on Blu-ray.
I'm discovering this show for the first time on Blu-ray and while I didn't follow
everything that happened in Season 1, I still quite liked it. I'd heard Season 2 wasn't as good (or maybe I was thinking of Season 3, which I have yet to get to), so I went into the second season prepared to be disappointed. I think the most underwhelming episode was the extra-long two-part premiere. It didn't really interest me that much, though there were some intriguing parts. I liked seeing Darlene taking charge and the bit with Mr. Robot (aka 'Hobo Christian Slater') shooting Elliot in the head was certainly memorable. I was never attached to the character of Gideon, so him getting offed in Part 2 didn't particularly bother me. It was more a case of me thinking he hadn't actually
died, but then when it became clear he
had, my reaction was more or less "Huh". One unique thing about this show is the way Elliot addresses us, the audience, as his 'friend' who he talks to. He even made it personal, saying how he was hesitant to trust us again...though I could understand that feeling (having experienced more than one betrayal by so-called 'friends' in my lifetime). I was a bit bored at different points throughout the two episodes, but what kept me invested were the main characters such as Elliot, Darlene, Angela and Joanna Wellick (who'd been upgraded to 'regular' status this season. Can't say I missed Tyrell at all, as I always thought his wife was the more interesting of the pair, though I did wonder what happened to him considering the whole thing with the gun hidden in the popcorn last season. I was waiting for someone to learn it had been in there the whole time and be like, "Hey! I ate that popcorn! I hope that gun was clean!"). I find all four of them intriguing for different reasons.
The trouble was not knowing what was reality/really happening and what Elliot was
imagining happening (there was a disturbing moment that involved Elliot laughing at one point - it seemed so unnatural for him). I also had to get used to the fact that when we saw characters talking to Mr. Robot, it wasn't that they were actually talking to Hobo Christian Slater, but rather they were talking to Elliot (just as this other persona or whatever you want to call it). I wasn't that fussed on the guy who kept yammering on about
Seinfeld (not a fan of that show, personally), but I didn't mind the guy with the dog - though, naturally, whenever an animal is introduced on a show like this, I automatically worry what harm might come to them. Speaking of dog harm, I wondered what happened to the pooch Elliot rescued last season.
In the third episode, I didn't appreciate yet another show crapping all over those who believe in God (like when Elliot went on his rant and then realised he'd said it all out aloud to the group). It's become predictable at this point for shows to do this. You know what would be something new/fresh? Writing a character who believes in God but
isn't made out to be intolerable/a caricature. The nastiest part of the episode, however, was the stuff involving Elliot vomiting up the pills he'd taken in the hope of suppressing Mr. Robot. It wasn't just that he vomited them up, but then he was crawling around in the vomit and
taking the vomited up tablets again. That scene was the grossest thing to happen on this show thus far, though it was interesting seeing Elliot attempting to defy Mr. Robot 'owning' him. Thankfully, things seemed to improve by the fourth episode when we started with the flashback of how Elliot and Darlene first formed the idea for fsociety. I was just so happy to see him interacting with his sister before he'd gone 'crazy'. They were acting like real brother and sister. I was amused by the various knocks on the door Darlene did, then the gory movie she was watching and their casual conversation they were having, but what really stood out to me in this scene was the music playing in the background (especially in the second half of it), as it had a slight Star Wars-y vibe to it - like Jawas were going to appear at any moment - but at the same time was also somewhat unsettling. It definitely added to the mood/atmosphere of the scene (and that mask Darlene wore, which Elliot then wore for a while as he talked/formulated the plan, added to the disturbing feel of the scene...though Elliot's hair sticking up from the top of the mask made for a slightly amusing visual). It was a great scene and the first one this season that I really enjoyed.
What made this episode even better was the montage of Elliot imagining himself making amends with everyone he'd wronged (including poor Bill from last season - who I was surprised to see was still
alive, considering what Elliot had said to him made me think he probably would've gone home and immediately offed himself. Then again, this was only something Elliot was
imagining, so who knows what really happened to Bill?). I liked seeing various characters (both regular and recurring) all together at a table in the middle of the street and watching the 'Evil Corp' building crumble. Not that I really cared about Tyrell, but it was interesting to see they managed to work him into this scene since they'd been playing it so coy with whether or not he was even still
alive (actually, more interesting than the fate of Tyrell to me was wondering whether something was going on with the actor who played him. Was he busy with another project or didn't he get on with other certain cast members or something? Honestly, it reminded me of the first season Olivia Wilde received 'regular' status in the TV series
House - she was absent from the majority of the episodes in that season. It seemed to be the same case here - only difference being that Martin Wallström was a regular from the very first season in this show. If 'regulars' get paid more than recurring of guest stars...then he was making the
easiest money ever since, at most, he just provided a line over the phone or made a blink-and-you'd-miss-it appearance). Once again Elliot included us, the audience, by saying there'd even be a seat for us at the table (I saw some speculation that he was referring to his ghost dad, but I choose to believe he meant us/his 'friend').
In the fifth episode, I liked Joanna's speech about killing a person instantly versus giving them time to process
why they're being killed. Once again I have to say how much more compelling a character I find her to be than Tyrell, who I know the show *wants* me to find compelling...but I just
don't. I didn't think much of him last season (despite all the efforts to make him 'interesting') and this season he barely even appeared, so there was nothing really to change my mind about his character. What I
was interested in was seeing some more interaction between Elliot and Angela (and the mention of
Shayla's Elliot's fish). I think they're good together, but don't get nearly enough time as a pair onscreen. I also liked Angela and Darlene's interaction. Angela's proved herself quite the 'boss', able to take on various male characters who underestimated her, but Darlene was a formidable match for her. I enjoyed not only how different they were as characters (whilst also having a few similarities), but especially their different styles/dress sense. I also really liked what the show did with Angela this season. She showed determination/drive and gave as good as she got when someone dismissed her on insulted her. The best part, though, was her being brought into/included as part of the fsociety hacker group. Having different plotlines for every character can oftentimes lead to things seeming too 'disjointed' or whatever, so making her part of the gang helped her character not feel so separated from the main plotline.
Episode 6 was where things REALLY got interesting/awesome. I'd seen a photo from the episode, which led me to believe there'd be some sort of hallucination/dream sequence involving Elliot, Darlene, their mother and their ghost dad in some sort of weird reality where things were most un-
Mr. Robot-like. However, I was
not prepared for this sitcom hallucination taking up a good percentage of the episode...but I was glad it
did, as it was just so much FUN, including (but not limited to) Elliot's perpetual wide-eyed look of disbelief at everything going on, Carly Chaikin amusingly playing a version of Darlene that was more or less like her character from
Suburgatory (her being in bright clothes and without the mane of wild hair was almost unsettling in its abnormality), the black humour of their mum punching Darlene's lights out not once, but
twice (and to canned laughter, no less), the hilarious opening credits sequence/theme song (one part of it I found funny that others might not have taken so much notice of was Portia Doubleday's/Angela credit, where she's grieving her dead mother and then turns to camera trying to recompose herself but can't control her grief and breaks down again), everyone in the car except Elliot being nonchalant about things like Elliot hearing voices, the harm the parents caused their children (Elliot and Darlene's mum seemed to be a real piece of work - not only slugging Darlene twice, but also putting out a cigarette on her arm as she screamed), Mr. Robot acting so casual about there being a guy stuck in the boot (ie. trunk) and it turning out to be Tyrell who attempted to escape and then crashed into the fake background all whilst yelling how he was an important business man, and then to top things off...they included ALF! That was the most unexpected part for me, as I hadn't known about it beforehand. I was especially amused that Gideon got to make a brief appearance before once again dying - this time at the hands of Alf mowing him down and then casually driving over his corpse like it was just a speed bump.
I saw some comments complaining that this whole segment of the episode went on 'too long', but I actually appreciated that it lasted as long as it did since it seems unlikely we'll ever return to this particular type of hallucination and it was just so OUT-THERE and funny that I wanted to soak up as much of it as possible before we left it behind. As great as this part of the episode was, the rest was thankfully not a letdown/disappointment after having so much fun. The whole part with Angela learning how to hack and then being sent in on her mission was pretty enthralling. Having her not be an expert at it after only a short/rushed lesson in hacking felt realistic. She was able to pick up a fair amount and do what needed to be done, but was also able to think on her feet when it seemed she'd been caught. Her rejecting the guy coming onto her and then distracting him when he seemed on the verge of figuring out what she was up to showed that she could handle the unexpected quite well. I love that she's a competent female character who's presented as smart/cunning, but not flawless/'perfect'. This was easily one of my favourite episodes of the show and possibly my favourite episode of this season.
I think the next episode started with Joanna getting red paint thrown on her - this was one instance where yelling actually seemed warranted (unlike when Tyrell would do it). It was also the episode that revealed to us that Elliot had been in a psychiatric prison hospital all this season. I think I'd read a theory or two about that which kind of ruined the surprise. It also left me wondering if the interaction I'd enjoyed seeing him have with other characters felt like a 'cheat' now or not, since I had no idea what had really occurred and what hadn't (on the plus side...at least Elliot apologised to us, the audience, for the deception). Anyway, one thing that I know
did occur was Angela rejecting the old guy (Price) who wanted her to 'celebrate' with him on his birthday. I don't like his character, so her responding with a simple blunt "No." amused me.
I've now come to expect that after a big cliffhanger like that^, this show won't always pick up right where it left off. Sure enough, the next one was Elliot-free (can't say I missed his monotone voiceover, since it's rather sleep-inducing) and focused more on Darlene, fsociety and Angela. It was good to get more insight into Darlene's character. Things got out of hand when the woman who worked for 'Evil Corp' that they broke into the home of and held captive was revealed to be someone who took glee in destroying the lives of Darlene's family. Did she take things too far by zapping the woman in her pacemaker area with a taser? Probably, but all those condemning Darlene for this act seemed to have no problem with Tyrell murdering a woman last season or the fact that 'Evil Corp' is, you know, EVIL and they kind of had any retaliation coming to them. I was sad to see the dogs Darlene and the others freed last season wound up right back where they started - ie. a date with the incinerator (which Darlene and her b/f used to dispose of the body of the 'Evil Corp' woman). I did enjoy the end with Darlene taking a baseball bat to her b/f who'd seemingly betrayed her.
I was surprised to see some people's reactions to Angela, like she was the worst human ever when she responded to an old friend of her father basically calling her a 'whore' with his implication of how she got where she was job-wise by responding that she was not only doing better than him through hard work, but that his job as a plumber meant he was literally cleaning shit for a living. I couldn't believe some people actually took offense at hearing this when, to me, it seemed pretty clear she was just aiming to hurt him personally like he'd intended to do to her with his lewd comment. Do I think she actually looks down her nose at ALL plumbers? No, I don't. I think she just said when she needed to so as to give as good as she got. I actually applauded her for her comeback and I think that any old guy who would more or less call his friend's daughter a 'whore' in public deserved whatever kind of retaliation the victim of his verbal abuse deemed fitting. If your go-to move is to accuse someone of sleeping their way to the top...then you don't deserve any sympathy. And one more notable thing with Angela this episode was her singing 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World'. Was it pitch-perfect? No, but that's what was actually refreshing about it. So many times in shows that feature a character singing karaoke, it seems like they're either comically awful at it or secretly a professional singer. In this instance, Angela was good, but not 'great'...and that's okay. Less okay was her seemingly showing interest in a random character played by Mark Moses (you can do better, Angela! A LOT better!). It was slightly strange seeing Angela with her hair all messy when usually it's in an immaculate tightly-pulled ponytail...but I guess this dishevelment showed where her character was at. I liked the way Angela's story in the episode intercut with what was going on with Darlene and the other hackers.
The next couple of episodes kind of blended together in my mind. I remember that Elliot and his ghost dad seemed to be short-circuiting or something. Mr. Robot thought something was up and it was freaking him out a bit. I also recall the guy with the dog who I'd not-minded at the beginning of the season turned out to not be so nice after all (neither was the thing he said about his dog from what I can remember. I wasn't entirely following it, but I
knew I wasn't worrying about the poor pooch for no reason. That worry turned out to be fully justified). Consequently, I ended up not-liking that dude, his goons or their beating up of Elliot. The whole chess thing also bored me (I remember earlier in the season Elliot and Mr. Robot were having a chess match and it took umpteen stalemates before Elliot realised he would never be able to defeat Mr. Robot - since they're the same person essentially). Meanwhile, the
Seinfeld dude turned out to be useful in taking care of a bunch of bad dudes, though it was a bit too 'comic book-y' with how he just seemingly offed a bunch of people in public, but in actuality they were in the psychiatric prison hospital so I guess that explains it. We also got an explanation (and name!) for that random woman we'd seen in the background throughout the season who always seemed to be setting fire to things. Apparently she was called 'Hot Carla' and was the resident pyro. It was strange seeing her lighting a fire while in a prison yard since I thought prisons didn't like that sort of thing...but whatever.
I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention the new character introduced this season who was an FBI agent - Dominique 'Dom' DiPierro, played by one of Meryl Streep's offspring. I wasn't familiar with Grace Gummer before watching this show, but I knew her sister from guest appearances on
The Good Wife. One of the reasons why I'm only mentioning her
now (so late into my review for the season) was because I was not fond of her character. Her stupid lollipop obsession was annoying as hell (I kinda wanted her to choke on one of those damn things) and it just felt like her 'quirkiness' was rather forced. Her character didn't hold my interest, and in fact anytime she was onscreen I kind of resented her taking away screentime from one of the characters I
did care about. The only times she was even mildly interesting was when she got into a couple of different shootouts, but unfortunately she didn't wind up a casualty of either (I guess she's just
that lucky). Wasting time on her talking to Amazon Alexa in the second-last episode of the season didn't do anything to endear her character to me and just felt like filler.
Actually, that episode as a whole pretty much felt that way, as it alternated between being boring (Dom's scenes, old guy Price's scenes) and annoying (the mini-Angela who asked her rude/invasive questions like whether she'd ever cried during sex or thought about killing her father after Angela was kidnapped and taken to a room with a fish tank and outdated computer that the brat operated as she asked the same questions over and over until she got answers. I would've liked some more snarky answers from Angela and I was SO hoping she would see through the brat's BS story about them beating her if Angela didn't answer. I totally knew she was lying and it was fake bruising, but sadly grown-ups always get stupid around kids and believe what they say at face value. Sure enough, when Whiterose entered, she confirmed that the bruises were makeup and it sucked that Angela, who'd seemed so smart, was fooled/so gullible in this instance. I also grew tired of Whiterose this season and I hated the fact that the poor fish in the tank died). It felt like not much was achieved in this episode and the only mildly interesting thing was Elliot allowing Mr. Robot to take control.
The last episode of the season wasn't a patch on the Season 1 final, I thought. While that one was interesting and felt satisfying, this one just felt like a lot of randomness. Joanna got beaten up, Tyrell resurfaced in the most unspectacular way imaginable after all that build-up surrounding what had happened to him, Dom questioned Darlene (after the shootout at the end of episode 10) and Elliot thought Tyrell was another figment of his imagination like Mr. Robot...until he shot Elliot for realsies. About the only interesting thing to occur in this episode was the phone call Tyrell made to Angela which made it seem like she'd given him the idea to shoot Elliot - though if that is indeed the case, that kind of destroys the Elliot/Angela relationship, which I would HATE, as they were good together. And where'd Tyrell professing his love for Elliot to Angela over the phone come from? How can he love Elliot when they've barely interacted? Of course, Angela said she loved Elliot too and I'm sure this automatically caused some people to see her as the 'enemy'/romantic rival for Elliot's affections because some watchers of the show can't resist a 'bad boy' and find Tyrell intriguing, even going so far as to be 'Tyrelliot' shippers, which...
just why?? I see nothing between them, and even if there
was, it'd be pretty one-sided (ie. Tyrell may have feelings for Elliot, but I've seen no evidence of his feelings being reciprocated). About the only 'good' thing to come out of the Elliot/Tyrell interaction this episode was seeing how Elliot appears to others when he's the Mr. Robot persona - I'd wondered about that.
Anyway, these last two episodes were pretty disappointing...which I guess was a 'bookend' of sorts to the beginning of the season where I found the two-part premiere kind of disappointing. One of several things I think hurt this season was the extra lengthy episode runtimes. Last season the episodes seemed to be a bit shorter and thus made for tighter storytelling. Still, the show had other things that made this season not a complete waste. The characters of Elliot, Darlene and Angela kept me interested (though I wish Elliot's voiceovers weren't so monotone. Is the desire to put us to sleep? He's not so bad when he's talking with other characters, but when he's talking to us it's really hard to stay awake). I like that the two main female characters in this show are complex and have both strengths and weaknesses. I could've done without the addition of Dom, though. Now that Tyrell's back, I guess we're going to get much more of him. It'll be a shame if Joanna is neglected in favour of her far less interesting (at least to *me*, anyway) husband. The one thing this show DOES have going for it, above all else, is it certainly knows how to frame a shot. All throughout there has been interesting visuals, certain shots really stand out, the cinematography is visually striking and the show knows how to create moody atmosphere. While I didn't think much of the beginning and ending of Season 2, what was in between more or less kept me interested. Hopefully Season 3 can hold my interest throughout.
