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Log off, Elliot: Mr Robot's female characters are the show's driving force *SPOILERS*
The cult show has become a true ensemble piece in its second series with the well-drawn Joanna, Angela, Dominique and Darlene plotting its courseSource: The Guardian, by Abigail Chandler
*****
It would have been so easy for a show about hacking that centres on the relationship between two male characters (well, one, but you know what we mean) to have no women in it whatsoever. They could wheel out the old True Detective defence: “But it’s about two guys, and besides, women don’t even work in this industry!” The women could have been relegated to love interest status. But not on Mr Robot.
Fsociety is currently two girls and a guy (plus some peripherals), the FBI is on their tail in the shape of another tough woman and former will-they-won’t-they fodder Angela Moss is now the iciest badass on TV. And once you add Joanna “Lady Macbeth” Wellick and Whiterose into the mix, you’ve got one of the best collections of female characters on TV right now.
The role of women in the show was a slow-burner. In season one they were on the sidelines, with Elliot even becoming embroiled in a rape-revenge storyline in a failed attempt to save his girlfriend. But in season two, creator Sam Esmail set out to fix that. Angela in particular has been a highlight of season two, becoming a mantra-reciting corporate stooge in the belly of the beast, whose end goal is worryingly ambiguous, both for us and for her. She even managed to break the heart of the undercover FBI agent keeping tabs on her.
*****
Elliot is on his way back to the world of Mr Robot, and it’s a far richer world than the one he left behind now that the female characters have been allowed to escape from his shadow and grow in surprising ways. We hope Elliot and Mr Robot are ready to share the limelight, because this isn’t a two-horse show any more – and it’s all the better for it.
Read it at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/31/mr-robot-female-characters-joanna-angela-dominique-darlene
