Mr. Robot Review: Payment Required (Season 4 Episode 2)

Mr. Robot is playing the long game and we continue to be at its mercy.

It doesn’t matter how many years we wait for this series to find it’s conclusion because as Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 2, “Payment Required,” so brilliantly points out — Elliot’s endgame has been written from the start.

A stellar Season 4 premiere suggested Elliot’s final run might just be able to rival that momentous first season. “Payment Required” continues that sentiment with another surprising death, some much-needed sibling bonding time, and one tiny detail that threatens to derail the entire series yet again.

Oh, Elliot, what have you gotten us into?

Once again, Mr. Robot delivers a solid episode and then has to blow all that hard work out of the water with one effortless setup.

There’s a third persona. It’s a concept that, with time to age and the perfect set up, is executed flawlessly. This reveal of Elliot’s third personality makes his near-death experience at the end of the premiere look like child’s play.

It’s the kind of shocking twist we’ve been yearning for since Esmail first pulled the wool over our eyes back in Season 1. But that was four years ago, we know Elliot’s tricks now. Surely we would see another reveal like Darlene’s coming. We see everything coming these days.

Yet we don’t see it coming. Mr. Robot manages to replicate the moment that put this show on the map and upstage it with a reveal that changes the fabric of the series in bigger and better ways than we could ever think to imagine. This time with four seasons of material to work around.

This kind of feat in television today is nearly impossible to pull off and yet, Esmail does so with ease. The realization that he incorporated this twist from the beginning of the series is incredible and the thought of Malek slipping into that third personality without our knowledge just makes this whole thing that more thrilling.

As someone who didn’t see Darlene’s sister twist coming at all and still can’t decide whether Tyrell is real or not, giving my theory as to who “The Other One” is may not be wise. That being said, I like to believe that scene in the office with Elliot and his mother is meant to tell us three things.

One: Elliot’s mother (the real version) could very well have known about this other personality and exploited that for a reason that surely corresponded with her husband’s work and ECorp. It would be neat if it turned out one of Elliot’s family members was actually aware of his multiple personalities from a young age — possibly since that mysterious window incident.

Two: Elliot’s third persona has been with us from the start. This means we have more than likely seen Malek portray this other personality at some point in the series. We can also suspect that “The Other One” will be portrayed by someone that has already been introduced to us.

Three: We have some idea of what the third personality wants. They want Elliot to continue on with the plan to take Whiterose down without any distractions. However, we don’t know for sure that “The Other One” wants Elliot to actually take down the Dark Army. It would be cool to see this third persona be the evil mastermind behind this entire thing, including Whiterose.

So who exactly is “The Other One”? 

Of course, the main suspect is Tyrell. Fans have speculated for years that Tyrell is, in fact, part of Elliot’s subconscious. Then he shot Elliot and continued to interact with characters in a way that would suggest this theory is impossible. Thanks to this reveal, I think it is safe to say nothing is impossible at this point.

Now if we’re thinking outside the box, I’m going to go ahead and throw Elliot’s therapist into the running. I don’t have any evidence to back this theory up, I just don’t trust this lady. She’s been sketchy from day one and frankily that’s enough for me to be suspicious.

Maybe it’s one of the deceased fsociety members. Maybe it’s us, the viewers. This third personality could be anyone and the prospect of that is both thrilling and terrifying — something Esmail has surely been counting on since he put this little plan into motion.

Okay, despite that mind-bending twist we have to talk about Elliot and Darlene.

The two siblings are forced to spend some quality time together with the death of their cruel mother and while that sucks for them, it’s a pure stroke of genius as far as this episode should be concerned. The Alderson siblings are one of the last remaining relationships we have to root for and their love for each other is the driving force behind many of these quieter scenes.

The reveal that Darlene is still mourning Angela, not her mother, packs an emotional punch of its own. But it is that gutwrenching recording of a young Elliot, Darlene, and Angela wishing Angela’s mother a happy mother’s day that really ties this storyline together beautifully.

I’m glad Darlene has joined Elliot in the fight against Whiterose. It’s important that the series reassemble fscoiety in some form because Elliot’s greatest accomplishments where never accomplished on his own. He needs a team of people who can remember things his alternate personalities keep from him.

These sibling episodes come few and far amongst the chaos, so when we do get to see these two in a room speaking their minds it feels like a Christmas miracle.

Price continous to be the dark horse of the season. That being said, I’m not too fond of his opening monologue. The entire narration is an information overload and doesn’t compliment the transitioning scene as well as it could have. None the less, information on the Deus group is valuable to understanding Price’s motives.

The opening scene in the Al Safe building between Elliot, Mr. Robot, and Price flows beautifully from character to character. The three off them scheming together has been a long time coming and it does not disappoint in the slightest.

The dance for power as Price and Elliot spar off is deliberate and precise. This builds to one of Elliot’s strongest moments in the entire series as Malek’s delivery and change in tone command the room’s attention with a confidence we rarely see.

Elliot divulging to Price that he knew about Angela’s biological relation is a great use of subtle shock value and reminds the audience that Elliot could be keeping stuff from us too.

These mind-bending twists at the end of every episode are everything. Even so, Mr. Robot knows it cannot survive off pure shock value alone. Price’s scenes with Elliot and Whiterose are a necessary tool in order to orchestrate the bigger moments of “Payment Required”.

This is what viewers want from a final season. We want stakes. We want the shock value. We want to stay up all night thinking about how incredible this ending is.

“Payment Required” leaves us in the hands of a creator more than capable of delivering on his promises and with a vessel of actors who deliver that vision flawlessly.

4 years of thinking we know what’s going on and we still don’t. This latest reveal confirms what we’ve always suspected — Mr. Robot is by far the smartest series on television.

Who do you think “The Other One” is? What did you think of this episode of Mr. Robot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Mr. Robot airs Sundays at 10/9c on USA.

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