Mr. Robot Review: Series Finale Part 1; Series Finale Part 2 (Season 4 Episodes 12 and 13)

Now that’s how you end a TV series!

Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 12 and 13, “Series Finale Part 1; Series Finale Part 2,” is the unprecedented ending we deserve from this truly unprecedented series. 

Through the good, the bad, and the disorienting, we get to witness a nearly flawless season of television execute its endgame with very few missteps along the way.

Mr. Robot holds on to its confusing and patronizing format until the bitter end and comes out victorious not in spite of it, but because of it.

Part 1:

The first part of Mr. Robot’s series finale is many things. One thing it’s not is productive.

The idea of watching Elliot come to terms with the perfect version of the world he never had is exciting. But there’s no huge pay off to watching Elliot stumble through his new reality. We are essentially watching our protagonist unpack everything we already learned from the previous episode for almost all of Part 1.

And let me tell you, coming down from the chaotic highs of “eXit’ only to learn Elliot has to play catch up for an entire hour is terribly frustrating.

There are important pieces to the final puzzle hidden within this first hour but they aren’t executed to their fullest potential due to what feels more like a lack of direction than misdirection at times.

That’s not to say Part 1 is a waste of Mr. Robot’s time — it’s not. It’s just not the main course.

This promising entree is packed full of callbacks and Easter eggs that make the whole experience that much more sentimental. And if a series finale has to be anything to succeed, it’s sentimental.

That’s the only way we come away from this whole thing emotionally distraught, yet somehow thankful. The sweet spot of goodbyes is something Mr. Robot knows how to craft even at the height of its chaotic premise.

Elliot returning as the narrator, the familiar car parked under the “I heart NY” mural, Price answering the door as Angela’s father. Each of these details helps this first hour lean into the whimsy of its alternate universe while still paying homage to the gritty world we’ve thrived in for so long.

Within the first hour, this series gives the first of two proper goodbyes while attempting one last charade. We know the “alternate realities are real” concept was always a bit of a stretch but this show goes out of its way to make the concept seem plausible, if only for a moment.

The meeting of the Elliots is very much the ending to this episode that we deserve.

The drawings of Elliot and fsociety hint at what’s to come without giving away the secret in its entirety. It’s a clever tease that showcases the eye this show has always had for giving its audience clues so out of context they are practically useless to us.

And because Mr. Robot can’t go one single episode this season without delivering a scene that will horrify us well into the night, naturally one Elliot must then kill the other. This is a moment so royal f***ed up, I don’t really know whether it’s appropriate to laugh hysterically or cry.

Part one sends a clear message with this ridiculous plot twist. Mr. Robot isn’t here to give us the finale we want. It’s giving us the finale we need, whether we want it or not.

Part 2:

Mr. Robot continues it’s wild escapades well into the second part, this time with a little more urgency in its step and an ace up its sleeve.

The momentous reveal that the Elliot Alderson we know and love is, in fact, a fourth personality called the Mastermind isn’t actually that surprising.

This is a theory that has made the rounds online since the pilot. So yes, we aren’t completely clueless for once, that much is true. But that doesn’t make this reveal is any less surprising in terms of seeing it actually coming to fruition.

Elliot being nothing more than another persona was always a ballsy “what if” move, even for this series. So naturally, it’s the basis for which this entire series was built on.

A congratulation is in order. Not just because Mr. Robot has pulled off the biggest and boldest of premises in television history, but because they quietly executed this plan with the notion that Elliot would never really be the one to pull this thing off.

No, on a series dominated by male actors, it would be the under-appreciated female character and loyal sister that would be the key to it all.

Darlene revealing to the audience that she’s known this wasn’t the real Elliot since the beginning is everything. This incredibly powerful reveal is worth more than any that came before it. Darlene’s perspective instantly changes the dynamic between the two siblings into something far more special and heartwrenching. It makes their goodbye that much more emotional and unique.

This is the most important move Esmail could have ever taken with the direction of this series and without it, we would never have the groundbreaking moments that transpire next. This is one hell of a secret and I’m glad Mr. Robot kept it until the end.

In true Mr. Robot fashion, it is in the last ten minutes that this show’s best work comes to life.

These final ten minutes essentially save the series from succumbing to the wild premise that put it on the map while showcasing everything that makes Elliot’s story something worth celebrating.

If we didn’t have this ending, my feelings towards this series finale would be conflicting. That is in large part because this finale goes out of its way to make us feel uncomfortable. Yes, I’m talking about the weird Christian Slater CGI face scene — that is the stuff of nightmares.

Just when it feels like everything is falling apart, bogged down by too much chaos, this series brings it all together.

Whiterose didn’t use her time wisely, but Mr. Robot uses every last second of this goodbye to prove this series is so much more than just flashy illusions and tricks.

This robot has a heart after all, friends.

After so many years of unanswered questions and ridiculously high expectations, we finally know what the end of Elliot’s story looks like — and it is glorious!

Everything from Elliot and Darlene’s goodbye to his reunion with the other personas in the movie theatre to Darlene’s face welcoming the real Elliot back into the world — it’s all rather beautiful. I’m tearing up again just thinking about it.

Despite all the pain this ending causes us, I do think it’s one of the best conclusions to a story television has ever given us. This is an ending I will be happy to revisit time and time again, knowing it was worth every second of turmoil this series has put us through over the course of four seasons. 

Esmail found a way to let go of Elliot and ensure in the process we would be satisfied with letting go too. It’s the perfect ending, and one I think we can all sleep easier knowing existed.

Thank you Sam Esmail, Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Carly Chaikin and everyone else that had a hand in bringing this incredible series to life. Thank you for giving television enthusiasts something other than reboots and spin-offs to consume.

Most importantly, thanks for giving us a show that unafraid to tell us when we were wrong — over and over again.

Sometimes a work of art is only a work of art if it is able to bend the audience to see things the way they need to be seen. And Mr. Robot sure did bend our perception to meet its needs.

These final moments are telling of the calibre of story Esmail set out to tell in 2015, regardless of the loose ends left untouched (*cough* Tyrell *cough*). It’s the level of execution and talent seeping out from every corner of this series that allows this pipe dream to turn into a full-fledged success story by the end.

It’s no Christmas miracle that Mr. Robot manages to succeed. This show’s inevitable triumph had been written since the moment Rami Malek walked on-screen in that iconic black hoodie.

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