eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme

In August 2016, USA Network announced that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme". The episode was written and directed by series creator Sam Esmail. This was Esmail's tenth writing credit, and tenth directing credit.[1]

In its original American broadcast, "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme" was seen by an estimated 0.652 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[2] This was a 13% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 0.572 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

"eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme" received extremely positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 84% approval rating for the episode, based on 19 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The final moments of 'h4ndshake.sme' make a significant reveal, yet it's the carefully drawn characters and their allegorical relations that continue to be the most important constant in the show."[4]

Matt Fowler of IGN wrote, "I'm looking forward, in the next few weeks, for more light to be shed on Elliot's half-season story. Season 2, with Elliot off to the side and some notably longer and self-indulgent episodes, hasn't quite reached the heights we were hoping for heading in. Now though, we've got a "handshake" between Elliot and Mr. Robot - and one between Elliot and us viewers as well - indicating that he's ready to take the reins on the 5/9 aftercare."[5]

Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "What makes 'h4ndshake.sme' such a beautiful episode of Mr. Robot isn't the big reveals, or the profound allegorical relations between characters, or even the virtuoso use of music this week. It was the return of Elliot's relationship with us, the unseen, unnamed passenger in this story. We have a role to play, but when Elliot lost his faith in us, it shook our connection to him. It threw cold water on that ineffable trust that bound us to him, and made us even more uncertain than we already were about what was happening onscreen."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote, "So, as Redditors and other fans have been theorizing since the season 2 premiere, Elliot wasn't staying with his mother in Jersey, but has been locked up in prison. The basketball court was the rec yard, the diner where he and Leon discussed Seinfeld was the cafeteria, his 'mother' was actually a stern female guard, etc. More is still to come about why Elliot was locked up, the exact nature of Ray's position in the prison and his business, etc., but the broad strokes are all consistent with the big fan theory."[7] Kyle Fowle of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Look, there's no way to dance around this. After weeks of mystery and ambiguity, Mr. Robot has finally pulled the trigger on a big reveal, and from the looks of it, the fan theories were wrong but not too far off. Some have posited that Elliot has been spending this season in a psychiatric hospital, but as it turns out, he's been in prison. It's all explained in tonight's final shots and it changes everything that came before. Well, it might not change the plot, but it changes our understanding of every single Elliot scene this season."[8]

Jay Bushman of IndieWire gave the episode a "C+" grade and wrote, "Last year, it was the hammer blow that Darlene was Elliot's sister; now we learn that Leon is actually working for Whiterose and the Dark Army. But the surprises are not nearly as effective this time around. On the bright side, this episode brings a sense of relief — having Elliot off by himself for the first half of the season has dulled the forward momentum of the storytelling, and while it continues to use pyrotechnics to distract from that, that strategy is wearing thin."[9] Genevieve Koski of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The final, slightly off-center shot of Elliot staring vacuously into the camera and asking if he and the audience can 'shake' on a new trust is entirely Esmail, and that still means something. Like Elliot, Esmail has too much courage, which can lead to errors in judgment. But, by God, the courage is something to watch."[10]

Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Handshake' is the first episode of Mr. Robot to force me to step back and take stock of the 'villains' presented thus far. And upon examination, they're more varied and fascinating that I had realized. Mr. Robot exists in a morally gray universe. This does not make it unique amongst television shows or even reality itself. What's interesting, however, is every character's dogged belief that they, themselves are heroes... despite all evidence to the contrary."[11] Caralynn Lippo of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.25 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "I can't say that I'm surprised by the twist revealed in the closing moments of [the episode]. There have been many hints towards that end all season. That said, I do think that the twist was revealed perfectly – once again proving that it's the execution, not the twist itself, which keeps us all tuned in to this series."[12]