Mikes Film Talk

Last week in eps1.2_d3bug.mkv Mr Robot showed how Tyrell Willick (played by Martin Wallström) was ready, willing and able to do anything to get ahead in Evil Corp and this week in eps.1.3_da3m0ns.mp4 Willick has been forgotten and left by the wayside as Elliot returns to fsociety.

Mr. Robot in this episode goes well and truly into the world of drug dependency, withdrawal; and all that entails, as well going deep into the mind of Elliot as his body strives to recover from the lack of his two addictions. Weird and wonderful, “da3m0ns” is like “Alice” falling through the looking glass darkly while holding Lucy’s hand (as in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) or at the very least like a scene from eXistenZ (although that could really just apply to the restaurant scene with Angela).

At the start of the episode the schizophrenic, drug addicted, super hacker is reflecting on his last line of morphine. After his self contemplation Elliot is showing the group how to destroy the tapes at Steel Mountain without having to blow up anything or kill anyone. He has worked out a way to alter the thermostats in the storage facility which will destroy all the tapes. No bloodshed or explosives required and Romero, from the group, is immediately skeptical and Mr Robot asks if Elliot is sure he doesn’t want to just blow it up.

Alderson is starting to go through withdrawal and he leaves the session after pointing out to “Doubting Romero” that he sees six security flaws; the guards pictured in surveillance photos that Romero trots out. Elliot leaves and returns home for that last line. After snorting the stuff up, Darlene knocks on his door and says that Romero has discovered something that needs Elliot’s complete attention.

Romero reveals the plans that Willick pointed out to Elliot earlier and after the former freaks out when he learns that Elliot is on a first name basis with the CTO of Evil Corp, he backs off, but only a little. Stating that Alderson may have the other’s fooled, but Romero knows that soon Elliot will be coming down hard and ready to do anything for another “fix.”

The team split up, leaving Trenton and Darlene behind to contact the Dark Army and set up the FTP. The guys head out and on the way Elliot crashes and vomits in the back of the SUV. They detour to Romero’s place and Elliot is shoved in bed. Drenched with sweat, he is ready to ride it out so they can strike at Steel Mountain before all the tapes are backed up and spread over five other facilities.

As they enter the room, both Romero and Elliot describe the symptoms of withdrawal ending with overwhelming depression. Meanwhile as Ollie sleeps, Angela takes his keycard and searches for the CD from Cisco. She drops the disc and her fiancee wakes up and Angela tells him that her father is buying her brunch. After a quick hug she rushes out to upload the virus at Allsafe.

Her first stop is Elliot’s place where she learns from Shayla, who is leaving to walk Flipper, that he is not there. She asks Angela if she wants to join them and Elliot’s best friend agrees. As Elliot lays sweating on the bed, Romero and Lloyd are watching Hackers and dissing the show’s premise. In one of the most amusing (Ironic?) moments in the show Romero says, “I’ll bet some writer right now is working on a TV show that will mess up this generation’s idea of hacker culture.”

Trenton updates the FTP and Darlene returns saying she could not find her Dark Army contact. As the two talk, she realizes that she was looking in the wrong place. Trenton decides to come along. Angela and Shayla go to the park and Elliot’s drug dealer girlfriend gives his best friend some E. After initially being uptight and refusing, Angela gives in and takes one.

Darlene and Trenton have problems reaching the Dark Army. Elliot hits rock bottom as Romero and Lloyd leave the room. Mr Robot sticks with Elliot. After saying he needs one line to ease things up a bit, and to hurry things along, Mr Robot takes him to a “den” where Alderson gets “shot up” in more ways than one.

It is this sequence that truly deviates from reality and leaps into madness and mayhem. While at the den, (Crack den?) a fight breaks out as the girl who injects Elliot begins to make out with him. There are gunshots, people are hit by flying bullets including the girl who was grinding on his lap and then Elliot catches one in the arm. Elliot lays on the floor watching the weather forecast on a flatscreen television on the wall. The weather report morphs into a message from the mask wearing spokesman for fsociety.

Alderson enters the fsociety broadcast and the spokesman removes his mask and gives it to Elliot. He tells him to “find your monster and turn the key.” The broadcast pauses for a few words from the “overlords” and a commercial for Evil Corp airs. Elliot is then walking down a street full of identical houses. He comes to a vacant lot which has a pole in it and on the pole is a piece of paper with “Error 404 Not Found” stapled to it. A little girl rides a scooter up, while humming a song off key, and stops in front of Elliot. He asks her what happened to the house and she asks him, “What’s your monster?” She hands him back the key.

Elliot goes into his house and cue the second weird and wonderful scene in the episode. He has a conversation with his pet beta fish, which ends with the talking fish bellowing that he wants to be moved to a “G**dam window!” Next is a restaurant scene with Angela where she is consuming something that looks revolting and somewhat otherworldly. Elliot says, “But Angela, he’s my friend.” She says, “I know.” As she offers him some he sees “young Elliot” being given some of “his friend” by his mother.

He shows Angela the key and she reacts as though it’s a ring, gushing and saying yes while the room applauds. The scene changes to her standing in front of what could be a giant caricature of Tyrell Willick, eyes wide with a rictus grin on his face. She tells Elliot that he will not change the world as he was only born “a month ago.” Angela then says that he’s afraid of his monster. She hands the key back and says it doesn’t fit. He asks why and tantalizingly she says, “Isn’t it obvious? You’re not Elliot you’re…” A sound of a switch cuts her morphed voice off and Elliot is in the dark as children laugh.

A light grows stronger and Elliot sees the fsociety mask. After putting it on his morphed voice says he’s alone. He wakes up in the room and Mr Robot tells Elliot he is not alone and that he will be with him to the end. None of what just occurred, from the crack den on, ever happened. Sheer epic brilliance.

Darlene and Trento find the Dark Army, after Darlene shouts out that she is a “menace to society.” The girls enter a limo with the “army” and have their cell phones dropped out the car’s window.

Angela and Shayla reveal their inner selves at a club and share a kiss, and like Katie Perry, Angela likes it. After their pressing of flesh, Shayla gives Angela a pep talk. Darlene finds Cisco and in the meantime, Romero is force-feeding a withdrawal concoction down Elliot’s throat. As Elliot goes over what daemons are again, Angela enters Ollie’s office and uploads the CD.

Elliot reveals that everyone one deals with their daemons alone and that “when we break through, we find a few familiar faces on the other side.” Everything about Mr Robot this week hummed and snapped. From the music, which had an addictive “earworm” quality (that was that catchy mix of early video game synth and electro beat) to the drug withdrawal weirdness that made up almost all of this episode this one hit new levels of excellence.

Hidden somewhere in all that brilliance was another clue about Elliot and Mr Robot and all the rest of the players in this schizophrenic hackers story. Not the monster, or the key, but just who Elliot really is…a mask. Take away the theories of Mr Robot being Elliot, this appears to be deeper and more complex than that. Could the entire fsociety be in one person’s head…like Angela’s for instance? She talks of playing games with Elliot when they were kids…was he an invisible friend?

Hmmmm.

Regardless of where the Mr Robot journey ends this season, and please Network Gods let there be a season two, this has been one heck of a ride and it is only the third episode. On a side note, kudos to Martin Wallström who has apparently become a bit of a sex symbol with his portrayal of Tyrell Wellick the Evil CTO. The show airs Wednesdays on USA. Do not miss this one.