Mr. Robot Season 2 Finale Questions and Predictions

Mr. Robot has become a pop-culture phenomenon by mixing an ambitious socio-political revolution fantasy with a slow-burn character drama that's full of mystery, intrigue, and big twists. Conitionded as such, fans expect all of that to be jam-packed into the Season 2 finale, airing at 10 p.m. ET, Sept. 21 on USA.

Like most TV shows, Mr. Robot hasn't been free and clear of "the sophomore slump," weathering criticisms of slower pacing and less intrigue than previous season. Those criticisms were only compounded by a big seasonal twist that many savvy fans saw coming from a long way off, which has only put that much more pressure on show creator Sam Esmail to deliver a finale and seasonal ending that will pull things together and maybe redeem some of the Season 2 criticisms.

Now that the Mr. Robot Season 2 finale is here, we've gathered some of the big predictions being discussed by fans around the web, along with some of our own insights. Needless to say, if you are not caught up on Mr. Robot season 2, then stop reading now!

What is Stage Two?

All season long Elliot, his fellow fsociety hackers, and we the audience have all wondered what "Stage Two" is. We've learned that Elliot's cohorts in the Zero Day attack (Dark Army, Tyrell Wellick) know what Stage Two is - and in a twist, we learned that Elliot himself planned it (in his "Mr. Robot" persona, with no memory of doing so). We left off with Tyrell (if it's really him) and Elliot headed for the outskirts of Manhattan's financial district, to witness Stage Two firsthand.

Prediction: Stage Two will be another financial blow against E Corp, which has now consolidated the entire system of finance behind its new digital currency. That seems like a recipe for Mr. Robot to make one of his forward-thinking chess moves - possibly with the altruistic goal of helping those feeling the impact and consequences of Zero Day through some sort of wealth distribution? Elliot's guilt over Zero Day's impact on others has been a season-long theme; having at all build toward some noble end would be fitting. Although, the best of intentions...

Who is Calling Joanna Wellick?

The whereabouts of Tyrell Wellick have been a mystery all season, so the mystery of who has been calling his wife Joanna, and sending her gifts, is just a big. We left off with Tyrell seemingly reappeared, and partnered with Ellliot again - but even Elliot isn't sure if Tyrell is real, or a figment of his imagination. So if the real Tyrell isn't the one making the calls, who is?

Prediction: THR's theory is that E Corp executive Scott Knowles is the one calling Joanna, as revenge for Tyrell killing his wife. That would be an interesting twist: Both Scott and Joanna are cold, calculating, sharks - it would be interesting if, instead of malicious revenge, Knowles and Joanna formed a union as a sort of business arrangement. It would also tie back to Joanna's monologue to her boy-toy Derrick about the type of man who can give her what she wants. Talk about an evil power couple...

Is Darlene Alive?

In episode 209 we got a spectacular single-shot sequence of Agent Dom DiPierro trying to get to a restaurant where Darlene and Cisco were dining, only for Dom to get caught in the crossfire as agents of the Dark Amy pulled up on a bike and unloaded a sub-machine gun at Cisco, Darlene, or maybe both. Episode 210 conspicuously skipped over the issue of Darlene and Cisco's fate (classic Mr. Robot), leaving it for the finale to reveal.

Prediction: The safe money would be on Darlene having made it out of the shooting alive, while Cisco doesn't. That would be an interesting trajectory for the already traumatized Darlene, who would add White Rose and Dark Army to her grudge list. But this is Mr. Robot we're talking about; having Darlene (or Darlene and Cisco) both dead would catapult the drama to a whole other level. It would be especially poignant if Elliot achieves some kind of great and/or altruistic success with Stage Two, only to have the seasonal themes of facing up to choice and consequence hammer home with the loss of his sister. No worries for actress Carly Chaikin - there's plenty of room in Elliot's head for her to continue on the show as a Ms. Robot persona. Elliot does like to keep dead family close...

What's Going on With Mr. Robot?

One of season 2's main subplots has been the internal war Elliot is fighting between his conscious self and the Mr. Robot persona that can sometime take over and control his actions. Usually, Elliot and Mr. Robot are both present, but in season 2 there's been some weird displacement effect that has them losing track of who is in the driver's seat, and as Elliot has gotten closer to stage 2, Mr. Robot has disappeared completely. The question is, why would the persona who has been so committed to protecting Elliot now leaving him alone?

Prediction: This one is too hard to call; it really all depends on what the nature of stage two is. Mr. Robot season 2 has presented us with this image of Elliot as the concerned, sensitive, kid who is worried about his every movement and those close to him; however, this season has also used Darlene to show us that the Alderson genes carry some dark coding. Stage Two may be something more destructive than Elliot's mine can handle, and Mr. Robot may have disappeared because he can't watch Elliot face the coming hard truth. Wouldn't it be interesting is Mr. Robot turned out to be the good guy, and Elliot the villain?

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Those are some predictions about the lingering questions hanging over the Mr. Robot Season 2 finale. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @ComicBookNow or @KofiOutlaw

The Mr. Robot season 2 finale airs September 21 @