The poster to the left is probably the coolest I've found, but I'm not sure if it quite captures the earnest nihilism of the series. The main character, though sympathetic, strikes me as someone very young. Elliot seems to be forever trapped in a teenager's angsty spiral, raging against the lack of individuality he sees in other people. If there's one ray of hope in him, it's in that he seems to believe people are not to blame for their tedium. To him, people refuse to see that they have no true freedom because it would be too painful, thus they anesthetize themselves with meaningless "choices" (Pepsi or Coke? McDonald's or Burger King? Blue Cross or Blue Shield?).
I know. You've probably heard the exact same argument verbatim from several teenagers. But like I said, the show is juvenile. Google tells me this actor (Rami Malek) is thirty-four, but he's got the disillusioned twenty-something flair going like an art student getting kicked out of a frat party for bringing everybody down with pseudo-intellectual Nietzsche quotes. Though in all fairness to him, I haven't caught him literally quoting Nietzsche yet.
It might sound like I don't like him, but I wouldn't still be watching if I didn't. This character is designed to be likable. He exposes a tor pedophile with his mad hacking skillz in his very first scene. He stands up for the pretty girl he worships from a semi-distance when a creepy sexist executive type shuts her out of a business meeting. He rescues a dog from its abusive owner. He chases away his therapist's cheating douchebag boyfriend. He turns in his drug dealer when the bastard rapes the girl who'd been providing him drugs even though it means he has to go through withdrawal.
So how can I not like him just because he goes on tedious rant after tedious rant every episode? He's a hero.
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