Robotframes the family picture of the Aldersons that were all so familiar with at this point.
The photos always been there as a reminder of what these characters have been through.
More importantly, it acts as a reminder that Elliot, Darlene, Mr.
Credit: Peter Kramer/USA Network
Robot, and even Angela, in her own adoptive kind of way, are all a family.
The familial threads are pulled at almost immediately.
When the Dark Army leaves, Elliot takes in his apartment.
Elliot stands in the middle of that mess, literally and metaphorically.
And how does he get out?
By convincing the ghost of one family member his father to help him rescue another.
Robot and Elliot have been at odds all season long, or at least thats been the assumption.
Theyve hardly interacted, suggesting that Mr.
Robot was taking more and more control of Elliots life.
Eps3.9_shutdown-r flips that idea on its head, instead stating that theres no real way for Mr.
Robot and Elliot to be separated.
Its a storytelling rig that creates tension can these two come together for a common cause?
but its also a statement about reconciling with our past traumas to make it move forward with our lives.
Shes been wary of him for some time now, even trying to take Darlenes case through other channels.
When that fails, she calmly confronts the man himself.
The scene starts with distance between them.
Then Santiago quickly closes it.
Its incredibly disturbing, a subtle threat of violence that is surely all too familiar to many women.
She doesnt show up for their rendezvous at the arcade.
Elliot pushes over an arcade game in frustration; the broken glass reflects a fractured image of himself.
Robot is the only one he can trust now.
He has no choice.
They have a chat while riding the ferris wheel on Coney Island.
Robot gives him what he knows: that theres a mole within the FBI.
They search Santiagos apartment for any clues and find another cipher on a Red Wheelbarrow BBQ flyer.
Theres no need to solve it though.
Irving shows up and interrupts whatever plans Elliot may have had.
Hes in the Dark Armys hands now, but perhaps thats exactly what he wants.
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In the middle of the woodsMr.
Robotcrafts one of the shows most horrific, intense sequences yet.
Then, Irving shows up with Elliot.
Leon scrolls through his phone, and Irving casually takes Dom away from the group.
Hes attempting to clean up the mess that Santiago brought on.
Irving has a more efficient, brutal way of fixing all of this.
He takes off his shirt, picks up an axe, and swings it into the torso of Santiago.
Dom watches as he bleeds out.
You work for the Dark Army now, says Irving.
She replies with an expletive.
The Dark Army knows everything, and this is no negotiation.
He thinks he holds a power position, that he can find a way out of this.
Presumably, Santiago thought the same thing.
Robot on his side though, maybe Elliot does have a certain amount of power he didnt before.
Irving grabs Grant and gets in his face.
So, she makes the exchange, and that means that Grant has served his purpose.
I love you, she says before Grant hangs up the phone and shoots himself in the head.
Perhaps no one has been through more this season than she has.
Whiterose manipulated her into helping set up the cyber bombings.
She just wanted her family back.
The bombshell Price drops is not what she was expecting though.
He says that he knew her mother.
Angela doesnt believe Price at first, but he seems so sure in his story that she comes around.
Phillip Price is her father, and thats why hes always shown an interest in her.
Shes not even close to done paying for her sins.
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Whiterose lets Grant go.
Tyrells family is dead.
My life is ruined because of you.
Theres no hope for emotional relationships here, and isnt that partly the point ofMr.
To suggest that an emotional connection in a capitalist system is a struggle?
That the capitalist machine thrives on conflict?
The bottom line rules all.
So whats left then?
For Elliot, its doing what he thinks is right.
He uses Doms Sentinel login in an attempt to undo the 5/9 hack, but the keyloggers arent there.
Romero didnt put them in.
Elliot shifts his whole perspective.
So Romero didnt provide the backup Mr. Part of me will always be part of you, says Elliot.
The two have come to an understanding now, so Mr.
Robot tells him where the extracted data is.
Thats not the biggest shift in perspective though.
She immediately counters him.
She says she was there in the room, and that Elliot, for some reason, snapped.
It seems like the truth, and Elliot accepts it.
Robot as part of him.
I jumped, I wasnt pushed, he tells Mr.
Robot later, a mea culpa for shutting him out.
Whats next for these people?
Elliot delivers the 5/9 hack fix to E Corp, Darlene is safe, Mr. What does that mean exactly?
But a post-credits sequence suggests that such a task wont be so easy.
A car pulls up blasting music.
Four guys get out of the car and approach Darlene.
Can I help you?
she asks before one man spouts an awful lot of nonsensical phrases about being a brave traveler.
Thats because we havent seen Fernando Vera since the sixth episode of the first season.
So now hes back.
