Mr. Robot (TV Series) eps2.2_init_1.asec (2016) User Reviews

A slight and necessary slowing of pace

[medina-43247 · 9/10 · 28 July 2016]

All throughout the series we have been seeing plot twists left and right, the anxiety and psychosis has been a feature on most episodes. This gets old after a while, and this episode gives the series a very necessary slowing of pace to make things easier to digest.

While you won't find big developments story-wise you are fed a lot of background on different characters which , in my opinion, helps make them deeper and actually improves character development.

I hope the series keeps on with the character development and stops relying so much on the shock factor and the unexpected twists, which can only happen so many times before viewers get frustrated with the series, overall a very good episode.

Very much a transitional episode

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 7/10 · 27 July 2016]

I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by this episode. It wasn't badly made, it was just slow and relatively uneventful (particularly when compared to the previous episode). It is the epitome of a transitional episode. I will not go so far as to call it "filler", as I do believe that everything it setup will be important one way or another down the line. It's definitely a necessary episode. The ending got me excited to see the next one. It just isn't a particularly remarkable or memorable episode in and of itself.

Perhaps the most interesting scene in the episode is the flashback in the first ten minutes. I appreciated the way the sequence gradually ramp-ed up the tension from a casual conversation to the big moment at the end of it, accompanied by a score straight of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Some other scenes that I liked in the episode were the surprisingly heart-warming scene between Joanna and her boy-toy, the return of the BD Wong character, and Elliot's chess game with Mr Robot. I was mostly indifferent towards the rest. I am finding it increasingly implausible that Leon would be spending his time hanging out with Elliot, and increasingly irritating that I have literally no idea what is going on with Ray and his black-eyed business partner.

I did not enjoy this episode nearly so much as I had hoped that I would, but I recognize it as a necessary instalment, and still eagerly anticipate the next.

Rewatch, 8.9/10

[dcdude-26988 · 9/10 · 6 July 2023]

Another great episode of another epic season of this incredible tv show. My favorite characters in this episode were Elliot, Mr Robot, and Darlene. My favorite things about this episode were the Protagonist, the pacing, and the music. My mom didn't laugh at anything this time, cause there wasn't really any comedy in this episode, but that is fine with me. She will definitely laugh in two episodes, at the beginning of episode six. I planned about what I should do on episode 7. I should definitely repeat the two lines before the plot twist at the end of the episode, just to make her even more shocked.

Profoundly beautiful

[radoielian · 10/10 · 14 October 2021]

I don't get the lower rating and negative reviews. For me, this episode is all about Elliot and his painfully beautiful journey of rediscovering his beliefs and fighting for them like a champion. One of my favorites so far, truly a mesmerizing episode, in spite of it being slower-paced.

Chess was off the mark

[Agraae-385-20852 · 6/10 · 18 October 2019]

TL:DR Nobody at the shoot knew of any chess

I felt this episode was hurried in a way, that I haven't seen earlier from Mr.Robot. What struck me the most was the chess scenes. All of them. Our protagonist has gotten the rep of a 'pretty smart guy' so far, but completely fails to comprehend what signifies a good move in chess. The mistakes they made would be very obvious to a child even. The director may not have thought much of the game and tried to give the illusion of 'real' moves by cutting very fast. And besides that - the idea of stalemate with approx. half the pieces left on the board is ludicrous. Although three stalemates in a row is not.

Slow paced episode

[oussemas · 6/10 · 19 January 2024]

First of all, IS anyone else mad that as good as this show IS AT portraying hacking compared to other shows and movies this episode made a mockery of chess. They tried to use the beautiful game to instill a meaningful metaphore but when it came to the actual game, it was so horrific that even someone with 100 elo could spot the many many mistakes. AT least hire a chess coach and make it a little believable. As for the episode itself it's a little redundant and very slow to get to the point without much progress in the actual storyline. I get that TV shows tend to have episodes like this when the seasons progress but I expected more from them.

Least favourite episode up to this point

[Prad-Pitt · 3/10 · 2 December 2020]

Drifts in and out, too much slow mo and alot of blank space leading to a bunch of scenes that really don't gel well. Hard to stay alert and maintain attention.. which I found to be an issue with the first half of season 2 thus far... but it is at its worst in Episode 4.

Kinda Slow and Boring [6.5/10]

[panagiotis1993 · 6/10 · 16 June 2023]

My Reaction / Review for Mr. Robot Season 2 Episode 4: The 3rd episode was great and I gave it a rating of 8/10. So the episode starts with another flashback? Interesting. We get to see the origin of Mr. Robot and his iconic Mr. Robot jacket, that's cool. I'd love to see hacker Elliot back in action. I like how this season goes deeper inside the mind of Elliot and his fight against Mr. Robot. 40 minutes in and this episode is not that good, first time in the show that I feel bored. Yeah Tyrell's wife wants me to believe that she only cares about love and not money? Not believing that at all. Wow, Elliot's dream is super trippy, almost funny. I like how Elliot couldn't beat Mr. Robot while playing chess. Overall this episode was mediocre, the plot, the pacing, everything was slow and somewhat boring. My rating is 6.5/10.

So underwhelming

[MKUltraViolet · 4/10 · 19 March 2017]

This episode was extremely boring, it felt like much more than approx 65 minutes long. I tried really hard to get through it, but there wasn't much at all that I could stay focused on, so I turned it off. Definitely a filler episode.

I want to get back into the show, so I'll read a synopsis of this episode to refresh my memory. There's no way I'm going to go through 65 minutes of nothing again.

I'm Hacking The FBI

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 4/10 · 10 September 2021]

Eliot and Darlene have a convo about his schizoism

The FBI searches the Coney Island HQ.

Love the conversation between Eliot and Sam, again.

How come in the sex scenes or aftermath it always seems like we see more male parts than female parts? I don't get that. -1 Star

Darlene's boyfriend wants to help her stay safe from the Dark Army. Both Darlene and Eliot seem to be in a perpetual state of denial that they did something bad that a lot of people could be looking to kill them for.

Love the instrumental version of '' played along to a scene almost verbatim stolen from Fight Club of buildings collapsing.

Then the chess game in the park with Eliot and Slater. Stalemates. I did enjoy that. Reminds me of Wargames, Tic Tac Toe anyone? Did they remake that yet? Surprised if they haven't.

PRICE! He's a vulture but he likes Angela. Will Angela get one over on him?

And we end the ep. With Eliot going to hack the FBI. Is this supposed to be some difficult task compared to what they just did to the world? Sort of anti-climactic if you ask me. 4/10.