What I’m Watching: Mr. Robot (Penultimate Episode)

Mr. Robot: Season 4, Episode 11 “eXit” (B)

This isn’t technically the second-to-last episode of this show, but its two-hour series finale airs in one block this Sunday, which will be the last time I’ll tune in to watch it. I wasn’t overly taken with this episode because our characters spent much too long talking, and that’s pretty much all that’s been featured this season, with those who want to justify their versions of villainy given endless time to explain themselves and force us – and usually Elliot – to listen. Showing us a bit of the scenes we’ve already seen explained how they turned out differently than we might have expected, like Whiterose having her soldiers take out the actual FBI and SWAT teams that stormed her house. When Elliot was escorted through the plant past all the executed employees, it was definitely disturbing, and then he got laughed at by Whiterose because she thought he hated much more than she did. Shooting herself in the head after telling Elliot that she wanted to show him what she had shown Angela was a puzzling ending, and then we got that red screen after his gameplay didn’t work. I liked, earlier, that Darlene acknowledge Mr. Robot separately and said goodbye to him, and that Mr. Robot showed up to help Elliot when he needed him most. I’m not sure how to interpret the alternate reality in which Elliot is an only child, his father is still alive, he’s CEO of AllSafe, and he’s about to marry Angela. I’m intrigued but unconvinced, and I’m hopeful that the series finale will be more resounding and emphatic, closing out an incredibly creative show that’s sometimes hard to follow and truly enjoy.