Silicon Valley - Season 4 Review

Silicon Valley is a show that I've always had one problem with; a lack of forward momentum regarding the story and characters. While the development of the Pied Piper company has gone through multiple iterations over the course of the show, they always seem to reset back to zero at the end of each season. So, when season 4 made it clear from the premiere episode that Richard Hendricks' (Thomas Middleditch) main goal was going off in a completely new direction, I was excited.

Such an out-of-left-field development really did help the story to feel fresh, rather than further cement a sense of stagnation. Richard's ambition really came to the forefront of the story, and that ambition began to cause more and more friction with the other characters as the season progressed. It was nice to have some actual conflict develop between the characters beyond a small hiccup in the business developing, although the show retained its addiction to avoiding meaningful consequences.

What Silicon Valley needs to do is commit to progression and innovation. It's ironic that a show about developing new things and moving the word forward refuses to do the same thing for its own story. The finale had a moment that actually made me sit up in my chair and say "oh, shit" out loud, because the characters had been written into a seemingly inescapable hole. And then, five minutes later, it was all resolved, and they were on top of the world.

I was happy to see that the season actually took some chances and threw characters into unexpected, increasingly ludicrous scenarios. Unfortunately, the season finale ended with everything working out perfectly for the heroes, and the set-up for a continued conflict between Richard and Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) being the note we end on. Every new development that the characters underwent throughout the season, especially those in the finale, were undone, and we were back to the status quo. T.J. Miller's character is the only one who was left in a different place, and that was because of his decision to leave the show.

Silicon Valley is, first and foremost, a comedy, and it remains as funny as it has ever been. Although at this point, the humour is showing itself to be very limited. The cast are as charismatic and fun as ever, but their interactions seem to hit the same beats over and over again. Richard says something about the company, Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) and Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) argue, Erlich (T.J. Miller) says something unrelated, then Jared (Zach Woods) punctuates the exchange with something awkward. These interactions are certainly funny, but there's not a lot of variety to be found. The funniest jokes were subversions or references to well-known jokes from past seasons. That self-referential style works for fans of the show, but that kind of humour isn't sustainable for very long.

It's hard to review good comedy, because all you can really say is "it's funny" without spoiling the jokes. The show doesn't really set out to change the game of comedy, and at this point, it's found a comfort zone and is staying firmly within that zone's boundaries. I would describe Silicon Valley as "comfortable" more than anything else. It's not a show that you need to analyse too deeply, and since every season resets by the finale, each season can be viewed as a somewhat contained story. The moments where something beyond comedy can be found are few and far between.

So,while this review may seem negative, I did really enjoy this season. I enjoyed it just as much as I did the past three seasons, because the show has never gotten bad, but it also very rarely goes above and beyond. In terms of comedy and overall quality, the show is consistent. It's the sort of show I can put on in the background for semi-ambient noise while I write, but not one that I would list among my favourite shows of all time. Maybe if the show takes some more risks and sticks to more consequences in the future, it can rise above what it has accomplished so far. For now, it's just as good as its ever been, which is its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.