Mr. Robot shutdown -r Review
Mr. Robot: Season 3, Episode 10: shutdown -r is more restrained than preceding season finales but is no less intense than either of them.
Much of the tension is developed in the first half of the episode. This isn’t unusual in and of itself, but what is unusual is the fact that it also resolves and dissipates in this portion of the program. I wouldn’t say that the show suffers as a result, but it certainly is worth noting.
Said tension is primarily built up via Dom’s (Grace Gummer) storyline, with her realizing that Santiago (Omar Metwaly) is up to no good and subsequently getting kidnapped and turned over to the Dark Army. The scene in which she confronts him with her suspicions is handled exceptionally well: as Dom calls Santiago’s bluffs about disrupting the chain of command, he approaches her. Taken aback by his subordinate’s discomfort, Santiago tries to defuse the situation by pointing out that there are cameras everywhere. He doesn’t even finish his sentence, however, before he knocks her out cold.
As excellent as this exchange is, one can’t help but wonder how Santiago knew the chances of him abducting Dom without being apprehended by his fellow FBI agents were high enough for him to take the risk. We know that his comment about there being cameras all around wasn’t just something he made up: we see one right above him and Dom as he knocks her out. Guess we’ll just have to chalk it up to the FBI having bigger and better things to do than monitor their security feeds.
Interestingly, the image of the orb-shaped ceiling camera forms a minor motif within the episode, returning when Santiago takes Dom and Darlene (Carly Chaikin) to the farmhouse in order to hand them over to Irving (Bobby Cannavale) and the Dark Army. This time around, it’s used by Whiterose (BD Wong), but the function remains the same as the one in the FBI parking structure: to impotently watch the violent interactions taking place on-screen. I’m not quite sure what the significance of it all is – maybe it’s meant to drive home the idea of the powers that be being removed from the reality of the struggles they exacerbate – but it’s interesting to think about.
Another cool callback occurs when Elliot (Rami Malek) tells Darlene about the time their dad pushed him out the window. She reminds him that he wasn’t pushed out but rather jumped out, not only referencing Elliot’s fall off the railing in the first season but also establishing that Mr. Robot has been a part of his life for much longer than we thought.
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