That makes sense because of the way you handled the Mr. Robot reveal, which had the tone of saying “We know you guessed this.” Did you figure people would pick up on that right away?
Not only was I predicting it, we were basically telling everyone throughout the season. For me, it was about you empathizing with Elliot, being in Elliot’s mentality. That was one of my biggest goals for the first season, that you got inside his brain, so that when the reveal happened, it had nothing to do with you being shocked. It had to do with you being in Elliot’s shoes when he finally realizes what’s going on and that you get the emotional resonance that Elliot gets in that moment. That was our whole goal. I know a lot of people wanted the shocker — and perhaps the Darlene twist in the episode before satisfied that itch — but for us, that moment with Mr. Robot was strictly about the audience and Elliot aligning. I actually think now that we’ve gotten past that, it’s freeing. Now we can deal with the consequences of that. Knowing this, what are we going to do with Elliot and Mr. Robot? That’s where I think the interesting stuff starts coming up.
Were you trying to communicate that to the audience by using “Where Is My Mind”?
I’ll say this right now. I rip off of every movie and TV show I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m a film nerd. That’s what I did growing up. Other than being on the computer, I was watching TV and movies. I make no apologies. Fight Club was one of my big inspirations for the show. I think the nod or the acknowledgement with “Where Is My Mind” at the end of episode 9 was, yes, in part letting the audience know that we’re very much aware that Fight Club was an inspiration, but at the same time, we make no apologies about it. We own it. The thing is that by doing that, by making that bold choice, I think we open ourselves up to the criticism of being derivative, and that’s the challenge I take. I think we’re incredibly original, despite the fact that we borrow so much from so American Psycho, Taxi Driver, and Clockwork Orange. The list goes on and on. It was an unapologetic homage/nod/acknowledgement to the audience that Fight Club was one of our inspirations.