Silicon Valley
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Its launch day for PiperNet, the worlds first decentralized internet!
This effective sequence opens Fifty-One Percent, the season finale of Silicon Valley.
And its the biggest shock the show has given us.
Was the world just not ready for PiperNet?
Or had Professional Badass Laurie Bream managed to usurp Pied Pipers glory with New Pied Piper a.k.a.
The answer comes quickly via a severely bearded Dinesh.
Richard, you have to see this!
he says with a hesitant voice.
Normally, this would be a cause for celebration and Richard has a modest party to honor the milestone.
But, as we know from episodes like The Uptick, not all users tend to be legitimate.
These most certainly arent.
This explains the spike in users.
But Yaos workers have to sign each phone into Pied Piper manually, which takes a lot of time.
Hold on to that thought, as its a crucial plot point later.
For now, lets get back to that inflection point party.
I thought there would be a correlation, at least a little bit, she says.
But I dont mean to rain on your parade, Monica cautions.
As Gilfoyle investigates the cryptocurrency issue, Richard runs into K-Hole CEO Colin in the office lobby.
During the party, Richard thanked the Septopipers, which is one less than OctoPipers.
But Colin has a valid excuse for his actions.
Laurie was our VC, he says.
It was she who made us pull the game and bail on you.
Colin also casually mentions that Laurie fired him from his own company.
Colin is so shaken that he humbles himself before Richard in ways unknown to most tech bros.
He pleads to Richard, telling him I really need this.
Take him back, Richard!
I yelled at the screen.
Now, youd think Richard would understand.
After all,Laurie once fired Richardfrom Pied Piper.
Butas Ive told you before, IT folks are some petty-ass people!
And Richard is our reigning king.
he tells Colin after ruthlessly mocking his downfall.
Richard then dances around in terrifying fashion, chanting the R. Kellyinspired phrase Kiss my piss!
The next day, Gilfoyle and Monica create a ledger program that shows a mysterious eighth user on PiperNet.
That user is the reason for the uptick.
But Richard hasnt authorized anyone new, and hes the only one with the admin rights to do so.
The only way in is if someone stole our software, says Gilfoyle.
And nobodys stolen our software, says Monica, except for …
Cut to Jian-Yang!
Hes at a Chinese casino gambling away the last of his savings.
Gilfoyle is able to track down Jian-Yang because he and Big Head playWords With Friendson a regular basis.
I do not want to talk to Gilfoyle!
Jian-Yang tells Big Head.
Hes a racist and a witch!
Im not a witch!
says Gilfoyle, before threatening Jian-Yang unless he spills the beans.
Jian-Yang does so with one condition: He wants to move back into Hacker Hostel.
Richard arrives just in time to hear that Yao and Laurie are the reason for the spike in users.
Why would they want to help us?
Suddenly, light bulbs go off over Gilfoyle and Dineshs heads.
Colins users would be a great stopgap; that is, if Richard can find him.
So like all the prior season finales, were in for a rollicking race against time before fadeout.
Colin is not the only CEO fired this week.
At Hooli, Gavin is facing an upset board of directors wondering where their merchandise is.
The last two months have been tough, explains Gavin.
As a result, Gavin has only made 40 prototypes of Hooli Box 3: The Domination.
The board reveals that Gavins mortal enemy, Amazons Jeff Bezos, wants to buy Hooli.
If Jeff buys us, Im gone!
The board votes for Jeff, sending Gavin on yet another mansion-destroying tantrum.
Mind the glass, Gavin tells his surprise visitor, Richard, paying homage to Teambuilding Exercise.
Richards there to beg Gavins help by catering to Gavins inner pettiness.
This battle becomes a Mexican standoff between Laurie and Gavin that plays out on the Skype-like Hooli Chat.
Hell use this to partner with YaoNet and wrest control of Hooli from Amazon.
At the same time, Jared and Dinesh look for an off the grid Colin in the California woods.
Leave it to Tesla to answer that!
Dinesh convinced the woman whose Tesla payments hes making to let him use her car to help find Colin.
Dinesh also convinces her to let him use Ludicrous Mode, which hilariously warps everybodys faces once employed.
But Gavin executes what my mentor Roger Ebert referred to as The Fallacy of the Talking Killer.
He wastes valuable time taunting Richard before issuing the patch that will erase Richards hard work forever.
Richard takes advantage, offering to sign over Pied Piper to Gavin for free to save it from destruction.
If Gavin owns PiperNet, he becomes YaoNets competitor, not its partner.
Richard makes an impromptu contract that Gavin vindictively shakes at the Hooli Chat screen.
Turns out Richard was stalling for time until Colin transferred his users.
Fifty One Percent ends with a scene that mirrors the season premiere.
Pied Piper HQ is moving to a nice new location, but its not the office we originally see.
The new space is behind this door, says Monica.
But rather thana scary old former mainframe room, this new office is much bigger.
Seems that YaoNet partnered with Amazon, leaving Hooli to go bankrupt!
What do you think?
Id rather miss it than lament that the show jumped the shark.
Maybe Im just being sentimental.
See you next season?
