S03E03 - Meinertzhagen's Haversack

No: 21  |  Season: 3   Episode: 3  |  Air Date: 8-May-16  |  Ratings: 1.69

Summary

After visiting the server farm where the new Pied Piper storage appliances would be housed, Richard confronts Jack about the company's direction. After Jack shoots him down, Richard visits Raviga and makes the same complaint to Laurie Bream, who actually agrees with Richard. Later, after Jack Barker throws a tantrum, Laurie allows him to continue managing Pied Piper on the path he wants. Meanwhile, Gilfoyle opens himself up to recruiters and receives plenty of free gifts and swag. However, he is also recruited by the End Frame guys who have apparently teamed up with the ex-Hooli engineers who cracked middle-out compression. Gilfoyle returns from the interview with the bad news, which causes Richard to decide they need to create a skunk-works where they can continue their development of the Pied Piper platform. Also, Dinesh starts wearing a gold chain, to which the guys (even Jared) start to bust his chops.

Director and Writers

Director: Charlie McDowell
Written by: Adam Countee

Quotes

Dinesh: Well you're insane...
Erlich: No Dinesh that chain is insane, and not in the membrane.
Jared: Sorry Cypress "Halal"

Laurie Bream: It is a question mark made of human hair harvested apparently from dead people in India. It's a pun. It signifies, at Raviga we ask the big hairy questions.

Richard: (chuckling) Excuse me gentlemen. I'm going to go ask "Action Jack" how Laurie's dick tastes.

Gilfoyle: (phone rings) Oh. Already? Recruiters move fast these days. (answers phone) This is Gilfoyle. Dazzle me.

Gilfoyle: What are you doing?
Erlich: Eating popcorn.
Gilfoyle: That's my popcorn.
Erlich: You have seven tubs of it. You could be the mayor of Popcornopolis.

Dinesh: Okay, listen. I've been working hard. I'm making money for the first time. I was like... buy myself something nice, you know?
Gilfoyle: But instead of that, you bought a chain?

Gilfoyle: (to Dinesh) Later, Chain the Virgin.

Erlich: (referring to the dead fish) Would you... take this daughter of Neptune back from whence she came? (pause) The toilet, dear.

Gilfoyle: Pappy Van Winkle. Now we're talking. I'll take it.
Driver: They told me not to give it to you until after the meeting.
Gilfoyle: I respect your skills. Let me get my jacket.

Dinesh: At least we'll make a little money doing it.
Gilfoyle: Oh, great. So, you can go back to the car wash and buy some more chains. Huh, Pakistani Mr. T?

Jared: Sorry, Django.
Dinesh: Django?
Jared: (laughing) Unchained.

Erlich: When George Washington founded a little startup we've come to know as these United States of America, and he was tired of getting shit from his CEO, the King of England, did he just roll over and take it from behind? No. He called on his ride-or-die homeboys, Tommy Jefferson, Benny Franklin, and Alex Hamilton... who was half-black, so that's Dinesh.
Dinesh: I'm not half-black.
Erlich: He said, "Avast, ye fellow badasses, let's build this country the way we motherfucking want to." And so, Richard, if we want to build the platform, all we need to do is... build the platform.
Dinesh: That was underwhelming.

Carla: You guys are fucking nuts, but I dig it. Here's the deal. I'm going to need the back pay you guys owe me for when I was working for free, not to mention lost wages from my old job. Oh, and damages from when Jared sexually harassed me into being friends with that Monica chick.
Richard: So... all that and you're in?
Carla: In? No. That's just to keep me from telling Barker about your secret project.

Jared: No one's heard of Meinertzhagen's haversack?
Erlich: Of course I have, Jared. Just explain it to them.
Jared: Well, it's a principle of military deception. Essentially, it means you have to continue to act the part. So, as far as anyone knows, we're still building a box that we hate. We need to act like it.
Dinesh: That's exactly right. If we do anything differently, Barker's going to be onto us. We have to keep complaining about Barker. We have to keep bitching about the box.
Gilfoyle: We have to keep making fun of your gold chain. We have to. We don't have any other choice, Dinesh.

Jared: Hey, Dinesh, nice chain. Do you choke your mother with it when you put your penis in her butthole?
Richard: What the fuck?

Music

"Stretch Your Face" by Tobacco (Opening title music)

"Chameleon " by Herbie Hancock (Music that plays as they are making the plan)

"FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt (Feat. Rick Ross)" by Jay-Z (As they walk out of the elevator)

"Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe (End-credits music.)

Notes and Trivia

In reference to the episode title: "Meinertzhagen's Haversack" refers to Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen who was famous for his "Haversack Ruse", where he purposely let a haversack (military backpack) containing false British battle plans fall into Turkish military hands, which resulted in British victory at the Battle of Beersheba.

The scene where the group is sitting in a circle and going over the plan was an homage to the movie "Ocean's Eleven" and its sequels.

At the beginning of the episode, when the guys are getting the tour of "Maleant", notice that their tour guide's name badge photo shows him as a young-looking version of himself.

On 10 May 16, Kumail Nanjiani tweeted that the chain story from this episode was actually taken from his real life. He added, "In HS I got a silver chain. It went worse than it does in the show."

When Carla mentions, "damages from when Jared sexually harassed me into being friends with that Monica chick," she is referring to Season 2 where Jared repeatedly attempted to force a friendship between Carla and Monica.

Although Josh Brener (Nelson 'Big Head' Bighetti) and Matt Ross (Gavin Belson) are credited for this episode, they did not appear. In fact, this is first episode where Matt Ross did not appear.

Goofs

In the final scene, as they leave the elevator, you can see that Richard is wearing knee-pads beneath his pants.

During the sped-up work montage, Erlich's pizza box goes from half-full to empty, and then back to half-full again.

In the scene in Monica's office, when Richard turns away to look at the maintenance person hanging the "hair" art, there is an obvious over-dubbing of his voice.

Locations

None

Cast

StarringThomas MiddleditchRichard Hendricks
StarringT.J. MillerErlich Bachman
StarringJosh BrenerNelson 'Big Head' Bighetti
StarringMartin StarrBertram Gilfoyle
StarringKumail NanjianiDinesh Chugtai
StarringAmanda CrewMonica Hall
StarringZach WoodsJared Dunn
StarringMatt RossGavin Belson
StarringSuzanne CryerLaurie Bream
StarringJimmy O. YangJian Yang
Guest StarringAly MawjiNaveen Dutt
Guest StarringBrian TichnellJason
Guest StarringIan AldaMarc
Guest StarringStephen TobolowskyJack Barker
Guest StarringAlice WetterlundCarla Walton
Co-StarringTammy DahlstromGloria
Co-StarringRen HanamiLynn
Co-StarringJennifer JaleneRecruiter
Co-StarringPhillip JeanmarieDon
Co-StarringArthur KengAlan
Co-StarringEddie LiuDoug
Co-StarringShannon McClungKeith
Co-StarringCasey O'FarrellPete
Co-StarringHenry PhillipsJohn
Co-StarringCorey RittmasterDriver