Logo

"How do I take off a mask when it stops being a mask? When it's as much a part of me as I am."
spacespace

Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson, a young, anti-social computer programmer who works as a cybersecurity engineer during the day, but at night he is a vigilante hacker. He is recruited by the mysterious leader of an underground group of hackers to join their organization. Elliot's task? Help bring down corporate America, including the company he is paid to protect, which presents him with a moral dilemma. Although he works for a corporation, his personal beliefs make it hard to resist the urge to take down the heads of multinational companies that he believes are running -- and ruining -- the world.

⚠ Spoilers Ahead! ⚠

General Thoughts

Recently, my time has been spent obsessing over rewatching the USA "techno-thriller" Mr. Robot and it's quite facsinating. Though it replicates aspects of Fight Club it's done in such a way that isn't a loathesome spoof for the sake of appeasing film bros, though the season one finale is quite unoriginal. Despite this, however, they make it work. The references and homages throughout the show are plentifull, as priorly mentioned, Fight Club is included on the list as it shares a partner in criminal activity who is revealed to be the protagonist's alter, among other similarities, this is its most obvious. Other movies include American Psycho, embodied through Tyrell Wellick, a maniacal businessman working for Evil Corp and, later, the Dark Army; the characters of Tyrell Wellick and Patrick Bateman are similar in many ways, mainly, though, in attire and attitude as well as a desire for power and praise. Though, the connection to other media isnot restricted to movies, but other media as well, for example, Angela Moss and Darlene Alderson both operate under pseudonyms after book caracters, Claudia Kincaid and Dolores Haze, respectively. These references aid the series' world-building and character establishment and are not relied upon in order to make the plot interesting, which I can appreciate.

Something I quite liked that many others haven't were the naming conventions in the show, disliked due to their clunky appearance, but I find it an intriguing way to strengthen the theme of computers/hacking within the protagonist's worldview.


“ Do you want to be here, right now? And I don't mean here-here, I mean here in a cosmic sense, bro. Like... existence could be beautiful, or it could be ugly. But that's on you. ”


Leon is a spectacular character whose presence elevates the show. Played by Joey Bada$$, Leon is introduced in the second season as Elliot’s friend during the latter’s prison sentence, advising him at the request of the Dark Army. Leon mainly serves as the show’s comic relief for his initial appearances, discussing the philosophies he finds within 90s sit-coms while dining or watching basketball games with Elliot. Later on, however, Leon is shown to be an effective assassin in the name of protecting his friend. The Dark Army utilizes Leon for transportation, murder, and protection, but his alliances change over time, eventually becoming unaffiliated with the hacker group.


🢢 BackNext 🢣