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[EdibleExplosives]

Commercials every 10 minutes is really grating.

I don't know how you Americans watch this, or any other drama on tv, without going insane from the ad breaks.

I was thinking more Silk Road which could get pretty dark.

Yeah, he could be involved in a lot of different black market shit.

 

[Zoe]

Whiterose & Philip are colleagues of industry - Whiterose seems to be a major corporate player in China, Philip & him are currently working together on a chip factory that was briefly mentioned at the end of last season, and it seems Ecorp wants to integrate some new form of 'ECoin' commerce.

The company Whiterose publicly works for & ECorp seem to have some joint ventures together, although Philip probably has zero idea on Whiterose's involvement with the hack, or any other proclivities Whiterose has (at the season finale, Whiterose was dressed as a man when they met - it seems whenever Whiterose is working towards his own interests, he is dressed as a woman, whereas he is dressed as a man when Philip/other people saw him).

Now that you mention it, I wonder if that's connected to the reason ECorp doesn't want any 3rd party inspectors going into the plant(?) that Angela was talking about.

 

[joesmokey]

This episode was much better than last week's, though we're still finding our footing. It looks like the pace will start picking up from here.

 

[Curufinwe]

Commercials every 10 minutes is really grating.

I just DVR it and start watching about 20 minutes after it starts.

 

[El Daniel]

Then this show isn't for you, because Sam is going to be using this constantly. It's like the complaint American Horror Story had for the way it framed itself: It's how the director of photography wants it.

He says a little annoying, doesn't mean the show isn't for him.

 

[MassiveNights]

I mean, the characters haven't really been up to anything yet. This week's episode is the first where a clear 'direction' was beginning to be laid out & set: fsociety is being hunted, Romero was onto an FBI surveillance program that might've been tracking them, and for the first time we now know that Darlene's mission to tank the public perception of ECorp was actually a part of Mr. Robot's plan, and that Mr. Robot had anticipated that the real work that would need to be done against ECorp would take place after the hack, not leading up to it, and that he had already put plans in place in order to enact that unbeknownst to Elliot.

All of this basically came out in yesterday's episode. Everything up to this point was just setting the stage for the rest of the season.

All of this feels like a problem when we are already four episodes in.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Wow, loving this show, shit is getting real now.

What's that mr robot site all about? I'll have to check it out tomorrow, looks amazing.

 

[chris121580]

What a phenomenal episode! I've really enjoyed this season and how crazy it's been. Also, just finished watching the VR portion, the dancing with Elliot and Shayla is pretty adorable. Good use of the song "Cherry" too.

 

[thenexus6]

Get some major Darth Vader vibes at the start of this episode when Elliot puts on the mask and jacket like the first time Vader gets into his suit. The music was so good in that scene.

 

[Acerac]

I don't think it's because it isn't the same length every week. I think it's because it has often feels longer than it needs to be this season.

I suppose? None of it has really came across as filler to me, so the alternative is having the same amount of things happen during the span of 5 or 6 episodes instead of 4. I can't imagine anyone who is complaining that the plot is going slowly would prefer that.

If you think it's boring say that. Saying the episodes are too long when you mean that you dislike the way the plot has been going only serves to present an inaccurate picture of the problems you are having with the show.

Or maybe you genuinely would prefer to watch 6 episodes at this pace than 4. Hell, I've enjoyed this season myself, but given how there are only so many episodes in a season I don't think that's a good way to go.

But sometimes you end up with Sons of Anarchy or the fourth season of Arrested Development where giving the creator freedom to do whatever they want works against them. Sometimes these limits help. I don't personally think it is a problem with Mr. Robot so far, but I also don't think it is always for the better in general in TV.

Compared to the amount of time executive meddling has caused great shows to fall downward, I'd say the ratio is still pretty heavily in favor of the creators.

*Edit*

Oh god what a typo.

 

[wenis]

Compared to the amount of time executive meddling has caused great falls to fall downward, I'd say the ratio is still pretty heavily in favor of the creators.

 

[Grinchy]

Then this show isn't for you, because Sam is going to be using this constantly. It's like the complaint American Horror Story had for the way it framed itself: It's how the director of photography wants it.

It looks really amateur.

 

[Jay Shadow]

If you think it's boring say that. Saying the episodes are too long when you mean that you dislike the way the plot has been going only serves to present an inaccurate picture of the problems you are having with the show.

You're making a lot of assumptions here. I didn't say the show is boring. I didn't say I dislike the plot. I wouldn't even say there are scenes that are filler. I hate the term filler anyways.

I would say there's a lot of scenes that could have been shorter and not lost anything. There's a line between letting a scene breathe and letting a scene go on too long, and I think he has crossed that line several times this year. A lot of shows flirt with this line and I don't think he's got it down quite yet, which concerns me a bit going forward. I don't need the show to fit in a broadcast hour at all, but shaving off just 5 minutes even would have helped the pacing a lot this year.

I still enjoyed the episode, but unlike some others, it did not fly by at all for me. I was very aware it was still going.

 

[Acerac]

You're making a lot of assumptions here. I didn't say the show is boring. I didn't say I dislike the plot. I wouldn't even say there are scenes that are filler. I hate the term filler anyways.

I would say there's a lot of scenes that could have been shorter and not lost anything. There's a line between letting a scene breathe and letting a scene go on too long, and I think he has crossed that line several times this year. A lot of shows flirt with this line and I don't think he's got it down quite yet, which concerns me a bit going forward. I don't need the show to fit in a broadcast hour at all, but shaving off just 5 minutes even would have helped the pacing a lot this year.

I still enjoyed the episode, but unlike some others, it did not fly by at all for me. I was very aware it was still going.

That's a fair argument, thanks for presenting it. Apologies for assuming what your issue with the show was, I was still in the mindset of the person I had quoted while making the post, I can now see that you wanted to reply to my thought outside of that context.

 

[CRS]

I guess there's going to be a Mr. Robot book coming out at the end of the year. Pre-order links from various outlets in the link.

About the book

Step inside the frontlines of the hit TV show MR. ROBOT with this new in-world fiction book by series creator and showrunner Sam Esmail and series writer Courtney Looney—the first and only book to tie in to USA's Golden Globe® Award-winning series. The book will tell a brand-new story, reveal secrets from the show's second season, and tease developments to come. With removable items from the world of the show, the book will give readers a chance to hold a piece of the series in their own hands.

MR. ROBOT is a psychological thriller that follows Elliot (Rami Malek, The Pacific), a young programmer, who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Christian Slater, Adderall Diaries) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. The New York Times called it "relentless, sensational, and unabashedly suspenseful," the New Yorker called it "terrific" and listed it among the year's best TV, and Rolling Stone said it's "easily the year's most audacious drama" and the "best TV show of 2015." Stars Rami Malek and Christian Slater took home a Critics' Choice® Award and a Golden Globe Award, respectively, and the show itself received a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Award for best television drama, along with the prestigious Peabody award.

PUBLICATION DATE: NOVEMBER 1, 2016
PRICE: $29.95
PUBLISHER: ABRAMS
PRODUCED BY: MELCHER MEDIA
PAGE COUNT: 160
ILLUSTRATIONS: 45
FORMAT: HARDCOVER

 

[KingKong]

This show does not need 4 episodes with its main character and best actor so isolated, seriously. I'm tired of him trying to build up some kind of twist that's not going to be as clever as he thinks.

It's just not fun to watch, and not everything has to be fun but season 1 was exciting and unpredictable

 

[CRS]

What twist? There was no twist. It was the journey of Elliott trying do anything he can to get rid of him, get in control, failing, and eventually coming to a conclusion that Mr. Robot is going nowhere.

 

[wenis]

This show does not need 4 episodes with its main character and best actor so isolated, seriously. I'm tired of him trying to build up some kind of twist that's not going to be as clever as he thinks.

It's just not fun to watch, and not everything has to be fun but season 1 was exciting and unpredictable

There was no twist. It's a sick and traumatized man coming to grips with what he's got inside of him after this huge punctuation mark in his life. A punctuation mark that not only fractured the world economy and is affecting millions of people, but was the final breaking point for Elliot to finally deal with / come to terms with Mr. Robot, the plan and what he wants as a person. He wasn't just addicted to morphine last season, he was addicted to this power trip he was on that Mr. Robot put him on the path of. These episodes were desperately needed. I'd rather a main character go through his pathos and show growth with an assured actionable path than see the character go through the motions of his addiction from last season.

 

[EdibleExplosives]

Four episodes to move Elliot's character forward and set up the season is fine by me, and I'm pretty impatient when it comes to tv shows. It was basically act 1 of season 2.

Although in saying that, I will agree that the pacing has been a bit off, which may be due to the longer runtimes. Seems like next week will be shorter though.

 

[TripOpt55]

Compared to the amount of time executive meddling has caused great shows to fall downward, I'd say the ratio is still pretty heavily in favor of the creators.

I never said otherwise.

 

[KingKong]

Oh I don't mean the Mr Robot thing, I assume he's building up towards another twist. I'd be glad to be proven wrong

 

[HMD]

I feel so lost sometimes, I feel like I can't remember anything from season 1 and I'm not sure if it's intentional or if I'm simply forgetting important plot points.

 

[statuez]

the girl who plays darlene is a pretty terrible actress. cringe.

 

[Dominican Power]

I don't know how you Americans watch this, or any other drama on tv, without going insane from the ad breaks.



Yeah, he could be involved in a lot of different black market shit.

DVR is the great equalizer. I DVR all shows and fast forward commercials. I can't imagine life without it.

 

[Dominican Power]

WTF was the deal with Joanna and that dude in the SUV? What's that all about? I like how she likes to be in control of everything but in the bedroom. She just viciously bursts her boyfriend's dreams.

 

[CRS]

WTF was the deal with Joanna and that dude in the SUV? What's that all about? I like how she likes to be in control of everything but in the bedroom. She just viciously bursts her boyfriend's dreams.

The parking lot employee knows something about Tyrell's whereabouts. Joanna found this out I guess and is paying the employee to change his story to the Feds.

 

[Not]

Awwwww Bill :')

 

[Magwik]

WTF was the deal with Joanna and that dude in the SUV? What's that all about? I like how she likes to be in control of everything but in the bedroom. She just viciously bursts her boyfriend's dreams.

That's the dude who was harassing Eliot about the spot when he woke up in the car. We don't know what he knows yet.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Man the last episode was the good shit. This show is amazing. Now the hacking begins!

 

[Dominican Power]

That's the dude who was harassing Eliot about the spot when he woke up in the car. We don't know what he knows yet.

I forgot about dude.

 

[Baroquemantic]

What a fantastic f***ing episode. Great music too. Though that's to be expected.

Also, Joanna. Lordt. She/the actress is so beautiful.

Thanks for the replies guys, makes sense now.

I did a bit of digging, here's the song that plays during Darlene's bar/sex scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSycSBYHitc

Bless you, Nothus. I was about to ask if anyone knew the song from that scene.

 

[saunderez]

She's fine.

Yup. If you're gonna do something like say an actor is terrible at least give some reasoning why. Carly Chaiken's performance in this show is fine and she's shown to be a capable actress.

 

[Jay Shadow]

the girl who plays darlene is a pretty terrible actress. cringe.

She's plotting against you now

 

[Future]

This episode was much better than last week's, though we're still finding our footing. It looks like the pace will start picking up from here.

Well finally it looks like something is happening. Elliot on the sidelines makes for a boring show.

 

[SneakersSO]

I feel so lost sometimes, I feel like I can't remember anything from season 1 and I'm not sure if it's intentional or if I'm simply forgetting important plot points.

Honestly, the last few episodes of season 1 move at a VERY brisk pace. It goes by fast. The first 5 episodes or so really have a simmer quality with the pace it goes through scenes, locations, different compositions for character interactions, etc.

Then after the plot with Vera culminates, it's basically Elliot clearing roadblock after roadblock until he reaches the very end of the season. Honestly, one of the things I like the most about these first four episodes was to see that the deaths of people he cared about around him, and things he did even in the lead up to the 5/9 hack, are still having a massive impact on him in terms of guilt.

I don't think Sam wants us to feel that Elliot is a bad guy. Elliott isn't Walter White by any stretch - he feels guilt & remorse over his deeds. They affect him, even if it isn't in the immediate. That might be one of the more unique parts about Elliott as a protagonist in this new golden age of cable TV drama; he isn't an anti-hero nor are we watching him to see just how bad he'll turn in order to see his vision through. This latest episode in particular takes note that deep down Elliott is a redeemable guy who wants what we all want - companionship with people he cares about. Its his dream, even more than the fall of ECorp.

 

[SneakersSO]

What twist? There was no twist. It was the journey of Elliott trying do anything he can to get rid of him, get in control, failing, and eventually coming to a conclusion that Mr. Robot is going nowhere.

Welllllll, there is still a chance that there is a twist that was speculated on by the fans once the first 2 episodes aired. I won't link to it, but its a very interesting direction for speculation.

 

[CRS]

Welllllll, there is still a chance that there is a twist that was speculated on by the fans once the first 2 episodes aired. I won't link to it, but its a very interesting direction for speculation.

I thought he was talking about the first four episodes and there being some twist. And if you're talking about the prison theory, it's already been talked about here. It's interesting but I'm not actively looking for a twist this season like I was with Elliott and Mr. Robot (and Tyrell to an extent).

Although, the prison theory would be really interesting with what's happening in Suits right now. Especially when they air right after each other.

 

[Indelible]

I'am enjoying this season alot, really like the slow burn of Elliot finally coming to terms that he needs Mr Robot. It feels like things are about to pick up after this episode.

 

[Foggy]

Yeah this was an excellent episode and I'm loving the deliberate pace of it. It could just be that I bought the season on Vudu, but no commercials makes it entirely seamless and defintely adds to the cinematic nature of the show. It has the most interesting cinematography since True Detective S1.

Also, I would suggest not looking for twists. The twists last season were entirely in service of the character and the dramatic arc, but not in service of just shocking the audience. Hell, the Darlene twist was the only real twist. In multiple interviews, Esmail cites twists like that as something he wants to avoid doing every season because then every season would be about "the twist" and that's a pretty shitty way to go about things. It has plagued Shymalan(among other things) and Lost(among other things). It's especially self-defeating in serialized storytelling.

 

[Curufinwe]

I thought the flashback that started the show, was almost as good as the opener from late last season where the "MR. ROBOT" credits were the store front.

 

[chris121580]

I had already heard Into the Black by Chromatics that was used in the last episode(I got introduced to it in Sons of Anarchy) but I had never heard Cherry until it was used in the VR video while they're dancing. Song is an absolute jam and I've probably listened to it 15 times today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4--gwxMWYA

 

[NaM]

For me there's some serious quality drop from season 1. Pacing is just terrible.

 

[FiggyCal]

I liked every episode except the last one. The pacing was way too slow and it didn't have to be an extra long episode either -- a lot of things could've been cut without significant loss. I'm also not a huge fan of the lack of a soundtrack for a lot of scenes and the ambience of most of the show. It gets super dull.

 

[Exploratory]

I usually don't take this stance but I honestly think some people just aren't built for this type of television. Last season had something people could sink their teeth into. Who is Mr. Robot? This season is going beyond that and honestly I think it's better for it. But, and I know how this sounds, some people just won't be able to "get" it.

The direction they're going with the hacking the FBI thing is something they'll be able to sink their teeth into again but at the end of the day this show is just of a new breed.

 

[STILLethal]

Damnit...I wish I didnt read about THE theory/twist, all I keep thinking about now when I watched this last episode and how it makes perfect sense.
It would have been so much better watching this season without reading that, but oh well

 

[ffejeromdiks]

I usually don't take this stance but I honestly think some people just aren't built for this type of television. Last season had something people could sink their teeth into. Who is Mr. Robot? This season is going beyond that and honestly I think it's better for it. But, and I know how this sounds, some people just won't be able to "get" it.

Yeah it's hard to say that without coming off as condescending but i definitely think it's true in this case, it's taken a high-art turn and naturally that's going to alienate some viewers.


Also I finally checked out the VR experience in a google cardboard and it was actually pretty cool, the content itself would have felt meandering and pointless on a regular screen but it took on a different form since it feels like you are there with the characters. Was a pretty odd feeling when it was over as it felt like I was just hanging out with Elliot and Shayla.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

There was no twist. It's a sick and traumatized man coming to grips with what he's got inside of him after this huge punctuation mark in his life. A punctuation mark that not only fractured the world economy and is affecting millions of people, but was the final breaking point for Elliot to finally deal with / come to terms with Mr. Robot, the plan and what he wants as a person. He wasn't just addicted to morphine last season, he was addicted to this power trip he was on that Mr. Robot put him on the path of. These episodes were desperately needed. I'd rather a main character go through his pathos and show growth with an assured actionable path than see the character go through the motions of his addiction from last season.

Does this season deal with what the reality of "taking down The Man" entails? That's what I get from the trailers.

 

[CRS]

Yes. We see what everyone is going through in the aftermath of the hack. Some more than others but it's really great to see what effects it had on certain people.

 

[Sithlord77]

I watched the first season of this and it didn't appeal to me to be honest. I found the main character annoying with his emotionless face and unresponsive to everything around him gollumish looking and it was just a dreary depressing experience to watch him after work. Too morbid and bleak.

It was really hard to follow too and i just couldn't concentrate or care for it. I mean after it finished wtf just happene in the story? Honestly don't know why it got such good reviews. I'm guessing the second season is the same.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

It was really hard to follow too and i just couldn't concentrate

I think I found the problem