Um, okay…what??
Whiterose Prevails
The show starts with Whiterose calmly applying her makeup as the FBI beats her door down. The camera stays with Whiterose, who stares at her reflection in the mirror as gunfire can be heard from downstairs. The fight only last a few seconds before an agent opens her door, signaling her to come out. It’s not really an FBI agent, though. It’s a Dark Army operative dressed as an agent.
Whiterose and some other operatives dressed in FBI tactical gear descend the staircase and we get a view of all the carnage. All the FBI agents that raided Whiterose’s house are dead, except one.
The sole living agent is barely holding on to life. Whiterose kneels over him and says, “You were looking for Minister Zhang. He’s dead.”
She then rises and walks away, saying, “There is only Whiterose.” As she leaves, one of the operatives shoot the agent dead, and they all exit the house.
The Never Ending Battle
We return to Elliot and Darlene at the motel, saying their goodbyes. After Darlene gets Elliot’s advice on what to do for a road trip (Sour Patch Kids, y’all), she’s about to release her hug, but Elliot holds onto her (aww…). His voice breaking, he tells her that he’s been through a lot and he thanks her for never giving up on him.
Just when I think they’re about to have the conversation I’ve been dying for them to have, Darlene lets go of Elliot and tells him that he should get going. With a small smile, Elliot says, “We really pulled it off, didn’t we?” Darlene puts on her Lolita shades and tells him fuck yeah, they did. She walks away and Mr. Robot watches her go.
She appears to tell Mr. Robot that he grew on her once he stopped being such a dickhead and he laughs. Of course, we all know she was really saying that to Elliot.
Once she leaves, Mr. Robot approaches Elliot, basically attempting to persuade him not to go to Washington Township. Elliot ain’t tryin’ to hear that. He has to destroy Whiterose’s machine. After all, it’s the root of all this craziness. Mr. Robot says that if they fail, they could cause a nuclear fallout. Besides, it’d take ages for Elliot to write that malware. Elliot makes no response, and Mr. Robot deduces that Elliot already wrote the malware.
Of course he already wrote it, Mr. Robot! Elliot is a friggin’ genius!
Mr. Robot warns Elliot that if he goes down this path, it’ll never end. There will always be another battle to fight or an evil symbol that has to be destroyed. Elliot sees his (imaginary) mother and his younger self a little ways away and tells Mr. Robot to join them. Mr. Robot pleads with Elliot not to shut him out, but Elliot says he’s not shutting him out; he just needs to do this alone. Elliot’s ideal family looks on as he walks off into a fate unknown…
Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
Elliot takes the next bus to Washington Township. When he gets to town, it looks a bit on the ratchet side. There’s hobos, somewhat overzealous cops, and graffiti all over the welcome sign.
However, Elliot is a man with a mission, and he calmly walks through town—and past the old spot where the Mr. Robot computer repair shop once stood (which is now a Bank of E location)—with one objective: go to the power plant and destroy Whiterose’s project.
When Elliot gets to the power plant, he encounters some cars haulin’ ass off the campus. He sees this as weird, but continues heading into the plant anyway. He notices some other strange things, too. For instance, there’s no people there. The security guards aren’t at their post outside, and the inside of the building’s abandoned.
Something else out of the ordinary is that some of the items in the building (the Christmas tree, random bits of furniture) have been turned over or are in disarray.
Elliot ignores this for the most part and heads upstairs. He enters an office space, finds an open workstation, and inserts his device into the hard drive. Once the device is in the CPU, the malware activates and starts to run. Elliot smiles to himself. That was shit was too easy.
That’s just the thing. That shit was TOO easy!
Elliot turns to leave and sees something that makes the smile fade from his face. He moves closer, and we see that Elliot’s spotted a dead man laying by his cubicle, shot in the head.
Just then, sirens can be heard from outside the building as well as a helicopter. Elliot rushes to the window and sees cops pulling up to the facility. Oh, shit! Elliot is about to get out of there when he sees…
Hamburger Guy.
After four seasons, Hamburger Guy finally speaks: “Hey. You’re in the wrong place.”
We Meet Again
Hamburger Guy and the other Dark Army operatives lead Elliot further in the building. During the walk, Elliot sees more and more dead bodies laying around, all killed with a single gunshot to the head. And you thought you were having a bad day at work.
They take Elliot to an area of the power plant that appears to be in a basement and stop at a corridor. With a nod of his head, Hamburger Guy instructs Elliot to walk on. Elliot heads down the corridor and notices the pictures of the former plant directors and managers have paint over the men’s faces, much like the photographs Angela saw in that house she was in…
There’s a door with a keycard lock on the other end of the corridor. Elliot gathers himself and walks through, entering a room with black walls and an inspirational poster, just like the one Angela was in. There’s a computer desk that only holds three items: an Apple computer from 1988 (seriously…I distinctly remember my second grade teacher having an Apple computer just like that in our class), a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection and a blue rotary telephone (LOL! A rotary phone! I haven’t seen one of them since second grade, either!)
Also, there’s a window in the room, and guess who’s in it?
Qwerty!
Whiterose enters the room, still looking fierce in her mother’s dress. Elliot lets it be known right off the bat that he ain’t here for the foolishness. Despite the lengths she went to to kidnap Qwerty, bring in the computer he had as a child and the book his father used to read, her brainwashing technique isn’t going to work on him. Whiterose claims that all this “procedure” is meant to do is make Elliot a believer. She pulls out a box and Elliot asks what’s in it. Whiterose deflects, saying she’s sick of this world and all she ever wanted to do was make it a better place. Elliot finally takes a seat and says that Whiterose never wanted to make the world better; she wants to destroy it because she hates people and can’t get past the wrong the world has done to her.
Whiterose finds this amusing and starts laughing. “Don’t make me laugh,” she keeps saying to Elliot. She’s tickled that Elliot is accusing her of destroying the world when people are hell bent on ruining it without her help. Besides, how can Elliot accuse her of hating people when he wears his hate for people like a badge of honor? After all, the name of his group is fsociety.
Elliot responds by giving a speech so riveting that it wouldn’t do justice to paraphrase it. Check out the video below (courtesy of USA Networks/NBCUniversal):
Just then, Whiterose’s watch goes off and sirens begin to sound off. Elliot rises from his seat and asks what’s going on. Whiterose calmly answers that the power plant’s cooling system is failing. Her machine uses a giant supply of water, so it has to utilize all the plant’s power, including the backup generator. Elliot’s shocked. The machine is on!? Whiterose smiles. Of course she turned the machine on. She’s on a tight schedule.
Elliot tells her that he ran his malware on her machine, but this doesn’t deter Whiterose. She already knew he was running his exploit; that’s how they found him. Elliot warns her that the malware already executed, but Whiterose still doesn’t flinch. The machine was already running when Elliot installed the exploit. She goes on to say that all the lives that were lost won’t be in vain. They’ll be born again in a new world.
Elliot keeps trying to reason with Whiterose, telling her that the machine will cause a meltdown that will kill more people. Whiterose says that’s precisely the reason she kept trying to move the project to the Congo. The Washington Township power plant wasn’t stable enough to execute the machine, but when Elliot and Darlene stole all her dough, she had no choice but to run it there.
“Haven’t you killed enough people?” Elliot asks. Whiterose comments that no one will be killed. She repeats that everyone will be reborn. Elliot says that Whiterose claims to love people, but she’s not giving them a choice with this parallel world. She’s forcing it on them. Whiterose tells him that she is giving them a choice. That’s why Elliot’s there.
She stands up and says that she’s going to show Elliot what she showed Angela. Elliot asks what she means, and Whiterose opens the box, revealing a gun. She repeats what she told Angela when she was in the black room: all she wants is his belief.
Whiterose holds the gun on Elliot, saying that their paths were linked. Elliot is the one that gets to decide.
Again, Elliot tells Whiterose to stop the machine. Instead, Whiterose puts the gun to her temple…
AND PULLS THE TRIGGER!! 😮😮😮
What’s even trippier is that even though Whiterose blew her brains out, she still slays. That’s the most fierce corpse ever.
Anyway, Elliot tries to get out of the room, but he can’t. The doors are locked, and no matter how hard he bangs on them, no one answers. He panics for a moment, not knowing what to do. As if on cue, Mr. Robot appears, always looking out for his boy. 🙂
Mr. Robot says they have to figure out the code to unlock the door and instructs Elliot to use the phone to try to get an outside line. Elliot picks up the phone, but only a recording reciting the numbers 0509 in different languages is heard. Sure enough, that’s the code to open the door (5/9, anyone?). After hanging up the phone, Elliot flips through the copy of Resurrection and sees a floppy disc inside that’s labeled “eXit.”
Mr. Robot tries to get Elliot to leave the building, but Elliot knows a meltdown is inevitable unless they turn off Whiterose’s machine. He puts the disc in the old school computer and runs it. Mr. Robot keeps trying to get Elliot to leave, but he refuses. The disc turns out to be a game, and Elliot starts playing, stating that the computer program isn’t really a game; it’s a way to turn off the machine.
The game asks Elliot a series of questions about being trapped with a friend, and each answer leads to a different—yet related—situation. Elliot plays the game to the end, leaves his friend behind and “heads to a new world”…but the sirens are still going off.
Elliot plays the game again; this time, he stays with his friend. The program turns off and the noise from the sirens cease, but when Mr. Robot opens the door, the corridor is on fire! It’s too late to run! 😢😢
Elliot sits down, resigned. The walls begin to shake as Mr. Robot sits down across from him. “I love you,” Elliot says. 😭
“I love you too,” Mr. Robot replies. 😭
A tear falls down Elliot’s face and he quotes one of the first things he remembers Mr. Robot saying to him: “It’s an exciting time in the world.” 😭😭😭
The two of them stay seated as the building continues to shake. The lights go out, and a red light emits from outside the room, engulfing everything until the screen fades to red!
???
The red screen fades, and we see a cell phone that has an alarm going off. The time reads 11:16. Someone reaches over and turns off the alarm, and hits a remote to pull up the shades. Although his face isn’t shown right away, we can see that it’s Elliot. But things are different…extremely different.
First off, his apartment has changed. It’s the same apartment, but it’s a lot more posh, neat and organized…like a really nice bachelor pad. Even the computer on the desk is now a Mac instead of Elliot’s signature Kali Linux. That’s right, a Mac.
As Elliot puts on his music and stretches his well toned (but still thin) body, we see that he appears to have a piercing headache.
He shakes it off and prepares for his workday, making it even clearer that this isn’t the Elliot we know and love.
He dances in the shower.
He’s well groomed.
He’s stylish.
He actually combs his hair and uses products.
In short, he’s Rami Malek.
After he finishes getting ready, an earthquake hits. The earth only moves for about 10 seconds though, and right after it hits, Elliot gets a Skype call. He goes over to the computer and…
IT’S ANGELA!!! 😲😲
Sure enough, Elliot answers the call, and ANGELA’S ON THE OTHER END!! 😀😀
Angela briefly asks Elliot about the earthquake, then she inquires if he’s ready for his presentation. At first Elliot’s not sure what she’s talking about, but she reminds him that he stayed up all night getting ready for it. Just as he remembers what she’s referring to, an e-mail comes in from his dad, giving him an update on the traffic. Yes, Elliot’s actual dad. The same guy…or is it? Elliot tells Angela he just heard from his father and he has to head off to work. Angela says, “Don’t tell me he’s still e-mailing you traffic reports. You are such an only child!”
SUCH AN ONLY CHILD!? WHERE’S DARLENE!? 😢😢
Before Elliot goes, Angela asks Elliot if he’s keeping anything from her. He says no and wonders why she asked, but she just muses that he seems a bit different. Ya think? They say their I love you’s (aww…) and before Elliot disconnects, Angela tells him, “I can’t wait to marry you tomorrow.” ❤️❤️
After hanging up with Angela, Elliot calls his dad (I’m assuming Elliot’s dad isn’t a lecherous pedophile in this universe). He can’t get him on his cell phone, so he tries his work phone. We see Edward Alderson at the Mr. Robot computer repair shop, only he’s a bit older and his work jacket’s been modernized. I couldn’t help but notice he stole the Geek Squad logo, too.
Elliot asks his dad why he didn’t answer the cell phone, and Mr. Alderson says he can never keep up with it. Elliot then says that he believe Angela knows, and if she finds out, it could ruin everything. Mr. Alderson tells Elliot to calm down, there’s no way she could know. More on this later. He hears a customer come in, and tells Elliot he has to run. Elliot thanks him, and his dad tells him that he’s always there for him. Mr. Alderson gets off the phone and goes to front of the store (which has a major upgrade) to greet the customer, but there’s no one there.
He finds his phone, however. Not only do we see that the Alderson family photo is on the lock screen (without Darlene), but the time still reads 11:16.
I’m Still Lost…
Apparently, Elliot still works at Allsafe, but the logo is different from what we’re used to. Gideon appears to be missing as well. As Elliot enters the workspace, there’s a news report on the television stating the earthquake came from Washington Township, NJ. Hmm… Also, when Elliot enters the office, I couldn’t help but hear a much happier version of “1.3_5-da3monsneverstop.caf” playing.
Elliot greets Lloyd (Lloyd’s back!) and asks if he has everything ready for the E-Corp meeting later that day. Lloyd laughs. Elliot said E-Corp. He meant F-Corp. F-Corp!? Lord…
Ollie pops up, and even in this parallel universe or whatever the hell it is, he’s still an unlikable douchebag. Oh yeah, and he’s dating Stella B. now. He might as well be, ’cause Angela’s off the market, cuz! He tries to convince Elliot to have lunch with him, just like in the reality we know, but Elliot’s still not interested.
Before Ollie leaves, he taps Elliot on the shoulder, and Elliot still recoils from Ollie’s touch. Elliot then looks up at the TV monitor and sees an F-Corp commercial. After the logo comes up, the TV glitches and the E-Corp logo appears for a quick second before going back to the “F-Corp” trademark.
After the E-Corp commercial goes off, a news report airs about Minister Zi Zhang. It’s Whiterose!
Whiterose is now the richest woman on earth and is a philanthropist with her own foundation. Okaaaaayyyy…
Elliot goes to his office, and we see that he’s the CEO of Allsafe. Elliot’s not just a boss in this universe, he’s the boss.
We cut to the end of Elliot’s presentation to E-Corp—I mean, F-Corp. The F-Corp CEO doesn’t seem to moved by it. As a matter of fact, he just stares out the window. He appears to have a real techie look about him; he’s dressed in a grey hoodie, an untucked dress shirt and some slacks. Sounds like somebody else I know. The F-Corp CEO asks if he and Elliot can have the room. Everyone leaves, and the CEO says that he’ll have to turn down Elliot’s proposal. Elliot asks why and that’s when the CEO turns around.
Tyrell! 😮
Tyrell asks Elliot what the worst thing in his life is, and Elliot jokes that considering he’s passing on becoming Allsafe’s client, it’s the meeting. Tyrell isn’t amused. He wants a real answer to the question. Elliot honestly answers that the worst thing in his life is also the best thing. He wakes up everyday and has the same monotonous routine: he plays his records, gets his coffee, and goes to work. He wishes his life were more interesting, but he knows he’s blessed to have the life he has. One thing about it, our Elliot’s life was a lot more exciting…but he has to deal with so much hurt and pain. 😢
Tyrell admits that F-Corp is the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to him, too. It’s the best thing in everyone’s lives, but it could also be people’s undoing. Elliot says that he’s seen what could happen to F-Corp if they don’t have the right protection. Tyrell is taken aback. He’s seen what could happen to it? Elliot says he outlined all ways the company can be breached in the packet, but Tyrell just wants to know if Elliot’s on his side. “Always,” Elliot answers.
This Is Weird…Even By Mr. Robot Standards
Elliot landed the F-Corp account and he and his dad are celebrating. However, Elliot’s still a bit off (by this universe’s measure). He asks Mr. Alderson if he has “it,” and Mr. Alderson pulls out a signed first edition copy of From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Angela’s favorite book (the one with the Claudia Kincaid character).
Elliot has to make sure Angela’s not home when he leaves it at her place, so he calls her mother. Yes, Angela’s mom. If you haven’t guessed by now, all the people that died are now alive (except Gideon, apparently).
Once Elliot gets Mrs. Moss on the phone, she hangs up. Elliot finds that weird, but his dad just writes it off as her not wanting to spoil the surprise for Angela. They prepare to order lunch, but Elliot can’t find his wallet. Mr. Alderson says that’s not like him, and takes care of lunch himself. He even gives Elliot some money to buy Angela some flowers.
Later, Elliot shows up at Angela’s apartment with a bouquet of flowers and her gift. He calls her to make sure she’s not coming home anytime soon, which makes Angela a little bit suspicious. Elliot inadvertently lets the cat of the bag when he goes to throw away the paper wrapper the flowers came in and sees a broken glass and blood in the trash can, along with a whole damn citrus tree of lime slices.
“Your dad sure loves to drink,” Elliot mutters. Thankfully, Angela doesn’t catch on, and Elliot apologizes for acting weird that morning. He’s just excited about tomorrow. Angela plays with him, pretending she doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but once she mentions the wedding, a big smile appears on Elliot’s face. A smile with teeth.
WTF??
Elliot’s heading home in a taxi, still smiling, on top of the world. The cabbie asks if the radio is bothering him, and Elliot asks him to turn the music up. It’s “Turn Up the Radio” again, the same song Elliot was listening to that morning. That can’t be a doggone coincidence.
Elliot goes back to his apartment (and it’s noticeable that even the hallway to his apartment is nicer, too) ready to turn in for the day. However, when he turns on the light, he freezes.
He sees Elliot sitting at his computer desk.
Our Elliot.
“Who are you?” Happy CEO Alternate Elliot asks.
That’s Elliot. Who the hell are you?
The end. Or is it the beginning?
Y’all, I’m gonna be honest with you…I have no idea what’s going on right now. I’ve been racking my brain over this episode all week. Is our Elliot dead? Is our Elliot not the real Elliot? Is the other Elliot the real Elliot? Is this a parallel universe? Is this a simulation? Is it a dream? How are there two Elliots? Will one cancel the other out? How did our Elliot get there? If Elliot can come into this world, can Angela come into the other one? Can our Elliot go back? Where’s Darlene? Why doesn’t she exist here? How does the third personality play into all this?
Ouch. My brain hurts.
I have a feeling that this parallel world isn’t real. Too many things about it are off. Elliot’s headaches, the earthquake, Elliot still doesn’t care to be touched (at least not by Ollie), Whiterose’s philanthropy, the time always reads 11:16, the whole F-Corp thing (and the glitch), and the fact that the only song that seems to play is “Turn Off the Light” (which I’m lovin’, but after hearing it a million times, it’s perpetually stuck in my head). Is that the only song that exists here? Also, I’ve noticed it contains a lyric that says, “Something must be wrong/when every thing is right.” Hmm…
Plus, Darlene is gone. Where’s Darlene!?
There’s one other thing that’s off, too (shout out to my friends at Reddit for pointing this out): When Elliot and his dad have lunch, they’re at a place called The Tip Top Cafe.
The Tip Top Cafe was also a restaurant on the film Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray’s character relives the same day over and over. Alternate Elliot mentions that he’s stuck in the same boring routine every day and it feels endless.
It’s also been revealed that the possible significance of 11:16 is that when a face clock reads that particular time and is turned upside down, the hands of the clock are pointing at the five and the nine positions (shouts out to my Reddit folks for this observation as well). Trippy…
Not only that, but when the series finale airs, it’s supposed to end at 11:15, meaning at 11:16, it’s all over. Damn. Even I’m not that doggone detailed oriented.
Folks on the internet have speculated that while in the parallel universe, our Elliot walked into the Mr. Robot repair shop—hence, the reason Elliot’s dad thought he had a customer—and got spooked the moment he heard his father’s voice and ran out of the store. He may have even seen his father’s phone and dropped it on the way out, which is why Mr. Alderson found it on the floor. Some people also believe he went to Angela’s apartment and saw her mother, which is why she hung up the phone on Alternate Elliot. Not sure how the broken glass and blood plays into that, though. Maybe Mrs. Moss got so scared after realizing there were two Elliots that she cut herself? I definitely believe the first theory. I’m not so sure about the second one, but it’s possible. After all, Angela’s apartment is in the same location as before, it just looks totally different, as does Elliot’s.
I just hope Elliot’s not dead in the other reality. As many people on Reddit have mentioned, when Darlene and Dom had their melodrama at the airport, all that took place long after Elliot headed out to Washington Township, and there were no news reports of a nuclear meltdown, or even the massacre that happened beforehand, for that matter. Hopefully, Elliot (and Qwerty) is still alive. Only question is…can he get back and if so, how?
My brain hurts again.
There’s an ongoing debate online about Sam taking the sci-fi route. A lot of folks aren’t feeling it, and some are loving it. The ones that called it from get go feel vindicated at this point. Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Despite the surrealistic aspects of the show, what I always liked about Mr. Robot was the realistic approach they used when it comes to hacking, mental illness, and human relationships. With that being said, I was hoping that Whiterose’s machine really was a McGuffin or a red herring. It turns out it’s real…or least that’s what we’re being led to believe. However, I can’t knock it because I really enjoyed this episode (even though it made my brain burn) and I’m hella curious to see what happens in the series finale. You read that correctly. I enjoyed this episode. I wouldn’t be runnin’ my mouth quite this much about it if I didn’t. A lot of other people must’ve enjoyed it as well, or at the very least, they were intrigued by it. Mr. Robot was the trending topic on Twitter again after “411 eXit” aired.
Naturally, when it comes to the alternate universe, I LOVED that Elliot and Angela are tying the knot. However, Darlene’s MIA and Elliot isn’t really Elliot, so although I was happy, those two details were like flies in the soup. I’m glad the Angelliot fans are getting a smidgen of satisfaction, but of course, this is Mr. Robot. I’ve seen some behind the scenes clips as well as some trailers featuring this wedding, and uh…let’s say Elliot’s jumping the broom ceremony is gonna be interesting. Another thing I liked about the alternative universe was Elliot in that outfit. OMG, he was so cute with that sweater and those white sneaks. Yeah, he’s cute with his hoodie too, but something about him in that sweater really did it for me. I can’t stop watching that scene where he gets dressed. I’m telling y’all…when that man puts the right ensemble together…dayum!
Another thing I liked—going back to the reality that we’re used to—was Elliot’s speech to Whiterose. When I first saw that scene I was mesmerized, and I thought to myself, “Just hand this man the Emmy.” Not only is Mr. Malek hella cute, but he can act his little ass off. I also loved his goodbye scene with Darlene. It already tugged at my heartstrings in “410 Gone,” but seeing it from Elliot’s point of view this time around moved me even more. What Elliot said to her solidifies the fact that he’s not about to live without his baby sis. I can’t wait to see the outcome of all of this.
Now on to Whiterose…I was shocked she killed herself. Whether this machine is real or all a simulation, this child really stands by the courage of her doggone convictions. I have to wonder, did she blow her brains out in front of Angela too? Did she somehow bring herself back to life? Is all of this real, or is Whiterose completely delusional like Price said?
And there goes my head again.
Y’all, “411 eXit” was great, but I have no idea what the hell is going on. Hopefully, all our questions will be answered during the 2 hr. series finale, which I’m certain will cause me to lose sleep for about a week. With that being said, I’m so sad to see this beautiful show come to an end, but I’m happy it’s going out on its own terms and I’m super excited to see the conclusion! I can’t wait!
#AngelliotForever
—Written by Nadiya
So what did you think happened in “411 eXit”? Yeah, that’s the only question. What in the blue hell is going on? Let me know in the comments section!
Insights from a Southern Girl 