Silicon Valley continues to deliver the laughs and painfully accurate depictions of startup life in the San Francisco Bay Area. With Season 3’s third episode airing last night, we can see where the rest of the season will start to head.
Let’s dig into what happened, who did it and what it means for the rest of Pied Piper!
SPOILERS BELOW FOR SILICON VALLEY SEASON 3
Episode three, named Meinertzhagen's Haversack, found Richard and the gang getting pushed to the side in Pied Piper by the new CEO Jack Barker. Barker wants Pied Piper to focus on making server backup boxes instead of building out the commercial platform the guys have in mind.
This causes Gilfoyle and Dinesh to start looking elsewhere for a job. Gilfoyle was courted especially hard by companies, with many different gift baskets showing up for him throughout the episode. Somehow, nothing bad can happen to Gilfoyle, as he abuses the offerings to get free food and booze.
Richard, who started out the series as an incredibly meek character, has finally started growing a backbone and doesn’t agree with Barker on the direction of the company. In an incredibly risky move, Richard goes to the head of Raviga, Laurie Bream, to express his concerns. Interestingly, Bream agrees with Richard that Barker’s direction isn’t the right one to take, and plans to speak to Barker about it.
In proper Silicon Valley fashion, this doesn’t go well for Richard. Barker channels his inner Omar from The Wire, telling Richard if he wants to aim for the king, he better kill him.
This causes Richard and the gang to create a Skunkworks, a secret company within a company. After drawing up all the plans and goals for the commercial platform, the guys get ready to make what they want while still appearing to be working on what Barker wants.
Naturally, all these plans immediately grind to a halt when Richard trips and spills the secret documents all over the Pied Piper offices. Barker finds out immediately, and the episode ends with everyone getting called into Barker’s office.
While it’s certainly a dramatic episode, Meinertzhagen's Haversack reveals what will likely be the main plot moving forward for the rest of the season: Richard vs. Barker. It will be interesting to see Barker react to all of the planning Richard has put into building the platform instead of the server boxes. This is made doubly interesting knowing that Richard has the backing of Raviga, who also want Pied Piper to build the platform.
Barker, being the smart businessman he is, seems like he should realize the potential of the Pied Piper platform. Instead, he seems blinded by his own business strategies, which he is quick to point out are taught in business schools. Are we about to see Barker attempt to rip control of Pied Piper away from everyone else? With a driven man like Barker, anything seems possible.
We’re also starting to see how fickle Gilfoyle can be. He definitely doesn’t seem to have any emotional investment in Pied Piper or the rest of the gang like everyone else does. This could play out later, with Gilfoyle leaving or jumping sides to want to help Barker instead. The problem with a Chaotic Neutral character like Gilfoyle is you never know what’s coming next.
As for the rest of the group, Dinesh has taken to wearing (or not wearing) a gold chain to celebrate his new salary. This becomes the butt of many jokes, with Jared even throwing out some good insults. I doubt we’ll see Dinesh make a return with his new jewelry.
Erlich, while becoming less and less important with each episode, still manages to find times to shine. He tries being a communications expert for Richard, which backfires hilariously, and still manages control of the group while in his house. One of these days, the guys are going to have to move to a different residence. It will be interesting to see what Erlich does when that day comes.
As for the “Next Week On…” segments at the end of the episodes, I make it a point to avoid those. They typically reveal several of the better jokes in the next episode, so I have no idea about what could be coming in Episode 4.
So what do you think? Are you excited to see what’s next for Richard and Pied Piper this coming Sunday? What do you hope happens with Barker and the Skunkworks file? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
