3) The Female Characters Are As Well-Written As The Men
It’s become an all-too common feature of modern film and television that women are sidelined in favor of the more influential and impactful male figures. TV has a better track record in the equality stakes, but even some of the best shows still forget to give female characters much of anything to do.
Not so Mr. Robot, which actually has meaty roles for its female characters, and features two of the more interesting, conflicted women in TV, in Carly Chaikin’s Darlene and Portia Doubleday’s Angela.
Watching the first season through a second time, post-twist, reveals just how complicated Darlene is, while Angela gradually shows herself to be a quietly complex figure throughout the first season, a corporate lackey looking for revenge that also secretly seeks approval from the same powers-that-be that she despises.
Obviously the title character and main character Elliot are the key sources of Esmail’s attention, but the women surrounding them aren’t shortchanged on good material.