Mr. Robot review: eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx

Stefanie Smith 8 Sep 2016

Avast explains what happened in this week's exciting episode of Mr. Robot, including what Elliot used the Pringles can for!

I honestly do not know where to begin with this week’s episode of Mr. Robot, I am still in a bit of shock! Elliot only carried out one hack, but many other things unraveled, leaving with me with so many questions.

The episode began with a meeting between Price and Colby. Price wants Colby to cash in a favor to ultimately allow China to annex the Congo. Why Price wants China to get the Congo and whether or not this was a flashback is unclear.

Meanwhile Joanna, who is just as egotistical as Price in my opinion, freaks Elliot out a bit when she tells him that she is receiving phone calls from Tyrell. I personally thought Elliot was the one sending Joanna gifts to make her believe her husband was still alive... Elliot presses Joanna to admit that she didn’t actually speak to the presumably dead Tyrell. Elliot doesn’t manage to get himself out of the situation and ends up impersonating the NYPD to get to the bottom of who is making the mystery calls, more on this down below.

Darlene seems to be just as ruthless as Joanna at the beginning of the episode, but Cisco talks some sense into her. Although I am happy they came to their senses and did the right thing, they probably regret bringing Vincent to the hospital. The FBI, more specifically Dom, connects the dots and realizes that Cisco is connected to the Dark Army and fsociety. Dom is able to track them down after a sketch of Cisco is shown on NY1, but she isn’t the only one and just as she had feared, the Dark Army came after him. BOOM - that brings us to the end of the episode, leaving us with a big cliffhanger.

One more interaction between Elliot and Angela did occur before the show ended with a few bangs. Throughout the episode, Angela messages Elliot via a messaging service called Wickr. They finally met in the subway, where Angela told Elliot that she is on her way to see her lawyer so she can confess to setting up the femtocell.

Stefanie: We saw Trenton using this app to communicate with Mobley a few episodes ago. What is Wickr and why are they are they using this instead of WhatsApp?

Jaromir Horejsi, senior malware analyst: Wickr is a more secure messaging app than WhatsApp and since fsociety is very careful, it makes sense that they are using Wickr. According to Wickr’s website, messages sent with Wickr are encrypted, they don’t collect or have access to your data and you can control who has access to your messages and for how long. This is why Angela’s messages to Elliot disappear after he reads them. And in case you haven’t heard, WhatsApp recently updated their privacy policy, allowing them to share information with Facebook unless you properly adjust your settings. Our colleague Julia wrote a nice blog post about this, make sure you check it out!

While Elliot and Mr. Robot are in a Best Buy-like store stocking up on hardware, Joanna’s phone rings and Elliot picks up. All that can be heard on the line is heavy breathing. This freaks Mr. Robot out so much that he disappears for the rest of the episode. Elliot is also a bit freaked out - is Tyrell really dead? Or did Mr. Robot lie to him when he told him that he killed Tyrell? Elliot and Joanna’s bodyguard go to his apartment where he tinkers with a Pringles can.

Stefanie: What did Elliot create out of that Pringles can?

Jaromir: Elliot created an antenna to amplify someone else’s Wi-Fi to connect via their network, just like Darlene did a few episodes ago. If the authorities track down the connection, they will be lead to an innocent neighbor, rather than Elliot.

Stefanie: We then see Elliot working on his PC, typing in commands to send the fax, but can’t he just send the fax from his fax machine?

Jaromir: He uses a Linux program to spoof the sender, so that the fax really appears to come from the police station. Hackers are very good at covering their tracks and pay close attention to details.

With a little social engineering Elliot is able to get the service provider to believe that he is from the NYPD. They reveal that the phone is located by 82nd Street on the Upper East Side. Joanna’s security guy seems extremely surprised when he sees the address and says that cannot be.

Here are my questions for this week’s episode:

How and why is Price involved with the Chinese?

Is Tyrell alive? What significance does the building in the Upper East Side have?

Did anyone listen in on Angela’s conversation with Elliot in the subway? Who are the two people that approached her when Elliot left?

Are Darlene and Cisco alive?

What did Mr. Robot want from Elliot’s apartment? The papers on the table?

What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below!

Image via: USA Network @whoismrrobot

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