5 ms·

The first two episodes were definitely on the 'trippy' side of things. I wish they'd ditch the whole split-personality plot, but seems like we're stuck with it

The first two episodes were definitely on the 'trippy' side of things. I wish they'd ditch the whole split-personality plot, but seems like we're stuck with it. It's not a disaster, just sort of tiresome. Seems cheap when compared to the rest of the show's plotting, and I was hoping there'd be less focus on it this season now the 'reveal' is done with. I think it's mainly that they want to keep Christian Slater on screen. The trippy 'Lynchian' stuff really doesn't work for me here either, it seems out of place/poorly handled. Judging by the critics/friends though, I think I'm in the minority there. I think the show is generally a victim of its writer's grandiose ambitions; it wants to appear epic and sophisticated but it ends up oversimplifying. Hacking is still great, though.

scosman 10y ago
Agreed, they need a way to keep Christian Slater on screen. My guess, they'll realize the split-personality is tiresome, and bring the the real person back from the dead somehow.
- __jal 10y ago
  I think they should have Slater start a pirate radio station.
  - celticninja 10y ago
    And turn the volume right up, pump it up if you will.
    - user_0001 10y ago
      I couldn't think of anything better <thumbsup>
    - mrchrisp 10y ago
      and rise up in the cafeteria and stab them with your plastic forks
kmnc 10y ago
I feel like the split-personality plotline kind of undermines the rest of the show. This show gained early praise for its more realistic portrayal of both mental illness and technology but I feel like as soon as you go down the path of "oh he actually hallucinates people, loses track of time, etc" all the realistic parts get thrown out of the window. This plot seems to have taken over the corporate espionage/corporate morality vs new age civil disobedience which is what made me like the show in the first place. That being said, the style and direction of this show still puts it above most.
- rudolf0 10y ago
  I might be weird, because I'm the opposite. I find the whole "fight the man" anonymous posturing stuff kind of juvenile and even cringe-worthy at times (though I kind of liked the nod to tinfoil hatters with the "crisis actor" murder; I'm hoping this is part of further self-aware plot development where E Corp is revealed to not be quite as bad as originally portrayed). The hacking side is cool, but the politics feel extremely shallow. Yet I find the psychological issues and split personality exploration really fascianting. Is it realistic? No, not at all. But I like how the actor portrays Elliot's anguish.
  - bduerst 10y ago
    I thought it's cringey because it's satire on Anonymous? Even the main character (that narrates) seems to think that the hacks and anti-corporate rhetoric are kind of pointless and juvenile.
    - platz 10y ago
      Mr. Robot is like trainspotting updated for the latest generation.
  - cmurf 10y ago
    I agree. And what is a realistic way to convey hallucinations to others who have never experienced them? How do you convey scent in a photograph?
- 10y ago
armitron 10y ago
The brilliance of the show is that it portrays dissociative disorders in an extremely realistic fashion. If you didn't identify with that, then you're obviously not part of the subculture that the show portrays and is really made for. Mr Robot is not about the drugs or computer hacking, it's far more grandiose than that. Similarly to Fight Club, it can be viewed as a social study of a subculture that's operating on the frontier of consensus reality and could characterize where that reality will shift in the future. Have you had to juggle multiple identities in your head, every day for years if not decades? Have you thought what this does to you? Have you had to keep secrets from everyone around you? Have you "felt" what cyberspace really is about? Have you experienced the VICIOUS feedback loop of projecting a thoughtform/idea (what the audience views as "hacking") into that new domain only to have it manifest and achieve its own reality, as if by magic? The technical aspects of the show are by far the least interesting.
- bananaoomarang 10y ago
  I would agree that the technical aspects of the show aren't very interesting, but the way that they are dealt with is remarkable and refreshing for a TV show. Usually these plot lines are jarring to me, but in Mr. Robot they aren't, because they're well researched to be in line with the verisimilitude the rest of the show seems to strive for. It's an aspect of the show (along with it's characters and more on-the-nose satire) that I enjoy. Usual disclaimer that this is my opinion, not trying to come off as snobbish though it might sound that way, but personally, like in Fight Club, I find the show's 'grandiose' attempts to be more than little simplistic. It doesn't effectively/subtly explore anxiety, isolation, schizophrenia, depression etc as well as I think it thinks it does. Honestly most of that narrative feels cheap and repetitive to me. Taken as a satire ('Evil Corp', FSociety/Anonymous etc), the show works for me, but when it spends time plumbing Eliot's mental illness, it becomes dull to me. Some of it I appreciate, and in smaller doses it might work, but for me it's overblown and only elevated by the show's sense of style, not because it's telling the viewer anything of particular interest, or actually advancing any of the plotlines/character developments. I think the show is worse for it. Having said all that I enjoy the show a lot. I'm just not willing to heap praise upon it since I have these reservations.
- 10y ago
eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago
Ok, it's not just me. I also find the split personality thing is a huge distraction and they spend a lot of time on it while glossing over everything else that is going on.
bborud 10y ago
If I stop watching the show it will be because I can't stand Christian Slater.
- breatheoften 10y ago
  Strongly Disagree. Not only is he great to watch, I think his entire career combines to enhance his fit for the character he is playing. To me it's as though all his previous roles were sort of past lives, partially remembered in the mind of this darkly motivated hacker-Loki persona.

scosman 10y ago

Agreed, they need a way to keep Christian Slater on screen. My guess, they'll realize the split-personality is tiresome, and bring the the real person back from the dead somehow.

__jal 10y ago
I think they should have Slater start a pirate radio station.
- celticninja 10y ago
  And turn the volume right up, pump it up if you will.
  - user_0001 10y ago
    I couldn't think of anything better <thumbsup>
  - mrchrisp 10y ago
    and rise up in the cafeteria and stab them with your plastic forks

kmnc 10y ago

I feel like the split-personality plotline kind of undermines the rest of the show. This show gained early praise for its more realistic portrayal of both mental illness and technology but I feel like as soon as you go down the path of "oh he actually hallucinates people, loses track of time, etc" all the realistic parts get thrown out of the window. This plot seems to have taken over the corporate espionage/corporate morality vs new age civil disobedience which is what made me like the show in the first place. That being said, the style and direction of this show still puts it above most.

rudolf0 10y ago
I might be weird, because I'm the opposite. I find the whole "fight the man" anonymous posturing stuff kind of juvenile and even cringe-worthy at times (though I kind of liked the nod to tinfoil hatters with the "crisis actor" murder; I'm hoping this is part of further self-aware plot development where E Corp is revealed to not be quite as bad as originally portrayed). The hacking side is cool, but the politics feel extremely shallow. Yet I find the psychological issues and split personality exploration really fascianting. Is it realistic? No, not at all. But I like how the actor portrays Elliot's anguish.
- bduerst 10y ago
  I thought it's cringey because it's satire on Anonymous? Even the main character (that narrates) seems to think that the hacks and anti-corporate rhetoric are kind of pointless and juvenile.
  - platz 10y ago
    Mr. Robot is like trainspotting updated for the latest generation.
- cmurf 10y ago
  I agree. And what is a realistic way to convey hallucinations to others who have never experienced them? How do you convey scent in a photograph?
10y ago

armitron 10y ago

The brilliance of the show is that it portrays dissociative disorders in an extremely realistic fashion. If you didn't identify with that, then you're obviously not part of the subculture that the show portrays and is really made for. Mr Robot is not about the drugs or computer hacking, it's far more grandiose than that. Similarly to Fight Club, it can be viewed as a social study of a subculture that's operating on the frontier of consensus reality and could characterize where that reality will shift in the future. Have you had to juggle multiple identities in your head, every day for years if not decades? Have you thought what this does to you? Have you had to keep secrets from everyone around you? Have you "felt" what cyberspace really is about? Have you experienced the VICIOUS feedback loop of projecting a thoughtform/idea (what the audience views as "hacking") into that new domain only to have it manifest and achieve its own reality, as if by magic? The technical aspects of the show are by far the least interesting.

bananaoomarang 10y ago
I would agree that the technical aspects of the show aren't very interesting, but the way that they are dealt with is remarkable and refreshing for a TV show. Usually these plot lines are jarring to me, but in Mr. Robot they aren't, because they're well researched to be in line with the verisimilitude the rest of the show seems to strive for. It's an aspect of the show (along with it's characters and more on-the-nose satire) that I enjoy. Usual disclaimer that this is my opinion, not trying to come off as snobbish though it might sound that way, but personally, like in Fight Club, I find the show's 'grandiose' attempts to be more than little simplistic. It doesn't effectively/subtly explore anxiety, isolation, schizophrenia, depression etc as well as I think it thinks it does. Honestly most of that narrative feels cheap and repetitive to me. Taken as a satire ('Evil Corp', FSociety/Anonymous etc), the show works for me, but when it spends time plumbing Eliot's mental illness, it becomes dull to me. Some of it I appreciate, and in smaller doses it might work, but for me it's overblown and only elevated by the show's sense of style, not because it's telling the viewer anything of particular interest, or actually advancing any of the plotlines/character developments. I think the show is worse for it. Having said all that I enjoy the show a lot. I'm just not willing to heap praise upon it since I have these reservations.
10y ago

eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago

Ok, it's not just me. I also find the split personality thing is a huge distraction and they spend a lot of time on it while glossing over everything else that is going on.

bborud 10y ago

If I stop watching the show it will be because I can't stand Christian Slater.

breatheoften 10y ago
Strongly Disagree. Not only is he great to watch, I think his entire career combines to enhance his fit for the character he is playing. To me it's as though all his previous roles were sort of past lives, partially remembered in the mind of this darkly motivated hacker-Loki persona.