The Alderson family photo falls from the shelf as the Dark Army soldiers kick in the door to Elliot's apartment. Grant finds the Mr. Robot jacket in the closet and has his men toss the place to discern their target's whereabouts. Elliot waits in Shayla's empty apartment next door with Flipper. After the intruders leave, Elliot returns home and begins to worry about Darlene not responding his texts and being targeted, all the while hoping she made it to their rendezvous point.
Darlene is asleep in the interrogation room when Ernesto Santiago disables the camera. He forcefully zip-ties her hands and removes her as she protests. It is the morning of 10/23. Dominique gives her report of what happened to who she believes is the agent Kaz reassigned the case, but he has no knowledge of it. She sees that both Santiago's office and the interrogation room are empty. In the garage, Santiago puts Darlene in the back of a car when Dominique confronts him. She sees past his explanation of supposedly transferring her. He claims it is classified, but Darlene shakes her head in sight of Dominique. Dominique tries to call their superior, but Santiago knocks her out.
Elliot arrives at the arcade. He wonders if Mr. Robot was right and that the FBI caught Darlene. Looking at the Dark Army network, he sees dozens of operatives in Manhattan. He doesn't have time to search through 600,000 systems for her. He thinks hard and panics that she may die. He punches the popcorn machine and overturns a gaming cabinet. He regrets his actions concerning over 5/9 and blames himself.
Outside, he buys a ticket for the Ferris wheel. On the ride, he asks Mr. Robot for help. Mr. Robot is annoyed at their lack of communication as of late. Elliot admits that he missed him and confronts him about the 71 bombings. Mr. Robot says that he didn't know. Elliot asks if he would've done it. Mr. Robot claims that he would've found another way. Elliot notes that there may be a part of Elliot in Mr. Robot and vice versa. He asks about the note on mirror.
Santiago is driving with both Dominique and Darlene in the backseat. Dominique wakes up zip-tied. She blames him for hiding in China while the FBI were attack (“eps2.3_logic_b0mb.hc”), for leading the Dark Army to kill Francis, for the Tyrell kidnapping cover up and framing both Sunil and Shama. Santiago explains that she would've done the same in his position. Dominique protests, which he calls naïveté. He explains it as things he was forced to do. He saved her "girlfriend" Darlene's life by not revealing her to the Dark Army. He insists that he is not a bad guy, claiming that they hold stuff over him.
In Santiago's apartment, Mr. Robot points him out in a family photo, according to Tyrell. He muses that he kept the FBI off of them after 5/9. Mr. Robot hacked the desktop remotely and found nothing useful. Elliot picks a drawer for physical evidence. Mr. Robot finds a Red Wheelbarrow menu with a cypher. As Elliot is deciphering, Otto Irving appears behind him. Elliot concludes that they must have Darlene. Irving stops him from talking his way out and tells him to come along.
Angela sits in a room in a fancy house. The house manager enters the room with a friendly greeting. Angela insists that she has important info for the Whiterose. The man refers her to talk to Phillip when he arrives and offers her breakfast.
Irving, Elliot, and Mr. Robot arrive at the Dark Army farmhouse next to Santiago's car. In the barn is a masked Dark Army soldier, Leon on his phone holding a gun, and Dominique and Darlene on the hay bales. Santiago tells Irving that the situation is salvageable. Irving takes note of the loose end, Dominique. Santiago demands that they clean up his mess for a change. Irving takes Dominique outside. Elliot sits next to his sister and asks if she's okay. She says no.
As they walk across the field, Dominique makes her case to Irving that she knows what they've done and they won't get away with this. Santiago follows, telling her to stop talking. In the barn, Mr. Robot is plotting and escapes, noting that Leon is good with his knife. Elliot states that he isn't trying to escape, but can talk to the Whiterose, who he believes is watching them on camera.
Dominique is at the wood cutting stump where an axe waits lodged. Irving begins to take off his top. Santiago tells him to kill her, as she can rise far in the FBI. Dominique vehemently refuses and begins to cry. Irving tells her to calm down and look at the sky. He plunges the axe into Santiago's chest. Irving announces that he is replacing him with Dominique. He tells Dominique that she is going back to work, business as usual to be called upon when needed. She says fuck you and will not be a traitor. She vows to arrest him. Irving begins to name her family members and their location as he continues chopping up Santiago. He demands a verbal confirmation of her understanding, which she gives. He tells her to get back to the barn as he continues chopping Santiago for personal reasons.
Dominique re-enters the barn in shock and sits on the hay. Darlene asked her on what happened. Leon says that she was initiated and offers her weed. Mr. Robot thinks that they all are going to be killed. Instead, Elliot knows that they're waiting, preparing for someone important.
Grant arrives in a car outside. Irving is dressed and is cleaning his hands by the house. He claims that he has taken care of everything, noting he had to kill the FBI mole much to Grant's annoyance. However, he claims that Dominique has upsides as the new mole. He goes back to his car when Grant asks on where he is going. Irving says that his overdue sabbatical, perhaps working on his book in Barbados. Grant says that they have work to do. Irving gets into Grant's face, grabbing him. He notes that the Whiterose is prone to spontaneous overtures. He wonders if she has made him taste her. Irving tells him that he was in Grant's position years ago and says that she would be good with him instead. Irving walks away.
The following two sequences cut between each other rapidly.
1. Grant enters the barn with two Dark Army soldiers. Everyone stands. Grant says that he has reviewed Stage 3, which Elliot admits that it is bullshit. Now that they can talk honestly. Elliot demands Dominique and Darlene to let go free. He admits to taking over the entire Dark Army network with infected malware. Everything will be released. Grant laughs, calling it impossible. Elliot notes that seven days ago, the Russians bribed the Dark Army to hack the DNC. The Dark Army has also recently installed the backdoors into South Korea's military and helped Phillip Price annex the Congo for China. Elliot threatens him that one of them die, it all leaks. Grant notes that can survive the leaks.
A soldier forces Darlene to kneel. Elliot claims that he can help move the project to the Congo. Leon is texting. The soldiers puts the gun to Darlene's head. Elliot is restrained He looks up into the Whiterose's camera. Grant dismisses him as one person against an army. Elliot declares that he is better, touting him on what he did in one night to take down E-Corp vs. what they tried months to do. He is forced to kneel. Elliot pleads. Grant says that he's sorry. Elliot looks at Darlene. Grant raise his gun to Elliot. Leon kills the three Dark Army soldiers. He has Grant to answer a phone call.
The Whiterose is in the bathtub. She tells Grant that jealousy has blinded him. Grant says that Elliot is lying. The Whiterose promises to find him when the project complete. Their time has come to an end. She tells him that she loves him. Grant drops the phone. He speaks Mandarin to Elliot, telling him to "take care of her" and shoots himself in the head. Leon takes out a computer and has Elliot come through on his offer and brings out a laptop. Elliot hacks the Coast Guard so that an international aid shipment to Iran can transport the project. Leon warns him on what will happen if it doesn't go through, although reminding him, he has faith in him. Mr. Robot asks what will they do now. Undo the hack, Elliot says.
2. Angela is sitting on a bench at the luxurious estate when Phillip walks up to her. She wants to leave, claiming that she wouldn't have come here if she knew on who was taking her. Phillip explains that she hadn't been to work in weeks and that he had to intervene. Angela wants to be with the Whiterose, to which Phillip says that he knows about her delusional plan. Phillip had Colby hire her and drop the contingency in the Washington Township lawsuit. Else, the Whiterose would have simply killed Angela and the families involved. He goes on to reveal that he had met her mother Emily 32 years ago. They dated. He loved her, but never told her, so as to torture her and make himself feel strong.
When Emily found out that she was pregnant, she wouldn't allow her child to be raised by a monster. Emily then married Angela's "father". He laments on what the Whiterose has done to Angela, claiming that the plan is not possible, simply a denial of reality. The Whiterose murdered countless people for a fantasy. Angela doesn't believe him, asserting that he is lying. Phillip says "I am your father" biologically speaking. Angela cries over the bombings and her role. Angela wants to know why. Pettiness, Phillip explains, a dig at him. Angela doesn't want to believe that it's over, rather that her mom will come back and they can be reunited. Phillip begins to walk away. Angela asks on what he is going to do to her. Retribution. When she wants to help, Phillip says that she can only accept that she's been conned and to find a way to live with what she did.
Dominique and Elliot get into the car. It's a little after 2:30PM. She logs into Sentinel, saying that she's not doing it for him. She gets out of the car. Darlene wants to talk to her. Dominique calls her a terrible person who deserves agony having to been taken everything from Dominique and ruining her life. She tells Darlene to live and die with that.
Darlene gets in the car with Elliot. He decrypts the file, only to find Romero was just spying. Someone else was also exporting the key data to reverse 5/9. Darlene wonders who did it.
The Aldersons are riding the subway as the soldiers are announcing 9PM curfew. Darlene asks Elliot on why he recently brought up the snowman they built. Elliot notes that it was the day that their father pushed him out of the window. Darlene is alarmed, disputing it. She explains that he was looking for the camera when he started freaking out. Edward came home and Elliot snapped and started swinging the baseball bat. Elliot doesn't believe in it, but Darlene insists that she remembers. Elliot said that he was going to jump out of the window and then he did. Elliot says that he doesn't remember any of it, to which she says that she's there to remember for him. At their stop, Elliot wants to ride a little longer and promises to get it done. As she leaves, she notes that Shama must've sent that email to him because she trusted him, as she does.
Elliot is alone in the subway car when Mr. Robot arrives and sit across from behind him. Elliot tells him to come with him at the next stop.
They are sitting on a bench at the stop where they first had their conversation (“eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”). Elliot says that Mr. Robot has exported the keys and asks why. He says on what the hack has done is close to success. He doesn't want everything to be for nothing, a huge cost he still believes in. Elliot says not that they would have won. Mr. Robot questions if it will help anything? Elliot admits that he's doing it for himself, that he can't live with what he did. He says that Mr. Robot is wrong, they won't win. One good thing came from all of this: they showed themselves, the top 1% of the 1%. Elliot's gonna take them down: all of them. Mr. Robot wants to keep talking and be a team. He admits that he can't force him, so he's asking. Elliot notes that he wasn't pushed out of the window, but he jumped.
A small gathering watches a TV in a store window, the scene from Superman the Movie where Superman goes back in time. Elliot walks past the crowd, a street preacher, a line of people waiting for food. He thinks of on what Mr. Robot just told him in the subway. He sent the backup data in case if they were wrong or that they failed. It's what Elliot would've done, admitting that there's a part of Elliot in Mr. Robot. He doesn't exist to be an independent agent. Only Elliot knows on why he's here. Mr. Robot transferred the keys to the computer at home and burned it into a CD. The seed data is in one of the family picture. Elliot will know the one, where he and his dad Edward dressed up as Doc and Marty McFly for Halloween. It will restore E-Corp's data. It is 8:24 PM. Elliot prepares an email to the E-Corp recovery team. Subject: "Key to decrypt". From the address: Falkensmaze. Elliot hits the send button.
Post credits: A car drives down the street. It almost hits Darlene and a prostitute she's talking to at the crosswalk. On the sidewalk, they're talking about the economic crisis hitting everybody hard. Darlene says that things are gonna change and get better. The woman mentions that the US is preparing to attack Iran. E-Corp might get their data back, including her student loan. The economy doesn't just bounce back, she contends, that's not how capitalism works. She suggests that Darlene brush up on Marx. The only thing that can fix it all is an act of God. They arrive outside of Elliot's apartment, Darlene saying that she was glad they met tonight. The car parks across the street, causing the prostitute to avoid them and later leaving. A group of four men emerge and approach Darlene. She asks if she can help them, sarcastically. The leader talks about the North star, the cosmos and his dark mind. The brave traveler has come home. It is Fernando Vera.