fredrick+tanya

This show ties me up in knots!

I knew Angela would turn into a basket case after all the destruction of Stage 2. The shock has manifested into disassociation. Angela has lost touch with a significant chunk of reality. She’s glued to the news reports on TV and each hour that goes by, she seems to make up more things to try and make herself feel better. At first, I thought she was rationalizing the number of deaths. The estimated dead to be in the thousands and since that’s so bad, even if there is another thousand, the level of the crime and tragedy is still the same. After Darlene leaves to her place to gather somethings to stay with Angela, she returns to find Angela playing the same 10 second clip of one of the buildings collapsing. Over and over, the building falls down, Angela rewinds it to when it’s standing and plays it again. Darlene is obviously dumbfounded at what she’s doing and Angela sees her confusion. So she explains that everything is going to be okay because every time she rewinds time, the people are fine. Everyone is going to be fine. Much like myself, Darlene doesn’t know what to say.

Elliot goes to Krista Gordon in panic. Someone he can confide in, someone who knows about Mr. Robot. He tries to admit what he’s done but he can’t get it out and Mr. Robot takes over. He’s furious. First that Elliot is wasting time by going to see Dr. Gordon and then at those who hijacked his idea for their own heinous purposes. His revolution was stolen from him and perverted. He more or less confesses everything to Krista and then leaves to try to get some justice. Krista calls her associate and he tells her she can’t say anything to the police because of doctor-patient confidentiality. Plus he thinks Elliot is full of it as the police are already getting flooded with bogus tips about the next attack. Krista is sure that Mr. Robot wasn’t lying.

Mr. Robot finds Irving at his cover job as a mechanic only to get knocked out by the Dark Army goons.

Tyrell is in custody and is given a mug shot book to flip through to find his co-conspirators. Here he finds out from Santiago that his family is, in fact, gone. His wife dead by the gunshot of her lover and his kid shoveled into the foster care system. He has no choice but to continue with the path that the Dark Army has them on. Tyrell points out two people and his lawyer argues to Dom and Santiago that Tyrell did all of the work he did under duress. He was kidnapped and his family threatened in order to do what they wanted him. He’s going to cooperate as much he can, but he’s innocent. Santiago, of course, goes with it and Dom is furious. She says “something doesn’t add up” sure that the Dark Army is behind it all. It’s a semi-confrontation to Santiago who tells her to stand down as she gets into his face.

Whiterose is still at the wealthy hobnob with Price. In a public confrontation of the rich and powerful that will not soon be forgotten, Whiterose leans into Prices’ question with the utmost satisfaction and zeal. Why go through all of this, the level of destruction? Because Price didn’t do what Whiterose told him to do when he first asked. Corporate skullduggery like you wouldn’t believe.

Next, the return of Trenton and Mobley, who we haven’t seen since the end of the last season. They’ve been found by Leon in Arizona. He’s killed their roommate and brings them out to the desert to bury the body. He assures them that he’s only there to babysit since if he was tasked with killing them, they’d already be dead. Trenton makes a valiant effort to escape but they end up back at the house where the Dark Army has been setting things up.

Going back a little, Tyrell pointed out Trenton and Mobley in the book. A nationwide alert is put out on those to be believed to be threatening the world with a second attack. Their names and faces on the news, someone they work with at the computer store recognizes them and calls the feds. The hunt is on.

The last segment is a brilliant example of how to build suspense and tension. Mobley and Trenton are brought into the garage where all sorts of incriminating evidence have been placed. Material for the fsociety videos that have been being sent out recently and computers that make the next attack clear: airlines. With each step they go through, each horrific bit explained to them it becomes clear. Mobley and Trenton aren’t being asked to work for the Dark Army, they are being framed to take the fall for the attacks. We never see the violence but their last moments on Earth is the stuff of nightmares. The feds find their bodies in the garage.

The episode ends with Dom. She walks up to her whiteboard with all the suspects she’s been piecing together in this web of terror. She crosses off Mobley and Trenton and then looks at the center of the board. A piece of paper with Whiterose written on it. She says aloud what we’re all thinking. Is Whiterose going to get away with it? It looks like it.

Elliot and Mr. Robot are going to have to come together like Voltron to turn this around.