Well I just binge watched episodes 3-10...it's 7AM, and I need to work in a few hours.
It's interesting that another poster mentioned Samsung and there are arguments about how conglomerates like E Corp cannot actually exist. In Korea, Samsung is the most powerful of Chaebols, a conglomerate that vertically and horizontally integrates into everything just like E Corp. We see it as the brand name on our smart phones and televisions but in reality, they are involved in everything from said electronics to apparel, food, medical supplies, banking, oil & gas, and even theme parks. It's the same way in Japan with organizations called Keiretsu.
E Corp was definitely patterned after Enron (the creators even say the logo was inspired by Enron). There's also an interesting parallel in terms of the recent Volkswagon scandal that illustrates the deliberate/calculated corporate malfeasance that this show is trying to illustrate. I find that to be one of its strongest themes - to show how seemingly ordinary men can have extraordinarily calculated and "evil" thoughts behind their exterior. That's even true of all the common folk as Elliot speaks of wishing to be able to view their source code and see all the thoughts and behaviors they hide from everyone else.
I still find problems with the show but am still moved by the lengths by which it goes to show that hackers mostly hack by social engineering and not by some ridiculous key-stroke kung-fu. Interestingly, I pretty much guessed right away that Mr. Robot was a fight-club imagining in the early moment when Christian Slater appeared in AllSafe's office and nobody cared or noticed. This however, led to be being later bothered that Elliot was able to walk right through E Corp's offices in the finale when in search of Tyrell. Everybody who works in a corporate office knows they are highly locked and controlled.
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