S01.E05: eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv

[formerlyfreedom]

Fsociety attempts to penetrate Steel Mountain, the most secure data facility in America.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Darlene really grates my nerves.

[dgpolo]

So confused.

[alias1]

So confused.

Me too.  I don't know what the heck is going on.  I didn't even mind last weeks' episode where Elliott was detoxing (and I sure don't want to see him relapse) but this weeks episode was not only confusing, but boring.  This show better start going somewhere.

[catrice2]

Ditto!  I thought it was just me. Worse, I don't even think watching it again is going to help me understand what is going on!

[dgpolo]

Actually what I got out of it was:

Fsociety wants to sabotage that place but needed the help of another group and didn't get it?

Fsociety must have a lot of money 'cause they toss laptops around like china cups?

The BDSM couple want a job?

Shayla is in trouble?

I missed why Angela was going through the trash at her dad's place? and then out for a run in the dark?

[kat165]

Angela's dad has apparently not been paying his bills & they're mounting up. Unbeknownst to Angela, who finds them & then goes out for a run to relieve the tension this has caused her. I don't know if we should care or why he isn't paying his bills, but that's what happened.

 

Whatever fsociety is up to at Steel Mt the results they're aiming for somehow involves this dark faction which has been mentioned from the beginning. I don't really understand what the deal is but dark faction (China) has backed out so whatever fsociety was hoping to accomplish at Steel Mt. isn't going to pan out. I guess fsociety was then going to toss the ball to China, but they're not there to catch it since they backed out.

 

Saw all kinds of acknowledgement of Mr. Robot and the other members of fsociety so now I'm leaning towards he's real.

 

What I don't get is the drug dealer in prison. He's somehow realized that Elliot is the one who screwed him over so now he's going to screw with Elliot. This doesn't look good for Shayla. Oh, I guess I do get it, but I'm not liking it.

 

The Swedish guy, Tyrell, I think he's trying to work something on that guy's wife and he plans to screw the guy over somehow so he can take his position/be offered the position. His pregnant wife is going to help him, but she's not too excited about it.

 

Despite his poor financial management, I like Angela's dad. He can make me French toast.

[dgpolo]

Thank you kat165 I kinda, sorta got all that (except for the bills, I must've looked away from the TV for a minute) but I still don't know what it all means. It seems like nothing really happened to move the plot forward at all.

[shapeshifter]

I thought this episode was the most straight forward crime/action/drama of the series so far.

"China" refers to actual China, right? So the Chinese agents were going to seize the data for nefarious purposes and/or financial gain instead of wiping it, right? That was the double cross?

Angela's father seemed like such an atypically nice dad. I guess if somebody seems too good to be true... I hope his French toast is more edible than my nice dad's.

Darlene really grates my nerves.

For me it's her voice. She (the actor) could probably work on modulating it (if she hasn't already) but I think for this role she is deliberately playing up it's natural gratingness--its nasal whine--kind of like Fran Drescher on The Nanny. But she's also got a kind of know-it-all personality. She (Darlene, the character) is almost the personification of one of my daughters, who coincidentally lives in NYC and works in tech. Edited July 23, 2015 by shapeshifter

[sluggish neko]

What Elliot said to that Steel Mountain employee (Bill Carter I think his name was?) was so very mean. The poor man was about to cry. I hope he went home and hugged his fluffy kitty. He looked happy with his cat on the facebook photos Elliot dug up. Wow, Elliot's mom must have been a nasty piece of work.

 

I feel like I'm watching a cryptic foreign film whenever Tyrell and his wife show up. Is she like a Swedish Lady Macbeth? How creepy was it when Tyrell just waltzed into the bathroom while the woman was using the toilet and just stood there? It seemed like he and his wife had some kind of plan. I just have no idea what it was.

 

I noticed that when Mr. Robot interacts with people, Elliot fades into the background and when Elliot is the one talking with people, Mr. Robot is the one that fades. I'm going with the theory that they're two sides of the same person. Meaning whenever Mr. Robot picks things up or talks to people, it's actually Elliot doing it in reality.

[Cardie]

There are several plots afoot. Fsociety wants to wipe out the financial records held by EvilCorp which are stored at Steel Mountain with a back-up in China. The plan was to be a one-two punch but Dark Army reneged. Therefore EvilCorp can reconstitute its fried data from the Chinese backup in no time.

 

Angela's dad is either refusing to pay bills or, more likely, doesn't have the money to pay them.

 

Tyrell aspires to be CTO but the wine guy is getting the job. Tyrell and wife plan to sabotage him so Tyrell gets the job. Think of them as Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth, but more psychopathic.

 

One of the photos in the binders of evidence against Vera is of his gun on the table at Shayla's when Elliot was there, so he knows Elliot was the "anonymous" tipster. Since his younger brother is on the outside, he is going to terrorize Elliot and Shayla in order to spring his brother.

 

When the fsociety members talk to Mr. Robot, they are really talking to Elliot (as was the case in Fight Club). He walks over to the corner where Elliot sits silently and then Elliot emerges to play the good cop side of his personality rather than Mr. Robot's crazy, angry man.

 

Perhaps not a thrilling episode but not really confusing. (Also what Lazy Neko said while I was typing.)

Edited July 23, 2015 by Cardie

[shapeshifter]

What Elliot said to that Steel Mountain employee (Bill Carter I think his name was?) was so very mean. The poor man was about to cry. I hope he went home and hugged his fluffy kitty. He looked happy with his cat on the facebook photos Elliot dug up. Wow, Elliot's mom must have been a nasty piece of work.

Oh. Don't remind me! Especially if Mr. Robot is Elliot's more aggressive self, what he/they just did to Bill means he/they should not have custody of Flipper. Well, I guess we already know that if Flipper has to poop in the house sometimes. Oh Bill. You need a hug and a Christmas bonus check in July.

[sjohnson]

This episode reminded me of Defiance in one way. The action was always pointless because whatever was supposed to happen was never going to happen anyhow. Last episode was very clear that Tyrell Wellick was about to put in place a program of multiple analog copies, doing away with the goal of erasing Steel Mountain (and its current digital backup in China.) And it was equally clear that Elliot's withdrawal would delay their move on Steel Mountain. All this elaborate hugger mugger did was to lay the blame for the plan failure on Dark Army (and Darlene insofar as her actions alienated them.) And we already knew Dark Army was out. The closet being unlocked in the rest room was plot convenience for fake suspense as far as I'm concerned.

 

Additionally, Angela is supposed to be facing a critical choice (two roads forking, it was a little humorous actually). She committed a crime to get even with Ollie for cheating. We are supposed to sympathize but the notion that one gets to punish a mate for infidelity for me is uncomfortably close to a guy thinking he's justified in beating up his cheating wife. So far as I can tell she's done nothing about the threat to her and her dad's finances. It seems to me she's made her choices, and they are nicely ironic for an "Angela." Dad offering a loan when he's broke makes him a douche bag, no matter how pleasant he is. I guess that qualifies him to evaluate Ollie. 

 

The drug dealer has nothing to gain from Elliot but revenge. The brother has a prison term of his own to gain. Unless, of course, the brother is the drug dealer's own Mr. Robot. Since when do family relatives sit in on lawyer/client conferences in prison? The brother robotically executing elaborate revenge plans conceived out of sheer diabolical determination seems a little weak to me. What really are the stakes for the dealer? There's no plot here if he comes to his senses (or if the brother has a brain.) Sadly this is one of the only two new developments in the story. 

 

The other is Mr. and Mrs. Profit's shenanigans. I think the Mrs. Scott was supposed to have spread her legs for Tyrell, who then psyched her out by politely thanking and leaving. Don't believe the scene. Also don't know why Tyrell Wellick matters to Elliot, fsociety, and the fictional audience. The announcement that Tyrell knows Elliot framed Colby technically was a genuinely new development, but he says it...and leaves. And now I'm mainly wondering whether the dude washed his hands. 

 

The IT and hacker scene seemed so real when the series started, it just grabbed you. At this point, it feels like they're throwing out the intensity won by its dedication to realism, opting for tiresome hallucinations and operatic characterization. I'm starting to wonder if the people who made this only understand computers, but not people, much less society.

Edited July 23, 2015 by sjohnson

[thuganomics85]

As soon as the drug dealer popped back up at the beginning of the episode and figured out Elliot was the anonymous tipster, I knew this episode was going to end with Shayla in peril.  Assuming she is captured, will this mean she's pretty much played damsel in distress in two out of five episodes?  Sheesh, I want to like her, but it's going to be hard if her main purpose is for Elliot to save her. Although, I guess the twist this time is Elliot's actions did lead to it, so he might feel guilt (assuming he's capable of that), over whatever happens to her.

 

As for the FSociety stuff, I think I figured it out.  Elliot was successful at planting whatever they need to bring Evil Corp down, but the problem now is that since the Chinese hacker group backed out, they lack the abilities to launch a full-scale attack, so Evil Corp would be able to fix whatever they do more quickly then they need to make a statement.  At least I think that is what is going on.

 

Well, we got plenty of scenes now of Mr. Robot/Christian Slater actually interacting with other people, so now I have no idea what to think.  I did notice that during his big scenes, Elliot faded into the background, so I still think it's possible that Mr. Robot is just a fantasy projection, and that all of it is Elliot.  The only thing that makes me still think it might not be is that I would think Darlene and the rest would find it strange that one moment, Elliot/Mr. Robot is smashing computers and yelling, and then he's suddenly being calm and nice to her, at the end.  Unless they just assume he has split-personalities or something.

 

Normal Tyrell is a creep, but Tyrell with his wife is just getting scary.  I really would not want to cross those two.  And they are certainly in contention for the world's worst dinner party guests.

 

So, Angela really did go through with the set-up.  Damn!  I mean, cheating is bad, but she pretty much destroyed Ollie's life, once they find out about that hack.  She's dangerous!  But now, we meet her dad, who turns out to be in debt still, so I have to think she's going to do something crazy now to help him.

[scrb]

So the CTO guy and wife are suppose to be happy and successful and on the way over, they don't know how they're going to hack them.

 

But it comes down to the Swedish wife batting her eyelashes at the older guy while he prattles on about his wine collection and the Swedish guy seducing the NGO world-saving wife?  Because he's so attractive to both men and women?

[monkeypox]

If I'm giving a work tour for a billionaire and he casually drops that no one will care when I die, I would think he was going to Most Dangerous Game me. It's billionaires' favorite sport. I'd be terrified. I wouldn't be crying like when my mom says it.

Edited July 23, 2015 by monkeypox

[zxy556575]

A ton of promise squandered in just a few episodes, if you ask me. Can't bring myself to care any more about these unpleasant people and their miserable, inscrutable lives.

[cardigirl]

Well, the drug dealer and his brother (?) scare the hell outta me but happy to see Rick Gonzalez again.  Loved him in Reaper.  I think his character is probably a whole lot different in this show. 

Edited July 23, 2015 by cardigirl

[alias1]

A ton of promise squandered in just a few episodes, if you ask me. Can't bring myself to care any more about these unpleasant people and their miserable, inscrutable lives.

See this is exactly the problem for me.  I did get most of what people have explained here (thank you guys), but I still don't really care.  The way it's progressing is basically boring.  Even creepy Swedish guy and wife are now predictable and boring.  It was a given that drug guy would find out about Elliott so, of course, Shayla will be in trouble.  This show held such promise in the first couple of episodes.  Right now, I'm disappointed in it. 

 

I didn't get what all the letters were that Angela found so I appreciate having that explained.  And yes, now that I realize it was about Angela's dad, her coming to a fork in the road was pretty funny.

[ToastnBacon]

It is very clear that a lot of effort went into the pilot episode, but four episodes into the show and the wheels are already wobbly.

The infiltration of Steel Mountain was flat out silly.

I'm willing to suspend a certain amount disbelief when I'm enjoying fiction, as long as the storyteller is willing to put up an honest effort and keep me intrigued.

The tactic to make the tour guide cry with information they had gathered from his Face Book page was dumb as hell.

What about infiltrating the custodial staff, or the building maintenance staff?

Almost anything would have been better than what they showed.

That weird lunch with Tyrell in the executive cafeteria that just happens to be in the basement, complete with an open broom closet that has a thermostat in it?

They only way they can salvage this show is to make the Steel Mountain sequence turn out to be another part of Elliot's sweaty detox dream.

BTW, the real life hacker group, Anonymous, that fsociety is based on was almost just as dumb. The FBI infiltrated and squashed them quickly.

[FormerMod-a1]

What was with the one guy going into the bathroom to stare at and they say good night to that woman.  (Man I suck at names today).

[Eliz]

There's going to have to be a pretty major [something, I don't know what] to convince me that the Shayla-drug-dealer-in-prison subplot is a worthwhile part of the show. There's enough going on without that. The other moving parts are all related to what I think is the main storyline -- Elliot and fsociety hacking E Corp to change the world. Prison guy seems like a pointless sideshow, at least so far.

[Cardie]

People now sneer at "case of the week" old fashioned television but serial stories often spin their wheels. They would have been wise to keep having Elliot solve someone's problem each week, although one hopes it wouldn't always be a damsel in distress. Right now the show is completely spinning its wheels. I accept that the point of view of the show, even when not Elliot's, is paranoid surrealism and don't hold it to realistic standards. But that doesn't give it the right to be boring, which it currently is. 

[Primetimer]

Sarah D. Bunting digs Mr. Robot's deep cuts.

Read the story

[Knittzu]

If I'm giving a work tour for a billionaire and he casually drops that no one will care when I die, I would think he was going to Most Dangerous Game me. It's billionaires' favorite sport. I'd be terrified. I wouldn't be crying like when my mom says it.

Perfect. :)

 

Also, there's no way I would be giving a billionaire a private tour of my workplace. Nuh-uh, no way, that's a situation with limitless potential for disaster. That whole mess would have been turned over to my manager in a heartbeat; he's the one making the big bucks, so he can deal with Mr. Grey.

 

Anyhow, unlike most here, I really liked this episode. I was biting my nails during the Steel Mountain infiltration, especially when Elliot was about to launch an attack on poor Bill. It's not often that a show can make me care so much about a character we met literally seconds ago. I also enjoyed the dinner party scene, especially the power dynamics between Tyrell and the "perfectly happy" wife. I wasn't bored at all, and I'm usually bored to tears during the shows that almost every loves like GoT, True Detective, etc. so maybe my OS is running some funky software.

 

Where the slow loses me is Shayla and the temporarily-imprisoned drug dealer. With that plot, it feels like the writers are losing focus and throwing out as many story threads as they can in case they get bored with hacking/computers/etc. I have no interest in watching a show about bad things that drug dealers do, so.

[Melissa56789]

 

Angela's dad is either refusing to pay bills or, more likely, doesn't have the money to pay them.

 

I think I'm in the minority about the bills scene.

 

What jumped out at me was the fact that every bill was from a division of Evil Corp.

 

Maybe she just realized that Evil Corp is truly into EVERYTHING - banking, insurance, etc. etc.....

 

Evil Corp has tentacles in every part of of your life....

 

Something that Elliott is already aware of and one of the main reasons he's trying to take them down.

[scrb]

They were jumping through all kinds of hooks to try to get to Level 2 and he just happens to run into the Swedish vampire and mocks him for initially wanting to dine at the regular cafeteria and that gets him into the executive lounge, which happens to be in Level 2?

 

Then Elliott starts puking, runs into the bathroom (where Tyrell later joins him and doesn't even notice the puke in the sink or the smell) and he happens to see a thermostat there?

 

BTW, people used to leave cassette tapes in cars which got as hot as a furnace in the summer sun and those tapes didn't melt so I'm dubious about them turning the heat enough through forced air heating to melt the tapes.

 

Even if they could raise the temperatures there that much, people would notice and shut off the power.  Or if it worked, it might hurt people too, which they wanted to avoid doing.

[nitrofishblue]

I have tried to follow this show from the beginning but I sure can't quite get it. I can barely discern a plot line or even follow the characters. I must be missing the point of the show. All I end up is being confused.

[possibilities]

I'm really hung up on how there's an actual EVIL Corp, not that they are just called that by their opponents (which is what I thought was happening at first) but that they actually call themselves that? And also, the "E" they use is the same as Dell Computers, which strikes me as a deliberate slam.

 

I also don't like that Our Hero seems to have a self-congratulatory habit of seeing every woman he meets as a damsel it is his personal mission to rescue. If he were just a rescuer in general, OK. But he has a particular habit of reducing females to damsel status, and then getting off on it.

[CodeNameDuchess]

Megalomania seems to be a theme this season.  Elliot definitely has delusions of grandeur when it comes to saving the world and the people (and the occasional dog) he's surrounded by.  Then there's Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth with the incredible dinner party divide and conquer.  I'm dying to see the lengths that couple will go to in order for Tyrell to become the CTO.  Everyone is after power, either to obtain it or destroy it. 

 

Elliot is a junkie and nefarious dealers are always a factor in the drug equation.  I'm curious to see what kinds of obstacles Vera is going to put in both Elliot's and fsociety's path.  His extreme self-loathing could lead to a kamikaze style attack in a quest for revenge.

 

When is Chekhov's Raspberry Pi going to finally go off?

[benteen]

Really enjoyed Elliot's infiltration and how he and Tyrell deal with people is fascinating.  Felt awful for poor Bill though...that guy didn't deserve that.

 

As much as I enjoyed it, I barely know what is going on.

 

I instantly recognized that Steel Mountain was supposed to be Iron Mountain.

Edited July 24, 2015 by benteen

[kat165]

You're welcome, dgpolo. Glad to help. Btw, a friend pointed out to me that some/most?? of those bills came from Evil Corp, so what is that about? Why would Dad be getting bills from Evil Corp? Something's up there. Maybe a new plot point.

 

I think there were small plot movements last night. We see that Elliot is doing relatively well coming off the morphine in such a short amt of time. He did have that episode in the bathroom, but that's nothing to what he could be going through.

 

We see that Tyrell is up to something with the possible new CTO. And that also Mr. Robot might actually be an actual person. Maybe small plot movement with some new elements thrown into the mix. We're also left with what will they do now, now that the China faction has dropped out and why did they drop out.

 

We also know that Angela's scuzzy bf is in for all kinds of hell from what Angela did & now he knows it.

 

Yeah, I agree with you, Shapeshifter. It all seemed pretty straight forward to me too. I honestly have no idea what China is up to though.

 

Yeah, LazyN, Elliot's mom does seem like a bitch. I hope we get to learn more about his childhood. It's interesting. Was she like that all along or just since the father died at the hands of Evil Corp?

 

Oh yeah, Tyrell & wife are definitely the foreign film side plot. They're both so creepy. I hate subtitles. If I wanted to read I'd pick up a book.  Or maybe that's just part of the "edginess" of the show.

 

Cardie, interesting point about Elliot & Mr. Robot. Gonna have to give this more thought. Thanks!

 

Sjohnson & Thug, thanks for the enlightenment on the China/fsociety scheme.

 

I'm wondering if the wobbly plotting is because of the renewal. Makes me wonder how much of this was filmed before they got the nod for the 2nd season. Because I think that would change up what they had planned for the 1st. Maybe now they have to stretch that idea(s) out. Which gives us subplots like the drug dealer and Angela's dad's bills. I'm not dissatisfied yet. I'm still interested. Unlike Wayward Pines which has turned out to be a huge disappointing pile of time waste.

 

Yeah, Melissa, that blew my mind once my friend pointed it out to me, about all the Evil Corp. bills.

 

With a mother like Elliot's I'm surprised he's willing to help all these distressed damsels. But maybe the rescue syndrome comes in because he didn't succeed in rescuing his father.

[itainttippithebird]

 

What jumped out at me was the fact that every bill was from a division of Evil Corp.

 

I think both things are true - she both realized her dad is in a mountain of debt AND it dawned on her that Evil Corp is at the heart of it?

 

I'm really hung up on how there's an actual EVIL Corp, not that they are just called that by their opponents (which is what I thought was happening at first) but that they actually call themselves that?

 

At least in my interpretation of the show, no one calls them that but Elliot. We are seeing things through his (unreliable) narrative lens, so when we see/hear the company's name, it shows up at Evil Corp, not E Corp. This is part of how we know he's an unreliable narrator.

 

Crucially, when he's not there and Angela is looking at all her dad's bills, they say E Corp, not Evil. So that confirms that Evil Corp is his own visual/auditory hallucination/reinterpretation.

[Pollock]

Angela's dad is either refusing to pay bills or, more likely, doesn't have the money to pay them.

 

 

I think I'm in the minority about the bills scene.

 

What jumped out at me was the fact that every bill was from a division of Evil Corp.

 

Maybe she just realized that Evil Corp is truly into EVERYTHING - banking, insurance, etc. etc.....

 

Evil Corp has tentacles in every part of of your life....

 

Something that Elliott is already aware of and one of the main reasons he's trying to take them down.

The unpaid bills are, imho, two things : 

- his dad is taped out, no money left

- but above all : he's sick, maybe from the same thing that killed Elliot's dad ? The two of them were working together no? I think I remember Angela and Elliot were childhood friends through their dads working for the factory but I'm fuzzy on the details.

 

The first bill she find is from a laboratory, the second they show is from his insurance. I did a screen grab of the first one, here it is. I hope the hosting is working : 

Edited July 24, 2015 by Pollock

[DEM]

What was with the one guy going into the bathroom to stare at and they say good night to that woman.  (Man I suck at names today).

 

It was a power play designed to show that he (Tyrell Wellick) is a fiercer man than her (Sharon Knowles) husband. The first step was to go big with the insult. Next, he gave her time to stew. Finally, he said (implicitly), "Admit it, you're sexually attracted to me."  She caved. He now has the upper hand (supposedly).

 

I agree with other posters that Mr Robot is the psychopathic Id of Elliot.

 

Angela's dad had extensive medical bills (for things like radiology and hematology). That's why she was crying.

Edited July 24, 2015 by DEM

[shapeshifter]

With a mother like Elliot's I'm surprised he's willing to help all these distressed damsels.

Good point. I had theorized that he had a sister he couldn't save, but we haven't seen one. Maybe his mother was like that because she was a junkie or otherwise mentally ill and he is still trying to symbolically save her? And/or when he's saving the damsels, he is trying to win his mother's approval?

Or maybe it's just a plot device to prove he's the hero.

[kat165]

Good theory, Shapeshifter, about the mother. I like it. She certainly comes off as mentallly ill.

[Cardie]

Angela's mother died of the same toxic exposure that killed Elliot's dad. I don't think her father works for E Corp. Sounds like Dad has cancer but that could be unrelated to whatever caused his wife's leukemia. Since ECorp is everywhere, however, perhaps every bad thing in the world is their fault.

[whirledweary]

I'm with Sarah B on this.  I don't like to be spoon fed the obvious, and I'm enjoying the insider references.  On the other hand, I'd love to hear from a coder who could debunk the cheesy hacker screenshots.

 

I like the bleak social commentary.  The 1% control the 99% who are oblivious are pawns/victims of corporate greed. Only a few even know they're being controlled, watched, manipulated. The 1% are falling all over each other to take their share of power. No one's a hero.

 

Elliot's addiction rings true to me, though Vera is an over-simplified bad guy.  

 

The female characters intrigue me the most, and I hope the writers don't get lazy with them. The Muslim girl could have an interesting back story.  And I like that Shayla is trying to make an honest living without an education or tech skills. I guess she represents the new cynical American dream:  stay clean and pay your bills.  Also, will her and the other 99% have a better or worse life if the fsociety succeeds with their financial system take down?

 

One of the screenshots from a previous episode showed that Angela owes something like $190,000 in student loans.  That and the fact that her father is seriously ill and in debt (courtesy of E Corp) sets her up to join the fsociety.  I like her chemistry with Elliot, and she seems to bring out his sane and hopeful side.  Maybe she can pry him away from Mr. Robot. 

 

I hope Mr. Robot is not a alter ego of Elliot's.  I like him as a psychopath who tempts malcontents to abandon their morality. I like the Swedish psychopaths too.  Wine swigging, partner swapping, and S&M is going to create a messed up baby.

 

The China Dark Army subplot is clever.  In real life the Chinese seem to be hacking into everything, and that might well be the current biggest threat to modern civil society. (When Wall Street closed down for a few hours a couple weeks ago at the same time that the Chinese stocks were tumbling, it certainly seemed plausible that hackers could be manipulating the system to prevent loses.  Grassy knolls can be fun to ponder!)

 

If the writers keep on their game and steer clear of cliches, I'll be a happy camper.

[DEM]

JESSICA: What were you doing before?

SHAYLA: Pharmaceutical sales.
JESSICA: Fancy. You must have made bank. What happened?

SHAYLA: Oh, um, just, you know, Obamacare.

 

Hee!  Aside from making me laugh out loud, I liked seeing Shayla's quick thinking.  She may not be as disconnected as she appears.

[editorgrrl]

Fsociety wants to wipe out the financial records held by EvilCorp which are stored at Steel Mountain with a back-up in China. The plan was to be a one-two punch but Dark Army reneged. Therefore EvilCorp can reconstitute its fried data from the Chinese backup in no time.

Tyrell aspires to be CTO but the wine guy is getting the job. Tyrell and wife plan to sabotage him so Tyrell gets the job. Think of them as Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth, but more psychopathic.

One of the photos in the binders of evidence against Vera is of his gun on the table at Shayla's when Elliot was there, so he knows Elliot was the "anonymous" tipster. Since his younger brother is on the outside, he is going to terrorize Elliot and Shayla in order to spring his brother.

When the fsociety members talk to Mr. Robot, they are really talking to Elliot (as was the case in Fight Club). He walks over to the corner where Elliot sits silently and then Elliot emerges to play the good cop side of his personality rather than Mr. Robot's crazy, angry man.

Mr. Robot was literally the tiny voice in Elliot's head telling him what to do. The voice Elliot sometimes ignores.

The Wellicks remind me of Empire's Andre and Rhonda Lyon, so I was expecting Tyrell's nameless wife to proposition Scott Knowles (aka wine guy).

Vera's brother being in the cell with him was a clunky way to introduce the character. So I love sjohnson's theory that he's really Fernando's own private Mr. Robot. But then who's got Shayla?

According to Pollock's screenshot, Angela's dad is called George and he lives in Trenton, New Jersey. Angela's mom and Elliot's dad were exposed to toxic chemicals at an Evil Corp. plant. Were those bills unpaid, or is DEM right in thinking Angela was crying at the realization her father has cancer, too?

[DEM]

Mr. Robot was literally the tiny voice in Elliot's head telling him what to do.

 

Ha! Exactly.

 

Tyrell's wife is Joanna.  Angela's dad is Donald, and he was listed as both the responsible party and the patient. He was treated at St George's Hospital.

Edited July 24, 2015 by DEM

[that one guy]

Re: "Love on a real train" (http://previously.tv/mr-robot/love-on-a-real-train/) using that song for a subway scene is just too much of a coincidence for it not to be an intentional reference. And on a show with a protagonist who breaks the fourth wall and is portrayed as somewhat delusional, I think it's fair to assume that the soundtrack is in his head as well, so the song is playing because Elliot is thinking about that movie. That's my story, anyway.

The clip was distracting, though, because that subway station is half a mile from where I'm sitting, though, and at no point does that line go over a bridge. Asking an 80s teen movie to care about geography is asking too much, I know.

 

ETA: 

And also, the "E" they use is the same as Dell Computers, which strikes me as a deliberate slam.

 

I have read an interview with one of the creators where he explicitly stated that it's the Enron "E." He said somebody technically owns the trademark still, but the brand is in such disgrace anyway there's no way he'll actually be sued over it.

Edited July 24, 2015 by that one guy

[shapeshifter]

According to Pollock's screenshot, Angela's dad is called George and he lives in Trenton, New Jersey. Angela's mom and Elliot's dad were exposed to toxic chemicals at an Evil Corp. plant. Were those bills unpaid, or is DEM right in thinking Angela was crying at the realization her father has cancer, too?

"Past Due" is stamped in red.

[possibilities]

Thanks for the clarifications about Enron E, and "Evil" just being Elliot's perceptions. I couldn't read the bills Angela was looking at (screen/eyes not good enough), and forgot that when it said it on the side of the building, it was Elliot looking.

 

 

I liked this show a lot in the beginning. Now I'm not sure. Are they advancing the idea that the whole conspiracy is just insane psychopathic fuckery? I want to see social critique, not just "depressed psychotic guy goes rogue." I had hoped in the beginning that maybe he wasn't really crazy, he was just isolated, and looked crazy to people who were living normalized delusions (like not knowing their partner was a douchebag/cheater). I don't really think I'm as interested in a show that says the weirdo is just a weirdo, and a troublemaker as well.

[Cardie]

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Whatever Elliot's mental problems, the corporate rot and dominion MR portrays are real.

[lidarose9]

I too liked the first couple episodes but have been disappointed. For one thing, I'm not buying the Tyrell Wellick guy. I think they have the wrong actor. He's supposed to be this "American Psycho" Patrick Bateman type, but he just can't carry it off. Instead of intimidating, he just seems creepy and weird. I guess since 50 Shades, now bdsm play is the new shorthand for edgy, but for me it's already a big yawn. That scene in the loo with the dinner party wife, I burst out laughing. Literally. Guffaws.

[GeneralVeers]

so how will they infiltrate steel mountain now?

For those of you that are not familiar with how access control systems work, I will hope the writers do.

Elliot fumbled around with a card reader on the inside of the room. (flaw #1) > if there's a CR on the inside, there should be one on the outside to gain entrance.

Why would a secure facility put an entrance to an access contol panel in an easily accessible area? such as inside a bathroom?

So...My guess is they will let elliot hack into the access control sytem of steel mountain (which would be awesome, and realistic)

Or....they will let elliot hack into the the steel mountain computer network through the bunch of wires he just randomly joined together. (which would be extremely lame)

 

[Netfoot]

...through the bunch of wires he just randomly joined together.

 

I never could figure out why he'd rip that cable apart with a punch-down tool.  All he had to do was unplug it from the back of the panel, and plug it into a little pre-wired splitter-harness he'd brought with him.   But I guess that wouldn't have been as dramatic.  And he wouldn't have needed to use any vinyl sticky tape.  Come to think of it, I'm surprised he didn't bite the wire apart with his teeth!

 

Of course, none of that matters, because as far as I could see, he never hooked the RPi up to any source of power.....

[GaT]

Yeah, week 5, still no clue.