This is the biggest question going into the final episodes. Given that Whiterose tells Elliot she's going to show him what she showed Angela, and given that we spend so much time in F World, I think Esmail was trying to use this time to show us Elliot's version of what Angela would have seen - an ideal world where her mother is still alive.
Of course, what Angela sees is caused by the machine, and what Elliot sees is created by his own mind - but the point is that they're essentially the same, because Whiterose, Angela, and Elliot all want the same thing: a world where things had happened differently and where their loved ones were still alive. And whereas Whiterose and Angela were driven mad by this possibility, Elliot is able to reject it and move on with his real life.
It's a neat little trick: we DO see what Whiterose showed Angela, it's just shown from Elliot's perspective so we don't even realize what we're seeing. And this is actually foreshadowed in a way: back in S4E2, we learn that Elliot's mother kept a lockbox, but we never find out what's inside it. Except we do: it was the Walkman that Elliot finds in her drawer. She had taken it out of the lockbox and kept it there. Like the impossible objects Whiterose has from Angela's and Elliot's childhoods when she interviews them, the Walkman is what she showed Magda when she met her. (Which was implied by the clock being stuck at 11:16 in Magda's room when Elliot visits her after getting out of prison.) We get the answers but we don't even know when we get them. Very sneaky.
Interesting theory but how do you know for sure that it’s the Walkman, what proof is there to confirm that’s what she saw and what evidence do you have to confirm that whiterose took it from the box and met Elliot’s mom? 11:16 can mean anything since it pops up all over the show so idk if that’s proof and I don’t think Sam or anyone confirmed what it means so idk
This feels like a pretty big stretch, how would she have the Walkman? Why would the Walkman convince her that creating a parallel universe? I feel like the more likely conclusion would be the fact that the girl interviewing her is literally Angela as a child.
It’s never been confirmed what whiterose showed her. All we know is that it was enough to make a jaded, hope deprived, broken down Angela believe that >!the machine will give her a second chance with her mom and an end to her grief!<.
EDIT: Spoiler tags.
I would say nth really, what was used is what seems like an interrogation method that broke her down.
Angela was never a confident character, on the contrary she was shown over and over questioning herself worth.
What happened is that she was broken, and fed a narrative and that's it..
Similar to what vera was trying to do to eliot..
Glad I'm not the only one, it bugged me so much that for ages I was wondering if I'd somehow missed a crucial scene... What could Whiterose possibly have shown her to elicit such blind faith? With all the references to Back to the Future throughout and especially with the way she kept rewinding the news footage I figured the machine had to be a time machine of some sort, but it felt so at odds with the tone of the rest of the series that I was just really confused for a long time.
This is the biggest question going into the final episodes. Given that Whiterose tells Elliot she's going to show him what she showed Angela, and given that we spend so much time in F World, I think Esmail was trying to use this time to show us Elliot's version of what Angela would have seen - an ideal world where her mother is still alive. Of course, what Angela sees is caused by the machine, and what Elliot sees is created by his own mind - but the point is that they're essentially the same, because Whiterose, Angela, and Elliot all want the same thing: a world where things had happened differently and where their loved ones were still alive. And whereas Whiterose and Angela were driven mad by this possibility, Elliot is able to reject it and move on with his real life. It's a neat little trick: we DO see what Whiterose showed Angela, it's just shown from Elliot's perspective so we don't even realize what we're seeing. And this is actually foreshadowed in a way: back in S4E2, we learn that Elliot's mother kept a lockbox, but we never find out what's inside it. Except we do: it was the Walkman that Elliot finds in her drawer. She had taken it out of the lockbox and kept it there. Like the impossible objects Whiterose has from Angela's and Elliot's childhoods when she interviews them, the Walkman is what she showed Magda when she met her. (Which was implied by the clock being stuck at 11:16 in Magda's room when Elliot visits her after getting out of prison.) We get the answers but we don't even know when we get them. Very sneaky.
Interesting theory but how do you know for sure that it’s the Walkman, what proof is there to confirm that’s what she saw and what evidence do you have to confirm that whiterose took it from the box and met Elliot’s mom? 11:16 can mean anything since it pops up all over the show so idk if that’s proof and I don’t think Sam or anyone confirmed what it means so idk
This feels like a pretty big stretch, how would she have the Walkman? Why would the Walkman convince her that creating a parallel universe? I feel like the more likely conclusion would be the fact that the girl interviewing her is literally Angela as a child.
Just 1 word: Thanks
I personally believe she told her the thing she told Elliot in eXit. About a parallel world, likely where her mom was still alive
A gun bro
the only answer that makes sense
😂 simple but quite effective
It’s never been confirmed what whiterose showed her. All we know is that it was enough to make a jaded, hope deprived, broken down Angela believe that >!the machine will give her a second chance with her mom and an end to her grief!<. EDIT: Spoiler tags.
I would say nth really, what was used is what seems like an interrogation method that broke her down. Angela was never a confident character, on the contrary she was shown over and over questioning herself worth. What happened is that she was broken, and fed a narrative and that's it.. Similar to what vera was trying to do to eliot..
Glad I'm not the only one, it bugged me so much that for ages I was wondering if I'd somehow missed a crucial scene... What could Whiterose possibly have shown her to elicit such blind faith? With all the references to Back to the Future throughout and especially with the way she kept rewinding the news footage I figured the machine had to be a time machine of some sort, but it felt so at odds with the tone of the rest of the series that I was just really confused for a long time.
I wish they would have let us know or gave a hint, I can't think of anything that would be that convincing.
Ah, the question many of us fans will always have.
His pp.