***SPOILER ALERT!!!   IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE SERIES FINALE OF MR. ROBOT AS OF YET, DO NOT READ THIS POST!  IT CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!  YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.***

So, if you’ve seen the series finale of Mr. Robot, you know that the Elliot we’ve come to know and love for the past four years (or in my case, a little over two) was not the real Elliot Alderson, but “The Mastermind.”  He was another alter, like the titular character, and was basically made to take on Elliot Prime’s rage and change the world to make his host’s life better.

Yeah…this ending doesn’t work for me.

Have y’all ever searched for a piece of Tupperware to store your leftovers, but for the life of you, you can’t find the top?  Then, when you finally do find the top, it doesn’t fit.  There’s one corner that just doesn’t fasten.  You can push on that thing harder than The Mountain pressed Oberyn Martell’s skull, and the lid still won’t close.  Or worse yet, you finally get the corner to fit, but the corner on the opposite end loosens up.  That’s what this whole “Elliot is The Mastermind” ending is to me.  An ill-fitting Tupperware top.

I know a great deal of y’all (especially my fellow Redditors) LOVED this send off, so before y’all @ me, please allow me a moment to explain why this plot line just doesn’t really work.  Settle in; this may take a while.

If Anybody Was “The Mastermind,” It Was Mr. Robot

Let’s just get this out of the way right now.  In the pilot episode, our Elliot was none the wiser about fsociety’s existence.  Mr. Robot “recruited” him—so to speak—into the group.  Despite the revelation that our Elliot created fsociety to give Elliot Prime a better future, Mr. Robot was the ringleader.  He even let it be known on numerous occasions.  The titular character was always the one making moves, be they outright or behind Elliot’s back (which we will also touch on).  Whenever Elliot wanted to deviate from Mr. Robot’s plans or if he wanted to just outright stop whatever they were, Mr. Robot would react violently.  For him, their anarchy had to be carried out by any means necessary, like a man leading the charge, not a man following someone else’s lead.  This brings me to my next point…

Mr. Robot Was the Ratchet One, Not Our Elliot

According to Pretend Krista, our Elliot was created to “carry out Elliot’s rage.”  Uh-huh.  Funny…up until this last season, the only person I saw rage out and show his entire ass was Mr. Robot.  Yes, I realize they showed examples of Elliot’s “rage” during the finale, but they were from the following scenes:

• Elliot jacking Mr. Robot up after he found out he was his “dad”
• Elliot smashing the mirror after he remembered Darlene was his sister (after he kissed her…no rhyme intended)
• Elliot’s “fuck society” soliloquy
• Elliot backing Darlene in a corner after she went on and on about Angela being alive
• Elliot smashing the camera after he realized he forgot who his sister was
• Elliot telling Krista to shut up
• Elliot screaming after he remembered his father molested him
• Elliot putting on a hoodie

That last one really gave me chills.  *Eyeroll*  Hell, I’d get mad if half this stuff happened to me, too!  Our Elliot’s so called rage was pretty justified with the exception of going off on Darlene and Krista.  Mr. Robot’s anger and overall ratchetness was a lot more pronounced, and a lot less justified.  If Mr. Robot’s job was that of Elliot’s protector, he sure did do a piss poor job of it for the previous three seasons.  Here’s some examples of Mr. Robot’s rage and overall ratchetness:

• Pushing Elliot off the boardwalk because he “broke the sacred pact [he formed with his dad].”  Huh?
• Wanting to blow up a power plant to destroy Steel Mountain (and his response to Elliot mentioning that hundreds of innocent people would die was, “C’est le mort!”)
• Having a colossal hissy fit when Darlene told him that the Dark Army pulled out of the plan
• Constantly lying
• Wanting Elliot to leave Shayla hanging after she got kidnapped
• Shooting Elliot in the head when he stopped paying attention to him (and at times he would also stab him in the stomach or slice Elliot’s fingers off; read Red Wheelbarrow, y’all)
• Trying to kill Tyrell
• Always throwing Elliot around like a rag doll
• Implementing stage two behind Elliot’s back (blowing up another damn building)
• Constantly fighting Elliot for control (maybe the alters should have a board meeting with him)
• Threatening Romero with a gun
• Beating Elliot’s ass to stop him from preventing the New York building from blowing up (he sure did love to blow shit up, didn’t he?)
• Wanting Elliot to turn the other cheek while Ray trafficked children
• Jacking up Tyrell when he wanted to take over the operation
• Making sure Elliot got his ass whupped in the coffee shop

I could go on, but we’d be sitting here all damn day.  How is our Elliot the supposed rage monster, when Mr. Robot was the agent of doggone chaos for three seasons?  My mother used to ask me if Elliot’s real dad acted like Mr. Robot (this was before we learned Mr. Alderson was Chester the Child Molester), and I would always tell say to her, “No, Mr. Robot is basically Elliot’s pent up anger and frustration manifesting itself in the form of his late father.”  Funny how that description is reserved for our Elliot now.

It’s true, Elliot started showin’ out this current season himself, but a lot of that was due to his desperation to save himself and Darlene.  Not condoning it, just sayin’.  What was that phrase I kept repeating whenever Elliot did something heinous this season?  Oh, yeah, I remember!  “I want my sweet Elliot back.”  Even folks online commented that Elliot’s behavior this last season was a shift in character.  But hey, you don’t have to take my word for it (dun-dun-dun!)!  A hug and kiss to anyone that knows that reference.  Here’s some YouTube comments from the scene where we first learn that Angela and Mr. Robot are working together.  You can click the link and watch the scene if you want; that way, you’ll see even more proof of Mr. Robot’s ratchet behavior.

And here’s some comments from that same video, basically calling Elliot a cupcake.

But Elliot is the one with the anger issues.  Right.

The Ending Suggests We Never Met Elliot Prime…But We Did

Darlene said that she noticed Elliot was different when they started fsociety circa Nov. 2014, and the other alters claimed that Elliot Prime was asleep for about a year (apparently their board meeting was in Dec. 2015), providing the revelation that we as the audience never met the real Elliot.  However, when Elliot had his fever dream after going through morphine withdrawal in late Mar. 2015, Angela told him he was only born a month ago.  If that’s the case, our Elliot began circa Feb. 2015, when the show actually begins.  That means that we’ve seen Elliot Prime.  We’ve had flashbacks from Halloween 2014 when Darlene came to town, from Spring 2014 when Shayla moved in, as well as Shayla and Elliot’s date later that summer (if you haven’t watched the Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience on YouTube, please check it out).  Even if you believe it really was Mastermind Elliot that hung out with Darlene on Halloween night, there’s no denying it was Elliot Prime spending time with Shayla earlier that year, which brings me to my next point…

Our Elliot and Elliot Prime Aren’t That Dissimilar

Mr. Robot, Darlene, and even Pretend Dom claim that our Elliot is nothing like the real Elliot.  Y’all could’ve fooled me.  When we saw Elliot Prime with Shayla and Darlene in 2014, he wore a hoodie, avoided social interaction, took morphine, and hacked people.  Sound familiar?  It’s even verbally confirmed.  When Shayla and Elliot first met, she asked Elliot if he likes to attend concerts.  He answered no, because they’re full of people, and he doesn’t like most people.  When Darlene first showed up at Elliot’s apartment, he lied and said he was going out (once again, avoiding social interaction), but Darlene saw through the lie and told him, “C’mon, you don’t go out.  I don’t mean that in a cunty way you’re just…you.”

It’s true that Angela and Darlene noticed subtle changes in Elliot’s demeanor, but if Elliot Prime and our Elliot were completely different, the ladies would’ve learned right away that they were dealing with another personality.  Darlene claimed she knew all along, but let’s face it…for a hot minute, she couldn’t even tell Elliot from Mr. Robot, and those two are night and day.  After Angela learned about Mr. Robot’s existence, he once asked how she could tell him from our Elliot, and she said that Elliot always looks away from people.  That’s a trait the original Elliot must’ve had as well.  Judging from the actual events that took place on the show, the only difference between Elliot Prime and our Elliot is that the latter is a vigilante.  Other than that, it’s basically the same doggone dude.

Elliot Prime Woke Up a Few Times Before the Finale

Another reason the ending doesn’t quite work for me is because the other alters swear down that our Elliot held Elliot Prime prisoner in this dream world and he’s been asleep for nearly a year.  However, past episodes show that Elliot Prime had to have woken up a few times throughout the series.  Here’s some examples:

After Mr. Robot’s ratchet ass pushed him off the boardwalk, our Elliot woke up in the hospital and found out that he apparently spoke with Shayla a few hours prior and requested the staff to bring Krista in.  However, Elliot doesn’t remember any of this.

During the “Red Wheelbarrow” scene, Mr. Robot took over and met with Tyrell (still being ratchet).  As we already know, before Elliot left, Tyrell implored him to be his partner, and Elliot refused, saying, “You’re only seeing what’s in front of you, not what’s above you.”  However, when Tyrell mentioned the quote to Mr. Robot a day or so later, the latter didn’t know what the former was talking about.  Considering that our Elliot doesn’t remember this entire exchange either, it had to be Elliot Prime making that last statement.

There’s the infamous three days after the 5/9 hack.  Our Elliot has no idea what happened in those three days, and Mr. Robot never comments on it either, so it’s safe to assume that Elliot Prime woke up during that time period as well.  Were he and our Elliot fighting for control?  Who the hell knows.  On a side note, while taking this screenshot I noticed that when Elliot first wakes up, he asks Kareem (may his scary self rest in peace), “Who am I?” then changes it to “Where am I?”  One thing about Mr. Robot, each rewatch reveals something new.  Still don’t agree with this ending, though.

If There’s No Black Void of Nothingness, Why Did Elliot Lose Time?

Before Elliot retreated to the movie theatre of Elliot Prime’s mind, he asked Mr. Robot if it was true that he would be transported to a black void of nothingness.  Mr. Robot said he’d always be a part of the real Elliot, and it turns out he was telling the truth…so why did our Elliot always lose time whenever Mr. Robot (or Elliot Prime) took over before?  Whenever one of the other alters were in control, our Elliot had no thoughts or memories of what transpired over that period.  The only exceptions to that rule occurred this season, and that’s when Elliot and Mr. Robot decided to work together instead of fight each other.  Is it different this time because our Elliot willingly gave up control, or what?  I know very little when it comes to dissociative identity disorder, so if anyone can assist me with this question, please let me know in the comments section.

Why Didn’t the Other Alters Subdue Our Elliot Sooner?

We learn in the final season that the other alters didn’t like our Elliot assuming constant control of the host and had to find a way to make him relinquish his power.  Mr. Robot did that by showing our Elliot the dream world our he created, and in a way, trapping him in it.  With that being said, why didn’t Mr. Robot or the others try to subdue him when he was going through his morphine withdrawal, seeing as he “accidentally slipped” into that same dream world while he was detoxing?  Not only that, but why didn’t our Elliot see Elliot Prime there?  I also believe they could’ve possibly repressed and/or trapped our Elliot in the sitcom episode if they wanted to.  After all, there was a point in time that our Elliot believed he was “buried” in the sitcom.  Why didn’t the others leave him there and just allow Elliot Prime to wake up and take over?

Darlene Actually Was in the Dream World, Despite What Everyone Else Says

Another thing Pretend Krista said that I disagree with is that our Elliot made sure not to include Darlene in the dream world he created because her connection with Elliot Prime is too strong.  Here’s the thing, though:  Darlene was in Elliot’s fabricated world before.  When our Elliot had his fever dream while going through withdrawal, he walked to his old neighborhood and is approached by a little girl humming “Frére Jacques” and riding a scooter.  He gave his signature “Hello, friend” greeting, and the girl answered, “But we’re not friends.”   Later, after Elliot kissed Darlene and realized who she was, he has a flood of memories and remembered that Darlene used to sing “Frere Jacques” and ride her scooter outside their house.  This also explains the reply the little girl gave Elliot in the fever dream:  “But we’re not friends.”  They’re not friends, per se.  She’s his sister.

Now I know y’all are going to tell me that when our Elliot went back to the dream world, he was approached by another young girl riding a scooter and singing “Frére Jacques,” only she was older and made it clear that she wasn’t Darlene.  Hell, she didn’t even know who Darlene was.  So it’s possible the first little girl wasn’t Darlene either, right?  No.  The first little girl was definitely Darlene.   Don’t believe me?  In the famed Alderson Polaroid pic, we see Elliot and Darlene as children.  Now, is it me, or is this the same kid?

There’s other questions and points I could make (i.e.:  How is it possible our Elliot remembers certain events from Elliot Prime’s childhood?  Why is it that both our Elliot and Elliot Prime were in love with Angela?  Why didn’t the other alters intervene when our Elliot wanted to commit suicide?  Why was Mr. Robot constantly doing things to hurt our Elliot knowing they could cause damage to the host?), but if I did, this post would probably never end.

Instead, I’ll conclude with a very brief tale.  When I was a teenager, LL Cool J (one of my favorite rappers—don’t @ me) said something about artistry that I’ll never forget.  He likened writing his songs to an artist going to a mountaintop and painting a landscape, with a vision of how his painting will look in his mind.  However, after he gets to the mountaintop, he sees birds, clouds, and flowers that he didn’t visualize before that he now wants to include.  That quote always stayed with me, because I encounter the same phenomenon (no pun intended) in my own writing, whether it’s a short story or this very blog.

I say all that to say this:  Sam Esmail initially envisioned Mr. Robot as a film with the beginning, middle and ending mapped out.  However, he realized his material was way too detailed to squeeze it in a two hour movie, so the project evolved into a TV show.  Thanks to the writers’ room, studio influence, notes from the actors and other components, the show continued to evolve…so much so the ending no longer completely fits, much like a piece of Tupperware that was accidentally washed in the dishwasher.

Again, like I said in my recap and review of the series finale, the ending isn’t horrendous.  There’s parts of it I absolutely loved (namely the use of the M83 song “Outro” and the finale montage of all the past events.  That was so beautiful).  To utilize my Tupperware metaphor again, the corners don’t fasten.  It’s not like the top doesn’t fit the Tupperware at all.  However, I still just can’t completely roll with the “Mastermind Elliot” ending, even when I take my personal feelings out of the equation (I’m still a bit heartbroken after learning our Elliot isn’t the real Elliot, so to speak).

Despite all that, Sam didn’t disappoint me this final season.  Mr. Robot will forever remain one of my favorite TV shows, and Elliot will forever be one of my favorite characters, which is why I feel so strongly about this ending.  However, now that I’ve officially given my two cents, I can take my Elliot’s advice and let go and let God.  😀😀

The end.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about the “Mastermind Elliot” ending?  Does it work with the show or do you think it doesn’t quite fit?  Did you agree with the points I made?  Why or why not?  Regardless of how you feel about the ending, did you enjoy the final season?  Will you rewatch the series again to catch more little tidbits?  Let me know in the comments section!

“This only works if you let go, too.”

First off, let me start by wishing all of you a Merry belated Christmas and a Happy New Year!  🎄🎅🎉🎊

Secondly, those of y’all that’ve been rockin’ with me from jump know that my recaps/reviews are pretty lengthy, and these Mr. Robot reviews are even longer than usual, considering the episodes have so much ground I want to cover.  However, since I’m doing two shows at once and I’m 100% certain the review portion is going to be wordy as all hell, the recap portions will be a tad bit shorter and less detailed than usual.  Sorry for that y’all, but there’s A LOT to unpack with these bad boys.  Let’s get this party started!

“412 Precondition Failed/whoami” – Part 1

The episode starts with our Elliot waking up in this new world.  On a good note, he’s talking to us again.  On a bad note, he doesn’t have any idea what the hell’s going on, either.  The power plant is completely gone, and when he walks through town again, it’s no longer the ratchet cesspool he entered.  The hobos are no more, the graffiti is gone from the welcome sign, the cops are nicer, and overall, everything’s more happy and sunshiny (and shown to the tune of “Mr. Roboto,” to nearly everyone’s glee).

The internet got the Elliot-was-the-mystery-customer theory correct.  Sure enough, while walking through town, Elliot spots the Mr. Robot repair shop.

He goes inside, and when he lays eyes on his father—alive and well and talking to the other Elliot on the phone (unbeknownst to our Elliot)—he panics and hurries out the store, dropping his dad’s cell phone on the way out, which explains why Mr. Alderson found the phone cracked and lying on the floor.  The internet wins.

What no one suspected though, was that Elliot would follow his father home to get a better grasp on what’s happening.

Elliot’s dad doesn’t notice him, but his mother does after Mr. Alderson leaves.  In this universe, Mrs. Alderson is a sweet and loving mother that thinks the world of her baby boy.  After she hugs Elliot and invites him in for lunch, Elliot tells us, “This doesn’t sound like my mom.  This sounds like someone that loves her son.”  Ouch.

Things get even more confusing when Elliot sees that Darlene is non-existent in this world and that Elliot’s room isn’t in the same location of the house that it was when he was a child.  He asks his mother if he ever had an accident where he broke his arm and if she and his father ever hurt him.  Mrs. Alderson says he’s never broken a bone in his body, and they’d never harm him.

She wonders if all this is all because of his big day with Angela.  It’s natural to have pre-wedding jitters.  Elliot’s shocked.  Not only is Angela still alive, he’s marrying her!  Of course, this is all Elliot needs to hear to literally take the first train smokin’.

When Elliot gets back to NYC, he makes a beeline for Angela’s apartment.  He doesn’t find his true love there, but the door is answered by none other than the late Mrs. Moss, and Philip Muthafuckin’ Price!

This freaks Elliot out just a tad.  After all, he did watch Price get gunned down the day before and Mrs. Moss has been gone for almost 20 years.

Apparently Price has been in Angela’s life from jump in this world, despite the fact that Angela’s last name is still Moss and not Price (that’s kind of a giveaway).  Price—who is somewhat intimidating, but kind at heart in this reality—makes everyone a drink while Mrs. Moss makes small talk.  While they’re talking, Elliot accidentally spots his wedding gift from Angela:  a collage of all the photos from their life together.  Awwww…

Elliot couldn’t be happier.  As he and his future in-laws toast to the future, our Elliot’s smiling, and I’m talking about a smile with teeth.  However, we know the second our Elliot is happy, shit goes sideways.

Mrs. Moss gets a phone call on her cell, and you guessed it!  It’s the other Elliot, calling to make sure Angela’s not home so he can drop off his present.  Elliot insists on answering the phone and once he hears the other Elliot’s voice, he disconnects the call, the earth shakes and he drops his glass.  Mrs. Moss picks up the broken pieces and she slices her hand open, just like the folks online predicted.  The internet wins again.

Elliot hurries home, wondering what world he’s in and how the hell there’s two Elliots in this universe.  The second he walks into the posh, well-furnished studio apartment, he knows something’s up.  “This guy is definitely not me…and I am definitely not him,” he says.  That line cracked me up.

Elliot looks around the apartment, but doesn’t find anything.  He decides to get info on the other Elliot the best way he can…he hacks him.

Turns out that although the other Elliot’s weapon of choice is a Mac, he knows how to encrypt that bad boy and it’s nightfall before our Elliot can even get in the system.

Once he accesses the desktop, he sees from the other Elliot’s social media pages and saved pics that he’s a complete 180º from our Elliot.  He’s outgoing, fun, and happy.  Elliot keeps looking, while telling us, “Haven’t you been paying attention?  No one is this happy.  Everyone has a secret.  Everyone has a monster.”  My question is, hasn’t Elliot been paying attention?  Each post is dated May 9, and all the timestamps read 11:16.

I also noticed while editing this blog post that Elliot’s Sam Sepiol pic is in the other Elliot’s photo album.  Another dead giveaway.

Eventually, our Elliot finds the other Elliot’s secret:  he has a hidden partition of files that can only be accessed with a password.  Of course, Elliot runs a script to locate the password and gains access.  When he opens them, he sees they’re pictures…of him.  All the images are sketches of Elliot, Darlene, fsociety, the arcade, everything.

And that’s when the other Elliot walks in.

Elliot #2’s reaction is priceless.  “Who are you?  And why do you look like me?” 😂😂  Long story short, our Elliot gets the other one to calm down and asks him why he has those sketches on his computer.  The other Elliot reveals that he sketches when he’s bored and he created those characters because he fantasizes about being an anarchist hacker that saves the world.  Our Elliot is surprised his other half wants to be him, but the other Elliot says that’s not the case.  The man he sketched is angry, has no life and is overall abnormal.  This hits our Elliot like a punch in the gut.  The other Elliot quickly apologizes, but our Elliot tells us he’s right.  He’s not normal, not in this world or any other—

“Did you hear that?” the other Elliot asks.  “It sounded like you were talking to someone.”

Yeah…that makes our Elliot panic, and to be honest, I was trippin’ off that myself.  Sure enough, our Elliot internally says, “Shit, he can hear us,” and the other Elliot hears that, too!  Our Elliot can’t stand anymore of this and goes to leave, but the other Elliot stops him.  Once they touch, there’s another earthquake and the other Elliot falls and hits his head on the radiator!

Our Elliot is about to get help, but Angela calls the other Elliot’s cell phone.  Our Elliot picks up, and once he hears Angela’s voice on the other end, telling him she loves him and that he should make the choice to be happy and share his life with her, that’s all she wrote.

Once he hangs up the phone, the other Elliot wakes up, pleading for our Elliot to call an ambulance.  Unfortunately, our Elliot has snapped.  He lost Angela once, and he refuses to lose her again.

So with that, our Elliot smothers the other Elliot to death (and has the audacity to tell us to look away!  I actually did when I first watched this)!

After Elliot commits the most dubious act he’s ever committed on the history of this show, he says it was inevitable as both of them can’t survive in this world, and he had no choice.  Boy, bye.

“413 Payload Too Large/Hello Elliot” – Part 2

Okay…so now, here’s when things really go left.  We all know Elliot’s not a killer, not only because we know his true heart, but as it turns out, he sucks at it.  This man actually believes he can get rid of the other Elliot’s body and make it to the wedding at the same time.  Oh yeah, and his idea of getting rid of the body is stuffing it in a cardboard storage box and stashing it somewhere in broad daylight.  Lord…

It’s also worth noting that all the cars in this universe are white…except the other Elliot’s.  When our Elliot retrieves the car to get rid of the body, not only is the vehicle parked in the same lot Elliot left Tyrell’s SUV after the 5/9 hack, it’s the same damn SUV.

We can see that Elliot finds that strange, but he shakes it off and drives the car back to his apartment.  While he’s getting ready for the wedding, Mr. Robot shows up.  Uh, where you been, bruh?

Elliot tells Mr. Robot that Whiterose’s machine worked and they’re in a better world.  Mr. Robot tries to talk some sense into Elliot, telling him he can’t just take the other Elliot’s place because he’s not him.  Our Elliot ain’t tryin’ to hear it.  He’s late for his wedding.  And besides, why can’t he take the other Elliot’s place?  He looks exactly like him.

Elliot leaves wearing a damn tux with the body in tow, and he’s stopped by none other than Dom.

Dom, who’s a beat cop in this reality, is about to give Elliot a ticket for being parked in a fire zone and asks for his ID.  When Elliot hands the ID to her, she’s suspicious, saying the Elliot Alderson on the card “is nothing like [him].”  She asks what’s in the box, and once she notices a blood stain on Elliot’s shirt sleeve and blood leaking out of the box (although the other Elliot’s head wound would’ve stopped bleeding long before now.  Plus, Elliot packed the body away before he put on the tux), she has Elliot get down on his knees.

Another earthquake erupts, and Elliot sees his chance to run.  And we all know that man can run.

Elliot makes it to the subway (which is completely empty), and Mr. Robot pops up again, trying to convince Elliot that this wedding isn’t going to take place, and Angela isn’t really alive.  Again, Elliot’s not trying to hear that.  His happiness is due, and he’s gonna marry Angela.  He demands that Mr. Robot leave him alone and he goes to another subway car.

When Elliot gets to Coney Island, he sees the wedding party at the beach, waiting for him.  However, when he stands at the alter, he sees that all the guests in attendance are wearing fsociety masks.

Tell me that shit ain’t freaky.

Mr. Robot shows up again, putting Elliot’s hoodie over him.  Elliot asks what the hell is going on, and that’s when Mr. Robot drops the bomb on all of us.  This isn’t Whiterose’s parallel world; Elliot dismantled her machine when he played the game at the power plant.  This world is a prison our Elliot built to occupy the other Elliot…the real Elliot.

*Sigh*  I was dreading this ending.

Our Elliot insists that he is Elliot Alderson, but Mr. Robot tells him that he’s only a part of Elliot; he’s just had control of him for the last year or so.  Now our Elliot has to relinquish control so the real Elliot can live his life again.  Our Elliot reminds Mr. Robot that he killed the other Elliot, but it turns out the other Elliot can’t be killed no matter how hard he tries.  Just then, Elliot sees Angela in her wedding dress, but the moment she spots him, she runs off.

Elliot chases her to the fsociety arcade, and in a callback to season one (where Elliot meets Angela before their “wedding” during his fever dream), Angela lets him know that the wedding’s not happening.  Elliot asks why, and Angela answers, “Isn’t it obvious?  You’re not Elliot.  You’re the Mastermind.”

Elliot is ejected from the arcade, and from that moment on, he has a series of nightmarish images, from seeing everyone on the boardwalk with Mr. Robot’s face, a la Being John Malkovich…

…to being shot in the stomach by Tyrell, who then proceeds to drag Elliot’s body in an empty grave.

While lying in the grave, Elliot hears Darlene’s voice, begging him to wake up.

Elliot then shows up in Krista’s office.  He knows it’s not really her, but she tells him the others felt it was necessary for her to try to talk to him, since he listened to the real Krista before.

She proceeds to break down Elliot’s DID in an attempt to make him understand:  Mr. Robot came first, as the protective personality.  Elliot’s mom came second, as the personality that blames him for his abuse.  Elliot’s younger self came next, as someone who could help Elliot through his trauma.  We’re the voyeurs that watch everything.  Then our Elliot came:  The Mastermind.  He was created to not only help Elliot with his past, but with his future.  That’s the reason why Elliot always went out of his way to take down evil.  He wanted to make the world better for Elliot Prime.

Krista also mentions that our Elliot took Darlene out of this world to make sure the real Elliot stayed in it.  Elliot and Darlene’s connection is so strong that she’s the only person that can cause the real Elliot to wake up.  Now it’s time for our Elliot to let go and let the real Elliot live his life.  Our Elliot refuses and another earthquake erupts.  Krista says that this is his rage, and our Elliot decides to use it, causing the ceiling collapse on him, which subsequently wakes him up.

Our Elliot wakes up in the real world, lying in a hospital bed.  Darlene’s there (thank God), and it turns out the cops found Whiterose’s body in the power plant, which had an explosion (but not a meltdown), but Elliot miraculously survived thanks to the room having some advanced shielding.  I seriously doubt Qwerty lived through that, though.  Rest in peace, poor little fish.

Darlene tells Elliot that he saved the world, and our Elliot realizes he can’t knowingly take control of the real Elliot again.  He tells Darlene he’s not really Elliot.  Darlene takes his hand and tries to tell him that he’s in the real world and not some dream, but Elliot reiterates…he’s just a part of Elliot, but he’s not really him.  Turns out Darlene knew that.

She realized that Elliot wasn’t the same when they started fsociety, but when he forgot who she was (y’all know, that time Elliot kissed her), she was certain that he was a different person.  Darlene cries and says that not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about the real Elliot and wants to know if he’s okay.  Elliot tells her that he is, and that he has everything he wanted…except one thing.  He never blatantly says what the one thing is, but we know.  Darlene leaves to get the nurse and Elliot tells her that although he’s only a part of the real Elliot, he loves her.  Darlene walks away without saying anything.  Yeah, I didn’t like that part.

Elliot closes his eyes, the picture fades, and…

…he’s in the boardroom with the other alters.

It turns out the other seat in the boardroom of Elliot’s mind was for him.  Our Elliot apologizes for never giving us a name, but he muses on the fact that he himself never had one.  He was just a guy playing God without permission.  Boooooooo.  He asks Mr. Robot if he’ll be stuck in a void of absolute nothingness, but Mr. Robot says that he’ll always be a part of the real Elliot.  As all the alters leave our Elliot to his thoughts, he says to us:

“This whole time, I thought changing the world was something you did.  An act you perform.  Something you fought for.  I don’t know if that’s true anymore.  What if changing the world is just about being here?  By showing up, no matter how many times we get told we don’t belong?  By staying true even when we’re shamed into being false?  By believing in ourselves even when we’re told we’re too different?  And if we all held onto that, if we refuse to budge and fall in line, if we stood our ground for long enough, just maybe…the world can’t help but change around us.  Even though we’ll be gone, it’s like Mr. Robot said, we’ll always be a part of Elliot Alderson.  And we’ll be the best part.  Because we’re the part that always showed up.  We’re the part that stayed.  We’re the part that changed him.  And who wouldn’t be proud of that?”

Our Elliot then leaves the boardroom and walks down the hallway to the door on the opposite end.  Before he goes in, he says, “Come on.  This only works if you let go, too.”  *Sigh*  He walks through and enters a movie theatre.  Our Elliot sits down with the other alters and cries as he watches the film of Elliot Prime’s life.

The camera pans up to the projector lens and we move past images of Elliot’s life from the past year.

The bright light from the projector morphs into Elliot Prime’s eye, which also has a tear falling out of it.

Darlene stands over him, realizing her brother is back.  “Hello, Elliot,” she says.

And that my friends, is the end of Mr. Robot.

Let me just say…I loved this series and I loved this season.  It was phenomenal.  Season four wasn’t my favorite season in the entire show’s run (those awards go to seasons one and three), and it had a few slight missteps, but it was still tremendous.  Why Mr. Robot never achieved the popularity of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Mad Men or Breaking Bad is beyond me.  At least Mr. Robot and Elliot were the trending topics on Twitter for the third week in a row after the finale aired.

I’ll start with my critique of the series finale.  I loved the first part, namely seeing all the Elliot and Angela pics (Angelliot fan forever, baby!).

At first I thought that the use of “Mr. Roboto” for the finale was too on the nose (truthfully, I was glad Sam never used it before.  I saw it as a cliche).  However, one of my fellow Redditors pointed out that the track’s lyrics perfectly outline the show.  It’s almost as if Sam based the series on the song itself.  Now I love that he used it.

One of my other favorite scenes is the one where Elliot hacks himself.  The music and cinematography really brought out the tension.  Plus, as I pointed out on Reddit, Elliot’s social media page mentions his favorite movies are Taxi Driver, Groundhog Day and Temple of Doom (which is my favorite in the Indiana Jones series, too!)  Taxi Driver is centered around a man that’s mentally ill and wants to save humanity, Groundhog Day is self explanatory, and in Temple of Doom, Indy is forced to drink some cursed blood and becomes a different person.  Hmm…  Elliot also mentions on his page that one of his favorite films is The Martian.  Guess it wasn’t shit after all.  😂😂😂

Seeing the two Elliots meet up was a trip as well, especially when Elliot Prime could hear our Elliot speaking to us.  By the way, this scene was another testament to the greatness of Mr. Rami Malek.  As the two of them are talking, you can see that Elliot Prime looks neat and well rested, and our Elliot is slightly disheveled and has bags under his eyes.  The two of them look alike, but they’re different in every way.

I didn’t like that Elliot killed himself, though.  Y’all know what I mean.  Even when he was trying to get rid of the body and telling Mr. Robot that he was getting ready for his wedding, it screamed insanity.  That villainous turn didn’t sit well with me.  However, it does prove once and for all that Elliot really was in love with Angela, for all those that doubted it.  Elliot loved Angela so doggone much it fueled the capacity for him to kill.  For the umpeenth time this season, Elliot showed his natural ass, and once he committed an act there was no coming back from, I started hoping it was all a dream.  Thankfully it was, but Lord, I had no idea what was in store for me.

The second half of the finale was not my favorite.  Sure, the Being John Malkovich nod was cool, and the ending sequence was absolutely beautiful, but the big reveal about Elliot not being Elliot irked me, and again, I hated Elliot becoming a villain of sorts in his own story.  I mentioned in my recap/review for “409 Conflict” as well as a Reddit post I wrote a few weeks ago that I did not want our Elliot to be just another alter, but the real Elliot Alderson.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the second big twist was this season.  For me, even though Darlene and Elliot survived (yay!), our Elliot being another alter and confining himself to Elliot Prime’s boardroom/movie theatre is like a small death.  Yeah, he’ll always be a part of Elliot, but it’s not the same.  This is a character that we’ve come to know and love over the last few years, and to learn that he’s an entity like Mr. Robot is disheartening for me.

It’s true, I’m having trouble letting go, and my opinion on the ending is pretty biased.  However, when I take Price’s advice and remove all emotion, the ending still doesn’t work for me.  It leaves more questions than it answers.  Don’t worry, I’m going to get into this on a separate post.

Now, does this mean that just because I disliked the way our Elliot’s character arc ended that season four was a complete dumpster fire like Game of Thrones?  No.  Hell, no.  Quite the opposite, actually.  Again, the ending was beautifully done, which makes up (somewhat) for the subject matter that I disagreed with.  Plus, the overall magnificence of season four far overshadows the last thirty minutes of the series finale.

Nearly every episode this season was enthralling and mindboggling.  The majority of them kept me up on Sunday nights, going over what happened, and what could possibly happen next.  That feeling carried over into the next day, and I’d find myself going over the episode over and over again at work.  My favorite episode of season four was “407 Proxy Authentication Required.”  It was executed perfectly, and a month later, I still watch the hell out of it.  That one can easily be considered as one of the top 10 best episodes of the series, period.  My second favorite episode was “405 Method Not Allowed.”  That installment had me glued to the television, and that’s saying a lot, considering that only two lines of dialog were uttered the entire near 50 min. run.  Again, that’s due to everything coming together:  the music, the breathtaking cinematography, the direction, the script and the all the players’ performances.

The only episodes that didn’t move me that much during season four were “404 Not Found” and “410 Gone,” which brings me to the missteps this season had, which were few, but they were still there.  First, the question that’s on everyone’s mind:  What the hell was that blue light Tyrell encountered in the woods (some folks say it’s a blue light of death…I guess that’s acceptable)?  Not only that, but if Tyrell did die (which is what Martin Wallstrom and Sam both claim, according to The Hollywood Reporter), why couldn’t anyone find a body?  And what was that screeching noise?

Also, if Whiterose’s machine was actually a red herring (and I’m glad it was), what exactly made Angela jump ship to the Dark Army?  What did Whiterose show her?

Also, if Elliot’s father abused him, why did Mr. Robot push Elliot off the boardwalk for not “honoring the sacred pact [he and his father] formed?”

When you throw in the ending of Elliot being the Mastermind, there’s even more things that don’t add up.  However, these aren’t plot holes big enough to drive trucks through, they’re inconsistencies small enough to stick a needle in, so I can forgive that.  Again, I’m going to speak more about my thoughts on Elliot being the Mastermind on a different post.

Also, I didn’t like that Angela was killed off, but I can’t really call it a misstep.  If I take my personal feelings out of the equation, her death actually helped the storyline.  It not only heightened Elliot’s rage and desire to take Whiterose down, but the pain of losing Angela and having the chance to have her in his life forever pushed him to kill the main alter.  True, I didn’t like that Elliot killed Elliot Prime, but in all honesty, the insidious act cranked up the intensity to 100.  I still wish we could’ve seen more from Angela and that she could’ve worked with Elliot and Darlene to take Whiterose down.  Not only that, but she never had the opportunity to repair her friendship with Elliot.  Even if the two of them never pursued a romance, it still would’ve been nice to see her redeem herself for betraying her best friend, especially considering the fact that she ended up double crossing him behind a delusion.

I loved Mr. Robot so much, and I will truly miss this show and Elliot (he’ll always be my Elliot).  I know this site has basically become a Mr. Robot blog in the past few weeks, but with all that this season had to offer, doing the recaps and reviews have taken up all my time.  However, I’ve had a blast giving my two cents on these episodes.  They’ve truly been amazing, and Sam Esmail is an inspiration to me.  Thank you Sam, for not disappointing me.

By the way, I made a way for Elliot and Angela to be together forever…Pop Funko dolls.

—Written by Nadiya

What did you think about the series finale of Mr. Robot?  Will you miss the show?  Did you like the ending?  Does everything fall into place with you now, or are there still some questions that remain unanswered?  Was it hard for you to watch our Elliot kill Elliot Prime?  What did you think about the Elliot that we know being an alter and not the host?  Was there anything about this season that you didn’t like?  Do you agree that we could’ve used more scenes with Angela?  Let me know in the comments section!

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!

Y’all, I’m lovin’ the hell out of this season.  It just gets juicier and juicier, and we still have four more episodes left!  Let’s do this thing!

The Boardroom of Elliot’s Mind

The episode opens with Mr. Robot walking down a long hallway and going through a door with a green entrance sign.  The room he enters is the boardroom—the same boardroom that Little Elliot and his mother met in on “402 Payment Required” when we first learned Elliot had a third personality.  Little Elliot and imaginary Mrs. Alderson are still waiting, and Mr. Robot lets them know that “he’s” not coming.  We’re not 100% sure who “he” is:  Elliot or the mystery guest.

Little Elliot suggests that they “tell Elliot everything” and he’ll be okay.  Tell him what?

Mr. Robot rejects that idea.  Instead, he’s going to show Elliot what he did.  What did Elliot do!?  Mrs. Alderson then says, “That poor boy.  He might not ever wake up again.  He hasn’t been awake since—”  Mr. Robot cuts her off and says that “he” woke up for Darlene.  She may be the key to bringing him out.

What?

Okay…judging from this conversation, my Elliot is not the true Elliot.  That’s not cool.

Back Together Again

Darlene, who’s washed all the blood out of her hair from being pistol whipped, is waiting for Elliot at the hotel across the street from The Brentano, where the Deus Group meeting is being held.  Mr. Robot shows up, and no one’s shocked, despite his narration saying the contrary.  It’s surprising Elliot can function at all with the day he’s had.  Speaking of which, when Darlene sees “Elliot,” she’s pissed and asks what the hell happened to him, automatically assuming he was just out shootin’ the breeze.  Mr. Robot simply tells her he got held up, but Darlene isn’t satisfied with that answer and snarkily asks him if he wants to know what kind of night she had.  Darlene baby, I know you’ve been through hell and back, but your brother has, too.  Cut him a bit of slack.

Mr. Robot whips around and hisses, “This isn’t a pissing contest, sweetheart.”  The change in demeanor and the very line itself is a dead giveaway.  Darlene asks why Mr. Robot is here, and he says that Elliot needed him.  Darlene continues to ask what happened, as she doesn’t trust Mr. Robot, but he says that Elliot has to be the one to speak to her…when he’s ready.

There’s a knock on the door.  When Mr. Robot answers it, it’s none other than Phillip Muthafuckin’ Price, baby!

Darlene is shocked to see Price there, but Mr. Robot is a bit agitated.  He starts berating Price for showing up, saying that his presence there could put all of them in jeopardy.  Price says that he’s there to ask a favor, and he hands Mr. Robot a flash drive.  He wants Elliot/Mr. Robot to destroy Whiterose’s machine.  Everything about the project is on the drive.  Mr. Robot asks why it’s so important to Price when Whiterose is going down that very night.  Price replies that it was important to Angela.  This shocks Darlene even further.  That’s all Mr. Robot needs to hear, and he agrees.

When Price leaves, Darlene asks Mr. Robot what Price has to do with Angela and what the hell is going on.   Mr. Robot tells her that he’ll fill her in later, but right now, they have to get to work.

During Mr. Robot’s narration, he explains how they’re going to rob the Deus Group.  Here’s how I deciphered it.  Please bear with me, because although I’m good at using a computer, I’m an idiot when it comes to all the hacker/tech lingo and mumbo jumbo.

In order for the hack to work, Elliot/Mr. Robot and Darlene have to gain access to the Cypress National Bank accounts by obtaining all the Deus Group’s members phone numbers, since the phone numbers are directly connected to the members’ accounts.  Darlene will then use the phone numbers to initiate a bank transfer.  When the transfer is initiated, a text with a security code will be sent to every member’s phone.  That’s when Darlene will run a script to get the codes and transfer the money before the members even know what hit them.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Mr. Robot is worried.  He has a feeling that something’s about to go down, but what that something is, he’s not sure.

The Plan Finally Commences…and God’s Laughing

Mr. Robot watches across the street as Price enters The Brentano.  Offscreen, Mr. Robot spilled the tea to Darlene about Angela’s true parentage, and she’s still surprised.  She wonders aloud why Angela never told her that Price was her father and Mr. Robot correctly assumes that she didn’t know.  Darlene mentions that she misses Angela.  Mr. Robot is about to speak further on the subject, but Darlene stops him, not wanting to talk about it.  I believe she’d rather discuss it with Elliot as opposed to Mr. Robot.

Price walks into The Brentano, but the only ones there are Whiterose and masked Dark Army operatives guarding all the entrances and exits.  Price asks what’s going on, and Whiterose offers him a drink instead.  That’s when Price utters the first of many epic lines this episode, “I’m an old man, Zhang.  I gave up on foreplay long ago.  Let’s just skip ahead to the part where you try to fuck me.”

Back at the hotel, Mr. Robot knows something’s up.  No one else has entered the building except Price and it’s too heavily guarded.  Whiterose has to be onto him and Elliot.  Mr. Robot starts doing what Elliot would in this situation:  look for anything out of the ordinary.  He hacks into Tyrell’s phone to see if Whiterose left any messages signaling a change in venue.  Darlene takes the laptop when Mr. Robot doesn’t find anything and locates a message in Tyrell’s itinerary stating the meeting’s been changed to Cipriani on Broadway.

Mr. Robot deduces that The Brentano is chock full of Dark Army soldiers not to kill Price, but to protect someone important.  That important person has to be Whiterose.  Mr. Robot opts to stay at the hotel while Darlene goes to Cipriani.  Darlene doesn’t agree with splitting up again, but Mr. Robot lets her know that the plan is useless if they don’t get Whiterose along with the rest of them.

Across the way, Whiterose divulges that she put two and two together about Price and Elliot working together after the former’s impromptu resignation and the latter’s disappearance.  She demands to know what Elliot’s plan is, and announces that once Price gives up the info, the operatives will take him home and inject him with mitotoxin, which will kill him in his sleep, making it look like heart failure.  Either that, or they can take Price out the other way.  Damn.

Price tells Whiterose that cancelling the meeting behind this “half-cocked theory” won’t sit well with the other members.  Whiterose informs that the meeting is taking place that very moment and Tyrell should be there now, accepting his new position as CEO.  Price grins and tells Whiterose that Tyrell ain’t comin’, succeeding in wiping the smirk off her face.  Price then remarks that he and Whiterose never got drunk together and proceeds to pour himself a glass of champagne.

At that precise moment, Price figures that if he’s going out, he’s going out three sheets to the wind and shady.

Whiterose’s assistant shows up, informing that Tyrell is no where to be found in the Tri-State area.  Whiterose orders her to tell everyone to stop searching for him and asks Price what happened to Tyrell.  Price continues downing his champagne and makes it known that he has no idea where Tyrell is; he might be dead.  Then Price hollers out, “Now that I think about it, he mentioned something about traveling the great Southwest in a ’65 El Camino convertible…wind in his hair.”   OMG.  😂😂

By the way, did anyone else get this image in their head when he said that?

Ms. Thang Jr. tells Whiterose in Mandarin that Price is making a fool out of her, and they need to get to the real Deus Group meeting to warn everyone.  For the umpeenth time, Whiterose refuses to listen to reason.  Ms. Thang Jr. switches to English and says that Elliot has beaten Whiterose today, but they can still fight tomorrow as long as they can get to the meeting.  Whiterose still refuses to budge.   Ms. Thang Jr. has had it.  She slams her tablet in Whiterose’s chest and quits on the spot!

Price’s reaction is, well…priceless!

Then he rubs salt in the wound by saying, “It’s bad management…when your best employees either walk off the job or blow their brains out.”  BWAHAHAHAHA!  😂😂

Cipriani

Darlene makes her way to Cipriani, but the building is guarded like doggone Fort Knox.  The doors are locked, and even the employees can’t use certain entrances and exits.  Inside, the men (one of whom is Donald Trump) are eating hors d’oeuvres (dag gum plastic looking hamburger sliders) and whining because they had to go to this last minute meeting on Christmas Day.  One fool is in his feelings because his wife and his girlfriend are mad at him.  Lord, have mercy.

Meanwhile, Darlene is trying to figure out how she’s going to obtain all these men’s phone numbers when she can’t even get inside the building.  She sees an ad for the new fsociety based TV show, Shift + Control and that gives her an idea.  Shift control.

She goes to a costume shop (or is it the actual set of Shift + Control?  To be honest, I’m not really sure) and starts grabbing some items, one of which is an fsociety mask.  Hmm…

Empty Promises

Back at the hotel, Mr. Robot decides to give Price a phone call to see what’s what.  Little does he know that the Dark Army confiscated Price’s phone when he arrived at The Brentano.  Whiterose answers it, and asks if she can see Elliot in person.  Mr. Robot ain’t interested.  Besides, wasn’t she the one that said Elliot wasn’t “important enough” to meet with twice?  Whiterose insists that she’s changed her mind about that.  Besides, she’s willing to make a deal.  If he stops his plan, she’ll provide valuable information to him…information about Angela.

This gives Mr. Robot pause.  Whiterose goes on to say that Angela isn’t dead!  Now she has Price’s full attention as well.

Mr. Robot reminds Whiterose that she sent him a picture of Angela with her brains blown out.  Whiterose chids Mr. Robot for blindly believing what was in front of him.  Angela is alive, and she can take him to her.  She then goes on to ask if he’d like to see Angela again…to hear her voice…to hold her hand.

This causes Elliot to come back.

Whiterose goes on to tell Elliot that she can offer him a new world:  a world without any regrets or pain.  A single tear streams down Elliot’s face as he listens to Whiterose.

Whiterose pleads with Elliot to show him the world she once showed his closest friend.  Elliot remembers Angela’s state of mind before Whiterose killed her.  She wasn’t the same Angela anymore; Whiterose destroyed her.  Whiterose doesn’t give up trying to convince Elliot.  She damn near begs him to put away all the hatred and anger he has against her so she can help him.

At that moment, Elliot gets a message from Darlene that reads, “Turn on the TV.”  Once Elliot turns it on, he says to Whiterose, “Here’s the thing…I don’t need help right now.  You do,” and hangs up.  I love that man.

It turns out Darlene made an fsociety video and sent it to the major news stations.  In it, she outs the Deus Group, and even sends a link to download a private file that uncovers all their dirty deeds!  She also makes sure to alert the public that all those no good bastards are at Cipriani wining and dining if anyone wants a peek at them.  The Deus Group members all see the video on their phones, and they’re freaking out.  Whiterose sees the video as well, and she’s none too happy about it.

Darlene calls Elliot and asks if he saw the video and if he was able to get Whiterose’s phone number.  He says that he saw it, and although he didn’t get Whiterose’s number, he spoke with her.  Darlene freaks out a bit, saying he was supposed to hack her phone, not call it, but Elliot assures her that it was just for a few minutes, and it was actually Price’s phone he dialed.  Darlene pauses and then asks Elliot if he’s okay.  Elliot answers honestly that he’s not sure.

Darlene tells him that she’s glad he’s back.  Elliot doesn’t say anything, but looks out the window and notices a cell tower outside.

He realizes that he can intercept the info from the tower and try to get Whiterose’s phone number that way.  Darlene continues trying to talk to Elliot to find out what happened with him and if he’s alright, but Elliot’s only focused on business.  He tells Darlene he’ll call her back once he appropriates the traffic from the cell tower.  The plan will only work if they can get all the Deus Group accounts at the same time, including Whiterose’s.  Darlene has to make sure the other members are in her line of sight.  He hangs up and gets to work.

The Dynamic Duo Strikes Again!

We now see Whiterose doing something out of the ordinary…panicking.  She’s on the phone with Sergey, one of the Deus Group members, practically begging him to have the others stay at Ciprani and wait for her to arrive.  Price continues to pour his champagne and sip slow.  At the hotel, Elliot gets all the traffic from the cell tower.

Sergey hangs up in Whiterose’s face and she angrily asks Price if this was his big plan.  Does he think she can’t afford being doxxed (that’s a new term I learned during this episode, by the way)?  Price answers, “I have no idea.  I’m as curious as you.”  Oh, the shade!

Darlene is across the street from the Cipriani parking garage, as the Deus Group members’ drivers are chillin’, having some drinky-drinks and playin’ poker. I guess they assumed it’s gonna be a long night.  Darlene notes that a bridge has to be lowered for anyone to enter or exit the garage, and she runs a script on her phone.  In the meantime, the Deus Group members call their drivers and tell them that they’re ready to go, now.  However, when the drivers get in their SUV’s to get their clients, the bridge won’t lower, and they’re all stuck in the garage.

All the Deus Group Members pile outside and frantically call their drivers, but to no avail.  Darlene starts running her other script and obtains their phone numbers…as well as their bank accounts.  To add insult to injury, the members can’t even find an alternate way to leave the club, because a crowd of people has gathered, trying to see who’s a part of the group.  Of course, they’re taking photos and videos.  Even the news media has shown up.

Darlene continues to run her script and lets Elliot know she’s getting matches.  He’ll have to get Whiterose’s number soon.  As Elliot’s searching, the parking garage attendant manually fixes the bridge and the drivers come flying out.

Whiterose is panicking even more at this point.  Price is amused.  “All this over a little pipsqueak in a hoodie,” he remarks.

Price goes on to say that although he never liked Elliot (boo), the skinny guy does bring something to the table.  He’s probably the only person that can actually hurt Whiterose…and she must know it, too.  Whiterose can’t even argue that point.  At the hotel, Elliot sends Darlene all the phone numbers he was able to obtain from the cell tower and asks her to match them to the Deus Group accounts.  The drivers are pulling up to the building, but Darlene’s script is still running!  “Why do we have to cut these things so damn close?” Mr. Robot thinks aloud, echoing Elliot’s same sentiment from season three.

Execute!

The Dark Army operatives escort Whiterose and Price outside.  Price stops midway down the stairs and takes a look around, taking in the peace of the night and the cold winter air.

He’s stalling.

Whiterose asks if he really wants her and her men to force him into the car.   Price responds by saying that he almost let himself believe Whiterose when she said Angela was still alive.  Even though he saw the operatives drag her dead body away, he still felt the power of Whiterose’s promise when she spoke to Elliot.  Price assumes that how she conned Angela into doing what she wanted.  Whiterose vowed to take away Angela’s hurt and regret and instead, destroyed her…but it didn’t work.  Angela lives on in the people that love her, and that love gives those people an unwavering resolve to destroy Whiterose.

Now, while Price is giving Whiterose this epic monologue, Darlene matches Whiterose’s number to the Deus Group accounts!

She sends a message to Elliot, who instructs her to start the bank transfer immediately.  Darlene does, and once the transfer goes through, the members get a code on their phones.  Elliot sends the codes to Darlene, and she completes the transfer.  BOOM!

By the way, at least $140 billion got transferred.  That’s billion with a doggone B.

Once the transfer is complete, Price tells Whiterose to remember that she did all this to herself.  Whiterose smiles and tells Price to take his own advice and accept his truth.  It’s over.  Price hears his phone vibrate and smiles himself.  “Yes,” he says, laughing.  “I believe it is.”  Whiterose’s phone also goes off, and she checks it.

“Something wrong, old sport?” Price asks.  Oooh, I love Shady Price!

Whiterose asks what’s going on, and Price answers, “If it’s what I think it is…we’re all broke!”  Whiterose doesn’t want to accept her truth, but she can’t deny all those notifications popping up stating that the accounts are all overdrawn.

Over at the hotel, Elliot walks up with Mr. Robot, smiling.  They did it; the plan worked.  Mr. Robot doesn’t seem all that happy, though.

Now we see another side of Whiterose that we haven’t seen before:  the defeated side.  As she tries to make sense of what happened, Price mocks her and lets her know her dream is as good as dead.  He warned her long ago that he was a mercenary, and he would rather see her lose than himself win.  Price decides to throw in one more bit of shade and says, “Think of it this way, Zhang.  You didn’t lose the game.  You just ran out of time.”  BURRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNN!

This is the last straw for Whiterose, who grabs a nearby operative’s gun and shoots Price down like a dog in the street!

This is witnessed by everyone in the doggone area, including Elliot and Mr. Robot, who were leaving the hotel the exact moment Whiterose shot Price.  As the operatives take Whiterose to the car, she sees Elliot walking away.

I’d like to think what went through her mind at that moment is how that little pipsqueak in a hoodie ever got the best of her.  A hug and kiss to whomever can guess what movie I stole that line from. 😀💋

The Deus Group members leave Ciprani, broke and disgraced, as the crowd of onlookers contunue to snap photos and take videos.  One of the Deus members looks up and sees Darlene in the crowd, smiling.

We hear Mr. Robot narrating, “And like that, Rome falls.  No more Deus Group.  No more top 1% of the top 1%.  No more controlling every piece of our lives.  No more playing God without permission.  We took them down…all of them.”

Down, but Not Out

Later that night, the FBI is banging Whiterose’s door down.  We’re not made aware if it’s for murdering Price, her Deus Group involvement, or both.  Either way, Whiterose is upstairs in her bedroom—in her true form—calmly applying her makeup.  It’s worth noting that she’s wearing her mother’s dress—the same dress she declared she’d wear when her project launches.

We hear the FBI break down the door downstairs, and a gun battle ensues.  Whiterose sits at her vanity and looks in the mirror, completely unbothered.

The gun fight continues as the credits roll, ending our story.

What can I say?  “409 Conflict” was all that and a bag of chips (don’t judge me for still using that phrase).  Our heroes finally had a victory, and not a victory that was followed by an immediate defeat, but a real doggone victory.  Point blank, period.

Needless to say, my favorite scenes were the ones with Phillip Muthafuckin’ Price.  That man threw so much shade at Whiterose, he put the contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta to shame.

I’m gonna miss Price.  For the second time this season, a character’s death affected me more than I figured it would.  I always liked Price, but he was on my “neutral” list when it came to the characters I wanted to live, die, or meet either fate.  I hate he was killed, although we all saw it coming, as did he, hence the reason he went out like a certified boss.  Rest in power, Mr. Price.

Not only was Price in charge of the girls this episode, but my homegirl Darlene was, too!  That child’s genius is matched only by her brother’s.  Filming that impromptu fsociety video was quick thinking and it did the trick in scaring those fools out of hiding.  She proved she was the woman once again when she hijacked the bridge in the parking garage.  Darlene truly is invaluable to Elliot.  He needs her and she needs him.

It was nice to see Whiterose sweat for a change, and when she lost all her money, I doggone it cheered.  Unfortunately, that’s where the satisfaction is going to end.  If any of you watched the teaser trailer, you’ve seen Whiterose descending the staircase of her house, still wearing her mother’s dress, walking past a dozen dead FBI agents.

My sweet Elliot…when he reappeared at the idea of Angela being alive, it made my heart flutter.  He still loves her.  I found myself wishing that what Whiterose was saying was true, but I’m glad Elliot saw through the (possible) bullshit and didn’t back down.  I hope that he and Darlene can eventually take the time to have a conversation about what really happened with his father, and I hope in turn, she can tell him what she’s gone through.  They need to sit down and talk to each other—and I mean really talk.  Once again, they need each other.

Let’s move on to the biggest reveal of the night…the third personality.  It seems that Mr. Robot is still keeping things from Elliot, doggone his time.  He’s going to “show Elliot what he did?”  That makes me nervous.  What did Elliot do?  Kill someone?  Cause a terrorist attack?  What!?  Also, there’s a possibility that Elliot may not be the original host, but the third mystery guest is.  I don’t like that, either.  We’ve come to know and love Elliot over these past few years.  Like he said in “408 Request Timeout,” if things didn’t happen the way they did, he wouldn’t be him.   I love Elliot the way he is, and I don’t want him to be “put to sleep” or have this other personality take over permanently or whatever.   And how will Darlene cause the other personality to come out?

Also, I couldn’t help but notice that the boardroom has four chairs.  Mr. Robot is in one, Little Elliot and Mrs. Alderson are in the others.  Apparently, there’s two Elliots.  One is the one we know, and the other is the “poor boy that hasn’t woken up.”  But there’s only one seat left, not two.  Will the other personality be annihilated? 😶😶😶

Again, this was a fantastic episode.  “409 Conflict” currently has a 9.9 rating on IMDB.com, and it’s well deserved.  My boy Sam is showing D&D and Lee Daniels how a final season should be done, and I’m lovin’ it.  No shade, but SHADE.

On the next episode, the Christmas from hell is finally over.  Elliot returns to Washington Township and Darlene meets up with Dom again.  A lot of folks believe the two ladies are going to perish in a plane crash, but I rebuke that theory in the name of Jesus.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about “409 Conflict?”  Did you love Price’s epic shade?  Did seeing Whiterose panic put you in the Christmas spirit?  Did you tear up when Elliot came back after hearing that Angela may still be alive?  Do you think there’s a possibility that Whiterose’s machine works?  Were you happy that Darlene and Elliot finally took a W instead of an L?  Do you want Elliot to be the main personality or are you cool with him not being the original host?  Are curious as to who the third personality is or how Darlene will “wake him up?”  Also, what do you think Elliot did?  Let me know in the comments section! 

1995:  The Queens Museum

An eight year old Elliot is in the Queens Museum playing hide-and-go-seek with Angela.  As Angela’s counting, Elliot goes into a storage room far away from the public area of the museum.  Initially, it appears that he’s looking for a good hiding spot, but once we see him speaking with Mr. Robot (who’s unseen and unheard), we learn he has another purpose in mind.  He takes something out of his pocket and hides it underneath a furnace.

After hiding the item, Elliot goes back to the Panorama section and he and Angela continue their game.

It’s notable to mention that when Elliot first enters the room, he lays eyes on a giant robot.  He gazes at it for a minute and goes on to hide the object.  Hmmm…

Get Out

In the present day (2015), the realization that Krista just killed Vera is setting in, and she’s freaking out.  Poor Elliot, on the other hand, is pretty much catatonic.  Krista is about to call the police when she hears Vera’s phone ringing.  She looks out the window and sees Young MA and Javi standing outside, trying to contact their boss.

Krista tells Elliot they’re not safe and they have to get out now, but Elliot simply remains seated with a 50 yard stare.  The only thing registering with him right now is that his younger self is across from him, staring back at him…

Outside, Young MA keeps trying Vera, but he’s not picking up.  She really needs to go upstairs to pee.  Javi tells her that they had specific orders to wait, but Young MA says she can’t hold it, plus she wants to know what’s happening in the therapy session.  Javi’s curiosity get the better of him, and they go in the house.  As they’re discussing how Arby’s is a fiscally responsible meal choice (which is incorrect when you really think about it), they find Vera on the floor dead, and thankfully Krista and Elliot have escaped.  Young MA looks for them on the fire escape, but they’re long gone.  She has Javi steal Vera’s wallet and they hurry out of the house.  Wow.  And here I thought they’d be out for blood once they saw their fearless leader was killed.  No honor amongst thieves, huh?

Not too far away, Krista manages to get Elliot in a taxi (I’m glad she thought to retrieve Elliot’s bag, by the way) and has the driver take them to the nearest police station.  Elliot’s still shell shocked.

To make matters worse, an E-Corp Christmas commercial featuring Tyrell is playing in the cab.  Sensing that that’s the last thing Elliot needs to see right now, Krista turns it off.

Holiday Drop In

Over in Teaneck, the DiPierros are enjoying a typical Christmas evening full of music, laughter, games, TV specials and bad ass kids.  However, the Yuletide fun is interrupted when Dark Army forces storm the house and take everyone hostage while “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays.  God, I love this show.

By the way, I’m still trippin’ off that kid telling Dom’s mother “You can split my dickhole!”  Oh, somethin’ would’ve gotten split alright.  PSA:  Spank your damn kids.

Destructive Productivity

Janice is holding Dom and Darlene captive and going on about how she recently learned cities were created by lightning, thanks to a bolt hitting limestone and creating cement (she heard this in a podcast, so it must be the gospel).  She ends her history lesson with the line, “Destruction can be so productive!”  Something about that stayed with me.  One of the Dark Army operatives announce that Darlene completely wiped her phone, and he can’t get anything off it.  Umm…didn’t Darlene say that hours ago?  Janice orders Darlene to restore the phone herself, but she tells Janice to eat shit and die.

Dom tries to convince Janice that Darlene doesn’t know anything, but Janice doesn’t believe her, seeing as Dom still pleasures herself to Darlene’s interrogation video.  Oh yeah, this heffa actually mentions that.  Out loud.  In front of Darlene.

Do these fools have cameras in Dom’s apartment or what?  Amused at Dom and Darlene’s reaction, Janice feigns an apology and pulls out of set of knives.  While Janice tries to find the sharpest one, she asks what really happened between the two of them.  Darlene lies and says it was just sex, but again, Janice isn’t buying it.  Darlene lets Janice know that she can play all the games she wants, she’s not giving Elliot up, so whatever she has planned, she might as well do it and get it over with.  Janice responds by plunging the knife in Dom’s chest, and leaving it inside the wound.

As Dom falls to the floor gasping for air, Janice says that’s she 99% positive she punctured a lung.  Now Darlene has a choice:  she can give them Elliot’s location and in turn, they’ll get Dom medical attention she needs, or she can keep quiet and Dom will die.

Moving Forward

Krista and Elliot arrive at the police station, but Elliot’s not trying to go inside.  Krista attempts to convince him, and Elliot finally responds to her, saying he can’t do it.  Not only is Elliot traumatized, but he’s actually wanted by the cops, so walking in there isn’t his best bet.  Elliot asks what people like himself do when they learn they’ve been assaulted.  Krista tells him he has to keep going, and Elliot begins to do what most victims do:  blame himself.  Krista reminds him that he was a child and had no control over what was happening.

Elliot wishes he could forget everything again, but Krista tells him he never really forgot.  The trauma was always there.  It was the itch in the back of his mind; the one he couldn’t scratch (I liked that she used that line—it was a call back to Elliot using it in the first and second season).  Elliot remarks on how his father made him feel special, and Krista lets him know that he is special (you doggone right, Krista!).  She offers to have him call her the next day.  At first Elliot refuses, saying that she doesn’t have to take care of him anymore, but Krista insists.  She wants to continue talking with him.  He shouldn’t go through his hurt and pain alone.

Elliot says he knows and reaches out to hug Krista.  *Sob*

Krista tells Elliot to take care of himself and goes inside the precinct.  Elliot sees his younger self down the street, heading to the subway platform.  Elliot meets him down there and asks where they’re going.  Young Elliot doesn’t answer.

Sociopathy

By this time, Dom’s wheezing and losing a great deal of blood.  Darlene criticizes Janice for not helping Dom, but Janice claims she wants nothing more than to do let Dom live.  Dom is loyal, honest and loves her family, which makes her easy to control.  She has “pluck.”  Who the hell speaks like that?

Dom manages to tell Darlene not to give Elliot up, and ol’ girl mentions again that she sensed a connection between the two of them.  Janice asks if Darlene ever met Dom’s mother.  When Darlene answers no, Janice starts talking about how much she liked Mrs. DiPierro and was flattered that she wanted to hook her up with Dom.  She admired the fact that Mrs. DiPierro was willing to ignore Janice’s red flags just to make her daughter happy.  Darlene asks if the “red flag” was Janice’s insanity, and Janice lets it be known that her parents had her tested when she mentioned she wanted to be a taxidermist.  All the tests were inconclusive and proved she was normal.  WTF?

I’m thinking she found a way to cheat those shits.

Janice sees that Dom drowning in her own blood isn’t making Darlene budge, so she decides to try something else.  She announces that she’s gonna call her men in Teaneck and order them to kill Dom’s mother.  Dom begs Janice not to make the call and Darlene’s resolve is breaking before our eyes.  Before she can dial the number, Darlene stops her and tells them she’ll restore the phone and give them Elliot’s location.

“Now look who has pluck,” Janice says.  WHAT THE HELL IS PLUCK!?

The Queens Museum:  2015

Young Elliot brings Adult Elliot to the Queens Museum.  Again, Elliot asks his younger self why he brought him here.  Young Elliot doesn’t say anything.  Doggone, Young Elliot is quieter than grown Elliot!  Elliot tells his younger self that he’s sorry he let his father hurt him.  He’s sorry he didn’t fight back and ran away to the Queens Museum whenever he was upset.  Before we know it, he’s screaming his apologies.  Young Elliot simply says that’s not why he brought him there.

Elliot follows Young Elliot to the storage room.  The large robot that once overlooked the room is now disassembled.

Young Elliot leads his adult self over to the furnace and has him reach inside the crack in the wall underneath it.  Elliot feels around and finds what he hid all those years ago:  a Beavis and Butthead pouch with a key inside.  It was the key to his bedroom.  He hid it in the museum so the monster couldn’t get him.  That’s how Elliot fought back.

Once again, this was another call back to season one.  When Elliot had his fever dream while going through his morphine withdrawal, Mr. Robot gave him the same key, instructing him to “find [his] monster and turn the key.”  The key appears multiple times in the dream.  I knew it had a type of significance, but at the time, I always figured the meaning was something symbolic within the dream itself.  Turns out the key had a deeper connotation than I thought.

The Wild Card

The cops are at Krista’s place, investigating the crime scene and taking care of Vera’s corpse.  There’s a Dark Army operative across the street, informing Janice that Elliot’s phone was found at the location, but he wasn’t there.  There was a dead body at the location, but it wasn’t identified as Elliot.  When Janice hangs up, she’s none too happy and gives Darlene the bad news.  Darlene doesn’t know what to say.  If they only found the phone, it means something happened to Elliot or he purposely left his phone because he didn’t want her to know where he is.  Dom even confirms that Darlene’s telling the truth.

Now, considering what the operative just said along with Darlene’s information, common sense should’ve allowed Janice to put two and two together and realize that something occurred that caused Elliot to leave his phone at Krista’s.  However, it’s becoming more and more clear that Janice ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed (no pun intended).  Either due to her stupidity or her sheer love of being an agent of chaos and causing destruction, she decides to call the guys in Teaneck again to call Darlene’s “bluff.”  Lord…

Darlene pleads with her, telling her that she gave them Elliot’s location like they asked.  Janice corrects her.  She gave them Elliot’s phone, not his actual whereabouts (like Darlene really had control over that.  SMDH).  Dom begs Janice not to hurt her family, but Janice is insistent.  However, when she calls no one picks up.  She hangs up and dials again.  Still nothing.  We then see a flash of one of the Teaneck division operatives’ phones covered in blood.

Dom’s panic subsides a bit and she asks Janice if the operative didn’t answer.  Intrigued, Janice inquires why Dom would even think to ask, and Dom tells her to look in her pocket for her phone.  There’s a man that was supposed to call her earlier that day.  Janice retrieves Dom’s phone and sees 14 calls from “Lucky Irish Bastard.”  Try to guess who that is!

Janice dials the number and lo and behold, it’s the Irish sex trafficker guy!  He tells “Dom” he has her family safe and sound.

Janice demands to know who she’s talking to.  He tells her he’s Deegan.  Who the hell is she?  When she gives her name, he basically says, “Ah!  The Dark Army lass!  Tell Dom we’re square!  Sorry about your boys.  I had to give them a holy show.  There weren’t no other way.”  Janice asks what boys he’s talking about and asks him to speak English.  Damn, are you that dumb?  Deegan clarifies that he killed the operatives.  Duh!  Then he ends the call with, “Ta-ta for now, ya flange!”  The folks from the UK and Ireland on the Mr. Robot subreddit got a real kick out of that one (“flange” is slang for va-jay-jay).

While Janice’s dumbass is trying to piece together what’s going on, Dom is eyeing the operative that’s standing in front of her.  Once Janice is off the phone, Dom snatches the knife out of her chest—the one thing that’s probably keeping her alive—and slices the operative’s Achilles tendon.

Once the operative’s down, in a swift motion, Dom takes the dude’s gun, shoots the operative near the kitchen, kills Janice, then points the gun behind her back and shoots the last operative!  Badass!

Darlene grabs the knife and cuts her and Dom’s restraints loose.  Dom calls for assistance, and Darlene offers to stay with her to make sure she’s okay.

Dom tells her if she really wants to help, she’ll find Elliot and take the Dark Army down.  With that, Darlene begrudgingly leaves the apartment and Dom to her fate.

Family Reunion

Elliot is at Allsafe, trying to key commands in the computer, but he can barely concentrate.  Mr. Robot appears, still looking defeated, wringing his hat in his hands.  “Hey, kiddo,” he says softly.  No bravado.  So unlike him.

Elliot pauses at the sound of Mr. Robot’s voice, then manages to pull himself together just enough to tell Mr. Robot (without turning to face him) he’ll be ready for the Deus Group meeting (which is in one hour!).  Mr. Robot knows that’s not why Elliot let him back in.  He goes on to say that he was created to protect Elliot, since his father failed at that task.  Despite what he thinks, Elliot was strong enough to fight against his father as a child.  However, Mr. Robot figured that if he buried Elliot’s memories of his abuse, and only kept the happy recollections of his father, he’d never experience the hurt.  However, leaving Elliot in darkness hurt him even more, and Mr. Robot apologizes for failing him.

Mr. Robot tells Elliot to just remember he’s not his father, and Elliot says he knows.  That’s why he created him.  Mr. Robot is the father he needed, not the one he had.  Mr. Robot wishes he could go back in time and change everything, and Elliot turns to him and says, “Then I wouldn’t be me…and I wouldn’t have you.”  *Sob*

That’s right, Elliot!  We love you just the way you are!

Elliot takes Mr. Robot’s hand and begins to cry, saying he doesn’t know if he’s able to go on with the hack.  Elliot’s cries become sobs and Mr. Robot comforts him, ending our story.

“408 Request Timeout” didn’t disappoint.  It wasn’t as good as “407 Proxy Authentication Required,” but c’mon.  Those are some REALLY big shoes to fill.  Let me just say though, that this season is getting better and better as time goes on, and I can’t wait to see where it ends.  Of course, I’m going to be sad when the end arrives, because after the finale, Mr. Robot will be no more.  I love this doggone show, and I’m so glad I started watching it two years ago.  It’s been a joy, and this final season is no exception.  If the actors/writers/cinematographers don’t get any recognition for their work on these current episodes, I’m gonna whup somebody’s behind.

Let’s talk about my girl Dom.  She shined in her scene.  So badass.  I always liked Dom (although she could work a bit a nerve at times), but she gained a whole new respect in my eyes after taking out those Dark Army fools.  The question on everyone’s mind is whether or not she’ll survive, and I honestly believe she will.  She’s a federal agent that’s wounded in a nice part of town.  The EMT’s will be there within minutes!  Also, at this point, it looks like Dom and Darlene are going to be endgame for sure (I’m sure the Domlene crew is rejoicing.  Why the Angelliot fans got screwed is beyond me; I don’t care what Portia Doubleday and Sam Esmail say).  I’m still not 100% psyched about a budding relationship between the two of them, but if this is the only way Darlene and Dom can get a W by the end of the show, so be it.  Y’all go ahead and get married, raise a family and make Elliot an uncle.  At least you’ll be alive.

Speaking of mortality, I’m so glad that doggone Janice is dead!  I couldn’t stand her!  I will say though, that speaks volumes for Ashlie Atkinson, the actress that played the character.  She can really bring a hateful villain to life.  Have y’all seen her in BlacKKKlansman?  She had to be one of the most, evil, conniving and annoying heffas to ever grace the big screen.  This lady definitely has a future ahead of her.

I’m really happy that Krista and Elliot repaired their relationship.  She totally redeemed herself after treating him like crap on Christmas Eve.  I’m sorry y’all, I hated the way she spoke to him on “403 Forbidden.”  I get the reasoning behind it, but it irked the hell out of me nonetheless.  However, I’m glad she was patient enough with him to help him get away from Young MA and Javi, and I’m glad she opened the door to provide him further treatment, which he’ll no doubt need…assuming he survives this (Elliot living through all this is my biggest hope for the show).  In all honesty, after being held hostage in her own home, assaulted, forced to reveal a patient’s health history and killing her assailant in self-defense, Krista is going to need therapy as well.  Some folks believe this episode was Krista’s last appearance in the Mr. Robot series, but I wouldn’t mind seeing one last shot of her towards the end of the show either helping Elliot or seeking help for herself.

Last, but certainly not least, my poor sweet Elliot. “408 Timeout Request” was more than an appropriate title for this episode, because Elliot definitely checked out, which was to be expected.  I knew it would take some time for him to move past the truth about his father being unearthed, and I’m glad this episode displayed Elliot still trying to cope with his emotions.  It wouldn’t make sense for Elliot to bounce back mere minutes after learning his father sexually assaulted him.  “Yeah, I unblocked traumatic childhood memories of the man I always thought of as a hero, but let’s do the damn thing with this hack!”  Nope.  Doesn’t work.

However, even though I’m glad the episode realistically portrayed the aftermath of Elliot’s revelation, it still makes me sad to see him so broken.  Even poor Mr. Robot is demoralized.  Seeing him approach Elliot without his usual confidence and swagger was heartbreaking.  It was especially disheartening to see Elliot break down crying with Mr. Robot consoling him.  Poor Elliot.

So far this Christmas, Elliot’s been hit by a car, chased through New York, ruined a potential love interest’s life and as a result, witnessed a botched suicide; he’s been kidnapped, relived a soul numbing childhood trauma, saw a man murdered (albeit self-defense) and is having visions of his younger self…and the day’s not even over yet.  On top of everything else, he still has to take down a global organization of evil, and he’s no where near mentally ready.  My Christmas in 2015 was no where near this stressful.

In the next episode, it looks like Mr. Robot has to take over for Elliot in order to initiate the hack, but of course, something’s going to go wrong.  Whiterose calls Elliot and says she has something to tell him…regarding Angela.

ANGELA!?

Folks are already theorizing that Angela may still be alive, or cloned, or Whiterose went back in time to bring her back.  As much I would would love for any of those to be true, I just don’t see it.

I mean, it would be cool if Angela returned…

Really cool.

Maybe us Angelliot fans will get some sense of satisfaction…

Maybe we’ll stop feeling like we were cheated out of seeing Angela and Elliot finally get together…

Stop giving me false hope, Sam!

I SAID STOP!

#Angelliot

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about “408 Timeout Required?”  Does it sadden you to see Elliot still broken up, or are you ready for him to snap out of it?  Was the scene where Dom took out the Dark Army badass?  Will you miss Janice, or are you glad she’s out of the picture?  Do you want Dom and Darlene to be together?  What did you think about Elliot seeing his younger self.  What are your thoughts on Krista and Elliot’s relationship?  Also, would you like to see Angela return?  Let me know in the comments section!

Words can’t describe the magnitude of this episode…but I’ll do my best.

Act I:  Greetings and Salutations

Like always, we pick up where we left off—Elliot’s still in the trunk of the Plymouth on his way to Krista’s house.  After the goons arrive there and drag Elliot out of the car, we see Vera smoking meth (that’s why his damn teeth are so yellow) and getting all emotional now that he and Elliot are face to face.  What cracked me up is the minute he hollers out, “I have so much respect for yo’ ass,” the camera cuts to Elliot gagged and bound in a chair.  LOL!  😂

Vera has his goon, Javi, untie Elliot.  Once he’s freed from his bonds, Mr. Robot appears to discuss an exit strategy.  Elliot’s only interest is finding out if Krista’s okay.  Mr. Robot’s certain that Krista’s dead at this point, but Elliot still needs to be sure.  Until then, he’ll just let Vera do what he does best:  run his mouth.  Vera becomes enraged that Elliot isn’t talking (at least not to him), and demands to know how he is, since it’s been a minute since they last saw each other (which debunks the theory of the third personality speaking with him prior to the kidnapping, my fellow Redditors).  Elliot responds by saying he’s confused:  Why did Vera wait so long to make a move on him?  Vera says he needed to be prepared before he snatched Elliot up, with him being a formidable opponent and everything.

Vera then goes into a spiel about how he returned to the Dominican Republic after Elliot broke him out of prison and made a killin’.  While he’s runnin’ his mouth, we see that Krista’s still alive, tied up and gagged in the study.

We cut back to Vera, who says he was bored after being the king of the DR and saw a shaman for advice.  After the shaman fed Vera a mixture of dried breast milk and blood (🤮) and Vera finished shittin’ and pukin’, pukin’ and shittin’ (🤮), he told Vera to return to New York and reconcile with the man who closed his chosen path.  That man was meant to be Vera’s partner.  That’s when Vera reveals his little master plan:  he’s gonna be the king of New York and Elliot will be by his side when he is.

Yeah…Elliot ain’t impressed.  He simply asks where Krista is.  Vera seems a bit offended and storms off in the kitchen to slice another piece of Krista’s Christmas ham.  When Elliot pushes the question again, Vera points his knife at him (from the kitchen), reminding him that they played this game once.

Elliot tells him that’s precisely why he’s asking.  Vera chuckles and informs Elliot that the knife used to belong to Isaac…and it’s the same one that was used to kill Shayla.  Vera’s goons get a good laugh off that, and Elliot gives them a look.  Y’all might wanna be careful.  This is the new, off the chain Elliot y’all are messin’ with now.

Elliot tells Vera he knows he won’t kill Krista; she’s the only leverage Vera has over him.  Elliot even taunts Vera, saying that with all his “enlightenment,” he’s still the same dumbass he was before he left.  Vera reminds Elliot that despite being a dumbass, he got everything he wanted last time.  Elliot lets Vera know that he didn’t get him.  Umph!

Elliot demands to see Krista, and Vera approaches him, grabs him by the hoodie and brandishes the knife in front him.

After criticizing Elliot for “always worrying about the pussy,” Vera agrees to his request…but afterwards, Vera has to have a special introduction.

Act II:  The Introduction

Vera and his crew walk Elliot in the study where Krista’s being held.  The moment Krista sees him, the first thing she mutters through the gag is, “Elliot!”  Oh…we ain’t scared of Elliot no mo’, Ms. Krista?  Elliot tells Vera to let her go, but Vera reminds him that he didn’t honor his first quid pro quo.  He wants an introduction.  Elliot asks what the hell he’s talking about and Vera tells him he wants to meet Mr. Robot.

Elliot plays coy at first, but Vera reveals that Krista told him everything, so Elliot might as well cut the bullshit.  Then this fool actually asks if they have to say “Mr. Robot” three times in a mirror or play Bob Marley albums and light candles to get him to come out.  Elliot tries to negotiate, saying they’ll talk once Krista’s released.  Instead, Vera holds the knife to Krista’s throat and starts feeling her up.

When Vera implies that he’ll have Javi rape Krista if Elliot doesn’t cooperate, Mr. Robot appears.

Vera’s amused.  It’s like he’s talking to another person!  Mr. Robot says that’s because he is another person and wants to know what Vera wants with him.  Vera asks just one question:  why is he here?  Mr. Robot says that he protects Elliot from buttholes like Vera.  Vera’s not convinced.  That’s just what he does.  He wants to know why Mr. Robot exists.  Mr. Robot never really answers the question and instead wants to know the details of Vera’s scheme, because if his current crew is evidence of his operation, he needs to go back to his shaman and shit some more, because he’s still full of it.

Vera goes into another spiel about how he wants to own New York and everything in it.  He wants everyone from the gutter to the tenement pushin’ his weight.  Cops, hookers, businessmen, everybody.  Like Elliot, Mr. Robot ain’t impressed, and simply answers, “Oh…you wanna get into real estate?”

Mr. Robot proceeds to break down why Vera’s idea is shit.  Instead, he’s willing to offer real money that’ll actually allow Vera to own NYC, but he has to let Krista go first.  Vera asks why he should let Krista go when Elliot admitted earlier that she’s the only card he has to play.  Elliot takes over again and offers to show Vera his plan.

Vera approaches Elliot, telling him he doesn’t need Mr. Robot.  The other guy may bark, but Elliot is the one with the bite, which is why he’s more scared of him than he is of Mr. Robot.  Elliot just holds his gaze.  Gangster.

Act III:  The Exploit

Back in the dining area, Elliot pulls his out his laptop to show Vera and his crew the accounts he accessed from the Deus Group.  He spots the Dark Army operative’s gun in his bag, and while these fools are drooling over the amount of money Elliot’s planning on stealing (which I’m sure is in the damn trillions), Elliot slowly reaches for the piece.

The Three Stooges are so enticed by the money, they don’t even notice him going for the burner.  Elliot grabs the gun and holds it on them.  Vera says Elliot doesn’t have it in him, and Elliot fires on all three of them!  Unfortunately, Javi already emptied the clip.

Damn, Elliot was about to light you fools up.

Vera’s impressed that Elliot had the guts to pull the trigger, but it further proves he still can’t be trusted.  Mr. Robot takes over again and tries to put the blame on himself, but Vera’s not tryin’ to hear that.  He reloads the gun and drags Krista out of the study, threatening to blow her brains out right in front of Elliot.

Elliot tells him that if he kills Krista, he might as well kill him next, because he’s not gonna get a dime.  Vera demands that Elliot tell him why he shouldn’t shoot Krista.  Elliot says she’s a good person that doesn’t deserve to be gunned down, but Vera doesn’t give a damn about that.  He’s killed good people before (Shayla…*sob*).  Elliot breaks down and says that he needs Krista.

Vera gets that damn gleam in his eye…but this time, it’s for a different reason.  He deduces that Krista is Elliot’s shaman, and she’s the key to getting inside Elliot’s head, not Mr. Robot.

Act IV:  The Therapy Session

Vera’s crazy ass brings Elliot and Krista back in the study and forces them to have an impromptu therapy session with him and his crew watching.  Lord, have mercy.  Krista tells Vera that it’s impossible to conduct a therapy session this way.  She and Elliot have to be alone in a controlled environment.  With that, Vera orders Young MA and Javi to leave.  These fools refuse at first, wanting to see what unfolds, but Vera demands it.  The goons begrudgingly leave, with Young MA calling Krista a “nasty cabbage ass that ruined everything.”  WTF?

Vera stays behind, letting Krista know that this is as private as it gets.  Krista tries talk some sense into him, saying she still can’t work with him holding her and Elliot at gunpoint.  Vera gets fed up and fires the gun in the floor.  Elliot tells him to calm down and talks Krista into asking him about his mother, since she just passed away the other day.  They speak on Elliot’s feelings about his mother’s death, and Vera gets irritated again.  He knows all this shit; he wants the real tea.  Grabbing Elliot’s file from a nearby table, he reads an excerpt from Krista’s notes saying that Elliot has a secret and Mr. Robot’s existence is tied to it.  This gets Elliot’s attention.

Mr. Robot appears again, discussing an exit strategy and accusing Krista of selling them out.  In the meantime, Krista is begging Vera not to read her progress notes.  It’s obvious that both of them are hiding something.  Elliot has Vera continue reading the notes, and he reveals that Krista intended on asking further about Elliot’s window incident.  Vera asks what’s so special about that window.

Mr. Robot is practically begging for the subject to be dropped.  Elliot angrily tells him to shut up and demands to know what’s going on, and what it has to do with Mr. Robot.  Krista refuses to speak on it at first, but after Elliot pushes, she concedes, admitting that everything is centered around Elliot’s dad.  As Mr. Robot’s pleas continue to fall on deaf ears, we begin to see him crumble.  Vera is loving that the first facet of his design is coming to fruition.  Yellow ass teeth havin’ bastard.

Krista asks if Elliot remembers what happened that day, and he recalls what Darlene told him:  they heard their father coming into the room, he hid Darlene in the closet, started swinging his bat and smashing everything in sight before breaking the window and leaping out of it on his own.  His father never pushed him out of the window; he jumped.

Krista asks why Elliot can’t remember this incident himself.  Elliot’s not sure.  When Krista inquires if Elliot has lost time and memories like this before, he says it only happens when Mr. Robot takes over.  Krista then asks if it’s possible that Elliot can’t remember because Mr. Robot is blocking the memory.  Stunned, Elliot asks Mr. Robot exactly how long he’s existed.  He doesn’t remember Mr. Robot being around when he was a child.  Mr. Robot says that he’s been around for as long as Elliot needed him to be.  He takes over and begs Krista not to continue, saying Elliot isn’t supposed to know.

Elliot asks what it is he isn’t supposed to know.  Krista questions if Elliot truly believes Mr. Robot is there to protect him.  Elliot answers yes, and Krista queries if it’s possible that Mr. Robot picked up the bat to protect Elliot and if so, why?  Elliot gets irritated and wants to know the point of all this.  Vera gets into all this like he’s watching an episode of The Young and the Restless.  Krista wants to know what Mr. Robot was protecting him from.  Why did Elliot/Mr. Robot have such a strong reaction when his father entered the bedroom?  Elliot, whose resolve is slowly collapsing, can’t remember.

Mr. Robot takes over once more, looking even more crushed, imploring Krista not to bring this to light.  That’s when Vera deduces that the person Elliot was afraid of was his father.

Elliot rebuffs that, saying that his father was his friend—his only friend.  That’s when Mr. Robot stands up and says to Elliot, “I can’t protect you anymore.”  Then he exits to the left!  OMG!!

Elliot appears hurt for a moment, but then asks Krista why he’d be scared of his father.  Krista probes further, inquiring if Elliot can ever recall a time his father hurt him.  Elliot says no at first, still stating that his father was his friend.  However, as Krista continues to describe details from that day, we can see Elliot begin to remember…and he starts breaking down.

Krista finally asks if his father ever asked Elliot to do something he didn’t want to do.  Elliot starts to cry and says yes.

Krista then asks the ultimate question:

“Did your father ever sexually molest you?”

Elliot answers yes.

Elliot completely breaks down, sobbing.  A single tear falls down Krista’s face.  Vera simply watches in silence.  Elliot continues sobbing as the picture fades to black.

Act V:  Conclusion

By this point, Elliot is completely broken.  Krista says she’s sorry this happened to him, but Vera raises his hand, ordering her to be quiet.  It’s his turn to talk.  Vera tells Elliot he knows what he’s feeling and no longer has to be afraid.  When he places his hand on Elliot’s shoulder, the latter recoils, not being able to take anymore.  Elliot leaves the study and Vera quickly follows.

Elliot goes to the window in the dining room, and Vera continues trying to talk to him.  Vera mentions that even though Elliot’s hurting, he can be his true self now, but Elliot says he doesn’t know who his true self is.  Vera tells him to let go of all his anger and sadness and Elliot starts screaming in front of the window, as the storm outside rages on.  I was so scared he was going to jump.

Vera informs Elliot that he doesn’t have to carry this awful burden alone; he can carry it with him and they can help each other.  Elliot (correctly) blames Vera for doing all this to him, and Vera counters, saying he did it for him.  Lies from the tree of lies!  Elliot doesn’t believe him, but Vera swears down he could sense Elliot’s hurt from the moment he met him, and he wanted to bring it to light.  And now that Elliot knows the truth he can use it.

Vera goes on to mention that he too was sexually abused as a child.  That explains a lot.  After all, many abused people become abusers.  Vera says people that survive the trauma they suffered are truly strong, and when they weather the storms they’ve endured, they become the storm.

With tears streaming down his face, Vera says that Elliot’s power is beautiful, and he’s special.  He asks if Elliot believes that, and Elliot admits he doesn’t know.  All he knows is that he doesn’t want to be alone anymore.  Vera says, “You’re not alone…I see you now.”

Just then, Vera’s body jerks and we know he’s been stabbed.  At first it looks like Elliot did it, but when the camera moves backwards, we see that he was stabbed in the back!

Vera raises up, wheezing and coughing up blood, trying to pull the knife out of his back, and we see Krista behind him, with Vera’s blood splattered on her neck and collarbone.

Not only was Krista the one to take him out, but she used the same knife that killed Shayla (#justiceforShayla).  Vera falls to the floor taking his last breaths, and the Brave Traveler is no more.

After Vera dies, a power outage causes all the lights to go off in Krista’s house section by section, and that’s where our story ends.

Oh my God y’all, this episode was on a whole ‘nother level.  Forgive me in advance, but in the words of Mr. Robot himself, this review portion is gonna have a ton of word salad.

“407 Proxy Authentication Required” was a damn masterpiece.  Just phenomenal.  During the entire therapy session, my heart was about to beat out of my chest, and when Elliot revealed who hurt him, my heart broke along with his.  So far, this is the best episode all season, and definitely one of the best of the show itself, period.  Even though this has been one of the darkest installments in the Mr. Robot series (which is saying a lot), it’s so brilliantly executed that I can’t stop watching it.  Sam Esmail really is a damn genius, and I have to rank him with the likes of Quentin Tarantino at this point.  Oh yeah…and once again, Mr. Robot was the number one trending topic on Twitter the night this episode aired!

The five act structure and two room setting was fantastic.  Some fans compare the set up to a Hitchcock movie, but to me, it was more like a play—an extremely intense play—especially given there were only six actors featured this go’ round.  Some people theorize the five acts symbolize the five stages of grief.  It could also symbolize the five steps of Vera’s plan to break Elliot.  Nonetheless, I loved it.

The cinematography was beautiful, as always.  I noticed that as the subject matter became darker, so did the surroundings.  By the time Elliot learns what his father did to him, he appears to be almost shrouded in darkness.

The acting was so on point.  Everyone played their role to perfection.  All week long I’ve been hearing the same thing:  “Give Rami Malek and Elliot Villar (Vera) all the awards,” “If Rami doesn’t win an Emmy next year, we riot!”  I wholeheartedly agree.  Rami and Elliot both did their thing.  When Elliot (the character) begins to remember what happened to him as a child, we can actually see him replaying the memories.  We can feel his hurt and pain.  When Vera makes his move on Elliot by sharing his own personal pain, he’s so convincingly sincere that a lot of fans fell for his act, even though he outwardly detailed his plan to break Elliot and build him back up in the previous episode.

Speaking of which, there’s some people that are legit pissed at Krista for stabbing Vera to death!  I’ve seen some comments such as, “Now Elliot truly is alone,” and “Elliot had someone until Krista killed him.”  Y’all, Vera meant Elliot no good.  I believe Vera was telling the truth about his own sexual assault against him, but as far as wanting to heal Elliot?  No.  In stabbing Vera, Krista saved Elliot in every way he could’ve been saved.  All Vera wanted to do was use Elliot’s power for his own gain, and poor Elliot would’ve traded one predator for another.  Krista did the right thing.  That being said, I’ll miss that yellow toothed bastard.  Vera was deliciously evil, and hella entertaining.  Like Whiterose, he was a villain that I loved to hated.  He proved himself to be central to the overall Mr. Robot storyline.

There’s also some fans out there that believe the reveal about Elliot’s dad is a cop out Sam introduced at the last minute.  I understand how they feel.  Mr. Alderson being a sexual predator changes the entire narrative.  Elliot took on E-Corp mainly to avenge his father’s death.  Not only that, some of Elliot’s fondest “memories” are of his father, who he believed was his best friend and one of the few people in his life he had a loving relationship with.  Then of course, there’s Mr. Robot, who took on the physical likeness of Elliot’s dad.  However, after I really thought about it and discussed the topic on Reddit, there were little clues here and there that prove Elliot was a victim of sexual assault:

When we’re first introduced to Elliot in the pilot episode, he took down Ron, a coffee shop owner by day and child pornographer by night.

Throughout the series Elliot fought against sexual predators, from Ron, to Ray, the prison warden who was trafficking young girls, to Freddy, the sleazy lawyer who was conducting Skype sex chats with minors.

Elliot being a sexual assault victim explains his dissociative personality disorder (DID) as well as his social anxiety and depression.

This also explains why Elliot completely blocked his father out of his mind.

We see in flashbacks that Elliot’s mother appeared to hate Mr. Alderson, which brought forth the question of why he even stayed with her as long as he had.  Now that we know the truth, it’s safe to assume that Elliot’s mother knew—or at least suspected—the sexual abuse and Mrs. Alderson was merely a beard for Mr. Alderson.

Elliot hates being touched, especially by men.  He even hated Gideon touching him, and he was one of the few men Elliot liked and respected.

The fact that Vera was the sole drug dealer in New York supplying Suboxone made Elliot apathetic when it came to turning him in for his crimes, some of which included murder.  However, after Elliot learned Vera raped Shayla and had every intention of doing it again, he made up his mind and had Vera arrested.

In this very episode, Elliot doesn’t allow Mr. Robot to speak with Vera until the latter starts to touch Krista inappropriately and threatens to have her raped.

There’s also a handful of fans that think Elliot made the entire story up just to placate Vera.  I seriously doubt that.  Elliot’s breakdown from all his traumatic memories coming to light were real.  Let’s not forget as well, when Mr. Robot saw that the truth would be revealed no matter what he said or did, he declared he could no longer protect Elliot and left.  And the look on Mr. Robot’s face…I haven’t seen him look like that since Elliot laughed in his face and left his ass high and dry to go to church group.

The question now is:  will Mr. Robot return?  I admit, I always had a type of love/hate relationship with Mr. Robot, but Elliot may still need him when all is said and done.  Not only that, but Mr. Robot was the only personality that spoke to us this season.  Granted, I always felt that he didn’t provide enough tea, but he provided tea nonetheless, whereas Elliot’s been avoiding us like the plague.  Now that Mr. Robot is taking a hiatus (or is gone for good), will Elliot start speaking to us again, or will we be left in the dark?  Also, if Mr. Robot does come back, will he still take on the appearance of Elliot’s father or will he return in a new form?

The saddest thing about the reveal is that I always loved Mr. Alderson’s character.  Some folks deduced that Mr. Alderson was a sexual predator prior to this episode, but I never bought that.  My mother (who’s a huge Mr. Robot fan) once asked me if Elliot’s real dad acted like Mr. Robot when he was alive, and I answered, “No, he was always the sweetest man!”  I always thought he and Elliot had a beautiful relationship.  The flashbacks of Mr. Alderson with Elliot and Angela always gave me a warm and happy feeling.  When Elliot started having total recall during the therapy session scene, I kept saying to myself, “Please don’t let the Reddit theories be true…please don’t let the Reddit theories be true…”  *Sigh*  Now when I watch those same flashback scenes, they take on a whole new meaning.

This latest installment is just a testament to the brilliance of Mr. Robot.  To think, I literally went from blessin’ Elliot’s ass out for what he did to Olivia to wanting to give him a giant hug and kiss.  What’s even crazier is that it’s still Christmas and Elliot still has to carry out his plan to rob the Deus Group that night, despite being chased by cops through Manhattan, being kidnapped, witnessing a botched suicide attempt, and after learning that his father molested him.  On top all of that, his sister’s also being held hostage by a psychopath.  Worst.  Christmas.  Ever.

I know one thing…at the end of all this, I want Elliot and Darlene to have happiness, dammit.  And I don’t mean “peace after death” happiness, either.

In the next episode, Elliot seems to have a bit of a psychotic break, and Krista has to try to help him through it before Vera’s goons catch up to them.  Young Elliot appears to seemingly take Mr. Robot’s place, and Janice resorts to physical and mental torture to get Darlene to give up Elliot’s location.  Witch.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about “407 Proxy Authentication Required”?  Did the reveal about the real relationship between Elliot and his father seem sincere to you or do you think it was all an act to placate Vera?  Were you shocked that Elliot’s father abused him, or did you always figure that was the case?  Were you upset that Vera met his end?  Did you feel bad for Elliot?  Do you think Mr. Robot will come back?  Did Vera’s tactics and schemes throw a monkey wrench in Elliot’s plan to rob the Deus Group?  Let me know in the comments section!