What I’m Watching: Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley: Season 3, Episode 2 “Two in the Box” (B+)

Jack Barker seemed like the greatest thing to happen to Pied Piper at the end of last episode, and he’s definitely different from the man who put radio on the Internet in that he’s not totally crazy (Stephen Tobolowsky is inarguably a huge asset to the show). He and Richard do, however, have a fundamental disagreement about what Pied Piper is, as evidenced by Jack’s assertion that the product is the stock and not the compression algorithm that can change the world. The fact that Jack has already hired a director of internal sales and a northeast regional director shows that he’s thinking in an entirely different sphere, one that has little to do with what Pied Piper actually is and more with how it can sell. Ultimately, I think a secure enterprise storage system that isn’t supposed to be flashy or seen by many could do well, but it’s clear how far it is from Richard’s vision of things. Add to that the unfortunate but hilarious development of the laid-off Nucleus employees coming up with a way to rival Pied Piper once they figure out whether to do it within Gavin’s company or after they leave. Jared’s housing situation is pretty terrible, a fate that could only happy to him, and I love that Jian-Yang listened closely enough to get Erlich to explain to him exactly why he couldn’t force him out for an entire year despite his rather blunt and culturally insensitive attempts to send him away.