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Season 1 Formula Forgotten and Replaced with Dark and Boring

posted 8 years ago by zeuthuk
26 replies | jump to latest

In season 1 we got to see Elliot take down a few bad guys with his hacking and also pull off the greatest hack the world has ever seen. We had romance and violence and also tension as Elliot's life comes under threat from a vicious Drug Dealer. The 90’s Arcade was always a favorite of mine as were the weird characters that frequented it. We had strong supporting characters with Tyrell and Gideon who were also heavily connected to the hack story, which gradually built throughout the show. I loved the Dark Army bit’s but where have they gone?

This season they got the formula very wrong and built large parts of the show around Elliot discovering who he is and isn't. This has been nowhere near strong enough to carry the show. The violence has been less satisfying and the romance has gone from his life. Our two supporting characters Tyrell and Gideon have not really featured nor have they been adequately replaced. Elliot is a brilliant hacker but we have barely seen this side of him. We have spent too many minutes holed up in Elliot’s dingy apartment or see him sitting by the basketball court. Season 1 took on current themes such as computer hacking and corporation power but this season it’s been non-existent. Has the show introduced any new themes to us?

The writers seem to have forgotten what made season 1 great and have created a different series for season 2. Market research would have told them what audiences loved about season 1 but yet they have pretty much abandoned this and tried to be to clever by creating a theatrical piece about Elliot’s self discovery. It’s all felt a little too dark for me and become to serious. The great hack now feels like a weak back story. What is the next stage of the hack? I've not seen episode 10 yet but even if it's great it will not be enough to ensure this season was a success. Season 1 was bold, exciting and original and deserves it's high rating on IMDB but season 2 should be rated around 7.8. Had it not been for season 1 I would have stopped watching the show altogther.

[–] AlMacNinis 8 years ago

Why would it follow a formula ? It's not a procedural show.

TWD for a example is a show that's not a procedural show and yet it follows a formula which is why the show sucks dongs.

[–] zeuthuk 8 years ago

The film and TV industry is full of formulas, they are tried and tested. Formulas are there to reduce risk in the investment and provide some certainty. Formulas are guidance. Only the public believe something could be random. The stock market is another example of people believing in random when it is full of formulas. Just because you don't see them it doesn't mean they are not there. BTW TWD is a massive hit show whether you like it or not.

[–] djindra 8 years ago

It's obvious you haven't made it very far into Season 2, because all of the complaints you have are a moot point if you're actually caught up to the current episodes.

Your quote "We have spent too many minutes holed up in Elliot’s dingy apartment or see him sitting by the basketball court." proves you aren't that far into the season.

[–] zeuthuk 8 years ago

Season 1 was original and had a strong theme, season 2 appears to be running around in the dark. The first 5 episodes of S2 could have been 1 episode repeated 5 times. Then in the second part of the season they put the focus back on Darlene and her group. Tension builds until the finale, the assassination attempt. Haven't we seen such a thing before, it's not original by any means.

[–] djindra 8 years ago

I repeat, you aren't very far into the season.

[–] leonthesleepy 8 years ago

I have the same problem as you, the first 6 episodes have been running around in circles, and there is a turning point that explains why, but for me i thought it could have been done much better in maybe 3 episodes instead of dragging it on for more than half of the season.

I wish that the first 6 episodes at least had more character development for the side characters, but even they seem to do the same arc over and over again. Angela gets put down by a former friend, and then fights back and claims E Corp appreciates her.

She does this the exact same way with her Lawyer friend, Her Dad, and her dad's friend. Its ridiculous how no one said to Sam Esmail "hey all these 3 scenes are exactly the same no?". Then you have Joanna's new lover. Just why? Did we really need so many scenes of her BDSM lifestyle? Other than beating over our head with the "Control is an Illusion" metaphor, it just draws out the season which has already been murky to begin with ever since it expanded away from Elliot's story.

If it helps, the season picks up again from episode 9. Which may be too little too late, but at least it DOES get better. The Plot starts moving and we get some answers and the episodes feel tighter again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hello friend. That's lame, i should give you a name.

[–] charactercombo 8 years ago

While during season 2 many episodes were made us, the audience, feel as though nothing significant was happening, I think that the show's intention was to get us into and become part of of Elliot's psyche instead of a passive viewer. Sure, it was hard to stomach 8 episodes feeling like we were going nowhere, but I'd rather that TV take chances like that instead of giving us what we've come to expect.

In retrospect, at the time those episodes could be call filler just like a lot of television shows do when they don't have a strong enough story to advance it every episode. I think that what sets Mr Robot apart is that now that we know what we know, those episodes weren't filler. They were a primer. Those episodes primed us to doubt what Elliot tells us even if it is explicitly shown to us. At this point I don't think that we can ever say that what we experience through Elliot is true or accurate. For me, that is what I want in my TV. A show which tells me one thing but doesn't necessarily lie about that one thing. What we see may be true, except that the truth isn't immediately known.

"No talking from things that don't talk!" - Jaye Tyler

[–] nihilist_jabroni 8 years ago

FML I just finished episode 5. You're telling me I have to suffer through 3 more episodes of this pure dog crap???

[–] charactercombo 8 years ago

I had a similar feeling, but it does, at least for me and a few other people I know, make up for it in the end. I was firmly onboard the WTF train but I was pleased at the end of it all. I'm ok with shows trying to do something different, but I won't let those shows get away with it like I did Dexter and Lost.

"No talking from things that don't talk!" - Jaye Tyler

[–] nihilist_jabroni 8 years ago

Yeah, Dexter did s**t the bed, but at least the first 4-5 seasons were epic.

[–] charactercombo 8 years ago

100% agree. It just became a chore in the end. Dexter does something dumb which might lead to him getting caught, but he fixes it in the end, etc, etc, etc. I skipped to the series finale only stopping that the few parts that were actually relevant to the story and I still felt I had wasted my time.

"No talking from things that don't talk!" - Jaye Tyler

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] nihilist_jabroni 8 years ago

just finished episode 8, now watching episode 9. Why did Elliott plead guilty? Seems like the dumbest thing he could do?

[–] Pumba74 8 years ago

Yeah pretty much. It does get a little better but lower your expectations is all I can say. There is a twist in episode 8 though that will make it feel less like filler but sadly not much. But you got this far, you only have a few more. I'm going to watch the finale and then decide if I'm going to invest in another season. At the moment I'm really on the fence. The show took a decent premise in season one and just blew it trying to be overly clever this season but the story line was too weak with characters you don't give two craps about that is the real problem.

[–] geoffsmith430 8 years ago

But then what you're asking for is a show that is safe and turns a profit. I'm sure that's what USA network would like also, but surely as the audience, we should judge it on what we find entertaining, not ticking boxes to ensure it has the right ratio of each element.

Shows written by committees probably have a far better average success rate in revenue terms, but I'll bet nearly all of the highly acclaimed series have a much smaller team or individual at the creative helm

[–] zeuthuk 8 years ago

Season 2 is a mess and doesn't build very well on the work of S1. The two seasons don't interlink very well, they have jumped to much and got it wrong. S1 is not safe as I had said before. There is nothing up with building on what the audience enjoyed in S1. How can anyone like the Elliot vs Elliot dominating scenes that have not really added to the show. What is the theme now? Hacking, Elliot, F-Society, E-Corp? The search for Wellick has been pointless and a waste of time. Elliot and Angela hardly feature together this time around but their relationship is intriguing. Ray is one of the best characters we have seen this time around but his story was wasted. Christian Slater has featured heavily in S2, a big mistake.

[–] jill2045 8 years ago

And most TV is boring due to formulas. This show isn't following any tried and true formulas at all so I don't really get your point. It's breaking ground where most people didn't think there was any more ground to break. As my mom used to say to me when I'd get annoyed with slow bits of Breaking Bad "don't worry, it leading up to something big"

If you loved season one, didn't they gain your trust? Trust that they have a plan, sit back, stop whining and enjoy the ride. Or don't. I really don't care what you do.

[–] nihilist_jabroni 8 years ago

Gained and then lost with the first 3 s**t episodes of season 2. Make that 5 episodes, actually. As for "enjoying the ride" . . . you can't enjoy something that sucks.

Update: I thoroughly enjoyed Darlene killing that b***h lawyer. I was worried they were going to let her live. Highlight of season 2 so far.

[–] mollydtt 8 years ago

I remember an interview with Sam Esmail. He originally planned Mr Robot as a movie. When he got the agreement to make it a tv series, the first act became Season 1. My assumption is that he had act 2 planned or written already.

The fleshing out of the consequences of 5/9 makes season 2 work for me, but, obviously the results of 5/9 are mixed and the future is still developing. The great expectations of fsociety from season 1 are meeting the reality of working with the dark army.

It is merely act 2 to me.

[–] FrankZppa 8 years ago

I think it's more of a tone issue, the tone of the show changed a lot from season 1, but I agree that the formula changed for the worse.

[–] sethman-50117 8 years ago

Agree man. I have given up on this show as it is way too pretentious.

Rami's character is so freaken boring that i wish he did us all a favor and jumped out of a window again.

I think the writers think they are cleverer than they actually are which makes for a very tedious show to watch.

Thankfully there is a plethora of well written shows that i can watch and enjoy

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] El_Funko 8 years ago

The show went full female in season 2.

[–] spin_orbit 8 years ago

Thankyou for posting this OP there are a few of us feeling this way, this show was really focused but now's just too sensational. You summarized the failings of Season 2 well.

[–] stsorrell 8 years ago

I'm with you. Season 1 was so different that it was refreshing...if it's possible to use that term to describe such a dark show. So far I'm only 4 eps into Season 2 and I keep wondering, how much more of Elliot's introspection am I to endure? Where's the excitement? Now that the hack has happened, what's the direction? Where are we going? Of course, not knowing the destination is what keeps me watching, but after four episodes now, I'm losing interest in that destination...because we've not moved at all.

I just read a Forbes article about Mr Robot....it claims that viewership has fallen dramatically since Season 1. Looks like we're not the only ones that feel this way...

[–] zeuthuk 8 years ago

Tonight I will watch the season finale. In football there's a saying that it's a game of 2 half's. Season 2 has been like that for me. The first 6 episodes have been bang average and almost suffering at times. The following episodes have improved but there's too much going on. Season 2 has been about the fallout of the great hack but we really only get to see this through the main characters rather than see how it affected general America. I feel like I have to take their word for it and f-society have been pretty anonymous. There was something really building with f-society. Even outside of the show people have been wearing the masks at gatherings and demonstrations against corporate greed, there was a definite influence there from season 1.

I’m afraid season 2 has influenced nothing, it’s unmemorable and feels like a bad movie sequel that shouldn’t have been made. How did the writers get it so wrong? I talked about formulas in my initial post and how season 1 had these but S2 has been a mish-mash of ideas, its no wonder viewing numbers have dropped. Hollywood is built on formulas and folks still watch the films produced by the studios, there is nothing wrong with formulas. Those who said formulas sucked got originality in season 2 but original what exactly? I’m starting to think that season 1’s success went to the producer’s heads. They have been really ambitious this time with all the dark Elliot episodes and thought they could pull it off.

The FBI have been a big part of season 2 and seriously I couldn’t give a *beep* about watching the FBI, I’m here to watch Elliot who was very interesting in S1. It was great to see him coping in the workplace with his condition, taking drugs, hacking, having relationships, the dog walking and his friendships with people. Yes this is all formula stuff some of which we could relate to, so why did they abandon it and send Elliot underground? You don’t do that to your main character(s) after one season. People here watch hit shows with the main characters doing the same things season after season now that’s formula. Imagine in breaking bad if they stopped Walter and Jesse making drugs in S2 and the writers sent them into hiding people would have hated it. However some here seem to think it’s ok to do that with Mr Robot but viewing figures say otherwise.