Mr. Robot Review: eXit (Season 4 Episode 11)

How dare you do this to us, Mr. Robot — again!

Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 11, “eXit,” is a brutal slap across the face in terms of the greatest “WTF moment” this show has ever delivered on.

With this series, we’ve never really known what we were watching and some of us have accepted that long before now. But this episode — this is something else entirely. Something potentially brilliant, something potentially awful, and something entirely different from what we have imagined.

“eXit” just pulled a move reminiscent of something Lost would have done back in the day. The difference between the ending to Lost and Mr. Robot, however, is Mr. Robot may just be able to pull this crazy concept off.

That all comes down to planning.

Understanding and being able to lay the groundwork for a series-ending before even filming the first season is something I will continue to praise the creator of Mr. Robot for doing because planning is potentially what will save this series from certain doom.

That is if the ending Esmail came up with all those years ago can stand up to our ridiculous expectations — and after this, I absolutely think it can.

Besides we don’t have any expectations at this point, we have no idea what’s even happening.

Even as we watch the back half of the episode unfold with so much confusion and uncertainty surrounding the experience, it’s clear each move is precise and thought out well in advance. It’s clear to us, even when everything else isn’t, that Mr. Robot knows exactly what it has to do to make a lasting impression.

Whiterose sure knows how to put on a show.

BD Wong’s return to the stage is nothing short of mesmerizing as Whiterose declares Zhang to be dead and then slips into a passionately debate with Elliot that involves just the right amoung of diabolical laughter to make us uncomfortable.

It is during this debate that Mr. Robot serves two truly powerful monologues back to back. Like yin and yang, Wong and Malek share how their characters see the world through a passionate take on love and hate. It’s a scene that takes the generic standoff between protagonist and antagonist to new heights.

Giving Malek five minutes of uninterrupted dialogue is never a bad idea either.

However, it does seem somewhat redundant to have Whiterose escape custody only to kill herself moments later. But with so much about her plan and that machine still unknown, it’s hard to say what is redundant and what’s not at this point.

“eXit” starts off looking like any other episode we’ve seen this season. Yet there’s something off from the jump.

It’s as if Mr. Robot is showing off a little bit with this episode, pushing the lavish cinematography and captivating soundtracks to the forefront of the scenes even more than usual.

The soundtrack for this episode is superb, there’s no denying that. The soundtrack is always good but it feels like Mr. Robot cranks things up a notch as it builds to some kind of epic ending.

We don’t know it at the time, but the series is giving the world we know a proper send-off by elevating the beauty of Elliot’s broken reality. It’s a brilliant way to say goodbye before throwing viewers into the unknown.

Regardless of how quickly the back half of the episode consumes these smaller details, they are not lost on us.

After years of speculation, Mr. Robot has finally pulled back the curtain on its biggest secret and honestly, I wish we could put the curtain back.

This mind-bending, migraine-inducing twist is certainly epic. But this alternate reality is relentless as Esmail refuses to give the audience any information to comfort us going into the finale.

We are forced to wallow in the overwhelming confusion that starts when Elliot (or Rami Malek really) walks out of his bedroom shirtless and doesn’t relent even when OG Elliot shows up to confront this bizarre new world.

This episode’s twist leaves us angry, confused, and desperate for answers. As much as we want to see those answers before the credits roll, part of me is glad Esmail refused to give up his plan just yet.

The best television is the kind that keeps you deprived of sleep for an entire week trying to figure out what’s coming — and we have absolutely no idea what’s coming.

Mr. Robot has never been a show to go easy on its viewers. But it is that determination to make us feel everything the characters are feeling and never conceded to what we expect that makes this show so freakin’ enjoyable.

Everyone had theories as to how Elliot’s story would play out in the finale and this penultimate episode just threw them all out the window. We are all just as clueless going into the finale and that seemed to always be the plan going into this show.

We don’t know if Mr. Robot is willing to change the fabric of the series and take a sci-fi approach to this alternate reality or if this is the doing of a more practical artificial intelligence. We still don’t know who the “other” is or why Darlene is the key, yet noticeably absent from Elliot’s new world.

And how is there no longer a Flipper in either version of Elliot’s life?

We don’t really know what this show has planned and there’s something rather refreshing about that. All these years of analyzing and theorizing, just to be told it doesn’t matter. We still don’t know who Elliot is and without that information, we will never be able to outsmart Mr. Robot.

Elliot has been through a lot, okay. I’m glad this episode recognizes that.

And regardless of the anger and confusion, we are feeling right now, I’m glad Mr. Robot knocked the wind out of us like this. Anything less just wouldn’t feel proper for a series that has always been good at making us think we know exactly what’s going on.

Even with a catastrophic twist like this looming over the episode, “eXit” still manages to feel like the start of a proper goodbye.

We are rewarded for our devotion with a smorgasbord of heart-warming cameos. Sandwichman makes a surprising comeback and the alternate reality gives us the opportunity to see Tyrell and Angela again. Ollie even stops by to renew our faith in him always being a dumbass, regardless of the circumstances.

We may not know what’s coming next, but after this mind-blowing twist, I think it’s safe to say we know it’s going to be good.

What did you think of this episode of Mr. Robot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The two-part series finale of Mr. Robot airs Sunday, December 22 at 9/8c on USA.

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