"Time was slipping through my fingers," Elliot confessed to Olivia, his voice raw with emotion, as her world crumbled around her. The harsh truth was undeniable. To transfer the funds from the Cyprus National Bank, Elliot and Darlene desperately needed Olivia's boss's login credentials. The Deus Group meeting loomed that very evening, and Olivia stood as the sole gateway to accessing him—forcing them to traverse a moral abyss.
The unspoken irony hung heavy in the air; Elliot had danced on the edge of such moral compromise countless times before, albeit never quite so blatantly. The Five/Nine hack, fsociety's terroristic revolution, and the Stage 2 bombings had left a trail of devastation in their wake, claiming the lives of many of his comrades. His actions had left a stain of guilt on his hands, yet he'd seldom had to confront the faces of his collateral damage, especially not someone who had merely committed the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With a heavy heart, Elliot coerced Olivia into calling her boss, knowing full well that betrayal would ignite in her eyes and expel him from her life. Desperation drove him to reveal the grim truth: the peppermint mocha, her cherished "Christmas in a cup," had been secretly laced with Oxycontin. A positive drug test would strip her of her son's custody, pushing an already fragile addict back into the abyss from which she had struggled to escape.
The confrontation between Elliot and Olivia was a tour de force, fueled by the electric performances of Rami Malek and Dominik Garcia. Their offbeat chemistry in "Forbidden" had been a season highlight, especially when they bared their souls with raw vulnerability. One couldn't help but wonder—had fate aligned differently, had Elliot not been entangled in a web of global conspiracy, might their paths have taken a different, more hopeful turn? This realization made Elliot's betrayal all the more heart-wrenching. Malek, his face etched with self-loathing and embarrassment, struggled to articulate his blackmail through a choked throat. Garcia's visage crumbled as Olivia's mind reeled under the onslaught of revelations, her anger simmering to a boil. It was messy, brutal, and all the more cruel because Olivia had no qualms about returning Elliot's pain tenfold, laying bare the truth of his character.
Darlene found herself in a similarly precarious position when Dom confronted her. With Dom able to track Elliot through Darlene's phone, Janice issued an ultimatum: kill Darlene or face the slaughter of her own family. Darlene pled for her life, reminding Dom of the bond they once shared, a bond that couldn't have been meaningless. Dom's resolve crumbled, and she found herself begging Darlene to end her life, just to escape the Dark Army's clutches. This season, Mr. Robot had pushed Grace Gummer to her limits, and while she portrayed the transition from control freak to blackmailed servant with remarkable skill, the narrative fell into a monotonous pattern of despair, limiting both her performance and the story's impact.
The Dom-Darlene scenes, though emotionally charged, lacked the depth they deserved. It was a shame, considering that Gummer and Chaikin hadn't shared scenes in over 18 months. Their reunion should have carried more weight, but instead, it felt like a mechanical progression towards the inevitable confrontation with Janice and the Dark Army.
It's a shame truth that the narrative thread involving Elliot and Olivia far surpasses the quality of the other two tales woven this week, but even when examined independently, the confrontation between Vera and Krista undeniably drags "Not Acceptable" into a slight decline. Perhaps it's due to Elliot Villar's performance, which grows increasingly forced and less intimidating the more his character utters, or maybe it stems from the series' unfruitful decision to keep his true motives shrouded in mystery. His menacing tirades and fables about bullies and their victims prove all too tedious to sustain engagement, resembling mere filler until Krista ultimately turns away from Elliot and reveals Mr. Robot to Vera.
Nonetheless, these flaws seem like mere stumbles whenever "Mr. Robot" refocuses on Elliot, compelled to confront his own darkness even if he postpones addressing the resulting emotions. He attempts to retort with Olivia's own words, accusing her of choosing to work for the Cyprus National Bank, an institution infamous for sheltering illicit funds. Elliot aspires to ensure that no one like Olivia is compelled to serve such a place again due to financial desperation. The ends, he believes, justify the means. He sees himself as the hero.
Yet, this justification becomes tenuous when one considers his tactics: sleeping with strangers to hack them and later drugging them for information. The strain Elliot places on Olivia in such a brief period makes her suicide attempt all too predictable. Why else include those ominous hints about razor blades in "Forbidden"? Elliot swiftly saves her life, prompting Olivia to make a crucial phone call, particularly since the Deus Group orchestrated the paramilitary massacre in El Salado that claimed her mother's life. Though unaware her employer funded such atrocities, she refuses to absolve Elliot. She may toil for monsters, but he is one too, and no apology can mend that breach.
Once more, Mr. Robot assumes the role of conscience, urging Elliot to reestablish moral boundaries and limits. But Elliot may have ventured too far down this path. The stakes are too high, and time is too precious. Boundaries inevitably must be crossed for the plan to triumph. Yet, he remains oblivious to its derailment. Darlene and Dom have fallen prey to the Dark Army. And Krista, caved under the same pressure that Elliot exerted on Olivia, betrayed him. It's because Vera employed tactics akin to his that Elliot finds himself in the trunk of a Plymouth, bound for the unknown. Vera was running out of time; this was the swiftest means to sway him.
