Recap / Mr Robot S 04 E 08

Tropes:

• Affably Evil: Deegan and his men.
• Asshole Victim: Janice gets her comeuppance after failing to have Dom's family executed.
• Bait-and-Switch: The episode opens with Dom's family getting raided... as we find out later that those were Deegan's men trying to secure them.
• Big Brother Is Watching: The Dark Army not only bugged Dom's mom's house but even Dom's own apartment and bedroom.
• Boom, Headshot!: Dominique masterfully dispatches Janice and her two Dark Army bodyguards in this fashion, with not a bullet wasted.
• Blofeld Ploy: Instead of torturing Darlene, Janice drives a knife into Dom's chest - piercing her lung in the process - in order to force Darlene into restoring her phone to find Elliot's location,
• Broken Bird: After the events of the previous episode, Elliot is left deeply traumatized to the point he can't even go through with the hack.
• Chekhov's Gun: The key mentioned earlier (Edward's key for Elliot's room) turns out to be hidden in Elliot and Angela's building, hidden by Mr. Robot to protect Elliot from his father.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: What Janice was about to subject Darlene and Dom to when she removed her tools.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Deegan McGuire, the Irish mobster. Dominique had him released in exchange for him protecting her family from the Dark Army.
• Despair Event Horizon: Elliot goes through one after finding out about what Edward did to him, to the point he can't even code for the hack.
• Genre Roulette: The whole episode is this. While the A-Plot of Darlene and Dom being interrogated by Janice plays out like a neo-noir hostage crisis, the B-Plot of Elliot is more mellow as it focuses on his PTSD from finding out about his dad's abuses and the after-effects of his stalker being killed.
• Heroic RRoD: Downplayed but Elliot suffers from physical and mental exhaustion after the events of the previous episode. In every scene, he looks almost pale and is about to faint at some point.
• Internal Reveal: Janice nonchalantly tells Darlene that Dominique masturbates to her interrogation video. Doubles as The Reveal that the Dark Army kept Dom under surveillance even in her bedroom.
• Misery Builds Character: Elliot acknowledges that even if his already hellish life was ruined by the truth about his father's sexual abuse, he wouldn't be the strong fighter he is today.
• No Dead Body Poops: Deegan taunts Janice by telling her that some of her men crapped themselves after he killed them.
• Pastiche: The plotline of Dom and Darlene being held by Janice almost feels like an all-female version of Quentin Tarantino's hits such as Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Javi and Peanut, Vera's two henchmen, just loot his corpse and flee after they find his corpse in Krista's living room.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Deegan laughs and pretty much tells Janice to sod off when she threatens him with the Dark Army's vengeance after he rescues Dom's family.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Andy Williams' “Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays as the DiPierro house is invaded by Dark Army Agents.
• Torture Cellar: Janice turns Angela's abandoned apartment into this so that she could physically and psychologically torture Dom and Darlene.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: After finding out about his dad's sexual abuse, Elliot ends up in a catatonic state and has this.
• You Are Not Alone: Krista reassures Elliot she will be by his side if Elliot needs her to, and tells him to come visit her anytime he wants to.

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