What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 4, Episode 7 “407 Proxy Authentication Required” (B)

I’m not thrilled with the excessive focus on Fernando, especially since it meant we didn’t see any of Darlene or Dom and their unfortunate predicament in this hour. The opener here cut to the chase with Fernando droning on to a different captive, and it got gradually more interesting as Elliot started trying to poke holes in his ego. Considering Elliot a formidable adversary was important, but the bigger aim was for Fernando to be on the same level as him, which he was for just one moment before Krista finally cut him off by stabbing him. There is something to be said, I suppose, for Elliot being undone by someone that he messed with rather than a real bad guy from E Corp or the Dark Army, making a decision that was seemingly harmless back then and turned out to have extraordinarily destructive implications. Invoking Shayla caught me off-guard since it was a reference to someone we haven’t seen in so long. It was pretty cool to see Mr. Robot come out and act all unimpressed with Fernando, though that didn’t last too long before Fernando exerted control by forcing Krista to have a therapy session. The revelation that Elliot’s father had abused him is earth-shattering for Elliot because he considers Mr. Robot to be his father rather than another personality, and it’s going to be hard for him to keep going now with that knowledge. Let’s hope Krista can help set him on the right track so that he can rescue the family member he does still have left alive who’s in serious trouble.