What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 1, Episode 7 “eps1.6_v1ew-s0urce.flv” (B+)

It’s almost impossible to believe the things that happen on this show and how finite they are when they occur in such sudden and surprising bursts. Make no mistake – that’s a compliment, and it only adds to the dreamlike nature of this show. After Shayla’s heartbreaking death last week, which is now a figment of the recent past, Tyrell’s sex-turned-strangling of Sharon was the magic moment in this episode. Firing three of his underlings for no apparent reason was a bold and unexplained move, and killing the wife of the new CTO could definitely knock down his main competition a bit, but it hardly seems like a well-reasoned step, especially because of the way he reacted to it. Starting the episode with a flashback to Elliot’s first meeting with the enchanting Shayla just drove home how much she was a bright spot in his life and how her not being there will be a problem, especially since Angela is concerned with other matters at the moment. Confessing all to his therapist at the end of the episode was an awesome development, and I’m eager to see and hear how she reacts. Angela got very far with Colby, and the way he so casually talked about shrimp cocktails and the rain, not to mention his grotesquely visual invitation, was crude. Mr. Robot is definitely crazy and not in the cute way, and it’s good to see both him and Darlene taking steps to reunite the team. Darlene’s discussion with Trenton was particularly interesting, and I love how much this show talks about why its characters are motivated to do the things they do.