S01.E08: eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v

[alias1]

Well, that was just brilliant, the way they staged the Darlene reveal.  We all fell for the setup.  Have Darlene and Angela met before?  Why can't I remember if they did?  Why are they so friendly?  Genius!

 

I'm not so sure about the Mr and Mrs Wellick plot.  He was supposed to take incriminating pictures of Sharon Knowles?  Without her being aware of it?  I'm not sure I get that or why he killed her.  But I also don't think creating a scandal would have necessarily made him CTO.  Seems weak.  So far, anyway.

[Ruby25]

Ok, you know what? I just went back and rewatched some of the scenes from the hallucination episode and I'm now completely convinced that Elliott and Angela were engaged. I don't know when that will be revealed, if it's next week or the finale, but I will now be shocked if that's not the case, especially after this week with the way she said she never thought she'd have to miss them. Plus, some of their wistful scenes together (especially on her side) in the early part of the season all adds up to that being the truth.

 

Tyrell, I'm not quite sure what it is, but they definitely know each other through some other way than what we've seen. I think episode 4 probably holds a lot of clues to what's actually real that Elliott's forgotten.

[Cardie]

Lovely woman but she looks like a feral pig when she's attacking those gherkins.

 

She appears to have metaphorically swallowed Tyler's gherkin whole quite some time ago.

[Wax Lion]

In rewatching the episode I was reminded how amused I was by the scene where Tyrell and Joanna lean about Mrs Knowles' death. Even though in actuality it was the opposite, Joanna looked like she was trying to fake a normal reaction while Tyrell actually looked shocked by the news.

[Ruby25]

Honestly, every scene with Tyrell is starting to amuse me. We were supposed to think he's such a badass at first, and now it turns out he pretty much screws up everything he does, and his weird, off the wall reactions and mannerisms are just getting more and more zany with each episode. I think he might almost be as crazy as Elliot in a different way. I saw a theory that they actually know each other from a mental hospital, and if that turns out to be true I would totally buy it.

[MorningOwl]

My oh my! Finally the train is moving towards something)) The thought of Mr.Robot being Elliott´s father stroke me right  at their "warm" scene (episode 3 if I am not mistaken) when Mr.Robot pushed Elliott right in the middle of his sailing in the pond of old bitter memories. I couldn´t see Darlene-sister stuff coming as I am almost sure in one of the episodes Elliott came to his appartment with Angela and Darlene was sitting there reading mag, fresh after bath, and Angela left almost at once "leaving them to it". White Rose was amazing, wish there was more of her (excellent job BD Wong), every word coming of her mouth was more amusing than all the hacks performed so far, after all she is hacking time, she does indeed)))) Tyler and Joanna might as well change the wardrobe -  clearly the "mother of dragons" is the one that rules that mentally insane universe of theirs. Tyrell is on the verge of having some serious nervous breakdown, hopefully epic, the true" 50 shades of submission" for you, pure and hardcore - perfect composture, cold mind, celluloid face, practically virgin as for emotions, and the "cherry on the pie" - the woman is pregnant, I wonder how did that happen)) I won´t be surprised if Tyrell´s role in that family is even lesser than it seems for now or if the wife was also some more "mysterious than WhiteRose" hacker herself. Sorry for Gideon, the guy will obviously take the fall for Elliott´s scheming...

Edited August 14, 2015 by MorningOwl

[Netfoot]

Honestly, every scene with Tyrell is starting to amuse me. We were supposed to think he's such a badass at first, and now it turns out he pretty much screws up everything he does, and his weird, off the wall reactions and mannerisms are just getting more and more zany with each episode. I think he might almost be as crazy as Elliot in a different way.

 

He's going to make a great fall-guy when EvilCorp comes tumbling down!

[shapeshifter]

Is there any chance that Tyrell will be another alter ego of Elliot's? His wife's characterization almost screams fantasy.

[Danny Franks]

Also, no mention of Shayla's body being found in the trunk of a car with Elliot's fingerprints all over it—nor the prison break.

 

 

Are we entirely sure that Shayla is even dead? Given how crazy Elliot seems to be, and how much of a White Knight scenario his whole relationship with Shayla was, I could easily see that as being a fantasy he's concocted to explain her dumping him or running off with the drug supplier, or any other possible reason for her no longer being around.

 

I mean, she's a drug dealer who operates with seriously shady people, but also has a heart of gold and a vulnerability that leaves her needing Elliot to save her? I never quite bought it as it was happening, and now I feel like we're being given even more reason to doubt it.

 

I've just mainlined all the episodes of this show so far, over the last few days. It's spectacular, and I feel like rewatching now to see if I can identify any more aspects of Elliot's life that have been misrepresented, forgotten, glossed over or dreamed up. It may not stand up to that sort of scrutiny, to be honest, but I don't really care. It feels so new and fresh, and it's such an immersive television experience. Rami Malek (who stole nearly every scene he was in in The Pacific) is fantastic, and the rest of the cast are excellent as well. I love unreliable narrator stories in general, because they invite you to think about what you've read or seen, and wonder whether your narrator missed something, or hid something. Very cool.

 

It was crappy casting to pick a "boy Elliot" who doesn't have big eyes like Rami.  And all this time I thought he was Israeli....

 

 

But great sibling casting, now Darlene has been revealed as his sister. They both have those big eyes and sharp jaw, the sallow, borderline unhealthy complexion. In the scene with the sitting on the bench, both smiling and happy, they could be nothing but siblings. In hindsight.

 

As for Mr. Robot, I think the best solution would be that he is real, but is not Elliot's dad. That Elliot has plastered his father's image over this guy who genuinely has an anti-corporate, anti-capitalist agenda, as a way of enabling him to trust and work for the guy. I don't know that Angela needs to be his ex, to have those wistful, melancholic feelings though. It could just be that she remembers Elliot as a happier, healthier guy who was a good friend, and it makes her sad that he seems to be so broken, and so difficult for her to reach.

 

Tyrell might well be complete fantasy, from top to bottom. Elliot dreaming up his own particular view of what an arrogant, entitled, amoral corporate asshole must be like (helped along by a few viewings of American Psycho).

[DEM]

 

In the scene with the sitting on the bench, both smiling and happy, they could be nothing but siblings.

I've been reviewing snippets of various episode the past 2 days (and going back through tumblr tags), and it occurred to me that the show invited us to look at them as a pair -- just LOOK -- on several occasions.

 

The narrative sleight of hand was magnificent. In skimming the ep threads for 1-3, I was struck by how close many of us came to catching on about Darlene, but just when we were on the verge of a big breakthrough we got distracted.  Bravo, Show!

Edited August 14, 2015 by DEM

[that one guy]

I would have to go back, but I am fairly certain that in episode 1, Mr. Robot is seen talking to some men at an outdoor cafe across the street from where Elliott was standing (something like that) in one scene and I believe that they turn out to be the guys that drive and are security for Tyrell.

 

If this is true (have to rewatch), and Mr. Robot and Tyrell have always been in league with each other in some way, he can't be trusted - which doesn't mean he isn't actually Elliot! Creepy if there's a part of Elliot's mind that can't be trusted. Is there a part of my mind that can't be trusted? I'm afraid the answer to that question is going to keep me up tonight.

 

I sort of agree with whoever said they wished Kid Elliot had been more bug-eyed, but Kid Elliot does look like Kid Darlene so I'll allow it.

 

It's interesting how the reveal changes the dynamic between Darlene and Elliot in the early episodes. No wonder she keeps "breaking in" to his apartment and going through his stuff. She probably has a key, and is there principally to check up on him and make sure he isn't going off the deep end. And no wonder he's so rude to her - on some level he knows what she's doing and is resentful. 

 

Re-watched last night, don't think Angela's saying she has been taking ballet since high school. She's waking up in her childhood bedroom in Jersey because she moved back in with her dad a few episodes ago, after breaking up with - Ollie? or whatever his name is. That's how she found out he was behind on his bills. Not sure where this Washington Township is that it takes 2 hours by train. From where I lived in elementary school, pretty far out, it's 73 minutes to Penn Station. Maybe she's counting the total door to door travel time and not just the train.

[Cardie]

Not sure where this Washington Township is that it takes 2 hours by train.

 

Washington Township, NJ, is just across the river (to the south) from Philadelphia and 105 mi. from Manhattan. So, yes, two hours on the train.

[yourmomiseasy]

It's interesting how the reveal changes the dynamic between Darlene and Elliot in the early episodes. No wonder she keeps "breaking in" to his apartment and going through his stuff. She probably has a key, and is there principally to check up on him and make sure he isn't going off the deep end. And no wonder he's so rude to her - on some level he knows what she's doing and is resentful. 

 

Right?  It even makes the showering at his place seem normal.  Everything about her that was weird is normal now.  I want to rewatch all the episodes with this new information, but I think I'm going to wait until after the season finale and binge watch the whole season.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Fool Me Twice, Shyamalan On Me / A little list of big twists on Mr. Robot.

[Ronin Jackson]

Well I'm glad that's over with. I'm not enthusiastic about the twist but at least they aren't trying to toy with an overused concept that was easy to figure out anymore. I guess Mr. Robot can be hangin' around the rest of the show as Elliot's internal father figure... The Darlene as sister thing I didn't see coming even though as noted, they'd been setting it up. But it's more important what they do with these newfound relationships than the revelations by themselves, none of which are very interesting or unique.

 

I did think for a second there the reveal was going to be that Mr. Robot was real and Elliot was the figment of his imagination. That might have legitimately blown me away, though I doubt it could have held up to any scrutiny.

[GaT]

I did not see the sister twist coming at all, & now I wonder if we can't trust Elliot to remember Darlene is his sister, how can we trust anything he thinks? As for everything else, I'm sooooooo confused pretty much sums it up.

 

What happened to Elliot's dog?

[xaxat]

You all (Y'all, yinz, yous? I really wish English had a you plural.) have covered the most important points, so let me just say. . . 

 

FUCK YOU TIMEWARNER!

 

I watched using the On Demand service, and it cut out right as Darlene was saying "Tell me you remember who I am!" to Elliot. I'm not going to admit to using piracy to see the end, but. . . 

[editorgrrl]

What happened to Elliot's dog?

My theory is that Flipper's a figment of Elliot's imagination. Krista, Shayla, and Qwerty, too. But who knows with this show?

I watched using the On Demand service, and it cut out right as Darlene was saying "Tell me you remember who I am!" to Elliot. I'm not going to admit to using piracy to see the end, but…

Well, it looks like this episode isn't available (yet?) through proper channels: http://www.usanetwork.com/mrrobot/videos

[xaxat]

Oh, thanks for throwing me under the bus editorgrrl. ; )

 

Wait, I think someone is knocking on my door. Shit, I knew I should have disguised my IP address!

[shapeshifter]

My theory is that Flipper's a figment of Elliot's imagination. Krista, Shayla, and Qwerty, too. But who knows with this show?

Seriously.

IRL, having a dog in a city is a lot of maintenance.

[GaT]

I watched using the On Demand service, and it cut out right as Darlene was saying "Tell me you remember who I am!" to Elliot. I'm not going to admit to using piracy to see the end, but. . . 

I watched it through OnDemand, & I saw the entire episode. 

[areca]

Have Darlene and Angela met before?

Angela is a childhood friend.  Of course they've met.

[Saje]

Only two more episodes for this season! Does anyone know if its been given a second?

[formerlyfreedom]

Only two more episodes for this season! Does anyone know if its been given a second?

 

Yep, season two was greenlighted a day or two before the series premiere - they seem to know they've got something special here!

Angela is a childhood friend.  Of course they've met.

 

I think we were wondering if they'd met on the show.

[Saje]

Outstanding. This show is incredible. 

[MiseryIndex]

A lot of stuff has been mentioned already so I won't rehash

But I think the therapist is for sure real and he was in mandated therapy for whatever messed up his memory and triggered this. His sister is real and they just shot and scripted thre show conveniently to leave room for questioning just enough.

Shayla was real and is dead. They said a month passed between finding her in the trunk at the prison and the next episode. So I assume everything was tied up in that time off camera. His boss and Angela seem to know and say they're sorry about her and that's good enough for me to believe it happened.

So the fake rapper hacker had angelas ex give drives to Elliott to meet white rose? Seems very roundabout. Why involve him at all?

It's getting pretty convoluted as far as distractions go. I thought angelas ex was having Elliott do that so he wouldnt figure out the intrusion was triggered by his workstation. Not that he was the messenger. Wouldn't he wonder why they know who Elliott is?

[shapeshifter]

...I think the therapist is for sure real and he was in mandated therapy for whatever messed up his memory and triggered this...

I thought "mandated therapy" was usually condition for keeping a job or staying out of jail--which, in this case, I assumed was related to Elliot's morphine addiction. Anyway, the therapist did seem real, but she could still be a figment of his (schizoid?) imagination, IMO.

I loved the pilot, but then, like many others, was disappointed in the the next few episodes. I see a general consensus (at least here) that this episode has re-cemented the love for the show. I'm a bit skeptical about the show's quality because all of this vagueness as to what is and what is not real could just be leaving room for what would be retcons on other shows--which generally points to lack of direction and focus for the story. I'm okay with "making it up as we go along" if that works, but I also still rank Breaking Bad as Best Narrative Ever in part because the story was carefully thought out in advance.

I'm not sure if the love for this episode is because finally we saw a reveal of someone being imaginary, but it does seem like that was a big part of the popularity of this episode, and for me that isn't quite enough.

Of course, BD Wong also made this episode better than others.

I still like the show, but I don't love it like I did the pilot. It's kind of an Emperor's New Clothes vibe that's bugging me.

Edited August 16, 2015 by shapeshifter

[editorgrrl]

Shayla was real and is dead. They said a month passed between finding her in the trunk at the prison and the next episode. So I assume everything was tied up in that time off camera. His boss and Angela seem to know and say they're sorry about her and that's good enough for me to believe it happened.

In the ballet scene, Darlene & Angela said Elliot "had a shitty month. (Or 20 years—take your pick.)" Later, Elliot told Angela he'd "kinda had a rough month," but she said, "You have not been the same the past couple of months, and this happened before Shayla."

Elliot processes every mention of E Corp into Evil Corp, so it's possible that when Angela called him out on his behavior, he "heard" her say Shayla.

As for Gideon, last week he said, "Look, I'm so sorry she was taken away, Elliot, but don't let her death close you off entirely." So we know a woman died—but not who or how. Maybe Elliot's abusive mother died of natural causes? That'd fit with this week's dysfunctional family revelation.

Maybe we're both wrong:

Are we entirely sure that Shayla is even dead? Given how crazy Elliot seems to be, and how much of a White Knight scenario his whole relationship with Shayla was, I could easily see that as being a fantasy he's concocted to explain her dumping him or running off with the drug supplier, or any other possible reason for her no longer being around.

Edited August 16, 2015 by editorgrrl

[wisteria]

I watched it through OnDemand, & I saw the entire episode. 

 

I've been rewatching the show via OnDemand to bump the ratings, and I've noticed that the episode descriptions are different. For example, here's the 1.08  summary from Comcast's episode guide:  "Allsafe is controlled; the Dark Army is ready to meet Elliot; and Tyrell and Joanna's plan goes into effect." And here's what shows up in the OnDemand listing: "allsafe gets pwned -- & dark army is ready to meet elliot. is it @whiterose? tyrell and joannas plan goes into full effect."

 

Is anyone else seeing these on their regular channel guides? No idea why the descriptions are different, but whoever's writing these has a sense of humor. This from last week's ep: "elliot MIA. mr. robot gotta pull fsociety back together. future depends on it. angela goes head to head w/ old nemesis. IMO risky as hell."

[GaT]

I've been rewatching the show via OnDemand to bump the ratings, and I've noticed that the episode descriptions are different. For example, here's the 1.08  summary from Comcast's episode guide:  "Allsafe is controlled; the Dark Army is ready to meet Elliot; and Tyrell and Joanna's plan goes into effect." And here's what shows up in the OnDemand listing: "allsafe gets pwned -- & dark army is ready to meet elliot. is it @whiterose? tyrell and joannas plan goes into full effect."

 

Is anyone else seeing these on their regular channel guides? No idea why the descriptions are different, but whoever's writing these has a sense of humor. This from last week's ep: "elliot MIA. mr. robot gotta pull fsociety back together. future depends on it. angela goes head to head w/ old nemesis. IMO risky as hell."

The OnDemand descriptions sound like they're from somebody's (Mr Robot?) journal.

[Human]

That is really weird.  Yes, on my end, it's showing up the same way. I still have last episode on my DVR and it's a very formal sounding description that differs slightly from the blurbs listed here in the first post of this thread, but the on demand ones are pretty awesome.  I'm guessing SYFY controls their on demand blurbs while the cable company controls the regular one?  

 

eps1.5: mr.rob0t to save someone elliot cares abt, hes gotta hack vera--badass drug-dealer--out of jail. tyrells "game" gets crazy.  angela digs deeper into moms death

 

eps1.4: mr. rob0t fsociety arrives @ steel mountain - most secure data facility in USA. elliot needs to get in and get out- wuz he pwned

 

eps 1.3: mr.rob0t fsociety hits the road to initiate world-changing hack. elliots inner demons treaten to derail operation. LIRL (which apparently means laughing in real life).  

[wisteria]

The OnDemand descriptions sound like they're from somebody's (Mr Robot?) journal.

 

Or his tweets. I pasted them into Twitter, and they're all slightly under 140 characters.

 

I'm guessing SYFY controls their on demand blurbs while the cable company controls the regular one?

 

That's possible, though I have no idea how all that works! The person writing them would need to have access to the episodes in advance in order to get them posted to OnDemand in time. Or, heck, maybe they're written by Esmail and/or his writing team, but the USA marketing team uses the formal descriptions to make the show sound more accessible? (Which is rather silly, since if you're watching Mr. Robot, you're already probably fluent in textspeak. ;)

 

Slightly more on-topic: I'm intrigued by how the show blends real-world names and fake ones. They'll name-drop Apple and other brand names, and they'll hang a photo of President Obama and in the pilot cited Jeh Johnson, the current Secretary of Homeland Security. But as far as I can tell, the computer screens seldom show real companies, like when Elliot was researching himself this week. And when he hacked Gideon's email, it looked identical to Gmail but had a different name I don't remember. I didn't recognize any of the services he used, though they appeared just close enough to sites like Google and Twitter to pass muster. Could it be a copyright issue, akin to how, say, L&O:SVU looks up perp profiles on "Faceplace"?  (Then again, I seem to recall him visiting real-world sites like Instagram and Eharmony when hacking Krista. Maybe I'm just totally wrong on all this, but the blending of real and fake is really fascinating, especially given how the show plays with this being an ECorp-ruled alternate universe that has so many elements of our own universe.)

[Cardie]

Public officials are public and anyone can drop their names for free. Any privately held entity must give permission to have its name used and often charges a fee to give it.

[Human]

There's also an advertising concern.  Those companies that have been name-dropped or have had a product placement paid.  If a company doesn't pay, there is a disincentive to use it anyway in order to protect the entire industry.  It devalues ad space to product place something that hasn't paid.  

Edited August 17, 2015 by Human

[xaxat]

I thought it was hilarious when, a couple of weeks ago, the show ran the E Corp/fsociety ad and it was followed by an ad for Microsoft Windows 10 that had a tenor very similar to E Corp's. 

 

I think they switched it so that the E Corp "ad" now leads into the show instead of being scattered among real ads.

Edited August 17, 2015 by xaxat

[artieLange]

I guess the Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Gmail pages are faked for a number of reasons. Probably saying the name of these products is different from showing logos and site designs, there are probably royalties for the usage of each aspect of the brand

 

People would actually try to visit the pages they see in the show too lol.I can't remember the movie that suggested audiences were dumb because they actually tried to call the characters in the movies, that's why all the numbers start with 555 but that was a funny line

[kat165]

Could someone refresh me on what came of Angela's running the disk at Allsafe (from Ollie's cubicle/his pc at AllSafe and so early in the morning that no one was around, until the secretary showed up) that the street guy gave Ollie. Is Angela still working at AllSafe? What did that disk do, if anything, and have we seen the repercussions and I was just dense to notice?

[xaxat]

I assume it allowed the Dark Army hack on Allsafe that we saw this episode. It also may have allowed them to figure out that Gideon had set up the honeypot server.

[Saje]

Honestly, every scene with Tyrell is starting to amuse me. We were supposed to think he's such a badass at first, and now it turns out he pretty much screws up everything he does, and his weird, off the wall reactions and mannerisms are just getting more and more zany with each episode. I think he might almost be as crazy as Elliot in a different way. I saw a theory that they actually know each other from a mental hospital, and if that turns out to be true I would totally buy it.

 

He reminds me sometimes of Spike from Buffy - tries to be all malevolent and sinister but just keeps screwing everything up and in the process, becoming almost comical.

[EL9]

I thought it was Alderson.

 

It was crappy casting to pick a "boy Elliot" who doesn't have big eyes like Rami.  And all this time I thought he was Israeli....

As an Israeli I can tell you that Rami used to be a pretty popular name here, but I don't know any Malek.

 

BTW he doesn't have the Israeli look (It's not a problem for Israelis to recognize each other).

[Danny Franks]

As an Israeli I can tell you that Rami used to be a pretty popular name here, but I don't know any Malek.

 

BTW he doesn't have the Israeli look (It's not a problem for Israelis to recognize each other).

 

I'd have said he was of North African descent, if pressed. Wikipedia says his middle name is Said, which has Arabic origins, and Rami Said Malek sounds possibly Algerian or Tunisian to me.

 

In the ballet scene, Darlene & Angela said Elliot "had a shitty month. (Or 20 years—take your pick.)" Later, Elliot told Angela he'd "kinda had a rough month," but she said, "You have not been the same the past couple of months, and this happened before Shayla."

 

Elliot processes every mention of E Corp into Evil Corp, so it's possible that when Angela called him out on his behavior, he "heard" her say Shayla.

 

 

Or that, rather than Shayla being dead, she meant that Shayla left, or cheated on him, or something like that. It's impossible to know for sure, with the way the show is structured. It is most likely she is dead, but then I'd just be disappointed with the damsel in distress/white knight trope being genuine rather than more of Elliot's delusions.

 

It's been mentioned that there might be romantic history between Elliot and Angela, and rewatching the first episode lends that some more credibility. Particularly the scene where they go to Elliot's apartment and Shayla is asleep in bed. Angela looks hurt and then desperately trying to save face, rather than just embarrassed that she just stumbled onto her friend's sex life. Now, you could argue that it's unfair of her to be hurt over her ex hooking up with a girl, when she was with Ollie, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have played out like that.

 

Now we know that Elliot flat out rewrites his own world, rather than just glosses over things, they could really do anything they like with the show.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Danny Franks

[that one guy]

On the side of "maybe Mr. Robot is real," Tyrell seems to act differently with him than he did with Elliot at Steel Mountain. It really didn't appear that he thinks they are the same person. Specifically,he kind of talked down to Elliot, and did not act as if Elliot knew he was involved with fsociety. I'm not sure how to square the Tyrell/Elliot and Tyrell/Mr. Robot interactions if Robot is really Tyler Durden and it's Elliot talking to Tyrell. Although Tyrell ignoring Elliot's bizarre behavior might have been him actually assisting with the hack? Assuming Tyrell can even recognize bizarre behavior in others at this point.

 

Why was Tyrell at Steel Mountain?

[Cardie]

Why was Tyrell at Steel Mountain?

 

I assume to make sure everything was a go for the data transfer of E Corp's files.

[Netfoot]

Why was Tyrell at Steel Mountain?

 

He was in the complex and in the actual washroom at the time the RPi was installed.  I'm more and more convinced that Tyrell will be the fall-guy for whatever goes down.

[Ottis]

Now the cops are here, but it seems like his wife might have done something to herself?  I was confused about that part.  She said her water broke, but there was that bloody fork as well.

 

 

Can't figure out if Tyrell and his wife are supposed to be brilliant or stupid. If she poked herself with the fork to break her water, given the timing, leaving a bloody fork on the white counter would seem to be a really big clue to the visiting detectives. At least wash it off before going into your act.

 

Love that Tyrell was the guy behind replicants in Blade Runner. He was killed by his own creation.

[meep.meep]

Sorry, typo.

Sorry too - I wasn't being snarky.  Alderson is pretty much like "alter son" so  I don't think it's just a random name.  

[kat165]

Thank you, xaxat.

 

I kind of like not knowing what is real and what is not, what is part of Elliot's rewrite. It much more interesting to not know.

That one guy, that's a good point. Tyrell's demeanor with Elliot at Steel Mt and in the car in the last ep is really different. And we didn't see any intereaction in between those scenes to account for the difference if both scene were with Elliot.

[Pellakin]

Someone mentioned Angela being in the mirror above. It made me go back and slo-mo it to see who all popped in, and there was a surprising guest or two.

The flashes I could see:

Elliot

Tyrell (at first glance it looks like Mr. Robot but it's him, a couple of times)

Darlene

Mr. Robot

Angela

fsociety mask

...and one frame of Mr. Sam Esmail himself.

I couldn't place the face in the frame, as a character, and on a hunch went to find a photo of him, and sure enough it's Sam.

I'm not sure if it's relevant or not, but it was an interesting montage.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Pellakin

[Miles]

I was wondering for a while if we didn't have a fight club situation on our hands here, but some scenes didn't seem to fit.

Now I'm wondering if they just didn't care that much to make it consistant or if there is a way to make those scenes match up. Maybe I should go back and check at some point.

Have to say though, they got me with the Darlene-thing. They made it seem like she was just a person without any boundaries, but now that we know she's his sister it's perfectly normal that she showered in his apt., when at the time we thought they just met.

 

If they are going to go the DID (dissociative identity disorder) route, then fine, but sub-personalities (alters) do not know each other exists and do not talk to each other or hallucinate each other (not in any literature that I have read). That is not how it goes.

So you've never read fight club? :D

But all joking aside, while Mr. Robot is a lot better when it comes to hacking than any other show, it still has errors that drove me up the wall (even more so than it would have in a show where hacking is basically magic). I suspect the same is true for the mental health part of the show.

 

With the surname Alderton, it's no surprise that Elliot's Dad would be more Anglo-looking.

With a surname like Anderson I'd expect more skandinavian than anglo...

 

and his weird, off the wall reactions and mannerisms are just getting more and more zany with each episode.

Yes, this episode it went slightly into Nicolas Cage territory. He might be the messiah (the son of the one true god).

 

As for Gideon, last week he said, "Look, I'm so sorry she was taken away, Elliot, but don't let her death close you off entirely." So we know a woman died—but not who or how. Maybe Elliot's abusive mother died of natural causes? That'd fit with this week's dysfunctional family revelation.

Maybe his dog got actually taken away because he wasn't taking proper care of her? Would explain why we didn't see it for a while.

I'm overall off the impression that Shayla was real, especially because of the dinner at Gideon's, but I guess it's possible she wasn't.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Miles

[KaleyFirefly]

I think we all knew for a while now that Mr. Robot was in Elliot's imagination; the only question was whether or not he was actually Elliot's dad also. As for Darlene being his sister, I started to suspect during the episode where she was helping him deal with the crazy drug-dealer's thugs, and they wanted her to stay in the apartment and she said to Elliot, "No way, I'm not leaving you" (paraphrasing). As we had seen of Darlene up to that point, she didn't seem the type to do things just out of the goodness of her heart. She wouldn't put herself in danger unless she had a very good reason.

Also, she looks like Elliot -- same big green eyes, similar mouth.

As for what disorder would cause him to completely forget, repeatedly, that Darlene is his sister....that I'm not so sure about. 

As for Mr. Robot not being real, I would still like an explanation for how he talks to Tyrell, Romero, and Darlene without Elliot there. Is it we are supposed to assume that's Elliot's other personality? Then how come no one thinks it's weird that he acts like 2 completely different people?