just as thrilling as last episode but with many more plot-lines to balance and a heavier focus on character moments. i have to say i prefer last episode’s sheer impressiveness and scale but this episode is an easy second best and holds its own very well. [SPOILERS] having a much heavier character focus, “kill process” does a great job at seamlessly exploring character motivations among the episode’s action. although we don’t exactly get an acknowledgement by elliot himself, the writers really cracked down on one of the more subtle concepts this season: that elliot and mr robot are not as different ideologically as they are made out to be. this “separation” rearing its head once fsociety becomes a more violent organization (marked with the start of stage 2) is not a coincidence. elliot is mentally coping with his fear and guilt of being a violent person by shifting the blame to mr robot, allowing him to “protect him” as he did in 2x6 and most of season 1. considering the origins of mr robot being used as a coping mechanism (see 2x6 review), and how elliot subconsciously has him hide information (stage 2) and take the blame for things (season 1), i don’t think it’s a stretch to say elliot deep down wants the building explosion to happen… considering “deep down” IS LITERALLY mr robot. this episode explored that idea, blurring the lines between whether it was mr robot or elliot preventing him from cancelling the building explosion. like when he’s about to press enter and override the explosion, but stops himself. before he can finish his question, asking himself why he “can’t” do it, mr robot takes control and brings him to a taxi. to me, it’s not that he can’t do it, it’s that he doesn’t want to. he uses mr robot to “sabotage” him and distract from the reality that he is violent, that he does want to commence stage 2. i am very unspoiled regarding this show, so all of this is just my interpretation and it may be incorrect. angela is also explored very well here, as this episode acknowledges the elephant in the room that is her afterlife ideology. the opening scene explains this beautifully, showing young angela being unable to watch her mom admit defeat to her disease and welcome death. her mother’s heartfelt reassurance that there is an afterlife is the only thing that calms her, even getting her to smile. my interpretation is that she internalized this and deep down turned it into a coping mechanism, giving her the ability to mentally disconnect from the world. we can see her doing this for literally the entire show, leaving and screwing over her boyfriend in season 1, becoming a hollow corporate entity in season 2, and now a terrorist in season 3. she views her time here as an irrelevant prelude to the afterlife, and therefore is able to simply feel less. a lifetime on earth holds little value when compared to a “lifetime” in some sort of heaven. like elliot, she distracts herself from her parent’s death, and internalizes such distraction as she grows older, applying it to her daily life. it’s my prediction that whiterose somehow understands this and is using it to manipulate angela. whiterose sees value in her, being a close friend to the leaders of fsociety as well as a person of power in e-corp. how whiterose knows this about angela is unclear, but she certainly knows a lot about her by the way she spoke to her and questioned her in python part 1. i don’t think it’s a ridiculous stretch that, either before or during the conversation, she was able to psychoanalyze her, find her weakness, and capitalize on it. however, if the show does not take the time to eventually fill in these plot-gaps, i am going to take issue with it. whatever whiterose did is the foundation of angela’s arc at the moment, i am definitely going to want more clarity at some point. i understand mr robot takes its time with giving you a full picture, so i will be patient with this. the last thing i wanted to touch on was just how brilliant of an ending the seventy-one building plot-twist is. it solidifies the fsociety operation as being something now completely out of elliot and even fsociety themselves’ hands, having spiraled into something much bigger than is originally was. i’m very excited to see the fallout of this and how elliot is going to react. this is shaping up to be one of my favorite seasons ever, and now that i’ve finished this review i’m unsure if i prefer this to last episode. absolutely loving this show right now. -please don’t ever discuss future episodes in the comments-