R.I.P. Cisco. You weren't a huge character, but I liked you.
So the "Phase 2" concocted up by Mr. Robot, Tyrell, and Whiterose is the destruction of a facility containing all of E Corp's paper records, via malware in the battery room allowing them to start up a sequence that should blow the whole place to pieces -- along with all of the workers inside. The killing blow to E Corp, logically. Another Fight Club inspiration, but like the rest, it fits. I must've missed how the rolling blackouts tie in, because I watched it at a few hours past midnight, but I know they mentioned something. A lot of it is evidently left up to some degree of interpretation, since this whole season's been styled like a puzzle box for viewers to think through.
The best part about the way they bring it the climax to a close is how it twists the expected yet again. A lot of people were theorizing that Tyrell has just been another layer of Elliot hallucinating -- turns out Elliot thought so too, and he's convicted enough in the belief that he can take back control that he ignores the threats of a tearful, gun-waving psychopath. He thinks the gun is in his hand, as it so famously was in Edward Norton's. And thus, finally gaining some confidence in his belief, he gets shot in the gut for his trouble. And the specter of Mr. Robot vanishes, in a way that makes me concerned for whether Christian Slater will get to reprise his role. That was fucking painful to watch, even though I saw it coming the moment Tyrell brought the gun out.
At least they immediately brush off the idea of Elliot possibly dying in the next scene, confirming that he'll wake up. The series has been accused of relying too heavily on soap opera cliffhangers, and in a year that dropped the travesty that was The Walking Dead's Negan kill into our laps, it was a breath of fresh air to have them not play coy. Instead, the big shocker is that... Angela is in cahoots with Tyrell, to some degree?! I GUESS?!?! I'm probably seriously misunderstanding that scene, again because I'm tired.
And then we get to a disguised Mobley and Trenton sucking down Jamba Juice at a portside restaurant, talking about an idea they have to undo all of the damage they caused. And theeeeeen motherfuckin' Leon walks up and asks if they have the time. Oh, Sam Esmail, you tease me. I already couldn't have been more excited.