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 0.681 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
A car salesman named Irving (Bobby Cannavale) argues with a cashier at a restaurant, when he receives a call.
He gets to the Dark Army building, revealing that the caller was Tyrell (Martin Wallström), panicked that Elliot (Rami Malek) could die from his wounds.
At a power plant, Zhang (BD Wong) states that Elliot will die once his duties end for the Dark Army.
As the city is suffering a blackout, Darlene takes Elliot to an underground hacker tournament with fiber connections in order to close the backdoor on E Corp.
'Power-save-mode' may be a reference to Angela, but it fits the episode itself, the show turning away from tumbling any further down the rabbit hole, instead hitting pause on the intrigue and pulling back from the radical nature of its story.
"[5] Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote, "We'll have to wait to find out what it all means, but this was a very promising start, from Irving's introduction to the way Daft Punk's 'Touch' carried us through the closing minutes.
There's a reason why the blackout plays such an integral role in the premiere; this is an episode about power, be it electrical, financial, or mental.
"[7] Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "it's a promising start to a new season, and the surprises lying in wait have us excited.
"[8] Vikram Murthi of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "In short, this is a promising premiere that suggests a steadier, more absorbing season going forward.
"[9] Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It can be hard to glean just exactly what Mr.