What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot: Season 4, Episode 5 “405 Method Not Allowed” (B)

It’s weird to keep watching heavily-themed Christmas episodes so much before winter officially kicks into gear (though I’m currently in Los Angeles, where winter isn’t really a thing). Aside from that, this episode felt very insular as Elliot and Darlene got to work together in close quarters with a lot of pressure on around them. It was eerie not to see Mr. Robot at all, a forceful reminder that Elliot is just one person, and just because we’re often shown the other side of his personality, he doesn’t actually have someone there to help him at all times. After they successfully eluded security several times, Elliot got spotted very directly by one of their agents, and his decision to burst through the door and run from the police seemed like it was going to result with him back in prison, sacrificing himself so that Darlene could get away. The pace of the episode was decidedly intense from that point on, and somehow they managed to reunite and escape together. They might have eluded the police, but Janice was onto them with an amazingly clear picture, and let’s hope that Dom can covertly alert her old pal Darlene that she and her brother are in a lot of danger. Seeing Krista multiple times throughout the episode was foreboding since we knew that Elliot’s presence in her life would eventually put her in harm’s way, and Fernando showing up to help her with her groceries is the confirmation that she’s officially involved in a way that she really doesn’t want to be.