Mr. Robot season 3 review: eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko

Mr. Robot season 3 continues, with a quiet Elliot-focused episode that packs an outsize emotional punch.

The past few episodes of Mr. Robot season 3 have been a lot to take in. From the Stage 2 explosions to Trenton and Mobley’s murders to the E-Corp riot that kicked the Dark Army’s endgame into motion in the first place, the pace of events is positively relentless.

 “eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko” is a remarkable installment for many reasons. But mainly for the fact that it gives us a moment to breathe, and to process, along with our hero, everything that’s happened so far. For the first time in a long time, the episode’s story is solely about Elliot. While a few other characters pop up at key moments, they’re only there to help explore the emotional crucible he finds himself in.

This tighter focus on Elliot’s psyche pays great dividends as he wrestles with his grief over everything he and Mr. Robot have wrought. His guilt over the E-Corp attacks, as well as Trenton and Mobley’s deaths, have left him convinced that there’s no future for him in this world he’s helped create. And, worse, that his — and subsequently Mr. Robot’s — existence in it might actually cause further harm.

Given everything he’s struggled with so far, it’s honestly surprising that Elliot hasn’t contemplated suicide prior to this point. His decision not to go through with his self-deletion comes thanks to a random moment of human connection, a completely arbitrary sequence that keeps him alive long enough to realize his pain can lessen.

“eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko” is stunningly good, in all its quiet simplicity. It reminds us that, no matter how bad things get, we can still turn them around. After all, even in War of the Worlds, “humans persevere in the end.”

"When you delete something, you’re making a choice to destroy it. To never see it again. You choose to delete because you need to free up space, because you don’t want it anymore, because it no longer holds value."

Elliot’s journey through an eerily militarized Manhattan, “wiping down” his real-presence piece by piece possesses a distinctly cinematic feel. He drops off Flipper with a neighbor. He promises Darlene that they’ll watch a movie together “tomorrow”.  Finally, he visits the families of Trenton and Mobley, in what feels like an attempt to apologize for a crime he can’t precisely admit. Then he returns to where it all began — Coney Island.

The image of Elliot, alone on a beach with a bag of pills in his hand and a plan to swallow them all is strikingly dark. Yet, the worst moment never comes, thanks to the fortuitous arrival of Trenton’s little brother, a precocious little boy named Mohammed.

The interaction between them has something of a dreamlike quality, as Mohammed both refuses to leave (“You don’t own the beach”) and brazenly questions Elliot’s choices in that irritatingly direct way that only children possess (“You know, you talk about yourself a lot”). That the two of them head off to the movies together is a bizarre twist, made even more so by the fact that it’s a special showing of Back to the Future, Part II that they decide to see. The date, for once, is here made explicit: It’s Oct. 21, 2015. Otherwise known as the day Marty travels to in the film.

Of course, the movie theater sequence purposefully mirrors the episode’s opening moments, which saw a young Elliot out with his father. Only now Elliot’s in the more paternal position, and he understands more than he did then. It may be a bit on the nose to wonder whether this is the beginning of Elliot rewriting his own future, by confronting the past full of bad things that created it. (It is what Marty McFly would do.)

Given that this is Mr. Robot, you’re forgiven if you spent more than a few minutes debating internally whether the appearance of Trenton’s little brother actually happened or not. If you believe in fate, you probably do. If not, then the scene still works as an illustration of mankind’s innate bent toward preserving itself. Either way, it turns out that Elliot doesn’t really want to die. He wants to atone.

"No matter what happens, we’ll be okay."

Following his own emotional catharsis via lollipop on the Biswas’ front stoop, Elliot visits a different door in an attempt to bring about a second. The best thing about Angela and Elliot’s reunion is how natural it feels — despite the fact that he hasn’t seen her for weeks, and mere hours ago was doubling down on his anger over her betrayal. If Elliot can figure out how to start forgiving himself — which his earlier tears certainly indicate — then how can he deny the same to his best friend?

“I recall her being there for you when you had your little episode. Multiple times,” Darlene tells him in an earlier scene. And it’s true. No matter what she’s done, Angela was always right next to Elliot, closing her eyes and wishing for a better world. Their wishing game has certainly taken on a horrific and deadly form since they were children, but her motivations are still the same. That their childhood connection is what breaks through her dead-eyed shell feels inevitable, but not in a bad way. Things can still be okay is probably the message she most needs to hear.

"That’s the thing about deletion. It’s not always permanent."

Mr. Robot, for all its revolutionary fervor, doesn’t exactly feel like a hopeful show this season. Where can things possibly go from here? fsociety is in tatters, Elliot and his friends’ lives are ruined and the world as they once knew it is gone.

In fact, the past three episodes have been almost exclusively bleak. Elliot’s best-laid plans fail. The 1% continue to party while the less fortunate suffer. People like Whiterose always seem twelve steps ahead of everyone else. Yet, “eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko” implies that maybe that doesn’t always have to be the case.

Deletion isn’t permanent. Things can change. Our endings are not fixed points. We don’t have to be our fathers. We can forge a different path. No matter how dark things get, we can still choose the light.

If one mistake can change the world, as a Back to the Future fan argues in line for their screening, then it’s possible that a different act can save it. One connection, one conversation, one email can turn everything around. It just takes time.

Mr. Robot’s musical cues are almost always flawless, but the series outdoes itself this week with its closing choice. Given its dated feel and on-the-nose time travel connections, the inclusion of “In Time” from the Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure soundtrack should be mawkish and sentimental.

Instead, it feels like an anthem of hope. In time, everything will be alright.

Next: Mr Robot season 3 review: eps3.6_Fredrick Tanya.chk

And, for the record: Popcorn and M&Ms together are incredible. The Aldersons are 100% right about that.

Mr. Robot continues next Wednesday on USA Network.