Mr. Robot: Season 1 is Amazing Even If You Saw the Big Twist Coming

It’s been a while since I’ve talked to you.

You’ve seen in countless movies and TV shows how the hacker types up a storm on a keyboard or dances their fingers across their tablet screen. And voila! The computer system is hacked. Instant access to networks, dirty little secrets or that last second rescue.

People can be hacked too. Scanning recent news headlines it’s all too real how a security breach can expose the parts of people’s lives they’d rather keep under the covers. In USA Network’s cyber drama/thriller titled Mr. Robot, hacking is not a convenient plot device, it’s the avenue by which many relevant issues of today are explored.

To put it succinctly, Mr. Robot is a damn great show. It’s exceptionally written and well acted. The story revelations are deftly handled and respect the viewer’s intelligence. There are certain parallels with Fight Club and American Psycho, yet I’d argue Mr. Robot has its own identity.

Mr. Robot is shot with a cinematic flair but you never get the sense that it’s trying too hard to be artsy. The eclectic song choices are spot on and add to the impact of the scene. The music score is intensely atmospheric, fitting in perfectly with the cyber thriller tone. 

The series stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a security engineer by day and a cyber vigilante by night. Elliot isn’t a person who can be easily summed up in a neat little sentence. Are any of us?

There’s a lot going on in Elliot’s head, which is where he spends a lot of his time. You see, Elliot suffers from social anxiety disorder. He’d rather be alone than struggling to awkwardly relate to his co-workers and friends.  When we first meet him, he’s morphine dependent and on the edge of spiraling out of control. 

I won’t set up the show any further, other than to say it’s a wild entertaining ride. You can watch the full episode of Mr. Robot Season 1, Episode 1 on YouTube. If you’re in Canada, you can watch Mr. Robot at Showcase.ca.   

Please be warned that there will be a spoiled filled discussion ahead on Season 1 including the finale. You may want to catch up on the show first before reading further.