[rating=8.00]
Silicon Valley premiered its second season on HBO Sunday evening, and while whispers circulated the internet community wondering how they would cover Christopher Evan Welch’s death (Peter Gregory) there was nothing but tact and a touch of crass humor. Exactly as things should be.
Last season left us on a high for the SV boys, and we return to tech-company peacocking at its best. Richard is being courted by company Stern Taylor at the AT&T ballpark. Though he feels bad about taking the praise and free shit from various firms, Erlich reminds him that they haven’t signed any papers yet. Richard remains optimistic that Peter Gregory will come through, regardless of the fact that they haven’t heard from him. The scene itself is hilarious, Gilfoyle and Dinesh stand on the Padre’s field totally uncaring of their recent title acquisition, while fighting over the title of CTO.
Richard eventually runs into Javeed who has just been fired from his startup company. Javeed is incredibly downtrodden, and warns Richard of possible fuckery if he chooses the wrong investor’s. He warns him that they’re watching his every move, Richard thanks him, but soon realizes he’s talking about the fact that he’s on the big screen at the ballpark being projected to everyone at the Stern Taylor party. The mastery of beginning the season in this way is the set up for an explanation of Peter Gregory’s absence. Many forget that Welch actually passed away during filming of the first season as he had finished his scenes before succumbing to lung cancer. In truth they could have recast him, but his performance was so good that Mike Judge ultimately wanted to keep the character as is, restructuring the rest of the show as needed in order to give the actor a proper send off.
The explanation of Peter Gregory’s death is totally befitting of the show and character. In a very round-about way, Monica explains that Gregory was on safari, and after being startled by a gunshot warning of an impending hippo attack, he began to run. He hadn’t run in a long time “maybe ever”, and that did him in. Short, sweet, and hilarious. Watching Erlich and Richard’s faces contort during the explanation sweetens the deal as they cope with the death both as actors, and then as their characters who are realizing that for the first time they are going to have to take their start up else-where if they want the money and support they’re looking for.
Richard and Erlich get to work, preening for companies who once sucked up to them. Meanwhile, Laurie Bream (Suzanne Cryer) is introduced as Gregory’s successor. With similar characteristics to the deceased, she manages to somewhat fill the void of his absence while adding a “flair” that’s been lacking on this show, an additional strong female lead. Monica and Laurie find common ground, getting along on their first encounter as Monica is determined to acquire Pied Piper and Richard’s algorithm.
After a disappointing first interview, Erlich and Richard leave the offices of Stern Taylor. Richard, fed up with all the pretense, walks back into the office with his best angry face on. He reams the company for stringing him along, totally aware of how important his new work is to the tech community. Once he leaves, they call with an offer way over asking price. Richard is stunned, but Erlich takes this as an opportunity to change their strategy. Now as they enter meetings, Erlich is rude and crass with each firm. In turn, they offer more and more money for Pied Piper. Initially, Richard is overjoyed. It’s all working out, even without the aid of Peter Gregory.
Monica checks back in, letting him know that Laurie is going to make an offer that turns out to millions more than he could have ever hoped for. This exceeds what Gregory was intending to invest, and all other offers. Monica quickly squelches the glee when she strongly urges Richard to not take the offer. It’s too much money, and if they don’t return on the investment within the first quarter they’ll fizzle out, effectively killing all the work they’ve put into the company thus far. This is important. Gregory initially offered a sum less than a million with a 5% ownership of the company. He knew what was at stake, and what the boys needed in order to get their start up off the ground. By allowing Monica to hold on to that idea, the writers are effectively keeping Gregory alive by reminding Richard that yes, he’s a hot commodity. But he’s only as good as his next idea.
Overall, the idea of the large lump sums of money is better in theory than in practice. This of course brings us back to Javeed who is desolate after taking the large lump sum and getting pushed out of his own start up. Richard goes to him both just to talk and for advice, and Javeed has a meltdown. No one told him he could take less money, an action that could have ultimately saved him from himself. Richard takes this in stride, confident of what he needs to do.
During the memorial for Peter Gregory, Richard let’s Laurie know that he intends to work with her, but only after contract negotiations. She assures him that she has no more money to give, but he rebuffs, explaining that he wants less money for Pied Piper, instead opting for a contract closer to what Peter Gregory originally laid out. A deal is struck, and a lovely ceremony is held for the beloved tech mogul. Various characters take the stage, talking up Gregory’s positive impact through number sentences, self-deprecating stories, and self-serving anecdotes. Gavin Belson takes the stage, remembering Peter as a friend rather than a competitor, lamenting over the fact that they’ll never be able to mend their bridges. As he wraps up his eulogy, Richard comments on Gavin’s possible “human-ness”.
Immediately after he receives a message, Gavin is suing the boys over rights to Pied Piper. As they look up onstage Gavin gives a solemn stare towards the audience, and white doves are released as Run the Jewel’s “Blockbuster Night Part 1” plays out to the credits. Fucking gold.
So here’s what we know so far. Silicon Valley had a solid first season, peaking during the “jerkmath” episode. It solidified the series as both HBO and Mike Judge worthy material. The death of Christopher Evan Welch was handled perfectly, and his absence does not seem to be hindering the show whatsoever. In fact, the plot point is exactly the kind of left field fly that a young series like this needs in order to stay relevant. I don’t know what writers had initially planned out for the character and story arcs when they sat down to create the series, but aside from losing a solid actor, they’ve seemingly had no problems propelling the story. The subject matter is handled in a way that both demonstrates knowledge of the actual Silicon Valley scene, while also holding on to the layman terms for those of us who are not familiar with tech terms. Case in point the most elegant, and detailed, dick joke in television history. Whatever vision writers and creators have for this show is working. The comedians that make up the main cast are magnificent, the deadpan humor of a tech genius intermingled with one off jokes and timing will keep the audience on their toes throughout the season. Congrats to Judge, looks like he’s pulled it off again.
