MR. ROBOT — “eps3.1_undo.gz” Episode 302 — Pictured: Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson — (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
At the end of Episode 1, Elliot decided the best course of action for him to beat Stage 2 was to infiltrate the very company he had been trying to bring down this whole time: E Corp. I enjoyed the montage of Elliot heading to work each day and attempting to get higher-ups to listen to his plan to turn all the paper records digital, which would prevent the Dark Army from destroying them all. He encounters several setbacks, which he solves by digging up dirt on each higher-up and getting them fired, only to learn the next one was just as bad. Elliot finally manages to get high enough to find someone willing to not only listen, but take his idea into serious consideration. Elliot 1 – Mr. Robot 0.
Elsewhere, the Season 2 sidearc of Joanna Wellick receiving hints from Tyrell that he’s alive, only for it to be revealed to really be Scott Knowles seemed kinda pointless at the time. And well, it still ends up being just that. Joanna succeeded in getting revenge on Knowles by having him arrested after his vicious beating of her and even flaunts the victory on national television, where she also reveals she’ll always be loyal to Tyrell wherever he is. This doesn’t mesh well with Joanna’s temp boyfriend Derek, who learns she had just been playing him and manages to pull a fast one on her bodyguard before killing her. Mr. Sutherland ends up surviving and killing Derek, but he’s failed in keeping Joanna safe. This honestly felt like a way to just push these chess pieces into the box as they aren’t important anymore.
MR. ROBOT — “eps3.1_undo.gz” Episode 302 — Pictured: (l-r) Erik Jensen as Frank Cody, Stephanie Corneliussen as Joanna Wellick — (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
Darlene has now been roped into the FBI’s investigation on fsociety, the Dark Army, Elliot, Tyrell, and everything else involved in the tangled web. A new fsociety video had been released everywhere, which is what brings about Dom and her partner to ask Darlene about it. She continues to claim fsociety had nothing to do with it and it has to be a copycat and Dom tries to find out if Darlene got anymore info on what Elliot and Tyrell are doing. Darlene has a deep trust in her brother and insists that since he said to her he wasn’t working with Tyrell, then he isn’t. Dom already is anticipating this response, however, and plays the cell phone call between Elliot and Tyrell from last season while Elliot was still in prison.
This causes Darlene to track down Elliot, who had been trying to avoid contact with her because he believes her to be what brings Mr. Robot out of him. Lucky for her, it’s Elliot’s birthday, so she has a reasonable response when he wants to know why she sought him out. This gives her an in to Elliot’s apartment, where she successfully plants a bug on his computer while he’s asleep. This awakens Mr. Robot as he can tell something is amiss with Darlene and starts to intimidate her to get her to leave. There is starting to be less and less people Elliot can trust thanks to Mr. Robot’s plans and interferences.
Source: tvline.com
An update on Price and WhiteRose/Zhang is that China is still the only nation that has yet to embrace ECoin. Price wants Zhang to make the currency official and threatens to sabotage the United Nation vote which would allow China to annex Congo if Zhang refuses. Zhang predicted this and instead threatens Price with Angela, who he now has wrapped around his finger. Zhang then drops the best line of the episode with “Don’t mistake my generosity for generosity”. Later while speaking with his assistant, Zhang demands that Stage 2 happen on the day of the UN vote, regardless of if the vote goes in China’s favor or not. When asked why, Zhang explains that Price’s time is up.
Elliot had returned to therapy with Krista earlier in the episode and actually had a progressive session, coming out of his shell a little by remembering and recounting a story of his youth. Stating to Krista that this memory happened the same day as his father throwing him out a window reveals that Elliot never told her that fact about him, despite him believing to. Probably a side effect of Elliot’s hallucinations from the last two seasons. After the encounter with Darlene, Elliot returns and wants Krista to talk to Mr. Robot, who is forced out by Elliot rather than coming on his own. Mr. Robot tries to remain cagey to Krista, but does state that he knows Darlene compromised Elliot and him, despite Elliot not realizing it. He then intimidates Krista before returning Elliot to control, where Krista fills him in on what Mr. Robot said.
MR. ROBOT — “eps3.1_undo.gz” Episode 302 — Pictured: (l-r) Gloria Reuben as Krista Gordon, Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson — (Photo by: Peter Kramer/USA Network)
Elliot returns home in a panic, questioning just what had been compromised like Mr. Robot said. Before getting into his home, Elliot is met by Lenny, who he had previously hacked and stole the dog of (This is the crime that actually landed him in prison). Lenny explains that the dog is sick and he no longer wants it, handing it over to Elliot since he cared enough to steal it before. Elliot then boots up his computer and gets to searching, while the FBI watch through the plant Darlene installed. The next day, however, one of the agents tells Dom that Elliot sent a encrypted message for Tyrell off his computer, but it didn’t really say much of anything. What the message really contained was a tracker, so that Elliot could head to the source of the bug and destroy it. The episode ends with him arriving at Darlene’s safehouse as Dom watches on.
“undo.gz” continued the stride that Mr. Robot set up in the premiere. I can already tell that I’m going to enjoy this season far more than I did the previous. There are no more mind games, I take cutting out Joanna as the show stating there will be no more filler, and instead we just get the players that matter all out on the field. I feel that a confrontation between the FBI and Elliot is inevitable, but I’ll be interested to see how it plays out this season since Mr. Robot has apparently been envisioned as a 5-season show.
undo.gz – 4 out of 5
Pros:
- The “Elliot working at E Corp” montage was great.
- WhiteRose/Zhang continues to be a great enigmatic villain.
- Glad I don’t have to see any Joanna storylines anymore.
- The therapy scene between Krista and Mr. Robot was intense.
Cons:
- Strong lack of Irving this episode.
- Dom’s partner seems like an idiot.
