'Mr. Robot' Episode 6, Season 2 Review

Image from Indiewire

By Darian Scalamoni

            Most people have been saying for the past few weeks that Mr. Robot is in a bit of a sophomore slump, while I disagree with that notion, I can see that it’s been more of a slow burner and since it’s not as predictable, people give it backlash. Well, if any episode was one to reinvigorate the series, last night’s was a perfect example. The outlandish, hilarious, twisted opening of this week’s episode was depicting Elliot’s fractured mindset following the beating he took at the hands of Ray’s men. The show was brought to a new level of crazy which is hard to believe when you think about all the twists and turns thus far on the USA Network drama.

            Elliot finds himself in what seemed to be an early nineties sitcom with theme music, laugh track and even an appearance from Alf. Though you’ll laugh out loud at moments like Alf running over Gideon dressed like a cop, or seeing Wellick bound and gagged in the trunk of the car during the Alderson “family road trip”, it’s truly terrifying when seeing Elliot react to the kooky surrounding behavior from his parents. Sam Esmail does a perfect job of wrapping it up before the nostalgia wears thin, as Mr. Robot lets Elliot know that he created this projection/fantasy to spare him the pain of the beating he suffered last episode.

            Ray continues to show his depth as a character as well, truly proving that he is worse than Elliot ever could’ve imagined. Craig Robinson does a great job with a chilling monologue about his dog discovering that someone else had control over her life, comparing Elliot to his dog and sending a message that he is now his master after Elliot made a major mistake snooping around where he shouldn’t have.

            One of the more shocking developments on last week’s episode, we saw Agent Dom in the middle of an attack orchestrated by the Dark Army on the Beijing hotel that FBI agents were staying in. She managed to be the only one that made it out of there but she was more in shock over the two shooters killing themselves while she was cornered. Dom showed her refusal though to take time off and instead headed to E-Corp, where the FBI was pulling out to move back to their field office.

            The most important thing we see in this week’s episode though has to be the newly formed alliance between Angela and fsociety trying to take down E-Corp for good. This includes Angela being taught how to hack in just one day, being conflicted when seeing Cisco working alongside fsociety and just before she completes her infiltration mission being directed by Darlene, Agent Dom is standing above her looking for the E-Corp employee. The raid on the FBI is a fantastic sequence too. Darlene effortlessly breaks into a hotel room as a lookout, while coaching Angela and it feels like it’s straight out of a heist movie.

            This episode is the reason why Mr. Robot is my absolute favorite show on television right now. Providing us with a unique take and another different genre in this season, the things that Sam Esmail comes up with are so innovative that every week, it feels like another amazing take on the same show. This episode was my absolute favorite this season and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for next week.

9.8/10