Who Is Mr. Robot’s Landlord? Recap of Season Four “403 Forbidden”

Hello friend...

I have been writing about Mr. Robot for a very long time. You can read all my earlier writing about the show using this guide.

We have finally come down to this one final season, hopefully, we will get answers to many pressing questions (I put together this list of questions in advance of the final season)

You can also follow me on Reddit (I am ypsifactj48, I usually hang around r/Mr.Robot and the Black Mirror and Orange Is the New Black rooms.

If you have not watched every episode of Mr. Robot or read Red Wheelbarrow this could contain spoilers *Spoiler Alert*

“The Martian”

65% chance Olivia is Dark Army.

First of all, if you wanted to socially engineer someone, what would be the absolute best way to do it? Especially if you know they are desperate...You would set them up so that they think they are socially engineering YOU.

We know ‘whiterose’ is having Elliot followed, we also know - for some dumb reason - that USA Network included the line “Elliot gets owned by his own hack” in the episode byline. Finally, her story was way too perfect for his situation...she lost a mom, she treated her dad poorly as a result of her mom, she struggled with addiction but is no longer an active addict. Everything she had to share was perfect for what he needed to hear (given where he is emotionally right now).

Most importantly, she gives up the ghost, she basically admits that she replaced her addiction with something “darker.” I am almost 100% sure she actually said that. Also, what is the chance her date would show up just late enough to allow them to meet and connect but not too late to miss the date entirely? 

This is a work, and because Elliot is desperate, upset, and not thinking clearly, he got owned. Right now, Darlene is likely getting owned by Elliot’s login. Let us not forget, Elliot is not exactly on the top of his game...Remember, it was just two weeks ago he found himself trapped in the honey pot. He is rushing and not thinking things through.

Oh, also ‘whiterose’ decided to move the timeline of the Deus group meeting up to 24 hours. In hopes that moving it forward will make Elliot desperate...coincidence? As Zhang has been known to say, “there is no such thing as a coincidence.”

It’s possible I am just cynical or paranoid. Of course, there is still the question of why they don’t just kill him. I had a theory about that (see below).

But this begs the question of who is in the van, I suspect it is not the Dark Army (Olivia is his Dark Army handler).

“Tidings Of Joy”

Okay, Fernando Vera has an army of kids distributing drugs for him in chickens.

Post-modern Oliver Twist?

Now we know why Vera has not made his move, he is still totally insane but he wants Elliot to come to him and help him OWN New York City. 

I am not sure he is Chris Waken, but he wants to be King of New York and he wants Elliot to make it possible.

I don’t have much insight here, Vera is a hand grenade just waiting to go off. That is really his only purpose right now. 

He is still a psychopath, he is still a megalomaniac, and at some point, probably a critical point, he is going to insert himself in the game in a way both Elliot and the Dark Army were not ready for.

“It Will Require Patience”

So now we have a little bit more of an idea of why ‘whiterose’ is trying to change time or open an alternative timeline. When he was younger, the man he loved was forced to marry another woman and rather than go along with the arranged marriage, he killed himself right in front of a young Minister Zhang.

In the conversation that preceded Zhang’s lover committing suicide, Zhang promised she would find a way to make it all work out so that they could be together. 

His lover was the first person to see and accept him as ‘whiterose’ and the dress we later see that 'she wants to wear when his project gets off the ground is the dress he first wore when she showed him who she really was.

Now, none of this explains why the Dark Army believes in the plan, or why they are as invested in it as she is. It does make more sense of why they are all willing to kill themselves for love of the cause (because that is how the Dark Army apparently started, with the death of Zhang’s lover).

One subtle touch during the flashback scene was the use of the song “Time (Clock Of The Heart) by Culture Club which sums the whole ‘whiterose’ story up...I have to admit it is hard to accept that our supervillain has no time because she feels like any second of delay is more time away from her lover.

But I guess, it humanizes her a little more?

“You’re Hurting Me”

Okay, I know not everyone is with me on the Magda theory, especially because imaginary Magda said “HIM” in her soliloquy at the end of 402. Here is how I explained it all earlier today on Reddit <please note I address the gender problem at the very beginning of the post>.

I am becoming more and more convinced this is a real thing 

I believe we saw Magda in 403.

When Elliot grabs Darlene and Darlene says “you’re hurting me,” Elliot responds, “I know.”

Elliot would never hurt Darlene, not even to protect her, but Madga would.

In fact, Magda was so abusive to Darlene that Darlene was happy to be kidnapped when she was a kid. 

If you watch the scene again, you will notice Elliot’s manner and tone change, he sounds like a different person, like the person he was on Halloween the night the entire plot was hatched.

That personality is Magda.

As always, I could be wrong, but we did see the other personality (whoever it is).

I hope everyone has a great week! Until next time.

Fun Society

Every week, I will write another recap until we finish this journey together.

If you have any interest in criminal justice reform I am also the host of the Decarceration Nation Podcast

If you like Orange Is the New Black, you can read my recaps of that series using this guide.

If you like  Black Mirror, you can read my recaps of that series using this guide.