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Monday, August 3, 2015

Is Mr. Robot noir and if so is it a reinvention of Breaking Bad?

 
I just figured it out: Mr. Robot is just Breaking Bad, only it's Breaking Bad for techno geeks. Elliott is the stand-in for Walter White and his slow descent into the criminal world is basically the same as Walter White's. I mean, Walter White started out slow by cooking meth for small time drug dealers and then outwitted/killed them. Elliott is essentially doing the same thing: forced to outwit the clueless drug leaders by outplaying them. What really clued me in was last week's episode where he had a gun held to his head, and he began to rattle off all the reasons that the guy holding the gun to his head couldn't shoot him. It sounded eerily familiar to something Walter White might say to Tuco or to Gus.

As a caveat, Mr. Robot is not a ripoff of Breaking Bad by any means, but it certainly seems to be a clever reinvention, however intended as far as the writers are concerned. Which makes me ask the next question: is Mr. Robot noir then? From what I understand, noir is where the main character is basically an anti-hero and we are dragged along on a ride that ends in his ultimate destruction. If this is the case, then Elliott is doomed and the seasons of this show will show us his descent piece by piece (and of course his path will be littered with the bodies of everyone that knows him). We already started this in a way with Shayla's brutal death at the hands of Vera's henchmen.

So what do you guys think? Is Mr. Robot noir and if so is it a reinvention of Breaking Bad? Let's hope so, because Breaking Bad was probably the best television series I've ever seen.
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10 comments:

  1. Alex J. CavanaughAugust 3, 2015 at 3:54 AM

    I've heard good things about the show but haven't watched it yet. If it's similar to Breaking Bad, I will definitely track it down.

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  2. PT DillowayAugust 3, 2015 at 7:47 AM

    I have no idea. Like Breaking Bad I'll have to wait till it's on Netflix.

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  3. Kevin LongAugust 3, 2015 at 8:10 AM

    I absolutely love Mr Robot. There is so much subtext that I've been watching every episode twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I'm not sure if it should be compared to Breaking Bad at this point but it's the best thing I've seen in a while.

    The fact they killed Shayla showed the showrunners aren't afraid to kill the people that get close to Elliot and it definitely took the series to another level (I was really starting to like her too). I can't wait to see what happens when Elliot figures out what is going on with Angela. Her character seems to be the one that is 'breaking bad' and I wonder if when Elliot sees it whether he will pull back before another person he cares for gets hurt.

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  4. M.J. FifieldAugust 3, 2015 at 8:29 AM

    I've only seen the first episode.(Please tell me the dog's all right!) I was undecided about whether to watch anymore. I've never seen Breaking Bad. I've heard from multiple people, though, that I need to remedy that ASAP.

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  5. CindyAugust 3, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    I'm sure you're right because OF COURSE someone is going to want a piece of that Breaking Bad success.

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  6. Liz A.August 3, 2015 at 3:33 PM

    Yes, I think it's noir. Definitely. I never got into Breaking Bad.

    I do love some of the music choices, though. They hit Neil Diamond and Beethoven's 7th really close together. I had a laugh at that.

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  7. stephen HayesAugust 3, 2015 at 3:50 PM

    There are similarities, although Walter White wanted to fit in with society but , as a chemistry teacher, just didn't get decent pay or any respect. I this the fellow in Mr. Robot isn't interested in finding his niche in society.

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  8. HelenaAugust 3, 2015 at 11:43 PM

    Aack! I read your first two sentences and had to stop. I'm only up to the third episode of Mr. Robot so this woulda been a spoiler for me. Sigh. On top of everything else, I'm behind on my television watching! But as soon as I catch up I want to read your analysis. You always have such keen insight on plot and characters.

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  9. Misha GerrickAugust 4, 2015 at 3:33 AM

    I still need to watch it, but from what I've seen, it does have a noire kind of feeling.

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  10. HuntressAugust 4, 2015 at 9:38 AM

    I DVR ed the last three episodes so I'm tippy-toeing around your post. I'll see them soon. Time, time...what a bugger it is.

    Super good show. I didn't watch much of Breaking Bad. I could tell it was good but I didn't take the time to watch. I must whip myself into shape and download a few more episodes.

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