even if this isn't as thrilling as the last two for the most part, it's still a very good episode. elliot is more absent and instead the focus is shifted onto some side characters, primarily tyrell, which i have no complaints about since he's been excellent so far. this episode slows the pace down after the last two nail biters which is an effective way to make the tense moments even better since they aren't constant and actually mean something. SPOILERS the start of the episode is such a heartbreaking way to remind the viewer of shayla's death through a flashback of when she first met elliot. their interactions are strange and awkward, just like many of their ones, but there's still an undeniable connection and understanding between the two. they both seem to be alone and they go about different ways trying to solve it. elliot is fine with being alone most of the time but we know that sometimes it overwhelms him from the pilot. shayla tries much more direct approaches to combat her loneliness so this clash of methods is what causes an interesting dynamic between the two. then of course there's the now chilling mention of the suboxone that triggered the domino effect that led to her death. it's because of this flashback that it makes sense for elliot to barely show up in this episode. we are his companion, and in the last month since shayla's death he hasn't told us anything and even now he reveals much less. he doesn't want to grow attached like he did to shayla and feel the same pain again. we see how gideon tries to help him handle his grief but elliot shuts him down, he doesn't want generic advice because this isn't a generic situation. after this elliot doesn't really show up until the end when he admits to krista that he's hacker her and many more people and he knows they're secrets. each reveal has krista in more and more shock to the point where she's absolutely speechless and it's just reaction shots of her face while elliot talks about then both being alone. shayla's death made him go from hiding everything to being way tolerable honest with krista to the point where she's totally terrified of him in that moment. his chilling confession ties up the entire episodes resonating loneliness theme into a great ending for the episode, as well as a huge moment for his relationship with krista which is completely changed after this confession. she doesn't say a single word throughout yet the camera sits on her face for the most part, occasionally going to elliot's deadpan expression as he continues to confess. although he's only in a few scenes, elliot still manages to control most of the episode with his presence. angela chooses justice over peoples jobs in this episode with her decision to confess to breaking chain of custody, which is a major moment for her character. it propels her character from slightly basic to very complex in just the short span of a few episodes with this toxic waste case. elliot almost seems completely unaffected by that compared to what else he's gone through, but for angela that reveal was a huge curveball in how she views the case and also the world as a whole. there's no huge drama going on right now regarding it and this is seen through just how small the team of lawyers fighting against e corp is. angela tried to fight, but now she's trying her own methods no matter what it means and it's making her character much better, especially the scene where gideon tells her everyone at all safe will lose their jobs. it's not disregard, it's more a last ditch effort to get some justice for her mother and for everybody else who suffered, no matter the cost. now onto tyrell, who is the big part of this episode. near the start we see him with a few top execs in his office who are talking about different secretaries and how fucking their way to the top got them jobs, and also how now more and more secretaries are taking the gay route to the top with an increased amount of homosexual higher ups. this is way too similar to tyrell's situation on how he found out who the next cto would be, except that for him it's even worse from his point of view because he was the one who initiated sex with a secretary which lowers his status considering his hate for lower classes. he doesn't like feeling called out and belittled, even if it isn't directed at him, so he snaps and fires all three of them. not only does it show some of his weaknesses, it also foreshadows his impulsiveness later on in the episode with sharon on the roof. after what the execs said, he doesn't want to prostitute himself again, but joanna tells him it's what needs to be done so he manages to take sharon up to the roof where they start kissing but tyrell quickly begins to choke her to death. like many scenes in the show, it overstays its welcome and is very disturbing which makes it all the more tense. this is much more realistic than other short choking scenes in movies and shows, with this one lasting over a minute i think and having multiple devastating shots of sharon kicking her feet around before ultimately dying. there's a haunting image of sharon sprawled out on a conveniently less rocky section of the roof, almost like an outline for her to die in. as i said before, tyrell is reckless and impulsive. he doesn't seem to have joanna's level headedness which is why he breaks down in tears, but at least he has the intelligence to wipe away his DNA despite having a full on panic attack. again, the scene of tyrell crying is long and unflinching like so many other scenes in the show -- one of its strong points. this is another holy shit moment from the show that caught me so off guard precisely due to tyrell's impulsiveness. unlike vera, i thought tyrell was more predictable in this kind of situation but i was very, very wrong and i'm happy i was because this is an excellent direction to take his character. SPOILERS FOR ALL OF SEASON 1 ---------------------------------- having finished the season, the scene with mr robot pulling a gun on romero is so much more meaningful now. what was originally proof of mr robots craziness is now another instance of elliots DID and how he completely sinks into his other personality. this is one of the more chilling parts to revisit after the reveal that elliot is mr robot since it's a side that not only does elliot not remember but it's also a violent and impulsive side, more similar to tyrell or vera than to elliot himself in this way, which is very distressing for him and how his story will play out for the rest of the show. i'm currently on 2x4 so i don't know much more but if something else blows my mind later on regarding this episode i'll edit it. ---------------------------------- high 4/5, could be a low 4.5 if i think about it a bit more.