S02.E03: eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd

[formerlyfreedom]

Elliot is determined to beat Mr. Robot, but the task proves difficult; Angela gets a view behind the scenes at Evil Corp.

 

[Minaboo]

I was surprised by how unenjoyable I found this episode. 

[kat165]

I'm surprised that this many hours after the first showing that there's only 1 comment. Minaboo, I wasn't too crazy about it either, but I did like the sequence of Elliot's happiness/joy after he'd taken the aderol (sp?) and was smiling all over the place, talking to Leon about Seinfeld, enjoying the basketball game, etc. Had to admire Rami's acting in that entire sequence.

I do find that I'm not enjoying the show (so far) as much as I did last year. I even watched the Challenge on MTV first and caught Mr. Robot at the 1am showing instead. Last wk I gave up the Challenge to watch the premiere ep and regretted it all week. Yes, the Challenge - how sad a statement is that that I'd rather watch a bunch of drunk assholes and TJ Lavin rather than Rami, etal?

Edited July 21, 2016 by kat165

[justmehere]

I don't understand what's going on. Both in the story as a whole, and the way it's coming across. They spent time with other characters last season, but it didn't feel as disjointed as these episodes have felt. Maybe it's on purpose. I don't know.

I'll repeat my comment from last week: it all comes alive when Elliot/Rami is onscreen. The rest of the time, I generally care much less. I still don't have a clue who Ray is (the guy whose wife died). Also, some of it feels trivial and excessive. I don't need to watch so much of DiPierro doing her hair and putting on her makeup -- or other personal things -- just like I didn't need several minutes of the E Corp lawyer's smart house going wonky, or even the whole long history of the arcade. The point comes across in much less time.

Bitching aside, there were things I thought were good:

--Elliot on Adderall tops everything. I agree that Rami was fantastic there (searching through vomit for the pills was a bit much for me though).

--DiPierro finding the party flyer and the arcade (although, would it be illegal for her to search through the woman's things?)

--Pretty much everything between Angela and Price. He is seriously cold, manipulative, and evil -- and his method of seducing Angela to the dark side is very disturbing. Love Michael Cristofer though.

[Anela]

That vomiting scene was gross. My dad happened to walk in with his dinner, at that time, and asked me wtf I was watching. 

[benteen]

I found myself frustrated with the beginning but thought it picked up steam as it went along and finished strong.

I think my frustration is not liking the new status quo.  Shows change and evolve but I liked how everything was set up last year with fsociety and Elliot.  Elliot needs to be out of this current state he put himself in.  He can't and shouldn't be out of the action that long.  Rami/Elliot is your star and too much time spent on new characters is a big mistake (though I do like Craig Robinson and Grace Gummer) .  The long runtime might not be helping either.

The Elliot on Adderall montage was pretty damn funny though.  The show has always done that kind of off-beat stuff so well.  The vomiting scene was gross.

Love the opening flashback with Romero and Mobley and was hoping we'd see Elliot as Robot at the end.  But damn, Romero's dead?

Michael Cristofer is fantastic as Price and so engaging.  Love his scenes with Angela.

Really enjoyed all the fsociety stuff.  I want the fsociety members to be together like this.

Great speech by Elliot at the group and looks like he might finally be getting out of his current situation.

Edited July 21, 2016 by benteen

[Chaos Theory]

I am really enjoying this season so far especially Angela's storyline.   I liked the both the office scene and the dinner scene with Price.  Sometimes all it takes is a well placed bullet to change the world  and it looks like Price is using Angela as that bullet.

Like always Raminwas electric.  Elliot on Adererall was all kinds of fun to watch and that rant on God.....

Plus the new lady FBI agent is staring to get interesting.

this is going to be one hell of a season.

[DrSpaceman73]

Quote

I am really enjoying this season so far especially Angela's storyline.   I liked the both the office scene and the dinner scene with Price.  Sometimes all it takes is a well placed bullet to change the world  and it looks like Price is using Angela as that bullet.

I can't decide about Price and his motives. 

At first when I saw this last night I thought the same thing, he is giving angela the things she needs to take these people down

The I thought about it this morning and I am wondering if he is testing Angela.  He took her to the restaurant and showed her the life they lead in their positions, which is beyond what any of us can imagine.  She now understands what they are gaining by making the horrible, often immoral decisions such as the one that resulted in the death of her mom/dad (I forget which it was.....mom I think).  Now she has the choice of what she wants from her life.  She is going the moral route and refusing the money and status and what comes with it, taking down these two people, or is she going to change and take advantage of the situation she has been placed in like those before her have. 

The Adderall seen was definitely memorable.  Really liking Craig Robinson this season so far

I am pretty confused about everything.  But then last season I binged watched the show in 2-3 days and this year I am watching week to week, so not sure how it compares this year to last.  It does seem pretty disjointed now though

[SailorGirl]

I have to say, I too was a bit underwhelmed with last night's episode, and agree that Rami Malek makes the show. The Angela subplot is getting more intriguing too -- the boss is definitely playing a manipulation game with her, but what is the reason beyond just trying to convert a former E Corp "hater" to the dark side? Is the head of a major international conglomerate so twisted (and not busy) that he would take such a planned and concerted effort about one pissed-off millenial? I'm sure there's someone out there with an even bigger grudge against E Corp who would make an ever better toy. . . 

I am giving the benefit of the doubt that these slow episodes are laying the foundation for some crazy stuff coming up or that will make sense later in the season, ala Breaking Bad. All the pre-season interviews I saw talked about how much darker this season was, so maybe it will be less about the hacking and Eliot's continued descent into madness? 

I'm in the "hmmm" state of mind about this week's episode right now. 

Edited July 21, 2016 by SailorGirl

[Ronin Jackson]

I think this season has been good so far. The show has to evolve and delve into Elliott's realization that he has an alter ego that he's struggling to gain control over, and all that has been on point.

One big quibble with this episode though: the reveal that the secret headquarters of "f society", which was the biggest domestic terrorist group in the nation, complete with Obama press conferences denouncing them, has a big sign over it that says "f society". And no one noticed and made the connection until this FBI agent? The show is certainly better at creating character and capturing the pulse of millenial anger than it is at plotting. But the former two go a long way.

[Chaos Theory]

12 minutes ago, Ronin Jackson said:

I think this season has been good so far. The show has to evolve and delve into Elliott's realization that he has an alter ego that he's struggling to gain control over, and all that has been on point.

One big quibble with this episode though: the reveal that the secret headquarters of "f society", which was the biggest domestic terrorist group in the nation, complete with Obama press conferences denouncing them, has a big sign over it that says "f society". And no one noticed and made the connection until this FBI agent? The show is certainly better at creating character and capturing the pulse of millenial anger than it is at plotting. But the former two go a long way.

Well they did make a point to say no one owned it.  It's literally in limbo.   My guess is the first thing the FBI and the lot would do is round up all the hackers and see what they own and what their families own.  But this peice of property is owned by no own and is not actually called F Society it's only that because it has become decrepit with time. 

[Cardie]

Last season there was a narrative arc as fsociety worked to accomplish the E Corp hack. The show often paused to do the surreal sequences that are its trademark but Elliot was being swept along (though actually driving) this big terrorist plot. I'm assuming that he's going to be the new IT whiz for whatever shady dealings the people Ray works for are up to but for right now the show drifts as he does. I find myself more invested in Grace Gummer's attempt to solve the fsociety mystery. And is someone really knocking off the loose ends from the hack? If so, is it Dark Army, Tyrell, or Mr. Robot?

I loved the cold open with the tale of the cursed former dwarf sanctuary. Romero's mom was also a hoot. Too bad they are both out of it now.

[riverheightsnancy]

The sign read "Fu Society" (which was kind of brilliant anyway)  it was missing the "N", which a comment was made about that. If they are database searching businesses, it would come up as "Fun Society". That is still close, but not exactly the same. They did say that it totally didn't exist and appeared to be down this long alley that no one sees anymore anyway. I don't know why the FBI would be searching business names for terrorist hackers anyway. That seems illogical that terrorists would advertise or register as a business. Seems like a modern age group would have a website on the dark web or something, not a old timey store front in Coney Island.  The puke scene was so gross.

[Ronin Jackson]

7 minutes ago, riverheightsnancy said:

The sign read "Fu Society" (which was kind of brilliant anyway)  it was missing the "N", which a comment was made about that. If they are database searching businesses, it would come up as "Fun Society". That is still close, but not exactly the same. They did say that it totally didn't exist and appeared to be down this long alley that no one sees anymore anyway. I don't know why the FBI would be searching business names for terrorist hackers anyway. That seems illogical that terrorists would advertise or register as a business. Seems like a modern age group would have a website on the dark web or something, not a old timey store front in Coney Island.  The puke scene was so gross.

The "U" was partial, so it looked more like "F. SOCIETY"

35 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Well they did make a point to say no one owned it.  It's literally in limbo.   My guess is the first thing the FBI and the lot would do is round up all the hackers and see what they own and what their families own.  But this peice of property is owned by no own and is not actually called F Society it's only that because it has become decrepit with time. 

The point isn't that the FBI would have found the place by searching business records.... there is still an abandoned store front that says "F. SOCIETY" in front, during a long stretch when "f society" dominated the headlines.That wouldn't escape attention. Real life example: There is a metaphysical book store in Denver named "Isis Books", named after the Egyptian goddess. The store front has been repeatedly vandalized and someone eventually busted their windows... eventually they changed the name on their storefront sign to "Goddess Books".

In the "Mr. Robot" universe "f society" is considered a domestic terrorist organization, and in this case one that also happens to have lots of domestic support. Eventually supporters would pass the sign and don masks and take selfies in front of it. At some point it would come to the attention of some law enforcement official and someone would have a simple question about the property, enough to feel the place should be checked out. I'd also question the wisdom of a secret hacker organization opting to name their group after the big sign in front of their secret headquarters.

I still think the strengths of the show outweigh the whatever plot issues there are, but there have been some of the latter.

[Primetimer]

A bracing and effective image is still no substitute for plot as Elliot's reality continues to buffer.

View the full article

[riverheightsnancy]

2 hours ago, Ronin Jackson said:

The "U" was partial, so it looked more like "F. SOCIETY"

The point isn't that the FBI would have found the place by searching business records.... there is still an abandoned store front that says "F. SOCIETY" in front, during a long stretch when "f society" dominated the headlines.That wouldn't escape attention.

MMV but it looked like a "u" to me, could have been my angle to the TV though. The store front is also not on a main drag right? Didn't they walk down a narrow alley, or was I dreaming? I thought that this old building had new things built up around it and it was in this odd location and not actually visible on the main boardwalk, but I could be mistaken about that. I would expect that since the director went out of his way to show that sign and tell this story, it will definitely come into play at some point. 

[justmehere]

6 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I am wondering if he is testing Angela.  He took her to the restaurant and showed her the life they lead in their positions, which is beyond what any of us can imagine.  She now understands what they are gaining by making the horrible, often immoral decisions such as the one that resulted in the death of her mom/dad (I forget which it was.....mom I think).  Now she has the choice of what she wants from her life.  She is going the moral route and refusing the money and status and what comes with it, taking down these two people, or is she going to change and take advantage of the situation she has been placed in like those before her have. 

Another angle of testing her moral compass would be her empathy. She met these men, had dinner, may not have liked them very much, but she knew them as human beings with families. Can she then destroy these people's lives? Price's comment about removing the emotion to make it easier seemed along that route. Along with praising her and offering her personal gain, he'll find out whether she'll follow through on her revenge or if she doesn't have the backbone to destroy others' lives once they aren't faceless anymore. He doesn't care at all about the men involved (he'll remove them one way or another), but finding out about Angela follows into...

6 hours ago, SailorGirl said:

The Angela subplot is getting more intriguing too -- the boss is definitely playing a manipulation game with her, but what is the reason beyond just trying to convert a former E Corp "hater" to the dark side? Is the head of a major international conglomerate so twisted (and not busy) that he would take such a planned and concerted effort about one pissed-off millenial? I'm sure there's someone out there with an even bigger grudge against E Corp who would make an ever better toy. . . 

There's a question, too, about how much Price knows. At the end of last season he said he knew who was behind the hack. If he does know about Elliot (perhaps by having Wellick followed?), he might also know that Angela is connected to his target. She might have already been on his radar when she accepted Colby's job offer (or maybe he was behind it?). It would make some sense as to why he took any time with her at all. If he can get her to take revenge, he's rid of two troublemakers without having to do it himself. He can also use her again and keep her on a leash. Who knows if those men even were part of the cover-up? If she doesn't use the information he gave her, then it neutralizes her as a threat to those players he might want to keep in place.

The part that bothers me is his declaration of knowledge last season, and then this season seeming "victimized" by Darlene's stunt, like he doesn't really have a handle on things. Was he just blowing smoke with his previous assertion not to seem weak then? Or is he playing at something now? I have no idea.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

A bracing and effective image is still no substitute for plot as Elliot's reality continues to buffer.

View the full article

I would have totally missed the BrBa Heisenberg imagery if I hadn't read Sarah's review, but now that I have, I see the front view of the man in the hat as an observer from Fringe.

I'm still not sure if I'm physically up to watching this much darkness, but I related so completely to so much of it that I think I will keep swallowing the episodes like Elliot did his barfed Aderalls.

[T Well Better]

When I read this synopsis, I felt even more convinced that I'm too old to get this show. Maybe it's my pending 40th birthday or maybe it's just that the closed captioning didn't work at all--watching this show without them is next to impossible for me--but man, I didn't get the Heisenberg/Observer reference either. I think I'm too busy trying to parse out what's really happening in the universe of the show with what's only happening in Elliot's imagination. I feel like the show would benefit from making it just a notch more clear what we're supposed to trust as real vs. what we're not sure about. I get the unreliable narrator thing, but for the scenes/storylines that Elliot isn't in, it would help to know where to stop the suspicious parsing and just enjoy the story (such as it is). I don't know what to trust. Is Wellick really another of Elliot's personalities? Is Angela? Why is Price even bothering with her? Like another poster said, shouldn't he be like, EXTREMELY busier--too busy to deal with her? And with the Elliot stuff, the whole time I'm too preoccupied trying to figure out what's actually happening (is he in jail? in a mental institution? is the Seinfeld friend real??? the mother? the dog?) I mean, I like the show, but I could use some Cliff notes. Thanks, Previously.tv!

[hincandenza]

2 hours ago, T Well Better said:

When I read this synopsis, I felt even more convinced that I'm too old to get this show. Maybe it's my pending 40th birthday or maybe it's just that the closed captioning didn't work at all--watching this show without them is next to impossible for me--but man, I didn't get the Heisenberg/Observer reference either. I think I'm too busy trying to parse out what's really happening in the universe of the show with what's only happening in Elliot's imagination. I feel like the show would benefit from making it just a notch more clear what we're supposed to trust as real vs. what we're not sure about. I get the unreliable narrator thing, but for the scenes/storylines that Elliot isn't in, it would help to know where to stop the suspicious parsing and just enjoy the story (such as it is). I don't know what to trust. Is Wellick really another of Elliot's personalities? Is Angela? Why is Price even bothering with her? Like another poster said, shouldn't he be like, EXTREMELY busier--too busy to deal with her? And with the Elliot stuff, the whole time I'm too preoccupied trying to figure out what's actually happening (is he in jail? in a mental institution? is the Seinfeld friend real??? the mother? the dog?) I mean, I like the show, but I could use some Cliff notes. Thanks, Previously.tv!

Can I ask an honest question?  Why would you think Wellick or Angela are another of Elliot's personalities?  When Wellick has a wife and child, when he is shown on the news as a real person who decidedly doesn't look like Elliot, when he's considered the prime suspect of the f.society hack; when Angela has a job, and is around people, and is going on creepy business/dates with Phillip Price... I mean, at what point can we fault the viewer more than the show if people still suspect these aren't "real" characters?

I get that the season is starting slow, and that character motivations aren't clear yet for some key players.  But as far as I know, the only alter-ego we've ever encountered is Mr. Robot, the titular character/psychosis of Elliot.  Elliot is prone to hallucinations while on drugs, but those usually become obvious fairly quickly- like the crack den scene last season, or the cement through the funnel thing this episode; it kind of reminds me of the movie version of "Naked Lunch".  Other than that, while we might have a narrative told that is skewed, there isn't actually a reason to believe "nothing" is real, or that Elliot is in a mental institution, or that Ray isn't real, or etc, etc, etc.  

Me, I take the show as something I don't see elsewhere, that is often a visual feast with almost Kubrick-like cinematography; until shown otherwise, I take everything at semi-face value, and assume that Elliot really is living with his mom, and avoiding all online connections both to lay low, and to try to keep Mr. Robot at bay.  Sure, it's not clear who Ray works for, or what his motive is, or why he's hanging around Elliot (does he know he had something to do with the hack, or simply sees him as a potential resource to use?), and some of those questions regarding the Red Army, Phillip Price, etc will hopefully be answered.  But I don't think it's as cryptic as people make it out to be; assume everything you see is really happening, until you have clear evidence it isn't.

[possibilities]

I'm OK with the show being confusing, because it's about a guy who's confused as hell. And I can see that they are trying to service a lot of different characters, with all their activities probably converging on a central confrontation by the end of the season. Instead of starting together and branching out, they're starting scattered and closing in. Or they are all in Elliot's head and we're experiencing the chaos the way he does. I don't know which.

Linear stories about people who are living in and out of time and hallucinating a lot are told from an outsider's viewpoint, and I think we're experiencing it from inside, which I think is worth doing.

I think it takes patience, but it might pay off. On the other hand, it is challenging to watch and I felt restless and frustrated watching it.

I did not understand why the FBI was involved with Romero's murder investigation. Did they know he was part of f. society? If they knew, why weren't they surveilling him already, and thus clear on what happened? Is FBI woman really FBI? And why is she spending most of her time lying in the dark  being depressed, and not going to work, if she is-- and working without a partner when she does work, and not shown reporting to anyone?

Also, why isn't Elliot being monitored the way he was in season 1? He's not hacking, so he can't be changing his drug tests at the lab. So either everything he's experiencing is a hallucination, or something weird happened to stop him from being in mandated therapy/monitoring-- right? And we used to see him in therapy all the time, and now we don't.

Angela I think for sure is being tested, but what Price's real motive is, I don't know. Also, her choice is not obvious to me. She could play a long game or a short one, among other things.

Not knowing what is real and what isn't, and how absolutely certain things seem to be that maybe aren't, strikes me as the very definition of psychosis. I think it's really vividly realistic, more than surreal and farfetched, the way they're portraying it.

[Cardie]

26 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Also, why isn't Elliot being monitored the way he was in season 1? He's not hacking, so he can't be changing his drug tests at the lab. So either everything he's experiencing is a hallucination, or something weird happened to stop him from being in mandated therapy/monitoring-- right? And we used to see him in therapy all the time, and now we don't.

I think this is one of the factors fueling all the social media speculation that he is institutionalized. If that were the case, he would be being monitored.

[FurryFury]

I loved the episode. The scene with Elliot eating his own vomit to get Adderall and get rid of Mr. Robot was just 100% on point as a way to show people resorting to drugs to fight their mental illness (hey, I'm one of them - I use alcohol to fight the symptoms of my social anxiety).

Definitely intrigued by Grace Gummer's character. She could potentially be an interesting foil to Elliot.

Loved the religion speech.Elliot's not presented to be in the right or anything, but honestly, this is my POV, 100%. Always been an anti theist. 

Edited July 22, 2016 by FurryFury

[Anela]

9 hours ago, FurryFury said:

I loved the episode. The scene with Elliot eating his own vomit to get Adderall and get rid of Mr. Robot was just 100% on point as a way to show people resorting to drugs to fight their mental illness (hey, I'm one of them - I use alcohol to fight the symptoms of my social anxiety).

Definitely intrigued by Grace Gummer's character. She could potentially be an interesting foil to Elliot.

Loved the religion speech.Elliot's not presented to be in the right or anything, but honestly, this is my POV, 100%. Always been an anti theist. 

I deal with severe depression and anxiety, too. That's why I was intrigued by the first episode, last year. I could relate to him, to a point. The vomit scene was too much for me, though - when he was digging for the pills, and eating them. I feel sick just thinking about it. 

At the moment, I trust that it's building to something (hopefully good). The opening reminded me of Breaking Bad. 

Edited July 22, 2016 by Anela

[Hanahope]

I too got the impression that the location of F Society was in a place that most people don't see, likely only passed by homeless people, or those on drugs or alcohol, people who really had no connection to our internet-based society and weren't affected by it, so even if they did see the sign, they wouldn't put it together with what had been on TV/Internet.  And those that  attended the party, which was at night, when the lights didn't work outside, probably didn't see the sign.

I did like how when we first heard F Society, I thought, it was, as in "F#$% Society" or how people say "ef u".  Hearing a bit of the history and seeing the sign, how it was originally 'Fun Society" was kindof funny.

[cardigirl]

After reading a few comments here yesterday, I wasn't sure if I would watch this episode, but I am glad I did. I thought it was more coherent than the opening one. Like others have stated, I need the narrative to start being the biggest part of this show and not just fantastical scenes hung together by being in the same episode.  

 

I wonder what Mr. Robinson is up to.  

[DrSpaceman73]

Quote

Another angle of testing her moral compass would be her empathy. She met these men, had dinner, may not have liked them very much, but she knew them as human beings with families. Can she then destroy these people's lives? Price's comment about removing the emotion to make it easier seemed along that route. Along with praising her and offering her personal gain, he'll find out whether she'll follow through on her revenge or if she doesn't have the backbone to destroy others' lives once they aren't faceless anymore. He doesn't care at all about the men involved (he'll remove them one way or another), but finding out about Angela follows into...

Yes I think you are correct about this as well. 

In fact it can be used as a running theme in the show.  It easier to seek revenge or make decisions like this when you don't personally know the people involved or that it affects.  It is indeed a test of empathy for her. 

[meep.meep]

It's certainly easier to destroy the world's finances than to think ahead about the consequences.

I found the episode to be way too long.  They need to learn how to edit!

Malek giving the speech about drugs at the group session was the only time I've ever questioned his acting.

Has the FBI agent been up for 6 days also?

[hincandenza]

43 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

It's certainly easier to destroy the world's finances than to think ahead about the consequences.

Malek giving the speech about drugs at the group session was the only time I've ever questioned his acting.

Agree on the drug meeting acting; it was a mis-step from him, I think.  Then again, I don't know how you're supposed to act after 6 days awake on a meth binge, so... :)  

As to the bolded portion, I agree, and it's nice that the show is engaging in that nuance.  I am actually fairly sympathetic to f.society and think in "real life" we do have a problem of EvilCorps bleeding our society for the obscene benefit of a very few... but it's never so cut and dried.  Showing the fall out, and the lack of real transformation as the world mostly yearns to get things back the way they were, is more realistic than a groundswell of "fight the power" rhetoric from any but an angry, disaffected few.  The masses- such as Romero's stoner mother in her easy chair- just want their shit to keep working.  And the subway conversation between Darlene and the other hacker Mobley, or at Trenton the Iranian hacker's house, shows how it's finally starting to sink in with the non-Elliots that they've bit off waaaay more than they can chew, that this wasn't a game and their lives are in a very real danger from extremely dangerous people.  There's a huge difference between "we could get assassinated by the government for this!" as an abstract concept, and realizing that it's literally starting to happen, and you've stumbled across the bodies that prove it.  Darlene is the only one still keeping the flame alive, and that clearly more out of fraternal love/guilt than anything else.

The character I'm most fascinated by hasn't been on screen yet this year: Tyrell.  I'm still due to rewatch season 1, and when I do I'll have to keep an eye on him early on, knowing now that he was already affiliated with the Mr. Robot persona of Elliot in his attempt to hack and slash his way to the CTO position by sabotaging the current office holders.  But we don't really know what deal he made with Elliot at the arcade that night was, or what his/their ultimate plan is... except that where Elliot is ostensibly motivated by an anarchic idealism, Tyrell has never been anything but psychopathically ambitious.  I'm fascinated by what common ground they found, what goal they shared, what tweak on the f.society hack Tyrell may have introduced to his own nefarious ends, what would lead to Elliot merely hiding out in the suburbs while Tyrell is publicly the biggest fugitive on the planet- yet Elliot can phone him up direct (and what he must think of Elliot, whose behavior is always so bizarre but whose mental illness makes him precariously exploitable)- all while he refers to the night they "became Gods", as if the two of them are now blood brothers in some sacred pact, or that he can be so blase about being hunted.

I assume it's largely because he's got that magic key in his pocket (the USB drive with the decryption key for all of ECorp's data), but I can't for the life of me figure out how he'd ever parlay that into anything more than a reduced sentence now, unless he's ultimately going to frame someone else/fake his own death while secretly getting paid out by ECorp or the like.  Sort of like saying to the real powers that be- people like Phillip Price or the Red Army hacker/CEO- "here's my invitation to the ranks of the secret elite".

Edited July 22, 2016 by hincandenza

[thuganomics85]

Aww, I was kind of excited over the return of the original members of F Society, only for Romero to bite it tonight.  Hopefully, Mobley and Trenton will avoid that fate.  Darlene better be careful, because she doesn't seem to be taking this potential threat seriously, and thinks it's all a bunch of coincidences.

I'm still enjoying the show, even though I have a lot of questions and I do think maybe there could be a few cuts in the editing room.  That said, I'm surprised that I find myself interested in Angela's story-line the most.  I like the idea of her getting to know these people; who she had considered enemies for so long; and seeing that they are human beings, and now beginning to wonder if she can take them down like she always wanted to. And Price's involvement is intriguing.  What is his game?  Does he want her to do it?  Or not?  I have to think this is some kind of test.

Elliot continues to barely be hanging in there.  The montage of him on Adderall was great.  And his rant about religion went about like I expected.  He would so get along with True Detective's Rust Cohle.

No idea what to make of Ray, except I don't trust him and I have a bad feeling over what he wants Elliot for.

So.... Tyrell is on some kind of secret mission?  Yeah, I got nothing.

Still not sure what to make of the FBI lady.  Apparently she's an insomniac, drinks a lot of coffee, blunt, and.... likes to masterbate to chatrooms? 

[Ottis]

I am almost officially over this show. Don't care what happens to the people who crashed society or crazy drug users. Give me someone to care about.

[Cigale]

Still love the show.  What bugs me to no end, however, is Angela and Darlene very long and very false eyelashes .  

[scrb]

Tell me the FBI chick wasn't trying to masturbate to Ryan fucking Serhant, especially that fake, staged, scripted proposal on Times Square.

[Neurochick]

On July 21, 2016 at 9:11 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I am pretty confused about everything.  But then last season I binged watched the show in 2-3 days and this year I am watching week to week, so not sure how it compares this year to last.  It does seem pretty disjointed now though

I think this is a good point.  To me, this is a show which has to be binge watched.  Every episode on its own seems disjointed, but maybe it will make sense when you binge watch it.

 

On July 23, 2016 at 2:58 AM, scrb said:

 

Tell me the FBI chick wasn't trying to masturbate to Ryan fucking Serhant, especially that fake, staged, scripted proposal on Times Square.

 

I think part of this show is about people who feel cut off from society, or what normal society appears to be.  She's watching a man propose in Times Square; sure we know it was fake and scripted, but if someone feels lonely, without an SO, it could affect them.  

[hnygrl]

I'm sorry but that was freaking weird to the point of creepy. Serious WTF is happening here moment. I doubt she's either FBI or on this case. She may be or used to be FBI (too freaking weird to BE FBI in my opinion), but maybe a wannabe, usedtabe, on forced leave but can't let it go when they call her.

I tend to agree that this show makes more sense all in one big bite than the weekly bites we're getting now.

[hertolo]

I liked this episode. Here, everything matters. There is a plot that grows organically and they take their time for characterization (i.e. the make-up scenes). It's not comfort food, but it feels more real than all those comfort food shows put together. You know like Vampire Diaries where there are constant fights and death and there's a cycle of "big bad" every 5-10 episodes and where the situation is constantly escalating. Those just simply don't feel real to me and are thus not interesting to watch. Basically, the BBC's Sherlock to CBS Elementary comparison. If you don't like that style, then I guess this season wouldn't interest you. Mr. Robot seems to be to me a closed story. They couldn't prolong it if they wanted to as the story is the story and nothing more. You can see that by how seamlessly seasons 1 and 2 blend into each other. Sure we have new characters, but they make sense in-universe and are not just "back from XY" or "was always a very successful antagonist of your protagonist, but never seen". I like the show, that's all I'm saying.

I'm not that into predicting the future plot myself, I'd rather watch it :) I'm definitely glad for the recaps and explanations in here as that is one tough show to understand. But to someone from above who asked why the FBI was involved in the murder investigation. The police found a list of FBI-members with their names on them which is why they alerted them. Our investigator stated that every hacker has them but the way she behaves seemed a bit strange nevertheless. I didn't get why she would take a photo of it with her phone, is that safe?

[hnygrl]

I don't think this is a series that could (or even should) run for more than say four seasons.

There's so much going on in every episode (WHY didn't netflix or amazon do this series? That way all episodes would be out in one bunch) that if they let it go for 5, 6,7 seasons people are gonna lose interest and the producers are gonna have to drastically change the characters and the storylines as they go along. This is a maybe 4 season show that will be binged over and over and over again, each time finding something new.

But this one episode at a time stuff is brutal for a show this convoluted and intricate. You need to watch them all back to back to really figure out what's going on.

[Netfoot]

I think I'm done with this.

Constantly trying to decide whether people/actions/whole scenes are genuine, or a part of Eliott's fantasy?  Really old, now.

[Rinaldo]

But (as I said in another thread) you don't have to do that if you don't want to. I don't. I take it all at face value, and if some of it turns out to be fantasy later, then... cool surprise. But we all have our own preferences, of course.

[AliShibaz]

I am almost officially over this show. Don't care what happens to the people who crashed society or crazy drug users. Give me someone to care about.

Evil Corp. killed Angela's mother and she is now in the Dragon's Den trying to take them on. There is a good chance her new boss is trying to set her up as a patsy and will try to get her to take the fall for some future criminal scam.

But because she is trying to find a way to get some justice, I can care about her.

However, overall, I have to agree with you. There is no other character I can care much about - especially not crazy Darlene (much crazier than her brother IMO). I used to care about Shayla and I was disappointed they killed her off. I would have really liked to get to know more about her.

[AliShibaz]

I loved the episode. The scene with Elliot eating his own vomit to get Adderall and get rid of Mr. Robot was just 100% on point as a way to show people resorting to drugs to fight their mental illness (hey, I'm one of them - I use alcohol to fight the symptoms of my social anxiety).

Definitely intrigued by Grace Gummer's character. She could potentially be an interesting foil to Elliot.

Loved the religion speech.Elliot's not presented to be in the right or anything, but honestly, this is my POV, 100%. Always been an anti theist. 

There are a few scenes centering around Dominique (Grace Gummer's character) that seem to me to be clues to future events. One was when she was in the convenience store acting like a ditz or like she was on drugs. Being friendly to the Iranian seemed to me to point to a future event. It must be important the SR made it very clear he was Iranian. I am now waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak.

The scene where she is masturbating seems to be related to the scene where she spends far too much time applying her makeup and looking at her face. I hope that is also somehow related to the song, "Highwayman" which played while she was doing her makeup. My take is that this lady suffers from some profound sadness that is yet to be explained.

The scene where she tries to warn the forensics idiots (idiot because he tries to put out a fire with a clipboard) to check the ports on the PC before screwing with them indicates she may be a good match for Elliot - either as an advesary or maybe, later on, as a friend or helper of some kind. I like her character very much.

[kat165]

I liked Shayla too. I wish they didn't kill her off. I don't like Darlene or Angela. Or the FBI agent.

[KaleyFirefly]

Elliot eating his own vomit was one of the worst things on this show

RIP Romero but who killed him??