Season 2 / Episode 9 / USA
Ya know, Mr. Robot has always done an excellent job of misdirection and surprise knock-your-socks-off twists. So much in fact that I had to go back and watch a few episodes from season 1 after that big ass jail twist two eps ago. Remember the scene where Elliot tries to kiss Darlene and she forces him to remember that she was his sister? Remember the scene in the cemetery where Elliot is forced to confront his schizophrenia once Angela and Darlene realize how far he’s traveled down the rabbit hole?
Guilty as Charged
The opening scene of init5.fve was kinda like those joints, minus the outside influences forcing him to come to terms with his psychosis. It’s all Elliot this time around. No Darlene to slap some sense into him. No Angela to console him and let him know he’s got a friend to the end. Nope, Elliot da Hack Gawd out here on his own gettin arrested for the pettiest of the gargantuan crimes he’s committed in the past year. Remember that little prick of an ex-boyfriend that Karla used to have? The one who was cheating on the therapist? The one who had the dog that Elliot stole? Yea that fuck boy. He got the homie pinched and Elliot…well…Elliot admits his guilt straight up and down. No plea. No groveling. Just realness. The judge was looking at da homie like, “Da Fuq?! Is this cat serious with this admission of guilt? I must be buggin.” But he wasn’t buggin. Elliot got his ass sentenced to an 18-month bid. And now we find out exactly what the fuck went down in those first 7 episodes of delusion and the vast unreliability of our narrator.
Ray the Dog Loving Black Market Kingpin
Turns out Ray is the warden of this here prison facility. Seems like the warden got a dirty little computer secret.
Leon the Lunch and Basketball Court Homie
Turns out Leon is exactly what he seemed like. A good dude looking out for Elliot, whether he had Dark Army ties and intentions or not. He tells Elliot who to steer clear of and tells him that he got the homie with any porn needs he may have. Grandma porn, gay porn, it don’t matter! Leon don’t judge.
Squad of Extremely Soft Looking White Thugs
They still soft as red velvet. And now that I think about it. It makes sense that the head fuck boy tried to rape Elliot when they rolled up on him, before Leon came thru with the Assassin’s Creed Colombian necktie fade…they are in jail.
So Elliot pays his dues and is quickly sprung from the joint after 86 days, thanks to some non-violent early-release bullshit. The guard who signs him out calls him lucky, but Elliot knows there has to be some Dark Army connection. Darlene waits for her brother’s release so they can get back to saving the world.
Price vs. White Rose
White Rose is busy paying a visit to her old friend, Lester Moore, the former CEO of E Corp. CEO until he decided to take on the most gangsta underground hacking BAWS this side of the Atlantic. White Rose informs his assistant that she’s feeling the same kind of pressure that she did in ’95 when she sent the ol boss to an early plane crash grave. She tells her right hand man it might be time to make the same thing happen to the new CEO. Aaaaannnnddddd somebody’s life is officially on the line, someone I like to refer to as Gargamel. We shall see…
White Rose and Gargamel take a stroll through some gorgeous lush green scenery while the rain patters their umbrellas. They debate past failures and future actions. Price wasn’t able to make the bailout happen and they failed their financial stress tests so they won’t be able to keep all their facilities. The Washington Township plant will be taken over by the federal government. White Rose is disappointed and tells Price to keep it 100 with what he really wants. And what he wants is what they always want. Cash money. He claims he can save the plant from the clutches of the US government but needs that low-interest luscious green of another kind. Price finishes the convo with quick script flip and does a mean time mic drop.
Stage 2
Elliot is taking his first piss in privacy while listening to Darlene and Cisco argue about how fucked up their relationship is. Neither one of them believes each other and it takes Mr. Robot’s Elliot’s interjection to get the ball rolling again. They’re off to get to the bottom of Trenton and Mobley’s disappearance and get a Dark Army contact from Cisco. Elliot gets to work and tries to figure out what The Dark Army’s involvement in the 5/9 hack was. He wants to know why they had the crew plant the femtocell. He eventually forces Cisco to bring him to his Dark Army contact and when they meet (at a place that always seems like a library) Ellliot asks him what Stage 2 is all about. The Dark Army contacts simply turn around and leave without a word.
Late Episode Shockers
Darlene is listening in on some bugged device that is picking up on Dark Army conversations. She eventually overhears that their contact met them earlier and brought Elliot along with him. Then they reveal that he asked what Stage 2 mean and are confused because Stage 2 was Elliot’s plan all along.
Mr. Robot Reboot
I wonder what Cisco found in the crazy tech hacker HQ 2.0 apt.
Elliot seems to either be accepting Mr. Robot’s uncanny ability to negotiate and hold it down OR they are becoming completely separate entities once again.
I love the strength that Angela has embodied this season. She’s really embracing this independent lioness approach that sometimes gets her in trouble, and other times moves her up the ladder. This time it backfired a bit when she tried to hand over that Washington Township contaminated water file to the Feds. Then she got a double whammy with that visit from Agent Dom DiPierro. The dichotomy between these two is so striking. I wonder if Angela is going to take that Agent D Nice offer or not.
That episode ending was perfect, as usual. Johanna you beautiful beast, what are you up to now?
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