Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 8 Review: Request Timeout
Paul Dailly
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If the Dark Army wants to rattle Dominique DiPierro, they're going to have to try harder.
After Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 8, it became clear that we've been underestimating Dom all along. Every single time Janice threatened Dom's family, Dom was scared at the prospect of losing her loved ones for not following orders.
Dom's hand was well-played and proved that she is a formidable foe, while "Request Timeout" asserted Mr. Robot is unlike anything else on TV.
Dom may be about to take her last breath, but she will do so with the knowledge that her family is safe and that Darlene can find Elliot to complete the hack and obliterate Dark Army's existence, once and for all.
It was evident there was more to the kidnapping of Dom's family, and waiting for Janice's next move when she said that the family was still under surveillance was spine-tingling.
The plotting was intricate, but Janice is a woman of her word and there was no doubt there was another group of men, unrelated to the Dark Army, in the house.
It's unclear how Dom managed to keep her chats with the Irishman away from the prying eyes of the Dark Army, but the intricate was the tale got told was incredibly satisfying.
Look, Cunt Stick, there's no way I'm giving up my brother
Darlene
From the get-go, I figured that either Dom or Darlene would not survive their encounter with Janice and her troops. They didn't have the numbers, and there was little they could do to defend themselves.
Trust Dom to pull a knife out of her lung and gun down the three people in the room threatening her family's very existence.
The Irishman laughing at Janice on the phone and giving her a stern talking down to will go down as one of the most comical moments of the series.
Janice loved playing God. You could tell she loved messing with lives, but she wasn't silly. Dom knew the only way to take down her snarky nemesis was with the element of surprise.
Janice deserved a slow and painful death, but that would have involved knocking her out, and Dom couldn't do that. Dom needed to get Darlene away safely and take it from there.
There's an undeniable connection between Dom and Darlene that will get explored further if Dom survives her collapsed lung.
If you watch Mr. Robot online, you know that Dom has been pining for Darlene for a long time, even if she was the one to get her into the whole Dark Army mess.
You can't help who you love, and it's clear Darlene has similar feelings. In a sense, Darlene tried to push her feelings aside because she thought there was no chance for them.
Destruction can be so productive.
Janice
If Dom pulls through, they'll have a chance to pursue those feelings. But please don't use the fake-death trope to bring back Dom in the series finale.
We need to get a definite answer about the situation on Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 9.
You'd think that the harrowing scenes between Darlene and Dom might be enough for one episode, but there were even more with Elliot.
As expected, the truth about his father coming to light changed him. There was no easy way to get around that, but at least Krista wants to help Elliot now.
Her guilt is understandable. She was forced to expose long-buried memories in the name of saving both her life and Elliot. Some lines must be crossed in life-or-death scenarios.
That was one of them, and now it's time for Elliot to go through a healing process. The revelation that Elliot hid his father's key to his bedroom in the museum was heartbreaking.
Of course there was more to learn about the place where Elliot felt safe. As the series finale draws ever closer, Mr. Robot is convincingly revisiting key moments to make sure that no stone gets left unturned.
It seemed probably that Elliot wouldn't be able to face Mr. Robot because he of his likeness as Elliot's father, but Elliot introduced us to his thought process on the matter which resulted in a different resolution.
Elliot, look at me. We have to go.
Krista
Creating a version of his father that was warm and friendly was the only thing Elliot could do to cope. Remarkably, he easily differentiates between the two. Still, it was tough watching Mr. Robot explain his part in everything.
Deep down, Mr. Robot will make sure Elliot is safe. They're now bonded on a level that didn't seem possible on Mr. Robot Season 1 Episode 1.
Now, it all comes down to whether Elliot will be able to press on with the hack. Recent events have caused Elliot to doubt himself.
The Deus meeting is imminent, so Elliot doesn't have much time to waffle on the matter. Surely, he'll pull the trigger on it when he learns what happened to Darlene.
What did you think of the episode?
Do you want Dom to live or die?
Hit the comments below.
Mr. Robot continues Sundays on USA Network.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
