If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: As the Pied Piper guys prepare to close on their Series B funding, Richard receives unsettling news. Gilfoyle suggests a risky proposition and Monica gets blunt with Richard. Dinesh goes to great lengths to compete with a coworker, while Jared keeps close watch on Richard’s new assistant. In search of a better deal, Gavin tries to charm small-town America.(HBO)
Writer: Clay Tarver
Director: Mike Judge
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 30mins
Airs: Sundays at 10pm on HBO Canada (Canada)/HBO (United States)
Now this is classic Silicon Valley. The Pied Piper team stumbles, Dinesh has an inferiority complex, and Gavin gets screwed.
This episode started with the original team celebrating their Series B funding. Back at the office, Richard’s new assistant, Holden (Aaron Sanders) is scared of Jared. The tokens that Richard gifted to Laurie since changed hands several times to the point that it would cost them millions to buy them back which they don’t have. This gave Gilfoyle an idea that Pied Piper should raise funds by implementing their own cryptocurrency. It was risky but Gilfoyle was convinced that it was the right way to go.
Asking Monica for advice, she thought Richard and Gilfoyle were crazy as it would jeopardize their current relationship and any other potential relationships with other VCs. Later, they visited Hanneman at a landfill and learned about his experiences with ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) and they were mixed at best. The cryptocurrency from his only successful ICO was on a thumb drive that was accidentally thrown away hence his appearance at the landfill.
Monica advised Richard against an ICO because she believed that Bream Hall was on his side but Laurie had different plans for Pied Piper thus going against her believed partnership. Realizing this betrayal, she went to try and stop Richard from signing the term sheet
Danny (Chris Aquilino) bought himself a Tesla because of the potential Series B funding. In fact, it was a better Tesla than the one Dinesh bought for himself. It wasn’t necessarily that Danny had a better Tesla, it was because he wasn’t the Tesla guy anymore. In order to get better wheels for his Tesla, Dinesh had to convince others to buy Teslas. He was so desperate that he even offered to pay for someone else’s Tesla.
With Yao (Tzi Ma), Gavin’s former Chinese factory manager, taking away production, Gavin had to find a new location to build his box 3. Advances in workers’ rights and regulation made it difficult. Luckily, they came across a desperate North Carolina town. Gavin made a speech in the town and then screwed it over while forcing it to accommodate his outrageous demands. The city’s essential services were cut so much that they couldn’t save their factory from burning down in what was a hilarious exchange between Gavin and Hoover. Gavin also let slip earlier that his residence was Bermuda which created problems with the IRS.
Monica now thought that an ICO was a good idea but now Richard only needed someone to handle the business side. Why not Monica? They were so convinced that it was going to work so of course when they started, Pied Piper coin was only worth mere cents which put an end to everyone else’s Series B plans. There were no hard feelings between Laurie and Monica. In fact, Laurie was meeting with Yao to present him a proposal.
Overall, this was a great episode that saw all the characters face some sort of adversity. Monica left Laurie to join Pied Piper while Laurie appears to now be backing Yao and Gavin ironically getting screwed out of a factory. While still funny, Dinesh’s subplots are getting a little old. It was also nice to see Richard and Gilfoyle together in an episode as well as Hanneman, albeit briefly. It will be interesting to see how it will end and who’s internet will end up on top and whatever else will happen along the way.
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.