A month after f.society took down Evil Corp, our dear friend Elliot Alderson has devolved into the most simplistic, efficient version of himself. Spinning around over and over in the same infinitely repeatable loop of monochromatic humanity, Elliot’s turned himself into a walking hard drive in Mr. Robot‘s triumphant return, revolving over and over around the same point, writing all of his data down as he goes along. Round and round we go, as Lupe Fiasco’s Wallace Collection-sampling “Daydream” plays over the show’s haunting opening credits – and as the thrilling two-part season premiere plays out, we observe exactly what happens when a hard drive begins to fault against itself, inconsistencies turning into empty holes, memory forever damaged by internal malfunction. And as Elliot begins to unspool throughout the course of “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc”, those errors begin to once again corrupt the carefully balanced illusion of order and control Elliot so efficiently broke down in the world around him, during the events of 5/9.
Measured and atmospheric, Mr. Robot‘s 90-minute opening salvo offers a very different type of show from season one: the tension brought out by the show’s score and cinametography is still front and center, but the foundation those elements rest on are completely different. In the aftermath of season one’s wild finale, “eps.2.0_unm4sk” is much more carefully paced, its many thoughts about control and revolution contained within a more meticulously plotted story. Some of the feeling of structure comes in the way Part 1 methodically unwinds the events of the finale, alternating between the expansion of its world (more board members of Evil Corp are introduced, as are members of Elliot’s new neighborhood), and contracting its focus on its main characters, observing their inability to handle the newfound sense of control they have over their lives. With it come the familiar questions of societal complacency, the rhetoric on the delusional populace, and the self-doubt we all face when the decisions and emotions aren’t spelled out neatly in black and white; Mr. Robot openly coats itself in gray through nearly every scene, a visual consistency that resonates heavily through the course of these two hours.
Of course, we’ve now been trained to not believe all that we see, so some of Mr. Robot‘s tricks don’t have the same visceral impact: Mr. Robot shooting Elliot in the head (something that’s a regular occurrence, apparently) is visually striking, sure, but as a moment that operates outside the known reality around him, it doesn’t quite have the deeper symbolic impact the moment is searching for. Much more effective are scenes that just allow Rami Malek to fill the air with anxiety: the absolute highlight of tension in the season premiere comes when Elliot’s realized no routine in the world can maintain his sanity, a silent moment that takes place on a crowded, noisy basketball court (while Craig Robinson hangs out nearby, a bit of casting I completely forgot about). That moment is as exciting and dramatic as anything else these two hours offer, which include BDSM play, multiple F-bombs, an assassination – and an absolutely classic, cliche-soaked introduction of an FBI agent character, a woman who smiles convincingly, walks with fire under her heels, and loves lollipops (for males, it’s always gum – take a guess why lollipops show up with female characters a lot).
As Elliot glitches out, Mr. Robot moves sideways a bit to revisit f.society, and the fallout of Elliot’s sudden absence. Now lead by the headstrong Darlene, the most interesting debate of the hour comes from her insistence that they’ve started a revolution with their attack on E. Corp: though the President and the people in power seem to be panicking a bit, Mr. Robot struggles to make the widespread chaos they’re talking about feel kinetic. If there’s one place this episode falls short, it’s in its attempts to show f.society capitalizing on the societal chaos and emotional frailty caused by the fallout of their Big Hack: save for a single pedestrian woman getting mad about her mortgage, Mr. Robot‘s priorities lie elsewhere. For the most part, the attention to detail everywhere else is rewarding enough to forgive this flaw, but there’s a very Arrow-ish quality to the World Is Falling Apart speeches major characters give, while the bit players of the world go about their normal routine. As is often the case with the smallest of details on Mr. Robot, this may be intentional: we are a world too distracted to pause for anything, be it a tragedy on a personal or national scale. We live in the world that never stops, and it forces us into our little routines, habits, and addictions: but the truth of those images are a bit lost when there’s consistent talk about devastation and hardship, coming on the heels of a nationally televised suicide from the fallout of a major bank collapse.
As always, Mr. Robot plays its cards very close to its chest: and that largely works to great effect in the season premiere, save for the moments the show’s many priorities seem to obfuscate one another. Aligning some thematic unity between characters (for once, Angela doesn’t feel lost at sea among the other players) goes a long way to alleviating that issue, but it still remains to be seen how Mr. Robot handles the new lens we view Elliot’s words and actions through (or Mr. Robot, whichever identity you prefer to be the long one). Elliot may not be able to save the world or himself, and seeing him fight those internal and external wars provides a fantastic frame for the rest of Mr. Robot‘s characters to follow, a collection of conflicts and ideas that carries a wonderfully paced, promising opening hour of Mr. Robot‘s extended season premiere.
Other thoughts/observations:
- Boy, the end to the “Where is Tyrell?” story line better be f*cking good.
- Leon talking about Seinfeld is a great way to endear an audience to a new presence, though like a decent collection of the show’s many voice overs, the dialogue itself is pretty familiar and not as illuminating as it thinks it is.
- Elliot attending a church group is a wonderful little LOL image.
- I, for one, am not a fan of Darlene’s sunglasses, so I wasn’t all that excited to see them.
- Joanna’s doing kinky stuff with some white dude… what else do you want me to say about those scenes?
- No mention of Dark Army or Whiterose, but given the final images of last season, that’s gotta come into play soon (and also into Philip Price’s confidence in the face of the US government telling him to resign).
- new puppy!
- “Cyber Pearl Harbor” is one of those phrases that sounds awesome on paper, and goofy when uttered out loud.
- There’s a new dog this season… and isn’t that really all that matters?
- RIP Gideon. The cost of adding a few minority characters is the life of the gay one. Au revoir, you unlucky bastard.
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