Ep 1. eps1.0_hellofriend.mov
- TV-MA
- May 27, 2015
- 64 min
-
9.2 (19,514)
The show Mr. Robot is a psychological thriller that follows a young pretty computer programmer, Elliot (played by Rami Malek), who is dissatisfied with his life and turns to hacking to find meaning and purpose. In the first episode titled "eps1.0_hellofriend.mov", we get to meet Elliot and learn about his personal life.
The pilot episode starts with Elliot sitting in front of his computer and narrating his thoughts about the world as a bleak and corrupt place. He's a cybersecurity engineer at a company called All-Safe, tasked with protecting clients' data from hackers. However, his hobby is to hack into the lives of the people around him, and he tries to use his skills to help those who are victims of injustice.
As the story unfolds, Elliot comes across a mysterious hacker group called "fsociety," led by Mr. Robot (played by Christian Slater), who recruit him to join their cause of taking down the world's largest conglomerate called E Corp (or Evil Corp as Elliot prefers to call them). Elliot is resistant at first, but Mr. Robot hooks him with the idea of creating a better world for people like them who are oppressed by the system.
Throughout the episode, Elliot is also struggling with a morphine addiction, which he uses to cope with the anxiety caused by his anxiety disorder and depression. He has a therapist named Krista whom he goes to for sessions, but he doesn't reveal the extent of his drug use. We also get a glimpse of Elliot's fragile family life, where he's estranged from his father, who died of leukemia, and he harbors resentment towards his mother for covering up his father's illness from him.
The show also introduces us to some of the other key characters, such as Angela (played by Portia Doubleday), Elliot's childhood friend who also works at All-Safe, and Darlene (played by Carly Chaikin), a member of fsociety who seems to know Elliot well. We also see glimpses of a couple of other characters who will be more prominent in later episodes, such as Tyrell Wellick (played by Martin Wallström), a high-ranking executive at E Corp, and Gideon Goddard (played by Michel Gill), the CEO of All-Safe.
The episode is shot in a stark, gritty style, with the use of handheld cameras and unconventional angles that give the audience a sense of being inside Elliot's head. The colors are desaturated, and the lighting is often dim, which adds to the oppressive mood of the story. The sound design is also notable, with a pulsing electronic score that heightens the tension and foreboding.
In conclusion, Mr. Robot season 1 episode 1, "eps1.0_hellofriend.mov", sets up the world and characters of the show in a compelling way. It introduces us to Elliot, a complex and fascinating protagonist, and the intriguing mystery of fsociety and their plan to take down the system. The episode establishes a bleak and foreboding atmosphere, which sets the tone for the rest of the series. If you enjoy a compelling thriller, Mr. Robot is definitely a show worth checking out.