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Day 1 Assignments
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11 Replies
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Big Little Lies
What I learned doing this assignment: I learned about creating intrigue and creating lots of questions. A few things I like about this pilot: I love the opening – someone is dead and everyone is dressed as Elvis and Audrey Hepburn. Great first lines: “It wasn’t just the Dads, it was the Mothers too.” / “The thing about fundraisers. They’re vicious.” There’s such a great juxtaposition of breezy wealth, and death and crime.
What is the big hook of this show? A brutal murder has been committed in the least likely place – a wealthy California town. Who did it?
What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting? They’re all good people, but seem to be hiding some type of secret. Though we like them all, one of them has committed murder. They’re also unique from each other, but I can see why these women are friends.
What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character? Even the rich, perfect ones have problems we can relate to. We understand where each one is coming from.
What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season? Who is the murderer? Who is the person killed? What do some of these women have against each other? Who hurt Amabella? What is the secret each one seems to be hiding?
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? They’ve drawn us into the lives of these characters and we want to see how it will play out and get our questions answered.
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Big Little Lies
What I learned:
In this first episode there is plenty of little hooks addressed to the subconscious mind and related also to the supporting characters.
There is no straight indication who is a murderer, yet just the proportions of the storytelling, narration suggests four women as suspects.
It seems that the whole section of interrogations was added into this first episode to increase the tension, because without it the hooks would not mean that much. The characters seem to lead an ordinary life that does not yet herald a murder.
The setting is also very important – primary school in sunny Florida creates sort of contrast, opposition to the main question – who killed and creates kind of intriguing mood, it is nice to watch this serial, yet main question is of a profound and dark type.
– 5 Star Model
A murder took place at the school’s found raising event. All the guests are interrogated as potentially suspected. They disclose their thoughts and suspicions about the others to the police. They speak especially about five women.
Meanwhile in the flashbacks we learn about five women who all have children attending to the same school (Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renate, Bonnie). They are all very different and four of them seem to be in distress for different reasons. Outwardly, they all pretend to be very happy. On the first day of school Renata’s daughter accuses Jane’s son of aggression. The boy and his mother do not admit it and the women split to two opposite camps.
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?Who was murdered and why? Which of the five women killed that person?
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?Madeline- she blows the conflicts, not silence it. She is a fighter outside, yet inside she feels hurt by her ex husband (Bonnies’ partner now) which erodes her present family relations.
There are more than one intriguing, lead characters.
Beautiful Celeste- seems to have perfect, family life with two boys and passionate in love with her husband, who, however, uses violence towards her.
Jane- single mother who has a beautiful relation with her son, yet she escapes from her past or memories.
Renate – rich, self made, powerful success woman, yet seems to be terribly lonely despite cool husband. Also a fighter.
Empathy / Distress
Ask this: What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?Madeline takes side of Jane and her son Ziggy, who seems to be wrongly accused by powerful and not accepting compromises Renate.
Her daughter’s best friend, Bonnie, is the partner of her ex-husband, she also signed the petition against Madeline’s performance un the theatre.
4. Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?Which of these five nice women is the murderer and why?
What is the Jane mistery from the past?
What does Celeste hide?
Who boy was aggressive to Renate’s daughter?
What will come out of the Madeline versus Renate’s war?
Inviting Obsession
Ask this: How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?Each of the four women has a mystery but seem absolutely not capable to commit the murder. We actually like them all, maybe except Renate, and we want to know how could it happen. So we want to trace forward all the little strange symptoms of mysteries in their lives.
(eg. the boy’s sleepwalking, the Celeste’s twins always playing fight, her sex obsessed relation with husband, Jane running on the beach, a bit drunk Renata’s husband, emerging conflict in Madeline’s family)
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George Petersen 5 STAR MODEL
What I learned is binge shows can be complex like movies
THE AMERICANS
The big hook:
The bland next door married couple are actually Russian spies.
Amazing and Intriguing Character:
The hero and heroine are dedicated Russian spies who discuss what to do with the man locked in the trunk with the same lack of affect that they discuss what’s for dinner.
The couple struggle with raising their children but at the same time are highly capable of killing a man with their bare hands.
Empathy / Distress:
The couple endure the stress of spying while carrying out the duties of domestic family life.
Elizabeth was raped at 18 by her superior.
Their children are not very understanding of their parent’s problems.
Phillip has a hidden knife wound.
They can’t be themselves because that might lead to a slip up of their true identity. They must be acting their part 24/7.
Layers / Open Loops
Will the FBI neighbor discover what the hero is up to?
Will the hero be caught?
Will the daughter go off the deep end?
Will the son gain confidence?
Will the parents be there for their children?
Inviting Obsession
Will their marriage succeed?
Will Stan catch them in the act?
Who is the Pasty Bureaucrat? Will he remain attracted to Elizabeth?
Will the couple defect and cash in millions or remain loyal to Russia? (Would the Loyal to Russia angle play out today?)
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American Horror Stories
What I learned doing this assignment is that having complex characters that we can be empathetic with, allows us to have some skin in the game and want to follow their journey.
American Horror Story Season 10, Episode I:
OUTLINE of Season 10, Episode I:
The Gardner family drives to Provincetown , MA for a summer getaway. A mutilated deer on the road sets the tone for what’s to come.
Harry Gardener (Father/husband) meets Tuberculoses Karen (TB Karen), who looks like a meth addict, and is warned of the “Bloodsuckers” in the town.
Harry has writer’s block on day one.
Harry’s wife, Doris, and daughter Alma go for a walk and are chased back home by a graveyard zombie-looking vampire.
The sheriff assures them it was just a local addict.
Harry discovers several mutilated bodies on the beach when he goes for a run.
Harry goes to the local bar alone and meets some of the locals which includes a failed writer turned town prostitute and two successful writers who are vampires.
Harry is attacked at home by one of the graveyard zombie vampires and kills him.
TB Karen is pressured by Belle Noir (one of the vampires from the bar) to bring her a baby to feast on.
TB Karen reluctantly delivers to baby in exchange for protection and some meth.
After Harry decided to leave Provincetown with his family due to the strange events, he receives a call from Austin (Another one of the vampires from the bar) who offers him a solution to his writer’s block (AQ magic pill).
Harry receives a call from his agent who puts pressure on him to complete the TV Pilot.
Harry takes the pill unaware that his daughter is watching him.
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?
ANSWER: Edgy horror shows at unique locations and with original and odd characters. This season of the Horror Show is a about a struggling screenwriter who travels to a new England resort with his pregnant wife and daughter in the off season in an attempt to write a pilot within 3 months.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?
ANSWER: The main character, Harry Gardener, wife, Doris Gardener, and daughter, Alma Gardener, are all struggling with mediocrity and can’t seem to get over the hump and be perfect in their area of expertise. Harry is a hack writer wanting a serious career, while Doris was a teacher who can’t seem to get a handle on interior decorating (Her real desire). The daughter, Alma, is a better than average violinist, who can’t seem to reach that expert level she wants. Each has the opportunity in this coastal town and getting over that hump. Perhaps they will all reach their perfection here since it hasn’t happened anywhere else.
There are also an ensemble cast of supporting characters in the town of Provincetown or “P Town” that make the story even more interesting and pulls us in.
– Bald-headed Ghouls – Immediately after they arrive, the family members are accosted by bald-headed ghoulish characters wearing overcoats with extreme shoulder pads. Although they appear to be drug addicts who are insane, when one breaks into the house, we discover that he has vampire tendencies and is killed by the father during the attack. This sets the tone that something supernatural is happening in the town.
– TB Karen – This old lady who looks like a bum and meth addict warns the family when they first arrive that they are in danger from the blood sucking town. One of the few who remains a non-vampire and we begin to wonder how she holds out from becoming one.
– Mickey – Mickey appears as the town prostitute (male and female clients) who will do anything for money. Also a failed writer who brings some comedic relief (Played by McCaully Cauken) to the series. Also a non-vampire who appears to be a useful tool and snack to the vampires.
– Austin and Belle Noir – Austin and Belle Noir first are introduced as bar flies and terrible Karaoke singers. Austin is much younger than Belle Noir (Who could be your grandmother) and come off as an odd pair of successful writers.
Empathy / Distress
Ask this: What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
ANSWER: You don’t have to be a writer to feel empathy for Harry who’s career depends upon him writing that great new pilot for TV before the deadline. And you must emphasize with Doris who wants to have a different career than teaching and Alma who just wants to be the best violinist. It’s distressing that none of this seems to be working for them and on top of that, Doris is carrying a new child.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
ANSWER: Will Harry make progress on his writing? Will Doris find her talent for interior decorating by updating the house they are renting? Will Alma break through and be able to perform those difficult notes on her violin? Where did the vampires come from? What is in the magic pill that Harry took to solve his writers block? Why is TB Karen doing the bidding of the vampires?
Inviting Obsession
Ask this: How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
ANSWER:
When we get to the end of the first episode, we realize that something darker and more evil is going on and we’re hoping the family will figure it out and escape the evil in P Town. We fear they won’t…but we want to see anyway…
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MR ROBOT 5-Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is to absorb the story once, and the second time look deeper. You can see beyond the obvious using the 5-Star Points and become a stronger observer of what is best about the show.
Big Picture Hooks – MR ROBOT
A brilliant but introverted, anxious cybersecurity tech saves the online world of a corporation he despises and is recruited by underground hackers to take down the same company and help others on a massive scale.Amazing and Intriguing Character
Elliot keeps most of his inner world hidden from others, and wants to secretly protect the two women who are good to him – friend/crush Angela and psychologist Krista Gordon. He does this as he saves ECorp from losing control of their servers, and learns it was a message for him from mysterious hackers.
Mr. Robot has been following Elliot and reels him in after the latter discovers the message. Mr Robot shows him the best hacking operation he’s ever seen, and is a chance to take down the worst corporate abusers.
Empathy / Distress
Elliot has no one, apart from his friend Angela, who he works with, and his psychologist. He was an abused child. He fears he is hallucinating, that what he experiences is not reality. He’s anxious and introverted but still has a sense of humor. He wants to take down the worst people.
Layers / Open Loops
Who are Mr Robot and the hackers? What are their real goals? What will they ask him to do?
Will Elliot be able to protect Angela from her asshole boyfriend? Dr Gordon – Can she help him?
How much is reality and how much is fantasy for Elliot?
Elliot ends the pilot happy, but what’s next? Will society have their debts wiped out?Inviting Obsession
Tons of intrigue and mystery. Conspiracy and conflict, clear antagonists who are really bad, but the protagonists aren’t great people. High stakes, people get their money back, will they?SECOND WATCH while using 5-Star Point analysis.
1. Big Picture Hooks
This is a revenge series, compelling.2. Amazing and Intriguing Character
The pedophile – Elliot wants to do right, but just enough to not be found out. He stays anonymous “Good isn’t allowed to exist without condition” – but he’s a vigilante at heart. But he still lets the women he cares for stay in bad relationships. Shades of grey. He doesn’t give a shit about money. Elliot’s rage comes out through his smarts. He may have social anxiety but he is very confident and he seems to know himself. He spies on people, can be manipulative. An easy liar, comfortable with being awkward.3. Empathy / Distress
He’s very lonely. Elliot’s father died from leukemia he got from work. A source of his hatred. He was left with an abusive mother. Angela and Elliot have a good friendship – real. He rages against the things that many of us rage against: Late capitalism abuses, hypocrisy, cruelty to animals.
“I’m anonymous, alone, not special” – He can’t stop the abuse of the world.
Both Elliot’s and Mr Robot’s fathers died. They have connection.4. Layers / Open Loops
Is the imaginary friend important? Why does Tyrell use Linux – hard the hack – and who is he? His boss being gay – that will come back later. How? Who is his partner?Will Elliot set a revolution in motion?
5. Inviting Obsession
Music, world, tone, and scene cuts are also strong. Good character types. Troubled character trying to do the right thing, and can read others. Almost has a crystal ball into who is good and who isn’t, but the hackers/Mr Robot confound him. It’s like the hackers know him better than he does.</div>
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Cathryn Atkinson.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Cathryn Atkinson.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by
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Jessica Jones 5 Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is how emotionally (sometimes even viscerally) powerful it is when the layers and open loops are unwound / revealed on an escalating basis; exploring some new techniques also reinforced just how powerful our creativity can be if we let it relax and speak to us in the moments when we are not actively trying to write. (I’m talking about how we have to write now, and fix later, after the solution comes while hiking or washing the dishes!)
• Big Picture Hooks
Wounded (PTSD) protagonist must do whatever it takes to rid the world of the villain that made her.
Superhero / crime hybrid makes for a compelling, gritty protagonist and world. Mystery of the Voice is scary and compelling. (Also, Jessica is a good example of the darker side of the superhero popular since the 1980s.)
• Amazing and Intriguing Character
Hard drinking freelance PI confirmed in thinking the worst of people GRADUALLY reveals secrets: she is inhumanly strong, invulnerable, and in pain, emotionally. We’re on her side even though she’s bitchy. Also, instead of flying high like a celebrity (ie Avengers), she does dirty work in a dirty neighborhood amongst other addicts, failures of society and criminals. Well drawn complementary cast: Luke, Hogarth, Malcolm, Trish, the Voice.
• Empathy / Distress
She works hard for her money and we want her to succeed – at least survive, pay her rent and solve her mystery. She’s often antisocial and trumpets her cynicism, but dead honest – but once it is revealed that she is in danger from an old adversary…
We don’t have to like her, because we care about her journey’s success, in the day to day gig, and in her strange obsession with her adversary and his manipulations.
• Layers / Open Loops
Mysteries: Is she a hero, in other words, did she ever try to be like wonder woman, instead of a cynical drunk freelancer? She insists she is not which suggests a hidden yearning to be one. How did she get her powers? Who is the voice speaking to her in her mind or memory? What secrets are there in Luke’s Trishes and Hogarths pasts and how do they effect Jessica?
• Inviting Obsession
. What made her this way – both the powers and the darkness and hard won cynicism? Who is the voice? What’s the secret of how he can control and manipulate minds? Is there a clue in her comparison love to being conned… this sinks in and makes you feel her obsession with shitty love? The only time we see her show fear is when she remembers or encounters him (restaurant scene) “He’s back.”
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SCANDAL Five Star Model
What I learned during this assignment:
• This BW show grabs attention and doesn’t let go: one over-arching challenge and other challenging moments one after another with high stakes understood by the audience
• With fast paced dialogue and “camera shutter shots” between scenes
• Engaging one-liners anchor the themes:
“I can’t stay”; “My gut tells me everything I need to do”
“You lie and bets are off”; “Never cry”; “Gladiators in a suit”;
“Leap. If it doesn’t work out it’s not on you”; “Get some normal”
Five Star Points:
1) What is the big hook of this show?
• Secret world of handling (protecting/defending) crises that threaten public image of our nation
• Powerful female lead with a team (smart, empathic)
• Examining Values
2) What makes these characters intriguing?
• Relatable and in challenging situations
• Seeking purpose; Facing fears; Harnessing tenacity
3) What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for character?
• Most empathy and distress for Olivia: Being lied to and betrayed; she is vulnerable to tears
• Most empathy and distress for Quinn: Her identity, capability and ethics are being challenged
4) What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
• Will Olivia damage the President, his family, his public image; will he destroy her
• Will Quinn gain in capability and belongingness
• Will the engaged couple’s relationship work out
5) How does the pilot create the need to see every single episode?
• Evoking obsession in audience with cliff-hangars and excitement experienced throughout the show.
• Unanswered questions we care about in the plot
• The audience may care about the exploration of values
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Madeleine Vessel’s SUPERNATURAL 5 Star Model
While doing this assignment, I learned that 5 Star Points makes a show binge worthy.
I watched the pilot of SUPERNATURAL (43 minutes). The story is about brothers Dean and Sam who follow in their father’s footsteps as hunters of evil supernatural being, including monsters, demons, and ghosts.
List of the 5 Star Points from SUPERNATURAL:
1. Big Picture Hooks. The big hook of this show is that the siblings Dean and Sam were raised to be hunters like their father, but instead of ducks and dear, their prey includes demons, monsters, and ghosts that roam the earth.
2. Amazing and Intriguing Character. Dean and Sam are intriguing because they are both fearless, because they are both capable and comfortable with being hunters of demons, ghosts, and monsters. They are interesting because of their brotherly sparring and their family background, mother dead and father missing. Sam is particularly interesting. First, paranormal activity begins in his bedroom as a baby. Makes me wonder, if there isn’t something special about him. Later, as an adult, he is reluctant to become a hunter. He’d rather live a nice safe life as an attorney and continue his relationship with his girlfriend Jessica. Quickly on, the viewer realizes that his desires are unlikely to be fulfilled.
3. Empathy / Distress. In this first episode, we feel empathy for Sam, who doesn’t want to live the same life as his father and brother. It’s too dangerous. It prevents them from maintaining meaningful relationships with the opposite sex. He wants to live a nice safe life as a lawyer. We also feel empathy for Dean who wants to find his father but who also needs his brother’s help. He doesn’t want to go it alone. They need each other.
4. Layers / Open Loops. Questions in the first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season. Who was the man sitting in the chair in front of the TV? Why did his presence scare the mother? Who killed the brothers’ mother? Who killed Sam’s girlfriend, Jessica? Why is Sam present just prior to both the killing of his mother and his girlfriend? What happened to the brothers’ father? Will Sam ever be able to go to law school? Will either brother ever be able to have a close and meaningful relationship other than with each other?
5. Inviting Obsession. The pilot creates the need to see every single episode because it ends at the start of a new mission. The viewer can’t wait to find out whether or not the brothers will find their father in Colorado, whether they will get to the bottom of what happened to their mother and Jessica, whether Sam will ever go to law school, whether either brother will be able to maintain a close relationship outside their circle of two.
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Scandal’s 5 Star Points Analysis:
What I learned doing this assignment:
I gained a lot of insight on how the 5 star model plays out creating binge worthiness. Intriguing, amazing character like Olivia Pope can be a glue to the story, interest and excitement can be created by open loops and unsolved cases. Strategically pacing the information that is given to the audience.
In this first episode of Scandal I love how we enter this new subword of fixers in Washington through Quinn, the new girl, on her first day at the firm, she is our eyes and voice as she questions and discovers. Olivia has already established herself as the best fixer in town, she plays by her own rules and is not afraid of going against the established rules; the law or even the man she loves, The President.
What is the big hook of this show? Olivia, an ex White House employee has become the best fixer in Washington, with her own firm she leads her team into making problems disappear for her clients, so they can go on with their lives, but she seems to have a complicated life herself.
What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting? Olivia seems to be the best fixer in Washington, She’s confident, worshiped and powerful as she had influence on the White House. She dominates, operates at a very high level and plays by her own rules. Top players in Washington seek her services including The President. She’s not afraid of going against the big guys like the AG and The President himself in order to solve a case. She and her team do whatever it takes to help their clients, using manipulation, threatening, and other tricks, at times, putting themselves at risk, each team member seems to have a world of their own and seems to be hand picked by Olivia for a reason.
What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character? Olivia seems to be fighting for the truth, for what’s right, and she seems to be one of the good guys. Also she was the mistress of The President and walked away from the triangle relationship still loving him. Although she’s the best at helping her clients with their problems in life, she herself seems troubled, lonely and unhappy. She and her team members seem willing to take risks when solving cases.
What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season? How did Olivia Pope become so powerful in Washington? so influential? How did the relationship with the president start- Does the President really love her? Does the first lady know about their involvement? In what capacity did she work for the president? Why is she no longer working for him?
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? By the end of this pilot we have no doubt that Olivia and her team are the best at getting to the bottom of each case and solving it! and we also see the start of a new case: Amanda vs The President, the man Olivia seems to love and now feels betrayed by. Will Olivia really go after The President? what will be discovered? Is Amanda saying the truth? if so how this scandal will affect the president’s career, his life, the white house and the nation? Or will Olivia and the president get closer? How will this love story end?
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Mr. Robot Five Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is: that the five star points really create the strong pull that binge-worthy shows have on first-time viewers. Mr. Robot is a show I’ve been curious about but haven’t gotten around to watching before this, and I came in cold. I selected it because it seems closest to one of the two show ideas I developed in the pre-class assignments. Watching it firstly through the lens of the five star points model, and secondly as a stand-alone episode without being able to continue to the next and binge the entire season, I was able to focus on each of these points how they draw the viewer in, mostly with intrigue. The second time I watched it, I noticed even more of the open loops, the casual throwaway set up lines, such as the reference to Elliot not being in therapy voluntarily, that almost subliminally make us want to know more. I’ve never analyzed a TV show episode or pilot in this way – nothing beyond the drama, subtext, and interest techniques used to make the scenes and story powerful. Seeing it with a focus toward what makes the show compel us to keep watching has been eye-opening. I’ve had some breakthroughs already, especially during the second viewing of the pilot. I’m excited to see what we learn next in this course!
Mr. Robot
OUTLINE
Elliot warns an imaginary person that a cabal of powerful people are following him.
Elliot confronts the owner of a coffee shop, explaining how he hacked him and discovered that the guy hosts a child pornography site… but then starts over sharing about he’s different, too, and how his only real connection to the world was his dad who died from cancer as the result of working for a company. He reveals he’s called the police.
Elliot goes to his day job as a cybersecurity engineer, where he’s assigned to help Angela look over data from a client who was hacked. Angela is annoyed he didn’t “try harder” to attend her party last night.
He sees his psychologist, whom he cyberstalks by night. He’s got anger issues especially a rage against society, the rage so internalized that he can’t tell when he’s saying things out loud or just to himself. He seems to be here because of delusions.
Angela’s boyfriend tries to get him to open up because he can’t accept the awkwardness between them — not knowing that Elliot has hacked him and knows he’s cheating on Angela. Elliot hates E Corp, the huge conglomerate he has to assist at his job.
Elliot goes home and is overwhelmed by his loneliness. He flashes back to an abusive childhood at the hands of his mother. Then does morphine, a habit which he has under control by a series of strict rules. He gets high and has sex with his drug dealer.
He stalks his psychologist to follow her date, whom he is suspicious about… but suspects he’s being followed. A Wino he saw on the subway earlier distracts his followers.
Angela calls Elliot into work in the middle of the night because another major hack happened to E corp. Elliot diagnoses the attack correctly as infected servers within the E Corp buildings.
Elliot has to accompany his boss to the location, where he manages to save the day… but discovers a message specifically to him from the hacker within the malicious code. He’s instructed to leave the infected server there, which he does even though he could get fired for it.
On the flight home, his boss Gideon opens up about being gay. Elliot vows to find the hacker responsible.
On the subway, the wino once again approaches Elliot. He is Mr. Robot and is the hacker… and wants Elliot to come with him, but won’t tell him why. He opens up about his father being a thief… and promises to break Elliot out of the “prison” he’s in.
They go to Coney Island, where Mr Robot and his crew work their hacks. They’re “encryption” is that they do everything in person, no digital footprint. If Elliot is going to work with them, he’ll have to start interacting with real people.
He worries it was all a delusion. Angela discovers the drug dealer asleep in bed.
He gathers what info he can on Mr Robot and confronts him to tell him he’s going to turn him in… but Mr Robot pitches him on helping them take out E Corp and framing the head tech guy there. The master plan: to wipe away E Corp’s money and society’s massive debt to it. Wrath redistribution across the board.
Elliot considers it… then when the head tech has Angela fired, he decides to go through with it. Gives the FBI the file that will set up the head tech officer… but a lower-level tech-savvy VP notices him switch the file.
19 days pass with no arrests, no news, no revolution. Mr Robot and his crew vanish. He returns to cyberstalking his psychologist’s boyfriend. Finds that the guy is married… and confronts him, forcing him to break up with her and tell her the truth… then makes him give him the dog the guy mistreats.
He confronts Angela about why she’s avoiding him out of embarrassment. Then the news hits — the setup was successful. The E corp tech exec has been arrested.
Elliot is ecstatic… when he is arrested by the men who have been following him. But it’s not an arrest—he’s taken the boardroom where the cabal of powerful men meets. And their leader is the lower-level tech-savvy VP who notices him switch folders earlier.
Five Star Points of Mr. Robot
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?
A hacker who exposes people’s darkest secrets is recruited by a shadowy master hacker to take down the top 1% of the top 1%, starting with the biggest conglomerate in the world.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?
Elliot uses hacking to “protect” the people he cares about from the pain that the liars in their lives inflict on them. He reveals people’s darkness to chase them out of the lives of the people he’s protecting.
Elliot is an introvert bordering on autism, who suffers severe loneliness… but also a dangerous rage, especially toward society in general. His loneliness is relatable. His crusade to “protect” the people he cares about by exposing the dark sides of the people who might wrong them is admirable and likable. But intrigue comes from the mention by his shrink that he also suffers delusions, that he isn’t in therapy voluntarily, and that he has issues with rage, does drugs, and fixates on people’s dark secrets. He’s also a brilliant hacker who has the ability to get in anywhere and hold power over the lives of the people he exposes – but also can save major corporations from major hacks. He’s a character who, despite being a man of few words and few emotions outwardly, is highly proactive in his cyberstalking, and philosophizing about how corrupt societal institutions are. His backstory is intriguing – his mother appears to have abused him, and his recently-deceased father was his only major point of contact to the outside world, save for his childhood friend Angela.
Mr. Robot is gregarious, pretends to be a wino as he follows and observes Elliot, and has an ingenious plan to take out E Corp and redistribute global wealth. He’s a master hacker who has an operation that can itself be hacked – because all their interactions take place in person. This happens to be the exact thing Elliot struggles with – interpersonal interactions. Mr. Robot is likeable in that he’s charming and amusing, but his biggest impression is one of intrigue: who is he? What’s his real endgame? He has an interesting backstory being the son of a thief… but he’s also not trustworthy, so that story may not be true. We’re left not knowing if he’s a hero or a villain, but he’s a fascinating character who makes us want to know more.
Empathy / Distress
Ask this: What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
Elliot’s painful loneliness and struggles with interpersonal interaction; his overwhelming sadness and isolation cause empathy.
Distress comes in the form of him being followed – and not knowing if the pursuit is a delusion or real. He’s put in high-pressure situations where he has rescue E Corp from a hack that he actually admires. He goes up against some dangerous people from a position of power when he has hacked them… but is in the crosshairs of an overwhelmly powerful conglomerate. He doesn’t trust anyone, but seems to want to trust Mr. Robot, the most obviously criminal element he comes in contact with, inviting the danger of exposure and arrest.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
Will Elliot be destroyed by the cabal? What will they do to him?
Will Elliot join Mr. Robot’s team, FSociety?
Will Elliot enter into a relationship with his drug dealer, who clearly likes him?
Will Elliot and his childhood friend Angela enter into a relationship, when clearly there’s
romantic tension between them?
Will Angela’s boyfriend betray her? Will Elliot expose him?
Will Elliot’s therapist find out that Elliot is the one who broke up her relationship? That
he’s been cyberstalking her ostensibly to “protect” her?
Will E Corp discover Elliot set up their CTO – and what will be the consequences?
Will the junior tech officer recruit Elliot to his side or destroy him?
Who is Mr. Robot?
Who are the members of Mr. Robot’s team? Why are they involved in this?
What is the next step of Mr. Robot’s plans?
Will Elliot struggle with addiction?
Inviting Obsession
Ask this: How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
A fascinating subworld of hackers and cybersecurity.
We strongly connect with the intrigue of Elliot and Mr. Robot, and we empathize with Elliot. Elliot is unpredictable and the danger he flirts with creates a sense of suspense over which situations he’ll be able to handle and which will spin out of his control.
The layers of Mr. Robot, his operation, and his ultimate plan keep up wanting to know more. Meanwhile, the cabal of powerful men and their connection to E Corp is another mystery that we want answered.
We also are intrigued about the relationship between Elliot and Angela, and what Angela’s cheating boyfriend’s motives really are for wanting so hard to connect with Elliot.
We need to know more about why Elliot is in therapy, and whether his psychologist will discover that he’s been cyberstalking her to “protect” her.
There’s also a question of whether or not Elliot’s drug habit will escalate and whether he will become involved with his drug dealer on a deeper level.
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The Handmaid’s Tale 5 star analysis
WHAT I LEARNED:
If you create a world terrible enough, an audience will NEED to see it destroyed to restore their faith in humanity. This need will make them heavily invest in any character who seems to have the strength, courage and/or opportunity to not only survive this world but make a difference.
FIRST WATCH
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?
A horrific near-future that has plunged our familiar world into the dark ages when it comes to women’s rights. <div>Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?
June’s inner strength. The sense she is biding her time, that she is not beaten/accepting of her fate.What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
Knowing June is separated from her daughter. Seeing her raped and oppressed. The horror of the world she is now living in. Seeing June has no friends, no confidant, and cannot trust anyone.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?Will June survive Gilliad? Will she ever see her daughter again? Will the wives of Gilliad really continue to see their fellow women oppressed and do nothing to help? Will the women of Gilliad band together to overthrow the men? How did this world go from the “normal” one shown in the flashbacks to the horrible near-future one?
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
By ending the episode with June’s determination to hold onto her family, remember who she is and find her daughter.SECOND WATCH
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?In a horrific near-future, women have lost their rights in a way that seems frighteningly possible.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?
In addition to the first-watch notes, how June’s inner thoughts contradict her actions/give us more info on her state of mind.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
In addition to the first-watch notes, seeing how much distress other people’s distress causes June – we know she’s a good person. When June hears her friend Moira is dead – she feels alone. This place kills people.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
In addition to the first-watch notes: Is Nick spying on her or does he like her? Will June be able to “keep her fucking shit together”? Have so many “handmaids” really been brainswashed into believing this shit? Who is the “eye” in June’s household?
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
By showing us a world so horrific we need to see it overthrown/destroyed. We want the women to trust each other and take it down. We want June to lead the revolution.
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