Mr. Robot 2.0 – Season 2 Premiere

The USA Network took the wraps off its Mr. Robot Series last night, and Mr. Robot 2.0 launched. It was a two-part effort which began at 10:00 PM Eastern and finish at 11:30. I must tell you that I’ve many questions, so this is more likely to be a post written by someone who is looking for some answers rather than someone providing the answers.

I am truly a Johnny-come-lately to Mr. Robot, In fact, during its first season, which ran on USA from late June to early September last year, I saw none of it. If you had asked me who Rami Malek or Sam Esmail were, I’d have no answers. What you’d get from me would be a ‘I don’t have a clue shrug of the shoulders with my hands held out with the palms up’.

But based on a remark made to me, and Mr. Robot getting serious coverage in the Entertainment Weekly Magazine, a few weeks back, I decided to buy into what was described as a major cult hit show. So over a period of about 3 1/2 days in middle June I binge watched Season One.

Much of the time I was mystified. I did manage to catch on that Mr. Robot – played by Christian Slater, was a manifestation of Elliot Alderson’s dead father.

And the other big reveal was that Darlene (Carly Chaikin) was in fact Elliot’s sister.

I understood that the machinations of F_Society were all intended to take down the gigantic E-Corp also known as Evil Corp. That Elliot and Mr. Robot, Darlene and the others viewed themselves as freedom fighters rather than cyber-criminals. I recognized that Elliot’s employer Gideon Goddard was played by Michel Gill.

Now Gill as President Garrett Walker had fallen victim to the wheeling and dealing of Frank Underwood in the political drama House of Cards, so I expected that he would meet an unkind demise. Yet there he was in 2.0 – however briefly.

I had no idea what to make of Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström) other than he wasn’t to be trusted, and that he was up to no good. I was even more befuddled by his wife, Joanna Wellick (Stephanie Corneliussen) who had some peculiar tendencies to say the least.

Another character that I pigeon-holed as a dark presence was Michael Cristofer who played Phillip Price, the CEO of the E-Corp. Once upon a time Christofer caught my eye as Jerry Rand in the failed NBC series Smash.

Girl Rising: Day Three at the IIFA in Tampa, Florida

Ruksana was a small child, living with her parents, on the streets of an unnamed Indian city, They were so poor that they hadn’t a proper home, instead they lived behind and below plastic sheeting, and corrugated cardboard, and pieces of wood or bits of tarpaulin. Life in this city was described by the narrator (speaking as an adult Ruksana):

This place teemed with life. With so many people each going their own way like thousands and thousands of different rivers.

As poor as they were, Ruksana’s parents sacrificed what little they had to keep her in school. They deemed that an education was the only chance for Ruksana to escape from the endless chains of poverty that go on for generations and generations in some parts of the world.

Then later, when urban planners, government ministers, city health inspectors, and private developers put their heads together, the shanties, and street dwellings came down. The people were displaced under the guise of urban renewal.

Now the narrator spoke again in the voice, or thoughts of a young Ruksana:

With thousands and thousand of rivers, we are now adrift.

It was a heart breaking moment. The narration for this particular segment was made by Indian actress Priyanka Chopra. What’s more, this segment also included another famous voice, that of Liam Neeson.

The film is called Girl Rising and it is the story of nine girls from Peru to Nepal, from Sierra Leone in Africa to India, Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Haiti. Their stories are remarkable.

Here’s a description of the film from the website www.girlrising.com:

From Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins, Girl Rising journeys around the globe to witness the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world. Viewers get to know nine unforgettable girls living in the developing world: ordinary girls who confront tremendous challenges and overcome nearly impossible odds to pursue their dreams. Prize-winning authors put the girls’ remarkable stories into words, and renowned actors give them voice.

The voice actors included Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, Alicia Keys, Selena Gomez, Salma Hayek, Cate Blanchett, Chloe Moretz, Kerry Washington, and Liam Neeson.

To say the film has impact is just being truthful as well as being an understatement. As we hear in the film in the voices of some of the girls portrayed: I am change. I am my own master now. I feel as if now I have power. I feel I can do anything.

Said another way: One girl with courage is a revolution.

And from the trailer: There comes a film – about changing the world – one girl at a time.