As Elliot tries to stop Phase 2 from happening, nobody’s motives or perception can be trusted
WhenMr.
Robotclosed out its second season, it left us in the dark.
Then there was, of course, the more metaphorical darkness.
Credit: Peter Kramer/USA Network
The season finale didnt exactly answer all of our questions, and it certainly isnt obligated to do so.
We came to understand the plan known as Phase 2, but what else did we really know?
As Angela spoke to Tyrell on the phone, we were left with more questions than answers.
Im not sure Id have it any other way.
Instead, were taken to Red Wheelbarrow BBQ and its grand opening.
Despite the blackout, the restaurant is in full swing.
He cant understand the logic behind the punch card for a free milkshake.
Before long the man has given up on his free milkshake.
The former is freaking out, and the latter is dying, bleeding out from his bullet wound.
The man with the earpiece doesnt seem too worried though.
He makes a call, and we wait.
We cut to a nuclear power plant.
A scientist is in the process of giving a tour, musing on the idea of parallel universes.
How many copies of ourselves exist?
Walking past the group is someone who certainly has copies of themselves.
Time presented us Mr. Alderson when we needed him, she says.
We need his unadulterated, focused rage.
But whose rage do they need exactly?
Or is it Mr. Robots?
Themes of control and perspective dominate Eps3.0power-saver-mode.h.
But thats just her perception.
Who know if its true?
Tell me dreams really come true.
What did we miss?
Did you see anything?
Hes bewildered, but hes not alone, and Im not talking about the constant presence of Mr.
Robot (not yet).
Angela is there with him.
Shes apparently nursed him back to health.
She says she received a call, he was brought to her, and thats all she knows.
But thats not true, is it?
She was talking to Tyrell at the end of last season.
Perhaps shes just simplifying things for Elliot at this stage.
Shes earned some benefit of the doubt.
Elliot doesnt stay still for long.
He tells Angela that he has to go stop Phase 2 from happening.
Theres nothing there though.
Tyrell and company have wiped everything clean.
Elliot heads back to his apartment instead, and finds Darlene there.
He learns about Ciscos death, another connection wiped clean.
Elliot insists hes in control, and yet he lays the blame on Mr. With no internet connection in the apartment, Darlene takes Elliot to an underground hacker club.
Its seemingly called 1984.
The eye of Big Brother watches over the hackers watches over everybody, really.
1884: the year that birthed the oldest stock index still used today.
The year that gave way to the eight-hour workday.
As Whiterose says, theres no such thing.
A moment of triumph, but its not what hes here for.
All of this is captured by a single long take, and its a stunning sequence.
We see Elliot taking in the club, then Darlene noticing a couple of Dark Army guys watching them.
She heads to the bathroom, the camera follows, and she breaks down screaming and crying.
She doesnt know what to think or believe anymore.
Its not long before the Dark Army guys are leading her and Elliot outside.
They would be after letting Darlene go.
Are they using her to get to Elliot?
Is part of her anguish just guilt?
Is she working with the FBI?
shut down the car remotely.
As always, our reliance on technology leaves us stranded and isolated when it all shuts down.
The man takes them to Red Wheelbarrow BBQ, because of course he does.
Seeing the restaurant running, Elliot understands it to be a front for the Dark Army.
Once more, Elliot tries to assert his control.
Im calling this operation off, he says.
The man says thats not a great idea, that their boss will be mad.
I dont have a boss, replies Elliot.
The man leaves without a fuss.
We all know how important Elliot is to Phase 2 and any other Dark Army plan.
In fact, in mere moments, Elliot reckons with his importance.
He sees the way the revolution has been corporatized and monetized.
5/9 didnt get rid of the invisible hand.
It turned it into a fist that punched us in the dick.
Good for a laugh, but its not really funny.
What if instead of fighting back, we cave?
Give away our privacy for security, exchange dignity for safety, trade in revolution for repression?
Im the one to blame, he says, despite the evidence to the contrary.
This is not the revolution he asked for.
Robotat its most overtly political though, capturing the tone of our times.
Putting the blame on himself, Elliot searches for a way to fix things.
He tells Angela that he needs a job at Evil Corp.
He says its the only way he can fix everything from the inside.
Angela isnt so sure.
Angela: Never mind.
A tease until, perhaps, Trenton and Mobley are back in the picture.
Elliot assumes theyre dead.
We know theyre not.
Then, everything changes.
Elliots attempts at control, seemingly working he recovers from his wound, cancels Phase 2, and Mr.
Robot seems to be absent are suddenly revealed as fruitless.
Robot in the living room.
He sits in the dark before walking into the frame and into the light.
Shes not scared though, not worried that Elliot is having a psychotic break.
Rather, this is what shes been waiting for.
I need to get dressed, then well go.
Shes actively working with the Dark Army ever since her trippy meeting with Whiterose.
More importantly though, its made perfectly clear that while Elliot is working to stop Phase 2, Mr.
Robot is forging ahead, and Angela is using Elliots unique condition, as Mr.
Robot puts it, as leverage for her own goals.
Robot back to the Bluetooth earpiece man, and says that Phase 2 is still underway.
Angela says that shes in this because EvilCorp killed her mom.
Robot is in this for…well, who knows.
The lights come back on.
Power is restored (to some, taken from others).
Suddenly, in the season premiere, theres light where there was once darkness.
