By Zoe Benjamin OnMilwaukee Reporter Published Sep 01, 2016 at 1:06 PM

Ladies and gentlemen: Elliot has officially cracked. I repeat, Elliot has officially cracked. I bet you’re thinking, "Zoe, the man has been declared unstable a long time ago." I’m totally aware of that fact. Yet, I say this because this is the first time when Elliot, not Mr. Robot, has become a liability.

This week, we learn that Elliot’s newest psychotic break caused him to plead guilty to all charges against him, sparking his 18-month stint in the pen. It could be argued that he did that in order to save Darlene and the rest of his crew, but we would be lying to ourselves if we accepted that. Elliot spaced out; he went into autopilot, and everything went south. At least he was in his right mind enough to be aware of being incriminated and explaining the whole situation to us. Elliot’s disconnection from the world isn’t a result of Mr. Robot taking over, but of Elliot going dark. What does this all mean? I have no idea, and neither does he.

One can assume that it’s not smart to be making important decisions involving the Dark Army at a time like this; nevertheless, Elliot is taking on the big dogs while he’s lost in La La Land. Literally on the day of his release, he’s discussing matters with Darlene. Although I don’t approve of jumping right back into the fire after cooling off, I do believe that the Dark Army needs to be handled; they’re erasing all traces that lead back to them, and that’s a huge problem (obviously).

Speaking of, what the hell happened to Mobley? Mobley got GOT, that’s what happened. There’s a possibility that they could be keeping him alive for some reason, but what reason would that be?

As Elliot is making plans to meet with the Dark Army to find out what Stage 2 is, he really begins to disconnect. It’s becoming apparent that he’s becoming a prisoner in his mind and watching as Mr. Robot takes on the bulk of everything. Mr. Robot doesn’t even know what’s happening with Elliot; he’s just winging it while Elliot disappears into his little world within their world. Does this mean that Mr. Robot will have to completely take over? At this point, I don’t think that’s what he wants, but somebody’s going to have to be present in Elliot’s absence.

Darlene was smart to monitor the Dark Army because if she didn’t, she would’ve never known that Stage 2 was all Elliot’s plan. How can the next stage take place if Elliot doesn’t even remember what the next steps are. It seems to me like Elliot is more involved with the Dark Army than we once thought.

Another doozy from this week’s episode was that Whiterose was responsible for the former E Corp CEO’s death, all because the man wouldn’t go along with Whiterose’s plan. Whiterose isn’t afraid to do what’s necessary to have things work out in his favor; however, Phillip Price isn’t going to go down easily. Price reminds Whiterose that taking him out would spark another world war, and that certainly not something we need. Would the U.S. survive with their economy so shaky at the moment? I’m sure Whiterose has taken that into deep consideration into that, so I think he’s going to hit E Corp from a different angle. This is most likely where Stage 2 comes in.

To further complicate things for E Corp, Angela is on a mission to reveal the scandal that caused her mother’s death. She’s done well in her covert operations throughout E Corp; however, she should’ve known better than to take the information to the Deputy Director of Office Investigations. That lady is shady, and we all know that she was leading Angela to death or incarceration. Now they now know exactly what Angela’s up to. Angela is going to have to approach this from a different angle, and I’m interested to see how she’s going to accomplish that. Agent DiPierro offered some help in the matter, but Angela was smart enough to keep her cool during Dom’s unwelcomed visit.

Another issue fsociety has to deal with is Darlene’s careless mistake in leaving a VHS tape with her face on it at Madame Executioner’s house. Seriously, how could you make a mistake like that after murdering a woman and remember about it a month after the fact? Come on Darlene; you’re slipping. Cisco found the tape at the smart house, but he saw something else as well. What the hell was it? And who on earth was banging on Darlene’s door?

Lastly, we find that Elliot was somehow in cahoots with Joanna Wellick. I wonder if he brought her in after killing Tyrell, but something tells me that there’s much more to their connection than what meets the eye. Oy vey, can things ever be simple with these people? Obviously not.

Zoe Benjamin OnMilwaukee Reporter

Zoe Benjamin, currently a senior at UW-Milwaukee, was raised in the South suburbs of Chicago. She is a foodie, an avid traveler and music junkie, with just the right amount of nerdiness to top it all off.

Growing up in a large Jamaican family exposed her to a lifestyle full of food, laughter and pride. Zoe’s appreciation for her family’s eclectic nature led her to celebrate the differences in others. She just so happens to especially enjoy the study of food, seeing that eating is her favorite pastime.

Ever since she was able to get on a plane by herself, Zoe has taken the liberty of traveling to every place within her reach -- whether that be the next state over, or across the seas. Her wanderlust has taken her to 10 different countries, with France being her favorite. Nothing excites her more than French food and wine. Zoe hopes to absorb and share as much culture as she can so that the world may become that much more accepting of all the bountiful diversity in the world.