“You only see what’s in front of you, not what’s above you.” The season finale of Mr. Robot was utter chaos, but the good kind. A slow start but once that freight train took off there was no stopping the crazy. At every commercial break I found myself asking what the f*** just happened? The show has its way of answering a few questions and throwing ten thousand new ones at us. However, we did finally learn the truth about Tyrell and stage 2.

Tyrell is really alive and well. He is not a figment of Elliot’s imagination. Sadly Elliot had to learn that the hard way.

Elliot discovered that Tyrell, Mr. Robot and The Dark Army are all in cahoots. He also learned that Stage 2 is a malware program and a very dangerous one. Tyrell shows Elliot a blueprint for a building and a disassembled firmware for an uninterrupted power supply. Come to find out that blueprint is for the E-Corp building where they are stashing all the paper records in order to rebuild their business. It just so happens that building is directly across the street from Tyrell’s safe house. Tyrell begins to execute the malware which is designed to override the safety limits of the UPS recharge battery, release hydrogen and use the brown outs to create a transformer spark causing an explosion that will level the building. HOLY S***!!!!!

Elliot immediately wants to shut down the malware and erase the backdoor to the program but is warned by Mr. Robot and Tyrell to step away from the computer. Mr. Robot pleads with Elliot to stop what he is doing as Tyrell grabs a gun and points it at Elliot. Thinking Mr. Robot is playing a trick on him, Elliot challenges Tyrell believing he is only an illusion. Unfortunately for Elliot, Tyrell calls his bluff and shoots him in the gut. Robot then flickers and glitches away, for now. Guess that is what happens when Elliot wanders outside his realm.

Luckily Elliot is not dead. He may be in a coma though. Tyrell immediately calls Angela after he shoots Elliot. Yes I said ANGELA. He tells her that he loves Elliot and she reassures him that he did what had to be done. She then heads to their location as she wants to be the first person he see when he wakes up. What the hell is going on? How long has Angela been involved? To what extent is she involved in this? How much does she know? What happened between Elliot and Tyrell during those 3 days?

The freight train just keeps on trucking down the tracks, full speed ahead. Surprise! Darlene is alive but Cisco is dead and no sooner does Dom snag Darlene and bring her in for questioning. Can’t the woman grieve?!

Apparently not. Especially if you are an enemy of the state. After many attempts to invoke the Fifth Amendment, Darlene is shut down and the evidence against her and F-Society is unloaded. Dom shows her a casing she found at the former F-Society headquarters. A casing from the gun she stole from Xander, her former lover. Darlene shrugs it off but Dom isn’t finished with her yet. She takes Darlene to a back room and throws down the hammer showing Darlene exactly what the FBI knows. And boy do they know a lot.

Darlene is bewildered and responds with an ever so appropriate “you’ve got to be f****** kidding me.” We then see the board and Elliot and Tyrell are at the center of it. No Whiterose or The Dark Army though. The question remains, was Darlene shocked by the FBI’s knowledge or the fact that Tyrell is involved? She wouldn’t have had any idea about his involvement as Elliot couldn’t even remember whether he was alive or dead. Dom then proceeds to tell Darlene that they only had one shot at the middle man; they had to lie in wait like a python. Which middle man is she talking about? Elliot or Tyrell? Who do they think the ring leader is and how are they going to get them?

Mobley and Trenton were also on the board. After the credits play Sam Esmail treats us to an additional scene. One where Mobley and Trenton are alive out West. Trenton divulges to Mobley that she has found something that can undue everything they have done. Unfortunately she most likely won’t get the chance as the two are greeted by Leon moments later. The Dark Army has sent him to do their bidding. Their time seems to be coming to an end. The Dark Army is always one step ahead of everyone, including Elliot and the FBI so it’s easy to see that they figured out what Trenton knows. Hence, Leon is there to tie up loose ends. May their death be swift and painless.

One of the less exciting twists of the night was the fact that Scott Knowles was the one sending gifts and calling Joanna. It wasn’t Tyrell at all. The last gift Joanna received from Scott was his deceased wife Sharon’s sonogram. Just when you thought Joanna was starting to feel bad for Scott she goes right back into her degrading and wicked ways. Saying she was glad Sharon was dead and that his fetus didn’t have to grow up with such a p**** of a father. Scott then proceeded to beat her to a pulp, which she kind of deserved. At least he was nice enough to call 911 after he realized what he had done.

This must have enraged Joanna even more. As she then goes on to devise a plan to have Scott framed for the murder of his wife. She uses her boyfriend Derek, who was working that night at the party where Sharon was murdered, as a pawn in her game of revenge. She wants to punish him and after a little pushing and prodding Derek is willing to tell police a new story about that night.

The finale closes out with a complete blackout and the crashing of cars. Did Tyrell initiate Stage 2? We’ll have to wait until next season to find out. However we do have some clues as to what’s to come.

Season 3 will be about “Disintegration” as Elliot and Mr. Robot split further apart against the nation’s recession. Will there also be a literal disintegration of the E-Corp building?

According to Deadline.com, Season 3 will involve a lot of 2016’s political events i.e. Donald Trump gaining the Republican nomination, terrorist attacks, etc.

“The sentiment and the outrage and the support of Donald Trump; the groundswell by which he rose to become the Republican nominee, that sort of atmosphere is going to be used in the Mr. Robot universe and amplified by this great economic collapse which is happening like a slow car accident. What you’re seeing is the events that stoked those (Trump-like) sentiments,” says Esmail who is heading back to the writers room soon and will continue to direct all of season 3’s episodes, just like he did in season 2. There will be a lot of overlap,” Esmail says about melding current events into Mr. Robot season 3, “the increased terrorism and domestic violence that has gone on, a lot of that will play into the Mr. Robot universe.”

There is definitely a lot to look forward to in Season 3 of Mr. Robot. I for one cannot wait!

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Wednesday night’s [September 7^th] episode of Mr. Robot backed all of our characters into a tight corner. “Hidden Process” started off slow but quickly escalated minutes into the episode.

Price and Terry have a meeting to discuss the need of President Obama and his administration to allow China to take control of the Congo. This is the only way E-Corp will get bailed out from China. Terry agrees to bring the issue to the attention of the President’s administration but before leaving asks Price why he wants to see this through. We already know that Price is power hungry but his reasoning behind it makes sense. He, like every other human on the planet, wants to leave a legacy; he wants to be immortal. Becoming the most powerful man in the world, with the exception of one or two people is his way of doing that.

Speaking of power hungry individuals, Joanna reaches out to Elliot for help in locating her husband, Tyrell. Elliot declines multiple times, heeding the advice of Mr. Robot but Joanna will not rest that easily. Ultimately Elliot helps Joanna out and is able to locate the phone Tyrell is allegedly calling her off of. While the phone is in Elliot’s possession it rings and he picks it up. All we hear is heavy breathing. Mr. Robot then disappears and does not return for the remainder of the episode. He was extremely adamant about returning to Elliot’s apartment for something, yet when Elliot and Joanna’s henchmen return to his place, Mr. Robot is nowhere to be found. Once Elliot locates the phone he shows the address to Joanna’s henchmen. He seems to know the house where the phone is located and claims Tyrell wouldn’t be calling from that home. The henchmen then proceeds to exit Elliot’s pad and presumably go to the house where the phone is pinging.

Last episode, Cisco ran into some trouble at Susan’s home. Turns out the individual he ran into was one of the D.C. guys (F Society member) who happened to have been terribly beaten. Cisco brings him back to his apartment and shows Darlene. The duo proceed to bring this gentleman to the hospital and treat his wounds. However, Darlene did need some convincing. After Cisco goes ham on her, claiming she is not a leader and everything they have accomplished up until now has basically been luck and scrambling, Darlene comes to her senses and agrees to help her fellow F Society member out.

Dom is hot on Cisco’s trail. She arrives at Susan’s home and learns that Cisco had been there the night before. A neighbor had seen him hail a cab with the D.C. guy. Dom takes this information to her boss and asks to go after him without getting the media involved. As usual, they do not listen to her and Cisco’s picture goes on the news as they begin to track down the cab he took the night before. However, Dom still proceeds to ransack Cisco’s apartment (illegally?) and discovers his student I.D. She tracks Cisco back to the hospital and learns he is with a woman (Darlene). Lucky for Dom, the two did not see the news bit and have no idea she is coming. Dom tracks the two down at the diner that stopped to have dinner at, but once again The Dark Army comes to the rescue(?).

Two men in all black arrive at the diner and shoot up the place. Dom once again, miraculously makes it out unscathed. As for Darlene and Cisco…. we will have to wait until next week to learn their fate.

While this is going on, Angela sets up a meeting with Elliot and asks him about F Society. He lets her know he never wanted her involved. Angela tells Elliot that she is meeting with her lawyer and will take the fall for planting the CD but she will not bring up the others. The two then share a kiss; something that has been a long time coming. As Elliot exits the subway Angela is approached by two strangers, which as we all know can’t be good.

Next Week:

Mr. Robot returns — where did he go? What was he looking for?

Angela is put in the back of a van and taken to a remote location — who snagged her and where is she going?

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Previously on Mr. Robot….

F Society intercepts an FBI conference call and uncovers that they have been illegally tapping 3 million American’s cellphones without a warrant. Susan Jacobs aka Madame Executioner returns to her home unexpectedly and meets the gang face-to-face. We also learn that Sue was at the trial involving the Washington Township scandal. Darlene has Mobley, Cisco and Trenton dig for anything to blackmail Sue with to keep her quiet. Unfortunately for Sue the dirt wasn’t good enough. Darlene tasers her and watches her drown in her own pool. Soon after we learned she had a heart condition. Cisco and Darlene then cremate Sue to get rid of the evidence. After this incident Mobley is picked up by Dom but is released after being held for over 12 hours. Moments later Darlene discovers Cisco has betrayed her. He is still working with The Dark Army and has been sending them information on her. She then hits him in the head with a bat. The unraveling of information continued in “init_5.fve”.

Last night’s episode (Wednesday, August 31^st) started to slowly unravel the truth. We learn that Elliot was arrested for hacking Hansen’s email and stealing his dog. We also learn that Ray was the warden at the prison and Lone Star is a correctional officer. After we are filled in Elliot is released early from prison after serving an 86 day stint. He quickly drops by to visit his mother who is either in a psych ward or nursing home.

Angela continues to hack E-Corp from the inside. She gets unlocks Joseph Green’s account and gathers information from the Washington Township leak. She takes this evidence and turns it over but quickly realizes the people she gave it to are working for E-Corp. Angela quickly exits and returns home where she is greeted by Dom.

Minister Jung meets up with Price and we learn that Jung is the owner of the Washington Township plant. Price informs Jung that he could not secure a loan to keep the plant and the feds will be taking it over unless he can get the Chinese government to loan them the money, interest free of course. Jung does not take the threat too kindly and reminds Price what happened to the last guy that threatened him.

Speaking of The Dark Army, Elliot and Darlene hack White Rose’s right hand man Xun. Elliot has Cisco set up a meeting with Xun. Unfortunately Elliot is not in the best mind frame. He continues to have out of body experiences and Mr. Robot has to step in when Elliot goes into a thousand yard stare. At the meeting Elliot is able to keep it under control and demands Xun have White Rose tell him what Phase 2 is. Shortly after we learn Phase 2 is Elliot’s plan. How did he forget? Did he actually forget or is it all a part of his plan? What is Phase 2?

Darlene also realizes she left behind the VHS tape with her face on it at Sue’s place. Cisco heads back to grab it but encounters someone. Darlene is then greeted by someone, who clearly isn’t Cisco, at Cisco’s apartment. What trouble have these two gotten themselves into now?

Closing out the episode is Tyrell’s SUV pulling in front of Elliot’s apartment. However, Tyrell is not inside. Joanna is. What’s the deal with these two?

Next Week

We see what’s up with Joanna and Elliot

Dom moves in on someone (Elliot? Cisco?)

Phase 2 begins

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*IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE TURN BACK NOW. MAJOR SPOILERS LIE AHEAD!*

Elliot is living a more mundane life having moved back in with his strict mother in hopes of maintaining a regimen. He is also seeing Krista, his therapist, again. A life of no computers, no hacking and basically no technology seemed to be working well for Elliot. He has been able to make friends and keep Mr. Robot at bay.  “I am in control. This is not an illusion.” That has become Elliot’s new mantra. Elliot’s solace does not last long. Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) quickly trickles back into Elliot’s life. The power play between these two selves has escalated tremendously. So much so that we see Elliot get shot point blank by Mr. Robot, whom we all know is Elliot’s subconscious. These characters continue to have a Mexican-standoff throughout the episode until Elliot comes out on top. However, this doesn’t happen without consequence; Elliot continues to fall deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. We see him unable to remember things or account for periods of time in the day. He quickly realizes the façade he built with a regimen is failing.

Darlene is also struggling to adjust to life in the aftermath of 5/9. She is now alone as Elliot has gone off the grid. Trying to create some sort of family with the new members of F-Society, she has become their ring leader and hacks the smart house of E-Corps Susan Jacobs to use as their home base. She then orchestrates a hack at the E-Corp banks and demands ransom. The chief technology officer at E-Corp brings the ransom money to Battery Park thinking he is going to meet up with members of F-Society. To his displeasure he is asked to put on an F-Society mask and burn the 5.9 Million dollars he was asked to bring. Here we also learn that Mobley is the IT guy for E-bank.

Angela continues to sip the corporate cool-aid. She decides to stay at E-Corp and leave the law firm who was working on the law suit against E-Corp for the death of her mother. This character has had the biggest evolution in the series thus far. Having gone from the quiet, girl next door type to the strong, powerful and confident corporate leader, she is definitely one to watch this season.

Speaking of powerful women, Joanna seems to be doing well for herself despite the fact that her husband, Tyrell has gone missing. She has found a new play-thing and continues to go about her daily life like nothing has happened.

Where exactly is Tyrell? It looks like we will get a clue in next week’s episode. The end of this episode left off with Elliot on the phone Tyrell. Is this a figment of Elliot’s imagination or is it reality? We will just have to wait and see.

Another character caught in the crossfire is Gideon, who unfortunately met his end in last night’s episode. He was shot in the throat by a bar patron but not before he could meet with FBI agent Dom; a brand new character this season. From what we saw in this episode she will definitely be a big threat to Elliot and F-Society throughout the remainder of the season.

Watching the live after-show Hacking Robot, we gained some insight as to what’s to come this season. This will be a very dark season for Elliot. We see him taking drugs and getting kidnapped again, as well as losing his sanity. A lot of pressure will be placed on Elliot not only from Mr. Robot but from other characters in this world and the world around him. How long will Elliot be able to hold onto his sanity? Who will win the inner battle, Mr. Robot or Elliot?  Hacking Robot also revealed an Easter egg in the premiere episode; Christian Slater appears in the party scene at the smart house in an F-Society mask. We also learn that the job is far from being done; the revolution has only just begun.

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