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| "401 Unauthorized" | |
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| Mr. Robot episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Sam Esmail |
| Written by | Sam Esmail |
| Produced by |
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| Cinematography by | Tod Campbell |
| Editing by | Rosanne Tan |
| Original release date | October 6, 2019 |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
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"401 Unauthorized" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot . It is the 33rd overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on October 6, 2019.
The series follows Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, who is recruited by an insurrectionary anarchist known as "Mr. Robot" to join a group of hacktivists called "fsociety". As the series progresses, Elliot finds himself at odds with his real persona and with Mr. Robot's plans. In the episode, Elliot works in taking down Whiterose, while Angela fails to persuade Price from joining her against Whiterose.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.444 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the episode's twists, performances and writing.
After discovering that Price (Michael Cristofer) is her father, Angela (Portia Doubleday) tries to get him to get revenge on Whiterose (BD Wong). Price refuses to get involved, and tells her to move on. Angela states she will work to expose Whiterose's plan, which Price fails to persuade her from doing. Defeated, Price walks away. Angela is then approached by Dark Army agents, who overheard their conversation and kill Angela with a gunshot. A grief-stricken Price blames Whiterose for recruiting her, with Whiterose saying that Elliot (Rami Malek) will be used for their plan until December and then they will kill him.
At the Lomax & Looney Law firm Christmas party, a lawyer named Freddy Lomax (Jake Busey) receives an envelope. Alone, he discovers that it contains an incriminating video of him contacting a minor for sexual favors. He is then called by Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), who threatens to send it to his family and the police if he does not take his email inbox and put it in a USB. He is then instructed to go to Grand Central Terminal, where he meets Elliot on a train. The USB reveals that Whiterose uses Cyprus National Bank and a man named John Garcin for her purposes. Realizing that Dark Army agents followed them, Elliot instructs Freddy to leave and meet later. However, Freddy realizes that he will not be able to escape from the Dark Army. Despite Elliot's protests, Freddy decides to commit suicide.
In the aftermath of the hack undo, the economy has recovered and Tyrell (Martin Wallström) is praised as a hero. However, Tyrell has become bored and sullen over his CTO position, as he is only used as a puppet. Dominique (Grace Gummer) now lives with her mother, Trudy (Liz Larsen) and has grown paranoid over the Dark Army's presence in her life. Elliot is now operating at the empty Allsafe offices, and his relationship with Darlene (Carly Chaikin) is deteriorating following Angela's death. Darlene believes that she might still be alive due to her drug addiction, but Elliot is not willing to show her a photo that Whiterose sent him that depicts her murder.
Trudy sets up Dominique with Janice (Ashlie Atkinson), a woman she met at the church. As Dominique accompanies Janice outside her house, Janice reveals she works for the Dark Army. Janice threatens Trudy's life if Dominique does not start following their instructions, also suggesting that there are more agents watching her. Elliot and Mr. Robot check Garcin's apartment, only to discover that Freddy set them up and that Garcin never existed. Elliot is then captured by Dark Army agents who inject him with a lethal dose, causing him to lose consciousness and experience flashbacks. Suddenly, Elliot is revived by the agents. Price appears, welcoming him back.
The episode was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. This was Esmail's 18th writing credit, and 26th directing credit. [1]
In its original American broadcast, "401 Unauthorized" was seen by an estimated 0.444 million household viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [2] This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 0.454 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics. [3]
"401 Unauthorized" received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 89% approval rating for the episode, based on 9 reviews. [4]
Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "'Unauthorized' isn't just the first episode in the show's history to not have its title formatted in the form of a computer file or program; it's also a thrilling return to the espionage-thriller excitement that drove much of the first season." [5]
Kyle Fowle of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The entirety of '401 Unauthorized' is an extended heart attack. It's a perfect conspiracy thriller that sees Mr. Robot assuring us that this final season is going to reckon with everything that came before and that nothing will ever be the same. Everything, and everyone, is falling apart." [6] Alicia Gilstorf of Telltale TV gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This premiere is a harsh reminder of Mr. Robot's brilliance and its incessant need to burn the world we love to the ground one episode at a time." [7]
Sean T. Collins of The New York Times wrote, "It starts with the death of a main character. It seems, at first, to end with the death of the main character. In between, it plays out like an eerie paranoid thriller against a backdrop of international corruption and capitalism run amok. Written and directed by the series's creator, Sam Esmail, the fourth and final season premiere of Mr. Robot plays to all the show's strengths and none of its weaknesses." [8] Vikram Murthi of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'401 Unauthorized' continues Esmail's commitment to simplify Mr. Robot's narrative. The episode primarily follows Elliot's pursuit of Whiterose, for whom he has ostensibly been searching since she sent Elliot a picture of Angela's corpse. Yet Esmail introduces Elliot's scheme in a compellingly indirect manner, mainly through a new character not long for this world." [9]
Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "There have certainly been better episodes of Mr. Robot throughout the show's run. But it's hard to recall one with a mission so singular or a plot so gleefully propulsive. 'Unauthorized' seems as though it's Mr. Robot For Dummies. The battle lines are drawn, the stakes are clear, and all that's left for Sam Esmail is to slam down on the gas with both feet. There isn't much time for mummer's tricks. There's a world to be saved, damn it." [10] Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Viewers have been expecting it since her rise up the ranks on Mr. Robot Season 2, and given how Mr. Robot Season 3 concluded, it certainly felt like a full-circle moment to end her storyline on 'Unauthorized.'" [11]
"eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the fifteenth overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on August 3, 2016.
"eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the sixteenth overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer Adam Penn and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on August 10, 2016.
"eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the seventeenth overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on August 17, 2016.
"eps2.7_init_5.fve" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the nineteenth overall episode of the series and was written by Kyle Bradstreet and Lucy Teitler, and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on August 31, 2016.
"eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 20th overall episode of the series and was written by Kor Adana and Randolph Leon, and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on September 7, 2016.
"eps2.9_pyth0n-pt1.p7z" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 21st overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on September 14, 2016.
"eps2.9_pyth0n-pt2.p7z" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the second season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on September 21, 2016.
"eps3.3_metadata.par2" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 26th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on November 1, 2017.
"eps3.5_kill-process.inc" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on November 15, 2017.
"eps3.6_fredrick+tanya.chk" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 29th overall episode of the series and was written by Adam Penn and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on November 22, 2017.
"eps3.8_stage3.torrent" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 31st overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and Courtney Looney, and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on December 6, 2017.
"402 Payment Required" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on October 13, 2019.
"403 Forbidden" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 35th overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer Courtney Looney and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on October 20, 2019.
"404 Not Found" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 36th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on October 27, 2019.
"406 Not Acceptable" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 38th overall episode of the series and was written by Amelia Gray and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on November 10, 2019.
"408 Request Timeout" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 40th overall episode of the series and was written by Robbie Pickering and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on November 24, 2019.
"409 Conflict" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 41st overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Kyle Bradstreet and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on December 1, 2019.
"410 Gone" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American drama thriller television series Mr. Robot. It is the 42nd overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. It originally aired on USA Network on December 8, 2019.
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