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Friday, July 10, 2015

Mr. Robot is probably a figment of Elliot's mind and Tyrell is a combination of everything I liked about Christian Grey and everything I hate about Francis Underwood

Christian Grey is "Mr. Robot" who is probably a figment of Elliot's mind
(pictured behind the monitor in front of Mr. Robot).
I've watched three episodes of Mr. Robot now. Wednesday's episode was called Eps1.2d3bug.mkv, and if you haven't watched any of these, you should probably be warned that the narrator is very unreliable. Elliot's a genius software developer/engineer that regularly uses morphine and other drugs and when filtered through his point of view, his employer simply becomes "Evil Corp" instead of "AllSafe." I get the impression that "Allsafe" is probably some stand-in for "Google" or for "Apple" (the two largest tech companies in the world). As far as I'm able to tell, the hacking and coding seems to be about as close to reality as anything I've ever seen, which doesn't necessarily mean much since I'm no expert. It becomes obvious to me though that USA in this latest series is taking great pains to be as authentic as possible.

Christian Slater is the telltale "Mr. Robot," and I'm pretty sure that just like in "A Beautiful Mind" and in "Fight Club" that this particular character is a figment of Elliot's imagination. His loud comments never get remarked upon, which lend credence to this theory. Mr. Robot has a plan that reminds me a lot of Tyler Durden's. He wants to crash the global financial system by wiping out all debt owed by individuals so that everyone is finally free. It'll be interesting if the series actually follows through with that premise, and it's probably very popular with everyone right now as every country and most citizens seem to be drowning in debt these days.

There's also a villainous bisexual named Tyrell Wellick. He's incredibly handsome (think Jamie Dornan in "Fifty Shades of Grey"), and I'm a little disappointed in this choice. When I see him pick up this guy named Anwar just to slip a bug into his phone, I'm reminded of the "secret homosexual" as a sign of amoral and sexual deviancy from a couple of decades ago. But maybe he just knows how to capitalize on his looks to get what he wants and wields his beauty like a tool. Beyond his sexuality, Tyrell is complex: his wife is pregnant and likes him to tie her up (again like "Fifty Shades of Grey") only it's clear she's in charge. He also pays a homeless guy to allow him to brutally assault him under some train tracks. It's like Tyrell is a complete psychopath in a way, and it oddly seems to fit in what I think of corporate America: that being that only the psychopaths make it all the way to the top to claim the golden chalice of "C.E.O." or otherwise.
This is Tyrell in front of a mirror prepping his speech to advocate for himself
being appointed the new "Chief Technology Officer" of  Evil Corp. So you can see
what I mean about his character being a cross between Jamie Dornan's Christian Grey
and Kevin Spacey's Francis Underwood, below is a still of Christian Grey from the
hit 2015 movie. Tyrell's got about the same moral character as Francis Underwood
from House of Cards. If you've watched it, you know what I mean.
Mr. Robot is a show that I'm probably going to watch on a regular basis. It's characters are just too compelling really for me to let go, and I gotta know if Elliot's imagining everything and what the hell is going on with Tyrell and his wife (who have obviously got one of those "House of Cards" arrangements to support each other ruthlessly). I could imagine the pitch session for the Tyrell character: "He's a combination of Christian Grey and Francis Underwood all rolled into one." How could you go wrong?

Are you watching Mr. Robot? 
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8 comments:

  1. HuntressJuly 10, 2015 at 7:53 AM

    We must watch the same stuff every week, LOL. Love this show. Really different and kinda cerebral. huh? Makes me think, What if, on so much stuff.

    Try Humans if you haven't already. I'm giving Killjoy a try now with Dark Matter also.

    You have an award over at my blog if you care to check it out. *G*
    http://spiritcalled.blogspot.com/2015/07/marcy-humans-and-isaac-asimov.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. PT DillowayJuly 10, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    I don't have USA but maybe if it's on Hulu.

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  3. stephen HayesJuly 10, 2015 at 11:06 AM

    Yes. I've seen two episodes so far and we're really enjoying it. Can't wait to see where it goes.

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  4. Kevin LongJuly 10, 2015 at 1:41 PM

    I love this show and the pilot was one of the best I've seen in years. I was a bit worried it might be trying to work its way back to a typical USA procedural after a slower 2nd episode but the way they moved to Tyrell as a point of view character in the third episode ended all fear. They are taking a ton of chances and I love that they are calling out the hypocracy of real world examples like Tom Brady and Steve Jobs. They aren't afraid to use brand names either which most shows shy from due to advertising. I know it is too early to give this kind of praise but the way they are changing the viewers perception of good and bad with POV reminds me of Game of Thrones.

    I'm convinced that Mr Robot is in Elliot's head at this point too. It's either that or the director is setting up shot after shot to make us think that. The scene in the bar was the final proof for me.

    Just to clarify your first paragraph, Evil Corp is E Corp, a Google/Apple like company. AllSafe is a security company that has E Corp as a client (though it is 80% of their business). ((Didn't you love how the writers let the viewer know we had an unreliable narrator when everyone started calling it Evil Corp?))

    I can't wait to see where this show goes from here but Mr Robot is a good sign that USA is moving from the blander stuff they've done in the past.

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  5. Liz A.July 10, 2015 at 9:07 PM

    I had not thought of Mr Robot being a figment of Elliot's imagination. I love that idea. I'll be watching the show a lot differently from here on out.

    (Are you watching Wayward Pines? Or am I the only one?)

    ReplyDelete
  6. dolorahJuly 10, 2015 at 11:09 PM

    I'd love for him to wipe out all my debt. And why shouldn't a man use his good looks to get his way; just like a woman would. I'll have to pay closer attention to this and see if Elliot really is - real.

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  7. HelenaJuly 10, 2015 at 11:10 PM

    I've been wanting to watch this show but kept missing the pilot, so now I'll watch it on demand. Interesting observation you make about psychopaths and the corporate world. It seems that psychologists believe that 1% of the population are likely sociopaths (if not psychopathic), but on Wall Street it's at least 10%.

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