Review: Mr. Robot ‘407 Proxy Authentication Required’

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Warning: Post contains major spoilers

Ever since its huge reveal that Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) was actually one of hacker Elliot Alderson’s (Rami Malek) personas, manifested in his late father, USA Network’s hit series “Mr. Robot” completely upended the lens through which its audience viewed the show. Now, with “Mr. Robot” season 4 episode 7 “407 Proxy Authentication Required,” there’s another massive twist. Drug dealer Fernando Vera (Elliot Villar), who kidnapped Elliot’s former therapist Krista Gordon (Gloria Reuben), interrogates Elliot. Meanwhile, Krista is tied up in the next room.
Vera demands to speak to Mr. Robot, insisting that Mr. Robot is the key to breaking Alderson and transforming him into a business partner. Vera, high on meth, rambles and relays his entire life story. As Vera explains, he took over an island in the Dominican Republic but wasn’t satisfied. So Fernando visited a shaman where Vera realized his emptiness meant he wanted to take over New York. After much incoherent babbling, Vera explains his grandiose plan of taking over New York.

Mr. Robot finally comes through. However, rather than providing the answers Vera seeks, Mr. Robot instead dismantles Fernando’s idyllic vision. “This city is one big fat credit card bill, and you want to pay it,” Mr. Robot counters. “All so you can what, be another suit with a mortgage?” Elliot offers a solution that could prove mutually beneficial: proceed with hacking Cyprus National Bank and draining the Deus Group/Chinese Dark Army of their funds. In turn, Vera gets the financial capital.

Unfortunately, Elliot pulls a gun on Vera and his goons. When Fernando challenges Elliot that he doesn’t have what it takes to pull the trigger, Alderson does just that only to discover that the gun’s clip has been emptied. Vera forces Krista into a therapy session with Elliot. Despite Krista’s protestations, Elliot remains the ironically calm one. “Come on, Krista. It’s fine, just pretend he’s not even here.” The session is surprisingly effective. During the emotionally-fraught therapy session, Krista delves into the incident where Elliot threw himself out a window. While Mr. Robot and Krista both plead with Elliot not to continue, Alderson continues. “I can’t protect you anymore,” Mr. Robot laments. As Krista leads Elliot to uncovering, his father sexually abused him.

Observations:

The fact that Elliot’s father, manifested in Mr. Robot, sexually abused him comes as a major shocker. The persona of Mr. Robot consistently protects Elliot. Yet Mr. Robot has been a bit of a red herring, as the protection he offers is actually guarding Elliot from memories of past abuse more so than the outside world. After seasons of viewing Mr. Robot as a protagonist, this now uncomfortably shifts the dynamic between the audience and Mr. Robot, as well as Elliot and Mr. Robot’s relationship. Especially in its fourth and final season, Mr. Robot served as the primary insight into Elliot’s psyche. Additionally, it’s Mr. Robot who largely addresses the viewer rather than Elliot. It’s unclear how the Elliot-Mr. Robot dichotomy will evolve after this bombshell. Likely, we’ll finally meet one of Elliot’s other personalities after this epic reveal.

Elliot Villar as Vera completely steals the show. His methed-up ramblings prove simultaneously menacing and laughable. Vera crafts multiple metaphors which fail to land. In a tour de force finale, Krista stabs the crazed Vera in the back, urging Elliot to run just before the power goes out.

I simultaneously loved “Mr. Robot” S04E07 since it caught me off guard, and despised “407 Proxy Authentication Required” for its implications about the future of Elliot and Mr. Robot’s relationship or lack thereof. Once again, it’s clear that “Mr. Robot” solely focuses on crafting a fresh, original narrative rather than appeasing its audience with trite fan service. While “407 Proxy Authentication Required” drops a worldview-altering twist, lack of any insight into Whiterose’s (BD Wong) plan, or Elliot’s sister Darlene’s (Carly Chaikin) safety, proves confounding. Past the midway point in the final season of “Mr. Robot,” there are still loads of questions left unanswered. I’m excited to see how this latest bombshell shapes the rest of the series, and hope that Mr. Robot and Elliot continue, by some miracle, to co-exist. Slater is too delightful in his post as Mr. Robot to lose.