Mr. Robot did an amazing job of making a “modern day” cyberpunk story. It takes place in the real world yet has everything you would want from a cyberpunk show. But even with how amazing it was, I don’t know if I could re-visit the show after watching it when it was new.

Part of the problem (for me) is it feels so firmly rooted in the era when it was made. The show went to great lengths to show hacks that were valid at the time of the show, which is amazing attention to detail, but other things make it feel dated to me. I remember it had multiple news reports showing Obama as the current president. Also, when that Ashley Madison hack happened, they were able to fit it into a storyline in that next week’s episode. But this many years removed, who even remembers that the Ashley Madison hack was a real event? I feel like parts of the show will be lost by watching it out of context.

Another problem (again, just for me) is the subsequent seasons focused more on Elliot’s mental health and other character drama than the cyberpunk world happening around them. Season 1 was incredible, everything I wanted. But by season 4, society falling into a cyberpunk dystopia was just the background for the inter-personal drama happening. I stuck with the show because the writing and acting truly was great, but I also held out hope that there would be more hacking and general cyberpunk “feel” in the next episode. I think I’d struggle through those seasons now, knowing those things don’t come back.

Am I being too harsh? The show isn’t bad by any means, it’s incredible. But I think if I watched it now, wanting a cyberpunk show, I would be disappointed. Because really, only the first season felt cyberpunk to me. All the pieces were there in the later seasons, but the show’s focus moved elsewhere.

If you’ve never seen Mr. Robot, here’s a quick trailer. Also, the entire series is streaming on Amazon Prime.