I'm sipping a cup of black tea and enjoying a small piece of dark chocolate, 70% pure cocoa. I'm preparing myself for tonight's episode of Mr. Robot, the American cyberpunk–thriller drama television series created by Sam Esmail. (As wikipedia wisely explains here).
This series captured my attention from the very beginning. I wasn't sure when I decided to watch the pilot. But after less than 5 minutes I was totally hooked.
When that happens I start researching everything. Who is the showrunner? Episode directors? Characters? Why they decided to tell this particular story in this particular tone? Is this scripted or the screenwriting is done and all the episodes are already shot? So I discovered Sam Esmail, his attachment to Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club novel and David Fincher's Fight Club movie among other very interesting things he revealed in various articles covering the series. He was also in Reddit: I am Sam Esmail, creator of MR. ROBOT. AMA.
I love when someone has an idea like this one. I love the fact that they made it happen, just as they wanted to.
Other things Mr.Robot made me want to revisit are the audio version of Neuromancer, read by William Gibson himself. You can find it here thanks to Ian Kaplan. Also the independent documentary film made by Mark Neale, No Maps for These Territories
At first, Elliot's voice and tone made me remember Dexter's first season. The explanation of his acts, his thoughts, his feelings, why he is like he is. I watched Dexter's first episode again to see what I felt, but I'm not sure Dexter Morgan and Elliot Alderson can be placed in the same group of sociopaths. I also hope Mr. Robot continues to be a good story and doesn't end as poorly as Dexter.
We have the imaginary characters as well. As of now I don't know who is imaginary and who is real. I'm having this Fight Club déjà vu all the time. I was convinced Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) was imaginary, a kind of Tyler Durden. But now I'm not so sure. Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström) brought some doubts about his real existence in the last episode. And of course Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) so real at times and so imaginary at other times. We'll see.There are so many levels of unpredictability in this story. So many. And yet everything seems to fit perfectly so far.
Now, let's see the reviews and recaps of the episode that I found interesting:
Before airing: BlackGirlNerds' "Mr. Robot", A shining example of 21st. Century Existencial Anger"
I like the way it is written. The paragraph that got me the most was this one:
"But while these shows capture the confusion and wonderment of coming into one’s own as an adult in these times, USA’s Mr. Robot, starring Rami Malek, provides a point of view that quite a lot of shows, cartoon and otherwise, lack. Mr. Robot shows the brutality of 21st century existentialism and how, with even more conglomerates vying for our attention and with the internet as integral to life as it has been, it’s become even harder to realize what it is you are supposed to contribute to the world."
And from now on, [Spoiler Alert]. If you don't like'em, just don't read'em.
Here we have mild spoilers from this episode's promo video: 'Mr. Robot' Episode 6 Spoilers: Elliot Meets Fernando In Prison; Tyrell Is Frustrated With Scott Knowles
One thing I discovered in Mr. Robot's IMDB Full Cast & Crew page is that Shayla (Frankie Shaw) appears in 5 episodes this season. So, no more Shayla, I guess. The character is indeed very vulnerable, so I think it's justified that she is the first real casualty in Elliot's surroundings. He will for sure feel guity about this outcome.
IGN review, "No way out" by Amy Ratcliffe offers full spoilers and an excellent analysis of the episode. I will quote just a couple of paragraphs below, but the full text is worth reading.
"Mr. Robot has shaped up to be a more personal story. It's as much about the smaller scale as it is the big picture. Adjusting the scope hasn't always been successful, but it definitely worked in "br4ve-trave1er.asf."
"The Verdict: Elliot's focus this week shifted off taking down Evil Corp, but as he let go, Angela picked up the gloves. And as it should be, she's taking a more direct approach. There's definitely the possibility for her to get to Elliot and FSociety's level though. Elliot's world has been turned upside down, and it's a fascinating place to put a character at this point in the season."
Hitfix.com: "Can Mr. Robot engineer a prison break? And what's Angela's master plan?" by Alan Sepinwall
So glad I read these "Random thoughts on tonight's "Mr. Robot" coming up just as soon as I've had several glasses of water"
And I quote:
"The show is so good at putting us inside Elliot's haunted, lonely point of view that it's vision of New York seems positively empty much of the time, and that played well here, not just in making us feel his anguish and paranoia, but papering over some of the implausibilities of the escape itself."
"This week in Byte Club (aka, Is Mr. Robot Elliot's Tyler Durden?)"... well, as I said before, it's my guess every time Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) interacts with Elliot.
And I also think Mr. Sepinwall is right when he writes "Odds remain high on the Durden of it all, but the show is keeping it ambiguous enough so far that neither explanation will feel like a cheat."
There are some more considerations worth reading there. Take the time. You won't regret it.
Forbes: Jail Break: 'Mr. Robot' Episode 6 Reality Check by Abigail Tracy gets 'Mr. Robot's' technical consultant and cyber crime security expert, Michael Bazzel to explain the many hacks we see on screen in "Brave Traveler". Super interesting, super accurate.
And I quote: "We make any computer code shown on the screen accurate. We don’t need to fake it. There is no reason to put random characters up to please the audience. We want that code to be accurate so that even the most sophisticated hacker or technical person out there will not roll their eyes at a scene."
And that´s it for today. Thanks for reading
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