MR. ROBOT — “eps3.2_legacy.so” Episode 303 — Pictured: Martin Wallström as Tyrell Wellick — (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
A big question that was left unanswered for much of Mr. Robot Season 2 was the fate of Tyrell Wellick. He was last seen with Elliot at the fsociety hideout after the 5/9 hack successfully went through. We also knew there was a hidden gun in the popcorn machine that Darlene left, so it was easy to assume Tyrell was taken out. The end of Season 2 revealed that not only was he alive and well, but he was also in possession of Darlene’s hidden gun and was instructed by Mr. Robot to kill Elliot if he tries to interfere with their plans, further complicating things. Luckily enough, tonight’s episode finally provided a deep dive into Tyrell’s whereabouts for the entirety of Season 2.
Starting at the aforementioned scene at the end of Season 1, Tyrell does have the hidden gun pulled on him by Elliot, who is currently in Mr. Robot form. The first shot misfires, which allows Tyrell to use it as a sign of fate that both of them are meant to work together. Mr. Robot realizes the usefulness of having someone vastly familiar with E Corp like Tyrell in his cause, so he agrees to the idea and starts to brief him on the early idea of what will eventually become Stage 2. Irving ends up retroactively being involved as well, serving as the Dark Army correspondent and crashing the party. Tyrell will have the 5/9 hack blamed on him and Irving knows this, so he offers to shelter him for the time being until things die down and Stage 2 is more developed.
As we know from Season 2, Elliot is arrested at his apartment shortly after the 5/9 hack due to his minor hacking in other terms. This causes Tyrell’s stay in the Dark Army safehouse to be far longer than expected, which begins to take a toll on his sanity. Not helping this fact is that late one night, some members of the Dark Army arrive at the safehouse with one specifically being tasked with asking Tyrell questions to measure his honesty and loyalty to the cause. He starts off lying about everything before being broke down far enough to tell the truth, even saying he won’t be loyal to the Dark Army. This causes him to fail the test overall, but he adds that he will be loyal to Elliot, however.
MR. ROBOT — “eps3.2_legacy.so” Episode 303 — Pictured: Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson — (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
WhiteRose/Zhang is informed of the current process with Elliot and Tyrell, who tries to assist the situations by tampering with the news to try and keep Tyrell’s reputation positive and adding Leon, a Dark Army operative, into Elliot’s prison for protection and company. In a funny moment, Zhang also tells the news reporter to have his station start to back Donald Trump as the President of the United States after viewing him on the television, wanting to disestablish the United States further than just simply with the 5/9 hack.
Weeks go by and further progress on Stage 2 is made, which then allows Tyrell to start working on it through his end. He’s given a computer and phone to track E Corp’s tactics and also keep up with his baby’s growth through a webcam hidden in his home. More weeks go by and Tyrell learns that his wife Joanne has moved on and filed for divorce from him. Irving pays a visit and gets Tyrell to let out his loneliness and anger through cutting wood outside. He also tells Tyrell that they’re very alike as they are both men that had families they had to sacrifice in order to do their job, but Irving was able to get his family back after the end of it and so will Tyrell. This is shown to later be a lie as Irving heads to his cover job as a car salesman and informs a fellow employee that you have to look the part for people to trust you and do what you recommend.
The loneliness and anger eventually gets too much to handle for Tyrell and he decides to head out to show Joanna that he is actually alive and well. This goes poorly for him as he’s almost instantly spotted by a police officer and arrested after a short chase. The officer luckily keeps Tyrell’s arrest low on the channels, which allows the Dark Army to take back Tyrell without much suspicion by the cops. This is done through FBI Agent Santiago, Dom’s boss who is revealed to also be a Dark Army operative, though he’s not happy about having to kill a cop to save Tyrell’s ass. Irving also checks in with Leon at the prison and learns that Elliot has finally gotten his papers to leave.
MR. ROBOT — “eps3.2_legacy.so” Episode 303 — Pictured: Martin Wallström as Tyrell Wellick — (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/USA Network)
After months alone in the woods, Tyrell is finally able to rejoin society, as much as he can being a wanted man. Irving insists that Tyrell lay low, but he demands to have his suit and even shaves his beard away as he wants to look as professional as possible for Elliot. Irving even shows Tyrell the base of operations that they were planning on using for the remainder of Stage 2, which Tyrell comments Elliot will love. We’re shown the moment that Elliot is picked up by a Dark Army taxi, which allows Tyrell to reunite with him. This also eventually leads to the shooting of Elliot and we’re shown the very graphic aftermath of the bullet removal process. Tyrell stresses in the corner over what happened, to which Angela informs him of Elliot’s split personality and that the “Elliot” Tyrell is allied with is not the real Elliot. Tyrell looks on as Elliot finally comes to consciousness after the surgery and he too begins to see the two people living inside the single body.
Some people like things to remain a mystery, but I’m quite satisfied with “legacy.so” and the fact that the entirety of Season 3 so far is veering far from the vagueness that plagued so much of Season 2. Tyrell was a very interesting character to have in the mix of the show, so it was disheartening to not know his status for much of Season 2. A episode dedicated to his missing story was greatly appreciated and shows that he really did play a part in the events of Season 2, even if his presence was never touched upon. It’s also good to see that Irving is entwined with Stage 2 much further than we ever knew before.
legacy.so – 5 out of 5
Pros:
- Finally answering the Tyrell questions.
- Irving is still a great character and only growing stronger.
- That psych evaluation scene was well-directed and shot.
- I was wondering if we’d get a Leon appearance this season, hope there’s more to come with him.
Con:
- I really didn’t need to see Tyrell dislocating his thumb to get the handcuff off.
- Also didn’t need to see Elliot’s intestines.
