Mr. Robot Season 2 Report Card

Before it premiered, many fans wondered how Mr. Robot Season 2 could possibly top the series' amazing first season, which was widely regarded as one of the best of 2015.

Now that the season has included with the shocking, incredible Mr. Robot Season 2 Finale, one thing is very clear: while the show didn't consistently match the highs of the first season, there was plenty to love about it. Occasionally, there were even moments and performances that were even better than Mr. Robot Season 1.

Angela was brought in on Whiterose's plan, Elliot was shot by a returned-from-the-"dead" Tyrell Wellick, and Darlene wound up squarely in the hands of the FBI after Cisco's tragic death.

We're taking a look back at the best and the worst (and the strangest) of the past 12 installments of Mr. Robot. Check out our report card, and let us know your thoughts!

1. Best Cameo Appearance

Alf is really the only possible option for this category, but that gloriously strange and random appearance of everybody's favorite creepy '80s sitcom puppet deserves a shout-out of its very own.

2. Best New Character

Leon wins this one by a landslide. His conversations with Elliot about Seinfeld (and the deeper, more philosophical questions that arose from his binge-watch of the '90s classic) were brilliantly surreal and added a great touch to the weaker, earlier episodes when Elliot was separated from the main action while in jail. Leon's epic takedown of the white supremacist gang that attacked Elliot was nothing short of epic. We also don't know where Leon's motivations lie – what's he doing approaching Mobley and Trenton while they're in hiding?! – that's what makes him such an interesting figure and the only new one that I NEED to see next season.

3. Worst New Character (and Worst Subplot)

This is absolutely nothing against Craig Robinson, who was great in the role. I did not care for the Ray-Elliot subplot, which ate up too much time in the earlier half of the season for my liking. It felt like a lesser version of what the show did in Season 1 with Fernando Vera (except Vera was a better, more insidious villain, and that plot was far more personal and engaging). Yes, it was useful for Elliot's character growth but not SO useful that it warranted taking up all the screentime that it did. At times, this plot even felt meandering and unfocused.

4. Most Frustrating Character

Of the three new characters, I didn't know what to make of Dom, though Grace Gummer was great in the role. Occasionally, she was awesome and badass – she is, indisputably, a great FBI agent. Other times, she felt like a weakly-characterized plot device – virtually indestructible, she walked away from not one but TWO shoot-outs with nary a scratch on her. What is she, the Terminator? We also had far too many scenes establishing her same personality traits (loneliness and an inability to connect) over and over again. I was glad to see the finale explain how she always seemed to know to push Angela, Darlene, and the others. It's not because she has some weird detecting sixth sense -- the FBI was onto all of them from the start.

5. Best Return

"Bon soir, Elliot." Tyrell technically returned (and was confirmed as alive) pretty early in the season when he called Elliot in prison, but, the show being what it is, we didn't know for sure whether he was truly alive or some sort of Elliot hallucination. Tyrell's super casual return, sliding into the cab to meet with Elliot, and the ensuing confrontation that left Elliot shot and bleeding out, was pure awesome.

6. Best Reveal

The reveal that Tyrell was alive – only confirmed for sure once Elliot got shot by him – was spectacular. Creator Sam Esmail dove into the Tyrell-is-an-Elliot-alter theories head-on, before shooting them down (pun intended) in one fell swoop.

7. Most Predictable Reveal

Many had already guessed that Elliot was secretly in either a mental hospital or prison before the latter was revealed. Don't get me wrong – the actual cinematography used during the reveal sequence (and the build up to it) was stellar. It just wasn't the twistiest of twists. But in a way, that just proved that Mr. Robot ISN'T something you watch for the shocking twists – it's something you watch for the brilliant execution, expected or not.

8. Most Inventive Sequence

The '80s/'90s-style sitcome sequence was certainly divisive among fans – some hated how random, strange and out of place it was, while others enjoyed the surreal, bizarre opening sequence. Personally, I thought it was brilliant and hilarious. In any case, it was certainly inventive and perfectly demonstrated that Mr. Robot is unlike any other show on TV. The fact that the show was complete with retro-style commercials during the first half of the episode was sheer brilliance.

9. Best Use Of Music

Mr. Robot's soundtrack is deliciously eclectic and almost always pairs really well with whatever scene a given song is accompanying. But, hands down, the single greatest use of music came when Dom brought Darlene to the FBI's 5/9 Hack case room and revealed to her that the FBI was onto fsociety from the very beginning. This scene was the single greatest in the finale, and Les Deux Love Orchestra's "The Moth & The Flame" was thematically and sonically the perfect song to play over that moment.

10. Saddest Death

Poor Gideon! I'm still not over it. As Elliot once said near the end of the first season, when he dug into Gideon, he found nothing. No dirt, no baggage. Gideon was a good man who fell victim to circumstance. He was too near the wrong people, and he paid the ultimate price for it. To make matters worse, his life had been destroyed and his husband had left him before he was cruelly and suddenly gunned down. Cisco's death didn't quite match this level of sadness.

11. Most Satisfying Moment

Mr. Robot is not typically a show that does "sweet" or "heart-warming," but Elliot and Angela have been dancing around their love for one another since the series premiere. They spent most of this season apart, but it was still hugely satisfying that the show found not one but two moments to address their relationship. First, when they actually kissed on the train. Second, when Angela told Tyrell (on the phone, after Tyrell had shot Elliot) that she loves Elliot, too.

12. Overall Season Grade

A-. Mr. Robot Season 1 was utter brilliance. The second season, while overall quite incredible and for sure an artistic feat, had a few small missteps – the Ray arc and what occasionally felt like too much focus on Dom, in particular – that dropped it down from the near-perfection of the first season.