The four-season hacker drama, Mr. Robot, originally aired on USA network (2015-220), is now streaming on Netflix. Over the last ten years the show has achieved cult status. Most of the show is told from the POV of a mentally ill protagonist, Elliot. Because Elliot does not have a firm hold on reality, neither do we. We cannot trust anything we see or hear on the screen.
There's a great deal of hacker terminology, and coding, which will no doubt interest many on Hive who have at least some of Elliot's skills. This part of the show went over my head. The story is so strong, though, that my lack of coding expertise didn't matter at all.
I found an official Mr. Robot channel online. This is a platform for the show's creators and actors to discuss the program. In one segment, Sam Esmail, writer, creator and producer of Mr. Robot explains his motivation for making Mr. Robot: "I don't want to give answers to anyone. I think the great thing about the show is if people would talk about the issues we raise....I want to get people talking about technology, capitalism, income inequality, what is freedom...".
I've linked below to a Youtube where this conversation, and other statements by the actors, can be viewed.
One of the difficulties in writing this review was in deciding how to characterize Mr. Robot. Esmail highlights the issues raised in the show. These stood out for me me also as the essential justification for the show's existence. Other commentators describe the show differently. One source describes Mr. Robot as a crime drama. While there is a lot of crime in the series, I never thought of it that way.
Besides addressing societal issues, Mr. Robot is a deep dive into mental illness. Not only is the main character Elliot mentally ill, but other characters are also affected. We have at least two other characters who are delusional. And then there is the malevolent arch enemy, Whiterose, who is monomaniacal in her/his pursuit of a machine that will bring the dead back to life.
Elliot suffers from several mental disorders. The most defining is dissociative identity disorder. Throughout most of the series he has two personalities. Near the end we are introduced to a third. It's possible that Elliot has more yet to be discovered. Here is a YouTube video that shows him discovering he has a third personality:
Elliot's experience of reality is not reliable, but whatever grasp he has, tells him that society is sick. Because of his extraordinary hacking ability, he believes he can 'fix' the ills of society. Throughout most of the show, Elliot's alter ego, the eponymous Mr. Robot, pushes him to bring established society down, so it can be fixed. The tension between these two personalities opens up a dialogue that airs issues referenced in Sam Esmail's interview (above, on the Mr. Robot channel).
Elliot is tormented. He has to find a way to reconcile the opposing personalities that battle for control of his mind. There are periods of time when Elliot disappears, and Mr. Robot takes over. When Elliot reappears he sees the damage done by Mr. Robot and he hurries to undo all that has transpired.
Here is a YouTube clip that shows the two personalities arguing. The character with the hat is Mr. Robot. The younger man is Elliot.
A dark vision is offered by Mr. Robot. A more positive vision is offered by Elliot. Mr. Robot wants to tear it all down, blow it up and start over. Elliot wants to destroy the corrupt elements without tearing everything down.
Nihilism, anarchy, chaos--these are themes present in the show. Some of the scenes reminded me of the movie, Joker. The message? Society is so sick, so corrupt, so pointless that we might as well destroy it all. Let chaos rule and from that begin again.
Here's a scene from Joker, in which a masked mob goes berserk.
And a scene from Mr. Robot, also where a masked mob goes berserk.
The ills of society are described by Elliot in an early episode. He is talking to his therapist, Krista, here:
Because the point of view we are offered is from someone who hasn't got a grip on reality, we, the audience can never be certain about what is happening. Throughout the series the show lies to us. We think we know what's going on, and then we realize that our impression was an illusion, Elliot's illusion.
Deception and duality are at the core of this series. In one of his realities he has a sister, Darlene. In another reality Darlene doesn't exist. The arch enemy in the series, Whiterose is presented to us as an evil entity, leader of a powerful organization. Whiterose is a woman. In other scenes Whiterose is not a woman but a man. He is Minister Zhang, who represents the Chinese government.
In the beginning we believe Elliot is receiving therapy in his therapist's office. We learn later that he is actually in prison, and the therapist is treating him there. Elliot creates the environment, in his head, that he needs to survive. We, the audience, are lost in his delusions.
There is another scene in which we are deceived about place. We think Elliot is in a park, watching a pickup basketball game with his 'friend' Leon. We learn later that Elliot is actually watching prisoners play basketball in the prison yard. Leon is there, but it turns out he represents another duality.
When he is first introduced, he is rambling on in a restaurant about the Seinfeld show. We learn later that not only is he actually in prison with Elliot, but he is not a friend at all. He is an agent, working for Whiterose.
Leon is a complex character who plays a critical role in the show. Here is a clip with Leon, who appears to be having breakfast with Elliot in a restaurant. Leon shares a bit of philosophy:
The central event in Elliot's childhood, we are told early on, is that his father pushed him from a window and caused Elliot to break his arm. The father died shortly afterwards. These two significant traumas in Elliot's life are believed to be the triggers that bring about the appearance of Mr. Robot, Elliot's alter ego. We learn eventually that Mr. Robot is actually Elliot's father, created by Elliot to keep him company and keep him safe, and that Elliot wasn't pushed from the window. He jumped.
By the end of the last episode the different pieces of the puzzle that comprise Elliot's/Mr. Robot's experience slowly fit together. We have a whole picture, we think. However, it's hard to trust that picture.
Although the show is presented from the POV of an unreliable narrator, Esmail makes sure that the 'real' issues come through. He introduces recognizable public figures so we know the issues are anchored in life. Obama appears on a TV screen in the background several times. There are a couple of (not flattering) references to Donald Trump.
In Season 3, Episode 3 Donald Trump appears on a television screen behind Whiterose. Whiterose is in the process of giving instructions to man, a media figure who apparently has been working to advance the Whiterose's agenda in public. The media figure is instructed to start a rumor: the devastating hack on E corp carried out by Elliot and his cohorts originated in Iran, not the U.S. Whiterose also tells the media figure that Donald Trump would be a good choice for president, and this candidacy should be promoted.
"He's a buffoon!" the media figure responds. Whiterose rejoins, "If you pull the right strings, a puppet will do anything you desire."
Here is a clip that has a touch of humor, and a glancing insult to Trump. Whiterose (in her alter persona as Minister Zhang) is commenting on the tacky decor of the room. The camera pans to the coaster on the table as Zhang puts his glass down. The coaster reads, Mar-a-Lago:
Streaming on Netflix now, all four seasons.
The Plot
Essentially, a group of hackers get together and decide to take down a powerful corporation, E Corp, which embodies for them the evils of government and the corporate world. It also happens to be the corporation that was responsible for the death of Elliot's father.
Elliot refers to E Corp as Evil Corp. Tension builds in the hacking plot as Mr. Robot tries to take over and advance his more radical, destructive goals.
Here is a YouTube clip that shows Elliot learning how far the group has gone, and intends to go.
Most of the show deals with consequences of the hack on E Corp. It turns out that Whiterose has an interest in the hackers' success. She wants the chaos that ensues. Here is a quote from Whiterose that explains her motivation:
"Nothing creates profit quite like global conflict."
Whiterose, Season 3, Episode 7, Mr. Robot
There are many, many characters in this show. It almost seems the writer kept adding them as the show went along. Some I think were not so essential to the plot. While Mr. Robot is brilliant, I think perhaps it's a little weighed down with digressions. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Esmail wanted to say something with each of those tangents.
If you're in the mood for a highly intelligent, convoluted hacker show, this one may be perfect for you.