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[Vyer]

It reminds me of shows where two characters are a love interest and people want them to hurry up and 'get together' and inevitably the show is worse for it.

I think there has been growth. I mean, we're barely like 14 episodes in to a 30 minute show. What Richard and crew have built up to this point is pretty substantial. Plus, the situations these guys are in right now has lead to some great material.

I'm sure at some point we'll have the Silicon Valley where the guys are in a fancy office and having to deal with massive product release issues and celebrity endorsement hijinks or whatever. It might work, it might not. But regardless it will be a markedly different show.

What's the rush?

 

[PROh1bited]

I enjoyed the episode, and I guess I'm more of a sadist than the rest of you, because their suffering and setbacks are still entertaining to me

Loved it as well. Everyone is fucking up, Gavin, Richard, Jin Yang, EVERYONE. I guess everyone expects perfect episodes every time.

 

[BocoDragon]

I love this show, but last night as frustrating for me. I don't like the constant failure and lack of progression. It's funny to have them run into issues, but SOME forward progression would be nice. The constant stupidity of Richard is reaching obnoxious levels. Right now it feels like a sitcom that doesn't know where it's going to end and is just trying to keep the wheels spinning for eternity.

I really like this show and have sold many of my friends on it, but it needs to make some movement ASAP.

This is a show about a scrappy startup and the many ups and downs at that level. Why exactly do you think it's supposed to be getting somewhere?

As Vyer says above, there's room to have the "successful" pied piper company later on, but that will be a different thing entirely and they will have left "startup" jokes on the table if they rush there.

 

[golem]

It is quite reminisce of the Entourage problem. Yes when they hit success it will be a different show and probably have reached its peak but it's frustrating to me when they rely on Richards character flaws and cheap cop outs (delete key really?) to keep them in their situation. For such a smart comedy it is all the more disappointing when they are held back by these idiotic devices. Same with Hooli, that whole story line is pretty much treading water at this point and meaningless. How many B storylines can they run that just keep saying their tech is fucked? It just feels like PPs success or lack thereof isnt rooted in any real plot based reason but because the writers have decided they dont want them to succeed just yet.

It reminds me of shows where two characters are a love interest and people want them to hurry up and 'get together' and inevitably the show is worse for it.

I think there has been growth. I mean, we're barely like 14 episodes in to a 30 minute show. What Richard and crew have built up to this point is pretty substantial. Plus, the situations these guys are in right now has lead to some great material.

I'm sure at some point we'll have the Silicon Valley where the guys are in a fancy office and having to deal with massive product release issues and celebrity endorsement hijinks or whatever. It might work, it might not. But regardless it will be a markedly different show.

What's the rush?

 

[DarkFlow]

The final episode of season one was an enormous "win" moment for Pied Piper; they certainly took a massive turn with everything in this season.

It really wasn't that much of a win because as of right now they are broke, and every paying gig has met with disaster.

 

[Ghost_Messiah]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet; Richard's takedown and character annihilation of Russ. I genuinely felt sorry for the guy when Richard was laying in to him. That was probably the most emotionally resonant moment of the episode. I actually felt for him. As for the rest of the episode I enjoyed it but agree that it was a step down from the last two. PP fucking up again wasn't the logical progression the plot should have taken. They should have theoretically destroyed End Frame with their superior algorithm and naturally had a "win" so it was disappointing to see them lose again just because that's what the writers wanted.

I love this show but I'm a little worried now. Only two episodes left and next week's episode is focused on the legal battle so that leaves what, just the finale at CES for something to go right for them? I think I'm disappointed because last week indicated the season was going to end on a high with things finally going right for them and instead the writers just hit the reset button again. I'm sure the finale will be amazing with PP having an epic win again like last season but it does feel like they're just constantly fucking up now with alarming regularity.

The season so far has been extremely strong and enjoyable but yeah last night was somewhat disappointing.

 

[big ander]

It reminds me of shows where two characters are a love interest and people want them to hurry up and 'get together' and inevitably the show is worse for it.

I think there has been growth. I mean, we're barely like 14 episodes in to a 30 minute show. What Richard and crew have built up to this point is pretty substantial. Plus, the situations these guys are in right now has lead to some great material.

I'm sure at some point we'll have the Silicon Valley where the guys are in a fancy office and having to deal with massive product release issues and celebrity endorsement hijinks or whatever. It might work, it might not. But regardless it will be a markedly different show.

What's the rush?

This is a good point, but extending that comparison can illustrate why this season of Silicon Valley is grating for some. Will-they-won't-they's become exhausting when such obvious romance is delayed by contrived high-wire plotting. They're best when the relationship deepens gradually, at a pace that feels like forward motion without requiring evasive maneuvers to pull back like randomly moving a character away, or having a character get drunkenly married or something. It's the same for Silicon Valley. The show would be much better if their slow, slow march to success were being repeatedly tripped up in little ways. Instead every week is live or die in an even more extreme way.

 

[Dan]

There are ways for them to succeed and encounter new obstacles. Just like winning Tech Crunch introduced new issues that they'd have to with, and briefly getting a good term sheet was going to introduce bigger conflicts with how to structure the company and satisfy investors, etc. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation, but that's what the show has commonly being doing, which does grow frustrating. Pied Piper gets an opportunity and utterly fucks it up, rinse and repeat.

 

[wetwired]

So 10-15 minutes in, I just want to smack the fuck out of Richard. His naivety is really grating.

Some of the most talented programmers I've ever worked with are also the most socially inept and awkward people.

 

[Learn2read]

It is quite reminisce of the Entourage problem. Yes when they hit success it will be a different show and probably have reached its peak but it's frustrating to me when they rely on Richards character flaws and cheap cop outs (delete key really?) to keep them in their situation. For such a smart comedy it is all the more disappointing when they are held back by these idiotic devices. Same with Hooli, that whole story line is pretty much treading water at this point and meaningless. How many B storylines can they run that just keep saying their tech is fucked? It just feels like PPs success or lack thereof isnt rooted in any real plot based reason but because the writers have decided they dont want them to succeed just yet.

Next person that compares this to Entourage is getting kicked in the teeth

 

[Dereck]

I liked that Richard finally told Russ off even though it seemed to have little effectiveness.

 

[Deadstar]

I do hope the guys get some victories soon. It's rough seeing all this bad stuff happen when they clearly have the best product out there.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

There are ways for them to succeed and encounter new obstacles. Just like winning Tech Crunch introduced new issues that they'd have to with, and briefly getting a good term sheet was going to introduce bigger conflicts with how to structure the company and satisfy investors, etc. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation, but that's what the show has commonly being doing, which does grow frustrating. Pied Piper gets an opportunity and utterly fucks it up, rinse and repeat.

Yeah im not expecting them to have a big "win" instantly. TBH they should be going through these trials and tribulations of a startup for many seasons to come. Its a show about an underdog startup. Again its about balance, getting to see little wins are good too. Its interesting because it seems like it time-jumped to where they got the platform fully functional up and running, which is actually a big win kind of moment, but we just didn't get to see any of it happen.

Alas, it doesn't matter. Didn't realize there are only two episodes left(?). Hopefully all a setup for whats to come.

Next person that compares this to Entourage is getting kicked in the teeth

I haven't seen Entourage, but I'll agree:

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Taken from Reddit and sums up my feelings exactly.

Pretty much.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Everything Russ says has me in stitches, what an insane egomaniac.

 

[Dereck]

TJ Miller won the Critic's Choice award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series last night.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

No ones ever died from second-hand heroin

 

[Dereck]

Guys, wait, if something was just on the delete key, how did that lock everyone out of the system?

 

[D4Danger]

Guys, wait, if something was just on the delete key, how did that lock everyone out of the system?

you're overthinking it

 

[soleil]

Everything Russ says has me in stitches, what an insane egomaniac.

That whole scene, from Richard telling him off to the McLaren in the driveway..I felt sorry for him while at the same time thinking he was such a jackass.

you're overthinking it

To be fair, most technical things on the show more or less made sense until that moment, so we should think about it. The one explanation I can think of is that since it was repeated deletes, maybe the system was constantly in a "transaction in progress, no other users can do anything until this user is done doing it" mode.

 

[Demon Ice]

Meh, idgaf about the realism in a show that's about a magical compression algorithm, that episode was hilarious. The Jin Yang (sp?) scenes in particular had me in stitches.

 

[A Human Becoming]

I'm getting tired of Pied Piper being fucked over constantly.

 

[Helmholtz]

I didn't think it was the best episode, but I don't feel it was as bad as people seem to be suggesting. The delete key thing was indeed pretty dumb though, but I'm not going to get caught up in the technical stuff when it comes to a comedy show.

 

[Dr.Acula]

TJ Miller won the Critic's Choice award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series last night.


NY Mag has video of his acceptance speech.

TJ Miller can sure deliver a speech.

 

[hateradio]

I'm getting tired of Pied Piper being fucked over constantly.

Let's your delete your post and pretend it never happened.

 

[Alpende]

I agree with you guys. They keep fucking up and it's getting stale. I still enjoy the comedy though but they need to give Pied Piper a couple of wins. I'm not that tech savvy but I don't believe a simple delete key can delete important shit like that.

 

[out0v0rder]

"he fucks". hahaha

 

[Man]

Loved it.

It's quality cast when it keeps revolving from episode to episode in wishing that and that character had more screen time.

 

[Vyer]

This is a good point, but extending that comparison can illustrate why this season of Silicon Valley is grating for some. Will-they-won't-they's become exhausting when such obvious romance is delayed by contrived high-wire plotting. They're best when the relationship deepens gradually, at a pace that feels like forward motion without requiring evasive maneuvers to pull back like randomly moving a character away, or having a character get drunkenly married or something. It's the same for Silicon Valley. The show would be much better if their slow, slow march to success were being repeatedly tripped up in little ways. Instead every week is live or die in an even more extreme way.

imo what's made this show so entertaining is that those situations do lead to extreme things. Either way, that's still my point; I'd rather it continue to be somewhat gradual. Not even two seasons in and they've: formed their own company, fought off Hooli, won TechCrunch, went through investor funding and the promotional thing. Last episode ended with a 'win' by forcing the bake off. I think that's all been progress. There have been gradual wins, and fuckups to counter. That's what's made these great situations. To want to rush through that seems a little crazy to me. Not even two seasons and people want to get to the 'now they're together' part when we know more often than not how that works out.

Plus, I kind of feel like that's the foundation of the show. It'd be like stopping Selina's team from fucking up or the IT guys from being in the basement and disrespected or Larry David from being an asshole.

I don't know. It just hasn't reached any kind of 'exhausting' or 'wheels spinning' point to me. I guess we'll get to the Pied Piper With Money and Success part regardless and maybe it'll still be fine and if so that's great. But i just feel like that's a different show than this and I'm not sure getting there quickly is a good thing.

 

[Shao Kahn on the Lawn]

Guys, wait, if something was just on the delete key, how did that lock everyone out of the system?

It wouldn't. In a show about an impossible compression algorithm, that was easily the least believable "technical" problem demonstrated yet.

Forget locking everyone out of the system. Holding the delete key supposedly deleted the source files that were being transferred from a major content company that seemingly doesn't have backups of their content.

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

a major content company that seemingly doesn't have backups of their content.

You'd be surprised lol, trust me.

 

[Magwik]

I'm getting tired of Pied Piper being fucked over constantly.

To be fair
Everyone is getting fucked this season

 

[kiguel182]

Honestly this episode was too dumb.

I mean, I can't support Richard at this point. He is just an idiot. When half of the conflict in this show comes from him doing dumb stuff I just can't care.

The other two dudes usually know the best course of action but Richard just goes against it for some weird moral reason and then freaks out. Rinse and repeat. And then someone puts a tequila bottle on a delete key and everything gets deleted for some reason. Which also makes no sense.

This show can be pretty smart and the characters are great underdogs at times but now it seems they just have to be bumbling idiots since the technical stuff is working.

 

[Kyuur]

a major content company that seemingly doesn't have backups of their content.

I was thinking the same thing when I watched it, but thinking about it some more... Storage is expensive, uncompressed 4k video is huge and the company was trying to save costs wherever possible due to lost revenue streams. I can definitely see the lack of backups being a dumb management decision.

 

[Mighty Chin]

I was thinking the same thing when I watched it, but thinking about it some more... Storage is expensive, uncompressed 4k video is huge and the company was trying to save costs wherever possible due to lost revenue streams. I can definitely see the lack of backups being a dumb management decision.

You back up your shit.

 

[kiguel182]

Can you even delete stuff like that on a Terminal? You either do a command and spam that or you simply delete whatever you write on the command.

And I thought that what you were seeing was just the transfer and compression information on the terminal.

But even if you can it's still such a dumb plot device. And even if you can delete everything like that the whole "we are locked out" is just ridiculous. Whatever.

 

[lastflowers]

Best part was tres commas guy getting the car for himself, and then putting a bow on it to surprise the pied piper team. I knew it was coming as soon as I saw the car, and I still laughed my goddamn ass off.

 

[gosox333]

Ever since season 1 and it's finale, this "get shit on nonstop until the very end" progression has been pretty predictable and expected to me. And really that's fine, last season's finale was really good because of it, as long as there's payoff like that then I won't complain when all's said and done.

 

[pj]

It was definitely a hand waving plot device. No part of it makes sense on a technical level. Why would they be given write access to the ftp in the first place?

 

[Shanlei91]

Next person that compares this to Entourage is getting kicked in the teeth

Ever noticed how similar Avion sounds like Aviato?

 

[Enduin]

Yeah I was really starting to enjoying this season until the end of the last ep. Not only did it not make sense, that's not how computers/networks work, what major corp doesn't have backups of their files even if that large, etc etc. But I'm more so quite tired of PP and Co. constantly being set back to square one. There are other ways of bringing conflict into the mix other than continually placing them on the brink of destruction every episode.

The rest of the writing and characters are on point and hilarious, but the handling of the overall story arc is getting a bit played out and tiresome.

 

[Arkeband]

Can you even delete stuff like that on a Terminal? You either do a command and spam that or you simply delete whatever you write on the command.

And I thought that what you were seeing was just the transfer and compression information on the terminal.

But even if you can it's still such a dumb plot device. And even if you can delete everything like that the whole "we are locked out" is just ridiculous. Whatever.

No. The only way this plot point would have worked is if the tequila was sitting on the CTRL+C buttons simultaneously.

Even then it wouldn't have "locked anyone out", but at least it would have interrupted the transfer, maybe.

For a show lauded for being so true to real software engineering problems and its handling of complex technological jargon, this episode sticks out like a sore thumb.

A magical compression algorithm is acceptable sci-fi, to me. It's in a black box. But this is a show that is supposed to be above the "I'm getting hacked" bullshit.

 

[norinrad]

I really do not like Richard. what a c**t

 

[Shaneus]

Ever since season 1 and it's finale, this "get shit on nonstop until the very end" progression has been pretty predictable and expected to me. And really that's fine, last season's finale was really good because of it, as long as there's payoff like that then I won't complain when all's said and done.

The only thing I like about it is that it happens in equal portions to Hooli. If that weren't the case, it would go from barely tolerable to completely unwatchable.

It really does feel like a lot of this season has been padding and unnecessary. If I had to summarise, it'd be "This happens to PP, they overcome it by doing this. Then this happens to PP, but they get out of it by doing this". Problem is, it's ALL inflicted by Richard.

 

[Syph Medwes]

Are you guys nuts? Last episode was amazing. Best joke had to be when they're pitching the app and they bring up how paedophiles could use it and Erlich says "yea they don't tend to be early adopters" holy shit lol

 

[mmazurkiewicz]

Typical Neogaf. I come in here and people are hating the episode because of the delete key scene.

 

[LeleSocho]

The problem with this show is that they found the magical and breakthrough product that is the key of their success in the finale of the first season.
Once you go that route the viewers feel the need to see them succeed and making the wait longer only angers them. I would've had no problems if all the stuff that they are going through happened when they were still non competitive with the big guys.
I'm still enjoying the show but if this goes on for much longer i might stop watching it.

---

I liked the delete key thing, it's totally unrealistic but who cares, the show isn't and must not be an accademic paper on computer science.

 

[Darth Pinche]

Typical Neogaf. I come in here and people are hating the episode because of the delete key scene.

This is life imitating art if I've ever seen it.

 

[lastflowers]

I liked the delete key thing, it's totally unrealistic but who cares, the show isn't and must not be an accademic paper on computer science.

Yeah, it was stupid, but worked as a plot device because Richard's failure with the security guy never actually amounted to anything other than parents thinking he wanted to skullfuck their children.

 

[Vyer]

More importantly it allowed Gilfoyle to remain awesome.

Nobody's breaking his security!