What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 3, Episode 5 “eps3.4_runtime-err0r.r00” (B+)

Now this was a riveting episode. All installments of this show are mesmerizing and captivating in their own way, but this one felt so incredibly claustrophobic and focused, with real, unavoidable events taking place as Stage 2 appears to have gone into effect. I love that Elliot diagnosed his experience as a runtime error, and that he accidentally told his coworker what he meant to say to his imaginary friend the audience, which prompted him to ask himself, what did he do this weekend? Watching him spring into action when he realized that he was about to be fired and escorted off the premises was fantastic since he melded so easily into his surroundings, posing first as the IT guy who targeted the wrong hapless offender and then boldly insisting that he was in the right conference room when he clearly wasn’t. I love that he asked the audience what to do when he conjured Mr. Robot, who he acknowledged wasn’t even the usual split personality but just a hallucination, a difference most wouldn’t bother to break down. After Darlene told him that she was working with the FBI and that Angela is the one who’s been working against him, we got an amazing shift to Angela’s own escape attempt in the building, which was a real nail-biter. This show’s representation of chaos is unrivaled, and Irving’s cool coaching provided a sharp contrast to Angela nearly got in trouble multiple times. The intense musical scoring with the numbers as the hired protesters went up the elevator was extremely effective, and Angela running straight into Elliot as she made her exit was a whopper of an ending to a truly terrific episode.