What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 2, Episode 9 "eps2.7_init5.fve” (B+)

This episode was extremely informative, filling in the gap of what happened to get Elliot sent to prison and then fast-forwarding through his time there to arrive at the present moment when he gets released. Mr. Robot appearing on the computer screen to question what he was doing when he plead guilty was alarming, and Leon was right to diagnose his situation as impressive if nothing else – getting arrested, arraigned, and sentenced within 24 hours. Back on the outside, Elliot tried to adjust back to reality, but what we saw was a newly worrisome phenomenon. Mr. Robot was no longer the suave firecracker he usually is, and instead it appeared that both he and Elliot were glitching. Elliot seemed so confused when he heard Mr. Robot talking to Darlene in the other room, and then all of a sudden he was there talking to them, making his out of body experience just as much physical as it was mental. The most troubling development is the news that Stage 2 was Elliot’s plan and not the Dark Army’s, which both means that Elliot (or Mr. Robot) was in league with the Dark Army, and that he has lost it enough that he can’t remember that. Darlene knowing that is going to force her to make a tough decision, and I’m curious to see how Joanna’s return will play into all that. Angela becoming a whistleblower wasn’t as easy as she thought, and more than her major information delivery, the visit from Dom shows that she’s in serious trouble and that the FBI, or at least Dom, knows way more about what’s going on than is healthy for anyone.