Mr Robot Episode 13 Series Finale Part 2: Hacktivist Elliot Alderson is revealed as the 'Mastermind' who has taken control of the 'host' body
Contains spoilers for Mr Robot Season 4 Episode 13 Series Finale Part 2
If you were gobsmacked by Elliot 1's (Rami Malek) 'selficide' decision, the series finale part 2 got in a Krista (Gloria Reuben) replica for round two on the therapist couch to get Elliot 1 to understand who he really was.
In short, he was just one more personality that the "real" Elliot had created, called the "Mastermind" aka the "Other one", that fans had been debating about since the episode 2 reveal.
Elliot 2, stuck in the endless happy loop, was the true "host" consciousness that Elliot 1 had trapped in the "safe" reality (which was also a prison to stop Elliot 2 from taking control). Elliot 1 was the 'avenging angel' personality, defined by his rage, as he took on the world to make it a safer, better place to exist for the "host".
Only, being the one in control felt too good to relinquish, which made him "forget" that he was only an alter, just like Magda (Vaishnavi Sharma), the child Elliot (Evan Whitten) and Mr Robot (Christian Slater). Suddenly, him not recognizing Darlene as his sister in Season 1 makes so much sense as do so many other little details that Sam Esmail buried in between all the red herrings across four seasons.
In some ways, this finale was satisfying. Elliot 1 is told by Mr Robot (who reappears as the moral voice and also the voice of reason) that he can never "kill" Elliot 2 because he is the real host consciousness. The hoodie-wearing, angsty Elliot 1 was just a "part" of Elliot's splintered self. "We", the audience, are labeled as "voyeurs" who think they have no stake in this despite being there from "the beginning". It is a weird fourth wall break that lets us know that we, the audience, are also a "part" of Elliot's self.
It makes Elliot 1's confusion, terror and refusal to accept the truth more relatable, especially after his all-out bid to take over Elliot 2's life. But it is impossible to ignore that Elliot 1, who we've have journeyed with, is the "thief" who has taken away the real Elliot's choice to interact with reality and forge a real connection with Darlene.
Elliot 1, refusing to give up control, wakes the host body up to find Darlene at his hospital bedside. Darlene tells him that Minister Zhang aka Whiterose was found dead at the blast site and the only reason he had survived was that the room he was in had some protective shielding. With Whiterose's machine destroyed, all discussions about parallel timelines and alternate realities are moot. (All except the alternate realities in Elliot's head of course). With that, in the last few minutes, the show puts its biggest McGuffin to rest. We will never know if the time machine really worked or whether it was just the delusions of a mad Whiterose. We will also never solve the "blue light" mysterious death of Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström).
The finale also shifts attention away from the grand themes of waging a war against the "1 %" and how the rich and powerful manipulate the world's economy and politics. Like a dying star, the story collapses on itself, and everything gets sucked into the narrative 'black hole' of Elliot's Dissociative Identity Disorder. The big themes become a sidenote to Elliot's self-reintegration story.
It is a beautifully shot episode though. There is the scene where Elliot 1 chases the fake Angela through a narrow space and the one where Christian Slater's face gets superimposed on every person in the crowd at Coney Island. These scenes are why Elliot 1 finally slows down enough to pay attention to what Mr Robot is trying to tell him and take note of what the other mental constructs - from Angela to Krista - are trying to get him to realize.
Sam Esmail is hoping that the emotional closure of "Mastermind" Elliot, settling down with the other alters to see flashbacks of the year past (covered in four seasons), will be enough. He is hoping that the last shot of "host" Elliot regaining control of his body and making his first real eye contact with Darlene after a year will be satisfying enough to forgive the few loose ends still left. If fan reactions are anything to go by, he has succeeded.
And hey, we can always have a Tyrell Wellick-Whiterose spin-off, right?
Mr. Robot's two-part finale aired December 22 at 9/8c.