This Fan Theory Explains Why Elliot Needs Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot, the titular character of USA's hacker drama, is the bane of Elliot's existence. He makes Elliot do horrible things, like take down the world's financial systems and try to kiss his sister. Elliot's fight against his own fractured consciousness is the central conflict in the show. But one redditor suggests that Elliot's greatest enemy may also be his greatest salvation. Dmancapri0620 observes that Mr. Robot shows up when Elliot needs him most. Moments like withdrawing from morphine, or fighting back against his IRL tormentors. That sort of thing. "Basically, my theory is if Elliot continues getting his life together, returning to 'normalcy', then Mr. Robot will disappear, probably in the season finale," Dmancapri0620 writes. "This would be great for Elliot, if he wasn't the head of the most notorious hacker group in the nation. Because if Mr. Robot disappears, so does Phase 2. So does Tyrell Wellick. So does any hope of finishing the goal that Elliot presumably fractured his mind to achieve." That would elevate Mr. Robot from a Fight Club cover song with computers into an almost Shakespearian tragedy. (Tragedy in the classical sense of the word, in which a character comes to ruination through his own inborn flaws. You get it.) Dmancapri0620 points out the potential for rich dramatic irony. "The ultimate irony would be, for Elliot to start out the season trying to get rid of his alter ego, then learning to coexist with it, and then losing it when he needs it most. It would explain a lot about Elliot's arc this season, which focuses a lot on Mr. Robot giving up the reigns to Elliot (he goes from forcing Elliot to do things to letting him go through with things that he doesn't totally agree with). Also, notice the contrast between the first episode of this season, when Mr. Robot is in every Elliot scene, to the most recent ep, where Elliot gets several moments of 'alone time'. This may back up my theory." Of course, Mr. Robot spent the first season letting Elliot make his own choices. Those choices were often aligned with Mr. Robot's goals, but that's another story. Still, the idea that Mr. Robot is Elliot's coping mechanism is a fascinating one.