After a nearly catastrophic season finale, the men of Pied Piper are surprisingly doing better than ever heading into Season 5 of Silicon Valley. But obviously, that can't last too long on this show.
The Season 4 finale was a game-changer in a number of ways for Silicon Valley, as an unsettling darkness came forward in the lead character and we said goodbye to one of the main cast members for good. With all the high-tech craziness that went down, let's take a look at the things we can probably expect to see next season, which will likely premiere on HBO in April of 2018.
1. The rise of Dark Richard
For most of the show, Richard Hendricks has been a relatively toothless and agreeable CEO who has been easy to root for amid the tech-mogul sharks in Silicon Valley, but the finale showed a darkness in him that we haven't seen before.
In order to try to save his company, Richard lies to and takes advantage of his friends, even berating and firing Jared, the character that has somewhat taken on the role of his conscience recently. And all this was after he convinced his team to illegally hack into Hooli phones at a convention, which resulted in a number of fiery injuries.
In the end, Richard admits he's gone too far and apologizes to Jared, but now that we've seen just how evil Richard can get, we can probably expect to see it again next time he's backed into a corner.
2. The return of Gavin Belson as an antagonist
Pied Piper's main antagonist from the beginning of the series took a break from being the bad guy in Season 4, but at the end of the finale, it's clear things are going to go back to their old dynamics between Richard and Gavin.
Well, the same old dynamic, but with a potential power shift. This time, when Gavin is reinstated as Hooli's CEO and offers to buy Richard's company, Richard fires back saying his decentralized internet will make Hooli's server-based programs completely obsolete. So as we go back to Gavin vs. Richard next season, we might be seeing the fight from the other side.
3. A lot more screen time for Jared
I feel pretty confident in saying that the best part of Silicon Valley is Zach Woods' absurd, creepy, and somehow endearing enigma of a character Jared. Unfortunately, Jared has largely been a side character in the show, but that might change in Season 5.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Mike Judge noted that he's seen the immense fan response to Jared, and teased that the next season will give us a whole lot more of him:
We'll probably see the rise of Jared of some kind. I think it will be a Jared-heavy season.
4. A new character to replace Erlich
One character we definitely won't be seeing in Season 5 is Erlich Bachman, as T.J. Miller recently revealed he is done with the show as of this season finale. With Erlich gone, the whole dynamic in the Pied Piper house will definitely change, and Mike Judge even admitted that he's toying with the idea of bringing in a new character to take his place.
With Erlich off smoking his life away in a Tibetan opium den for the next five years, Judge said the house he owned (where all the main characters live) could be in jeopardy, and a new person could step in and buy it.
5. Mia's revenge
One new character from this season who might cause a problem in the future is Dinesh's girlfriend Mia. After finding out what a dangerous hacker Mia is, Dinesh secretly called the FBI on her. The last time we see her, Dinesh is visiting her in prison, and she reveals she has a plan to get on a library computer, find out who put her in jail, and get her revenge.
Dinesh whispers to a guard to keep a close watch on the computers as he leaves, but something tells me that Mia is going to figure out what Dinesh did, and that could be completely devastating for Pied Piper, considering her scary hacking skills.
