Mr. Robot: Peeling Back The Layers

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Episode recaps

Courtesy of USA Network

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

The last time we spoke, Elliot uttered a phrase that is extremely risky for any hacker of any skill level, “I’m hacking the FBI”. To see Elliot in his element is no different from anyone else in their element. The subtle nuance of him enjoying the process. What he’s doing I am not smart enough to describe. What I can gather is that it involves creating something that he’s planting in the kernel. As we learning in Ep 3, corrupting the kernel is a virtual death to the computer in question. If that isn’t enough, he now has control of every FBI Android phone within range of that building. Notice, they didn’t say all ‘smartphones’, wink wink.

Angela comes home to find Darlene and is not pleased with her intrusion at all. Darlene goes a sits right next to Angela, invading personal space next to. Darlene lays it all out. The FBI knows something and it all could come back to Elliot and Angela. Darlene needs Angela to sneak a device into work, thus asking Angela to darn near hack the FBI herself with this action.

Mrs. Wellick meets with her parking lot attendant. I’d say he’s gone around the bend if this was almost any other show. He thinks he’s being watched. He carries on about the feeling he has. Head pointed down, Mrs. Wellick’s eyes jet upward (yeah, that’s not scary at all), gently holds the man’s hand and says, “I promise, everything will be alright”. Famous last words. Also, if you haven’t picked up on it yet, there is a massive connection to this parking lot attendant, Mrs. Wellick, Tyrell Wellick, and Elliot. He was the attendant when Elliot woke up in Wellick’s truck three days after the hack. She is protecting, hiding or prepping something that’s for sure.

Darlene meets Elliot at their mother’s home asking about Mom’s whereabouts with, “So, where’s the shedevil?” Elliot can sense something’s wrong. Darlene starts to explain about Angela and Elliot isn’t having it. He wants Angela to have literally zero involvement. Even with Dad clamoring from the dark corner, Angela is a non-starter.

Dom and her assistant arrive in China. Dom stands with others as a group make their way down a stairwell. The last to be revealed is White Rose out of drag. This group, Dom included are there to check the Evil Corp’s backup servers. So for the moment we can surmise that not only is White Rose in cahoots with Phillip Price, but moreover somehow connected to Evil Corp directly. One of the agents attempts to tread lightly about the Dark Army. Dom has no interest in treading lightly and comes right out with it. White Rose, turns slowly like the exorcist and Dom’s confidence quickly vacates.

Mrs. Wellick discovers another cryptic piece of mail. This time no music box. This is a pewter baby rattle. Mrs. Wellick sings softly to her baby when a hand turns on something we’ll just call a noise maker. The man is her driver/bodyguard. He’s been trying to trace the packages but no luck. As predicted the parking lot attendant did not survive to see the second half of this episode. Mrs. Wellick wants details, because she scary and somewhat deranged.  The drivers complies. First he injected the man with a paralytic.  Proceeded to trash the apartment while the mark is still alive. Then looks him in the eyes and puts a few rounds in the man’s chest.  Mrs. Wellick enjoyed that story.

Elliot meets with Ray in the park. Ever since Elliot agreed to help, Ray has had a completely different demeanor. He never really looks up at Elliot, but he will make a meeting between Elliot and RT happen.

Angela arrives at a bar looking for someone. She’s there to meet with Ollie, believe it or not. Ollie uses this opportunity to slide in his resume considering Angela’s new employer. Ollie is being Ollie and Angela seems remarkably uninterested. Then he asks about the cd. With one subtle ‘tell’ Ollie tips Angela off to the primary objective. Ollie looked down at his phone which was face down. Angela snatches it to discover he’s been recording their conversation. The ‘cd’ question was also a dead giveaway that something was off. Ollie busted, reveals that he has spoken to the FBI but never mentioned Angela.

Dom begins to snoop around what we must assume is a property belonging to White Rose.  She stumbles into a clock room. About the size of a respectable walk-in closet, full of clocks. Naturally, the first person to discover her is White Rose. White Rose and Dom share a conversation about the deeper meaning of the clocks and her motivation for joining the Bureau. White Rose plays the part well. And either Dom is playing it well too, or she’s actually getting lured in by White Rose’s charm.

Angela shows up at Elliot’s current. She’s there to look him in the eyes than to agree to help. Angela wants to know why he’s been ducking her. Elliot actually gives an open, honest answer. He wanted to stop seeing his dead father before he saw Angela again, who is consequently standing behind her presently. It’s actually a nice moment between two friends. Before the scene ends, Elliot smiles and asks about Querty. Angela thinks he’s getting too fat.

Elliot gets his meeting with RT. Elliot finds a way to communicate to RT without tipping off Ray’s goon. At first RT is trying not to cooperate on that level then asks in text form, “do you really not know what happens on this site?” Eventually, RT starts to pull up the site when Elliot asks how bad is it? Side Note. Love that the username is “The Dread Pirate Roberts”. RT leaving the admin credentials open for Elliot to look into if he so chooses.

Inner Elliot: Everyone has their own If/Then conditional programming. A situation where IF certain conditions are met, THEN a logic bomb detonates. Everything blows up in your face. Is this Ray’s condition? Or my own?

Elliot hits the enter key and a realization of some sort washes over him. A freeze frame reveals a series of links on the left margin starting with drugs, then books, then apparel. The site is called Midland City Marketplace. The drugs were not enough to illicit Elliot’s reaction. However the images of young women bound at the wrists and ankles as well as blindfolded, were enough. Drugs, weapons, sex trafficking, hitman for hire. Imagine all the bad of Craig’s List on steroids where they only sell evil.

Elliot speaks to himself, to work out the details in his head. But there’s one problem. In his head is where Dad lives. Dad tries to refocus Elliot. Ignore it and move on. Dad is thinking about ‘us’ (those working the hack) while Elliot is thinking about those harmed by the website. Elliot will do something about this, to what extent is the question.

Mrs. Wellick enjoys a glass of wine staring at the music box when the burner phone rings. There is no voice on the line. There are sounds though. Mrs. Wellick pleads for Tyrell to say something. Instead all she can hear are sirens. Then without disconnecting the call, she runs outside to see the same sirens turning left at the light. Tyrell is in the city.

Angela takes a series of short taxi and train rides until she finds herself at Darlene’s base of operations. Apparently, the route was provided by Darlene. Inside is FSociety (minus Elliot and Dad).  Setting up a significant story line perhaps as early as next week,

Dom and her assistant meet other feds in an atrium of sorts. All seems very matter of fact until Dom reaches for a piece of fruit on a snack table. Rapid shots rings out. In an instant you see more than half of the agents get hit. Dom is not one of them.  She ducks behind the snack table. Sher removes a gun from one of the dead.  She gets a shot off, a lower leg shot. That shooter’s reaction is to shoot himself in the head.

Elliot stirs in his sleep waking just enough to discover two large men standing over him. Elliot is removed from his bed. You don’t actually see it as the camera zooms in slowly to the floor, but Elliot is struggling desperately the entire time. Held upright, it appears Ray and his boys are aware of Elliot’s intrusion. Ray exits the nearby car.

 

Elliot: Ray, what are you doing?

Ray:  I told you not to look.

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