What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot (Season Finale)

Mr. Robot: Season 1, Episode 10 “eps1.9_zer0-day.avi” (B+)

I’m not sure if I expected any sort of closure or satisfaction to come from this episode, but it was definitely a typically compelling and maddening hour. I was pleased to see Christian Slater’s Mr. Robot show up again because series and films tend to have characters disappear the moment it’s revealed that they’re merely hallucinations rather than stick around, and his return was even more worthwhile because of when he showed up and what he said. Elliot watching the boardwalk video of him essentially hurling himself off the pier was confirmation that he really does look crazy, and then Mr. Robot’s insistence of “Don’t tell me I’m not real” was an intense and thought-provoking comment about reality and technology. Elliot shutting everyone out in Times Square and just watching his family on the big screen was a major moment, and it’s hard to know what is truly going on in his life and what’s just in his mind as he spends less and less time with other people. Elliot’s one big interaction of the hour was a fantastic one, showing up at a mysteriously missing Tyrell’s place and encountering Joanna instead, who tried to size him up and gave away that she wasn’t telling the truth. Angela’s new job is quite something, and witnessing her boss commit suicide on air after talking into an operator-less camera was almost as shocking as her response when the shoe salesman tried to judge her and she affirmed that she is no longer going to apologize for who she is. This season has been a truly unique experience, and I’m eager to see where it goes in the future.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Rami Malek as Elliot