If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Richard ponders a deal with the tech world’s latest “it”boy; Jack faces setbacks. (HBO)
Writers: Graham Wagner and Rachele Lynn
Director: Jamie Babbit
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 29mins
The episode starts off with Erlich getting himself comfortable at Bream Hall. Things got even better for him when he learned that the Feldspar deal had a clause connecting him to the deal. It was also unseasonably cold for California which reaped havoc on everyone.
They could no longer afford to store all of Melcher’s data on their servers, leading everyone to declare that Richard was cursed and that may very well be true in typical Richard fashion. To cover their costs, they thought to find another client so Richard asked Erlich for a deal with Feldspar.
Now the Keenan Vortex came when the other guys were sucked in by Feldspar and his VR demo and interrupted Richard’s pitch. Richard was not a VR guy but when he was pressured to try it, he puked accordingly. Gilfoyle and Dinesh stayed for the weekend and started acting strangely. When Richard returned, he learned that they improved his demo by putting his algorithm into Feldspar’s technology.
Feldspar also presented him with an acquisition offer for Pied Piper, making Richard even more jealous. Richard did not want to take the offer but he almost didn’t have a choice if he wanted to keep his team together. Richard countered with a higher number of 25 million dollars to not look like a bad guy but his plan failed when Feldspar accepted it. Feldspar also left Bream Hall for Raviga for triple the money.
Richard was excited and everyone celebrated but it was all for naught when Monica told Richard the truth about Feldspar. His technology was not as impressive as it seemed and they were being used to improve his demo so that Feldspar can get more money. Monica offered to finance them if they could solve their data woes. Richard sent Feldspar an email saying that he wasn’t accepting the deal and was ready to tell the guys but when he arrived, he learned that Feldspar had left them and Erlich for Hooli thus not making Richard the bad guy. He was definitely unconvincing at looking devastated with this news. Erlich took it worse when he set his palapa on fire with him underneath. They saved him but the damage was already done.
Now we are back at Hooli for the first time in awhile to see that Barker is having issues as the new CEO. The cold weather caused a chain of events that have delayed the launch of their new Box 2 for Hooli Con. He was having confidence issues as he was unsure how to deal with it but at least he had his box puns. Because he made a deal with Feldspar, he could save his presentation with Feldspar’s technology. With all the phones that will be present at Hooli Con, Pied Piper’s problems could be solved as well.
Overall, this was another great episode, full of ups and downs where all the subplots were connected nicely. It would have been nice to see the VR demo ourselves in some form but Feldspar’s betrayal was sad since Haley Joel Osment could have, although still can, definitely filled the void left by the departing TJ Miller. It was also nice to see Stephen Tobolowsky’s deadpan once again.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
