Mr. Robot

[Raffaella]

I'm up to episode 5 and I must say 10/10 for intense bathroom scenes:


I know you framed Terry Colby… I just wanted to know your weakness, and now I do. Revenge.
I just want to thank you for a lovely evening.


I'm really enjoying this show, although, I am surprised that its rating matches season 2 of Orphan Black. It's much, much better. Orphan Black is fun but quite sloppy, it could do with a lot more cutting. Mr Robot is sharp, every scenes seems significant.

 

[Raffaella]

Mr Robot Finale Postponed in Wake of Virginia TV shooting


It'll air on September 2.


Apparently there's a graphic scene similar to the shooting. I think they should've delayed it for at least another two weeks, it'd be more respectful.

 

[Duffy]

Oh wow. I thought the season ended already. Didn't know there was one more.

 

[Totenkindly]

Mr Robot Finale Postponed in Wake of Virginia TV shooting

It'll air on September 2.

Apparently there's a graphic scene similar to the shooting. I think they should've delayed it for at least another two weeks, it'd be more respectful.

I missed the announcement until today, but last night my system (which was tied into the specific episode, not to a series recording) recorded SOMETHING. Now I wonder what's on my DVR.

I would be okay with a two-week delay, although it was nice to delay it at all.


... oh, and I was skimming Netflix looking for stuff to watch and ended up saving something to my list when I saw Esmail was attached as writer/director. (It's a movie called "Comet" with Justin Long.) It might or might not be good, but based on Mr. Robot, I was willing to give it a chance.

 

[Adam]

Mr Robot Finale Postponed in Wake of Virginia TV shooting


It'll air on September 2.


Apparently there's a graphic scene similar to the shooting. I think they should've delayed it for at least another two weeks, it'd be more respectful.

Bull.

 

[Riva]

Oh wow. I thought the season ended already. Didn't know there was one more.

What odd endings you expect. Lolz do you walk away during movie breaks too?

 

[Duffy]

What odd endings you expect. Lolz do you walk away during movie breaks too?

You'd be surprised. I think I interpret events weirdly so I've done some odd things in the past.

I think it's the way the episodes are labeled. 1.0 = ep. 1, 1.1 = ep. 2, 1.2 = ep. 3, etc.

 

[Totenkindly]

I think it's the way the episodes are labeled. 1.0 = ep. 1, 1.1 = ep. 2, 1.2 = ep. 3, etc.

I'll accept that. I found it confusing to try to find and back-watch the episodes, I was a little unsure of I had found them all and in the right order.

Plus,I guess they were trying to sound like "hackers" but labeled them with various extensions in the titles that had little bearing on a vid file -- like WAV, DOC, and a bunch of other stuff.

 

[Duffy]

I'll accept that. I found it confusing to try to find and back-watch the episodes, I was a little unsure of I had found them all and in the right order.

Plus,I guess they were trying to sound like "hackers" but labeled them with various extensions in the titles that had little bearing on a vid file -- like WAV, DOC, and a bunch of other stuff.

I had reservations when I first started this show, figured it might be more stylistic than substance, like they were just going to name drop stuff. I know hollywood tend to go this route in IT related topics... For the most part, I think they did a good job.

 

[Totenkindly]

How Did a Show Like Mr. Robot End Up on USA? -- Vulture

I thought this was interesting, about the planned shift in USA network programming as spearheaded by Mr. Robot and potentially others. Also... there's mention that Esmail has a number of seasons already planned out. So the show might be around for awhile if it continues to draw buzz.

 

[GarrotTheThief]

love this show.

 

[Raffaella]

... oh, and I was skimming Netflix looking for stuff to watch and ended up saving something to my list when I saw Esmail was attached as writer/director. (It's a movie called "Comet" with Justin Long.) It might or might not be good, but based on Mr. Robot, I was willing to give it a chance.

It hasn't done well on RT and MC so I won't pursue it till my netflix list is smaller. I’d be interested in what you think of it, though.

Oh, and I hadn’t even considered President Walker until I’d read your post but I recogised Linda straight away.

Bull.

Yeah, I realised later that it's could be just a deceptive move to avoid low rating. Oh well.

Hello Fight club

Episode 9 was predictable. Knew Christian Slater's character was an imagination all along. I figured it out very early actually. It was kind of obvious because he wasn't interacting with anyone else. It was always him and elliot. In one episode he went and interacted with everyone from Fsociety to get back together. In that Elliot wasn't in the room, so I knew it was Elliot other self. Also when Elliot interacts with him, no one else hears Slater's character.

It was kinda so obvious I thought maybe he wasn't an imagined person, that the show wsa trying to confuse us into thinking that.

I don't see any mysteries going to unravel in the last episode. It's all out it seems.

Tyrell Wellick's character was not the House Of Cards type mastermind I thought he would be. He has been a disappointment so far. It's as though the show was again like above trying to distract us into making us believe he had some awesome tricks but he has none.

I think he was a rip off of Frank Underwood. He and his wife has the underwood wife and husband vibe and she also kicked him out just like Claire did to Frank.

I really like how Esmail dealt with that subplot. Episode 9 (and the end of episode 8) was satisfying; I was impressed that the show remained fresh.

Also, its predictability was expected, considering its parallels to Fight Club, Esmail knew he could only keep his audience interested in Mr Robot’s identity for so long. He even acknowledges that he knew the audience had already solved it, it's in Elliot’s voice-over (ep 9, @ 34:37):

You know all along, didn’t you.

I appreciate this acknowledgement; the fact that Esmail is aware of the limitations of this subplot and preceptiveness of his audience.

Also, I’m relieved we were shown the store’s signboard, the 80s font in the title was starting to bug me.

As for Tyrell:

I’m not sure about his characterization. He reminds me of Patrick Bateman but I feel his descent was rushed. Not that it was unbelievable, just that it would’ve been wiser to prolong his arc. I think such characters are prone to exaggeration and that they need to be more mindful of his development.

I did laugh at his outbursts, though, they were unexpected and entertaining.

 

[Raffaella]

Oh and there's this:

Rules hold sway over us, whether we realize it or not. Safety rules. Traffic rules. Rules of grammar. Laws. Codes of social behavior. Rules for arrangement of objects in your personal space. Rules for dress. Rules for business. The same holds true, oddly enough, when we watch films. We expect certain results. We expect certain placements, settings, orientations--and we even expect that the stories we enfold ourselves in will obey certain habitual patterns, will fall into place with a click. This character will fall in love with that character. Character X will win, and Character Y will lose. When it comes to visual rules, our expectations become a little harder to call out or examine because they are perhaps more engrained in us. The truth is, though, that it is the defiance of rules that makes a lasting work; whatever our expectations might be, the more eccentric works are the ones we remember. What better television show in which to examine the violation and transcendence of visual rules than the USA Network's 'Mr. Robot,' as video editor Semih has done in this close-up, smart piece? Can you imagine a show about computer hackers that actually obeyed compositional rules?

Source: Indiewire Blog​

I remember a scene in episode 3 standing out (around 28:11). Gideon and Elliot are both standing outside, alone. Before Gideon leans in to hug Elliot, the characters feature in separate shots aligned to either side, facing each other. When Gideon leans in to hug Elliot, the camera shows Gideon leaving his area and entering Elliot’s indicating the intrusion and discomfort felt by Elliot. Then, the camera goes back to a broader shot of Gideon’s area with Elliot inside evidently representing Gideon’s trust and affection.

Just a few ideas, I do want to read more on this, though.

 

[Totenkindly]

I liked the off-spec shots, although if you note they still follow some decent scene composition shots even when characters are off center, in terms of how everything lays out visually in the panel and background (such as the power tower being between the characters versus blocked by them). They're just choosing which rules to break and thus what they're trying to say, while not necessarily breaking rules that allow us to easily digest a scene.

But it suggests that things aren't what they seem; that life isn't properly arranged; that things are "off" somehow; and perhaps even that the camera can't necessarily be trusted, that we're just being shown certain things and the things we're expecting to see are 'off camera' and thus hidden from our view.

it's interesting to consider consciously. One of my first thoughts is, "you know, I never like the dead-on centered shots anyway; it always feels contrived to me; life is not like that." That's more the purview of the shows that package everything nicely and have the plot tied up in a bow at the end. I write off nicely packaged shows pretty quickly.

 

[chubber]

I started watching it and then lost interest. Especially when it required "drugs" to make it part of that world. It means, it's just riding on people's fears and what black hat is associated with the underworld. He started out as a white hat. It's stupid.

 

[Totenkindly]

Well, season 1 is a wrap. What did you guys think about the finale?

It was as solid as anything else, but ultimately didn't seem to reveal anything really new about what was happening. It just kind of set things up for Season 2, I thought.

 

[Raffaella]

I’m only supposed to be your prophet, you’re supposed to be my god.

Well... it definitely exceeded expectations.

It was as solid as anything else, but ultimately didn't seem to reveal anything really new about what was happening. It just kind of set things up for Season 2, I thought.

I agree that they're preparing for an ambitious season. The episode itself - in its ability to increase the scope and depth of the show's world - was ambitious. If season two is anything like this episode then I think this series will be cemented amongst the greats.


This episode left me with more questions:

• Angela's position at E-Corp is deliberate but why? Is she just a pawn for Price to get closer to Elliot? Will she succumb to the lust for power?
• Speaking of White Rose, what's her/his deal? Whose side is she/he on? More importantly, what's with the nonchalance towards the beeping watch? Chills…
• What about Tyrell? Is he another manifestation of Elliot's imagination? Is that what Joanna hinting was at?
  
  • Does it even matter anymore?
• Is Elliot supposed to embody Jesus? Is Mr Robot the Father?
  

 

[Totenkindly]

you had good questions, those things ran through my mind as well.

Also... I sat there when Elliot was in the Times Square and just thought, "Fucking unreliable narrators... who knows what's going on anymore?!!" Seriously, EVERYTHING is up for grabs. I don't know how to trust Elliot; he can't even trust himself. But hey, that's what makes it good. I want to make sense of everything; but like Elliot, I cannot. We are completely at his mercy in terms of what we perceive and understand... although perhaps scenes away from his field of perception might possess more reliability. I just don't know anymore, though.

 

[Raffaella]

Also... I sat there when Elliot was in the Times Square and just thought, "Fucking unreliable narrators... who knows what's going on anymore?!!" Seriously, EVERYTHING is up for grabs. I don't know how to trust Elliot; he can't even trust himself. But hey, that's what makes it good. I want to make sense of everything; but like Elliot, I cannot. We are completely at his mercy in terms of what we perceive and understand... although perhaps scenes away from his field of perception might possess more reliability. I just don't know anymore, though.

So much this. And, Elliot kept breaking the fourth wall, in case we weren't confused enough!


Someone found this on Reddit, I imagine it's a viral campaign since it was posted a week ago:

 

[Totenkindly]

So much this. And, Elliot kept breaking the fourth wall, in case we weren't confused enough!

I loved that, when

Elliot was talking to us in one of those moments -- I overlooked he was doing it -- and his dad, who is a figment of his imagination, yells at him and tells him to stop talking to us all the time. ROFL! It was a meta-meta moment,.

I find the BD Wong character nicely enigmatic -- what does this person want? Which self is "real"? Who are they really? And so forth.