Silicon Valley could easily be the live-action presentation of Ben Platt’s Vienna, a song that reminds its audience they don’t live long enough to make all their dreams come true. Or even that one single dream may actually never happen and… brace up, guys!! We may not actually make it, and it’s the brutal reality of life.
HBO’s Silicon Valley took its audience on Richard Hendricks’ (Thomas Middleditch) journey as CEO of the tech firm Pied Piper. Beyond giving fans an insight into building a company from the ground up, the show provided plenty of laughs. One-liners like “kiss my piss” and “bringing piss to a shit fight” make it hard to catch the underlying sadness of Silicon Valley’s reality, which is often just like real life. Ultimately, according to Silicon Valley, if you have to choose between your bright idea and a stack of cash, take the money!
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1. Pied Piper failed (Or Just Worked Too Well)!!
It’s hard to pick which is more disheartening: Pied Piper technically failed and lost years of hard work, or the team had to let go of over $8 billion and years of hard work. Something was reassuring and hopeful about Pied Piper; throughout the seasons, they always seemed to look for a way to beat the odds and pull off a miracle comeback, and in the end, when it seemed like they were finally at the finish line, Pied Piper became a very sad, sick baby they had to euthanize.
As an audience member, I can say I more than agreed with Dinesh when he told Richard, “We are not going to jeopardize billions of dollars because you are missing a dot?” Pied Piper worked, but was it really worth trashing the entire algorithm and son of a Antwon? Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) also mentioned that it was a feature, so why are we (Six seasons later, I became a part of the Pied Piper team) jeopardizing billions of dollars because of a feature?
2. Erlich Bachman’s Sudden Disappearance
Creative differences and all, but I vote Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller) should have a comeback for one more final episode. Erlich didn’t really seem like the type that would walk away from life. Sure, he’d spend a month or two in a crack house, but returning to his 10%? Very unlikely. Although Erlich was an extremely exploitative character, we can assume he changed his game plan when he crashed a monastery to get Gavin Belson (Matthew Ross).
Sure, Pied Piper never really made it big, but they had small wins here and there, and Erlich Bachman should have sensed victory approaching and returned for his 10%. But disappearing off the face of the earth destroyed the character—unless, of course, it fits the theme that “Silicon Valley is the saddest sitcom ever.” In that case, it makes sense for Erlich not to show up to claim his $20 million or for the Silicon Valley audience to see his 10% reaction to losing hundreds of millions of dollars. Even more annoying was Jin-Yang stealing Erlich’s identity and money. The way Jin-Yang operated made him either your favorite or least favorite character; I choose the latter. Frankly, Jin-Yang was infuriating.
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3. Richard Hendricks Now Works As A Gavin Belson Professor of Ethics in Technology at Stanford
Richard’s job after Pied Piper is definitely a big fuck you to the character and also Gavin’s “happily ever after?” insult to injury. Richard got to work in a field that was the ultimate sign that Richard should have taken the $10m, and once again, guys, the bad guy actually wins sometimes, if not most of the time. To think that Gavin Belson actually ended up in a career he actually loves and, with a buddy, for that matter, I can help be happy for him while also calming the urge to scream, fucking Gavin Belson!
4. Richard Never Went on a Date With Monica
Other than Gilfoyle and his girlfriend, the most romantic thrill fans got from Silicon Valley is discovering that Jared (Zach Woods) actually fucks!! Richard also briefly had a love interest, but all romantic insinuations ended after he tumbled down the stairs to get away from her because of a few space bars.
The entire foundation of Silicon Valley was Monica Hall (Amanda Crew), a savvy and attractive Associate Partner from Raviga, convincing the geek Richard to turn down $10 million for a six-year journey that ultimately proved less than successful (or only marginally so, depending on your perspective).
Many Silicon Valley fans waited for Richard to deserve a chance at romance—not just because of the obvious chemistry, but also because, at some point in season one, Monica suggested they could go on a date if they weren’t working together.
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Only Dinesh Got His Happy Ending
Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) clearly made peace with losing his share of eight billion dollars. In the final episode, he was the only character with a big smile on his face, while the others remained stunned, even years later. After enduring years of hazing and teasing from Gilfoyle, Dinesh found happiness simply by having the mean satanist as his partner. The only disappointment was not seeing exactly how the two friends, especially Gilfoyle, decided to team up with Dinesh.
Jared’s ending could also be counted as a happy “ish”, although he is clearly out of his depth with all his parents.
Mariam Emily Adama is a copywriter, SEO strategist, and digital marketer passionate about using words to inform, inspire, and influence. With over seven years of experience writing for global brands and managing digital campaigns, she brings a data-driven yet creative approach to content creation. When she’s not writing or analyzing trends, Mariam enjoys exploring new cultures, reading, and documenting stories that celebrate African excellence.