Silicon Valley: The Complete Sixth and Final Season

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray/DVD that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.

“The sixth and final season of Mike Judge and Alec Berg’s hilarious, Emmy-nominated HBO comedy finds Pied Piper more successful than ever. After years of false starts, the company has become a legitimate presence in Silicon Valley, rising above the competition with its pledge not to mine user data. But the Pied Piper guys soon learn that staying true to their values comes at a price in this cutthroat business. While they deal with the stress of managing a growing organization, Silicon Valley heads toward a conclusion that’s funny, smart and fitting for our forever awkward tech heroes.”

Silicon Valley is one of those shows I know is right up my alley and something I’d enjoy, but never got around to watching. Whenever I go into a season of a series blindly, not having seen previous, let alone the final season of a show, I never expect to be hooked or even able to follow the story and characters. Jumping into Season 6 I was pleasantly surprised both at how easily I began to understand the characters and their dynamic, and how the story unfolds so nicely so that anyone would be able to pick up there and be drawn in to it.

Thomas Middleditch’s Richard Hendricks is hilariously awkward, brilliant but socially inept when it comes to interactions with other people. His role as the head of the company is basically exactly what I think of when I think of tech startups, except perhaps the moral compass he possesses that wants to do right and bring forth a better world. Martin Starr is great as well, as the monotone, expressionless Gilfoyle, providing some of the funniest moments with his hardheadedness and unwillingness to change to fit anyone’s standards but his own. He consistently butts heads with Kumail Nanjiani’s Dinesh, who is also hilarious in his role, always seeking fame and fortune but never attaining it. Honestly, I’ve been a little tired of some of the roles I’ve seen Kumail in, but I absolutely loved him in this.

I think what held me back from diving into this show years ago has been my strong dislike for T.J. Miller. My opinions of him aren’t that unfounded, as he’s gone on to call in bomb threats against people he gets into arguments with, and his reported behavior on the set of the show leading to his departure is pretty well documented. I don’t know if he still has fans or not, or if those fans even care that he’s gone from the show, but I for one enjoyed a T.J. Miller-less season.

Season 6 is a shorter than normal season. Here’s the episode breakdown:

1. Artificial Lack of Intelligence – Season Six Premiere. Richard discovers his promise to keep Pied Piper free from collecting user data is under threat. Jared finds himself missing his role as Richard’s go-to guy and revisits the hacker hostel. Gilfoyle devises a creative way to deal with Dinesh’s complaining.
2. Blood Money – When Richard meets an interested investor with a sketchy past, he must weigh his integrity against a tempting financial offer. Jared seeks a new future, putting him at odds with Richard. A defiant Gilfoyle butts heads with HR over his lack of direct reports. Hoover and Denpok worry when Gavin explores alternative solutions to keep a leaner Hooli afloat.
3. Hooli Smokes! – Feeling backed into a corner, Richard commiserates with a former rival. Dinesh considers being a better person in order to right his string of bad luck.To help Gwart, Jared works with Richard. And Monica suggests a drastic move that finds the Pied Piper team racing against the clock to close a major deal.
4. Maximizing Alphaness – When Richard’s authority is threatened by Ethan, his former manager at Hooli, Dinesh advises him to assert his dominance. Monica tries to prove she supports other women by participating in Laurie’s female empowerment panel. Gavin pens a book that’s light on tech talk. Jared finally meets his birth parents and commits himself to Gwart.
5. Tethics – On the verge of a major success, Richard fumes when Gavin gains new notoriety for spreading a message of tech accountability. Dinesh’s trip to Hawaii quickly turns into a nightmare. Gilfoyle and Monica set out to improve their peer review scores in the office. Holden braces for a showdown with Jared, who decides to kill him with kindness.
6. RussFest – Richard, Dinesh, Gilfoyle and Jared face their greatest challenge yet as a massive event tests PiperNet’s capabilities, while Laurie’s unexpected presence makes them wary of sabotage. Monica discovers Jian-yang is using Pied Piper’s name for his own benefit.
7. Exit Event – Series finale. Ahead of a career-defining moment, Richard makes a startling discovery that changes everything and sends the entire Pied Piper team racing to pull off the biggest bait-and-switch that Silicon Valley has ever seen.

Since I haven’t watched from the beginning, I can’t really comment on how satisfied of an ending each of the characters received, or if they all received the proper attention. I do feel like there could have been more to the season if it weren’t so short, with a couple story-lines falling by the wayside to accommodate this. Still, I found it to be quite funny and entertaining, even if the set is only available on DVD. If I were planning to pick this up, I’d wait for a potential Complete Series set released on Blu-Ray, if that ever happens. No one should be watching things in Standard Definition anymore…