It’s that time of year when most of the shows we watch are probably on hiatus and we’re just grasping at straws for something new to watch. Mr. Robot is that something. I don’t know if it’s the dark tone the show has or maybe it’s the Fight Club-esque narrations that carry the show but there is something so captivating about Mr. Robot.
Mr. Robot centers around Elliot, a cyber-security engineer by day, hacker vigilante by night, as he navigates the inner turmoil involved in getting recruited by an undercover group of hackers for a job of a lifetime: destroying the very firm that he is paid to protect. Seems contradictory, eh? However, Elliot has no qualms with the notion of destroying the firm. Elliot works to protect E-Corp, or “Evil Corp” as he refers to them. It isn’t long into Mr. Robot that it’s revealed that Elliot hates what corporations do and what they stand for. At a microscopic level, this causes Mr. Robot to have a really cliché undertone. Elliot is that person. That person that complains about hating everyone. That person that hates social media. He is the type of person who strays from the norm because the norm isn’t enough. Yet, once you scratch the surface, Elliot is a much more multifaceted version of that person. Something that makes him interesting is the fact that he has an antisocial disorder. This adds a lot of character as we are forced to watch him deal with the day-to-day struggles and moments that one with an antisocial disorder must face. It provides a scope of representation that not many TV shows offer. Elliot is a multi-layred character with a lot going on in his mind and those are the most interesting of characters. His actions are calculated and his moves are always planned out.
Elliot narrates throughout the pilot episode and I hope that this is a running theme throughout the series. His narrations offer a honed in look into what exactly is going on in his overactive mind. It makes Elliot endearing almost immediately. His brooding, mysteriousness helps reel you in and once reeled in, his thoughts keep you at bay. Rami Malek, who plays Elliot, give a darkly complex performance that is subtly nuance, engaging, he does and absolutely fantastic job. Such a fantastic job in fact that Variety has named him one of the ten TV actors to keep an eye out for.
Mr. Robot plays a lot like a movie and that is one of the reasons the pilot is so damn good. The pacing is absolutely perfectly timed and the ending will leave you wanting more. Whether you’re watching because you yourself are that person and want a close look into a show that gives a big “fuck you” to media and corporations or because you want to see some amazing acting, I recommend that you stick around. And if you aren’t watching yet, what are you waiting for? Mr. Robot offers an interesting plot, complex characters that are fascinating to watch and follow and an overall promising premise of a storyline. I for one am really excited to see more of Malek and his costars in Mr. Robot.
Tune into Mr. Robot on June 24th at 10:00 PM on USA.
—Oscar Flores
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