This episode serves as both the conclusion of the 'pyth0n' two-parter and of the second season, wherein Tyrell reveals all to Elliot, Joanna confronts E Corp CTO Scott Knowles and Dom conducts her interrogation of Darlene. I must say that this second season has stepped above and beyond the quality of the first - not that it has been bad at any point, but nearly every scene in this season has been of the upmost quality in performance, cinematography, pacing and, crucially, it has remained interesting and has been bold enough to progress the arcs of all of the relevant characters to unpredictable places, testing the morality and endurance of each of them in turn. Elliot is the prime example, as he should be, for no story is worthwhile if it does not take the protagonist to a different place from where they began. His unreliable nature and the monologues that make us, the invisible viewer, believe Elliot is baring his soul to us make for an effective combination, I can't say that many other shows are as challenging and as thought-provoking as Mr. Robot, or at least that keep you guessing. The deceit about the prison, his passing it off as 'routine', and the associated storylines involving 'Warden' Ray and interestingly named Joey Bada$$'s Leon work after the fact in both 'realities' and give more depth to both characters quickly despite them only appearing in Season 2. On that point, Dom is a great addition to the cast, masterfully portrayed by Grace Gummer whom is distancing herself from her Streep-related cage to get her own attention that she deserves; she provides a necessary insight into the opposing side following the aftermath of Five/Nine and in this context I honestly don't mind seeing the 'FBI agent pursues controversial case despite boss disapproval' trope again.
I'm grateful that the episode count was raised slightly for this season, though I can acknowledge why some other reviewers here think that this was a detriment to the quality of this final episode. I disagree - in terms of following traditional story structure and having everything grow to a climax in the final episode, Mr. Robot has already subverted this idea and the pacing of the main story seems that it will always pride the quieter moments over dramatic action-filled sequences. How would they even keep the actors in the far corner of the frame all the time if they were running all over the place and not sitting absolutely still? I joke, but the dialogue and character relationship scenes are some of the best aspects of the show and I don't think that is an accident. And I adore the choices in framing. With this said, I thought the scenes of this episode were fantastic and suitable for the finale, and that it especially ended well, finally having the two primary storylines of Elliot's mental illness and the hacker revolution come into conflict with each other instead of running parallel, alternating from one to the other. I won't say more, in the interest of keeping this review spoiler-free for this episode. To answer the important question of whether I was left wanting to continue to Season 3, of course I do. I'm all for more surreal sequences and tense character moments, if they can replicate the efforts gone to elevating the main and new characters beyond simple stereotypes to realistic, layered people, which I'm sure won't be an issue.
I'm grateful that the episode count was raised slightly for this season, though I can acknowledge why some other reviewers here think that this was a detriment to the quality of this final episode. I disagree - in terms of following traditional story structure and having everything grow to a climax in the final episode, Mr. Robot has already subverted this idea and the pacing of the main story seems that it will always pride the quieter moments over dramatic action-filled sequences. How would they even keep the actors in the far corner of the frame all the time if they were running all over the place and not sitting absolutely still? I joke, but the dialogue and character relationship scenes are some of the best aspects of the show and I don't think that is an accident. And I adore the choices in framing. With this said, I thought the scenes of this episode were fantastic and suitable for the finale, and that it especially ended well, finally having the two primary storylines of Elliot's mental illness and the hacker revolution come into conflict with each other instead of running parallel, alternating from one to the other. I won't say more, in the interest of keeping this review spoiler-free for this episode. To answer the important question of whether I was left wanting to continue to Season 3, of course I do. I'm all for more surreal sequences and tense character moments, if they can replicate the efforts gone to elevating the main and new characters beyond simple stereotypes to realistic, layered people, which I'm sure won't be an issue.