also the music was especially good here.
Mr. Robot: 404 Not Found (2019)
an emotional high
The moment this episode ended I had very mixed feelings about it. I just knew I had to watch it again before I reviewed it and I'm glad I did. Once that anxious feeling I get in my chest when I hope something with the main story is happening goes away and I just focus on the episode, I love this episode. It's got the funniest moments of the season so far, Mr. Robot screaming at that woman when he's ran out of patience, the drunk santa calling Darlene "Dolly", etcetera. But this episode also was deeply introspective and did the characters of Dom, Darlene, and particularly Tyrell, so much justice when it comes to their emotional journeys.
When I see this episode's ending without it instantly cutting to commercial and ruining the experience, I feel the sense that this is how Tyrell's journey is meant to end. He was never "one of them" (the 1%), so why would his journey end in some big explosive moment that we're anticipating it to for a character like Whiterose near the end of the season? Tyrell was always the most mysterious character of Mr. Robot and he gets the most mysterious, but also strangely the most beautiful, death on the entire show, especially for a character of his importance.
I loved seeing Darlene work through her feelings with Tobias. I empathize so much with her attempt to help Tobias after taking all of the dark stuff he said on the car ride the wrong way. It makes total sense why she would take it the wrong way, not just because of her emotional state in this episode, but also because of her job as a sibling to Elliot. Darlene is always worried about him and that part of her comes out when Tobias says all these things. It's perfect for her character and I also like the twist that the drunk santa character is actually a super nice guy, which I wasn't expecting on my first watch.
Dom's storyline calls back to when she showed up at Angela's place unannounced and told her about her nightmares she has where she's drowning, and that the moment she gives up control and stops fighting, she wakes up. We actually get to see this dream play out on screen, except it's mixed with her sexual feelings that come with being a lonely person and her fear of the dark army being everywhere because they are everywhere.
All of these storylines don't matter in the grand scheme of things, probably (except for Tyrell dying, that'll be important). And once you let go of that need for answers, you get one of the best single episodes of Mr. Robot for its characters. And it doesn't get much better than that.
And also the directing and cinematography is gorgeous.
And also Pine Barrens.
Mr. Robot (2015)
a modern masterwork
In my spoiler-free summary of this show, I'm here to express what this show has done to change everything about how I think of serial drama television. I will probably come back to do a follow-up review once the show is finally over because I'm sure this won't do Mr. Robot justice while the main story is still yet to be fully unveiled.
From the performances, the ever-so-slowly unraveling global conspiracy in the story/plot, the characters, the directing, the writing, the cinematography, the set design, costume design, editing, and lighting (and something else I'm sure I must be forgetting), everything is top-notch for me.
What seems to turn people off of this show is how it radically changes in its second season, and even partially through its first season. I guess I can understand this, Mr. Robot isn't a show for everyone. But I appreciate this because I personally felt that Mr. Robot came into its own when it started to get super abstract and philosophical and character-focused later in season 2. That's where I feel like it really became "Mr. Robot" to me. No matter what, the plot moves nowhere before the characters are thoroughly explored. Those are the priorities of the show. The complex conspiracy in the main plot is often cast aside for character study and emotional development because the characters are the most important part of the story. This makes it so that once the full truth behind the conspiracy is ready to be revealed, it'll feel so much more rewarding getting to experience it with all of the characters that have had plenty of time to be thoroughly emotionally explored. Because, in the end, why care about the people in the world of the show if that aspect is being cut short for less impactful story arcs and reveals?
Overall, I'm so happy I discovered this show and there is absolutely nothing like it. It is the most one-of-a-kind serial drama series ever made, truly, and undoubtedly the best television drama of the 2010s in my eyes. And that makes Mr. Robot pretty special to me.
:)
Mr. Robot: 403 Forbidden (2019)
intense emotional resonance
We finally get our first ever flashback scenes for Whiterose and it's superb. This episode has so much amazing emotional development that was so important to the characters, especially Elliot and Whiterose. This flashback humanizes Whiterose much more than I expected was possible and Elliot's hack of Olivia brings him one step closer to facing his feelings. Hopefully he doesn't take any more steps back this time. Also Elliot Villar is in the main cast now, which is super cool.
Mr. Robot: eps3.6_fredrick+tanya.chk (2017)
mr. robot's darkest episode
No one gets what they want except Whiterose, who gets everything she wanted. That's my summary for this episode. Every scene contains so much insight into the despair of all of our sympathetic characters, from Angela, to Mr. Robot, to Tyrell, and even to Price. The tragedy of Trenton and Mobley is quite possibly the darkest thing the show has ever done and the scene where Zhang slaps Price's hand is maybe the best scene in the entire series for me. And Dom realizing that Whiterose must be behind every thing and that she won effortlessly is the perfect end to Mr. Robot's darkest episode (so far, at least).
Mr. Robot: 402 Payment Required (2019)
slow and methodical
This episode had a great scene with Price and Elliot where more info on Zhang is revealed, Dom's dark army contact is getting more evil by the minute, and we get great emotional stuff with Elliot and Darlene when their mom dies.
But the ending left me speechless. I have no idea how this can be possible, but I'm praying it makes sense.
Mr. Robot: 401 Unauthorized (2019)
amazing return
The very first scene was so mind blowing it's like the series hasn't gone anywhere for the past 2 years. This was exactly what I hoped the season premier would be and more. And Sam Esmail's cameo at the end was brilliant.