Mr. Robot

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Flack
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Re: Mr. Robot

Post by Flack »

According to Sam Esmail, the entire show was plotted out from the very beginning. I find that a little hard to believe, as he also said he originally envisioned Mr. Robot as a movie and it played out over four seasons, but the twist payoff at the end, Esmail says he planned from the beginning.

So, let's just go to spoiler town and get it over with. You've been warned.

In S04E09, F Society's hack of the Dues Group works, essentially slurping billions of dollars from hundreds of bank accounts and moving it to a secret offshore account. The bad guys have been completely defunded.

In S04E10, Darlene (Elliot's sister) and Dom (the FBI agent) plan their getaway. Elliot stays behind because he has sworn to wipe Whiterose's computer once and for all. Whiterose supposedly has some sort of time-altering device and/or plans on her computer. Before they depart, Darlene equally distributes the stolen money to everybody across America.

In S04E11, Elliot enters the local nuclear plant to launch his hack, but is thwarted by Whiterose's Dark Army guards. Whiterose attempts to convince Elliot that she really does possess a time altering device by shooting herself in the head. Elliot, along with Mr. Robot, are left behind to play a game on an Apple II in hopes of stopping the reactor from melting down. They fail, and are apparently blown into an alternate universe of some kind. (Is it in his head? Is it an alternate universe? Is it a computer simulation?) In this world, everyone who has been killed in the previous four seasons is alive and his entire life has changed. In this world, his father did not molest him or die of cancer, his mother did not abuse him, he is set to marry Angela (who is, or at least was, dead), and so on.

In S04E12 and S04E13, we learn that Elliot was knocked unconscious by the blast and has been in a local hospital. What we thought was an alternate universe was just in his mind. More importantly though, through the two-hour episode, we eventually learn that "Elliot" (the character we have been following for four seasons) is just another one of the real Elliot's personalities. The person we have known as Elliot is simply known as "The Mastermind" and is one of the real Elliot's personalities, along with Mr. Robot, the mom, and young Elliot. So while everything we saw happen throughout the show's run really happened (except the dream world of S04E11-13), who we thought was "Elliot" was really just one of the real Elliot's personalities, run amok.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Mr. Robot

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I appreciate you telling me that. I have been warned over the years to not fetishize spoilers. I gotta admit I am not a huge fan of the "person was dead the whole time" thing and it seems like they have doubled down on it.

When Boggit died, I swore I saw him go around corners for the next week. My completely unscientific, probable-bullshit theory for this was because there were so many pets at my house my brain was trained to "see" them dart around for split seconds and it took a bit of time for my subconscious to catch up with reality. I can get behind that kind of "convincing yourself that a dead person is around" thing, but this TV / Sixth Sense trope where fake people are hanging around munching on Cheetos and having long conversations.... I dunno, I'm a bit burned out of that.

But none of that is really important - do you think the performances and direction gave you something to enjoy and think about? Would you ultimately recommend it?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Flack
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Re: Mr. Robot

Post by Flack »

If you like series about hacking as told by an unreliable narrator, then sure. In retrospect, I'm wondering if watching the series a second time, clues will be more obvious.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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