The series follows Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, who is recruited by an insurrectionary anarchist known as "Mr.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.652 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Talking with Darlene (Carly Chaikin), she concludes that she and Elliot came up with the fsociety masks based on a movie they watched many years ago.
During a hearing where the United States Congress will decide on Price's bailout vote, fsociety interrupts the event by throwing a part of the Charging Bull.
Derek (Chris Conroy) decides to end his relationship with Joanna (Stephanie Corneliussen) when she doesn't show up for his birthday party.
Angela settles the E Corp v Washington Township lawsuit, and through Price (Michael Cristofer), she is reassigned to the Risk Management division.
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.
"[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.
"[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.
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.