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Mr. Robot “eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc” Review (2×05)

4 Aug

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“You’ve surrounded yourself with the constant reminder of mortality.”

Last week, a gorgeous montage set to Green Day’s “Basket Case” concluded with Elliot telling us that he wanted to fight for the world depicted, i.e. a world filled with people he cares about and spends time with. It’s a fantasy world, but it’s driven by meaningful connection and devoid of the cynicism that reigns supreme in real life. It’s something that seems so far away and so unrealistic, but it’s definitely worth fighting for.

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Mr. Robot “eps2.2_init1.asec” Review (2×04)

27 Jul

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This episode features the show’s characters playing chess games, trying to maneuver around others (or themselves) and find peace underneath all the muck. On the subplot side of things, we have Angela going up against Phillip Price and Joanna going up against Scott Knowles, and on main street, we have Elliot actually playing chess against Mr. Robot. It’s not just chess for chess’s sake, though; the episode is using this game to comment on its main character’s desire to unburden himself, to find peace by settling this once and for all. “I can’t hold this in any longer…it’s eating away at me,” Elliot expresses early on, and the rest of the episode is about him grappling with this inner turmoil.

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Mr. Robot “eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd” Review (2×03)

20 Jul

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“It doesn’t matter where you go or where you come from, as long as you keep stumbling. Maybe that’s all it takes. Maybe that’s as good as it gets.” 

Instability. Panic. A lack of control. This week’s episode of Mr. Robot embraces itself in all its incoherent glory, eschewing an advancement of plot in favor of a deeply unsettling–yet fascinating–collection of scenes. It’s not perfect, but the style of the hour certainly fits with the themes the show is pushing at the moment. “eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd” effectively builds up the tension and uncertainty, the “overwhelming fear” Elliot describes as “building, burrowing, and nesting”. It features an amazing montage of Elliot on Adderall, Rami Malek grinning his way into our nightmares as we, the audience, become as disoriented as the characters in the show. It showcases Malek’s talents yet again, both in that montage and in a later monologue about organized religion. It takes more risks in one hour than most of television does in an entire season.

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Thoughts on the 2016 Emmy Nominations

14 Jul

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This is a great group of nominations. Let’s dig in.

THE GOOD

The Americans finally gets nominated, several years too late. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys have both been giving incredible performances for four years now, and it brings me a lot of joy to see them listed. One minor quibble: “Persona Non Grata” was a good episode, but there were much better candidates for “Best Writing” than that.

-Rami Malek and Mr. Robot getting nominated. I’m surprised not to see Slater here, though.

-TATIANA MASLANY, once again several years too late.

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Mr. Robot “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc; eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc” Review (2×01/2×02)

14 Jul

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“I am in control.”

The idea of control dominates the two-part premiere of Mr. Robot‘s second season. We can obviously see that idea play out in the show’s exploration of Elliot’s psyche, his journal scribbles and constant narration providing us a firsthand look at his struggle to maintain control. He’s trying to combat that major revelation about Mr. Robot by throwing himself into a routine, and as a result, we see him watching pickup basketball games, eating with Leon, and keeping a journal. He tells us that he’s trying to maintain some sanity until Mr. Robot is gone, but we all know that the problem is festering right there inside of him, talking to him and trying to convince him to change. He’s trying to escape from himself, something that doesn’t sound like the easiest thing in the world to do. Perhaps we can say that he’s in an “infinite loop of insanity”.

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The Night Of “The Beach” Review (1×01)

10 Jul

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“Don’t you do what everyone else tells you to do?”

In a lean 80 minutes, the series premiere of The Night Of pulls you into a world that reflects our own, utilizing a central murder case to shine a light on the system that runs our lives. It doesn’t seem like a particularly groundbreaking piece of work, but it’s clear that the creative team understands how to take a classic concept and make it more engrossing than ever before. The production values are impeccable, the acting is compelling, and the story is the type to inspire a bunch of scene-analyzing and clue-searching. By the end of “The Beach”, the rest of the miniseries is pretty much begging to be binged.

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Person of Interest “return 0” Review (5×13)

21 Jun

"Return 0" -- The team must embark on one last suicide mission to prevent Samaritan from destroying The Machine and cementing its hold over mankind, on the series finale of PERSON OF INTEREST, Tuesday, June 21 (10:00 -- 11:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Michael Emerson as Harold Finch, Kevin Chapman as Lionel Fusco, and Jim Caviezel as John Reese Photo: Giovanni Rufino/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. ©2016 WBEI. All rights reserved.

“Maybe this isn’t the end at all.”

I started watching Person of Interest about halfway through season one. I don’t remember why I was on the CBS website the day I decided to click on one of those early episodes, but in hindsight, I am just so damn glad I made that choice. I am so glad that the show blew all my expectations out of the water, completely transcending the CBS crime drama mold as it evolved into something complex, original, and enthralling. I am so glad that a science fiction show like this is getting to finish on its own terms, going out on top after five incredible years and leaving its fans with something to remember. I don’t think “return 0” is a perfect series-ender, but it’s still an emotionally satisfying conclusion that brings the series’s big themes full circle. For the final time, let’s dig in.

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Person of Interest “.exe” Review (5×12)

14 Jun

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“Your Machine can serve a greater purpose.”

So, it comes to this: two gods facing off, each embodying a different perspective on the world as security, power, and legacy collide in the center. What really is the “greater good”? What should an AI’s purpose be? Is this all progress and evolution, or is it dangerous proliferation? “.exe” is centered around questions like these, exploring the conflict between Greer and Finch as it tackles some of the most fascinating questions currently posed on television. It’s a great penultimate episode overall, and it effectively sets the pieces up for what should be a fantastic series-ender (sob) next week.

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Person of Interest “Synecdoche” Review (5×11)

7 Jun

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“Synecdoche” certainly isn’t one of the season’s strongest, but it’s a fairly enjoyable hour that brings back some old faces: Harper Rose, Joey Durban, and Logan Pierce. It’s nice to see that the Machine Team has not only saved lives, but has also influenced people to do good and carry on the cause. What they’ve accomplished over the years means something to the people they’ve helped, and we see the evidence front and center with this newly assembled Machine Team. As The Machine tells Harold at the beginning of the episode, “it must be comforting fixing something, creating order amidst chaos.” This is kind of what these people are doing, and it’s fun to watch.

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Person of Interest “The Day the World Went Away” Review (5×10)

31 May

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“As long as The Machine lives, you never die.”

Well then. I was warned over and over that something big was going to go down, and there were quite a few hints throughout the episode about who we might lose. Even so, I was still unprepared to say goodbye to both Root and Elias in the same hour, two phenomenal characters who grew into staples of the show early on and never ceased to entertain; it hurts that they’re now gone. Of course, the big thematic idea of the episode–one espoused by Root as she and Shaw are exchanging fire with some baddies–is all about what it really means to be dead or alive. If “the real world is essentially a simulation anyway”, then how does one truly die?

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