- The episode begins in slight flashback as Tyrell is trying on an FSociety mask, getting a tour of the Arcade and backstory of the revolution. He gets a callback from James of E Corps IT, confirming the removal of the honeypot from server CS30.
- NOTE: A subtle detail introduced from the very start of Season 2.0 is the "off-by-one" error of dates to the day of week. This was not the rule in Season 1.0, but has been the rule ever since, that even dates from the past (eg The Halloween founding of fsociety) are off by one or two weekdays. This is no isolated typo: it is prevalent by design. This must have been a choice of the Season 2.0 writer's room in order to push the perception question of "The Mandela Effect."
- The first seen instance of the "off-by-one error" is in Elliot's login window, saying the cs30 server was last logged in for his account on "Thur May 8 16:26:57 2015." We do get indication that today's login is indeed on the 9th, based on Dwarf's rhyme below. And this is undoubtedly Elliot's unique perception of reality, because he's logging into server "cs30.serverfarm.evil-corp-usa.com."
- Elliot (handle fsociety) is in the chatroom with the Dark Army (handle U4F8F+U5112 "侏儒" "Dwarf" ...would that be Xun?) negotiating the early strike to destroy E Corp's data & backups. They poetically agree, "the winds of the heavens shift suddenly. so will human fate. we will make an exception." And "spirit away. spirit away. the ninth of may." The attack is commenced as Elliot types "./FuxSocy.py".
- This was probably a sound strategy by the Dark Army: if they waited for the appointed time, there might have been greater risk that Gideon's persistence would have stopped them. Since the door of opportunity opened wider, sooner was better than later... but Tyrell's rush pushed the breakability of the entire operation. It motivated James to report it to the FBI that same hour (according to S03E03).
- While Tyrell is enjoying a front seat to the show, Elliot is reaching in to the popcorn machine to retrieve the handgun. (Note: nothing will trigger a switch to one's self-interested subconscious like a moment of fear. The Id will step in front of the Ego in defense.)
- A farther flashback takes us to the moment Elliot fell from his bedroom window. His head is bleeding fast. Magda and Edward (his mom & dad) rush to his aid. Magda is spewing embarrassment and blame, and exclaiming "God says there are no accidents." Edward's entire focus is on the emergency and lack of responsiveness in his son. The camera pulls back and up into the broken bedroom window while Edward is pleading "Call an ambulance!"
- The action continues in flashback as the family is in the hospital. Magda frets over the cost of broken arm, while Edward assures her "there aren't going to be any bills." The scene fades out as the Doctor begins to ask Elliot some questions in confidence. (It might be interesting to hear Elliot's account of what happened. But considering we see that he still doesn't blame his dad yet for "pushing him out the window" at the theatre in S03E08, it is unlikely for him to reassign blame so early onto his father.)
- The images of Elliot's brain scans transform to the marbling patterns of a composition book: Elliot's diary he titled "Red Wheelbarrow." The music playing at this time is "Day Dream," recreated by "I, Monster," from the song written in 1969 by Wallace Collection. The original melody is taken from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet.
- Elliot begins his day describing his "perfectly constructed loop." He starts his morning having breakfast with Leon, who describes his personal exploration of Seinfeld. Elliot further talks about "helping out around the house" at 10:00am and back to lunch with Leon at 12:00pm. Basketball at 2:00pm, with a side note about the pyro "Hot Carla." (She is given far more detail in the published book tie-in: Mr. Robot: Red Wheelbarrow (eps1.91_redwheelbarr0w.txt). )
- At 11 minutes and 6 seconds, a pencil scrawled QR Code is shown in Elliot's diary. (It is also in the published version of redwheelbarr0w.txt, but oddly appears on the right-hand page instead of the left shown on TV.) This code links to the web site: http://www.conficturaindustries.com Its outdated style suggests this could be an early website created by Elliot.
- Elliot explains his loop to Krista. After covering his new routine, they begin discussing his distrust of Mr. Robot.
- Elliot now speaks to us, his imaginary friend & audience, to tell us he is intentionally keeping details from us, out of his injured trust. Wouldn't we like to know the rest of what he told Krista?
- He returns to his room as Mr Robot awaits. "Talking to your friend again?" Elliot resists even acknowledging Mr Robot as the two struggle over control, until Mr Robot draws a handgun. He fires into Elliot's head, but then the two continue as if this is nothing new. Elliot continues journaling: "He said 'Control is an illusion?' "
- FSociety members in masks, including Darlene, sneak out to the Wall Street bull statue at night and remove its balls with a power saw.
- Susan Jacobs (E Corp legal counsel) is jogging through the streets of NYC. On her jog's last leg, she passes a fountain and Darlene, who hides her face with a newspaper as she shouts something indistinct. Susan checks her fitness band at her house's front door, and it reports "Unfortunately My Fitness has stopped." (Her fitness band & iPhone apparently caught Darlene's malware.) Inside, upstairs, the house alarm is blaring. She enters the code "22381" once to no effect, and then a second time (identically) to shut it off. (This could be a keylogging phish for her master code.) At an escalating pace, her house controls start going wild, until they drive her out of her home.
- This was a masterfully designed sequence, showing the control (and lack thereof) of lighting, music, temperature, video, speakerphone, garage entrance, motion detection, security... the works, committed to the care of our impartial referee and subservient agent, the computer.
- Once Susan rides away in a cab, Darlene enters through the front door. All goes quiet, and FSociety begins setting up shop.
- Gideon visit Elliot, but Robot antagonizes throughout the meeting. Allsafe is closed, and the FBI seems to feel Gideon is complicit in the Hack. The control struggle with Robot ends as he (in imagination) slits Gideon's throat. Robot drags the struggle out through dinnertime with Leon.
- Back at Susan Jacob's abandoned house, FSociety are celebrating their stunt with the Wall Street Bull. Darlene sulks upstairs, then pulls herself together to address the crowd.
- In smashing that smartphone, actress Carly Chaikin pretty much broke her foot against the phone's GorillaGlass. It took at least 20 stomps and didn't stop its operation, but the glass did indeed shatter.
- Darlene spells out the extra steps to be taken in concealing the location of their new headquarters. She does not want the site discovered.
- Mobley is the only one of the original crew to join Darlene. She is completing their next malware, using the Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET). The ransomware is unleashed, and Mobley, part of the E Corp IT team, is acting frustrated at the effort to undo the infection.
- The Jester image is a tribute to anonymous hackivist The Jester, aka th3J35st3r.
- The IP Address on the screen, 192.251.68.239, is another easter egg.
- The ransomware layout is a faithful reproduction of features seen in more real ransomware... perhaps too faithful. The inclusion of buttons for "Payment" and "Decrypt first file for FREE" seem inapplicable to the means by which the ransom delivery is actually expected.
- Scott Knowles decides he should be the one to face the ransomers. The episode ends with an INTERMISSION card.
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