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Mr. Robot (spoilers).... 'cause I suck at this stuff


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1 hour ago, Relic said:

Oh,  guess I misunderstood which seven you guys were talking about.  The scene I was referring to was the episode before this last one,  when Price reveals it's his bday and asks Angela if she would like to celebrate with him, privately. 

I, for one, didn't buy it even when he said that it was his birthday, but he kept it a secret from everyone.

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An episode without Elliott was a welcome break for me. As much as I loved the reveal last week, last night's more straight forward episode was refreshing.

Regarding Price and Angela, I'm not seeing so much of a sexual interest in Angela, rather, he sees her as a new toy. Price must get bored having everything and being surrounded by "yes men". Angela intrigues him and he loves the game they're playing.

 

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This was my favourite episode of the season. I also enjoyed the straightforward way the story was told. Of course at the end I asked myself if Darlene was really able to read Mandarin or Cantonese (I'm guessing that's the language on the screen).[Have we had any indication of this in past episodes?] So I also started questioning whether that guy even existed, or if some of the stuff happened. I don't trust Elliot. Can I trust Darlene?

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5 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

This was my favourite episode of the season. I also enjoyed the straightforward way the story was told. Of course at the end I asked myself if Darlene was really able to read Mandarin or Cantonese (I'm guessing that's the language on the screen).[Have we had any indication of this in past episodes?] So I also started questioning whether that guy even existed, or if some of the stuff happened. I don't trust Elliot. Can I trust Darlene?

Maybe there is some sort of program that can translate whichever version of Chinese into English.

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1 hour ago, Kyoshi said:

This was my favourite episode of the season. I also enjoyed the straightforward way the story was told. Of course at the end I asked myself if Darlene was really able to read Mandarin or Cantonese (I'm guessing that's the language on the screen).[Have we had any indication of this in past episodes?] So I also started questioning whether that guy even existed, or if some of the stuff happened. I don't trust Elliot. Can I trust Darlene?

Could she? Or was that just a service to the viewers? I thought she just put two and two together seeing herself being watched and the language. The bat to the face was great, though. I couldn't stand that weasel boyfriend of hers. Almost as bad as Angela's from season 1.

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1 hour ago, Kyoshi said:

This was my favourite episode of the season. I also enjoyed the straightforward way the story was told. Of course at the end I asked myself if Darlene was really able to read Mandarin or Cantonese (I'm guessing that's the language on the screen).[Have we had any indication of this in past episodes?] So I also started questioning whether that guy even existed, or if some of the stuff happened. I don't trust Elliot. Can I trust Darlene?

Wow, I just tried to remember if Darlene's sort of boyfriend is real, and if he interacted with anyone by himself. And sure there are moments when he did, but it could have been Darlene. But I can think of one when it was that guy, and could not have been Darlene - when he gives the CD to Angela's boyfriend, Angela was there, too, no? She would have recognized Darlene.

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4 hours ago, Astromech said:

An episode without Elliott was a welcome break for me. As much as I loved the reveal last week, last night's more straight forward episode was refreshing.

 

I was coming in to say the opposite.  I've found Elliott's to be more straight forward, which is sort of why I've found his scenes boring this season.  We're probably using straightforward to mean different things, though.  For me, it's more that I can tell when things with Elliott aren't what they seem.  For example, we knew from probably the first lines of the pilot that Elliott had delusions and that Mr. Robot was almost certainly not real. Further, his motives are often very straight forward.  Darlene's motives might also be similarly straight forward, if for different reasons.  Elliott wants to save the world, Darlene wants revenge.

These Angela heavy episodes are different.  I find it very difficult to read her or what's going on with her.  She's a completely different person than she was in season one.  These long vacant stares can get tiresome.  One minute I think she's just playing the dumb blonde role that many have forced upon her, the next minute I think maybe she experiences mental issues in the same vein as Elliott and these long vacant pauses are her talking to her imaginary friend.  Maybe she's just a mix of Darlene and Elliott - out for revenge and also wants to save the world and this is the persona she needs for it.  

I probably need a refresher on all of the things Angela has done in service to fsociety.  I recall the CD thing she did at allsafe, and now she's done the whatever that box thing was that hacked into the FBI.  Has there been anything else?  

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Yes, it's a difference of interpretation. When in Elliott's head nothing is as it seems and I am second-guessing everything, thus not straightforward to me. I find his "reality" tiring at times. It was nice not to be in his head this week.

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Damn, this episode was so good I can't even be mad for them leaving me hanging with all these questions after S2E7. Angela continues to be a fucking mystery to me. Is she really this corporate ladder climbing capitalist or is it a lie she tells herself to help make sense of the world and her place in it?

Darlene though...double damn. Zap! Whack! I've got a feeling in fat guy isn't dead already then he will be after Darlene gets through with him.

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Quote

 

Darlene though...double damn. Zap! Whack! I've got a feeling in fat guy isn't dead already then he will be after Darlene gets through with him.


 

Oh man, I hope DJ Morley is okay. I don't think he's dead quite yet, for similar reasons to Tyrell not being dead. It wasn't depicted. It seems likely someone grabbed him though. 

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UGH! Really struggling to get through this season. On Episode 4 so far, but its like wading through glue. Its taken all the most self indulgent aspects of S1 and multiplied them. There are only so many montages overlaid by Terrence Mallick style voice overs that I can stand. It worked ok in season one because the plot seemed to move at a reasonable pace and hinted it was going somewhere. So far I'm watching it all with the good faith that something might happen to make it worth the drudgery.

Its shame that the very worst element of the series ( Elliots duality and his father) is the one thing they are really focussing on. I tried to forgive it last season, but I have my limits!

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On 25/08/2016 at 10:20 PM, Corvinus said:

Wow, I just tried to remember if Darlene's sort of boyfriend is real, and if he interacted with anyone by himself. And sure there are moments when he did, but it could have been Darlene. But I can think of one when it was that guy, and could not have been Darlene - when he gives the CD to Angela's boyfriend, Angela was there, too, no? She would have recognized Darlene.

That's an interesting idea . I can't recall if Angela was there when the CD exchange happened though. Wouldn't Darlene have a sore finger if she was the boyfriend as well though?

I certainly question whether anything she saw on his laptop was real though.

1 hour ago, Relic said:

I think Darlene is my favorite character on this show. 

Yours?

This episode definitely elevated her substantially. It's possibly one of the shows flaws in that I don't particularly like any of them. Elliot was likeable back when he had his hacker "dexter" phase in season 1 but now it's hard to invest in him given I have no idea what to trust in his world.

Gideon was likeable.

In terms of being interesting to watch I certainly miss Tyrell. I guess the FBI agent is pretty likeable and she seems to have her head screwed on as well.

19 hours ago, PetyrPunkinhead said:

Damn, this episode was so good I can't even be mad for them leaving me hanging with all these questions after S2E7. Angela continues to be a fucking mystery to me. Is she really this corporate ladder climbing capitalist or is it a lie she tells herself to help make sense of the world and her place in it?

 

And then there's Angela. I agree she's really hard to pin and she does feel very different this season. She could be the breakout character depending on where they go with her and how they handle it. I do wonder if she's been in more shitty relationships than season 1 suggested? A lot of people seem to trear her like crap and I think Elliot initially introduced her as a friend who had a string of shitty relationships. I'm trying to work out what the deal was with her dad - I think he's just geniunely upset at her behaviour as he appeared super-supportive in season 1.

Maybe she's missing having Elliot? Price at least appears to take her seriously, much like the rich guy last season eventually did.

I'm not sure how I'd like her story to go - does she take them down from within/fix it from within (which seems the case with her moving into the risk strategy department) or do they go full Darth Vader with her. The latter seems more interesting at first glance.

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On 8/25/2016 at 11:04 PM, Martell Spy said:

Oh man, I hope DJ Morley is okay. I don't think he's dead quite yet, for similar reasons to Tyrell not being dead. It wasn't depicted. It seems likely someone grabbed him though. 

That whole DJ Mobley scene with Dom from the FBI was great. I love how his ego is what got him caught, not NSA phone taps or any of the other shit he was so paranoid about. Yeah, it's likely Dark Army that scooped him up. But I don't think Darlene would be too happy with him either if she caught up to him. And we now know, you wouldn't like Darlene when she's angry.

 

12 hours ago, red snow said:

. . .And then there's Angela. I agree she's really hard to pin and she does feel very different this season. She could be the breakout character depending on where they go with her and how they handle it. I do wonder if she's been in more shitty relationships than season 1 suggested? A lot of people seem to trear her like crap and I think Elliot initially introduced her as a friend who had a string of shitty relationships. I'm trying to work out what the deal was with her dad - I think he's just geniunely upset at her behaviour as he appeared super-supportive in season 1.

Maybe she's missing having Elliot? Price at least appears to take her seriously, much like the rich guy last season eventually did.

I'm not sure how I'd like her story to go - does she take them down from within/fix it from within (which seems the case with her moving into the risk strategy department) or do they go full Darth Vader with her. The latter seems more interesting at first glance.

I'm gonna go deeper with Angela right now than maybe you (or anyone else) might care to, so forgive me. I think Angela might be the most realistic character in this series. Part of why I'm so disgusted with her actions is that I like her so much. It's hard to see someone you like not treat herself well. Angela is looking for her place in the world and feeling undervalued. This makes her highly relatable to most people in the modern work force. She was cheated on by her boyfriend--no, fiancee, right?--and made to feel humiliated at her job in S1. She is a soul adrift. Then S2 rolls around and she's feeling defeated. A sad modern cliche, an educated, unemployed professional, living back at home. She throws herself into the case against E Corp to try and find her course, but the lawyer doesn't seem to value her input. Adrift again.

Then the most powerful company in the world wants to hire her. She knows she's being used on some level, but on the other hand that's exactly what she wants--to be of use. To have value. And when the most powerful organization on the planet begins to value you, it's intoxicating. At least it certainly is to her. Angela tells herself she can help take down the beast only from within its cave. But the beast, this evil entity, this E Corp, is the only thing in her life that currently gives her a sense of worth.

This is the conflict Angela is having; the struggle she is having with herself that was played out so beautifully in S2E8. She sings about wanting to rule the world because that's what society teaches her, and us, what she should want. But have you ever heard a more miserable person in your life than Angela when she sings that song? Her dickhead plumber neighbor berates her in public and she feels shame and guilt and like the worthless whore he thinks she is. But then she realizes (possibly due to all those motivational vids and audio tracks she's been ingesting) she is, 27, making a six figure salary, trying to take down the beast from within. She realizes, who the fuck is this asshole to judge me. So she goes to sing about ruling the world. But then she realizes this isn't what she really wants--to be this person who wants to rule the world. And so she sinks back into that feeling of worthlessness. Until an older man, someone of success and stature (at least that what he likely represents to her at that moment) shows an interest in her. This boosts her ego, just like Price's attraction to her did. She is being desired by someone she sees as powerful and that transfers to her own sense of empowerment. Now she is the one picking up him. Her batteries are charged and she's found purpose, even if only for the night.

And I think that's what ultimately made me feel disgusted by her at the end there--Angela doesn't know her own worth. She has to have someone give her that power. Her own sense of value is totally in the hands of others. In this case, fucking Duck from Mad Men. And I think th average viewer can relate to not being in control of how you feel about yourself. Hell, anyone who's ever been dumped knows that feeling, even if only at brief stretches. And maybe that is Angela, someone in this perpetual state of "feeling dumped." 

tl;dr = Angela is a lot more interesting and complex than most people give her credit for and her struggle is an embodiment of the modern American dilemma: will I be a good person or a successful person? 

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3 hours ago, PetyrPunkinhead said:

She sings about wanting to rule the world because that's what society teaches her, and us, what she should want. But have you ever heard a more miserable person in your life than Angela when she sings that song?

And I think that's what ultimately made me feel disgusted by her at the end there--Angela doesn't know her own worth.

tl;dr = Angela is a lot more interesting and complex than most people give her credit for and her struggle is an embodiment of the modern American dilemma: will I be a good person or a successful person? 

100% agree about Angela, especially the above snippets.  I feel she is the most relatable character on the show right now, and in a way, she is taking over Tyrell's role from last season.  But with Angela I don't think the choice is as much between being a good person or a successful person, as it is between being a happy and fulfilled person or a successful person.  Angela is forcing herself to want the things that others or society tell her she is supposed to want, even going to such sad lengths as listening to motivation lectures.  Of course Angela, like many people, has her career and life choices further complicated by financial hardships - her father's debt and her student loan debt.    

I agree that she was miserable when she sang, but I think she looked and sounded equally miserable during the confrontation with her plumber neighbor and later on with Duck from Mad Men.    

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37 minutes ago, Stannistician said:

100% agree about Angela, especially the above snippets.  I feel she is the most relatable character on the show right now, and in a way, she is taking over Tyrell's role from last season.  But with Angela I don't think the choice is as much between being a good person or a successful person, as it is between being a happy and fulfilled person or a successful person.  Angela is forcing herself to want the things that others or society tell her she is supposed to want, even going to such sad lengths as listening to motivation lectures.  Of course Angela, like many people, has her career and life choices further complicated by financial hardships - her father's debt and her student loan debt.    

I agree that she was miserable when she sang, but I think she looked and sounded equally miserable during the confrontation with her plumber neighbor and later on with Duck from Mad Men.    

 I'm glad at least one person read that whole thing. Thanks. As for the bolded section above, I don't think being a "good" person and a "happy" person are mutually exclusive. I think this holds especially true for Angela who is in a real moral sand trap at the moment. Being unhappy is directly tied to her morality. If it wasn't, then I think she'd be much less miserable at the moment. And I agree, she was miserable in the confrontation with her old neighbor until she kind of had that moment where she stood up to him. That whole speech she gave him was an empowering moment for her because she realized by society's standards she was winning with a capital dubya. However, then I think she started to question how much of that FU to the plumber she really believed herself. Hence the sad song and long face at the bar with Duck. She's mostly miserable period except for these brief moments of empowerment and utility she experiences.

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