Someone may have covered this already, but I took that final sequence in the car to be an echo of what Elliot was experiencing in embracing Mr Robot: a time when his father comforted him after he'd been subjected to violence. His father's promise that "I'm never gonna leave you" has always been an ominous threat.…

Fair enough. But I think it's still perfectly possible that their mom is who was being referred to.

I don't think that changes my basic point. If anything it only reinforces it.

I dunno what Chinese policy is, but it doesn't strike me as materially different from a niqab. While niqabs are regulated or banned by a number of countries, a common compromise is to allow them except during actual security checks. As long as you're willing to take it off if asked by a security official, and are not…

I remembered eventually. It wasn't that! It was Joanna's bit about how the guy needed to know why he was being killed. It reminded me of "Otherwise, it's just murder" (Garrett Jacob Hobbs' philosophy).

I think the text has been edited. I distinctly remember it implying Dom's SO had been a man. And I wasn't the only one, judging from the thread.

lol and here i was thinking about Russian media outlets

I'm pretty sure as long as you're not actively going through security you can wear whatever you want (as long as it's not, like, an ISIS t shirt)

Good to know Fa Mulan has no regrets in her old age.

Their mom has been established as abusive since last season. It's ambiguous, probably deliberately so.

Annnnd now I remember. This was the thing that reminded me of Hannibal. "Otherwise, it's just murder." (That quote is from a killer with a totally different ethos, but Joanna's rationale is completely plausible for that show.)

There's no point talking about plot holes in this show until close to the end of the season, if not the finale. They don't want you to know what's going on, not fully. That said, I think most of your complaints are specious.

Thanks. I was going to comment on this but got distracted and forgot, but I was surprised to see Alex treat the story as though it were obviously about a man.

Fuck, you just reminded me there was a line that reminded me of Hannibal (the show), but now I can't remember what it was!

I love how his accent changes depending who he's talking to!

I did t have time to check in last week, but I wanted to say now that Eliot's conversation with his therapist last week hit me real hard as someone who spends a lot of time reading about terrorism. "That would legitimize him." I almost screamed.

I don't think ritual necessarily has to be hierarchical, I guess. We definitely tend to build hierarchies into groups (there's good sociology on this re: political movements), but I don't think ritual has to be intimately connected with that.

I should say I was asking partly because of some psych research I read approximately a decade ago (read: may be now disproved or further complicated) about how group rituals, especially involving mass, rhythmic chants or movement, produce feelings of happiness. And I've definitely heard religious adherents who…

I think this is pretty good, but what about the role of ritual? Does that come under 1 or 2?

That's silly. There is a difference between the Catholic Church and an alienated Catholic who believes in some form of god but isn't interested in being part of the institution.