Robot
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Anyone who has kept up withMr.
Robotknows that it takes big swings conceptually, stylistically, and narratively.
), and the many, many stabs at plain ol weirdness (Angelassurreal tripinto Whiteroses lair).
For all of Esmails cinematic influences,Mr.
Ive never been the biggest fan of this part ofMr.
Simple and grounded has always been better forMr.
Robotto address the elephant in the room.
After weeks of staying on the straight and narrow, Esmail finally veers into what-the-fuck territory with unabashed confidence.
Its the kind of episode whose emotional weight partially hinges on a text adventure video game before transitioning intoLostterritory.
The episode picks up with Darlene parting ways with Elliot at the motel.
He must do this on his own.
She sees a world crumbling by mankinds own hand and desires a new utopia.
Or so she says.
Maybe Exit would have gone down smoother if it werent so structurally slack.
The middle section of the episode feels too claustrophobic by a hair.
But that would have been okay if what followed wasnt, well, at least a little bit silly.
Its the most Reddit-friendly part of the series, which frankly doesnt appeal to me one bit.
But even as Elliot beats the game, the meltdown is so far along that its too late.
So he sits there across from Mr.
Robot as the plant crumbles around them, refusing to abandon his friend.
They proclaim their love for each other.
Then Elliot, with a tear rolling down his cheek, repeats what Mr.
Robot told himso long ago: Its an exciting time in the world.
Then the frame turns red.
Another alarm begins to blare, but this time its a wake up call.
A man wakes up in his apartment and opens the shades.
Its Elliot and its time for him to go to work.
He has a healthy, active relationship with his father, Edward, who still runs the Mr.
Robot computer repair company.
Hes happy and engaged.
This is the normal world that Whiterose desperately craves.
Coincidentally, its one where shes the richest person in the world and an active philanthropist.
Elliot and Angela talk to each other like aliens who have researched bourgeois happy couples in love.
Its too transparently designed to be mysterious only for Esmail to reveal its true nature in next weeks finale.
For the first time, the Real stares down the Ideal, wondering if theyre one and the same.
There might not be a more quintessentialMr.
Robotimage than the text adventure disk hiding within the pages of Leo TolstoysResurrection.
High and low cultural references entwined into one.
