Mr. Robot: Season 2/ Episode 7 "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme." – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Spoiler Alert: This post may contain spoilers. Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXY_5EcICCM

Recap

With a few reveals and perhaps a victory, it seems things are about to change on Mr. Robot. It is hard to tell though which direction they may change considering how one reveal could change all we know.

Trigger Warning(s):
Attempted Rape

Major Characters

Elliot | Ray | Angela | Joanna Wellick

Main Plot (with Commentary)

Topic 1: And So It Was Over (Elliot and Joanna Wellick)

Though their stories don’t lead to the two meeting, it seems Elliot’s, or rather Mr. Robot’s decision, did effect both. As we know Joanna has pretty much moved on from Tyrell and is in love with Derrick. To the point where, after an ultimatum, she shows him a summons for a divorce. Yet, what she doesn’t know is that Elliot shot Tyrell a long time ago and killed him.

{Commentary}

I mention Joanna for the sole hope that now her character will be allowed to exit from the show. For this storyline kind of seemed like they weren’t sure what the actor who played Tyrell was going to do, be around for and etc. So, instead, it was just stretched out and she was just holding on being a constant reminder, with those gifts, that he should be out there somewhere. But with the news that Elliot shot him, probably the gifts were from Mr. Robot to cover his tracks right? Right?

Topic 2: A Warning and a Change (Angela)

Dominique doesn’t seem to have anything but a hunch when it comes to Angela, but with all footage gone and seemingly no trace left behind, she maybe let off for now. But do expect Dominique to question her after the 4^th of July holiday. But that will be at Angela’s new desk in Risk Management. A department she cashed in her credit for helping to end one of Mr. Price’s biggest lawsuits, the one dealing with her mom, to be part of.

{Commentary}

One can only imagine that Angela, without knowing it, was always part of F-Society. She mentions to Darlene how, as kids, they would watch that weird horror movie every year and how it only recently fully clicked that is where the mask is from. However, with all she knows now about E-Corp being behind her mother’s death, and now possibly, in their world, the Flint water crisis, her working in Risk-Management makes sense. Especially how she keeps asking for access to files, a bit too much if you ask me. For it is really just making it obvious that once she does, it is but a matter of time before Darlene gets them to spread to the world as part of the death blow to E-Corp. Especially since that bailout was formally rejected.

Topic 3: Fallout (Elliot & Ray)

Ray let’s Elliot end his website and then, too much surprise, while Elliot is having a counseling session, it is revealed that he never went to his mother’s house and that regimen he has been having wasn’t something he volunteered for. All this time Elliot has been in prison.

{Commentary}

Ray ending his tenure on here, fine. Elliot killing Tyrell, should have seen it coming, but fine. However, Elliot actually being in jail since before the season began? It is time to ask questions? The first being, when it comes to all of Elliot’s friends and family, are we learning what is going on through his recollection of what he hears or is told, or can we trust those scenes as independent of this recent reveal? On top of that, while it is acknowledging Leon was a prisoner, what about Ray? Was he just some dude selling black market prison goods? On top of that, what is the exact reason Elliot let himself be in jail? You know if Darlene can hack the FBI she can cause a mistrial, so why is Elliot in jail? He seemingly is getting out soon, and likely has only been in there for months, so you know it isn’t for murdering Tyrell, so what is the charge?

Collected Quote(s)

Control can sometimes be an illusion, but sometimes you need illusion to gain control. Fantasy is an easy way to give meaning to the world, to cloak our harsh reality with escapist comfort. After all, isn’t that why we surround ourselves with so many screens? So we can avoid seeing? So we can avoid each other? So we can avoid truth?

—           “eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme.” Mr. Robot

Highlights

Ray and Tyrell, potentially, are done on the show. Maybe Joanna to boot. Yay!

Angela is playing a long game with taking down E-Corp, and it is beginning to make sense why she is working with the company which she knows killed her mom. She wants to take the beast down from within and between Mr. Price setting up his own employees, to all she can learn in Risk Management, the seeds are being planted for E-Corp’s destruction.

Low Points

With Dominique being one of the few who sees through Angela’s mask, it sort of sucked she didn’t go after her this episode.

On The Fence

I don’t know how this Elliot reveal is going to go, but I must admit I’m neither intrigued nor pissed. If anything, my feelings on this are too mixed to really place an adjective on and until it is revealed where Elliot’s story is going from here, it is hard to have a concrete emotion.