“𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖋 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖇𝖊𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊, 𝖇𝖞 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖕 𝖓𝖔 𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖞 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖊 𝖌𝖊𝖙 𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖜𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖓’𝖙 𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖌… 𝕭𝖞 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖞𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖗𝖚𝖊 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖊’𝖗𝖊 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖘𝖊, 𝖇𝖞 𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖊’𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖜𝖊’𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖔𝖔 𝖉𝖎𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖙? 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝖎𝖋 𝖜𝖊 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖉 𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙, 𝖎𝖋 𝖜𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖋𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖚𝖉𝖌𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖎𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊, 𝖎𝖋 𝖜𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖌𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖊𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍, 𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖒𝖆𝖞𝖇𝖊… 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖓’𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖕 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖚𝖘.”

Wow… This is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking and gorgeous episodes in all of television and I'm kicking myself for not rewatching this episode sooner. History often repeats itself, and pretty often now I'm finding myself rewatching episodes that I previously had an aversion to and am discovering a newfound love for them, and this episode is no different. 50 minutes of some of the most beautiful writing I've yet to see, I feel almost ashamed about how I've thought of and spoken about the episode, knowing I was completely wrong in almost everything I've said. I’ve waited around a day now to sit with the episode, and I feel ready to say that it has become one of my favourite episodes of all time.

The follow through from the previous two episodes was nothing short of perfect and the entire final arc feels like one continuous stream, becoming more and more bizarre as Elliott continues through the prison. The tension and pacing of the episode is what really sells the first 20 minutes and makes for some of the most captivating scenes in television, let alone the show, and feels like an entire episodes worth of content has happened in the first third of the episode. The plot twist is hands down one of the best ever, not just being introduced in this episode, but throughout the entire show and makes every line before this feel incredibly purposeful and impossibly put together. The scene of Dom looking at Elliot’s ID really is what sets the episode of, and becomes incredibly important as the episode continues, with her remarking on how different Elliot is, showing just how far he’s strayed from his true self, and as she puts it, is nothing like him (the real Elliot).

Following the confrontation with Dom is the beach scene and it is so well executed, especially through the amazing direction of the episode, but also the stellar performance that Rami Malek gives. Finally learning from his own repressed consciousness in the form of Mr Robot, proving he knew about this all along, he discovers that he is not in White rose’s perfect world but is instead trapped in a pseudo prison, where he now has to face the truth that he’s been pushing away for the entire series. That he is not the real Elliot Alderson. Chasing after Angela, fuelled both his confusion and grief we get a scene that is almost like a flashback of Elliot and Angela talking in the FSociety headquarters, where she reveals his true self to him as the mastermind, before the world begins to distort. We see Elliot’s world glitching and almost malfunctioning, bringing out some of his worst memories as he is reminded of his father in an ocean of noise, nearly overwhelming him, before being shot by Tyrell the same way he was in season 2. The world falls silent and turns to night, distorting again. 

Now in an inescapable version of Krista’s office, Elliot is forced to confront the truth head on whether he wants to or not, and in amazing compilation of scenes and lines from throughout the entire series, the truth behind who exactly he is and role he plays all comes together in such a satisfying way, the truth being that he is not in fact the real Elliot but only a part of him, the way Mr robot is. It’s revealed that he is just an off shoot of Elliot, a fantasy about being a vigilante hacker, created to seek out and destroy all the evils around him, creating the prison world to keep him occupied until he could create a safe reality for him to live in, proving his own love for himself. I just love how the entire scene plays out and the main concept of there being multiple subsections of him is really interesting and adds a great deal to how he is recognized. Elliot rejects this idea at first, believing that he doesn’t have to give up control, emphasising his inability to let go, and it’s only later when he wakes up and talks with Darlene that he finally accepts his fate and realises what he has to do for his own good.

In one of the most powerful dialogues ever put to screen, we get the final sequence of the show, with Elliot remarking on how much he has done and how much he has changed, finally accepting that he is just part of a bigger picture. Continuing down a corridor we get the most emotional scene in the show of Elliot sitting down with his family, all the pieces that make up the true Elliot, and embracing his fate. As m83’s ‘outro’ reaches its climax, we get a shot of a warped tunnel, containing all the memories Elliot has made over the show, thereby passing them along to real Elliot, and allowing the viewer to reflect on the journey, and how much the series has developed. Finally, Elliot wakes up in the real world, greeted by his sister with just the words “Hello Elliot”. The shot cuts to black, and the series ends. 

The punch from the end of the episode is only accentuated by the fact that we never do see the true Elliot and I really think that this is the best possible way that the series could have ended.

I believe that this episode is a masterpiece in every sense. From its production to every minor detail along the way, this is easily one of, if not the best character conclusions in fiction but also one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences I have ever had with episode. In one of the most unique ways conceivable, the show is able bring the entire story to a close from a position that seemed impossible from the end of the penultimate episode, while still keeping itself consistent with the rest of the show and that alone is worthy praise,  but everything else that goes on in this episode is nothing short of perfect and I don’t think I could it justice if I wrote 10,000 words.

Absolutely perfect.

#1 Character Conclusion
#3 Ending
#2 Highest Peak
#3 Tv episode of all time

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