Super Pumped Season 1 Episode 4 review: As Uber starts raking controversies, enters Uma Thurman’s Arianna Huffington

3/5

Story:

After earning himself some significant victories, Travis Kalanick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds his hands full trying to tackle controversies that can potentially shake the people’s trust in Uber. At the same time, he finds his relationship with Bill Gurley (Kyle Chandler) and other prominent board members worsen, with the latter feeling that his actions are driven by his ego. Ironically, one of the controversies earns Kalanick an unlikely, and powerful ally in the form of Arianna Huffington (Uma Thurman).

Review:

The latest episode of Super Pumped explores the events that led to the beginning of the end of Travis Kalanick’s reign in Uber. Titled Boober, the story covers some of the troubling parts of Kalanick’s attitude that led to his downfall. Viewers are also finally introduced to Uma Thurman’s character - Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of The Huffington Post.

The show starts to get to business, abandoning most of the flash that weighed down its earlier episodes, and delves into the unsettling events that tainted Kalanick’s tenure as Uber’s CEO. We see the company start to falter in terms of its public image, as it has to deal with the murder of its drivers in Brazil, the sexism that plagues its workplace and the issues regarding its app’s privacy breach also coming into the public eye.

Kalanick’s confidence is seen starting to wane, although his God complex still persists despite the pitfalls his company finds itself in. The fast-paced episode does not stop to take a moment’s breather. It goes from showing how Uber dealt with controversy after controversy, and the full extent of its contemptible corporate culture, especially when it came to sexual harassment. Targeting even the top brass of women, the company's efforts to dust its rife sexist practices, something Kalanick is guilty of and even encourages, is in full display. The CEO’s single-minded focus on growing his company, even at the cost of his employees’ well being is also highlighted, as we see him brush off the murders of his drivers as nothing but an inconvenience.

Bill Gurley persists in his efforts to bring Kalanick down a peg or two, although it sometimes becomes tedious how the show tries to depict him as the saintliest of businessmen. Nonetheless, the way he tries his best to pull the rug out from under Kalanick takes the story to some very interesting directions. Not to be outdone, Kalanick too goes out of the way to make sure that his position of power in the company,and in the process finds himself under the mentorship of Huffington.

Thurman’s entry as Huffington is not as impactful as the other parts of the story. Her character is depicted as being more eccentric rather than powerful. Although she might play a much bigger role in the episodes to come, in this episode, her actions are mainly trying to give Kalanick the boost he needs. Her intentions behind them seem to lack clarity though, her eagerness to help him confusing and without any reason. Hopefully, these are further explored as the series progresses.

Verdict:

The latest episode of Super Pumped explores some controversial events that marred the company and Kalanick’s tenure as CEO, in a fast-paced and intriguing story. Uma Thurman’s entry into the show could have been done better, although her character does hold promise.