[rating=8.00] “eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx”
Fear causes a unique reaction in the human psyche. To sit in suspense of what will happen next tends to trigger one’s fears with things like “will they make it?” “is it really him?” and “who is hiding behind that door?” It’s a magical feeling, and that innate ability to fear for characters we see ourselves in, or even want to connect with, is part of what makes entertainment so special. That said, this week’s Mr. Robot was a lesson in controlling that fear in order to handle what may or may not happen next. After a mostly humdrum first half of the season, here we are, episode 10, and my panic levels are at an all-time high.
After everything that has happened with the hack, Evil Corp is thriving. Everything Elliot had wanted to accomplish has petered out into a solely profitable Evil Corp world, something we’re reminded of in the opening sequence with Phillip Price and Terry Colby. Colby will be testifying against Evil Corp, a detail listed in his new book depicting him as a nice guy. None of it matters in this post hack world, and as the two of them shoot the shit there’s a stark reminder of why the 1% remains so; they’ll stop at nothing to hold onto their wealth and status. Literally nothing. The immediate pan over to Wellick’s vampire bride getting gussied up to surprise Elliot outside his apartment is the perfect layover example of such activity. As always there’s a superb soundtrack paired with these gorgeously sweeping ethereal shots of their elite world, and it’s like we could almost imagine being a part of it. Almost.
Darlene’s shocking surprise was simply Cisco returning with his, the mangled half dead body of one of Darlene’s lackys that was waiting for them at the smart house. Darlene is immediately suspect, but Cisco convinces her it’s the right thing to take him to the hospital. Not five minutes later the FBI has arrived at the smart house, where a neighbor rats on Cisco and a composite sketch gets drawn up and sent out. Dom knows that the Dark Army is involved after her run in overseas, but her pleas to keep Cisco’s identity under wraps are met with a scuff when she explains that if they don’t get to him first Cisco will be dead by the end of the night.
It’s frustrating to watch the FBI work on Robot because it seems so simple. As much as they like to pretend they cover their tracks, fsociety is constantly fucking up. Partly due to Elliot’s inability to remember where he was at any given time, but also partly because since the hack they’ve gotten careless. If their criminal activity was truly going to go off without a hitch, it wouldn’t be interesting to watch.
Of course the big (if predictable) shocker came with Dom tracking Darlene and Cisco down, only to be thwarted by a Dark Army assassin. We all knew it was coming, Cisco has been living on borrowed time since season one. The big question now is will they put Darlene into a coma? It seems like the logical step. With Cisco dead (because duh, he has to be this time right?) she will be the next person of interest and with her in a coma she has no way of cracking. Unfortunately, just her being there will lead them to Elliot who is now a known hacker.
Elliot’s troubles this week were amplified by Wellick’s vampire bride and her insistence on his help with finding her husband. The mystery around who is calling her was slightly resolved, considering they found the location of the other cellphone. The “he wouldn’t be in that house comment” was annoyingly cryptic, but not surprising at this point. One can only hope the calls were coming from inside the Wellick residence so all the troupe jokes can be made and we can revel in the vampire bride’s inability to run her own household when she thinks she’s such a bad bitch.
Even though Countess Lucy took Elliot “Oli” into her clutches, his main problem isn’t possibly screwing Wellick’s wife, it’s the loss of Robot. He literally lost him while they were shopping with the vamp minion and has not been able to figure out why. He turns to us for help in this dreamy scene where we look around the room for something he has missed, so his brain is still on the verge of imploding on itself at any moment. Even through the panic of looking for Wellick and meeting needy Angela on the train Robot refuses to resurface. So what’s the problem? It seems his secrets are starting to unravel, and once they’re out in the open will Elliot need Robot any longer?
Angela and Elliot finally made out a little, which is cool and all but she’s about to turn herself in and potentially rat on the whole operation. So where do we go from here? Ideally Robot will resurface and murder her or something because at this point she’s completely pointless again. Perhaps Dom will step in and the two of them will have an affair. Dom would give Angela at least a point in her worth, so I would accept this as a functional plot point.
Overall we’re still kind of up in the air as to where this season will land and it’s glorious. The unknown makes everything that much juicier. While we can predict subplots for days, the true genius in this series is the overall arch. What’s the point? Where’s it going? It’s superb.
