Mr Robot Analysis

Sam Esmail’s Mr. Robot, the show that won the Golden Globe awards for the Best Drama in a Television series, Best Supporting Actor for Christian Slater, and a Best Lead Actor nomination for Rami Malek, which is televised on USA Network, isn’t the typical mystery. The story follows the young, troubled hacker, Elliot Alderson, as he tries to understand the scheme he’s been so hopelessly wrapped up in, as well as the identity of the man behind it all. The story’s dark undertones are aided by the backdrop of New York City, particularly the seedy underbelly of the city’s streets, and the underlying greed of corporate America. Each episode introduces a new piece to the puzzle that Elliot’s life has become, and each episode leaves the audience with

more questions than when they started. While Mr. Robot isn’t the conventional detective story, it does have what every detective story needs: the presence of “The Six Rules of a Good Detective Story” and a volatile setting.
Mr.

Robot remains close to the “Six Rules of a Good Detective Story”, although there are certain liberties taken on some of those rules. The six rules, in order, are: the crime committed must be significant, the detective must be memorable, the criminal must be a worthy opponent, clues to the mystery must be made available, the suspects must appear early on in the story, and the solution must be reasonable and possible. Mr. Robot follows the standard made by Rule One, starting in the pilot episode, however the crime itself takes a backseat to the overall mystery. The crime is committed by the multi-national conglomerate company E. Corp, or Evil Corp as the main character and narrator, Elliot, calls it. The company owns seventy percent of the world’s credit industry, and in the past, a toxic gas leak that E. Corp could have prevented resulted in some of their employees dying of leukemia, one of those employees being Elliot’s father when he was a child. While E. Corp’s crime of negligence and enslavement of the world through debt is substantial, the story’s main focus is on Elliot solving the mystery of who the strange Mr. Robot is. Elliot is caught within a conspiracy to hack into E. Corp and tear the company down, and in doing so, all of E. Corp’s financial records would be wiped clean, essentially eliminating debt, and causing global economic anarchy. The man who leads this mission and the small group of hackers working to make it happen, a group called “fsociety”, is only known as “Mr. Robot”. It’s never quite sure whether Mr. Robot is a friend or an enemy, though, and can lash out violently (episode Two), but also shows tender care and concern for Elliot (episode

Four).
E. Corp’s crime, fsociety, and Mr. Robot, a mystery in and of himself, are all introduced in the first episode of the series “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”, as well as the subject of Rule Two, Elliot, our detective. Elliot is similar to the classic detective persona in that he is isolated to the point of loneliness, is highly intelligent, and has his vices. Yet, these characteristics are taken to the extremes with Elliot. He has severe social anxiety, a history of depression and delusions, has trouble keeping relationships, and is addicted to morphine. Everything about Elliot demands to be remembered. As a narrator he speaks directly to the audience and viewers are privy to his paranoia, the audience is able to experience every new piece of the mystery with him, and can feel reality slip along with Elliot’s state of mind. Viewers quickly discover that Elliot is an unreliable narrator, and are urged to return each week in order to find out more.
The pilot also introduces the audience to the characters who might take the role of criminal, staying true to Rule Three. Terry Colby is the CTO of E. Corp and is the target for fsociety’s first hack, although he is not nearly as intimidating as Tyrell Wellick, E. Corp’s senior Vice President of Technology. It is Tyrell who remains a major player throughout the season, revealed to be just as intelligent as Elliot, but far more cold and calculated, seeking only to better his position in the company to gain power. Although Tyrell and Elliot are on opposite teams, Tyrell working for E. Corp and Elliot trying to tear it to the ground, they seem to have a respect for each other, something that seems to grow into something related to friendship. Much later in the season, episode Nine “eps1.8_m1rr0r1ng.qt”, Elliot even reveals his intentions for the destruction of E. Corp, Elliot “wanted to save the world”.
Episodes two through seven move the plot forward, show insight into the character of Elliot, and chronicle fsociety’s moving forward with their plan to take down E. Corp. Beginning in episode eight “eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v”, however, Mr. Robot begins to bring everything together. Up until this point, Mr. Robot’s identity still hasn’t been solved, but in this episode, it is revealed that he and Tyrell Wellick have been working together, on what, it isn’t clear, but it is clearly a clue as to who exactly Mr. Robot is. Meanwhile, Elliot is working to ensure that fsociety is partnered with the Dark Army, another skilled hacker group, so that their mission is successful. Dark Army is necessary to their plan, and Elliot meets with their leader, known only as the White Rose. After their meeting, it’s all but guaranteed that their plan will come into fruition, and E. Corp will fall. Another big reveal is that Darlene, a hacker in fsociety who is close with Elliot, knows Angela, a character who has been friends with Elliot since they were children, and whose mother also died due to E. Corp’s toxic gas leak. This is the most obvious clue to the story, being made available just as Rule Four dictates, and when partnered with the very subtle clues from previous episodes, add up to the realization of who Mr. Robot truly is. In the last scenes of episode eight, it is revealed that Darlene is actually Elliot’s sister, and his delusions had made him forget who she was. In the haze of confusion and desperation, Elliot finds a CD, one of many in which he has kept all the data on those he has hacked, which has dozens of photographs of Mr. Robot. In a few of these pictures, Mr. Robot is with a young Elliot. This is the moment in which everything comes together for Elliot, it’s been his father who has led the mission against E. Corp.
Rules Five and Six, which claim that suspects must appear early in the story and that the solution to the mystery must be reasonable and possible, aren’t main facets of the story as they are fairly obvious. Virtually all the characters that are integral to the story are introduced in the first episode, with the exceptions of only a few, and the solution is quite possible, and relative to today. Hacker groups have become an imminent threat to the technology-driven society at present and have posed threat to individuals and corporations alike. The final two episodes, which will remain undiscussed, as they are spoiler heavy, do more than round out the season, they add even more mystery. The finale leaves the audience wondering who exactly the White Rose is, where Tyrell Wellick is, and whether anything that Elliot and the viewers had come to understand was actually real.
While the heart and soul of Mr. Robot is Elliot and the strange journey through greed, conspiracy, and hacks that he must go on, it’s the New York City backdrop that adds suspense to every scene. Mr. Robot moves from the city streets to the offices of E. Corp to an abandoned arcade. Each place, while vastly different, manages to convey a dark and chilling atmosphere. The streets are always shadowed and gloomy, lit up only by the lights of the city. In fact, the brightest moments that are set out of doors in the heart of New York City are in episodes One and Ten (“eps1.0_hellofriend.mov” and “eps1.9_zer0-day.avi”, respectively), and both scenes are in Times Square. As for the corporate settings, each office building that is shown in the series, primarily Allsafe Cybersecurity, where Elliot works, is desaturated and very monotone in color. Those scenes are all pale blues and greys, and while brighter than on the streets of the city, there is a cold atmosphere that is almost sterile. Both the gritty streets of New York and its executive office buildings show how brutal the people that are being highlighted in Mr. Robot are. There are two different worlds, one of money and one of grit, but both are inhabited by people who are ruthless. Neither world is safe, as they’re either haunted by the likes of Tyrell Wellick, merciless and unrelenting, or the likes of Elliot himself, dangerous in his inability to comprehend reality. However, the most treacherous of all the settings in Mr. Robot is the arcade in which fsociety has claimed as their headquarters. The arcade is dim except for the old lights of the arcade games, which are still active. There’s graffiti and popcorn machines, it’s dirty and rundown, everything about the arcade seems sketchy and for lack of a better word, insane. The arcade is the location which is most representative of Mr. Robot himself, damaged and loud and terrifying. The arcade is psychosis in a building. Shown in episode One, the introduction to the arcade was the audiences introduction to the lunacy of Mr. Robot, the show and the character.
While “detective show” is not necessarily the phrase that is recalled first when thinking of Mr. Robot, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. It’s a V for Vendetta meets Fight Club cyber-punk thriller that follows all six of the Rules of a Good Detective Story, although sometimes it isn’t clear which characters are suspects, criminals, or friends. New York City and the specific locations for the show provide a dark and gritty atmosphere to show the underlying rot found throughout the show, and lend insight to its characters. Mr. Robot is arguably the best show on television currently in all aspects. The cast is incredible, the plot intriguing, and with all the new layers to mystery being added, audiences can’t stop watching. Mr. Robot does so many things right, such as its realistic and not-at-all-romanticized portrayal of mental illness, a wonderful soundtrack, and a narrator speaking directly to the audience, which is so hard to find, especially with lines as poignant as “We’re all living in each other’s paranoia” (eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v) and “I’m only supposed to be your prophet. You’re supposed to be my God” (eps1.9_zer0-day.avi). It’s a modern and compelling twist on the detective genre that keeps viewers engaged and asking constantly, “What will happen next?”