The last three episodes of Mr. Robot were so damn intense that I'm not surprised or disappointed that this episode slowed things down to a crawl. Frankly, it was needed after the traumatic event that was last episode. There were a couple of moments that felt somewhat melodramatic to me, but I think they were earned by the last three. And while the episode hardly advanced the plot at all, it did provide plenty of surreal imagery to chew on.
To me, the most interesting scene in the episode was the opening flashback, which showed a truly heartbreaking interaction between young Elliot and his father. For me, the emotion was slightly undercut by the recasting of young Elliot (I really liked the first one), but the scene still worked because of Christian Slater's fantastic performance. The scene also reveals that Elliot's alternate personalities date back further than we thought. My personal theory is that he created Mr. Robot either right before or right after falling out the window, in order to cope.
Most of the episode focuses on Elliot bonding with Trenton's little brother, who tags along unwanted with him. It's a rocky relationship, which forces Elliot to confront his own issues until he can learn to forgive himself and Angela. Some aspects struck me as a little cliché (especially given the show's outside the box nature), but they worked fine in context and were elevated by the excellent actors and direction.
In short, the episode provides an interesting emotional journey for Elliot with negligible plot advancement but some neat surreal imagery and a much-needed break from the intensity of the last three.
To me, the most interesting scene in the episode was the opening flashback, which showed a truly heartbreaking interaction between young Elliot and his father. For me, the emotion was slightly undercut by the recasting of young Elliot (I really liked the first one), but the scene still worked because of Christian Slater's fantastic performance. The scene also reveals that Elliot's alternate personalities date back further than we thought. My personal theory is that he created Mr. Robot either right before or right after falling out the window, in order to cope.
Most of the episode focuses on Elliot bonding with Trenton's little brother, who tags along unwanted with him. It's a rocky relationship, which forces Elliot to confront his own issues until he can learn to forgive himself and Angela. Some aspects struck me as a little cliché (especially given the show's outside the box nature), but they worked fine in context and were elevated by the excellent actors and direction.
In short, the episode provides an interesting emotional journey for Elliot with negligible plot advancement but some neat surreal imagery and a much-needed break from the intensity of the last three.