After Season One blew away critics and fans alike with it's movie-like quality, Mr. Robot's return for Season Two was one of the most anticipated TV events of the year. With big award show wins and a rising following in the off season, expectations were reaching a fever pitch that seemed unreachable. Can USA continue to break it's stereotype and bring Mr. Robot into the center of TV attention? Or will the series drop into a sophomore slump?
Below, I will break down the episode into what I loved, liked, disliked, and hated in a review that is filled with spoilers for Season One and the premiere, so if you haven't logged in to the hype yet, do that now and come back. This review will always be with you.
WHAT I LOVED
- There is My Mind: Last season, the big question of Mr. Robot's identity and the examination of Eliot's psyche took the character down a dark and internal path as he began to question everything he knew and the trustworthiness of his own mind. In the premiere, Eliot has dived head first into his mental instability, trying to push out his visions and voices through constant daily routines: Wake up, go out with Leon, watch basketball, go to church, go to sleep. Again and again. His routine is interrupted by appearances of Mr. Robot, trying to break Eliot out and take back control. By the end of the episode, Eliot is laughing maniacally and losing time, forced to realize that Mr. Robot is in much more control than Eliot ever realized.
It is clear from the start that Eliot's mental stability is teetering at best. I loved the investigation of his insanity last season, especially towards the end, when his unreliable narration is fully called into question. This season we are obviously heading down a much steeper road. With the truth of Mr. Robot being Tyler Durden all along fully revealed, we - and Eliot - are now forced to question everything we are shown and told by our main lead character, which further cements Mr. Robot as truly unique TV. While many dramas, especially the cop procedurals most associated with USA, rely on keeping the protagonist clear and mostly level headed, Mr. Robot is not afraid to create a lead character that is possibly the most insane and unreliable character on the show. Practically everything we see and experience on the show is from Eliot's twisted and increasingly-insane point of view, causing us to not only question what we are seeing but if something is wrong with us for wanting to see it so feverishly. - I'm an Agent of Chaos: Probably my favorite single scene of the episode was when the chief technology director from E Corp was pressured to bring 2.9 million dollars to the center of a crowded park in response to an FSociety threat to brick all E Corp technology. The tension was palpable as the confusion and paranoia raised. Who in the crowd was part of FSociety? What are they planning to do with the money? A courier rides up on a bike to deliver a package to the representative, which contains the iconic FSociety mask. Quickly, he puts on the mask, pours the money out and covers it in gasoline, burning it with gasoline. All while a building crowd records the event on their smartphone.
This scene really seemed to sum up the second part of what makes this show amazing. Eliot's insanity is a major driving focus, but the show's ability to make Joker-level cynical political statements all while executing it through a scene that could be ripped from Oscar-worthy Fincher movies. The tension in the length of the scene showed confidence in their ability to hold the attention of the audience, especially in a scene so simplistic. The burning of the money showed that FSociety is not slowing down with their public attacks of E Corp. As Darlene said during her State of the Union, they're at war - and they're losing. FSociety is far from over and their global catastrophe was clearly only a first step.WHAT I LIKED
- Bulls, Bears, and Balls: One of my complaints about most of the first season was that black and white nature of the characters. It seemed that their attempts last season to make FSociety seem darker and E Corp lighter were mostly small and inconsequential. This episode, the series has taken steps towards righting that wrong. One of the early scenes involves a group of FSociety members committing what seemed like petty vandalism mostly associated with the worst Frat Bros you remember from college. To me, this scene began to show that the name and image and actions of FSociety are becoming less controlled and justifiable as they were last season. The castrating of this golden statue not only felt like a sign of an FSocety lost without a proper leader, but also felt reminiscent of the way that groups like Anonymous, the obvious real world inspiration for FSociety, have become so well known publicly that their image and views have become tainted by mainstream presence. FSociety is on a path of needing real direction and strength at its helm with Eliot/Mr. Robot trying to get far away from it.
We also see some of the adverse affects of this hack on the common people such as a working class woman attempting to pay off her home and the talks of globally falling stocks. This begins to reveal the hypocrisy in FSociety's actions that is often missed by viewers in the first season. Their views are somewhat empathetic, but they are also hollow, jokingly associated with George W. Bush's infamously meaningless speeches. Their action was done to help free the people held down by the greed-fueled grip of E Corp, but it is clear that their sudden collapse of society's means has possibly done more harm than good to the people they are swearing to protect. This type of complexity in the hero group is a needed addition that will help propel this series into the massive heights it is so close to grasping. - You're Not Your Smart House: The quick scene of Darlene's hacking of a smart home was ultimately not too significant, but it did an interesting job of showing us the slightly futuristic and alternate reality that Mr. Robot lives in. Sure, Obama is president and Seinfeld still doesn't appeal to millennials, but the world of Mr. Robot is not entirely our own. E Corp is a Orwellian conglomerate of every major corporation from Apple and Google to Godlamn Sachs, something impossible with today's corporate limitations and Monopoly breakups. Technology is also slightly different and advanced, with smart homes more advanced and accessible, at least to higher ups in E Corp. These slight differences between our reality and Mr. Robot's helps to add to the constant unease by leaving us constantly feeling off, but also helps us suspend our disbelief in a show that can sometimes push that line.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- The Greatest Trick The Corporate Conspiracy Ever Pulled... As I said before, last season one of my only complaints was the black and white morals, and this episode began to erase that flaw from my memory like a long-forgotten sister, but only for the good guys. E Corp continues to play a single note, topped off with a rant about conning the sheep. The head of E Corp, despite all the problems he is facing, still manages to rant about the Great Con and the idiotic masses in a speech most similar to one given by a forgotten Bond villain. Morally grey is what defines characters like Eliot and Darlene, but that grey shade has yet to reach E(vil) Corp. With Angela working in E Corp, we are hopefully on our way to taking a deeper look at the inner workings of the corporation, but with our looks so far they are the weakest aspect of both seasons.
WHAT I HATED
Angela Wears Prada: At the start of the show, Angela was the most sympathetic and optimistic character on the show. I love my dark and pessimistic character development, (see: murdered Gideon) but it needs to feel earned and faithful. Angela's turn to cold and cruel has been neither of those things. Her scene of harsh and risky corporate maneuvering and heartless denial of her lawyers plea for help show a drastic turn for the character. A turn that does not feel foreshadowed or setup. Sure, she got sent out of a room one time, but that doesn't mean she has to turn into the next Tyrell Welleck. Obviously her final scene of reciting positive encouragement shows a desperation to cling on to her optimistic personality as well as her loneliness without anyone to turn to. Her turn back towards the light is possible. But until then, it seems as if her character's personality and direction was assassinated to give us a glimpse into E Corp and create a more hardened character.
The premiere of Mr. Robot Season Two built on everything that made the first season great and began to work it's way passed it's flaws. The show is on its way to standing on top of the TV heap and with such an empty late-summer season ahead, the game is entirely open for a Mr. Robot takeover. There are some flaws, but they are all flaws that seem set up for change in the rest of the season.
Mr. Robot's premiere truly felt like an Oscar-worthy event movie that could not be missed and will surely be the center of conversation this week. So make sure your friends are caught up before somebody asks them what they thought about how that one guy from House of Cards got killed.
My name is Tristan Mayer and you just read my review of the Mr. Robot Season Two premiere. Let me know what you thought of the episode the comments and how you hope to see Eliot's psyche develop. If you liked this review and want to read more, you can see articles on shows like Game of Thrones as well as upcoming reviews for this entire season of Mr. Robot here on TheFilmFanAwakens.blogspot.com . You can keep up with me and my writing at Facebook.com/TheFilmFanAwakens and on Twitter @FilmFFanAwakens. You can catch a video review of this review as well as upcoming Comic Con coverage at The Film Fan Awakens on YouTube
See you guys next time and remember that if you imaginary alter ego personified as your dead father shoots you in the head, don't panic!
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