Elliot keeps a notebook while recapping his mad life.
I keep a notebook for myMr.
Unfortunately, I cant write a full recap of this weeks episode due to work at Comic-Con.
Credit: Michael Parmelee/USA Network
(KyleFowlehas you covered this week withEWs recap here.)
But here are some of the thoughts I had while watching and reflecting on Kernel Panic.
There is no Salvation Army markings, but we can infer them, perMr.
of implied cultural reference.
This act of giving stands in contrast to acts of rationing seen in the present-set scenes.
Such a pittance doesnt allow for acts of generosity, like buying flowers.
It doesnt even allow for the trust that underlies service transactions.
To borrow fromSeinfeldssoup nazi: Nosemifreddofor you!
In a Five/Nine culture where grace is in short supply, Ray stands out as a curiosity.
Hes the good cop in a good cop/bad cop partnership.
After Rays efforts to motivate the man to work fail, his thuggish partner proposes another beating.
Whats most striking about Ray is his practice of love.
Its literally a practice.
He spends his mornings pretending to have breakfast with his late wife, who passed five years earlier.
He buys her flowers.
Unlike Elliot, hes keenly aware that shes not there.
This soulful functionality allows him to make a connection with Elliot at episodes end.
All of this may be seduction a confidence scam.
But for now, Ray is a symbol of our better nature.
Christians have their own conception ofkoyaanisqatsi: The Fall.
In the present, the murder of fsociety member Jerome catalyzes a major story line.
Note the locale: his secret backyard (pot?)
garden another Eden-esque idyll.
Was he slain by the enemy or an fsociety brother, i.e.
Mobley suspects the latter.
In Mobleys gloomy mind, the salvation army that was fsociety is going dark.
(If youre looking for theory, I suspect Mobley is himself for the murder.
Hes doing unto others before they do unto him, which is to say, screw him.)
denunciation to his Bible study brethren (a sequel to season 1s F Society!
), that refuse to use their powers to deliver us from evil.
Elliot rolled his huge eyes at the mans sincerely felt narrative of what Flannery OConnor might call brutal grace.
(Is Elliot referring to something in particular?)
Season 1 laid the blame for our kingdom of bullshit culture on a conspiracy of men and corporations.
Pot, meet Kettle.
The title of this episode could have been Losing My Religion.
But maybe that would have been a bit on the nose, to borrow from Romero.
Think: sleepless Elliot terrified of losing control to Mr.
The dramatic lighting in the F God!
scene suggests a Caravaggio painting.
Yet it should be noted that in this episode, Elliots self-proclaimed God, Mr.
Robot, doesnt play the role of unreliable all-father in Kernel Panic.
The symbolism he aggressively adopts is that of existential panic incarnate the scream that nests in his head.
This interesting: note the emphasis on the color red throughout this episode.
The Salvation Army bucket.
FBI agent Dominiques red coffee cup.
The physical manifestation of the red wheel barrow, the name of Elliots journal of existential despair.
The presence in Elliots room of Hot Carlas Beckett-burning red wagon, which Mr.
Robot hung his hat on.
Perhaps Elliot would be better off losing this religion, too.
But if conventional gods are unworthy and atheism is insufficient, where then does Elliot turn?
But a key idea, The Bedford Lilliputia, could be lifted from Coney island lore.
There was a real dwarf sanctuary attraction in the turn-of-the-century era of the boardwalk hotspot.
It was a major feature of an amusement park known as wait for it Dreamland.
Was that lingering shot of the gate with the devilish face atop of it meant to evoke Hellgate?
And we wonder anew: Did Elliot/Mr.
In another feverish vision, Tony pieces together that Sal (a.k.a.
Big Pussy) has betrayed him to the feds.
Later, fully awake, Tony, Paulie, and Silvio shoot and kill Sal on a boat.
They do him a kindness, though, sparing bullets to the face.
I dont have total recall of this episode; I cant sayThe Sopranoswas my jam.
But Ill argue anyway that Kernel Panic burps up a lot of Funhouse.
Note some aspects of his hallucination.
F you, Santa!
Games, games, pop allusion games.
What do they all mean?
More proof of dreamland theory?
He fell 20 stories and his head went splat on the sidewalk.
Robot, even this non-Elliot scene, is part of his delusions.
The same director, Jack Bender.
Also interesting: the worried/anxious glances that other patrons cast in the direction of Elliot and Ray.
More clues that Elliot and Ray might be inmates at a prison or psychiatric facility?
… FBI agent Dominique was scene engaged in some sex-messaging with someone using the handle HappyHardOnHenry.
Happy Harry Hard-On is one of the names used by Christian Slaters character inPump Up the Volume.
And my favorite scene in the episode Elliots manic delusion of being happy and liberated from Mr.
It pays to give a flying f about all the fs in this show.
