My Top Ten Episodes of "Mr. Robot"

Well, this is one of the more unusual Top Tens I've written in a while. I don't think I've ever seen another television series improve so much over the course of its run. Below, find my ten favorite episodes of "Mr. Robot," unranked and ordered by airdate. I include the caveat that it's been a very long time since I watched the first season.

All the spoilers ahead for the entire show.

"Eps1.0_hellofriend.mov" - The premiere episode of Mr. Robot is essentially a feature film, introducing us to the life of Elliot Alderson, his sinister new hacker friend, Mr. Robot, and the deeply unjust world that they inhabit, which is almost identical to our own. I love the fourth wall breaking, which gives Elliot's angry monologues some real bite, and the early signs that we're watching a deeply unreliable narrator at work. I wish the rest of the season had figured out how to follow its lead a bit better.

"Eps1.9_zer0-day.avi" - The first season's reveals were spoiled for me, so I was cooler on the big climax, and prefer the denouement. Seeing fsociety's hack actually being pulled off is very satisfying, but it quickly turns into a nightmare. There's an intensity and horror to the live broadcast that is highly unusual, even for a prestige drama, and I appreciate the use of Angela's POV in particular. The season's final, dreamlike encounter between Elliot and Mr. Robot also sticks out as a wonderful piece of fantasy.

"Eps3.4_runtime-error.r00" - And this is the episode where it became apparent to me that "Mr. Robot" was really getting ambitious. The episode features long, long tracking shots, stitched together to look like one take, following Elliot and Angela in the middle of the attack on E Corp's offices. And it still manages to find ways to incorporate its famous off-center framing and moments of absurd humor. Watching Elliot fight with Mr. Robot for control while trying to stop the Stage 2 attacks is phenomenal.

"Eps3.6_fredrick+tanya.chk" - Fsociety members Mobley and Trenton grew on me over time, and it was very difficult seeing them being set up as convenient scapegoats by the Dark Army. The bulk of the hour was a lot of fun, watching the two of them and Leon get into hijinks in the desert. However, matters quickly take a turn for the tragic, and bring about an emotional low point of the series, with Dom and Tyrell forced to concede defeat. Oh, and bonus points for great use of the "Knight Rider" theme.

"Eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko" - One of the most offbeat and touching episodes of the series puts Elliot on a voyage of discovery that involves Trenton's little brother Mohammed and a "Back to the Future" retrospective. I love that it's so culturally and location specific, especially the rare scene that takes place in a mosque. I love the encounter with the Yiddish ice cream truck driver, and all the little touches that encourage Elliot not to give up on humanity. The final monologue with Angela at the door is terrific.

"shutdown -r" - Bobby Cannavale! With an axe! At a barn! Irving, along with Leon and Whiterose, are among the most absurd characters in the "Mr. Robot" universe, but they're so much fun to watch that I can't bring myself to care. So even as Irving is busy killing off Santiago and traumatizing Dom, you can still find him weirdly genial and charming - and terrifying too, of course. I did not expect this season to end up here, but "Mr. Robot" never runs short of twists - and the execution's to die for.

"405 Method Not Allowed" - I don't find this hack as compelling as the ones from the previous seasons, because the stakes don't feel as high, but watching Elliot evade the police on a frantic Christmas Day foot chase through Central Park is as impressive as anything. I was so engrossed with the situation that I didn't even notice that the episode is almost totally dialogue free. I also liked seeing Darlene get in on the action this time out, and the whole season's wildly incongruous holiday themes and trappings.

"407 Proxy Authentication Required" - Possibly the show's most emotionally volatile episode is also one of its most formally audacious. The whole thing takes place in Krista's apartment, is structured as a five-act play, and was originally aired with no commercial breaks. I don't much like the character of Vera, but he definitely moved the story along here. And though I'm not crazy about the episode's big reveal, the actors certainly sold it. Rami Malek's performance, in particular, is a heartbreaker.

"410 Gone" - While the big hack of the Deus Group was exciting, I prefer the depiction of the aftermath through Darlene and Dom's eyes. Their relationship is such an impulsive, unlikely thing, and this is the only episode that really deals with their feelings in a genuine, thoughtful way. Still, it does put in the time and care when it counts. I also enjoy Darlene getting to finally fulfill the mission of fsociety and Dom's late encounter with a familiar face. And the ending, infuriating as it is, is just about perfect.

"Hello, Elliot" - And the final reveal actually works. I wasn't a fan of the dream dimension conceit, but finding out what it was actually setting up and leading towards was epic. The last episode of "Mr. Robot" was such a great payoff, not just to this final run of episodes, but the entire series. I've never seen anything quite like it, and it was definitely worth the trip.


Honorable Mentions: "eps1.8_m1rr0r1ng.qt," "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme," "eps3.5_kill-process.inc," "401 Unauthorized," "406 Not Acceptable," "408 Request Timeout," and "409 Conflict."
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