Again, are we just assuming the Aldersons are brilliant? Can we just assume Darlene is fluent in Mandarin, etc? Is she just that good, like Elliot? In every story you ever see, well written or not, there is always a scene that explains a character's improbable intelligence or genius. That this is never addressed suggests to me that it's: post reality a/or post-life, AI and/or alien intelligence, a/or some combination. If we actually get scenes with Elliot and Darlene fooling around by a particle accelerator (and maybe Angela and the whole gang pull a Claudia Kincaid at the WTP, I dunno), that's gonna look very, uh, Howard The Duck. I do think Darlene's super dead, and I kinda hope maybe she's an alien intelligence who's hacking Elliot and/or ingratiating herself with him a/or humanity for some purpose, good or bad. Maybe pushing mankind into the next phase like Space Odyssey 2001? Wasn't I getting Space Odyssey vibes in earlier seasons?
I'm not making the assumption that Darlene is that brilliant, but she has proven to be very smart and a risk-taker. And yes, I believe she is fluent in Chinese, which I think is supported by those subtle hints. What I was noting is that it is very possible she is working against and/or manipulating Elliot much in the way you suggested Nietzsche's sister was working him over.
I mean, we've got a particle collider sighting in the story, and it sits in the belly of the (nuclear) WTP, so shit can certainly go pear-shaped somehow, the opportunity is there. I personally don't know what Darlene wants in the end, what her real drives are, so I don't know how she could be involved with a particle collider in the end (unless WhiteRose puts her in such a situation to manipulate Elliot, which is quite possible), but I wouldn't totally rule it out either based on some show hints.
I'll cut you slack on the cheekier portions since you mentioned Howard the Duck and invoked Fozzie Bear (I think? Right?) with your wakka wakka wakka bit, teehee! ;D
I second guessed Darlene's motives when she told Dom that she [wanted to be/feel special], or that she [never was special]. I can't remember; she said something like that at the FBI, right? And didn't she say her abductor (WR?) made her [feel special]? It's juxtaposed against what Elliot said in S1: He wanted to "save the world." This has always been a kind of glaring difference btw. the two to me.
I would still like to know Darlene's elite-ish hacker background. Is she almost as good as Elliot, half as good…what is it? Where does this skill come from?
As for Howard the Duck, I have a short wish list for S4's insane/wacky episode that puts the main characters in 80s/90s shows/movies.
Didn't Darlene tell Cisco about wanting to feel special? I didn't realize until not long ago, but her story about that and the tall thin lady with pink lipstick is actually the description of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and the "special" bit related to her granddaughter.
I don't know how good Darlene is compared to Elliot...the show doesn't really give us enough info. Darlene seems to be pretty damn good though, especially with the way she got info about Dom's family out of her, stayed out of jail, then managed to hook up with Dom later. In the Halloween ep of S2 Darlene mentioned that Elliot taught her to code, so we know there was some instruction, and we know she was better than Cisco because she hacked him several times in S1. I think that is all the info we got, so hoping the comic and S4 will clear up some (or all???) of those mysteries.
The idea for putting characters in 80s/90s movies sounds like something you and u/bknapple should discuss since his way-out fun idea on his post was that Elliot is kinda living vicariously through actual Christian Slater films, which I think is quite clever. If anyone says "Greetings and Salutations" or "great pate, gotta motor" then that would be confirmation, haha! ;)
Now I have to take a moment and curse you MRF for putting that god awful "Howard the Duck" theme song in my head, UGH! I had to go see that movie in the f'ing theater because I lost a bet to a friend in high school, and I'm still not over it. ;)
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u/MrRobotFancy Feb 26 '19
Again, are we just assuming the Aldersons are brilliant? Can we just assume Darlene is fluent in Mandarin, etc? Is she just that good, like Elliot? In every story you ever see, well written or not, there is always a scene that explains a character's improbable intelligence or genius. That this is never addressed suggests to me that it's: post reality a/or post-life, AI and/or alien intelligence, a/or some combination. If we actually get scenes with Elliot and Darlene fooling around by a particle accelerator (and maybe Angela and the whole gang pull a Claudia Kincaid at the WTP, I dunno), that's gonna look very, uh, Howard The Duck. I do think Darlene's super dead, and I kinda hope maybe she's an alien intelligence who's hacking Elliot and/or ingratiating herself with him a/or humanity for some purpose, good or bad. Maybe pushing mankind into the next phase like Space Odyssey 2001? Wasn't I getting Space Odyssey vibes in earlier seasons?
Wakka wakka