I just started watching Season Two of Mr. Robot via my cable company's on demand feature because I hadn't updated my USA credentials on Apple TV and forgot to DVR it when it aired live. I hate their on demand service, but it's working for now. My wife and I binge watched the first season earlier this year and a show like Mr. Robot would be a natural for me, but for her to sit still and consume the whole thing over two days is a testament to it's awesomeness to be sure.
Now I've only watched the first episode so don't ruin the damn thing for me, but I do want to mention I did notice the faux Bitcoin logo on the food truck about half way through. I hope they expand on that element more as the season progresses. The episode started, for me a bit off the wall and he me saying, "If I wanted to trip, I would drop some acid!". It got on with it though and it eventually came to me where they were going with it all: Elliot's relationship with the Shrink, Dr. Krista Gordon played by Gloria Reuben.
This isn't a TV review piece though, and I should get back to my point here: Rami Malek's portrayal of Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot is so damn good that he'll either become the next Al Pacino or become typecast forever based on his powerful Mr. Robot performance. i can think of worse things to be typecast as ...
Now, I'm not implying there's any comparison between Jethro Bodine (Max Baer Jr.) and Elliot Alderson, but it is a good example of someone, who based on their portrayal of a popular character has been forever branded as that fictional person. In the case of Max Baer Jr., he hated the Jethro character, spending years trying to break free of the stigma associated with being beloved. In fact, in a 2008 TV Guide interview, Baer said:
BlockquoteMax Baer Jr: I hated it. I wanted to distance myself from it. When the series went off the air in 1971, nobody wanted to cast me on TV because as soon as I came on the screen, people would say, "Hey, there's Jethro!" I was also going through a divorce at the same time, and I ended up with absolutely nothing. The only thing worse than being a has-been is being a has-been with no money. It wasn't until I produced and wrote Macon County Line that I made a lot of money.
I bring all this up because since becoming an avid fan of Mr. Robot, I've been very taken by the acting performance and presence Rami Malek has shown with this role. The character Elliot is a solitary one, where Malek has a tough task pulling off several story lines.
- The maybe/maybe not plot focus with his Dad, (Christian Slater, Mr. Robot, Father, Producer)
- The convoluted relationship with his mother, (Vaishnavi Sharma)
- His therapy sessions and involvement with psychiatrist Krista Gordon, (Gloria Reuben)
- The realization that fsociety hacker and anarchist, Darlene, (Carly Chaikin) is his sister.
- Corporate evil, fsociety involvement, and the insanity in his own mind to name a few more.
I think Malek pulls this all off in excellent fashion, (2016 Best Lead Actor Emmy Nomination for Malek and six for the show total), prompting me to make comparisons to Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, or possibly even Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Time will tell if Rami Malek will end up Al, Jack or Max, (hopefully not), but for now I just hope he continues being Elliot Alderson.
