It’s the month of February and the Season Three premier is still a long ways away. However, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and we here at Mr. Robot Hacks feel that it’s only fair that we keep up with the theme.

Despite the show’s nihilistic tone, it does tend to display love occasionally, specifically in the form of relationships between the ensemble group of characters – be it familial (Elliot’s odd relationship with Mr. Robot or Darlene) or perhaps “brotherly” (in the case of Elliot and Tyrell). There’s also quite a few pairings on the show – often with tragic consequences or in the classic unresolved sexual tension vein.

So without any further delays or exposition, let’s get on with the list, shall we?

Gideon and Harry

As early as the pilot, Gideon comes clean that he’s gay (to Elliot of all people) and not too long after, he already has his employees over at dinner meeting his husband, Harry Davis. We didn’t get to see much of Harry and in fact, after Gideon’s demise, we haven’t heard from him or seen his reaction. But in the very few screen time he received, we got to see how he complemented Gideon’s tough veneer with some light hearted fragility, putting the “breakfast in bed” cliché in a different light.

Elliot and Shayla

It’s hard to form a solid opinion on this pairing considering that it was squashed before it even got off that far. Doesn’t seem like she was “Poochied” too. That flashback to their first meeting though, admittedly, was heartwarming.

 

 

Angela and Phillip Price

Nothing against May-December romances (whether existing or imagined), but we’re definitely reaching here. We don’t know exactly what’s going on and if anything, it’s most likely one-sided rather than mutual – and largely on Mr. Price’s part as there have been no indication that Angela feels the same way, although she does sleep around without any age bias. Either way, it’s just odd on how he approaches and talks to Angela when they have those couch conversations, capped off with that invitation to celebrate his birthday.

Darlene and Cisco

The textbook example of the weird magnetic bond that love makes. Not because of the intercourse scenes the two find themselves in, but the touching makeup diner date they shared just mere hours after Darlene cracked her boyfriend’s skull in with a bat. It’s just unfortunate that it had to end via gunfire at the hands of his East Asian partners.

 

Tyrell and Joanna

An odd couple to the letter – Joanna is a willingly complicit to her husband’s affairs (of both genders) in their shared pursuit of power, in ways that make House of Cards look like a WB program. As of Season Two, it appears that Joanna’s side of furthering their interests is on the way too, orchestrating the possible downfall of the other half of the Knowles family tree.

Elliot and Angela

And saving the best and hotly-debated pairing for last is the classic “Will they or won’t they?” ‘couple’ that is Angela and Elliot – a fact even lampshaded by his father. Several routine “Back To The Future” movie dates and almost-kisses later, they finally locked lips – but are they truly on? Hard to tell. Stay tuned!