#MrRobot eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg

Yes, so catching up on getting out my notes about episode 1.1... This post is pretty much nothing but spoilers... Aside from a spoiler warning, I didn't want to write anything else as a preface, but I realized that when some sites pull a sample of the text for a preview, they're already pulling some of the spoilers. So that none appeared by accident, I wrote this paragraph of fluff. Fluff. Fluff. Fluff. Hopefully that's enough to not give anything away. Enjoy.

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  • 00:56 First scene in and I feel mostly sure that Tyrell is real. However, I believe that there could still be a case made that Elliot has hallucinated the whole scene. My earlier questions regarding the men of color in the room are answered. Also, has anyone else been thinking that Tyrell was modeled after Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal? The framing of the scene is surprising; many of the shots would make fantastic framed stills. 
  • 05:45 Hey, anyone in NYC want to confirm that Elliot lives at 217 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002? Just kidding. I am pretty sure I am right. 
  • 09:13 I find this scene is like some sort of S/m stuff. It hurts because of the cost of the equipment he's destroying; at the same time, it feels good that it appears that he's destroying the right stuff in the right way. The completist in me wants to see him destroy the RAM too because of the interesting studies done on recovering data from memory sticks. I would have also liked to see him destroy the drive in his phone since we get to see him destroy his SIM and SD cards. What does somewhat concern me is that he's not using SSDs. I suppose he could be using SSHDDs. But it seems to me that Elliot isn't the type of guy who'd cut corners on his computer tech. After all, he went through the expense of dual monitors. Plus recovering data from an SSD, from what I understand, is much more difficult.
  • 14:52 It could be a trick of the light, but are the eyes behind the mask the same color as Elliot's?
  • 14:59 The first time I saw Rami Malek act was in The Pacific. There are moments when all his acting is done in his eyes. The rest of his face is relaxed. There are even moments when he allows his lips to part denoting a relaxed jaw. This moment is no different. To help him, there's no reflection of the monitor in his eyes. There isn't any light on Gideon's face either. I am guessing that they removed any direct light sources in front of him so that his eyes could dilate more than normal. Perhaps he’s even learned how to control his pupils by pulling on certain memories; or I could be giving him too much credit. [Note to self: learn how to control pupils.] While the visual picture changes subtly, there's an enormous amount of characterization that's done in those few frames. 
  • 16:45 Joey littlebism.blogspot.com raised an interesting question with me. Are all the members of fsociety in Elliot's head? I believe that Darlene is real because of the way Flipper is whining at the door while she's showering. 
  • 17:09 Elliot missed a meeting? Interesting. Is Mr. Robot unable to surface when Elliot gets too high? 
  • 17:48 Joey pointed out that Shayla doesn't acknowledge Darlene, but in this moment, it appears that she looks off-camera at her. It's obvious that Shayla has a thing for Elliot. Seeing another woman wearing Elliot's clothes must be unsettling for her. If I were her, I wouldn't acknowledge Darlene either.  
  • 18:42 I've been there, Elliot. You should run. 
  • 19:03 So Darlene shoving Elliot in the train is interesting. If she is another split personality, pushing Elliott back onboard the train as a way to get away from the men in black isn't surprising. However, if she's real, she doesn't strike me as the type of person who couldn't not talk about something. Therefore, I do not believe she saw the men in black as Elliot later wonders. The men in black are still an unknown quantity. 
  • 19:59 Darlene says, "C'mon, kid, we got big things in store. Big things." She delivers the line much like Christian Slater would deliver that line. Is it a clue? Or is it good character work that if you're involved with someone you start taking on some of their mannerisms. Did I write involved? Maybe Darlene had/has a thing with Mr. Robot. I wonder if her statements re:the dirtiness of her clothes and the endless talk of this boyfriend who just proposed to her are attempts to make Mr. Robot jealous. Or, if Joey's right, is it that Elliot/Mr. Robot is freaked out about some of the things Darlene's been getting up to?
  • 20:13 It appears that fsociety meets at 1215 Bowery Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224.
  • 20:38 Interesting blocking choice. Darlene, Mr. Robot, and Elliot are positioned on one side while Mobley, Romero, and Trenton (who was awesome in the Turn Down For What music video) are positioned on another. [I’m wondering if anything can be deduced by the first letters of their names… Darlene, Mr. Robot, Elliot Alderson, Mobley, Romero, Trenton… D (M) R E A M R T... (M)R DREAMT… If we wanted to be very meta about it all, it could become Rami (Malek) DREAMT… THE WHOLE THING IS A DREAM cue Dallas music. Kidding. that would be ridiculous, right? There’s no way. OR COULD THERE?! ]
  • 20:47 This is an interesting interaction based on blocking. Note that no one actually addresses Darlene except Mr. Robot and Darlene. Mobley, Romero and Trenton are positioned so that the could either be addressing 3 people or 1.
  • 20:48 Darlene, for all the other words she could have chosen chooses to use the word GREAT. [See 00:21:11.]
  • 20:51 That Darlene doesn’t know the plan could tie into my theory that Elliot has created separate personalities to compartmentalize knowledge. Plausibile deniability by his own split personalities. Darlene’s lines in this scene are actually superfluous. You could cut her lines and the scene could play out without having issues. Is this unnecessary dialogue or is it an indication that Joey is right about Darlene being in Elliot’s head as well?
  • 20:54 Steel Mountain = Iron Mountain, Inc. (Or, if they’re being really cheeky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Report_from_Iron_Mountain )
  • 20:56 Blocking choice of having Mr. Robot to step forward while Elliot steps back seems to be another point to the Tyler Durden idea.
  • 21:11 Mr. Robot yells, “Great! Make me feel GREAT!” [See 00:20:48.]
  • 21:19 Interestingly enough, Darlene puts on sunglasses a beat after Mr. Robot. Elliot’s eyes are darting around as if disorientated and unsure of what’s happening.
  • 21:36 When Mr. Robot compares Darlene to a bad drug experience, it makes me think Joey’s theory (about Darlene being another split) has real grit.
  • 23:08 Does Mr. Robot saying that only Elliot knows the full plan mean that fsociety *is* all in Elliot’s head and that they’re all compartmentalized aspects of his fractured personality? I don’t know yet. WHO IS REAL IN THIS SHOW?!
  • 26:13 Is the reason Elliot can’t escape because Darlene and Mr. Robot are, indeed a part of him? Is that why he’s culpable?
  • 26:39 I’m reasonably certain this whole scene with Fernando Vera is in the real world.
  • 29:24 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot
  • 30:01 Homage to The Fall? See S2E6 53:56 “Once a man has achieved contempt for himself, he achieves contempt for all man-made laws and moralities and is truly free to do as he wills.”
  • 35:23 Good.
  • 35:41 It was interesting for me to watch this scene and question how much of Elliot’s dialogue is only in his head. There’s much of it Angela does not need to hear in order for her dialogue to make sense.
  • 37:21 Dell Optiplex 7## series released in the mid to late 2000s probably running XP. In other words, pathetic.
  • 38:24 I’m left wondering if Elliot’s father did nothing as part of some sort of deal with Evil Corp or if he had committed some awful act that made feel guilty and saw the cancer as punishment.
  • 40:09 Anyone else notice the red light? Is it one of his devices or is it something else?
  • 40:20 Yes, Elliot’s running an Optiplex too, but he’s got Linux on it so it’s not as bad as Fernando Vera. Also, after having trashed everything earlier in the episode, maybe he’s using a backup machine or something.
  • 40:42 Seriously? I hate Ollie Parker more and more. Dude’s running Windows and this frickin’ malware is running without prompting for admin credentials? Is this Cisco hacker that good? Or has Ollie disabled UAC or something? Hate.him.so.much. Also https://www.reddit.com/r/MrRobot/comments/3bretv/mrrobot_s1ep2_eps11_onesandzer0esmpeg_official/cspme2y
  • 46:35 And there it is. No one notices that Mr. Robot pushed Elliot and Mr. Robot states Elliot’s main failing. The way in which Elliot helps others inherently betrays the sacred trust of friendship and love by disregarding their privacy.

99% Sure Real
Elliot Alderson
Fernando Vera
Gideon Goddard
Krista Gordon
Lloyd
Ollie Parker
Ron
Shayla
Tyrell Wellick
Angela Moss

50/50
Men in Black (It's unclear if all the men in black are real or only some.)

Not entirely sure are real
Darlene
Romero
Trenton
Mobley

99% Sure Not Real
Mr. Robot

HumanitiesF. Omar TelanMr. Robot, Sam Esmail