TV Show Review

TV Review: MR. ROBOT: Season 2, Episode 9: eps2.7_init_5.fve [USA Network]

Rami Malek Christian Slater Mr Robot

USA Network‘s Mr. Robot eps2.7_init_5.fve TV Show Review. Mr. Robot: Season 2, Episode 9: eps2.7_init_5.fve amplifies the surrealism of earlier episodes and makes viewers question their interpretation of the events depicted.

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Of course, the show has hardly been straightforward up to this point. This past season alone we have already seen Elliot (Rami Malek) hallucinate that he was staying with his aging, incapacitated mother (Vaishnavi Sharma) and dream that he was in an old school sitcom after being put into a coma. On top of all this, the role of Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) in his day-to-day life and interactions constantly reminds us that all is not what it seems with him. But incredibly, Wednesday night’s show was able to do all these elements one better and cast doubt on Elliot’s perception of his own, unreliable perspective.

While most of the show takes place outside of prison, our introverted young hero spends the first ten minutes or so in prison. As he makes his way through the facility, we are given reason to doubt the presentation of something as innocuous as his daily behavioral regimen. The prison basketball court uncannily resembles the one he used to frequent in his neighborhood, his friend Leon (Joey Bada$$) is a fellow inmate, and the men who attacked him earlier a couple episodes back are not just thugs but a white supremacist prison gang, ready for the slightest provocation to set them off. The biggest surprise of all, however, is Elliot’s brief glimpse of Ray (Craig Robinson), who is addressed as “warden” by the guard.

Already within the first ten minutes of the program, viewers are forced to make sense of what they just saw. Has Elliot been in prison this entire time and trying (as he did in eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme) to keep it a secret from us, his “invisible friend”? Is it another of his myriad delusions that he tolerates in order to protect the audience (as well as himself) from an even uglier truth, whatever it may be? Or is it all just smoke and mirrors to make sure that we keep watching? Answers may be hard to come by at the moment, but you should definitely keep watching Mr. Robot to find out.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Mr. Robot in the comments section. For more Mr. Robot news and developments, visit our Mr. Robot Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or “like” us on Facebook. Mr. Robot airs on USA Network.

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Reggie Peralta

**** We hired Reggie, fulfilled our obligations to him, and he quit in the middle of covering two TV series w/ no notice and no explanation. He then ignored our emails asking him to complete his coverage (we had no one else to cover those TV shows). He didn't care. We regret hiring him and we regret putting our trust in him. **** An aspiring writer, longtime film junkie, and former UCLARadio.com disc jockey (where I graduated with a BA in Political Science), I've made the jump from penning book reviews and current events editorials for HonorSociety.org to writing movie and TV news and reviews. When I'm not working towards my certificate in Radio and Television/Video Production at Fullerton College, I enjoy reading (horror, science fiction, and historical/political nonfiction are particular favorites), participating in my school's TV and theatre clubs, attending movie screenings, plays, concerts, and other events, and trying to come up with pithy things to say on social media. Believe it or not, there are occasions where I find time to write for my own leisure.
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