Support NeoGAF

[Poimandres]

Elliot says this at the very first episode.

I thought he said something like "I witnessed the first of his many affairs". I just took that to mean ACTUAL affairs. Did he say something about it just being cyber cheating?

Anyway, he went and met up with that internet girl in the second (?) ep so cheating cheating, not emotional cheating.

 

[EdibleKnife]

Wow. I'm hooked after the first ep. This is a great show.

 

[MassiveNights]

How are the ratings for this compared to other channels/shows with similar exposure? I am worried about it getting cancelled.

 

[Poimandres]

I think that poster was agreeing with you, i.e. it was established in the first episode that Angela's boyfriend has been (physically) cheating on her for a while.

Yeah, that makes sense. I thought it was strange the other poster was talking about him cheating emotionally (as opposed to her physically).

 

[dead souls]

How are the ratings for this compared to other channels/shows with similar exposure? I am worried about it getting cancelled.

It was renewed before it even aired an episode.

 

[LightofRohan]

Just started this, was really shocked a lot of people are loving this, some of the lines are pure cringe. It is like what an angsty 4chan user THINKS he is in real-life. I could barely make it through...

Once he met up with Mr. Robot it started getting more interesting though, so I'll continue. But if it is more of, "you are all puppets, hanging on by a facebook string! Wake up sheeple! Stop buying apple products!", I'm out.

 

[Gr1mLock]

Just started this, was really shocked a lot of people are loving this, some of the lines are pure cringe. It is like what an angsty 4chan user THINKS he is in real-life. I could barely make it through...

Once he met up with Mr. Robot it started getting more interesting though, so I'll continue. But if it is more of, "you are all puppets, hanging on by a facebook string! Wake up sheeple! Stop buying apple products!", I'm out.

 

[Cabbagehead]

Just started this, was really shocked a lot of people are loving this, some of the lines are pure cringe. It is like what an angsty 4chan user THINKS he is in real-life. I could barely make it through...

Once he met up with Mr. Robot it started getting more interesting though, so I'll continue. But if it is more of, "you are all puppets, hanging on by a facebook string! Wake up sheeple! Stop buying apple products!", I'm out.

Go away

 

[LightofRohan]

Go away

Ahw, it's more of that? I'm fine with F Society, but it took itself a little too serious with those quips. Acting, directing and score were pretty great.

And like I said it started getting more interesting once Mr Robot hit, so I hope that vibe continues!

 

[Tugatrix]

Just started this, was really shocked a lot of people are loving this, some of the lines are pure cringe. It is like what an angsty 4chan user THINKS he is in real-life. I could barely make it through...

Once he met up with Mr. Robot it started getting more interesting though, so I'll continue. But if it is more of, "you are all puppets, hanging on by a facebook string! Wake up sheeple! Stop buying apple products!", I'm out.

the voice of evil corporation

 

[Gr1mLock]

Ahw, it's more of that? I'm fine with F Society, but it took itself a little too serious with those quips. Acting, directing and score were pretty great.

And like I said it started getting more interesting once Mr Robot hit, so I hope that vibe continues!

Thought you was out breh?

 

[LightofRohan]

Thought you was out breh?

I never said that?

 

[sirap]

My dad shouted no fucking way when we sat down to watch this show. He's an old school programmer, cut his teeth on punch cards and he's constantly blown away by how accurate the show portrays hacking.

 

[Gr1mLock]

I never said that?

I apologize. I read your last sentence a bit fast. I think its safe to say that the last episode is more indicative of where the show is heading. Not saying that it doesn't have it's cringe moments (Elliot using 'AFK' and 'IRL' in actual sentences) but the overall story is interesting enough to look past these minor transgressions. At least to me.

 

[UrbanRats]

Go away

OT are supposed to be circlejerks? DarknessBear has some valid points, some lines are pure cringe, even though there's a good chance they're playing them with a second meaning, since the story is experienced through an unreliable narrator.

 

[foxtrot3d]

Just started this, was really shocked a lot of people are loving this, some of the lines are pure cringe. It is like what an angsty 4chan user THINKS he is in real-life. I could barely make it through...

Once he met up with Mr. Robot it started getting more interesting though, so I'll continue. But if it is more of, "you are all puppets, hanging on by a facebook string! Wake up sheeple! Stop buying apple products!", I'm out.

You do realize the main character is a complete social outcast suffering from at least one mental illness? His rants against society and sheeple aren't exactly supposed to be taken seriously.

 

[LightofRohan]

My dad screamed no fucking way when we sat down to watch this show. He's an old school programmer, cut his teeth on punch cards and he's constantly blown away by how accurate the show portrays hacking.

The number 1 thing I respect about this show... No computer noises! Hoozah! Dexter take notes (too late). But yes, I really appreciate their depiction of hacking and computers.

I apologize. I read your last sentence a bit fast. I think its safe to say that the last episode is more indicative of where the show is heading. Not saying that it doesn't have it's cringe moments (Elliot using 'AFK' and 'IRL' in actual sentences) but the overall story is interesting enough to look past these minor transgressions. At least to me.

Alright, I'm definitely interested enough to keep going. Everything was really well done, just some of those lines were hard to get through.

You do realize the main character is a complete social outcast suffering from at least one mental illness? His rants against society and sheeple aren't exactly supposed to be taken seriously.

I kind of got that, since he is not played up as a pinnacle of society. But it kind of lent itself to a "cool, outcast" sort of vibe that wasn't really warranted by some of the things he stated. A lot of it was like the "I'm 14 and this is deep" images around. But it seemed like his character was already changing and expanding near the end of the pilot, so I'm going to keep going.

 

[Insane Metal]

You have to remember, the main character is drug-addicted, mentally ill, paranoid, delusional - you are meant to regard everything he says with a level of skepticism and not necessarily agree with his views on the menace of corporate consumerism.

This, so much thissssss. Some of the people who don't like the show don't seem to understand this part. They think we should take everything that is said by him literally. Come on now.

 

[Gr1mLock]

I think its also worth noting how quickly Elliot is forced out of his little bubble into a lot of uncomfortable situations.

 

[Nameless]

The creative use of lighting, color and framing. The way the camera flows from sweeping wide shots to these almost surreal macro shots, and every imaginable perspective in between -- the minds behind Mr.Robot were no doubt heavily influenced by Breaking Bad, which is a big reason why it's easily the most visually compelling thing that's been on TV since.

I'm still picking bits of brain out of the carpet after that insane 'Enter The Void' sequence this past episode.

Love this show

 

[UrbanRats]

Yeah, absolutely. And how incredibly lonely and emotionally, socially disconnected he is in his little bubble, or how being able to "read" the digital secrets of people's lives doesn't necessarily enable him to actually connect with those people in the real world.

Yeah you have to read them more as Elliot's ramblings, rather than the author's.

However i would still like them to express a bit more subtlety.
One example is, in i think the first episode, Elliot has to decide whether to accept Mr.Robot's, by of handing out the bogus .dll file, and they show him in front of his computer looking at articles about corporations screwing people.
They could've find a less obvious way to have that scene.

 

[Aexact]

This, so much thissssss. Some of the people who don't like the show don't seem to understand this part. They think we should take everything that is said by him literally. Come on now.

I mean, from the first episode, I got that impression too: the way the episode portrayed him was this genius hacker whose misanthropy was the truth of the world. Kinda felt that he was frequently validated when his facebook sleuthing and hacking confirmed his sociopathic views about people and how he was right to believe he was above it all and almost godlike. It was so snuggly presented from his PoV.

I didn't get the inklings of "actually, he might be an unreliable narrator" until later episodes as they present more front-and-center events where Elliot's assumptions are challenged.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Catching up with last week's episode.

What a weird drug trip.

Elliot crying then Mr Robot telling Elliott he's not alone

What a tearjerker. Already a more positive relationship than Tyler Durden/Edward Norton.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

You know, at the end of the previous week's episode, it appeared that the Allsafe boss started to piece together the fact the rootkit was still on the server. It wasn't brought up at all in this past week's episode.

I'm sure this topic will surface tonight?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I'm just really happy Christian Slater a great project that didn't get cancelled in the first season like everything else he's been on.

He's so good in this show.

He's more "what if Tyler Durden was your nutty dad instead of your asshole buddy"

 

[TheSeks]

Last episode looked like they were using... Ubuntu(?) on the laptop.

Also I died laughing at "dude, we all know what a Raspberry Pi is." My first reaction was like "you're doing to use a Raspberry Pi?" I'm kinda glad the writer/show head at least keeps the technical stuff semi-grounded and in the fore-front even if some of it is a little disbelief breaking.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Taking the night off, everyone?

The coffee shop scene was interesting...

 

[Baroquemantic]

Poor Bill. That ish even hurt me.

Edit: Great episode. Next week looks even better.

 

[TheSeks]

Taking the night off, everyone?

I've been watching it via DVR.

Also it does seem like they actually put actual Linux/programs up on the computer screens. Neat.

 

[a secret-boss]

didn't expect Elliot to meet the Tyrell. Liking this guy and wife as bad guy. Extreme version of Frank and Claire Underwood
I like the twist and turns of this episode
damn Elliot and Shayla about to end already. this soon
at least its not cliche Shayla finding Elliot hanging out with hacker girl

 

[rexor0717]

Oh no, don't mess with Bill.
That was really hard to watch.

 

[blainethemono]

DARK SEOUL

 

[UrbanRats]

Have you ever seen Enlightened?

I haven't, i only knew it was the one with Laura Dern.
But anyhow, personally i really like mono-perspective narratives, especially told by an unreliable narrator.
It's easier to get down the rabbit hole, and to me it feels like a very pure form of art, in the sense that it lets you inhabit another mind in a very straight forward fashion (or maybe it's just easier to read, i guess).

 

[Tamanon]

I thought the two paths shot was a bit too on the nose. But I enjoyed the themes going through of people having weaknesses, and then all the plans start going awry because they are all people relying on others.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Tyrell is part of the dark army isn't he? Shayla and Elliot were screwed the second they showed FernandoVera and Ben from Reaper (no matter what Rick Gonzalez does he'll always be Ben from Reaper to me) in the opening. Mr.Robot interacting with Elliot blocked out of the shot was interesting while no one in the van acknowledges his existence in the van when Elliot isn't there, already forgetting it he was acknowledged when he was. I do enjoy the fourth wall breaking.

Poor Bill. =(

 

[Nocebo]

didn't expect Elliot to meet the Tyrell. Liking this guy and wife as bad guy.

Really? It's the classic "adversary just so happens to be in the location you're trying to infiltrate and you run into him" trope. I was kind of disappointed that is happened but it wasn't terrible.

Overall I really liked the infiltration stuff. I'm not sure about the dinner date though, I hope it actually amounts to something interesting. I feel the Tyrell character has potential but so far it feels a bit flat.

 

[TripOpt55]

Man I love this show. The infiltration bits were so good. I felt bad for Bill though. Interesting to watch Tyrell. Never know what to expect with that guy. Fun seeing Angela just kick Ollie to the curb too. Her dad seemed really cool. I really like Elliot and Shayla together. Figured something would happen to her with the opening. Curious to see where they go with that next week.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Really? It's the classic "adversary just so happens to be in the location you're trying to infiltrate and you run into him" trope. I was kind of disappointed that is happened but it wasn't terrible.

Overall I really liked the infiltration stuff. I'm not sure about the dinner date though, I hope it actually amounts to something interesting. I feel the Tyrell character has potential but so far it feels a bit flat.

They're adversaries now but I do think they'll work together at some point. They've gone to great lengths to show that in a few ways they're a lot alike. Both are extreme outsiders and don't see real ways in or don't want one. It probably won't last but I can see it happening breifly.

 

[Dominican Power]

Tyrell is such a megalomaniac. His wife(she's hot) is equally as disturbed as him.


So, the wife of the CTO candidate wanted it when she spread her legs while Tyrell was staring her down, right? But Tyrell was teasing her. Her exploit must be kinky sex.

I see that Fernando is Dominican. : (


Tyrell must be the one that paid off the Dark Army and is playing the long con with Elliot. Darlene's connect with the Chinese is the same dude that gave out that spyware to Ollie, right?

 

[Sober]

Four coffee cups guys

I think there's all the proof you need.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Tyrell must be the one that paid off the Dark Army and is playing the long con with Elliot. Darlene's connect with the Chinese is the same dude that gave out that spyware to Ollie, right?

Yes. Dark Army turned down fsociety because they have other plans (that we aren't full aware of yet).

 

[Dominican Power]

And now I know why the actor that plays Elliot seem so familiar. He was in the HBO mini series The Pacific. He played the character Snafu.

 

[foxtrot3d]

And now I know why the actor that plays Elliot seem so familiar. He was in the HBO mini series The Pacific. He played the character Snafu.

Of course, he also played that one terrorist in S8 of 24. I thought tonight's episode was interesting but too drawn out and ends too abruptly. Also, I'm certain Mr. Robot isn't real but I dislike when such a twist is done cheaply. It seems very much like a Fight Club kind of affair, however I always find that version to be cheap and dumb. A good twist is one in which you can go back and watch and notice it staring you in the face the entire time, for this type of twist the Sixth Sense is a good example. Upon rewatch you notice how no one actually reacts to Willis' character and how he abruptly appears in scenes, you can immediately tell he's not real. With the Fight Club type of deal you can't piece it together yourself since sometimes he's imagining Tyler Durden and sometimes he is Tyler Durden imagining himself as watching.

That is cheap because for all intents and purposes the "fake" character is indistinguishable from the real thing.

 

[blainethemono]

Of course, he also played that one terrorist in S8 of 24. I thought tonight's episode was interesting but too drawn out and ends too abruptly. Also, I'm certain Mr. Robot isn't real but I dislike when such a twist is done cheaply. It seems very much like a Fight Club kind of affair, however I always find that version to be cheap and dumb. A good twist is one in which you can go back and watch and notice it staring you in the face the entire time, for this type of twist the Sixth Sense is a good example. Upon rewatch you notice how no one actually reacts to Willis' character and how he abruptly appears in scenes, you can immediately tell he's not real. With the Fight Club type of deal you can't piece it together yourself since sometimes he's imagining Tyler Durden and sometimes he is Tyler Durden imagining himself as watching.

That is cheap because for all intents and purposes the "fake" character is indistinguishable from the real thing.

i really don't get that feeling at all

from what i remember, no character has ever interacted, looked at or spoken with both Elliot and Mr Robot within the same shot, it's always been one or the other

this episode stretched the issue a little more, but you still never actually see more than a two-way conversation with any one character and either of them at the same time

to me, it looks like they're going to a lot of trouble to make it overtly obvious, so i have to assume they're going to twist it around eventually

edit - i think i completely misread your post, so i guess i'm agreeing with you, it's different here from how it's executed in Fight Club

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

It seems very much like a Fight Club kind of affair, however I always find that version to be cheap and dumb. A good twist is one in which you can go back and watch and notice it staring you in the face the entire time, for this type of twist the Sixth Sense is a good example. Upon rewatch you notice how no one actually reacts to Willis' character and how he abruptly appears in scenes, you can immediately tell he's not real. With the Fight Club type of deal you can't piece it together yourself since sometimes he's imagining Tyler Durden and sometimes he is Tyler Durden imagining himself as watching.

That is cheap because for all intents and purposes the "fake" character is indistinguishable from the real thing.

So you can't go back and rewatch and see this with Fight Club? Even with the myriad of strange character interactions, the way he briefly blips into scenes (like he does with porn scenes in family films), receiving incoming calls from a phone that doesn't except incoming calls, being in the wrong seat when the car crashes, the way Marla treats The Narrator/Durden etc.

 

[foxtrot3d]

So you can't go back and rewatch and see this with Fight Club? Even with the myriad of strange character interactions, the way he briefly blips into scenes (like he does with porn scenes in family films), receiving incoming calls from a phone that doesn't except incoming calls, being in the wrong seat when the car crashes, the way Marla treats The Narrator/Durden etc.

I was stating the general premise of a character both seeing an imaginary person and also being that person and imagining themselves. Fight Club saves itself with those details which few other imitators actually remember to do. In this episode things seems to go along fine until the end when the reconvene back at the arcade. Mr. Robot takes front and center as he asks everyone what is going on. At first this is fine since at no point does the camera cut back to Elliot. But, then he begins to question why the Dark Army is backing out and why they need them. We then cut to a reaction shot of Elliot, which is cheap and pointless if Mr. Robot truly isn't real. He then gets done with his whole speech and turns to Elliot to tell him to convince her at which point we cut back to him who moves right next to her. Which is also weird since she literally just told Mr. Robot if you come any closer I will hit send.

That entire scene is framed in a way to make it seem that Mr. Robot and Elliot are two different people with the camera cutting back and forth between each character for reaction shots. That is cheap if the twist is real.

 

[Poodlestrike]

I think they might be going for an UnTwist; the shocking reveal is that no, this isn't Fight Club, Mr. Robot is real.

 

[Nocebo]

They're adversaries now but I do think they'll work together at some point. They've gone to great lengths to show that in a few ways they're a lot alike. Both are extreme outsiders and don't see real ways in or don't want one. It probably won't last but I can see it happening breifly.

I agree that they are alike and Tyrell even said that he thinks Elliot is special like himself. But I think their ideologies are completely opposite. Elliot doesn't like a single entity hold the power and control. While Tyrell wants to be the one who has all the power and control. Or perhaps Tyrell is playing the long game?

Perhaps it will seem like that are working together at some point like you say but it will be because Tyrell is trying to use Elliot for his own purposes.

 

[a secret-boss]

Mr Robot actually talks to Tyrell at the end

Twist! Not Fight Club

Twist! Tyrell is another Elliot Persona

 

[Seesaw15]

At this point I'm 50/50 on whether Mr.Robot is real. They went out of their way to show Mr.Robot interacting with other people but the way Darlene ask Elliot for permission at the end seems like too much of a red flag.