Cathartic as hell. Bravo. There's an underlying jubilee in the filmmaking on display in this episode that really allows the audience to fly off the rails with glee. And that's truly accomplished stuff.
But I do have a minor gripe with one piece of the writing here. I am more and more uneasy with the show's characters' unwillingness to acknowledge Darlene as a power player in the game of chess that's been going on since episode one. When in reality she's been in on the ground more than Elliot himself. She's gotten her hands dirty and suffered the consequences. I can reason around the characters' ignorance. Perhaps Price and Whiterose just don't really grasp how much f_society is Darlene's as much as Elliot's, but it seems like at some point the show could have a little more reliance in that fact as well. I don't necessarily think it's overwhelming to the point where I am pulled out of the experience. Overall, this is Elliot's story. Darlene is a supporting character, even when they've been pushing more weight onto her as the show goes on, so I don't necessarily think it's the wrong idea to suggest there's stuff going on with her without delving into it as deeply as we do for Elliot. Hell, I've even been critical of the execution of her b-plot this season not being quite as engaging as I would have hoped anyways. But I do think it is the duty of viewers to call out writing short-changing female characters, even if it feels somewhat calculated within the confines of the show.
Regardless, I am enthralled by this two episode streak of Mr. Robot. There was a minor mid-season slump in the writing that was made up for in the craft on display, but this episode shows an incredibly solid cohesion here. In particular, this episode's oner where the Deus Group's gathering is stunning (particularly love that not-so-subtle side-eye thrown to Trump). This series has always shown a very strong grasp on how oners should operate and I place many of them within the upper echelons of one-shots that cinema has to offer. I just love how damn cheeky this one is, though. Conceptually it operates as a troll to the audience. Esmail is so heavily in control of the heist genre he's able to wag his finger at the tropes.
Review by filmboicoleBlockedParentSpoilers2019-12-04T14:39:05Z
Cathartic as hell. Bravo. There's an underlying jubilee in the filmmaking on display in this episode that really allows the audience to fly off the rails with glee. And that's truly accomplished stuff.
But I do have a minor gripe with one piece of the writing here. I am more and more uneasy with the show's characters' unwillingness to acknowledge Darlene as a power player in the game of chess that's been going on since episode one. When in reality she's been in on the ground more than Elliot himself. She's gotten her hands dirty and suffered the consequences. I can reason around the characters' ignorance. Perhaps Price and Whiterose just don't really grasp how much f_society is Darlene's as much as Elliot's, but it seems like at some point the show could have a little more reliance in that fact as well. I don't necessarily think it's overwhelming to the point where I am pulled out of the experience. Overall, this is Elliot's story. Darlene is a supporting character, even when they've been pushing more weight onto her as the show goes on, so I don't necessarily think it's the wrong idea to suggest there's stuff going on with her without delving into it as deeply as we do for Elliot. Hell, I've even been critical of the execution of her b-plot this season not being quite as engaging as I would have hoped anyways. But I do think it is the duty of viewers to call out writing short-changing female characters, even if it feels somewhat calculated within the confines of the show.
Regardless, I am enthralled by this two episode streak of Mr. Robot. There was a minor mid-season slump in the writing that was made up for in the craft on display, but this episode shows an incredibly solid cohesion here. In particular, this episode's oner where the Deus Group's gathering is stunning (particularly love that not-so-subtle side-eye thrown to Trump). This series has always shown a very strong grasp on how oners should operate and I place many of them within the upper echelons of one-shots that cinema has to offer. I just love how damn cheeky this one is, though. Conceptually it operates as a troll to the audience. Esmail is so heavily in control of the heist genre he's able to wag his finger at the tropes.