"Control is an illusion"

Sam Esmail, stand up and take a bow. Mr. Robot deserves commendation for being one of those shows that actually depicts hacking correctly by eschewing the typical exaggerated tropes found in most Hollywood productions but it mainly deserves it for how thoroughly captivating it is, while simultaneously challenging your mind at every turn.

The show is anchored by a career-defining performance by Rami Malek who plays Elliot Alderson: a vigilante hacker who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. The paranoia and trauma exhibited by Elliot as more and more threads unravel as to the nature of his condition is acted beautifully by Rami but he isn't the only standout; his alter-ego Mr. Robot played by Christian Slater perfectly acts as a foil to Rami's calm and reclusive Elliot by depicting the chaotic tendencies of his personality and the side of him that enacts the change he wants to bring to the world by tearing down these corporations and the global elite that operate in the shadows. Mr. Robot is also bolstered by more incredible performances from BD Wong as the manipulative and multi-faceted Whiterose, the leader of the Dark Army, Carly Chaikin as Elliot's sister Darlene who Carly imbues with a sense of vulnerability and defiance and is key to the central plot as one of the original F Society members, Portia Doubleday as Angela who brings a tragic portrayal of someone caught between her loyalty to Elliot and her desire to propel her career, which leads to her becoming a pawn of Whiterose and so many more, which brings us to the formation of F Society.

F Society aims to bring an end to E Corp which Elliot dubs as Evil Corp because of their role in the Washington Township plant event where Elliot's father and his best friend Angela's mother died due to negligence of the company which led to their exposure to leaking toxic chemicals. F Society becomes the driving force behind the series' central conflict, serving as both a revolutionary movement and a symbol of Elliot's internal struggle. Their anarchist mission to erase global debt resonates deeply in a world plagued by corporate greed from the elites mentioned. What sets Mr. Robot apart is its nuanced portrayal of this rebellion—it’s not glorified nor vilified but shown in all its messy, chaotic complexity. Esmail forces viewers to confront the ethical nature of F Society’s actions, raising questions about the cost of true change.

Mr. Robot is told from an internal monologue perspective reminiscent of Fight Club where Elliot breaks the fourth wall and narrates his actions and emotions for the audience to hear and understand his motivations but it often blurs the lines between reality and what's in his head, making him an unreliable narrator and leads to some brilliant plot twists. The direction and cinematography uses skewed angles and claustrophobic viewpoints to show the fragility of Elliot's condition and highlights his neuroticism in a creative way which is all done by the creator showing a key vision for the show which is evident in how the plot twists near the end unfold and you can see what he had planned all along. This makes rewatches more satisfying as once you know the events, you can see exactly where the foreshadowing began and it wasn't just made up on the fly.

The finale brings Elliot's story full circle and respects the audience's intelligence by not holding our hands and allowing us to form our own interpretations and in my opinion, they stuck the landing by following up on the dramatic stakes that had been building for four seasons. The final season features a reveal that I wouldn't be doing justice by revealing here but it is by far one of the most impactful episodes I've ever watched. This show is not your ordinary hacker show but something far more elaborate - a study of identity and trauma that pulls you in and never lets go.

5/5