Silicon Valley Season 6 Review: The sixth and last season of HBO's Silicon Valley brings with it a sense of loss; as any great comedy's loss is; but it also appears sprightly, ridiculously funny, and, as always; on-trend.
The hallmark of Silicon Valley is that it recognized early on how large and plentiful a target the tech world and all of its people would be for a comedy and rarely wasted a minute mocking the companies; CEOs; coders; tech bros, and the rest of the otherwise ridiculously wealthy workforce (plus the dreamers who didn't get their share!) of the actual Silicon Valley.
It should come as no surprise; then; that the final season begins with a brilliant idea: Richard (Thomas Middleditch) must address a Senate committee.
Not only is it funny; but it continues the series' reputation of being strangely accurate and sometimes prescient about the world it satirizes; as evidenced by Mark Zuckerberg's high-profile Washington, D.C., testimony in recent days.
All good series' endings are depressing because we're saying goodbye to our television buddies.
People watch shows for the characters, and there's still something compelling about Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) and Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) squabbling over coding wars that end up causing chaos (which happens to a small extent in this last season but was a thing of beauty in season four; when we learned that hacking a smart refrigerator on an open Internet could be problematic).
Related:‘Shining Girls’ Review: ‘Offset’ Recap/ Review | Is ‘Dan’ No Longer Alive?
It's still entertaining to watch Gavin (Matt Ross) cry, Laurie (Suzanne Cryer) express herself honestly, and Jian-Yang (Jimmy O. Yang) do anything.
Silicon Valley Season 6 Cast
- Thomas Middleditch as Richard Hendricks.
- Josh Brener as Nelson “Big Head” Righetti.
- Martin Starr as Bertram Gilfoyle.
- Kumail Nanjiani as Dinesh Chugtai.
- Amanda Crew as Monica Hall.
- Zach Woods as Donald “Jared” Dunn.
- Matt Ross as Gavin Belson.
- Suzanne Cryer as Laurie Bream.
All good shows have a sad conclusion since we're losing our TV buddies.
People watch shows for the characters more than anything else, and there's still something compelling about Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) and Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) squabbling over coding wars that end up causing chaos (which happens to a small extent in this last season but was a thing of beauty in season four; when we learned that hacking a smart refrigerator on an open Internet could be problematic).
It's still entertaining to see Gavin (Matt Ross) cry, Laurie (Suzanne Cryer) express herself honestly, and, especially, Jian-Yang (Jimmy O. Yang) do anything.
The cast of Silicon Valley has always been great, and it has successfully extended its minor characters throughout the years, and their quirks and imperfections will be missed.
Because HBO only released three of the season's seven episodes, there's no way of knowing if T.J. Miller's Erlich Bachman will ever be seen again (he's been proclaimed dead but is allegedly in Tibet, mostly against his will).
Related: The Hunger Games Review: Where Can I Watch This ‘Dystopian Thriller’?
You can't, however, give up hope. Despite Miller's tumultuous relationship with executive producer and writer Alec Berg (which included him declaring; “I will never be on Silicon Valley again”) and allegations of inappropriate on-set behavior; there's no denying that Miller was fantastic in the role and that the character was consistently funny.
Silicon Valley Season 6 Review: Season 6 of Silicon Valley: A Bittersweet Ending That Encapsulates the Show's Core Theme
Finally; the Pied Piper staff gathers at the hostel for one more game of “Always Blue;” with Richard volunteering to show the documentary crew the correct Pied Piper code (the interviewer is Silicon Valley exec producer Alec Berg; who wrote and produced “Exit Event”).
Silicon Valley began its journey five years ago as a quirky comedy depicting the rise and fall of developing a startup; with plenty of amusing moments while also demonstrating how difficult it is to navigate the tech industry.
However; as time passed and the real Silicon Valley continued to evolve; the show began to evolve into something more relevant: a satirical look at the ever-expanding world of digital business.
The sixth and final season, which premiered two months ago, continued this tradition by providing a superb analysis of morals, posing the question of whether money and power can coexist with ethics.
Even said, one of the show's biggest assets is that, even when it tries to tackle serious topics in the tech industry, it always manages to do so in a fun and digestible manner.
There were no terrible episodes. Not a single one. Even when the show's creators — Mike Judge, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky — and writers start to lose steam due to the hamster wheel formula that keeps repeating each season, they know how to bring every single moment back to its original best self.
Related: Fantastic Beasts the Secrets of Dumbledore Review: Is This Movie Worth Watching?
Season six manages to explore new ground by delving even deeper into the dysfunction of Silicon culture, analyzing how compromising one's morality and ethics has always been inherent in any road to success.
