Words can’t describe the magnitude of this episode…but I’ll do my best.

Act I: Greetings and Salutations

Like always, we pick up where we left off—Elliot’s still in the trunk of the Plymouth on his way to Krista’s house. After the goons arrive there and drag Elliot out of the car, we see Vera smoking meth (that’s why his damn teeth are so yellow) and getting all emotional now that he and Elliot are face to face. What cracked me up is the minute he hollers out, “I have so much respect for yo’ ass,” the camera cuts to Elliot gagged and bound in a chair. LOL! 😂

Vera has his goon, Javi, untie Elliot. Once he’s freed from his bonds, Mr. Robot appears to discuss an exit strategy. Elliot’s only interest is finding out if Krista’s okay. Mr. Robot’s certain that Krista’s dead at this point, but Elliot still needs to be sure. Until then, he’ll just let Vera do what he does best: run his mouth. Vera becomes enraged that Elliot isn’t talking (at least not to him), and demands to know how he is, since it’s been a minute since they last saw each other (which debunks the theory of the third personality speaking with him prior to the kidnapping, my fellow Redditors). Elliot responds by saying he’s confused: Why did Vera wait so long to make a move on him? Vera says he needed to be prepared before he snatched Elliot up, with him being a formidable opponent and everything.

Vera then goes into a spiel about how he returned to the Dominican Republic after Elliot broke him out of prison and made a killin’. While he’s runnin’ his mouth, we see that Krista’s still alive, tied up and gagged in the study.

We cut back to Vera, who says he was bored after being the king of the DR and saw a shaman for advice. After the shaman fed Vera a mixture of dried breast milk and blood (🤮) and Vera finished shittin’ and pukin’, pukin’ and shittin’ (🤮), he told Vera to return to New York and reconcile with the man who closed his chosen path. That man was meant to be Vera’s partner. That’s when Vera reveals his little master plan: he’s gonna be the king of New York and Elliot will be by his side when he is.

Yeah…Elliot ain’t impressed. He simply asks where Krista is. Vera seems a bit offended and storms off in the kitchen to slice another piece of Krista’s Christmas ham. When Elliot pushes the question again, Vera points his knife at him (from the kitchen), reminding him that they played this game once.

Elliot tells him that’s precisely why he’s asking. Vera chuckles and informs Elliot that the knife used to belong to Isaac…and it’s the same one that was used to kill Shayla. Vera’s goons get a good laugh off that, and Elliot gives them a look. Y’all might wanna be careful. This is the new, off the chain Elliot y’all are messin’ with now.

Elliot tells Vera he knows he won’t kill Krista; she’s the only leverage Vera has over him. Elliot even taunts Vera, saying that with all his “enlightenment,” he’s still the same dumbass he was before he left. Vera reminds Elliot that despite being a dumbass, he got everything he wanted last time. Elliot lets Vera know that he didn’t get him. Umph!

Elliot demands to see Krista, and Vera approaches him, grabs him by the hoodie and brandishes the knife in front him.

After criticizing Elliot for “always worrying about the pussy,” Vera agrees to his request…but afterwards, Vera has to have a special introduction.

Act II: The Introduction

Vera and his crew walk Elliot in the study where Krista’s being held. The moment Krista sees him, the first thing she mutters through the gag is, “Elliot!” Oh…we ain’t scared of Elliot no mo’, Ms. Krista? Elliot tells Vera to let her go, but Vera reminds him that he didn’t honor his first quid pro quo. He wants an introduction. Elliot asks what the hell he’s talking about and Vera tells him he wants to meet Mr. Robot.

Elliot plays coy at first, but Vera reveals that Krista told him everything, so Elliot might as well cut the bullshit. Then this fool actually asks if they have to say “Mr. Robot” three times in a mirror or play Bob Marley albums and light candles to get him to come out. Elliot tries to negotiate, saying they’ll talk once Krista’s released. Instead, Vera holds the knife to Krista’s throat and starts feeling her up.

When Vera implies that he’ll have Javi rape Krista if Elliot doesn’t cooperate, Mr. Robot appears.

Vera’s amused. It’s like he’s talking to another person! Mr. Robot says that’s because he is another person and wants to know what Vera wants with him. Vera asks just one question: why is he here? Mr. Robot says that he protects Elliot from buttholes like Vera. Vera’s not convinced. That’s just what he does. He wants to know why Mr. Robot exists. Mr. Robot never really answers the question and instead wants to know the details of Vera’s scheme, because if his current crew is evidence of his operation, he needs to go back to his shaman and shit some more, because he’s still full of it.

Vera goes into another spiel about how he wants to own New York and everything in it. He wants everyone from the gutter to the tenement pushin’ his weight. Cops, hookers, businessmen, everybody. Like Elliot, Mr. Robot ain’t impressed, and simply answers, “Oh…you wanna get into real estate?”

Mr. Robot proceeds to break down why Vera’s idea is shit. Instead, he’s willing to offer real money that’ll actually allow Vera to own NYC, but he has to let Krista go first. Vera asks why he should let Krista go when Elliot admitted earlier that she’s the only card he has to play. Elliot takes over again and offers to show Vera his plan.

Vera approaches Elliot, telling him he doesn’t need Mr. Robot. The other guy may bark, but Elliot is the one with the bite, which is why he’s more scared of him than he is of Mr. Robot. Elliot just holds his gaze. Gangster.

Act III: The Exploit

Back in the dining area, Elliot pulls his out his laptop to show Vera and his crew the accounts he accessed from the Deus Group. He spots the Dark Army operative’s gun in his bag, and while these fools are drooling over the amount of money Elliot’s planning on stealing (which I’m sure is in the damn trillions), Elliot slowly reaches for the piece.

The Three Stooges are so enticed by the money, they don’t even notice him going for the burner. Elliot grabs the gun and holds it on them. Vera says Elliot doesn’t have it in him, and Elliot fires on all three of them! Unfortunately, Javi already emptied the clip.

Damn, Elliot was about to light you fools up.

Vera’s impressed that Elliot had the guts to pull the trigger, but it further proves he still can’t be trusted. Mr. Robot takes over again and tries to put the blame on himself, but Vera’s not tryin’ to hear that. He reloads the gun and drags Krista out of the study, threatening to blow her brains out right in front of Elliot.

Elliot tells him that if he kills Krista, he might as well kill him next, because he’s not gonna get a dime. Vera demands that Elliot tell him why he shouldn’t shoot Krista. Elliot says she’s a good person that doesn’t deserve to be gunned down, but Vera doesn’t give a damn about that. He’s killed good people before (Shayla…*sob*). Elliot breaks down and says that he needs Krista.

Vera gets that damn gleam in his eye…but this time, it’s for a different reason. He deduces that Krista is Elliot’s shaman, and she’s the key to getting inside Elliot’s head, not Mr. Robot.

Act IV: The Therapy Session

Vera’s crazy ass brings Elliot and Krista back in the study and forces them to have an impromptu therapy session with him and his crew watching. Lord, have mercy. Krista tells Vera that it’s impossible to conduct a therapy session this way. She and Elliot have to be alone in a controlled environment. With that, Vera orders Young MA and Javi to leave. These fools refuse at first, wanting to see what unfolds, but Vera demands it. The goons begrudgingly leave, with Young MA calling Krista a “nasty cabbage ass that ruined everything.” WTF?

Vera stays behind, letting Krista know that this is as private as it gets. Krista tries talk some sense into him, saying she still can’t work with him holding her and Elliot at gunpoint. Vera gets fed up and fires the gun in the floor. Elliot tells him to calm down and talks Krista into asking him about his mother, since she just passed away the other day. They speak on Elliot’s feelings about his mother’s death, and Vera gets irritated again. He knows all this shit; he wants the real tea. Grabbing Elliot’s file from a nearby table, he reads an excerpt from Krista’s notes saying that Elliot has a secret and Mr. Robot’s existence is tied to it. This gets Elliot’s attention.

Mr. Robot appears again, discussing an exit strategy and accusing Krista of selling them out. In the meantime, Krista is begging Vera not to read her progress notes. It’s obvious that both of them are hiding something. Elliot has Vera continue reading the notes, and he reveals that Krista intended on asking further about Elliot’s window incident. Vera asks what’s so special about that window.

Mr. Robot is practically begging for the subject to be dropped. Elliot angrily tells him to shut up and demands to know what’s going on, and what it has to do with Mr. Robot. Krista refuses to speak on it at first, but after Elliot pushes, she concedes, admitting that everything is centered around Elliot’s dad. As Mr. Robot’s pleas continue to fall on deaf ears, we begin to see him crumble. Vera is loving that the first facet of his design is coming to fruition. Yellow ass teeth havin’ bastard.

Krista asks if Elliot remembers what happened that day, and he recalls what Darlene told him: they heard their father coming into the room, he hid Darlene in the closet, started swinging his bat and smashing everything in sight before breaking the window and leaping out of it on his own. His father never pushed him out of the window; he jumped.

Krista asks why Elliot can’t remember this incident himself. Elliot’s not sure. When Krista inquires if Elliot has lost time and memories like this before, he says it only happens when Mr. Robot takes over. Krista then asks if it’s possible that Elliot can’t remember because Mr. Robot is blocking the memory. Stunned, Elliot asks Mr. Robot exactly how long he’s existed. He doesn’t remember Mr. Robot being around when he was a child. Mr. Robot says that he’s been around for as long as Elliot needed him to be. He takes over and begs Krista not to continue, saying Elliot isn’t supposed to know.

Elliot asks what it is he isn’t supposed to know. Krista questions if Elliot truly believes Mr. Robot is there to protect him. Elliot answers yes, and Krista queries if it’s possible that Mr. Robot picked up the bat to protect Elliot and if so, why? Elliot gets irritated and wants to know the point of all this. Vera gets into all this like he’s watching an episode of The Young and the Restless. Krista wants to know what Mr. Robot was protecting him from. Why did Elliot/Mr. Robot have such a strong reaction when his father entered the bedroom? Elliot, whose resolve is slowly collapsing, can’t remember.

Mr. Robot takes over once more, looking even more crushed, imploring Krista not to bring this to light. That’s when Vera deduces that the person Elliot was afraid of was his father.

Elliot rebuffs that, saying that his father was his friend—his only friend. That’s when Mr. Robot stands up and says to Elliot, “I can’t protect you anymore.” Then he exits to the left! OMG!!

Elliot appears hurt for a moment, but then asks Krista why he’d be scared of his father. Krista probes further, inquiring if Elliot can ever recall a time his father hurt him. Elliot says no at first, still stating that his father was his friend. However, as Krista continues to describe details from that day, we can see Elliot begin to remember…and he starts breaking down.

Krista finally asks if his father ever asked Elliot to do something he didn’t want to do. Elliot starts to cry and says yes.

Krista then asks the ultimate question:

“Did your father ever sexually molest you?”

Elliot answers yes.

Elliot completely breaks down, sobbing. A single tear falls down Krista’s face. Vera simply watches in silence. Elliot continues sobbing as the picture fades to black.

Act V: Conclusion

By this point, Elliot is completely broken. Krista says she’s sorry this happened to him, but Vera raises his hand, ordering her to be quiet. It’s his turn to talk. Vera tells Elliot he knows what he’s feeling and no longer has to be afraid. When he places his hand on Elliot’s shoulder, the latter recoils, not being able to take anymore. Elliot leaves the study and Vera quickly follows.

Elliot goes to the window in the dining room, and Vera continues trying to talk to him. Vera mentions that even though Elliot’s hurting, he can be his true self now, but Elliot says he doesn’t know who his true self is. Vera tells him to let go of all his anger and sadness and Elliot starts screaming in front of the window, as the storm outside rages on. I was so scared he was going to jump.

Vera informs Elliot that he doesn’t have to carry this awful burden alone; he can carry it with him and they can help each other. Elliot (correctly) blames Vera for doing all this to him, and Vera counters, saying he did it for him. Lies from the tree of lies! Elliot doesn’t believe him, but Vera swears down he could sense Elliot’s hurt from the moment he met him, and he wanted to bring it to light. And now that Elliot knows the truth he can use it.

Vera goes on to mention that he too was sexually abused as a child. That explains a lot. After all, many abused people become abusers. Vera says people that survive the trauma they suffered are truly strong, and when they weather the storms they’ve endured, they become the storm.

With tears streaming down his face, Vera says that Elliot’s power is beautiful, and he’s special. He asks if Elliot believes that, and Elliot admits he doesn’t know. All he knows is that he doesn’t want to be alone anymore. Vera says, “You’re not alone…I see you now.”

Just then, Vera’s body jerks and we know he’s been stabbed. At first it looks like Elliot did it, but when the camera moves backwards, we see that he was stabbed in the back!

Vera raises up, wheezing and coughing up blood, trying to pull the knife out of his back, and we see Krista behind him, with Vera’s blood splattered on her neck and collarbone.

Not only was Krista the one to take him out, but she used the same knife that killed Shayla (#justiceforShayla). Vera falls to the floor taking his last breaths, and the Brave Traveler is no more.

After Vera dies, a power outage causes all the lights to go off in Krista’s house section by section, and that’s where our story ends.

Oh my God y’all, this episode was on a whole ‘nother level. Forgive me in advance, but in the words of Mr. Robot himself, this review portion is gonna have a ton of word salad.

“407 Proxy Authentication Required” was a damn masterpiece. Just phenomenal. During the entire therapy session, my heart was about to beat out of my chest, and when Elliot revealed who hurt him, my heart broke along with his. So far, this is the best episode all season, and definitely one of the best of the show itself, period. Even though this has been one of the darkest installments in the Mr. Robot series (which is saying a lot), it’s so brilliantly executed that I can’t stop watching it. Sam Esmail really is a damn genius, and I have to rank him with the likes of Quentin Tarantino at this point. Oh yeah…and once again, Mr. Robot was the number one trending topic on Twitter the night this episode aired!

The five act structure and two room setting was fantastic. Some fans compare the set up to a Hitchcock movie, but to me, it was more like a play—an extremely intense play—especially given there were only six actors featured this go’ round. Some people theorize the five acts symbolize the five stages of grief. It could also symbolize the five steps of Vera’s plan to break Elliot. Nonetheless, I loved it.

The cinematography was beautiful, as always. I noticed that as the subject matter became darker, so did the surroundings. By the time Elliot learns what his father did to him, he appears to be almost shrouded in darkness.

The acting was so on point. Everyone played their role to perfection. All week long I’ve been hearing the same thing: “Give Rami Malek and Elliot Villar (Vera) all the awards,” “If Rami doesn’t win an Emmy next year, we riot!” I wholeheartedly agree. Rami and Elliot both did their thing. When Elliot (the character) begins to remember what happened to him as a child, we can actually see him replaying the memories. We can feel his hurt and pain. When Vera makes his move on Elliot by sharing his own personal pain, he’s so convincingly sincere that a lot of fans fell for his act, even though he outwardly detailed his plan to break Elliot and build him back up in the previous episode.

Speaking of which, there’s some people that are legit pissed at Krista for stabbing Vera to death! I’ve seen some comments such as, “Now Elliot truly is alone,” and “Elliot had someone until Krista killed him.” Y’all, Vera meant Elliot no good. I believe Vera was telling the truth about his own sexual assault against him, but as far as wanting to heal Elliot? No. In stabbing Vera, Krista saved Elliot in every way he could’ve been saved. All Vera wanted to do was use Elliot’s power for his own gain, and poor Elliot would’ve traded one predator for another. Krista did the right thing. That being said, I’ll miss that yellow toothed bastard. Vera was deliciously evil, and hella entertaining. Like Whiterose, he was a villain that I loved to hated. He proved himself to be central to the overall Mr. Robot storyline.

There’s also some fans out there that believe the reveal about Elliot’s dad is a cop out Sam introduced at the last minute. I understand how they feel. Mr. Alderson being a sexual predator changes the entire narrative. Elliot took on E-Corp mainly to avenge his father’s death. Not only that, some of Elliot’s fondest “memories” are of his father, who he believed was his best friend and one of the few people in his life he had a loving relationship with. Then of course, there’s Mr. Robot, who took on the physical likeness of Elliot’s dad. However, after I really thought about it and discussed the topic on Reddit, there were little clues here and there that prove Elliot was a victim of sexual assault:

When we’re first introduced to Elliot in the pilot episode, he took down Ron, a coffee shop owner by day and child pornographer by night.

Throughout the series Elliot fought against sexual predators, from Ron, to Ray, the prison warden who was trafficking young girls, to Freddy, the sleazy lawyer who was conducting Skype sex chats with minors.

Elliot being a sexual assault victim explains his dissociative personality disorder (DID) as well as his social anxiety and depression.

This also explains why Elliot completely blocked his father out of his mind.

We see in flashbacks that Elliot’s mother appeared to hate Mr. Alderson, which brought forth the question of why he even stayed with her as long as he had. Now that we know the truth, it’s safe to assume that Elliot’s mother knew—or at least suspected—the sexual abuse and Mrs. Alderson was merely a beard for Mr. Alderson.

Elliot hates being touched, especially by men. He even hated Gideon touching him, and he was one of the few men Elliot liked and respected.

The fact that Vera was the sole drug dealer in New York supplying Suboxone made Elliot apathetic when it came to turning him in for his crimes, some of which included murder. However, after Elliot learned Vera raped Shayla and had every intention of doing it again, he made up his mind and had Vera arrested.

In this very episode, Elliot doesn’t allow Mr. Robot to speak with Vera until the latter starts to touch Krista inappropriately and threatens to have her raped.

There’s also a handful of fans that think Elliot made the entire story up just to placate Vera. I seriously doubt that. Elliot’s breakdown from all his traumatic memories coming to light were real. Let’s not forget as well, when Mr. Robot saw that the truth would be revealed no matter what he said or did, he declared he could no longer protect Elliot and left. And the look on Mr. Robot’s face…I haven’t seen him look like that since Elliot laughed in his face and left his ass high and dry to go to church group.

The question now is: will Mr. Robot return? I admit, I always had a type of love/hate relationship with Mr. Robot, but Elliot may still need him when all is said and done. Not only that, but Mr. Robot was the only personality that spoke to us this season. Granted, I always felt that he didn’t provide enough tea, but he provided tea nonetheless, whereas Elliot’s been avoiding us like the plague. Now that Mr. Robot is taking a hiatus (or is gone for good), will Elliot start speaking to us again, or will we be left in the dark? Also, if Mr. Robot does come back, will he still take on the appearance of Elliot’s father or will he return in a new form?

The saddest thing about the reveal is that I always loved Mr. Alderson’s character. Some folks deduced that Mr. Alderson was a sexual predator prior to this episode, but I never bought that. My mother (who’s a huge Mr. Robot fan) once asked me if Elliot’s real dad acted like Mr. Robot when he was alive, and I answered, “No, he was always the sweetest man!” I always thought he and Elliot had a beautiful relationship. The flashbacks of Mr. Alderson with Elliot and Angela always gave me a warm and happy feeling. When Elliot started having total recall during the therapy session scene, I kept saying to myself, “Please don’t let the Reddit theories be true…please don’t let the Reddit theories be true…” *Sigh* Now when I watch those same flashback scenes, they take on a whole new meaning.

This latest installment is just a testament to the brilliance of Mr. Robot. To think, I literally went from blessin’ Elliot’s ass out for what he did to Olivia to wanting to give him a giant hug and kiss. What’s even crazier is that it’s still Christmas and Elliot still has to carry out his plan to rob the Deus Group that night, despite being chased by cops through Manhattan, being kidnapped, witnessing a botched suicide attempt, and after learning that his father molested him. On top all of that, his sister’s also being held hostage by a psychopath. Worst. Christmas. Ever.

I know one thing…at the end of all this, I want Elliot and Darlene to have happiness, dammit. And I don’t mean “peace after death” happiness, either.

In the next episode, Elliot seems to have a bit of a psychotic break, and Krista has to try to help him through it before Vera’s goons catch up to them. Young Elliot appears to seemingly take Mr. Robot’s place, and Janice resorts to physical and mental torture to get Darlene to give up Elliot’s location. Witch.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about “407 Proxy Authentication Required”? Did the reveal about the real relationship between Elliot and his father seem sincere to you or do you think it was all an act to placate Vera? Were you shocked that Elliot’s father abused him, or did you always figure that was the case? Were you upset that Vera met his end? Did you feel bad for Elliot? Do you think Mr. Robot will come back? Did Vera’s tactics and schemes throw a monkey wrench in Elliot’s plan to rob the Deus Group? Let me know in the comments section!