Month: April 2019

Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 6: Maximum Recreational Depth

Billions picks up the characters exactly where we left them last Sunday, takes them to places they have never been before and leaves me with several billion dollar questions. HATS OFF!

Wendy meets Taylor at Morgenstern’s – synonym of YUM. She seems to be friends with Nicholas Morgenstern who makes a cameo and turns the ice cream shop into a speakeasy for his friend! 🙂 Well, Mr. Morgenstern is definitely a good friend. Did you know he named his peanut butter ice cream cake after his friend Brian Koppelman? Meet The Koppelman!

While neither trusts the other one, Wendy and Taylor talk. At least Wendy does: Many at Axe Capital tried to get into her mind, but only Taylor did. Because they listen and they deeply care. And that is why they were the only one who reached out when Chuck made their sex life public.

Wendy knows if she does not confide in someone who really knows her, she will end up in a bad place. Taylor does not have to talk at all, they only need to hear Wendy as she is trying to figure herself out. When Taylor rightly asks about what Axe would think about this meeting, Wendy is clear:

“This has nothing to do with him.”

Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 6: Maximum Recreational Depth”

From The Trader’s Desk: Category is…. Anger! Bring it to the Runway! Billions S4E5

Those who try to burn him pay
You don’t do that to Johnny Blade
He’s the meanest guy around his town
One look and he will cut you down
Johnny Blade – Black Sabbath

Happy Friday, and welcome to the Trader’s Desk!

It seems this week’s episode, the category is anger, lots and lots of anger! Let’s explore why everyone is so damn pissed, so everybody, Bring It To The Runway!

Also, there was some new “fin-speak” in this week’s episode. I have updated the Glossary with new definitions. Most are not integral to the story lines, so I won’t be going into too much detail about them here. As always, if there is something you would like me to explain, please comment below!

A brief comment about the Chuck/Axe bromance: Does Chuck know who he has gotten into bed with? Axe wants to put Taylor in a “fucking cell” now! Chuck has names higher on his hit list, but Axe does not care: “I did earn your seat as much as you did.” Axe will be friends with Chuck as long as he does what Axe tells him to do, and Chuck has been known to thrown anyone under the bus as long as it advances his interests. Is this the first signs of this buddy movie coming to an end? Continue reading “From The Trader’s Desk: Category is…. Anger! Bring it to the Runway! Billions S4E5”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Cymbeline

Hang there like a fruit, my soul,
Till the tree die!

Posthumus, Cymbeline

source: damianista
Cymbeline, Stage at Delacorte Theater, Central Park, NYC source: damianista

Having grown up in Turkey, I am not coming from a deep Shakespeare culture. We read translated excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in our literature classes but I really believe one has to read Shakespeare in his language to understand and love it… That’s why my relationship with the great man really started as we moved to NYC and started doing Shakespeare in the Park, a New York tradition combining two great things about the city: It’s Theater in Central Park… And, hey, it’s FREE, too! The only thing you have to do is go early in the morning and get in the line for free tickets distributed at noon. And, believe me,  waiting in line is half the FUN… You have people sleeping on their blankets, playing board games, reading the evening’s play together as a group… Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Cymbeline”

The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 4 Episode 5

Welcome back to our ‘Billions MVP Fanbook,’ a compilation post commemorating all those in honor of achievement for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses to date – from sports references, music, and tasty food to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks.

In case you missed our previous awards, you can catch up with season four episode one, episode two, episode three and episode four. Now, let us continue with that tradition as we award our Most Valuable Players (MVPs) this week.

Here are our Billions awards for Season 4, Episode 5, “A Proper Sendoff.”

Continue reading “The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 4 Episode 5”

Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 5: A Proper Sendoff

As winter has arrived tonight, the level of intrigue, negotiation and backstabbing in the world of finance and law in New York is on par, if not higher, than what happens in Westeros. Axe and Chuck, the real-life dragons in disguise as human beings, forge on and give proper sendoffs to those who mess with them, making this episode my favorite this season!

While Jack Foley gets into the oven for cremation, a delicious-looking pizza gets out of the oven at Una Pizza Napoletana. Axe, Rebecca, Chuck and Wendy are having a private double date with chef Anthony Mangieri personally serving their pizzaz.

Axe makes a toast to the new State AG. We find out this is Wendy’s first night out in a month. She thinks this opportunity of great pizza in total privacy was too good to skip. And when Chuck says if the only way he could eat this pizza naked on Times Square, he would, Wendy puts him in his place immediately. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 5: A Proper Sendoff”