How to Watch Mr Robot Season 2 Episode 6

After its critically acclaimed debut last summer, Mr Robot season 2 is set to air on Wednesday. Fans are expecting secrets and mysteries to be revealed as Elliot Alderson, the show's protagonist, attempts to understand the hacker collective fsociety that took down E Corp in season one.

But despite that, Esmail reveals to us in these first two episodes that there is no way of knowing what is going on or who's behind it all. Instead, the show takes on a character study that focuses on mental illness, loneliness, tech alienation and dubious parenting.

How to watch Mr. Robot Season 2

The hacker drama is a high quality series, but it's not quite as tightly woven as season one. Despite this, Mr Robot Season 2 is still as gripping as ever.

In the wake of the 5/9 hack, Elliot (Christian Slater) struggles to find balance as he plots against E Corp and Whiterose. This is a fascinating saga that explores identity crisis run amok in a high anxiety culture.

Creator Sam Esmail is directing all 12 episodes of season two, a Herculean feat that gives real unity to his vision. But he also proves, in the first two hours, that the expectations people have for narrative rhythms and familiar storytelling beats will be sidestepped or abandoned altogether.

Episode 1

Elliot is a successful businessman, married to Angela, and has a healthy relationship with his father. But he’s also a paranoid schizophrenic who can’t control his masturbation guilt.

Darlene and the FBI put pressure on Elliot to reveal his secret to Gideon, and he reluctantly agrees. He then goes to Darlene’s FBI safe house, but Mr. Robot emerges from his mind and scares him.

After the hack of Cyprus Bank, Elliot and Mr. Robot meet Olivia Cortez. They start talking and eventually end up in a bar, where they kiss.

Vera’s informant keeps tabs on Elliot, and she smuggles a picture of him with Krista to the butcher shop she uses to smuggle drugs. She then demands he tell her what he knows about Krista, and he finally admits to her that he needs her.

Episode 2

In a surprising turn, Mr. Robot season 2 episode 2 “Payment Required” takes a step back and slows things down for a moment. Elliot and Darlene are thrown a curveball that distracts them from the important mission at hand.

It’s a curious move, especially when the fsociety hack that wiped out the world is still fresh in everyone’s minds. But it’s also a testament to the way creator Sam Esmail is pushing his storytelling vision forward.

This episode opens with a surreal sight gag: a man in a full-body snowman costume, offering his condolences to Elliot and Darlene on a subway platform. It’s one of the show’s few moments of levity.

Episode 3

Season one ended with Elliot and his hacktivist collective fsociety erasing everyone's debts and throwing the world financial system into turmoil. In the second season, creator Sam Esmail continues to explore mental illness, tech alienation and dubious parenting, but the show's central question remains: What's real?

Episode 3 is the latest installment of this "What's real?"/"What's not?" puzzle. It's both beautifully crafted and at times haunting/disturbing.

It's also very plot-stirring, and a perfect showcase of Mr. Robot's unique storytelling style. In this episode, Elliot attempts to escape from a prison cell, Darlene tries to help him and Angela gets her own big opportunity.

Episode 4

Mr Robot's second season is still a solid effort. It's a little less experimental than last year, but it remains enthralling, delivering a series of high-quality two-parters that focus on a variety of character studies.

Elliot, who's struggling with both his mental health and his delusions that Mr. Robot is actually real and not a figment of his imagination, finds himself on the verge of committing suicide.

It's a moment that's both heartbreaking and exhilarating at once, and it's one of the best in the series so far. It's a great example of how the show is using mental illness to explore broader issues like grief, yearning and identity -- not to mention the sketchiness of representations of mental illnesses in general.

Episode 5

There's something very unique about Mr. Robot that makes it feel like an entirely different show from anything else on TV: its heightened sense of dread is akin to the kind of atmosphere that comes out of a horror movie.

Episode five of season two is a big one. Angela wants more from Evil Corp; the Dark Army's allegiance is in question; Elliot and Darlene seek answers.

In one of the most bizarre scenes on this series so far, Dominique tells her co-worker that she never dreams and begins to talk about a recurring dream she's had.

The ensuing conversation, which takes place in a makeshift FBI office, feels like it could have been a dream sequence. In fact, it's one of the most dream-sequence-like episodes I've seen on a TV show ever.

Episode 6

The second season of Mr. Robot (the excellent Rami Malek) was a many-minded marvel, with multiple themes and storytelling approaches blending into a tense, exciting, complex brew. But it was the first 20 minutes of Episode 6 that really captured that all-in-one feeling.

Elliot has become increasingly paranoid and has been using more morphine than ever before. He tries to stop himself from going through with an attack by fsociety and Mr. Robot against an offline backup facility called Steel Mountain, but he can’t.

Meanwhile, Darlene is becoming enraged and threatening to leave fsociety. But she realizes that the attack was a mistake, and she begins to feel guilty about it. She also confronts Vera about her drug addiction. She’s not alone in her anger and frustration: Angela (Portia Doubleday) is concerned about her new job at Evil Corp, wondering whether she can continue to be loyal to fsociety.

Episode 7

After a long build-up, we finally get the reveal that has been building all season: Mr. Robot is Elliot’s father.

We’re all surprised by this, because it would have been a huge spoiler, but it makes a lot more sense now that we know it. And it also explains why Darlene has been so involved in fsociety – and why she acted so strangely when she was arrested.

This episode is very slow compared to the rest of the season. But it’s worth it because it finally reveals the whole story of Mr. Robot, which has been a big part of the show since its very beginning. It really does a great job of slowly building up to this point, and it also works perfectly for how the show has played out so far.

Episode 8

Last week's head-trip left Elliot (Rami Malek) living at his mother's house. Apparently, that's not really what's going on.

Rami Malek does a masterful job of conveying the depths of pain, anger and confusion in this flashback scene that is just as devastating as the one that opened the season. It's a performance that leaves you in tears by the end of it.

This episode takes a step back from the series' fsociety-induced quagmire and dives into some character study. It's not as dark as some of the more flamboyant episodes this season, but it's still very much focused on mental illness, loneliness and tech alienation.

Darlene's spiral has been creeping up all season, but it reached a climax in "Successor." Her delusions are becoming more and more irrational. She still believes in Whiterose's plan to undo everything, and no longer trusts Elliot. She's been pushed into a corner, and has resorted to cold-blooded murder.

Episode 9

In tonight's episode, Elliot and Mr. Robot face an agitated presence in the edges of the screen that seems to demand their attention.

But the rest of the ensemble is in a holding pattern. Whiterose is still the threat, but with the Five/Nine reversal and her plans for Washington Township delayed, her machine is stalled.

Despite the fact that "Init 5" might be the weakest episode of the season so far, it's a solid watch. Darlene reveals a secret; Elliot wonders if Mr. Robot is lying to him; Dom and the FBI get closer; Angela asks for more from Evil Corp.