The creator of the hit show Mr. Robot has used a recent interview to discuss the show’s most controversial episode yet. Sam Esmail has seen a good deal of success with his Mr. Robot series, which airs on USA Network and Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom. The series has been praised for its gripping storyline and technological accuracy, however, it recently picked up criticism for a somewhat shoddy episode.

According to the International Business Times, the most recent episode of the show took the format of a sitcom, all playing out inside the head of main protagonist Elliot Alderson, played by Rami Malek. Whilst many saw Season 2 Episode 6 as an interesting take on the show’s format, others saw it more as a cheap shot.

Esmail used the interview as an opportunity to defend the episode, revealing his influence. He said the episode was primarily driven by Alderson’s ability to take himself out of any situation and go into his happy place. For Alderson, this was the case during his childhood when he was beaten up. For a young Alderson, his happy place was one of the many sitcoms that he watched, which is something Esmail wanted to represent in this episode. Esmail was pretty pleased with the episode as a whole, even if fans of the show weren’t all that impressed.

New #MrRobot review, as Elliot found himself in a trippy sitcom land of laugh tracks https://t.co/CAHBlponyD pic.twitter.com/eezDYmFF6T — IGN (@IGN) August 11, 2016

In another interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Esmail also spoke about some of his most memorable moments from the series so far, opening up about some of the challenges he’s faced whilst filming. For Esmail, the most challenging of those episodes was Season 1 Episode 8, which saw Joanna Wellick, played by Stephanie Corneliussen going into labour, saying “The lobster fork from episode 1.8 was disturbing because of the choice. That’s the crazy thing about that moment: We don’t show it. There’s zero nudity or violence, and yet it’s still very f***ed up.”

Esmail has always attempted to do things a little differently with Mr. Robot, and he definitely appeared to achieve that with the season’s eighth episode, which was widely discussed when it aired last year.

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The producer was also keen to acknowledge the attention that his series has attracted. Mr. Robot initially launched as something of a low-key series, airing on the USA Network and Amazon Prime Video in the UK. However, since release, the series has picked up a loyal following, along with a number of awards and critical acclaim.

That being said, despite the series’ success, Sam Esmail still has a very clear path for Mr. Robot in his mind and doesn’t plan to let the mainstream success of the show change that. Esmail has said that he understands many of the concerns about the show’s pacing. However, he knows what has to be done in order to convey the show’s message properly with such a limited number of episodes.

Mr. Robot has received a good deal of critical acclaim for its technological accuracy, especially amongst the tech enthusiast community. However, the future of the series remains to be seen. USA Network is yet to renew the series for a third season. That being said, given the popularity of Mr. Robot, if the show’s third season isn’t picked up by the USA Network, there’s a good chance that another network will.

Mr. Robot is currently airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on USA Network.

[Image via USA Network]