What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 3, Episode 4 “eps3.3_m3tadata.par2” (B+)

I’ve thought for a while that Darlene was this show’s best character, and after an iffy start early on this season, I’m glad to see that she’s back in full form, confronting a pickpocket on the subway and confessing all of her darkest secrets about the things she’s done to her under the cover of anonymity. She did well when Dom briefly greeted her at the door to warn her that Elliot was inside, and then nicknamed his nighttime transformation as “Mr. Hyde” when they talked openly about it. I’m just as enthusiastic about Dom as a character, and watching Darlene force her to be social at the bar made for a superb scene, especially when Dom tried to ask Darlene about her love life only to remember how that turned out. Darlene and Dom are just about the only two people on the good side of things now, along with Elliot, while Angela, Tyrell, and Irving are working hard to make sure that Mr. Robot stays in control. It was mesmerizing to see Mr. Robot transform back into Elliot at the wrong moment, with Angela stepping in to try to calm him down and inject him before calling Phillip to have Elliot fired. Tyrell is also losing it, and I’m curious to see how Irving is going to handle his demands given Joanna’s demise. I like when Elliot explains things like metadata, and his delivery of “part of being a corporate drone is going to mandated office functions” was particularly entertaining.