[rating=7.00] “The Empty Chair”
Things felt a little too tranquil at the end of “The Empty Chair,” marking the new wave of Silicon Valley we’ve been looking for as we glide along through the third season. With the dream of the fancy tech offices and quick profit turn around in the rear view mirror, we’re now left with the barebones of what Pied Piper started out with. As Dinesh points out the whole thing feels empty, and stark Jared truly understands the frailty and vulnerability as he asks “Have you ever seen a naked dead body?” “No- NO- No”.
Laurie’s change of heart was slightly unexpected today as she back tracked on her original choice to fire Richard as CEO. It made sense initially, she’s a smart person and saw the way Richard was making poor choice after poor choice. Her judgement call should have been the right one considering the history of the company, however Action Jack’s intentions were not to better the company, but his bank account. This seems to be a problem with the start-up community as they navigate the business side of things in lieu of their usual coding or engineering duties. As duped and hurt as Richard (and perhaps even Laurie-bot) feel, we should collectively remember that it’s just business.
Plot devices almost fell into their singular rut with Richard’s rant to the tech blog reporter. Such a bumbling gaffe could have been avoided with a simple introduction, but that’s too much to ask from an emotional Richard. Fortunately, we were spared from an additional “where do we go from here” plotline as Big Head offered up the Gavin internet scrubbing scandal. Perhaps this is Big Head’s new role; he managed to do similar things for Hooli by accident over and over. While he did nothing of merit (the potato canon only worked half the time) it’s important to note that it is his ignorance that manages to keep him in the game. While the tactic worked this time around, we have to remember that it’s in the reporter’s best interest to keep current and news worthy- perhaps the selling out of Gavin will come back to bite them in the ass as most things do with this group.
The Laurie and Monica dynamic was awkwardly welcomed. It’s apparent the two have no business socializing outside of work, but it is this uncomfortable overlay that keeps their relationship interesting. Laurie really is like some sort of cyborg, and it works. Were it not for her uncaring demeanor and straight forward thinking there would be no Pied Piper. After the loss of their original straight man Peter Gregory, it makes sense that their next move would be toward the ever rigid Laurie, a woman who seemingly makes no effort in denying the world of even the slightest notion regarding the inner workings of her mind. It’s compelling to watch Monica step into a new role as Pied Piper moves forward. While she’s always been an advocate for the dudes, her opinion is carrying weight and interest to Laurie, which isn’t an easy feat.
Big Head and Erlich’s partnership kicked off with a hearty whimper as Erlich managed to override Big Head’s business manager and gain access to all of his assets. “Surely Big Head isn’t this stupid,” you undoubtedly thought to yourself as he began to sign the paperwork. It’s interesting because really all he wants is a Big Gulp and a few friends to hang out and maybe make something with. He’s not the brightest bulb, but he’s still a tech engineer working in Silicon Valley, so there’s merit to his existence. As mentioned before in last week’s recap, there’s really only two ways this could end: In flames, or, with Big Head and Erlich somehow dominating their chosen business venture. Considering each man’s track record of deplorable choices vs. the payoff for each of those choices, it seems safe to lean towards the latter.
As we move into next week’s episode, one has to question where the loose end is dangling. Yes, Gilfoyle managed to destroy the hard drive that he accidentally sold. However, knowing what we do about the dudes’ accidental antics we can expect to still find some problem with their decision to sell instead of destroy the hard drives previously containing the literal blueprints to their platform, box, and even algorithm. Similarly, Richard got off easy with the reporter. His rants and raves, while understandably just that, were inexcusable. Laurie may be mostly robot, but she wouldn’t take kindly to that sort of misconduct. There is a magic is waiting for the other shoe to drop, so as we grind our teeth and teeter silently on the edges of our seats let us celebrate the continued change in SV’s story building and choices.
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