Previously on Billions: Season 2, Episode 10 “With or Without You”

The morning after the night before…Axe wakes up to an empty bed and a note from Lara “You lied to me”.  He leaves his first message “You can’t just…can you just call me, please?”

source: Showtime

Wendy is ordered in to Axe’s car by Hall, who is not happy and blaming Wendy for Lara taking off.  He snidely lectures Wendy on Lies perhaps being acceptable in her marriage and insists he has only lied to Lara once. I don’t believe that. Clearly, however, Axe has a scale on what he considers to be a lie.  His behaviour in this scene is threatening and aggressive.  Wendy submits “Can I get out the car now.” She is asking for permission! Say, what, now?

Hall then adds a bit more threat “If we have any further questions I will call…or maybe I will just show up.”

Hall shows Axe security tape from the house of Lara taking money and leaving with the boys. Lara appears to have used none of Axe’s resources (vehicles) or other properties they have. She has just disappeared and Hall disabled the GPS in her car months ago at Axe’s request. The three phones are off! No credit cards have been used.

We see a man with the dominatrix we have seen Chuck with previously. He waits until she goes to get prepared and steals her laptop, fleeing the scene.

Axe calls Lara again saying he was trying to protect her and unsurprisingly tries to put the blame on her.

source: Showtime

Chuck Snr is meeting with George Minchak, Foley’s vetter, who says her job is to make sure that if there is a potential October surprise, they drop it in February during the super bowl.

Chuck Snr is trying too hard with her. She chucks (pun very much intended) him out his own study so she can chat one-on-one with Jnr. She outlines the process by which she will vet Chuck including (but not limited to) past romantic liaisons, finances and browser history! She then proceeds to run through a list of potential problems with Chuck answering no to them. She moves on to personal, asking if the counselling with him and Wendy is working or would Wendy be a problem if they did split up for good. Minchak feels it wouldn’t be a tragedy if they did split given Wendy’s ties to Wall Street.

source: Showtime

Bryan appears behind Taylor as they are buying their morning coffee and introduces himself as the man who can keep their life from becoming a nightmare. Taylor likes nightmares as they leave them deeply valuing their reality. They manage to avoid Bryan’s offer of a chat by pointing out it would look weird if they were late for work.

Axe is twitchy and pacing. Wags isn’t letting it go so Axe explains that Lara has taken off. Wags asks if Axe has spoken with Lara’s brothers and sisters.  Axe says they haven’t seen her. Wags is sceptical

“Do you believe those hillbillies? They probably have her hidden under the floor boards.”

Roberto gets a call from Boyd who says he must see Axe and it will be worth the trip.

Ben gives Mafee his report on Klaxon. The numbers do not do the job and do not support Axe’s position of a short. Ben says they are the best he could make them.

Chuck is still being questioned by George Minchak, who tells him he is still trying to control this and he can’t. He needs a life jacket no matter how fast he paddles.  She tells him to tell her the things he is afraid to whisper.

Chuck discusses hazing a loner, a tattle tale. He got the code red treatment at boarding school and Chuck was a part of it. The kid went on to Ivy league. Chuck Snr interrupts because he thought his son needed him. Minchak leaves as they are done for the day. Snr is eyeing her up and Chuck scolds him.

Chuck Snr: “She is not vetting me.”

Jnr:  “Thank God for that!”

I reckon she should vet Snr because most of the stuff Jnr could swing for relates back to Snr.

Axe leaves Lara another message. “Wendy Rhoades is good for Axe Capital and what is good for Axe Capital is good for us? Why don’t you know that? You used to know that!”.

Chuck and Bryan are discussing Taylor’s politics with Bryan suggesting they make Taylor likely to flip and Chuck adds that Taylor may still have a heart.

Bobby arrives at Lara’s brother’s house. Matt does not take Axe’s appearance at his house well at all as he told Axe on the phone Lara was not there. He tells Axe to get away from his house. Axe tries the “Your house that I bought for you” line. Lara’s brother isn’t having it

“You don’t own it any more than you own her.”

Matt’s colleagues ask him everything is ok and he responds

“Just my asshole brother-in-law trespassing.”

Axe responds

“Maybe you should call the cops.”

Matt does not take this kindly either and proceeds to tell Axe what cops do to men who abuse their wives.

source: Showtime

Wendy calls Chuck to ask if they can meet for a coffee, but Chuck wants to meet for a juice instead. Wendy admits to being lonely and afraid. She just needed to chat to him.

Taylor views a Penthouse with Mafee, who encourages them to buy it. Mafee asks Taylor to look at the Klaxon paperwork. Mafee is worried from the last time he told Axe he was wrong when Axe fired him for telling him he was wrong. Taylor agrees to take a look.

Hall has found Lara and the kids and Axe goes to Cullen’s Tavern where Dean’s (her brother who died on 9/11) friends are waiting. Dean and Gordie apparently hustled Lara’s them out of $20 at darts. They give Axe a message from Lara…she is going to their place in the City, but asks Axe to give her space.

Axe calls and leaves Lara another message reminiscing about their times together.

The dominatrix meets Chuck to tell him that her laptop has been stolen. She assures her laptop is secure, but wanted to warn him.

Wendy comes in to check on Axe as she wants to help and she reminisces with Axe about when he met Lara. He talks about Lara helping friends who lost husbands on 9/11 even as she lost her own brother. Axe is limited to waiting and he hates waiting.

He leaves Lara a message saying “Just say the word and I will erase Wendy Rhoades from our world forever.”

George Minchak is back and has worked out Chuck was the victim of the code red at boarding school. Chuck got his revenge two years later when playing baseball. He deliberately broke the jaw of one of his tormentors. Minchak is at ease with painting that as an anti-bullying campaign. Chuck hands Minchak the laptop “My biggest vulnerability is in your hands.” from the dominatrix. It was his dad’s FBI guy that stole the laptop.

Taylor is looking at the Klaxon paperwork and goes to Axe and discusses with him what he is looking for which is someone to justify his short to hide the insider information. Taylor gets promoted.

Wendy goes to see Lara to discuss Bobby and tells her that she scared Bobby. Wendy has never seen him scared. She tells Lara “To forgive, if you can.”

source: Showtime

Taylor has the Klaxon paperwork, but has not signed it yet. Taylor goes to see Bryan and compares a stock to a living organism and schools him on his assumptions about them. Taylor is comfortable that they have nothing on Axe Capital and less on them.

Axe is at Bruno’s, looking distinctly uncomfortable and tries to get Bruno to talk to him. Bruno tells him “You’re my business partner, so you get the slice and a coke on the arm, pizza and coke. But that don’t buy you a conversation with me.”

Axe puts the Coke and Pizza slice in the bin outside. He leaves Lara another message which clearly shows his state of mind. He thinks he has only made one mistake.

“I will lock you the f***k down and operate you by remote control with a flick of my fingers”.

Axe goes to see Boyd. Boyd tells Axe about Chuck’s play in Ice Juice. Boyd’s “Since you hate Rhoades almost as much as I do” wasn’t quite convincing to my ears.

Wendy and Chuck meet at counselling and decide to ditch it and talk without a paid referee.

Wags comes in to comfort Axe, handing him Taylor’s research on Kalxon which has been signed. Taylor receives an immediate bonus of £500,000 and desk moved closer to the inner circle.

Wendy and Chuck are out for dinner together after Chuck managed to find Antoine (a Chef) using government resources. Yes, Chuck, such a smart thing to do…

source: Showtime

Axe is eating alone.

Chuck talks to Wendy about his running for office. Wendy discusses her deliberately telling Lara about her setting the rules for no sessions with Axe. Chuck makes Wendy feel better about it.

Axe leaves another message for Lara about not having wavered or strayed in their marriage in 15 years. He wants credit for that, for the kind of man he is. In marriage, the point is not to waver, so no, Robert you get no credit for that. He is snidey and spiteful in this message.

Lara arrives home.

Taylor is signing the lease on the Penthouse.

Chuck is ordered home by Wendy.

Axe is all smiles as he welcomes home the boys. He tells Lara he has been calling and she says her phone has been off but their conversation suggests to me she has listened to those messages.

Axe brings up the thunderbolt and Lara snaps right back about Apollonia being blown up.

Chuck and Wendy get reacquainted as husband and wife.

Lara leaves her purse with her phone in it on a table downstairs. Nope, not buying it. Bobby thinks he is off the hook as he deletes the messages (has he really deleted them?).

source: Showtime

2 thoughts on “Previously on Billions: Season 2, Episode 10 “With or Without You””

  1. Back from London, still jet-lagged, with my tea in my hand, reading your post and getting ready for tonight’s episode!

    Has Bobby really deleted the messages? Or has he been able to? Do deleted messages disappear from our world completely or can you still find them? Can you delete voice messages? Or has Lara really not checked them? Some have commented he deleted them because of what he said about Wendy in them, it may be right, but I think he deleted them more for what he said about what he would do to her, to Lara. He was an abusive husband on some of those voice messages. I am completely with you that I don’t think it’s over yet. About the messages. Or about the crisis the Axelrod marriage is going through. Lara is seemingly back at home but I don’t think she is done yet. She is not one that would accept her life as is and move on. She is a tough cookie and I think she is back to regroup and plan her next move.

    Yes for Matt and Bruno. Axe would better hear what they say. In Sic Transit Imperium, he said he had that lavish party because he forgot where he came from. He needs to look at other places to find out he forgot where he came from long ago and remembers about it only when it is convenient.

  2. Hope you have had a well deserved rest.

    Deleted messages remain on your phone for upto 30 days before they are completely wiped. I still think she has listened to them.

    Matt a and Bruno not letting him have his way was the highlight of 2×10 for me.

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