Mr. Robot is known for foreshadowing its season-defining twists. By the time that Mr. Robot's true identity was revealed in Season 1, it was already well telegraphed that he was only inside Elliot's head. Similarly, Season 2's prison twist was hinted at long before the reveal. The Mr. Robot Season 3 twist guessing game is on, and some fans are convinced that they've already guessed what the turning point will be. A popular fan theory is claiming that Darlene will die in a plane crash before Mr. Robot Season 3 has completed.
While the death of a major character may not be as earth-shattering as some of the other Mr. Robot theories regarding Season 3 that are going around, the loss of Darlene would be a major blow to the series and its central character. As it stands, Darlene seems to be the only person currently interested in Elliot for being Elliot and not for the mastermind Mr. Robot side of his personality. Her death would likely have a major impact on her brother – even moreso than Darlene revealing to him that she's been working alongside the FBI. But why is this fan theory centered around something as specific as a plane crash?
The theory originated on the r/MrRobot subreddit, and is credited to user signsandwonders who has been posting about the theory regularly over the course of Season 3 as the theory has gained traction among fans. Much of the basis for the theory comes from Darlene having been featured in scenes with planes in the background, multiple times throughout the series. The Reddit user highlights the scene in which Darlene is visiting Trenton as Trenton's sibling plays with a toy plane and the scene where she has an anxiety attack in a bathroom with a prominent picture of a plane featured behind her.
But there's more than just plane imagery to support this guess. Darlene has been a part of some suspicious-sounding conversations in Season 3. Dom's boss informs Darlene that she's "a flight risk," and Darlene herself states that she's going to "crash with a friend up state." The theory was already picking up plenty of speed before Season 3 episode "eps3.3_metadata.par2," featured a scene in which Darlene is looking up flights to Budapest. It's possible that something will go wrong with this flight — perhaps Darlene will successfully fake her own death and escape the FBI's clutches. Or, perhaps The Dark Army will use their power to crash the plane and eliminate the last person that likes Elliot better when he's not planning terrorist attacks. Whatever the method, fans seem convinced that Darlene is not long for this world.
Of course, the most important part of any good Mr. Robot twist isn't the twist itself. The questions that fans are concerning themselves with is, what would this mean for the series? Angela and Darlene were, for most of the series, Elliot's lifeline. Even when Elliot didn't know that Darlene was his sister, she was readily looking out for him and taking care of him. In Season 3, Elliot learns that his childhood best friend is betraying him by working alongside Mr. Robot — who is also him. Darlene also betrayed Elliot by working with the FBI, but not all is lost for these hacker siblings. Of course, Elliot won't be able to repair their relationship if she's killed.
If Elliot loses Darlene, it would be the single most traumatic thing to happen to him since the beginning of the series (aside from being responsible for the downfall of the American economy.) Elliot has lost people has has cared about before, but losing Darlene could prove to be more than he can handle. Elliot has always been unsettled, but losing his sister could push him to do something truly drastic — as himself, not as Mr. Robot. Luckily, there's still a chance that Darlene will make it out of Season 3 alive, but maybe only if she avoid air travel at all costs.
