Silicon Valley: Homicide
May 18, 2015 11:29 AM - Season 2, Episode 6 - Subscribe
After Hooli's disastrous UFC event streaming, Monica urges the Pied Piper team to host their own streaming event to capitalize on Hooli's bad press. Erlich suggests partnering with Homicide energy drinks, run by his old college friend Double-A.
The Nucleus project was not ready for the UFC live stream, as foreshadowed in "Server Space," and the video was at first "so blocky it look[ed] like Minecraft," and then froze altogether in the climactic final moments of the fight. Gavin is furious, and worries (though not enough) whether he has surrounded himself entirely with sycophantic yes-men. Gavin promises to be present for testing at multiple phases of development, though he has a tough time handling even one focus group's unkind words, much less the assessment that the state of Nucleus is Apple Maps-level bad.
To host their own live stream and further embarrass Hooli, Pied Piper must team with an event that is already in motion. Jared wants to partner with the Museum of Natural History's condor nest-cam, but Erlich knows the founder of Homicide energy drinks, which is already set to live-stream a car-jumping-from-one-tall-building-to-another stunt. When the gang visits Homicide HQ, Richard discovers that founder Double-A has actually never liked Erlich because he's an overtalker, and he won't do the live stream if Erlich is back the next day.
Meanwhile, Dinesh is smitten by Homicide employee Gina...whom he discovers is married to rude Homicide stuntman Blaine. When Dinesh and Gilfoyle discover an error in Blaine's math that will almost certainly ensure that Blaine will not survive the jump, the two decide to take a page out of Jared's corporate resource booby-trap book and SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) the decision to let Blaine die.
The Homicide partnership implodes the following day, when an un-Erlich'ed Richard finds himself pushed around by Double-A. Richard retaliates by invoking the long form of Double A's nickname (Double Asshole), and Double-A reveals that the source of this nickname comes from a colostomy bag he has carried around since he was 12. At the same time, an apologetic Blaine discovers the SWOT bulletin board Dinesh and Gilfoyle have made which is full of some unflattering opinions and imaginings regarding Blaine's potential death. Everyone runs out, and the Homicide deal is deader than Blaine would have been if he hadn't discovered his own math error. Pied Piper opts to stream the condor nest-cam after all.
Russ Hanneman resurfaces to compliment the quality of Homicide's stunt live stream, which is how the team discovers that someone besides Hooli is trying to scoop their compression algorithm. This time it's EndFrame, the company that "brain raped" Richard under the guise of interest in investing in Pied Piper back in "Runaway Devaluation."
The Nucleus project was not ready for the UFC live stream, as foreshadowed in "Server Space," and the video was at first "so blocky it look[ed] like Minecraft," and then froze altogether in the climactic final moments of the fight. Gavin is furious, and worries (though not enough) whether he has surrounded himself entirely with sycophantic yes-men. Gavin promises to be present for testing at multiple phases of development, though he has a tough time handling even one focus group's unkind words, much less the assessment that the state of Nucleus is Apple Maps-level bad.
To host their own live stream and further embarrass Hooli, Pied Piper must team with an event that is already in motion. Jared wants to partner with the Museum of Natural History's condor nest-cam, but Erlich knows the founder of Homicide energy drinks, which is already set to live-stream a car-jumping-from-one-tall-building-to-another stunt. When the gang visits Homicide HQ, Richard discovers that founder Double-A has actually never liked Erlich because he's an overtalker, and he won't do the live stream if Erlich is back the next day.
Meanwhile, Dinesh is smitten by Homicide employee Gina...whom he discovers is married to rude Homicide stuntman Blaine. When Dinesh and Gilfoyle discover an error in Blaine's math that will almost certainly ensure that Blaine will not survive the jump, the two decide to take a page out of Jared's corporate resource booby-trap book and SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) the decision to let Blaine die.
The Homicide partnership implodes the following day, when an un-Erlich'ed Richard finds himself pushed around by Double-A. Richard retaliates by invoking the long form of Double A's nickname (Double Asshole), and Double-A reveals that the source of this nickname comes from a colostomy bag he has carried around since he was 12. At the same time, an apologetic Blaine discovers the SWOT bulletin board Dinesh and Gilfoyle have made which is full of some unflattering opinions and imaginings regarding Blaine's potential death. Everyone runs out, and the Homicide deal is deader than Blaine would have been if he hadn't discovered his own math error. Pied Piper opts to stream the condor nest-cam after all.
Russ Hanneman resurfaces to compliment the quality of Homicide's stunt live stream, which is how the team discovers that someone besides Hooli is trying to scoop their compression algorithm. This time it's EndFrame, the company that "brain raped" Richard under the guise of interest in investing in Pied Piper back in "Runaway Devaluation."
Ironically, I had the same experience streaming the show last night on HBONow as everyone in the show did streaming the UFC fight...blocky, low res and freezing.
> So, Jared being super awkward about Carla in The Lady was really funny and sadly on point. I feel like the joke has gone on so long now that it kind of makes me dislike Jared which is sad because he is, thus far, one of the few non-assholes on the show.
Spot on; there really was no point to continuing that joke. Despite that awkwardness and even though I feel he's playing basically the same character he played on The Office, I still really enjoy his character. I really want to see what other business tools he has booby trapped throughout the house.
posted by noneuclidean at 12:48 PM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
> So, Jared being super awkward about Carla in The Lady was really funny and sadly on point. I feel like the joke has gone on so long now that it kind of makes me dislike Jared which is sad because he is, thus far, one of the few non-assholes on the show.
Spot on; there really was no point to continuing that joke. Despite that awkwardness and even though I feel he's playing basically the same character he played on The Office, I still really enjoy his character. I really want to see what other business tools he has booby trapped throughout the house.
posted by noneuclidean at 12:48 PM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've also tended to be in the pro-Jared camp, and I don't like the way his character is devolving. Although insecure at the start, he was capable and smart, and these days he just seems to be nothing but oblivious. I hope the writers have a story arc planned for him that demonstrates a bit of growth or maturity.
I do love that there is now a third player in the compression algorithm mix.
posted by sardonyx at 2:00 PM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I do love that there is now a third player in the compression algorithm mix.
posted by sardonyx at 2:00 PM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I... really didn't like this episode.
Carla explained that a situation would be awkward, and then it was awkward. Where was her expert trolling?
Erlich was shocked that Richard would insult someone to his face. When has Erlich ever backed down from insulting people in person? There was like an entire episode last month almost entirely based on Erlich insulting people to their faces.
Jared has been sleeping in a garage in order to help the company maximize revenue. Why does he think a livestream of an egg would be helping at all?
It felt to me like the whole cast were carrying uncharacteristic Idiot Balls.
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:06 PM on May 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Carla explained that a situation would be awkward, and then it was awkward. Where was her expert trolling?
Erlich was shocked that Richard would insult someone to his face. When has Erlich ever backed down from insulting people in person? There was like an entire episode last month almost entirely based on Erlich insulting people to their faces.
Jared has been sleeping in a garage in order to help the company maximize revenue. Why does he think a livestream of an egg would be helping at all?
It felt to me like the whole cast were carrying uncharacteristic Idiot Balls.
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:06 PM on May 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also a big thanks to joan cusack the second and viggorlijah for posting recaps for this show.
posted by sardonyx at 2:36 PM on May 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by sardonyx at 2:36 PM on May 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
I didn't like this episode much either. Jared is now officially annoying, and the corporate training materials booby trap was the best line in the show. Also I found it weird that AA would resist putting the pied piper logo, but has no qualms with the endframe logo. Maybe they negotiated better, though
posted by dhruva at 3:43 PM on May 18, 2015
posted by dhruva at 3:43 PM on May 18, 2015
I kept wanting to tell Richard to tell Ehrlich that he's a fantastic talker but a lousy listener; but the show sort of undercut that by proving him right about that AA guy.
Also: this episode had its dramatic climax weirdly positioned. They should have structured it so that Hooli's fuck-up was the climax, somehow. Too much going on, not enough of the main characters interacting with each other. Probably the weakest episode of the season so far, but still had some great jokes in it.
Oh also: it was lame that the jock-y bro Homicide dude who was going to jump between buildings in a car noticed the SWOT board. They should have written it so that Dinesh and Gilfoyle somehow work together to prevent him from noticing, then Richard should have lost his temper at the AA dude, and then they decide that it's time to leave.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like the whole episode needs to be completely re-written. This was like a rough draft: lots of good ideas, but not well executed. I assume Mike Judge is reading this thread, so hopefully he will contact me (sooner would be better, MJ) for some consultant work.
posted by clockzero at 7:18 PM on May 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
Also: this episode had its dramatic climax weirdly positioned. They should have structured it so that Hooli's fuck-up was the climax, somehow. Too much going on, not enough of the main characters interacting with each other. Probably the weakest episode of the season so far, but still had some great jokes in it.
Oh also: it was lame that the jock-y bro Homicide dude who was going to jump between buildings in a car noticed the SWOT board. They should have written it so that Dinesh and Gilfoyle somehow work together to prevent him from noticing, then Richard should have lost his temper at the AA dude, and then they decide that it's time to leave.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like the whole episode needs to be completely re-written. This was like a rough draft: lots of good ideas, but not well executed. I assume Mike Judge is reading this thread, so hopefully he will contact me (sooner would be better, MJ) for some consultant work.
posted by clockzero at 7:18 PM on May 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
So, Jared being super awkward about Carla in The Lady was really funny and sadly on point. I feel like the joke has gone on so long now that it kind of makes me dislike Jared which is sad because he is, thus far, one of the few non-assholes on the show.
Yeah, I had the same feeling. He's clueless but not stupid or a jerk: he would notice that his ideas about women in the corporate world weren't being well-received by now. The funniest joke involving him so far was when he got trapped in that shipping crate in the last season, and it was funny because he's so controlled and carefully self-managed; he needs situations that spiral out of control in order for his character to flourish comedically, but also because he's the sort of person who would thrive psychologically on some level by having huge challenges to overcome, since he's so preoccupied with capital-C Correct ways to deal with everything.
posted by clockzero at 7:26 PM on May 18, 2015
Yeah, I had the same feeling. He's clueless but not stupid or a jerk: he would notice that his ideas about women in the corporate world weren't being well-received by now. The funniest joke involving him so far was when he got trapped in that shipping crate in the last season, and it was funny because he's so controlled and carefully self-managed; he needs situations that spiral out of control in order for his character to flourish comedically, but also because he's the sort of person who would thrive psychologically on some level by having huge challenges to overcome, since he's so preoccupied with capital-C Correct ways to deal with everything.
posted by clockzero at 7:26 PM on May 18, 2015
It's worth going back and checking out the stills of the SWOT board, the cards were the best part of the episode.
"Unfortunate window washer must clean blood off building"
posted by Itaxpica at 8:52 PM on May 18, 2015 [9 favorites]
"Unfortunate window washer must clean blood off building"
posted by Itaxpica at 8:52 PM on May 18, 2015 [9 favorites]
Erlich is kind of like a Cassandra. Everything he says is kind of true, but no one believes him because he can be overbearing and a super douche.
posted by inturnaround at 9:28 PM on May 18, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by inturnaround at 9:28 PM on May 18, 2015 [10 favorites]
Yeah, this episode was not that great, despite actually advancing the overall season's plot more than most. Erlich and Richard definitely getting trapped in their characters' patterns, and Jared has rapidly devolved to being totally oblivious. Dinesh and Gilfoyle were the only thing making this episode funny. This season has, more than most shows, been obviously written by multiple writers since the best description for the character arcs is "all over the place."
posted by dogwalker at 9:28 PM on May 18, 2015
posted by dogwalker at 9:28 PM on May 18, 2015
The "Let Blaine die" SWOT board redeems the episode in my eyes.
This is the second episode in a row where Ehrlich warns Richard about someone and turns out to be right.
posted by drezdn at 7:48 AM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is the second episode in a row where Ehrlich warns Richard about someone and turns out to be right.
posted by drezdn at 7:48 AM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
"The picture's so blocky it looks like Minecraft." [aarghh didn't read the recap!]
posted by Flashman at 7:57 AM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Flashman at 7:57 AM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
mr muffins and I laughed till we cried reading over the SWOT board cards last night.
The focus group meeting was also gold. I assume many focus groups at MS headquarters have gone just that way.
posted by trunk muffins at 1:31 PM on May 19, 2015
The focus group meeting was also gold. I assume many focus groups at MS headquarters have gone just that way.
posted by trunk muffins at 1:31 PM on May 19, 2015
GUILT (DINESH ONLY)
posted by sparklemotion at 2:16 PM on May 19, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by sparklemotion at 2:16 PM on May 19, 2015 [13 favorites]
EW has a full list of all of the SWOT board cards for LET BLAINE DIE.
I paused to read the initial SWOT board that Jared did himself, but it seemed much more Erin Brockovich Julia Roberts than My Best Friend's Wedding Julia Roberts.
posted by joan cusack the second at 2:40 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I paused to read the initial SWOT board that Jared did himself, but it seemed much more Erin Brockovich Julia Roberts than My Best Friend's Wedding Julia Roberts.
posted by joan cusack the second at 2:40 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
One thing I didn't get: "iPhone 4 bad." Is the iPhone 4 considered bad?
For the purity and beauty of its design I think of it as the greatest iPhone.
posted by Flashman at 2:52 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
For the purity and beauty of its design I think of it as the greatest iPhone.
posted by Flashman at 2:52 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, looking at the Blaine SWOT board I can't help but think of Dean Potter and Graham Hunt (Potter being an absolute legend in the climbing world) who died in quick succession on Saturday evening making an illegal wingsuit flight in Yosemite, after making what might well have been a similar calculation error.
posted by Flashman at 2:59 PM on May 19, 2015
posted by Flashman at 2:59 PM on May 19, 2015
Flashman: Is the iPhone 4 considered bad?
I think they're referring to Antennagate.
posted by dhruva at 3:04 PM on May 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
I think they're referring to Antennagate.
posted by dhruva at 3:04 PM on May 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
The episode was worth it just for the guru guy lying to Gavin when he asks if he's surrounded himself with yes-men.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:54 PM on May 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by ob1quixote at 9:54 PM on May 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
The look on Guru's face was hilarious.
I like that this episode actually had laughs. Really helps a comedy, you know?
posted by mediareport at 2:46 AM on May 20, 2015
I like that this episode actually had laughs. Really helps a comedy, you know?
posted by mediareport at 2:46 AM on May 20, 2015
Not the absolute best episode, but the SWOT was priceless. We definitely paused and looked at the cards.
Also I'm looking forward to referring to things as "Apple Maps Bad."
posted by radioamy at 9:48 PM on May 21, 2015
Also I'm looking forward to referring to things as "Apple Maps Bad."
posted by radioamy at 9:48 PM on May 21, 2015
Jared has been sleeping in a garage in order to help the company maximize revenue. Why does he think a livestream of an egg would be helping at all?
I suspect they were thinking along the lines of the Panda Cam at the National Zoo, which is so popular it became the subject of multiple news stories when it was interrupted during the 2013 government shutdown.
posted by psoas at 12:27 PM on May 22, 2015
I suspect they were thinking along the lines of the Panda Cam at the National Zoo, which is so popular it became the subject of multiple news stories when it was interrupted during the 2013 government shutdown.
posted by psoas at 12:27 PM on May 22, 2015
He's clueless but not stupid or a jerk: he would notice that his ideas about women in the corporate world weren't being well-received by now.
I noticed this episode was written by* a woman, so I have faith they know what they're doing.
*AVClub review referring to "the arc" of the season? Drink!
posted by psoas at 12:36 PM on May 22, 2015
I noticed this episode was written by* a woman, so I have faith they know what they're doing.
*AVClub review referring to "the arc" of the season? Drink!
posted by psoas at 12:36 PM on May 22, 2015
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Mr. Motion (who hasn't ever worked in a corporate environment) had no idea why I was laughing so hard when Jared pulled out that SWOT board though.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:22 PM on May 18, 2015 [5 favorites]