Executive Producer: Sam Esmail

Executive Producer: Chad Hamilton

Executive Producer: Steve Golin

Episode 101
eps1.0_hellofriend.mov

Written By
Sam Esmail

COPYRIGHT © 2015 UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NOT
TO BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT PERMISSION. This material is the property of
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unauthorized persons is also prohibited.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 1.

1 BLACK. 1

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Hello friend. Hello friend? That’s
lame. Maybe I should give you a
name? But that’s a slippery slope.
You’re only in my head. We have to
remember that.
(then)
Shit. It’s actually happened. I’m
talking to an imaginary person.

Loud, violent jazz RISES on the soundtrack. Within the black

of frame, silhouettes begin forming.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
What I’m about to tell you is top
secret. A conspiracy bigger than
all of us. There’s a powerful group
of people out there that are
secretly running the world.
(then)
I’m talking about the guys no one
knows about. The guys that are
invisible. The top one percent of
the top one percent. The guys that
play God without permission.

CUT TO BLACK.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
And now I think they’re following
me.

2 INT. NYC SUBWAY (MOVING) - MORNING 2

We finally meet ELLIOT (late 20s) in a hoodie. He sneaks

looks at two mysterious MEN DRESSED IN BLACK, one on either
side of the train. One reads the NY Post. The other looks
straight ahead, suspiciously so.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
This is about last night. I should
have gone to Angela’s birthday
party. Instead I went to --

3 INT/EXT. RON’S COFFEE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK 3

A small coffee shop with a few patrons. Elliot sits by

himself, hoodie on, no coffee. He watches a mild-mannered
Indian with a mustache walk into the shop. This is RON (40s).

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 2.
3 CONTINUED: 3

A BARISTA brings Ron a latte, which he sips as he reads his

iPad. Elliot musters up the courage to walk over. He sits
across from Ron without saying a word. Finally, Ron looks up.

ELLIOT
You’re Ron.

He nervously gestures to the cheesy sign. Confused, Ron just

offers a quick smile in return--

ELLIOT
But your real name is Rohit Mehta.
You changed it to Ron when you
bought your first Ron’s Coffee Shop
six years ago. Now you have
seventeen of them with eight more
coming next quarter.

An awkward silence. Ron licks his lips, concerned.

RON
May I help you with something?

ELLIOT
I liked coming here because your
WIFI was fast. You’re one of the
few places that has a fiber
connection with gigabit speed. It’s
good. So good, it scratched that
part of my mind-- the part that
doesn’t allow good to exist without
condition. So, I started
intercepting all the traffic on
your network and that’s when I
noticed something strange--
(looks down)
That’s when I decided to hack you.

Another awkward silence. Ron goes to say something--

ELLIOT
I know you run a website called
Plato’s Boys.

RON
Pardon me?

ELLIOT
You’re using Tor networking to keep
the servers anonymous, you made it
really hard for anyone to see it.
(beat)
But I saw it.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 3.
3 CONTINUED: 3
ELLIOT (CONT'D)
The onion routing protocol is not
as anonymous as you think it is.
Whoever’s in control of the exit
nodes is also in control of the
traffic which makes me the one...
(beat)
In control.

RON
I must ask you to kindly leave.

Ron turns to the man working the register--

ELLIOT
I own everything.

Ron turns around and discovers Elliot’s pulled out a manila

folder from his bag. Elliot pushes it across the table
towards Ron. Ron trembles as he opens the folder.

ELLIOT
All your emails, all your files,
all your...pics.

Ron sees that pictures of naked boys fill the folder. He

snaps it shut and looks around nervously.

RON
Get out of here right now, or I
will call the--

ELLIOT
Police? Do you want them to find
out about the 100TB of child
pornography you serve to your
400,000 users?

For a moment, all that can be heard is the soft musak and
quiet sipping of coffee from the other patrons. Ron looks
down, cornered and speechless. Elliot looks genuinely
sympathetic.

ELLIOT
Personally, man, I was hoping it
was just gonna be some BDSM stuff.
You realize how much simpler that
would have been?

RON
I did not hurt anyone, I never did--
that’s my personal life.

He wipes his eyes as emotion begins to fill his face.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 4.
3 CONTINUED: 3

ELLIOT
I understand what it’s like to be
different. I’m very different too.
I mean, I don’t jerk off to little
kids, but... I don’t know how to
talk to people. My dad was the only
one I could talk to. But he died.

Sensing an opportunity, Ron nods sympathetically.

RON
I’m sorry to hear that. How did he
pass, may I ask?

ELLIOT
Leukemia. Definitely got it from
radiation at the company he worked
at, though I couldn’t prove it. Now
he’s dead. The company’s fine
though.

Ron can’t help but cry. Elliot genuinely feels for him.

ELLIOT
Hey, it’s okay, Rohit. You don’t
have to worry anymore.

RON
I don’t understand.
(off Elliot’s silence)
Are you blackmailing me? So that’s
what this is about. Money. That’s
all you care about. No. If I pay
you now, you will want more and
more. No matter how much I give,
you will inform the police anyway.
I won’t pay you, sir. Remember, you
also broke the law.

Elliot notices something outside the window and nods.

ELLIOT
Actually, you’re right. Partly.
(beat)
See, I usually do this kind of
thing from my computer. This time,
I wanted to do it AFK-- in person.
I’m trying to work on my social
anxiety. But there’s always the
threat of you fleeing after I call
you out. You’d tell your sys admin
to take the servers down, wipe all
the data.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 5.
3 CONTINUED: 3
ELLIOT (CONT'D)
So I made sure to include the
current time and location on my
anonymous tip-

RON
Wait, hold on! I will give you the
money. I will pay. How much do you
want?! I’ll pay you.

Sirens can be heard. Lights swirl outside the windows.

ELLIOT
That’s the part you were wrong
about, Rohit. I don’t give a shit
about money.

FBI AGENTS race into the shop as Elliot breezes past them,
heading out, leaving the chaos to surround the destroyed Ron.

4 INT. NYC SUBWAY (MOVING) - MORNING 4

Back to present day, Elliot snaps awake. He eyes the two MEN
IN BLACK who still sneak looks at him.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Now I’m being followed. The higher
ups don’t like someone with my
powers. In three short minutes, I
destroyed a man's business, life,
existence. I deleted him--

On the far end of the packed train, a MAN yawns loudly. He’s
disheveled, wears cargo pants and what looks like a gas
attendant shirt that reads: Computer Repair With A Smile.
Below it, a logo reads MR. ROBOT.

He looks at Elliot with a stoner’s smile as he brushes his

beard. Across the crowd of people, the man shouts:

MR. ROBOT
Hey you! Heya kiddo, what’s
happening?

Elliot pretends he doesn’t hear him.

MR. ROBOT
Exciting time in the world right
now. Exciting time...

Mr. Robot lies on his back, returning to his homeless

slumber.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 6.

5 EXT. ALLSAFE NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY 5

Elliot walks through the streets, carefully avoiding the

touch of other humans. He carries a huge bookbag on his back.

6 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - DAY 6

He walks into the modest offices of AllSafe Cybersecurity, as

announced by the boring, corporate logo.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
But I’m only a vigilante hacker by
night. By day, just a regular cyber
security engineer, employee number
ER28-0652.

GIDEON (O.S.)
Elliot, in here!

Elliot drops his bookbag, nods hello to his coworker, LLOYD,

and heads towards an office.

7 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - GIDEON’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS 7

The AllSafe boss, GIDEON, sits while ANGELA, a blonde girl-

next-door, looks at him sternly.

ANGELA
Gideon, I can totally handle it.

Elliot nervously walks in, curiously looking at Angela who

pretends he’s not even there. Gideon passes a file to him.

GIDEON
They were hacked again last night.

ANGELA
Gideon, I can do it.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
That’s my childhood friend Angela.
She can be a bit high strung
sometimes but trust me, she’s one
of the good ones.

Elliot leafs through the file.

ELLIOT
What am I looking at? Is this the
log file? This was a RUDY attack.

Concerned, Gideon nods. Elliot shakes his head, impressed.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 7.
7 CONTINUED: 7

ELLIOT
This is awesome--

ANGELA
Gideon, will you please answer me?

GIDEON
(to Elliot)
Awesome? You think that’s awesome?
This is killing us, Elliot!

ANGELA
Gideon, I’m not leaving--

GIDEON
Angela! Let’s just see how this
meeting goes today. Their networks
are getting attacked every week.
Who knows if they’ll still even be
a client.

ELLIOT
They’re coming in?

Gideon’s look confirms it. He looks at Elliot’s hoodie.

GIDEON
What’d we say about the dress code?

Elliot sheds his hoodie, revealing an oversized, button-down

dress shirt underneath. He hates it.

GIDEON
Look over those logs and be ready
this afternoon in case they have
any questions.

Angela sighs.

ANGELA
Okay.

8 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - HALLWAYS - CONTINUOUS 8

Elliot and Angela walk out. Elliot smells something on her.

ELLIOT
Did you start smoking again?

ANGELA
Did you not get my texts last
night? I sent you exactly thirteen
of them.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 8.
8 CONTINUED: 8

ELLIOT
Yeah, sorry, I couldn’t make it--

ANGELA
You promised me that you gonna try
this time.

9 EXT. BAR - LAST NIGHT - FLASHBACK 9

Elliot nervously walks up to the entrance of the bar. Through

the windows he sees Angela, laughing and drinking with
friends. His hand goes for the door, but it trembles--

10 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - HALLWAYS - BACK TO SCENE 10

ANGELA
Stop thinking about something else
when I’m talking to you. I hate
when you do that.

ELLIOT
Sorry, I was thinking about work.

ANGELA
Maybe that’s why Gideon loves you
so much. He thanks me all the time
for bringing you in. But for some
reason, I think you secretly hate
it here.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
She was right. I liked most of the
people, but our business-- a cyber
security firm that protects
corporations-- I can’t think of
anything I hate more.

ELLIOT
No, I love it here.

Angela shoots him a suspicious look before breaking into a

smile.

ANGELA
I’m sorry. I’m just in a bad mood.
I’m late on my last two student
loan payments and I can’t get
Gideon to give me a raise--

The slick, handsome OLLIE (20s) walks up and kisses Angela.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 9.
10 CONTINUED: 10

OLLIE
(to Elliot)
Yo, buddy. Missed you last night,
where were you?

ELLIOT
Gotta go. Big meeting today.

He disappears into the maze of cubicles quickly.

OLLIE
(to Angela)
Did you find out what happened?

ANGELA
Yeah, he said he was working.

OLLIE
Come on. You gotta talk to him--

ANGELA
We’re gonna be late for the staff
meeting.

OLLIE
He can’t stand me and you know why,
Angela. I can’t have that kind of
negativity in my life--

Angela glares at him. Ollie points.

OLLIE
Exactly what I’m talking about.

11 EXT. NYU AREA - DAY 11

Elliot shiftlessly walks through the streets once again, big

bookbag in tow. He eats fries from the bag.

12 INT. PSYCHOLOGIST’S OFFICE - DAY 12

Elliot sits across from his psychologist, KRISTA (40s).

KRISTA
What are you thinking about?

ELLIOT
Nothing.

KRISTA
You wanna know what I’m thinking
about? First time you came to me...

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 10.
12 CONTINUED: 12

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I didn’t exactly come to Krista, I
was forced here. But I do like her.
Hacking her was simple, her
password: Dylan_2791. Favorite
artist and the year in which she
was born, backwards.
(beat)
Though she’s a psychologist, she’s
really bad at reading people. But
I’m good at reading people. My
secret? I look for the worst in
them.

13 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 13

Elliot browses through Krista’s Gmail, Facebook, iTunes,

eharmony profile.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I know she went through a divorce
four years ago. I know she was
devastated by it and has been
dating losers on eharmony ever
since.

A profile pic of a salt and pepper handsome gent. His name is

listed as Michael Hansen.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Her most recent foray... Michael
Hansen. I searched for him online
but nothing came up. No LinkedIn,
no Facebook, nothing. Something
about him bugs me, scratching that
part of my mind again. But I’ll
hack him soon enough, I always do.

14 INT. PSYCHOLOGIST’S OFFICE - BACK TO SCENE 14

KRISTA
I know you’re not yelling like
before, which is good. But I can
tell you’re still holding onto it.
We need to work on your anger
issues, Elliot. You’re angry at
everyone, at society--

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Fuck society.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 11.
14 CONTINUED: 14

KRISTA
I know you have a lot to be angry
about, but keeping it to yourself
and staying quiet like you’re
doing, it’s not going to help you.
There’s pain underneath. That’s
where our work needs to go.

Elliot says nothing. Krista leans in.

KRISTA
What is it about society that
disappoints you so much?

Elliot holds back as his eyes wander to the Apple insignia

glowing off of Krista’s laptop on her desk.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Oh, I don’t know, is it that we
collectively thought Steve Jobs was
a great man even when we knew he
made billions off the backs of
children?

His eyes shift to the glass framed Tour De France poster

hanging on the wall featuring Lance Armstrong.

ELLIOT (V.O)
Or maybe it’s that it feels like
all our heroes are counterfeit, the
world itself just one big hoax.

His eyes refocus on the reflection of the glass frame, seeing

that Krista’s browser from her laptop is on Twitter.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Spamming each other with our
running commentary of bullshit
masquerading as insight, our social
media faking as intimacy.

Krista still eyes Elliot, waiting for him to respond. He

returns his stare back at her, noticing the “I voted” sticker
on her blouse.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Or is it that we voted for this?
Not with our rigged elections--

His eyes now notice the expensive accessories of Krista. Her

earrings, watch, shoes, her Hunger Games book on her desk.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 12.
14 CONTINUED: 14

ELLIOT (V.O.)
But with our things, our property,
our money. I’m not saying anything
new. We all know why we do this.
Not because Hunger Games books
makes us happier.

Krista crosses her legs, still waiting on Elliot to respond.

That’s when Elliot spots a prescription bottle next to
Krista’s purse on her desk chair.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
But because we want to be sedated.
Because it’s painful not to
pretend. Because we’re cowards.
Fuck society-- but I’ve said that
already.

He finally responds to Krista:

ELLIOT
Nothing.

Krista leans back, frustrated she’s getting nowhere.

ELLIOT
Don’t be frustrated.

KRISTA
(confused)
Why shouldn’t I be?

ELLIOT
You’re different than most. You at
least try... you at least
understand.

KRISTA
(intrigued)
Understand what?

ELLIOT
What it’s like to feel alone. You
understand the pain. You want to
protect people from it. You want to
protect me from it. I respect that
about you.

KRISTA
Why do you think I know what it’s
like to feel alone?

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 13.
14 CONTINUED: 14

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Shit! From her emails.

KRISTA
Elliot?

ELLIOT
I don’t know...

Krista lets it go.

KRISTA
Let’s talk about last night. Did
you go to Angela’s birthday party?

15 EXT. BAR - NIGHT - FLASHBACK 15

Last night, we pick up where we left off. Elliot’s hand

trembles as he reaches for the door to the bar. He sweats as
he closes his eyes and tries to force himself to go in, but
can’t. The door opens, three people file out. Elliot quickly
moves out of the way, avoiding physical contact at all costs.
He takes a breath and looks through the windows again.

Angela is happy, surrounded by friends, enjoying her

birthday. Ollie walks up to her. They kiss. This is enough
for Elliot to wrap his head in his hoodie and walk away--

16 INT. PSYCHOLOGIST’S OFFICE - BACK TO SCENE 16

ELLIOT
Yeah. It was nice.

KRISTA
Did you try to talk to anyone?

ELLIOT
Sure. I got a girl’s number.

KRISTA
(impressed)
You did?

ELLIOT
She’s cute. She likes The Hunger
Games.

KRISTA
(back to suspicious)
You’re hiding again, Elliot. When
you hide, your delusions come back.
It’s a slippery slope.
(off his uneasy shift)
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 14.
16 CONTINUED: 16
KRISTA (CONT'D)
Let’s talk about the men in black
you’ve been seeing. Are they still
there?

ELLIOT
No, I told you, they’re gone. The
meds you gave me are working.

Krista doesn’t buy any of this.

17 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - CUBICLE - DAY 17

Elliot’s cubicle is as vanilla as a cube could be. He

furiously codes on a Linux command line, earbuds plugged in.
Ollie interrupts him. Elliot removes his earbuds.

OLLIE
Yo, man. Wanna do lunch today?

ELLIOT
Oh, um, yeah, I have other pla--

OLLIE
Plans, yeah, that’s what you said
the last three times I asked you.
Look, bud, you and Angela have been
close for a long time. And that’s
even more reason why I want us to
be on good terms. I just feel like
things have been awkward between
us, don’t you?

ELLIOT
I’m okay with it being awkward
between us.

OLLIE
(scoffs)
Uh, I’m not okay with that. Look
man, I love Angela, and I want us
to try to get along for her sake--

As Ollie drones on again, Elliot’s stream of consciousness

interrupts:

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Am I that crazy not to like this
guy? Among some of his Facebook
likes are--

18 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 18

Ollie’s Facebook likes.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 15.
18 CONTINUED: 18

ELLIOT (V.O.)
George W. Bush’s Decision Points,
Transformers 2: Revenge of the
Fallen, and the music of Josh
Groban. Must I really justify
myself any further?
(beat)
His was the easiest to hack,
password was 123456Seven.

Ollie’s Gmail account.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I witnessed his first “I love you”
with Angela over Gchat.

Profile pic of a trashy woman named Stella B.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Then I witnessed the first of many
infidelities with Stella B.

19 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - BACK TO THE SCENE 19

Ollie’s in the midst of his phony plea.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’ve thought about telling Angela,
but she has shitty taste in men and
I’m not quite ready to see what
comes after this just yet. Plus, I
can manage Ollie easier than the
others. For now, anyway.

OLLIE
...and that’s all I mean. I just
want you to know that. I like you,
bro. And I want you to like me too.

ELLIOT
I understand. I’ll try harder.

OLLIE
That’s cool, man. Hey, whenever
you’re ready, I’d love to
just...chill...

Elliot cringes but forces himself to nod. Ollie puts his arm
on Elliot’s shoulder-- but Elliot, not comfortable with the
physical contact, brushes it away.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 16.
19 CONTINUED: 19

OLLIE
Sorry, forgot about your no-
touching thing--

Elliot ignores him and sinks back in his cubicle. Frustrated,

Ollie gives up and leaves. Elliot goes back to typing.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Truth is, I shouldn’t hate Ollie.
He’s not that bad a guy. He’s too
dumb to be bad. In fact, when I
think about the really bad
people...

As if sensing it, Elliot peeks out of his cubicle. He sees

Gideon greeting business SUITS. Angela is among the greeters.
They take the SUITS around the office.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
E Corp. The largest conglomerate in
the world. They’re so big, they’re
literally everywhere.

INSERT: Laptops, desktops, smartphones, televisions, nuclear

power plants, farms, all with the Evil Corp logo.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
A perfect monster of modern
society. The E might as well stand
for Evil. In fact, after a
thorough, intensive self-
reprogramming, that’s all my mind
hears, sees or reads when they pop
up in my world.
(beat)
Evil Corp. Krista would have a shit
fit if she knew I did that. But
that’s what they are,

INSERT: Evil Corp’s logo, which looks like the Enron “E”
logo.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
A conglomerate of Evil. And now I
have to help them.

Angela forces a smile as they walk towards him.

GIDEON
...we’ve got seven on-site
engineers on your account plus a
few off-site at the ISPs...

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 17.
19 CONTINUED: 19

Elliot sneaks a peek at the head suit.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
There he is, Terry Colby, the CTO.

TERRY COLBY looks around with a doofus smile.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Even though he’s the head
technology guy at one of the
biggest companies in the world, he
owns a Blackberry.

Elliot’s eyes shift to Terry’s Blackberry on his belt. Terry

looks at Elliot’s desktop with confusion.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
It also looks like he doesn’t see a
terminal very often. He’s not a
techie. He’s a moron.

The suits, led by Gideon, keep on walking through the office.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
An arrogant moron. The worst kind.

Elliot’s eyes return to his terminal, but a person from the

pack lingers behind him. He’s good-looking, sharply dressed
and has a rock star smile. His name is TYRELL WELLICK (30s).
He reaches his hand out to Elliot. Elliot painfully takes it.

TYRELL
Tyrell Wellick. Senior Vice
President, Technology--

Elliot quickly takes his hand back. Tyrell notices.

ELLIOT
I’m...Elliot. Just a tech.

TYRELL
Don’t be so humble. You know, I
started exactly where you are and
to be honest, my heart is still
there.
(looking at his screen)
So I see you’re running Gnome. I’m
on KDE myself. I know this desktop
environment is supposed to be
better, but you know what they say,
old habits, they die hard.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 18.
19 CONTINUED: 19

ELLIOT (V.O.)
An executive running Linux? But--

TYRELL
I know what you’re thinking, I’m an
executive, why am I even running
Linux? Again, old habits.

Elliot uncomfortably smiles.

TYRELL
It’s going to be fun working with
you. I should join the rest of the
group. Bonsoir, Elliot.

He takes off with an earnest smile. Elliot turns back to his

cubicle with a resigned sigh.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Sometimes I dream of saving the
world. Saving everyone from the
invisible hand.

He looks at Lloyd who is busy paying a Verizon bill online.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
One that brands us with an employee
badge.

Elliot eyes his fellow employees, all looking like enslaved

serfs with their company badges hanging off them.

20 EXT. MIDTOWN - NIGHT 20

Elliot walks through the streets as GROUPS OF FRIENDS laugh

while walking in and out of bars. Credit cards are swiped,
dollar-tips are thrown.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
The one that forces us to work for
them. The one that controls us
everyday without us knowing it. But
I can’t stop it.

21 EXT. ELLIOT’S NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT 21

A homeless man begs for change.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’m not that special.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 19.

22 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 22

Elliot enters his messy small apartment.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’m just anonymous. I’m just alone.

He drops some fish food in a small bowl belonging to QWERTY,

a Betta fish.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
If it weren’t for Qwerty, I’d be
completely empty.

23 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 23

Elliot crouches in a corner, crying hysterically.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I hate when I can’t hold in my
loneliness-- this crying has been
happening too often, every other
week now. What do normal people do
when they get this sad? They reach
out to friends or family, I think?

He looks over and sees a YOUNG ELLIOT (8) sitting at the

kitchen table. His MOTHER (30s), pretty but cold. She
methodically smokes a cigarette. Young Elliot looks like he’s
been scolded. His mother digs her nails into his arm--

ELLIOT (V.O.)
That’s not an option.

Elliot snaps out of his flashback. He crushes up morphine

pills. He puts the crushed powder on a small glass table and
cuts it with a credit card.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I do morphine.

Elliot snorts a line of morphine. He lies back down on the

couch as it takes effect. He smiles.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
The key to doing morphine without
turning into a junkie is to limit
yourself to 30mg a day. Anything
more just builds up your tolerance.
I check every pill I get for
purity, I have 8mg Suboxone for
maintenance in case I go through
withdrawals--

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 20.
23 CONTINUED: 23

Elliot notices an Rx bottle on the table. It’s empty. His

eyes grow wide.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Shit! I’m out again.

24 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER 24

SHAYLA (30s) hands over an Rx bottle filled with pills.

ELLIOT
How much?

SHAYLA
On the house.

ELLIOT
No, Shayla, not doing that. This is
just a regular drug deal, like it
always is.

Elliot offers her cash. Shayla resigns herself and takes it.

SHAYLA
Fine.
(beat)
Oh yeah, so what are you up to
tonight? Cause I tried to post
something on your Facebook and
couldn’t find you.

ELLIOT
I’m not on Facebook.

SHAYLA
Why not?

ELLIOT
Because I hate Facebook.

SHAYLA
(offended)
That’s crazy.

Elliot shoots her a look, “I guess I’m crazy.” Disappointed,

Shayla pulls out two white pills from her pocket.

SHAYLA
Well... you wanna do these together
then? Pure Molly.

The last line piques Elliot’s interest, though his look is

already regretting the decision.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 21.

25 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - LATER 25

Elliot lies naked in his bed, smoking a joint, while a nude

Shayla lies next to him, fast asleep. He wears a dumb look.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Don’t ever make decisions when
you’re on morphine.
(off his phone’s beep)
Instagram check-in for Krista at
Pierre Loti. Okay Michael Hanson,
time to find out who you really
are.

26 EXT. PIERRE LOTI - NIGHT 26

Elliot, in a hoodie, walks by Bar None across the street. He

pulls out his phone and uses the camera to zoom in through
the bar’s big windows. The camera finally lands on Krista and
Michael drinking. Next to the bar, two MEN IN BLACK are
having coffee at a cafe.

27 EXT. PIERRE LOTI - AWHILE LATER 27

Elliot’s camera is still on Michael from across the street as

he watches them kiss passionately. They part ways. Elliot
follows close behind as Michael walks through the streets.
Michael hails a cab. Elliot memorizes the cab’s number. He
quickly dials a number on his phone.

ELLIOT
Yes, hi... I think I left my keys
in one of your cabs-- Number
56Y2... sure.

Elliot looks back at the cafe at the men in black. Suddenly,

the MR. ROBOT bum from the subway walks up to their table,
begging for money. Elliot shoots a confused look-- but gets
interrupted when the operator returns.

ELLIOT
306 Hawthorne. Thank you.

He hangs up and returns his gaze back to the two MEN IN

BLACK. Mr. Robot is nowhere to be seen. He lets it go for
now.

28 EXT. 306 HAWTHORNE AVENUE - NIGHT 28

Elliot walks up to 306 Hawthorne as Michael begrudgingly

walks his dog. It’s as if Michael has completely dropped his
cheery, nice guy act.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 22.
28 CONTINUED: 28

MICHAEL
Come on, asshole, piss already.

He chokes the dog, causing him to YELP. Elliot charges from

across the street. The cowed dog looks up sheepishly.

MICHAEL
GO!

He goes to choke the dog again, when Elliot finally gets

there--

ELLIOT
Hey!

Michael stops and turns. Elliot looks at the dog with

sympathy, but then back at Michael.

ELLIOT
Can I borrow your phone? Mine’s
dead and I need to call my mom.

Michael reluctantly nods and pulls out his cell. He slides it

unlocked with his passcode and hands it to him. Elliot takes
it, immediately memorizing all the apps on his homescreen,
specifically the Bank of E app. He dials his own number and
calls. From within Elliot’s back pocket, we see his phone
light up and vibrate. He hangs up, quickly deletes his call
log.

ELLIOT
No answer. Thanks anyway.

Michael takes his phone back with a shrug.

29 EXT. NYC SUBWAY - NIGHT 29

Elliot walks out of the subway station, smoking a joint. His

phone immediately vibrates.

ELLIOT
Angela? Everything okay?

INTERCUT WITH:

30 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - CUBICLE 30

Angela stands apart from Lloyd, who is desperately trying to

tackle a tech issue on his desktop.

ANGELA
I need you to come to AllSafe.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 23.
30 CONTINUED: 30

ELLIOT
You’re there? It’s three in the
morning.

ANGELA
They attacked Evil Corp’s servers
again. But it’s bad this time. It’s
a DDoS attack.

ELLIOT
Did you call Lloyd? He’s on call--

ANGELA
Yeah, he’s here.

Lloyd slaps himself out of frustration as he types.

ELLIOT
Is he talking to their tech
department?

ANGELA
He’s online with them, but so far,
nothing. This is bad, Elliot. It’s
been down for almost an hour.
(lowered)
I don’t think Lloyd can fix this.
Look, Gideon just put me on this
account. I can’t screw up the first
week. I need you. Please.

ELLIOT
I’ll be right there.

Elliot looks back into the subway. He tosses his joint.

31 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - NIGHT 31

Elliot races in. Angela walks up to him, panicking.

ELLIOT
Calm down, it’s only been an hour.

ANGELA
Yeah, well, an hour in Evil Corp’s
time is like 13 million dollars in
revenue. Approximately. Actually, I
calculated that. That’s exactly how
much they lost.

ELLIOT
Don’t worry, I got you.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 24.
31 CONTINUED: 31

They approach Lloyd who is sweating bullets in his cubicle.

ELLIOT
Lloyd, what’s up?

No response, Lloyd is locked in on his terminal.

ELLIOT
Lloyd!

Lloyd snaps out of his trance and looks at Elliot.

LLOYD
Elliot. This is bad. Worst DDoS
attack I’ve ever seen--

ELLIOT
Did you reconfigure the DNS?

LLOYD
Yes.

ELLIOT
Stop the services.

LLOYD
I already stopped the services,
tried to reboot the servers, but
they’re not coming back up. Dude,
someone is straight up
fingerblasting their entire network
right now.

Elliot gets to work at his own terminal.

Angela checks her cell phone.

ANGELA
They just started reporting on the
outage.

Lines of code fly by as Elliot logs into different terminals,

typing, checking, looking... Until he notices something
really bad.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Shit, this is worse than I thought.
They’re in the network.

Gideon storms in. Even though he’s angry, he keeps his cool.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 25.
31 CONTINUED: 31

GIDEON
What’s the status update-- I
thought we set up security
protocols so this doesn’t happen--
where is the attack coming from?

ELLIOT
Everywhere obviously. USA, Finland,
Thailand, Kuwait--

GIDEON
Start restarting the services, load
sharing, redirect the traffic and
call Prolexic for help.

Everyone takes their orders, but Elliot shakes his head.

GIDEON
What?

ELLIOT
I don’t think this is just a DDoS
attack.
(off their looks)
I think they’ve got a rootkit
sitting inside the servers.

It starts to register to Gideon that this is bad. Very bad.

ANGELA
What’s a rootkit?

LLOYD
It’s like a crazy serial rapist
with a very big dick.

ANGELA
Jesus, Lloyd!

LLOYD
Sorry! It’s malicious code that
completely takes over their system.
It can delete system files, install
programs, viruses, worms--

ANGELA
How do we stop it?

LLOYD
That’s the thing, it’s
fundamentally invisible. You can’t
stop it.
(looking at the screens)
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 26.
31 CONTINUED: 31
LLOYD (CONT'D)
All of their servers are timing
out, none of them are coming back
up--

Elliot jumps from his computer and takes over Lloyd’s.

ELLIOT
That’s because every time we
restart a server, the virus
replicates itself during boot up
then crashes the host.

LLOYD
How are we supposed to bring up the
network if we can’t restart the
servers?

Elliot sits back at his desk.

ELLIOT
We can’t. Which is what they
wanted. By defending ourselves, we
ended up spreading the virus
everywhere.
(beat)
Only thing we can do is-- we gotta
take the whole system offline. Wipe
the infected servers clean, then
bring them back up.

A moment as the harrowing thought sinks in. Gideon takes out

his phone, looks at Elliot.

GIDEON
You’re coming with me.
(to Lloyd)
Lloyd, tell everybody to start
taking everything offline.
(into the phone)
The server farms, in Dulles...
we’re gonna need the jet...

He marches out with Elliot in tow.

32 EXT. TARMAC - DULLES AIRPORT - LATER 32

The private jet lands.

33 EXT. TARMAC - PRIVATE JET - NIGHT 33

Elliot and Gideon leave the private Evil Corp jet led by
SECURITY and into a black sedan. It takes off.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 27.

34 INT. SERVER FARM - NIGHT 34

Elliot and Gideon speed-walk into the loud WHIRRING of the

large arrays of servers. Elliot scans the arrays until he
sees the right stack of firewalls. He pulls out his laptop
and jacks in. He starts furiously typing. Gideon walks back
after talking to a tech.

GIDEON
They’re booting the network back
up. Now, you’re downloading the
logs, right? We have to know who--

ELLIOT
Stop! Tell them to stop.

GIDEON
What?

Elliot gets up and runs up to a NERVOUS TECH.

ELLIOT
Don’t start the boot sequence. You
guys missed one. There’s an
infected server up and running.

Elliot points at an icon for server “CS30” on a monitor. He

looks back at the tech.

ELLIOT
What’s the ETA before it hits this
server?

The nervous tech shrugs. Elliot goes back on his laptop and
starts typing. Gideon joins him.

ELLIOT
Is the backup server up and
running?

NERVOUS TECH
It's ready, but not configured for
auto switch.

Elliot plugs his laptop in.

ELLIOT
We need to redirect the traffic,
need to switch DNS--
(to himself)
You got this, you got this, you got
this.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 28.
34 CONTINUED: 34

Elliot furiously types. Gideon walks closer.

GIDEON
Oh this is impossible.
(to everyone)
It’s almost at the bad server!

Elliot sweats as he types-- finally, he finishes and enters a

command. They wait with bated breath. Elliot listens to the
whirr of the servers.

ELLIOT
We still up?

Gideon looks at a network health monitor on the wall. He

exhales a sigh of relief.

GIDEON
We’re okay.

Gideon squeezes Elliot’s shoulder proudly. Elliot pulls away.

ELLIOT
I’m gonna take a look at the
infected server. Give me a minute.

GIDEON
I’ll meet you at the elevators.

Gideon leaves. Elliot continues typing.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
They must have left a mark or
something. Every hacker loves
attention. They don’t just do DDoS
attacks for no reason--

That’s when Elliot stumbles upon a file in the terminal that

reads simply: fsociety. He /dir’s it and unhides the file, 1
file shows: fsociety.dat.01.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
This is it? Fsociety? Is that
supposed to be a joke? This was way
too easy. They didn’t hide it well
at all.

A thought occurs to him and opens a new terminal window and

connects to the new server. He searches for the same
directory, /dir’s it and unhides the files, this time 2 files
show up: fsociety.dat.00 and README.TXT.

He opens the README and it reads simply: leavemehere

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 29.
34 CONTINUED: 34

ELLIOT (V.O.)
This note is for me. They’re
telling me to leave it here. But
why? It doesn’t matter, time to
shut them down.

Elliot steps out of the directory and types: rm fsociety/*.

He hits enter. Are you sure you want to delete? He hesitates.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Why can’t I delete it?
(he can’t)
I don’t want to delete it. I want
it to stay. What’s wrong with me?

He hits no to deleting it.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’ll reconfigure the access to the
root directory so only I can use
it. No one will know.

He types quickly, looks around nervously. He closes the

terminal and walks away.

35 INT. PRIVATE JET (MOVING) - DAWN 35

Exhausted, Elliot and Gideon sit silently together. Though

Elliot is used to the all-nighters, Gideon isn’t. He has a
glass of wine as he sits back, deep in thought.

GIDEON
Did you know that I’m gay?

ELLIOT
Uh...no.

After an awkward pause, Gideon uncomfortably nods.

GIDEON
Consider this me coming out to you
then, okay? It’s hard, because I
don’t like to talk about my sex
life. But my partner-- he gets very
paranoid, he thinks I’m ashamed of--
He wants me to be more public about
it. So, anyway, I’m gay.

ELLIOT
(awkward pause)
Thanks.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 30.
35 CONTINUED: 35

GIDEON
Yeah.

Deep in thought again, Gideon sighs. Elliot notices the

troubled look on his face.

ELLIOT
Don’t worry about it. Hackers have
a short attention span. They’ll get
bored, harass someone else--

GIDEON
Evil Corp is thinking about leaving
us. And, I don’t know if I can
blame them...

ELLIOT
They could’ve called their other
security teams. They called you.

GIDEON
Someone over there likes us, but
Terry Colby, he’s getting the
pressure-- and he calls the shots.
Evil Corp is eighty percent of our
business. If we lose them, that’s
gonna be it for us. That’s gonna be
it for me.

Gideon takes another sip of his wine and leans back in his
chair. He looks up, hopeless, unsettled. He looks over.

GIDEON
I feel like I can talk to you. I
mean, more than the others, anyway.

They share a comfortable moment this time.

GIDEON
I’m sure, in a weird way, you’ll be
happy if we went under.
(off his look)
Oh, come on. I know you hate
wearing those stupid shirts.

As Gideon lists off the things he supposedly hates, Elliot

finds himself sincerely worried he’ll lose them.

ELLIOT
Gideon? I promise I’ll find them.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 31.

36 INT. NYC SUBWAY (MOVING) - DAY 36

Elliot’s drained face stares stoically out, trying to piece

together the mystery of the recent hacks. He shakes his head.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Evil Corp’s servers should be back
up soon enough. I’ll take a look at
the dat file. I’ll ask my IRC
contacts about fsociety when I get
home. I’ve never seen their name on
the boards though. They’ve gotta be
new. But they’re good--

Elliot’s train of thought is interrupted when Mr. Robot sits

across from him, donning the same gas attendant shirt.

MR. ROBOT
Rough night?

Shocked, Elliot’s eyes grow large.

MR. ROBOT
I’m getting off here. I think you
should come with me. But, only if
you didn’t delete it. If you
deleted it, we got nothing to talk
about.

Mr. Robot stands and waits by the doors. Elliot sits there,
paralyzed, not knowing what to do at all.

ELLIOT
Are you talking to me?

Mr. Robot says nothing, but the empty car states the obvious.
The subway finally screeches to a halt. Elliot stands as it
stops. Mr. Robot walks off the subway. Elliot stands there
for a moment, wondering if he should follow him. He does.

37 INT. SUBWAY PLATFORM - CONTINUOUS 37

Mr. Robot sits on the other side of the station. Elliot

slowly walks over and sits next to him.

ELLIOT
Who are you?

MR. ROBOT
We gotta wait for the Q.

ELLIOT
Then what?

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 32.
37 CONTINUED: 37

MR. ROBOT
Then we’re going to Brooklyn, out
by Coney Island.

ELLIOT
Why? What’s there?

MR. ROBOT
Obviously you’re gonna ask a lot of
questions. It’s weird what you’re
doing right now. I get it.
(lowered)
I can’t tell you anything until we
get there.

Mr. Robot pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

ELLIOT
You can’t smoke in here.
(he ignores him)
You’ve been following me. Why? What
do you want from me?

MR. ROBOT
My dad was a petty thief. Never
could hold down a job. So, he just
robbed, convenience stores, shops,
small-time stuff. One time, he sat
me down and told me something that
I never forgot. He said, “Everyone
steals, that’s how it works. You
think people out there are getting
exactly what they deserve? No.
They’re getting paid over or under,
but someone in the chain always
gets bamboozled. I steal, but I
don’t get caught, that’s my
contract with society. Now if you
can catch me stealing, then I’ll go
to jail. If you can’t, then I’ve
earned the money.”
(then)
I respected that, man. I thought
that shit was cool as a little kid.
But a few years after that, they
finally caught him, sent him to
jail. Dies five years later, my
respect goes with him. I thought he
was free, doing what he did but he
wasn’t. He was in prison.
(looks at Elliot)
Just like you are now, Elliot. But
I’m gonna break you out.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 33.
37 CONTINUED: 37

Elliot shoots him a quiet, puzzled look.

38 EXT. CONEY ISLAND - STREETS - DAY 38

An impoverished, ghetto block. Elliot cautiously follows Mr.

Robot down the street. An old Ferris wheel can be seen slowly
spinning in the distance.

They finally reach a rundown, boarded up arcade. The sign

reads: FUN SOCIETY ARCADE (but the U and N are faded). Mr.
Robot walks up to the door and grabs the key from under a
dead plant. He walks to the back, gesturing Elliot to follow
him.

39 EXT. FSOCIETY ARCADE - ALLEYWAY - CONTINUOUS 39

Mr. Robot opens the backdoor. Blue, green, and gray Ethernet
cables run from all sides of the door. The sound of KEYBOARD
STROKES and CHATTER emanate from within. Mr. Robot walks in.
Elliot follows.

40 INT. FSOCIETY ARCADE - CONTINUOUS 40

An arcade with very few working games left. Using fallen

games as tables for computers, four hackers type away: MOBLEY
(30s) - an obese man with shaggy hair. TRENTON (16) - a nerd
eating Ramen straight from the Styrofoam bowl. DARLENE (20s) -
an aggressive yet striking hipster who chain smokes. She
wears a fur coat and blue Ray Bans. ROMERO (50s) - a long,
gray-haired hippie with a fanny pack.

ELLIOT
Why would you guys actually meet
IRL?

None of them look up, all of them with earbuds plugged in as

they type away. A Depeche Mode song plays over the loud
speaker. Mr. Robot gestures for Elliot to follow him around
the corner, into the kitchen. He makes himself a glass of
beer from the tap.

MR. ROBOT
Remember that hacker group O-Megz?
They got outed by their own leader
to the FBI, and six hackers went to
prison for it. You know how they
got ‘em? They went into the dude’s
computers and tracked all of them
down through e-mails, VPN sessions,
chat messages, texts-- one guy, and
the whole thing comes down. It’s
what you call--

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 34.
40 CONTINUED: 40

ELLIOT
A central point of failure.

MR. ROBOT
(smiles)
Right. Because they refuse to meet
in person, they compromise each
other every time they send so much
as a smiley face. The rule here is,
it’s done here, and only here. It
ends when you walk out that door,
and begins when you walk in. Our
encryption is the real world.

ELLIOT
How do you talk to each other then?

Mr. Robot walks over to the popcorn machine and starts eating
straight out of it.

MR. ROBOT
We don’t. We come and go, work on
the project when we can.

ELLIOT
(discreet)
How do you trust them?

MR. ROBOT
I give them an exercise. If they
pass, they join us. If they fail...

ELLIOT
(realizing)
The DDoS attack...last night...you
were testing me?

Mr. Robot takes off his jacket as he smiles yes. Elliot peers
back to the hackers.

ELLIOT
You said there was a project.
What’s the project?

MR. ROBOT
That’ll come later. I just wanted
you to see the place.

They walk back into the main room. Mr. Robot sits down with
the hackers, puts his earbuds in and slaps on a pair of
sunglasses. He picks up a beast of an Evil Corp laptop and
begins typing. Elliot stands there, unsure of how to proceed.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 35.
40 CONTINUED: 40

MR. ROBOT
(pulls out an earbud)
Not much for you to do without a
CPU.

41 INT. NYC SUBWAY (MOVING) - DAY 41

Elliot’s mind swims in the mystery of what he just witnessed.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’m crazy. I have to be crazy.
Because, that didn’t just happen,
right? This is a delusion. Is this
a delusion? Shit, I’m a schizo.

42 EXT. ELLIOT’S NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY 42

Elliot doesn’t walk the streets so carefully this time.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Have I really lost it this time?
No, no, last night happened. It was
real. Angela called me. I was at
AllSafe. Evil Corp’s servers were
compromised. Those are facts, not
delusions. I know, I know, I
realize I’m saying all of this to
an imaginary person-- but I created
you.
(takes a breath)
I didn’t create this.

43 EXT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY 43

Elliot walks towards his building and sees Angela by the

door, smoking. She quickly puts it out when she sees him.

ANGELA
Thank God you’re here. I was just
about to go wait in a Starbucks.
You live in a bad neighborhood, do
you know that?

ELLIOT
I do know that.

She shows him a BACK TO THE FUTURE II DVD.

ANGELA
Wanna get high and watch our
favorite movie? You saved our asses
last night. I thought Gideon was
definitely going to fire me.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 36.
43 CONTINUED: 43
ANGELA (CONT'D)
Where have you been? I thought
you’d be sleeping.

ELLIOT
I-- fell asleep on the train.

ANGELA
That sounds like such a lie but,
whatever, I don’t wanna get into
that right now.
(then)
So, you wanna do this? I miss
Qwerty, I hope she still loves me.

Elliot unlocks the door and they walk into the building.

44 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - DAY 44

Shayla rolls over, still sleeping, still naked.

ELLIOT
Shit.

Angela, looking at Shayla’s tattoos, doesn’t register

Elliot’s embarrassment. He takes her by the door and
whispers:

ELLIOT
She wasn’t supposed to be here,
give me a minute and I’ll get rid
of her--

ANGELA
It’s okay. This is great, Elliot.
I’m happy for you.

ELLIOT
No, it’s not like that.

ANGELA
Well, maybe it should be. You know,
it’s good that you’re... dating.

Shayla shifts with a loud snore.

ANGELA
I’ll see you on Monday. We can do
movie night next time. I promise.
Okay?
(re: Shayla)
Have fun.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 37.
44 CONTINUED: 44

Elliot nods as she leaves. He SLAMS the door shut to wake up

Shayla. She sits up abruptly, confused.

SHAYLA
Elliot? Oh shit, is it Wednesday? I
have to move my car.

ELLIOT
Shayla. Leave. NOW.

45 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 45

INSERT: Google, news sites, IRC, blogs, hacker forums, etc.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
No mention of Mr. Robot anywhere.
No mention of fsociety. Not on any
of the hacker boards. Not on IRC,
forums, blogs, no one’s heard of
them.

INSERT: Google maps on the fsociety arcade.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Property was owned by Fun Society
Amusement, LLC for thirteen years,
owner was shot and killed a year
and a half ago, no owner since. And
the ownership history before that
is sparse to nonexistent. This guy
is good. Very good. Doesn’t matter.
Their arcade network’s IP is in the
dat file. That’ll be enough to turn
them in.

Elliot prints out the incriminating pages and files them in a

white manila envelope. Elliot sits back down, looking at the
Google Maps picture of the fsociety arcade.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
What’s your ask, Mr. Robot?

46 EXT. FSOCIETY ARCADE - NEXT MORNING 46

Elliot marches through the slums of Coney Island, back to the

fsociety arcade. Outside, Darlene stands outside and smokes.
She has fuzzy pink ear muffs on to protect her from the cold
air. Elliot walks up to her. She doesn’t say anything.

ELLIOT
Hey man, where’s your boss?

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 38.
46 CONTINUED: 46

DARLENE
(shoots him an odd look)
Cut the bullshit. When are you
gonna give us back access to the
root directory.

ELLIOT
What?

DARLENE
Dude, come on, I wrote that
rootkit. I still have to put
Colby’s IP in the dat file.

Darlene shakes her head with disgust and flicks her

cigarette.

DARLENE
Dickhead.

She gets up and walks towards the back, leaving Elliot

perplexed. Mr. Robot enters from the street, through the
gate, holding a grocery bag full of goodies.

MR. ROBOT
Elliot! Good news, I scored the
last batch of twinkies from
Gristedes. Want one?

ELLIOT
She just called me a dickhead.

MR. ROBOT
(smiles)
Yeah, that’s Darlene.
(re: Ferris wheel)
Hey, you like Ferris wheels?

47 EXT. CONEY ISLAND - FERRIS WHEEL - DAY 47

Elliot and Mr. Robot stand in a slow-moving, empty Ferris

wheel car as it does its circular motion up. Mr. Robot looks
down at the sparse crowd with a grin. He lights a cigarette.

MR. ROBOT
Ah, it’s beautiful. It gets better
the higher up you go, you know. I
love it up here.
(then)
You like it?

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 39.
47 CONTINUED: 47

ELLIOT
I’m here to tell you I’m turning
you in. I’m giving them all the
information.

MR. ROBOT
Let me tell you why you’re really
here.

Confused, Elliot says nothing.

MR. ROBOT
You’re here because you sense
something wrong with the world.
Something you can’t explain, but
you know it controls you and
everyone you care about.

ELLIOT
What are you talking about?

MR. ROBOT
Money. Money hasn’t been real since
we got off the gold standard. It’s
become virtual. Software. The
operating system of our world. And
Elliot? We are on the verge of
taking down this virtual reality.
(off Elliot’s silence)
Think about it. What if you could
take down one conglomerate? A
conglomerate so deeply entrenched
in the world’s economy, that too
big to fail doesn’t even come close
to describing it.

ELLIOT
You want to create another
financial meltdown? Like the one we
just had, but way worse? Why would
I want that? Everyone would lose
their money--

MR. ROBOT
What if I told you that this
conglomerate just so happens to own
seventy percent of the global
consumer credit industry? If we hit
their data center just right, we
could systematically format all the
servers, including backup--

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 40.
47 CONTINUED: 47

ELLIOT
That would erase--

MR. ROBOT
All the debt we owe them. Every
record of every credit card, loan
and mortgage would be wiped clean.
It’d be impossible to reinforce
outdated paper records. It’ll all
be gone-- the single biggest
incident of wealth redistribution
in history.

Elliot realizes what he’s talking about. To underline this,

he sees an Evil Corp logo proudly displayed on top of a
building in the horizon.

ELLIOT
Evil Corp. The conglomerate.
(off his look)
That’s why you picked me. Because I
work at AllSafe.

Mr. Robot hands him a slip of paper with an IP address.

MR. ROBOT
Tomorrow, AllSafe is going to get a
visit from the FBI and the US Cyber
Command. You are gonna modify the
dat file and put Colby’s terminal
IP address in there.

ELLIOT
Terry Colby? You’re gonna frame
him? No one’s gonna believe that. I
met him, he’s a moron.

MR. ROBOT
So are the FBI. Even if they don’t
believe he did it, they’ll believe
he gave someone access to it.

ELLIOT
He’ll just go to jail. What good
will that do?

MR. ROBOT
You don’t take down a conglomerate
by shooting them in the heart.
That’s the thing about
conglomerates, they don’t have
hearts. You take them down, limb by
limb. And as they unravel...
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 41.
47 CONTINUED: 47
MR. ROBOT (CONT'D)
(gestures out to the
people)
Their illusion of control unravels.

Elliot takes a hard look at Mr. Robot, questioning his

seemingly altruistic motives.

ELLIOT
Who are you?

Mr. Robot lights a cigarette.

MR. ROBOT
That’ll come later. Right now, you
have a lot to think about. You have
to change the dat file, put Colby’s
IP in there. You do that, and
you’ll have set in motion the
largest revolution the world will
ever see.

Elliot’s look of doubt is all but whittled away.

48 INT. SUBWAY CORRIDOR - NIGHT 48

Elliot walks fast as a small smile begins to grow on his

face. He listens to Neil Diamond’s “If You Go Away.”

Elliot can’t contain the flurry of emotions pulsing through

his entire body. Sensing Elliot’s excitement, a CHILD smiles
at him. Touched, Elliot smiles back. The MOM, noticing the
exchange, shoots a friendly look at Elliot.

He stops short to see a billboard of a college student with a

sad face. The copy reads: “How am I ever going to pay back my
student loans?” Underneath: EVIL CORP

49 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 49

Elliot’s browser: HuffPost - Mortgage lenders now have more

equity in U.S. homes than Americans. BBC - The global gap
between rich and poor is at its highest level for 20 years
and growing. NY TIMES - Debt Slavery, The New American Dream.

He pulls up another browser window and logs into Bank of

Evil’s site. We see that the account belongs to Angela. He
clicks through her statements and lands on her private Evil
Corp student loans. She owes $197,455.64. Elliot looks over
at Mr. Robot’s slip of paper next to him. He opens a terminal
window and accesses the infected terminal, then modifies the
dat file. He opens the sublime text editor and begins typing
up the report.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 42.

50 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - DAWN 50

The final pages of the new diagnostic report print out.

Elliot places the report in a blue manila envelope as a big
smile grows on his face.

51 EXT. NYC SUBWAY STATION - MORNING 51

Elliot walks to the subway station. The MEN IN BLACK waiting

for the bus sneak Elliot looks. Elliot stops to look at an ad
for a blockbuster movie called VILLAINS, the tag line reads:
Evil Always Wins.

52 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - CONFERENCE ROOM - LATER 52

Gideon, AllSafe account executives, FBI, Evil Corp execs,

Tyrell and Terry Colby himself surround the expansive table.
The blue manila envelope sits in front of Elliot. He’s
sweating profusely as he swaps the blue back into his bag for
the white. He shakes his head in disappointment. Tyrell
Wellick notes the folder swap.

TERRY COLBY
So, what do we got?

GIDEON
So, if you take a look at the first
page of your agenda--

Everyone flips over one page of their packet. Terry looks

over at Elliot. Elliot nervously looks back.

TERRY COLBY
You’re the one who stopped the
hack.
(off Elliot’s nervous nod)
The gals in analysis said this was
a tough one. All things being
equal, should have shut us down for
days. So, you did good.

ELLIOT
Okay.

GIDEON
We should start with our account
executive, Angela.

Angela awkwardly waves. Terry isn’t impressed.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 43.
52 CONTINUED: 52

ANGELA
We first noticed the breach at 2:07
A.M. Eastern Standard on Friday
night--

TERRY COLBY
You mean, Saturday?

ANGELA
Sorry, yes, technically, Saturday
morning.

TERRY COLBY
Yeah, Angela, that’s what we’re
here for. The technicals.

Noting the condescension, Angela hides her anger.

ANGELA
Right, yes. Anyway, he arrived at
the office at 2:35--

TERRY COLBY
So, almost a half hour after the
initial breach? Why didn’t anyone
pipe in from their laptops?

ANGELA
It’s not protocol--

ELLIOT
It wouldn’t have been secure if
someone terminaled in on this. It
was the smarter move to have
someone come in so they can login
on a secure line.

ANGELA
(annoyed)
Exactly. Then Lloyd was able to--

TERRY COLBY
Actually, one sec, hon.

Terry gestures to Tyrell. Tyrell leans in and Terry whispers

something in his ear. From the look on Tyrell’s face, it’s
not good. He nods to Gideon to follow him outside. Angela
looks like she’s gonna flip out. Terry looks out the window.

TERRY COLBY
You know, I always loved this view.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 44.
52 CONTINUED: 52

After the brief exchange, Gideon walks back to Angela and

relays the message. Angela angrily collects her papers and
walks out of the conference room.

TERRY COLBY
Now that that’s taken care of,
let’s pick it up where we left off.

ELLIOT
What happened to Angela? She knows
more about what happened--

TERRY COLBY
She’s not gonna work out for us.
Not on this level. We need to stick
to the more tech savvy here. Now,
let’s get to the heart of this
thing, because I can’t sit here and
look through a packet for the next
twenty minutes. Who did this?

Elliot’s eyes shift back and forth between the embarrassed

Angela who is leaving, the blue manila envelope still in his
bag and Terry Colby’s curious look. Elliot instantly gains
courage. He swaps the white manila for the blue.

ELLIOT
I found the configuration file of
the rootkit with a pattern of IP
addresses. Once you decrypt it,
you’ll know where the hack came
from.

CUT TO BLACK.

53 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - MORNING 53

Elliot hasn’t slept and it shows. He quickly checks his

phone. Google alerts: 0.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Nineteen days... no news, no
arrests, no revolution.

54 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - DAY 54

Elliot walks in, he sees Angela ahead of him. He tries to

catch up and say hi, but she walks away. He eyes the empty
conference room.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
No FBI, Colby, Evil Corp.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 45.

55 INT. FSOCIETY ARCADE - DAY 55

Elliot walks into the fsociety arcade, but it’s abandoned.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
No Mr. Robot. No fsociety.
(then)
I need to take my mind off things.

56 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 56

Elliot sits in front of his rundown, stickered up Evil Corp

desktop as a command line program runs password checks with
the keywords Elliot has inputted. A picture of Michael
Hansen, Krista’s boyfriend, is pulled up. He’s on the phone.

ELLIOT
Hi, this is Sam from Bank of E
security fraud department.
Unfortunately, I have to inform you
that your account has been
compromised.

MICHAEL (O.S.)
What? What happened?

ELLIOT
First, before I can answer any
questions, I need to verify some
information. Are you still at 306
Hawthorne Avenue?

MICHAEL (O.S.)
Yes. Apartment 2C.

Elliot types in the information.

ELLIOT
Great. And your security question,
favorite baseball team?

MICHAEL (O.S.)
Umm...Yankees.

Elliot types it in.

MICHAEL (O.S.)
I don’t remember this being a
security question--

ELLIOT
And lastly, your pet’s name...

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 46.
56 CONTINUED: 56

A painful pause on the phone.

MICHAEL (O.S.)
Flipper. Whom am I speaking to? Can
I get your name and num--

Elliot hangs up as he types it in.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
With those details plus a
dictionary brute-force attack,
it’ll take my program maybe two
minutes to crack his password.

While he waits, Elliot goes on Facebook and looks up Angela.

He scans through the pictures of her and Ollie. Christmas
vacations, Halloween, beach parties, barbecues, etc.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
What I wouldn’t give to be normal.
To live in that bubble, the reality
of the naive.

He switches Facebook accounts to Krista, his therapist. More

happy pictures of families, vacations, friends.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
That’s how I justify this. To keep
their optimism intact. To protect
them.

His password program BEEPS. He switches screens hurriedly and

discovers the program didn’t come up with a single match.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
How? He’s too old to have a
complicated password. It had to
have been a combination of these
things.

Elliot puts his head down and thinks, like he’s praying.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I’m missing something. I’m missing
something. I’m missing something.

He closes his eyes. He slouches as he rocks back and forth in

his chair. His leg twitches rapidly as he mumbles thoughts to
himself. Finally, he looks up at his screen.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Michael Hansen isn’t his real name.
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 47.

57 EXT. 306 HAWTHORNE AVENUE - NIGHT 57

Michael walks down his street carrying a baby in his

stroller. His WIFE walks next to him. They exchange words
before she heads into the corner convenience store and he
walks towards their apartment building. Elliot sits on his
stoop, in his hoodie, smoking a cigarette, waiting for him.
Elliot’s silhouette takes Michael by surprise.

ELLIOT
Lenny Shannon? Michael Hansen?
Which one are you playing right
now?

MICHAEL
(confused)
Who the f--

ELLIOT
You’re gonna stop seeing Krista.

The sound of her name immediately makes Michael’s eyes grow

wide. Elliot stands and faces him. The baby cries.

ELLIOT
You’re gonna break up with her and
never see her again.

MICHAEL
(recognizing him)
You’re the guy that used my phone--

ELLIOT
You cheated on your current wife
with seven different women and I
have digital proof of all of it.

Stunned, Michael remains still. His wife stands in line at

the checkout.

ELLIOT
Ashley Madison, online escorts,
fake Facebook pages. I own it all.
And if you don’t stop seeing her,
your wife will know everything
along with the police.

MICHAEL
The police?

ELLIOT
One of the escorts was fifteen.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 48.
57 CONTINUED: 57

Elliot shows a picture of her on his phone. Michael puts his

head down with a wince. The baby screams.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
That fifteen part I made up. But he
did have a proclivity for young
escorts that helped the lie.

ELLIOT
But I’m not going to do any of that
as long as you break up with
Krista. Tonight.

Michael looks up at him, now out of fear. His wife is putting

away her wallet and is about to walk out.

MICHAEL
Done.

ELLIOT
You’re also gonna tell her the
truth. That you’re married, you
cheat on your wife, you hire
hookers. That you never had any
intention of being serious with
her.

MICHAEL
Why? That would destroy her. She
thinks we’re in... love.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Exactly. Krista needs to avoid
dickheads like you in the future.
Her radar needs fixing.

ELLIOT
I’ll know if you skip any detail,
so don’t.

Michael nods quickly as his wife exits the store.

ELLIOT
And one more thing. I’m gonna need
something from you.

58 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 58

Elliot brings Michael’s dog, Flipper, home.

ELLIOT
I like you, Flipper. You’re cool.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 49.
58 CONTINUED: 58

Elliot gives him some food.

59 INT. ELLIOT’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 59

Elliot is on his computer burning a CD while he’s deleting

Michael Hansen’s files from his computer. The folder he’s
copying is called MICHAEL HANSEN.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
I never want to be right about my
hacks, but people always find a way
to disappoint.

Once the burn is complete, he pulls out a sharpie and labels

it PINK FLOYD - WISH YOU WERE HERE. He grabs a large CD Case
from underneath his bed and flips it open. Several other CDs
labeled everything from the BEATLES to ZEPPELIN are in there.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Michael Hanson now gets filed away
among the others. Forever buried in
my digital cemetery.

He files the newly fake-labeled CD and sends the envelope

back under his bed.

60 INT. PSYCHOLOGIST’S OFFICE - DAY 60

Elliot sits in his usual chair. He looks at Krista, who looks

disheveled and completely out of it.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
The look of disillusionment. He
told her. She cried all night. Now
comes the sadness. I don’t like
seeing her sad.

ELLIOT
You okay?

KRISTA
Sorry. Go on.

ELLIOT
I think Angela blames me for what
happened at the Evil Corp meeting.
What do I do? I need to talk to
her.

KRISTA
I think you just answered your own
question. Talk to her.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 50.
60 CONTINUED: 60

ELLIOT
She won’t respond to any of my
texts or emails--

KRISTA
Go to her, in person. Tell her you
need to talk. Communication is key,
Elliot. Real human interaction.
That’s what’s important for you
right now.

61 INT. ALLSAFE OFFICES - LATER 61

Elliot ambushes Angela as she enters the office. She

immediately turns away when she sees him.

ELLIOT
Do you... do you think we can talk?

ANGELA
What?

ELLIOT
You won’t talk to me. You haven’t
talked to me since the meeting--

ANGELA
I don’t want to talk to you,
because I feel embarrassed. Every
time I think about what happened.
It’s fine, I’ll get over it.

ELLIOT
It’s been three weeks--

ANGELA
I have to get back to work.

ELLIOT
You’re just going to ignore me?

Angela stops and faces him:

ANGELA
You didn’t have to stick up for me
in there. I know you were trying to
help, but just don’t do it again.
Even if I’m losing. Let me lose.
Okay?
(off his confused look)
Don’t look confused, just say okay.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 51.
61 CONTINUED: 61

Elliot nods. She puts her head down, disappointed in herself.

Though this is awkward for him, Elliot slowly hugs her.

ANGELA
Elliot...

A momentary hesitation as they eye each other. The moment

quickly feels like it could be a kiss. But then Elliot
realizes Angela’s eyes are looking behind him. He turns.

ON A TV MOUNTED ON THE WALL, CNBC PLAYS:

Terry Colby is arrested by FBI and taken into custody. A CNBC

banner reads: BREAKING - CTO of Evil Corp, Terry Colby, has
been arrested for his alleged role in Evil’s high-profile
hacking.

Elliot’s eyes go wide.

NEWS REPORTER
FBI agents claim that Colby either
used hacking groups or worked in
conjunction with them to pressure
Evil Corp during his contract
negotiations. After a long and
exhaustive investigation, sources
close to the FBI have confirmed
that the hacks were in part tied to
Colby’s terminal.

Everyone in the office starts peeking out of their cubicle to

watch the news. Elliot is blown away.

62 EXT. TIMES SQUARE - DAY 62

Elliot walks down the street, no longer in a zombified,

shiftless state-- but with life and purpose. He looks at his
phone’s news alert: EVIL CORP’S STOCK DOWN ON NEWS OF
CYBERCRIME.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
It’s happening. It’s happening.
It’s happening. It’s happening.

Elliot stops in Times Square and looks at the TV’s around him
announcing news of the disastrous Evil Corp scandal.

He stretches his arms out like he’s just won the gold-- an
escalade screeches to a halt in front of him. A MAN IN BLACK
jumps out and opens the door. Elliot’s smile is long gone.

MAN IN BLACK
Sir, step inside the car.

(CONTINUED)
 MR. ROBOT PILOT 52.
62 CONTINUED: 62

Other MEN IN BLACK stand behind Elliot. Sweating immediately,

Elliot even notices POLICE looking the other way.

MAN IN BLACK
Sir. Get inside the vehicle. Now.

Helpless, Elliot slowly climbs in. The Escalade peels out.

63 EXT. EVIL CORP HEADQUARTERS - DAY 63

An Escalade screeches to a halt in front of the headquarters.

Elliot is ushered into the building by the MEN IN BLACK.

64 INT. SKY RISE - ELEVATOR (MOVING) - DAY 64

A nervous wreck, Elliot stands in the high speed elevator as

it quickly climbs several stories into the air. The elevator
DINGS when it reaches the top floor. The MAN IN BLACK by the
doors opens the digital latch with his phone. The doors open
and almost immediately we hear LOUD ARGUING.

MAN IN BLACK
Go ahead.
(off of his non-response)
Sir, go on in.

65 INT. SKY RISE - TOP FLOOR - CONTINUOUS 65

Elliot enters alone. He sees a number of MEN circle around a

grand conference table. We only see their silhouettes, as
they bicker and argue with one another. Elliot’s silhouette
now joins them, dead center in the mess of black outlines.

Their arguing hushes into an abrupt silence. The dark shadows

now face Elliot, Tyrell Wellick among them. What follows is
the longest silence of Elliot’s life, then--

TYRELL WELLICK
Bonsoir, Elliot.

ELLIOT (V.O.)
Please tell me you’re seeing this
too...

Loud, violent jazz RISES again as we push into the darkness

of the menacing silhouettes, until the screen is filled
with...

BLACK.

END OF EPISODE