Eps1.7 wh1ter0se.m4v
Elliot learns Darlene is his sister and Mr. Robot his father.
The eighth episode of Mr. Robot, titled "eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v," aired on USA Network on August 12, 2015. Randolph Leon wrote the episode, and Christoph Schrewe directed it. In the story, Elliot Alderson becomes entangled with the Dark Army, while Tyrell Wellick faces questioning about Sharon's death. The episode introduces the character Whiterose and contains a major twist: Darlene is revealed to be Elliot's sister, and Mr. Robot is his father.
During the episode, Darlene steals a gun from a man's safe after spending the night with him, then attends ballet lessons where she meets Angela. Their conversation shows they have known each other for some time. Elliot shares the Steel Mountain plan with Mr. Robot and the fsociety members. Darlene warns Elliot that the Dark Army is following them and gives him the stolen gun, but he refuses it; she hides it in a popcorn machine. At Allsafe, which has been hacked, Ollie asks Elliot to take hard drives for repair—an unusual task. Elliot hacks Ollie's email and questions Angela about not seeking his help with the blackmail.
Tyrell is visited by Gideon, who reports Colby's release and mentions turning E Corp's hacked server into a honeypot during the Allsafe breach. This piques Tyrell's interest, and he searches for the .dat file. Police arrive to question him about Sharon's death, so he leaves to meet Mr. Robot, demanding details about the plan. Mr. Robot refuses, even when Tyrell claims to know his "dirty little secret." At home, Tyrell drinks as police approach; Joanna breaks her own water with a fork to get rid of them, allowing Tyrell to accompany her to the hospital.
The Dark Army leads Elliot to a Faraday cage room, where he meets Whiterose, a transgender woman obsessed with time. She explains the Dark Army backed out due to Gideon's honeypot, giving Elliot two days to shut it down in exchange for their collaboration. Elliot has Darlene broadcast a fsociety message to distract Allsafe staff while he accesses Gideon's phone to remove the honeypot service order. Gideon later reprimands Elliot for not joining the others, expressing suspicion.
At Coney Island, Elliot and Darlene celebrate the impending attack. When Darlene says "I love you so much," Elliot kisses her. She recoils, asking "Did you forget who I am?" Confused, Elliot realizes she is his sister and panics, fleeing as memories resurface. At his apartme
- Episode
- eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v
- Series
- Mr. Robot
- Air date
- August 12, 2015
- Network
- USA Network
- Writer
- Randolph Leon
- Director
- Christoph Schrewe
- Viewers (households)
- 1.24 million
- 18-49 rating
- 0.4
Lore & Background
In the episode, Elliot gets involved with the Dark Army, while Tyrell is questioned over Sharon's death. Elliot meets Whiterose, a transgender woman obsessed with time, in a Faraday cage room. Whiterose gives Elliot two days to shut down a honeypot, after which the Dark Army will collaborate on the hack. Elliot has Darlene broadcast a fsociety message to Allsafe, and while distracted, he accesses Gideon's phone to remove the honeypot service order. At Coney Island, Elliot kisses Darlene, who recoils and says, "Did you forget who I am?" Elliot concludes she is his sister and leaves in panic. At his apartment, he finds a CD with family photos showing a young Elliot, Darlene, their mother, and a man resembling Mr. Robot, revealing the man is his father. Mr. Robot then appears at his door.
Reader's Guide
The episode received critical acclaim, with the twist ending receiving praise from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating based on 10 reviews. Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave it a 9.2 out of 10, calling it "the best show of the summer." Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave it an A–, noting the show flipped the script on contemporary masculinity. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote that the episode revealed far more secrets than viewers realized. Samantha Sofka of Nerdist called the kiss scene "the best scene in the entire season" and "one of the most visceral interpretations of paranoia I've ever seen." Kyle Fowle of Entertainment Weekly highlighted the theme of paranoia. Matthew Giles of Vulture gave a perfect 5-star rating, noting the show's exploration of truth in dual worlds. Frances Roberts of Den of Geek called the revelation a "distraction-hack." Caralynn Lippo of TV Fanatic gave 4.75 stars, saying the double-whammy reveal was unpredictable.
Did You Know?
- The episode was written by Randolph Leon and directed by Christoph Schrewe, both receiving their first writing and directing credits for the series.
- The episode was seen by an estimated 1.24 million household viewers, a 7% increase from the previous episode.
- Whiterose is introduced as a transgender woman obsessed with time, meeting Elliot in a Faraday cage room.
- The twist ending reveals that Darlene is Elliot's sister and Mr. Robot is their father.
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