But in this last episode, Silicon Valley does just as much to expose its own true self as it does the characters. For as much as it might seem like Mike Judge and Alec Berg are laughing at these people and the absurdity of the culture represent, they really do believe in them. They want the guys to succeed because they represent the fading human element in a world of corporate dicks and dick-wagging, where millions of dollars are pissed away on useless apps with vowel-averse names, and ego becomes the driving force for change once “innovation” becomes just another buzzword.
“Tip-to-top Efficiency” reveals Silicon Valley as a modern day slobs-vs-snobs story where the slobs have never been slovenly, and the snobs never been more powerful. The puerile sense of humor that dominates the show doesn’t exist just so that the finale can have an incredibly elaborate dick joke for a dramatic turning point, and an incredibly subtle one for a title: it’s there because a world of increasing corporate and creative homogeneity and hegemony needs outliers. Even if you don’t like the characters of Silicon Valley as people (and, for the record, I like and relate to every one of them on multiple levels), what they represent within their own world is what makes them relatable. More than wanting to see Pied Piper succeed, what we really want is just for them to exist, to carve out a place for people who don’t belong to the Hoolis of the world.
With the answer to all their problems resting in their hands and between their legs this whole time, the guys riff their way to a Eureka moment for Richard, as Erlich’s off-colour suggestion for “persuading” the audience at the finals inspires Richard to rewrite Pied Piper’s code from the ground up. Is the moment forced? A little. Is it insane that Richard would be able to completely reengineer the accepted methods of data transfer in only a few hours, and based solely on a dick joke? Totally. But this is the stuff all great underdog stories are made of, from the unlikely moment of clarity, to the last minute moment of truth, here represented by a now universal symbol for instances of gut-wrenching tension: the spinning Mac pinwheel icon.
So, true to formula, Pied Piper wins the competition, becoming a real company in the process. With hungry investors lining up to get in on the action and Gavin Belson no doubt looking for revenge, Richard once more finds himself responsible for something great and terrible that he’s created. First it was just an algorithm, but now he’s got a company and a reputation at stake. Compared to the sharper teeth Silicon Valley showed in its early episodes, the season concludes on a note that’s perhaps too pat, but Judge and Berg are softies at heart, and I’ll take a softie over a cynic any day of the week. The absurdity of the valley they love to skewer is the same absurdity of life they love to embrace. One day, you’re throwing up in a trash bin outside your day job, the next, you’re only a few feet away from the most powerful people in the tech world, spewing in a back alley dumpster. It may not be refined, but Silicon Valley is not without its poetry.
- Stray Thoughts
-While “Signalling Risk” still marks the season’s highpoint by a good margin, this was a satisfying finale to a very strong first season of TV, one unfortunately impacted by the untimely passing of one of its stars. Hopefully the creative team can figure out how to keep the show moving forward without Christopher Evan Welch, whether that means recasting the role of Peter Gregory, or his role in the story generally. I’d prefer the latter to the former, as even in his limited time, Welch put an indelible stamp on that character.
-Jared was on FIRE tonight, and Zach Woods has proven to be the unexpected MVP for the entire season, at least comedically. When looking at actual character work, I’m tempted to argue that T.J. Miller gives the fullest performance, as he and the writers transformed Erlich from a buffoon to the series’ secret lynchpin. But Thomas Middleditch also did his best work of the season tonight, and I’ve been wishing Kumail Nanjiani and Martin Starr would somehow get a feature since day one. This is a really terrific cast, and this looks like a show that can only go up come Season 2.
-“Enough serious TV talk, just say what the funny lines were!” Too many to list, but to name a spare few: “Chatroulette! That was social media, and then they pivoted to become a playground for the sexually monstrous.” “I feel like I died and went to Hell!” “Release the Kraken!” “We’re not going to be poor!”
Published: Jun 1, 2014 09:30 pm