Part of me is still wondering if I hallucinated the first twenty minutes of this episode. It is done in the style of an old sitcom, and it is particularly reminiscent of Full House. Every aspect is perfectly replicated, from the colour saturation to the laugh track to the aspect ratio to the line deliveries. There's even a fake commercial break with fake commercials thrown in. The only part that does not conform to this aesthetic is Elliot. Rami Malek delivers all the shock and bewilderment that any real person would experience if they suddenly found that their life was a sitcom. The contrast of Rami's straight performance with the zany, quaint world surrounding him creates an escalating sense of unease. The tension is also added to by the brief flashes of darker elements that appear in this sequence. For example, Elliot's mother suddenly extinguishes a cigarette on Darlene's arm when she refuses to turn off her Gameboy.
Because the sitcom opening ate up two fifths of the episode, it did not advance the plot anywhere near as much as the previous episodes have. Most of the story lines were only nudged along slightly. There was only one that got a lot of screen time and forward movement this week, and that was the FBI hack. We get to see it executed... sort of. It's kind of left on a bit of a cliffhanger. The cinematography of the hacking sequence is quite interesting; long tracking shots are used a lot to convey the flow of movement and the feeling of being watched, but occasionally are interspersed with flurries of close-ups to heighten discomfort.
I really enjoyed the interplay between Mr Robot and Elliot towards the end of this episode. The ending scene is quirky and offbeat in a more subtle and reserved way than the opening, and can be connected to it thematically in a number of ways.
I really appreciated the peculiarity of this episode. I've been having a weird day, and this episode felt oddly fitting. I'm really curious to see how people respond to this episode. I wouldn't be surprised if some people hated it, I wouldn't be surprised if everybody loved it. Whatever the case, I think Sam Esmail is a genius.
Because the sitcom opening ate up two fifths of the episode, it did not advance the plot anywhere near as much as the previous episodes have. Most of the story lines were only nudged along slightly. There was only one that got a lot of screen time and forward movement this week, and that was the FBI hack. We get to see it executed... sort of. It's kind of left on a bit of a cliffhanger. The cinematography of the hacking sequence is quite interesting; long tracking shots are used a lot to convey the flow of movement and the feeling of being watched, but occasionally are interspersed with flurries of close-ups to heighten discomfort.
I really enjoyed the interplay between Mr Robot and Elliot towards the end of this episode. The ending scene is quirky and offbeat in a more subtle and reserved way than the opening, and can be connected to it thematically in a number of ways.
I really appreciated the peculiarity of this episode. I've been having a weird day, and this episode felt oddly fitting. I'm really curious to see how people respond to this episode. I wouldn't be surprised if some people hated it, I wouldn't be surprised if everybody loved it. Whatever the case, I think Sam Esmail is a genius.