Mr. Robot-USA Network-US Pace(**Spoilers**)

IvaBigWun

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Jesus. Calm down!

I love intelligent TV, some of my favourite shows have been high brow shows like The West Wing. What I hate in a TV show is leaving us lost with poor plotting or making things too technical for those of us who havent worked in the world of Programming to understand.

Like Mr Robot.

When I said I didnt want a show to make me think I should have been clearer. I dont want a show to confuse the absolute fúck out of me like this and True Detective season 2 has. Hey, Im not the only one here thinking it, Ive seen similar in this thread and the consensus elsewhere online seems to be "it started great, but each episode was weaker than the last"

Let's compare The West Wing with Mr Robot for a second. Two very different shows in many ways but bear with me. When Im watching The West Wing I dont always know what's going on completely plot wise when it comes to the American political structure (very few do), but I still care about the characters because they're so well written. I care what happens to them next. I want to go on a journey with them and see where we all end up.

I no longer want to go on a journey with Mr Robot and his clunky storylines and insider tech dialogue. He could have shot himself in the face in the latest episode and Id have been ok with it. That, my friends, is sh*te writing.

Let's not all get Fan-boyish on a show that's had a handful of episodes air as it looks a bit pathetic to be honest. It has ripped off The Fight Club so much David Fincher should be getting weekly cheques from the USA Network.

But do enjoy the rest of it if it makes you feel intelligent and good about yourself

I've only seen the first three episodes of the show but never have I felt lost or felt that it was too technical. If anything I've found it all rather straight forward and the use of actual tech speak is a refreshing change of pace from the utter nonsense they spout in shows such as C.S.I.

No one is getting fanboyish, merely pointing out that critcising a show for trying to be smart is dumb and as for saying it rips off Fight Club, well that's equally unfair. Everyone is reading things into the show and making assumptions based on their expectations but that's it. Sure the show has that clinical feel of a Fincher film but it's also reminiscent of a dozen others.

As I said, I've only seen as far as episode 3 but I want to find out where the story goes, I'm intrigued enough by it all and like how the characters are coming along. I like that the show isn't dumbing down the tech speak and that they are actively trying to add a little mystery to it all. Much as I enjoyed The West Wing the plotting was often very generic and it seemed to be a show more about showing off how smart the writers were than anything else.

_Kaiser_

I loved the first episode as I said earlier in the thread, thought the second wasn't as strong, and am only getting around to the third now. It's not really improving IMO and while I'll probably watch 4 & 5 after this it's becoming a bit of a chore which isn't a good sign

EDIT: Just started 4 and maybe I'm just not in the right mood to be watching this as it feels like I skipped an episode?

GottaGetGatt

Well that episode just debunked every poster comparing it to Fight Club.

Mr Robot is REAL.

Banta

I had that thought a little bit too. But then the 2 lads in the van never responded to anything he was saying to Elliot. The only real sort of interaction with Mr. Robot that I can remember is when Mr. Robot is talking to Darlene. Elliot is in the background for that whole scene, much in the same way that when Elliot is "in control", Mr. Robot is in the background and nobody is interacting with him. It isn't until Mr. Robot walks passed Elliot that then he gets involved in the whole conversation and walks over (walks back to?) Darlene.

During that epsiode Elliot says, in relation to Mr. Robot going into the facility, "You don't want Mr. Robot going in there, he's crazy", or something to that affect, which could mean that side of the personality is only the dominant one when angry, or requiring a bit of 'crazy'.

I dunno, the whole Fight Club theory could be way off the mark, but I don't think this episode completely debunks the theory just yet.

Then again, anyone got any more straws I can clutch at? :P

yabadabado

I was a bit disappointed in episode 4 but I think episode 5 really picked things up again.
Evil Corp dude and his wife are a very strange couple,what was the idea of going to his rival's house?
Also what were all the letters Angela found ?

don ramo

yabadabado wrote: »

I was a bit disappointed in episode 4 but I think episode 5 really picked things up again.
Evil Corp dude and his wife are a very strange couple,what was the idea of going to his rival's house?
Also what were all the letters Angela found ?

hes attempting to insert himself into the new CTOs circle, hes being a prick about it, but that doesnt mean it wont work, at the end of the day he seems like a good person to have in your group, hes tuned in, hes extremely driven, he would make a great right hand man, and probably a great CTO down the line, and while its a issue having someone like him in your inner circle, its also essential in order to get the best out everyone else also, plus if you dont put him he will cause far more damage from the outside, like he said only 4 people knew about him becoming CTO and he was the 5th,

the letters angela found were loads of past due bills her father hasnt paid, it had e corp insurance, one bill was 25k, so hes probably in a lot of debt, and she just put a virus into allsafes network in order to protect her father from exactly that,

i thought alright i saw her take her fellas badge when she took the CD last week,

its great how many people are just doing their best to tear the show apart, i absolutely loved the pilot and it really setup for a great show, a show i still feel its delivering, probably not a great as we expected, but it has maintained a much higher quality than i expected, i was very fearful it would take a complete dive in episode 2 or 3, but it didnt, it took a slight dip but that was to be expected after such a strong opening, i would have loved if it got better, but lets be honest thats really asking far to much, i would have been highly surprised if the show was able to stick exclusively to fsociety for the full season, and thats probably the only way the show would have surpassed the expectations we all built in our heads after watching the pilot,

i do wonder if their trying to pull a fast one with mr robot, and i wonder how long they plan on stringing us along, id say he doesn't exist though,

FreudianSlippers

Maybe it's a double Fight Club and he's also the CTO?!

SpaceRocket

Was a bit gut wrenching watching that scene between Bill and Elliot. Elliot's monster is his psycho mother who was the cause of all his mental health issues... Mr Robot I think could be Elliot's dad (remember ep1 when he told the rons coffee sicko that his dad was the only one he could talk to before he died), however Mr Robot is also a darker side to Elliot, as we can see when Mr Robot confronts Darlene, and when Mr Robot encourages Elliot to take down bill. That last ep was pretty intense throughout!

SpaceRocket

Holy cr@p I can't wait for next week's episode. Poor Elliot. Really hooked on this show. Hope I'm not premature in saying so but from what we've seen so far in just six episodes; the script, acting, pacing, tension, soundtrack and cinematography are up there with Breaking Bad and the first season of True Detective for me. Just hope the season finale doesn't leave us on too big a cliffhanger..

GottaGetGatt

This show is just epic.Definitely my favourite show atm.

Nody

I'm in the other corner; I'm giving up on it next episode if it does not pick up. The show has not been smart in it's story telling but rather disjointed; I still don't care for any of the characters nor has there been any noticeable development and about the only reason I'm still looking is because of the Evil Corp guy because at least that couple is interesting. This feels like it's trying to be to smart (yes we get it; he's alter ego is not real and talk to him, want to add big neon signs while you're at it?) for it's own good and is likely to end up as Matrix 2 & 3 did after the first movie.

ixoy

Also loving this show, even if the hack this week seemed a little OTT (given the show's rigorous attention to detail).

The production values are one of the big sends - the way the final prison break scene, and the trunk revelation were shot was great. Malik is also really selling it in the lead.

The whole package is a little weird and I can see why people are put off a little. This, coupled with its technical talk, means it won't ever me more than a cult show (a bit like 'Hannibal' is).
Definitely, I think, way too much focus by people on the 'Mr. Robot' angle and constantly going on about it copying 'Fight Club'. Even if Mr. Robot isn't real, it's only a part of the show and it's very different to 'Fight Club' in so many other, important ways. Hell it's even deliberately teasing us about it rather than going "Surprise!" (this week being: "Even when it's staring you right in the face" when Mr. Robot stares at him). There is so much more to the show!

DVD-Lots

Just enjoying the ride, it has flaws and 1 bad ep but jesus, that end scene, hooked me back in. Favourite show at the moment and will watch till the end.

FreudianSlippers

I'm still a bit meh on the show. I think it has significant pacing problems and to me I'm not really invested in the characters. I do like it, but I'm not finding it as brilliant as some (for example I can usually not remember the prior episode when I'm watching a new one, which rarely happens to me in shows I find have good structure and pacing).

miralize

She didnt have to die!!

don ramo

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

I'm still a bit meh on the show. I think it has significant pacing problems and to me I'm not really invested in the characters. I do like it, but I'm not finding it as brilliant as some (for example I can usually not remember the prior episode when I'm watching a new one, which rarely happens to me in shows I find have good structure and pacing).

i think their doing that on purpose, making the show feel very disjointed, a bit like elliots head, and then have a larger story come to light at the end, at least thats what i hope their doing, cause their gonna look like idiots if not,

thought this weeks was brilliant, loads happening in it, i wonder if angela is gonna try and get the former CTO onside to mount a case,

it was good seeing how elliot got darlene to do him a favor, yet she still got caught up in it, trying to do a deal with fernandos brother only for fernando to kill him anyway, i wonder if thats the last we see of him, hard to tell what he felt when he saw shayla, cause he really didnt like her, she was a means to an end at the start, so its gonna be interesting to see how he reacts now, ive a feeling hell be back on he morphine again,

and it looks like tyrells plan backfired big time, i loved how the CTO called him straight out, and kept pushing till tyrell got it through his head that he lost, just the look on his face when he offered him the watch, and said it would pay his mortgage, very well done, id love to know more about his wife, i was nearly thinking was tyrell some kind of spy and his wife is his handler, cause he was losing it and she just calmly put him back on track, i dunno if it the fact their speaking in a foreign language or what, hes probably the most interesting character in the show, and his wife also,

weird that they seem to be doing a better job with the secondary characters than the main, but like i said anything from elliots perspective is gonna be very fractured, at least till elliot gets his **** together,

Chain Smoker

Two episodes in, it's grand but I need to know something and I mightn't continue if this is the case

Is Mr Robot in his head? Have they revealed anything to show that he's an actual person yet? Strongly expecting a Fight Club style twist and that's just gonna piss me off.

FreudianSlippers

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Two episodes in, it's grand but I need to know something and I mightn't continue if this is the case

Is Mr Robot in his head? Have they revealed anything to show that he's an actual person yet? Strongly expecting a Fight Club style twist and that's just gonna piss me off.

Not confirmed but heavily thought to be the case. Probably red herring tbh

Chain Smoker

Yeah, it seems so likely that it'd absolutely sh*t all over the goodwill the show's built up. No point being so on point with all the hacking stuff if you're gonna hit such an obvious note there.

boobar

Really enjoying this show, very clever.

Really strong characters throughout and that guy who really wants the CTO job is a real villain.

crushproof

I gave up after ep 4 - thought it was going downhill big time.
However caught up tonight on 5 and 6 - two standout scenes were with Bill the security chap and the ending of ep. 6. Crikey,

she didn't have to go, only one hot chick left now

. But it's picked itself up again, it's still extremely disjointed, too many storylines at once, but I'm hooked onto it again and looking forward to this weeks episode.

Bounty Hunter

Jaysus 2 weeks in a row with this show and the final scene really grabbing your attension. In many ways it kinda meandered (with the major exception of the rooftop murder!) along but damn do I wanna see more now.

Think they are just about striking the right balance of moving other stuff along until it can eventually become a moment that grabs you like the last 2 eps final scenes did while Elliot / The CTO wannabe covers up for them not being there just yet with the bits that are actually gripping. Although I do wonder if I will ever start to care about Angela and her ex

Banta

Holy sweet jimminy jebus, I just love this show. I don't even care what's going to happen or trying to work out where it's going any more, I'm just enjoying the hell out of this show.

That opening sequence was just beautiful, and finished up with The Cure - just lovely. And our Swedish CTO wannabe - holy s**t. Did not see that coming - not sure he did either.

It's just such enjoyable show.

SpaceRocket

It just keeps getting better and better. The cure and Shayla.. That song with Wellick on the roof...

I don't know how they manage it, but I felt so much more uncomfortable watching that conversation between Colby and Angela than I did when Wellick went all psycho on the CTO's wife. And I felt even more uncomfortable during that final scence between Elliot and Christa. This show gets under your skin.
Rami Malek is just magnificent as Elliot. I'm really going to miss it, only have three episodes left in the season

Banta

I had the exact same thought on those 2 songs.

The scene with Angela and Colby was brilliant. She played that scene so well, that I don't think I expected the response she gave, given her character to date. She's annoyed me at times in the show, I don't know if it was the actress or the character, but in that scene she was brilliant. I was compelled by her or something. Perhaps because it's that you knew how much the whole thing meant to her and you really wanted her to get under Colby's skin or something. She was brilliant in that scene. The way it was shot was really good too.

The way the whole show has been shot is excellent. That camera shot of the new CTO's wife on the roof top after Wellick had left was quite poignant. As you say, you were left feeling more on edge and uncomfortable watching scenes of people saying things that someone being violently choked to death. I think it's almost because you have no idea what the response is going to be to Colby or Elliot's speech. But you know exactly what the end result of Wellick's actions are, so you're not as on edge.

SpaceRocket

Yeah Angela has been a bit of a vacuous character to date,I wonder too if it's the actress cause I suppose we are supposed to feel more supportive of her at this point. I particularly didn't like her in the first couple of episodes but she's growing on me. It was THAT particularly graphic suggestion of Colby's that unnerved me in that scene. Shayla who I felt completely indifferent to at the start I adore now. The cinematography is mind blowing, I've come across a few interesting blogs relating to it that I must dig up... Such as this one

It's occurred to me and it's totally crazy, but Wellick as a third alter ego to Elliot's split personality would be mind blowing.

squonk

That episode was masterful. I'm starting to wonder if I've been watching this show in the wrong way up til now. I've expected some sort of linear progression however I'm not sure it'll ever be that kind of show.

For once Angela shone in this episode. I think, like others, the characters and, perhaps, the actress just didn't resonate with me so far. I didn't care about her and was wondering why she was there but her scenes this week were just execellant.

Wellich.... Christ on a bike! I didn't see that coming! For me it was pure American Psycho. If her death somehow becomes an inconsequential crime that's not linked to Wellich then it'll mirror American Psycho perfectly. I don't know what the end game is. Whether there was a plan? To me it seemed like a bit of asphyxiation gone out of control. I suppose it's why I like the show so much. Thee may not need to be a reason for what happened.

Elliot and the psychiatrist was unsettling. I'm not sure where that's going either.

As for Mr. Robot, Is he Elliot? Who knows? I suspect he is but it's hard to really tell. All I can think is that while Elliot = Mr. Robot isn't a big stretch, Elliot = Mr. Robot + Wellich just seems too far to go. I can't wait to find out though!

Hyzepher

No way Elliot is Wellich unless his supporting cast are also made up and also his life long relationship with Angela. I do think however that there paths are almost certainly intertwined.

Wellich's actions on the roof look to be planned out, although he didn't seem prepared for the impact of killing someone.

Although I liked the scenes with Angela I'm not sure why she is taking the route she is. If her motivation is to get back at the Execs that killed her mother then just let Colby go to jail. If she is looking to get money to get her father out of debt then just take the bribe that Colby offered.

Her plan involves the whole of Allsafe losing their jobs - something that doesn't sit well when you are trying to get justice for your mother/father who lost everything.

Banta

We know Wellick certainly planned to get her on the roof, but I think it wasn't to kill her, it was just to have s*x. When he was speaking to wife about his 'failed attempt' previously at dinner, he said something along the lines of "Well at least we know one thing. She wants to be 'wanted'. So there's still a chance." - something like that anyway. So I think he was just hoping to unsettle their marriage and get under the husband's skin and hope that his personal life affects his job so that Wellick can take his chance. I'm not entirely sure he planned on killing her.

As for the impact of him killing someone? I dunno if his reaction was because he killed someone. This is a guy who has been meticulous in everything that he does. Every plan laid out and followed. A guy that pays a homeless man so that he can beat the crap out of him and leave him on the side of the road, potentially to die. He has been followed a carefully plan route to the top, and is someone whom nothing has phased him in his goal to the top.... until recently. The smashing of the plates etc. in the kitchen in his house after the 'failed attempt', his face as the new CTO told him he was nothing... he's been cracking. On the roof, I think the plan was to have sex. He cracked. Everything has been getting the better of him and he's losing the plot. If he planned to kill her, he wouldn't have reacted like that - not the calculated Wellick we've seen to date. This is the cracked Wellick who's losing it.

As for Angela and Colby, she wants the Execs to ADMIT they killed all those people (and her mother). She wants the admission. Recognition of her suffering. Colby wouldn't be going to jail for what happened to her mother, he'd be going to jail for something else. This is her chance to get justice for her mother. That's all she's thinking about, and it's clouded her decision making because it's so emotional. She reckons she'll just say she made the mistake with AllSafe/Colby files and she'll lose her job - but it's worth it cause her Mum gets justice. Hell bent on one goal, which overshadows everything, I don't think she'd thought of the overall picture enough, and when Giddeon said the repercussions, the scene cut from there - that's her dilemma.

The episode left Angela with a dilemma, Wellick a dilemma, Elliot with a dilemma, Romero with a dilemma (maybe more?). Each scene with cut away from a character with dilemma. (Didn't realise I'd typed this much. 5th coffee of the day, oops.)

squonk

I hear you though I'm wondering if she knows anyway that AllSafe is largely for the chop with the new CTO starting to change things at EvilCorp? The AllSafe CEO, although a nice guy, seems to be just scrabbling with a bucket trying to keep water out of a boat with a huge hole in the bottom. I think the company is gone either via Angela's hand, or Evil Corps.