Decrypted, Ars Technica's TV podcast

Welcome to Decrypted, Ars Technica's weekly podcast that follows TV shows like Mr. Robot and Westworld. We'll be diving into the shows in a way only Ars can—which is to say it'll be thorough, we'll talk with experts, and no detail is too minute or nerdy. Mr. Robot S2 starts 7/13/16. Westworld starts 10/2/16.

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Episodes

Final finale thoughts and Joanna Wellick's meanest line ever (Mr. Robot S2)

"As I was preparing to utter the first part of the sentence I just stopped," says Stephanie Corneliussen, aka Joanna Wellick. "I looked across the table at Sam Esmail and gave him that kind of 'What did you do? I can’t say this' look. And he just gives me one of those famous Sam scowls that’s like 'Go ahead, do it.' I said it, and everyone is reading along but hearing it out loud... we just burst out laughing because it’s so over the limit, so over the top.” Mr. Robot S2 ended with its share of ...

Sep 28, 2016•40 min

Intermission inquiries (Mr. Robot S2)

Only one hour of Mr. Robot S2 remains, but many questions do. Before the second half of season two's finale, GQ's entertainment and culture critic Scott Meslow helps us take stock of what answers we can expect and what's likely to linger into S3. "I have such a hard time getting mad at a show for being ambitious," Meslow says. "And they are really swinging for the fences. It's been a lot of fun, but ultimately it's a season that doesn't know which cards it should be playing at which times. Even ...

Sep 17, 2016•24 min

Inside Darlene's drama and Elliot's mind (Mr. Robot S2)

It's penultimate episode time for S2, and in the classic style of The Wire we may have a death or two on this week's Mr. Robot. "h1dden-pr0cess.axx" ends on a cliffhanger with possibly tremendous repercussions, so this week we start by examining the possibilities and evidence surrounding Darlene's drama. Then, professional psychologist and TV writer Cameron Brown (@ couchpotpsych ) joins the podcast to dive deep into the mind of Elliot... because even within an episode that ends on such an actio...

Sep 11, 2016•25 min

How do you write answers for Mr. Robot's big questions? (Mr. Robot S2)

"Who was behind the door? We already knew that," Mr. Robot staff writer Lucy Teitler told us this week. "I think it happens a lot with the show, the big questions the fans are obsessed with are things we all decide. They’re foundational. So the individual pressure is on with the way scenes are written.” Teitler is a new staffer for Mr. Robot S2 and, no pressure, her first episode assignment happened to include the fallout from that big Elliot reveal. She co-wrote "init_5.fve" with colleague Kyle...

Sep 03, 2016•43 min

Even Kor Adana was surprised there was no Elliot this week (Mr. Robot S2)

"succ3ss0r" (S2E8) did the unthinkable—an entire episode of Mr. Robot *without* Elliot. Even show staff writer/head technical producer Kor Adana didn't see that coming. "I had a lot of anxiety and I know the other writers in the room had a lot of anxiety, because we weren’t sure how it was going to be received," he told us on this week's pod. "The question was: did we do enough work early in S2 laying the groundwork for our supporting cast to carry an episode?" This week, we finally got the chan...

Aug 29, 2016•39 min

Looking forward after the "h4ndshake" shake-up (Mr. Robot S2)

"h4ndshake" (S2E7) shook up Mr. Robot like few previous episodes have. While the critical opinion seems split on how the show handled its latest reveal, one thing rings a bit false—the notion this was some unexpected "twist." This week we *had* to break down the big news, which raises more question than it answers (that's a good thing, btw). Looking forward, two of the show's tech advisors—Tanium's Andre McGregor and Ryan Kazanciyan—presented a webinar this week with plenty of behind the scenes ...

Aug 20, 2016•16 min

The best and worst of Mr. Robot S2 (so far)

With m4ster-s1ave (S2E6), Mr. Robot S2 is officially at the halfway point. That means now is the perfect time to look at the series at-large with Ars Technica's reviewer, Jonathan Gitlin. We break down what's happened thus far in five categories: our favorite sequences, biggest surprises, largest disappointments, most lingering questions, and craziest fan theories. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Aug 12, 2016•25 min

Mr. Robot's logic_b0mb shakes up S2 (Mr. Robot S2)

With "logic_b0mb" (S2E5), Mr. Robot's second season reached another level. From the FBI's tragedy to the reunion of our main characters, the episode seemed to address any lingering concerns fans may have from the slower pace of S2 thus far. Given how significant the happenings were this week, we devoted the entire pod to breaking down what made logic_b0mb so effective. Touching on everything from Ray to Joanna Wellick, fsociety to Whiterose, there are clearly spoilers ahead. Learn about your ad ...

Aug 06, 2016•13 min

Overcoming TV's sophomore slump and how Netflix may have led to Mr. Robot S2

This week on Decrypted, "init1.asec" (S2E4) hammers home just how different Mr. Robot S2 is compared to the series' original 10 episodes. To better understand what's happening both on- and off-screen, preeminent TV mind Andy Greenwald (formerly of Grantland, now of The Watch podcast and After The Thrones/Hacking Robot) joins the podcast for a long discussion. We start by talking about some of the season's biggest surprises thus far before transitioning into how the Netflix TV revolution has bled...

Jul 28, 2016•24 min

The best sounding (and most fan-theory friendly) show on television (Mr. Robot S2)

On this week's Decrypted, Mr. Robot's "k3rnel-pan1c.ksd' (S2E3) quickly flipped the script on S2. With the show's higher profile, there's more theorizing than ever despite the show's intent on subverting our expectations. The most popular fan theory seems kaputt after this week, so we offer three pie-in-the-sky conspiracies that will hopefully have more legs. We also talk about the show's sound this week. From Phil Collins to the Pixies, Dusty Springfield to FKA Twigs, soundtrack is as important...

Jul 21, 2016•24 min

This is how you pen test for Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot S2)

After Mr. Robot S2 returned with "unm4sk" (S2E1), we offer an appreciation of our new favorite character and chat with the show's FBI Consultant, Andre McGregor (@AndreOnCyber). A full review of this week's two-part episode can be found at arstechnica.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 14, 2016•25 min

Our crash course to the world of Mr. Robot (Mr. Robot S2)

On the debut episode, we look back to season one exclusively through the eyes (err, words) of main character Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek). Despite the Internet's (justified) obsession with the show's realistic depiction of tech, Ars reviewer Jonathan Gitlin said the characters and especially how " they break down and experience their delusions " is what made Mr. Robot compelling. So if break downs and delusions are what you're after, no one is better to relive S1 with than Elliot. We a...

Jul 08, 2016•25 min

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