‘Mr. Robot’s Most Romantic Hour Was, of Course, Still Tragic

After weeks of non-stop danger and tragedy, Mr. Robot took a little break before the end of the line for its most romantic hour. However, as is always true of the series, there was still a tinge of tragedy — though perhaps not in the way that fans might have been expecting.

Spoilers for Mr. Robot Season 4, Episode 10 “410 Gone” past this point.

Way back in Season 3, during “eps3.8_stage3.torrent,” Darlene (Carly Chaikin) slept with Dom (Grace Gummer) in order to get an FBI ID out of her safe. For Dom, it wasn’t exactly a drunken mistake so much as a drunken expression of her id, a chance to get what she wanted — in this case, Darlene — without overthinking things. For Darlene, the motivation was a little more complicated, seemingly mostly out of a need to fight back against villainous hacker group The Dark Army.

Viewers were split about the pairing, with some feeling like what Darlene did was sexual assault, while others believing what Darlene did was wrong but consensual. The show’s fourth and final season has done a lot of work to clarify what it, at least, thinks was going on there, with Darlene insisting that their one night stand was something much deeper, and even a Dark Army operative picking up on serious chemistry between the two.

When we pick up in “410 Gone,” Dom is recovering from being literally stabbed in the heart (well, lungs, probably), having taken down her Dark Army captors and confessed to her employers in the FBI that she was working as a double agent. Darlene, meanwhile, is basking in the afterglow of helping her brother Elliot perpetuate the biggest hack in world history, doxxing the Illuminati-esque Deus Group and stealing all of their combined wealth.

Dom just wants to go home, eat a grilled cheese, and see her family; but Darlene has other ideas. She wants to take her victory lap and then ride off into the sunset with Dom — Elliot is staying back to close off one of the series’ final mysteries, what’s up with Whiterose’s (BD Wong) massive machine — while Dom isn’t so sure. Darlene convinces her by explaining that the Dark Army is definitely coming for them, and she’ll always be in danger, so why not run off to Budapest together? Thanks to some help from former Dark Army assassin Leon (Joey Bada$$) who is now all about the “paper,” they drive, talk, and eventually make it to the airport.

Before we get some classic romantic comedy style moments, Dom is approached another former (current?) Dark Army operative Irving (Bobby Cannavale) who completely coincidentally is in the same airport as Dom and Darlene (Logan Airport in Boston, in case you’re curious). He’s hilariously peddling a mystery novel he wrote titled “Beach Towel” that seems to have some of the murders he’s committed written in to make it a fun summer read. USA Network, please release a real copy of “Beach Towel,” I would like to read it. Thank you.

But mostly he’s there to tell Dom that she and Darlene are in the clear, the Dark Army doesn’t care about either of them — or Dom’s family — anymore. Instead they’re all converging somewhere else, presumably Washington Township to stop Elliot from destroying Whiterose’s machine, so Dom and Darlene are free to head to Budapest without looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.

That’s the moment when Dom realizes that she can have her life back: her job at the FBI is very much on the rocks, but she’s so good they’ll need her; and more importantly, she’ll be with her family, who is vital to her. So she decides to go home. She explains to Darlene in a tear-filled conversation that neither of them need to leave, that going to Budapest wasn’t even her dream, it was something mentioned to her by her ex-boyfriend Cisco (Michael Drayer). But Darlene is set on leaving. Dom gives her a number and tells her that when she’s “ready to grow up” she can join the FBI’s cybercrime division, that they’ll need her.

And then it’s time for the rom-com, as Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me” — the perfect song for the moment — starts playing. Darlene waits, hoping that Dom will run back to her… And Dom does. She pauses right before the exit, then turns around and runs to be with Darlene. I thought that all the running would pay off on the Chekhov’s gun introduced in the first act, that if Dom exerts herself too much she’ll burst the stitches she got after her stab wound. Instead, what happens is much worse. Darlene turns back at the last second before checking in her ticket, and runs to the bathroom with a panic attack; just as Dom runs up to the gate and checks in to the flight herself.

So Dom is left on the flight to Budapest, reading “Beach Towel” while Darlene calms herself down in the bathroom, ready to finally be on her own. Why does Darlene not go on the flight? Is it because she knows Elliot will need her when the chips are down? And why does Dom stay on the flight? Is it because of her sense of loyalty, not rocking the boat, so to speak?

I’d prefer to think that ultimately it’s because Darlene and Dom wasn’t a love story, it was abut the incremental changes we make on each other’s lives. Darlene changes the lives of everyone in the world this episode, redistributing the wealth of the Deus Group, Robin Hood style, to anyone with digital E-coin (which means basically every human being on planet Earth). She revels in the moment, watching people realize they’re now rich in a pubic park, screaming and hollering. But Darlene’s journey isn’t about being a hacker hero, it’s about realizing she doesn’t need anyone other than Darlene. It’s important and symbolic that Elliot lets her complete the final part of the hack, versus doing it himself. She did most of the work, came up with the plan to reveal the Deus Group, and she finishes it. She doesn’t need Elliot to complete the journey, nor does she need Dom as her reward, her trophy to show off in Budapest.

And Dom needs to finally let go. She’s so tied to her family and job, the only friend she’s had was an Amazon Echo. Instead of romantic relationships, she’s masturbated to interrogation footage of Darlene and trolled IIRC channels pretending to be a man. Now, Dom is free and clear, with a new identity that can truly be anything she wants it to be… And so when we leave her, she’s on a flight to Budapest, finally able to fall asleep peacefully for the first time in years.

It’s sort of tragic because we are conditioned to view romantic relationships as the end of the story: despite how it all started, shouldn’t Dom and Darlene be able to find happiness with each other? Except as is true with most of Mr. Robot, finding happiness isn’t about love of another person, it’s about figuring out how to be happy with just yourself. That’s what Dom and Darlene find by the end of the episode. Next up is Elliot, who has several voices in his head and a seriously seismic conversation before this all ends. Chances are that however he finishes up will be the same mix of romantic, and tragic, as well. Hopefully it’ll be scored by some Carly Rae.

Mr. Robot airs Sundays at 10/9c on USA.

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