What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 1, Episode 5 “eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv” (B+)

This show doesn’t waste much time, already sending Elliot into the lion’s den to carry out Fsociety’s master plan. Of course, on a show like this, things don’t happen exactly as they should, which presents an even bigger problem for these logic-minded programmers and hackers. The wrong manager showing up after Elliot destroyed poor Bill raised immediate alarm, but that was swiftly handled with a cruel spoofed text that made her think that something was horribly wrong. And then, after all seemed completely clear, Tyrell showed up and acknowledged Elliot by name, completely blowing his cover yet interestingly not forcing him to leave before treating him to a fancy and intimidating meal. Not succeeding despite having such a tightly-designed plan was an enormous blow to Fsociety and particularly to Darlene, who fell apart and then came home with Elliot because she was so upset. At least Elliot has a pretty good handle on things, and it’s nice to see him sounding happy when he speaks to Shayla, who herself is doing pretty well. Angela made a smart decision by breaking things off with Ollie, whose attempts to get her back were pretty lamentable. Now she’s just encountering a whole new mess looking at what her father has stashed away in his house. Tyrell’s dinner party was quite interesting, particularly when it involved him following his host’s wife into the bathroom and having a plentifully awkward conversation with her while she was on the toilet. He’s definitely a strange one, but at the same time he has a magnetic quality to him.