Warning: major spoilers for episode seven of Mr. Robot, eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme, ahead.
Season two of Mr. Robot has abounded with fan theories, one of the most prevalent of which had Elliot living in a mental institution or jail. Either way, most fans of the show were quite certain he was not living with his mother.
Tonight the show revealed that he has, in fact, been in prison this whole time. He was hiding it from the friend he talks to in his head, although he purports to have been aware of this fact all along. This definitely explains why the police and FBI didn't detain him after he called the cops to raid Ray's house earlier in the episode.
Now the question becomes: why is he in prison? Is it for killing Tyrell, which Mr. Robot reveals to Elliot they did that night at fsociety? Did he take the fall as the sole architect of 5-9? Could it be possible that Elliot is talking to his friend from the future while all the other character's timelines are happening in the past, so he's serving the time for a crime Dom and the FBI are still trying to solve in everyone else's world? Or is Elliot not telling the whole truth yet and there are other crimes we (and possibly he) don't know he's committed?
Control is an illusion, but on this show the question of what exactly is the truth is still unclear.
No more lies. Promise. #MrRobot pic.twitter.com/0DKupwlLS9
— Mr. Robot (@whoismrrobot) August 18, 2016