The chess game played between Elliot (Rami Malek) and Ray (Craig Robinson) follows the game between Roesch and Willi Schlage played in Hamburg in 1910. This is not the first time this particular game was recreated on screen. It was previously featured in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) for the game between Frank Poole and the HAL-9000 Super Computer.
Leon (Joey Bada$$) references the sword of Damocles when speaking to Elliot (Rami Malek). The sword of Damocles was a parable about a court follower named Damocles that wanted to experience the power his king felt. The king let him on the throne, but hung a large sword over it with a single strand to scare Damocles. The moral of the story was that with great power came great danger.
Origin of the Title:
- The handshake establishes the mode of communication used between a computer or server and the devices connected to it, creating an automatic connection.
- The extension: .sme files are Smart Encryptor archives. The software is open-source and free, and is designed to encrypt files sent by e-mail.
There are three references to Brian De Palma films in the initial minutes of the episode: the music from Blow Out (1981), the mother with the baby carriage from The Untouchables (1987) and the bucket of blood from Carrie (1976).
Music:
- "Theme from Blow Out (1981) ". Composed by Pino Donaggio. Plays in the opening scenes, when Joanna (Stephanie Corneliussen) receives a gift from Tyrell (Martin Wallström), then the two attend a party where they meet Scott (Brian Stokes Mitchell) and Sharon Knowles (Michele Hicks).
- "Garbageman". Recorded by The Cramps. Plays as Angela (Portia Doubleday) rides in a taxi, looking at the trash piled up in the streets.
- "Play the Game" from the original soundtrack of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Composed by Jack Nitzsche. Plays as his mother's house resolves slowly away and Elliot (Rami Malek) allows us to see where he's really been since the season opened.