Explaining 'Mr. Robot's' Dialogue-Free Episode

The latest episode of the hit USA show “Mr. Robot” didn’t feature a single line of spoken dialogue, save for some opening and closing words, and the main form of communication between characters as they conveyed important information taking place via text messages.

For this episode, writer/director Sam Esmail followed the season four pattern of naming each entry after computer client errors, and much like how "404 Not Found" showed Elliot (Remi Malek) and Tyrell (Martin Wallström) being lost in the forest, "405 Method Not Allowed," also related heavily to the action that unfolded on screen.

As The AV Club pointed out, this most recent episode saw the main characters not allowed to use the most basic method of conveying information during a critical moment. It’s a heist where communication is key and all they have at their disposal are cell phones and computers.

While it’s possible these formats were pre-determined by each episode's titles, showrunner Sam Esmail opened up about this episode while talking to Hollywood Reporter, indicating that this particular episode may have happened more organically.

“When we started breaking the episode, we knew this was going to be the big hack on Virtual Realty. We started realizing as we started working through Elliot and Darlene's storyline that they had to be very quiet,” he told the publication.

Esmail determined that the episodes didn’t start with stipulation and they were rather looking for the most emotional way to convey the character’s journey’s in this episode. Those aforementioned opening and closing words were the only spoken words in the entire episode. In the beginning, Darlene tells Elliot “we don’t have to talk.”

“We thought there would be a frigid nature between the two of them, where they go, do this hack, and let it be all about business. That felt right to us, emotionally, that there was a silent treatment they'd be giving each other," Esmail explained about not only their decision to remain quiet but the character’s relationship.

The second line spoken in this episode happens near the end. Fernando Vera (Elliot Villar) approaches Krista (Gloria Reuben) and tells her that "It's time we talk." Putting these two spoken lines side by side and they obviously serve as bookends to the silent episode, essentially saying “Stop” and “Go.” Aside from that, they serve the purpose of challenging a brother and sister’s relationship, as well as ending with an edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger.

As for what Fernando will say to Krista, we’ll have to see in “406 Not Acceptable.”