Monday, July 10, 2017

What I’m Watching: Silicon Valley (Season Finale)

Silicon Valley: Season 4, Episode 10 “Server Error” (B+)

The sheer cleverness of the writing on this show is incredible, and I’m not sure I appreciate it enough. There are so many ups and downs in every single episode of this show, and this finale was no different. To me, the greatest part of it was that Richard had turned into such a miserable person, lying to and manipulating those around him under the guise of trying to do the right thing and make Pied Piper successful, that it seemed he had alienated everyone in his life, starting with Jared and then moving on to Big Head, Dinesh, and Gilfoyle. Yet, in the end, he fell on his sword and decided to close the company, and then after earning back the support of his friends and employees, he went straight to Gavin to tell him that he wasn’t going to be acquired by him and that he was ready to devour him rather than the other way around. I love that, when Anton crashed and they tried to go to Stanford only to find everything on the ground along the drive, it turned out that Gilfoyle’s hacking of the smart fridge enabled them to use the power from all the smart fridges thanks to an accidental software update that made them all hosts. It’s a brilliant way to give them accidental success, and Richard getting pummeled by Melcher because he found out that he slept with his fiancée was hardly a noticeable consequence. Jack getting taken hostage after going to China and then rescued by Gavin was a fun turn of events, and a newly serene Gavin seems ready to go head-to-head with Richard in a more stable and sensible way than before, which should make for a fun season four. And I guess Erlich is just being left in Tibet, never to return since T.J. Miller isn’t on board for season five. I don’t think it’s much of a loss – this season has showed that this show hasn’t lost any of its quality four seasons in.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Josh Brener as Big Head

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