Billions on Showtime Season 5 Episode 6: The Nordic Model

A painting. A drawing. A kidney. A patent. Oh, and an IQ test!

This fast-paced and clever Billions episode gives us an extremely  fun hour in which Axe, Chuck, Taylor and Wendy all have to play fast chess to deal with both personal and professional matters. Anything is fair game to get what they want. Some win, some lose and some get, well, outright creepy! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime Season 5 Episode 6: The Nordic Model”

Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 10: New Year’s Day

A phone conversation between Chuck and Krakow lets us and the US Attorney’s office know that Qatar State Bank is going back to the restricted list 😀 This means Chuck Senior may lose his sweet deal with the bank and so Chuck and Krakow agree to meet on New Year’s Day.

And as the U2’s “New Year’s Day” plays in the background, the opening sequence of iconic New York landmarks reminds me that of Manhattan, one of my favorite New York movies.

New Year’s Day at Axe Capital

Helena and Peach had to cut their vacations on St. Barths and Turks and Caicos, respectively, short to be at the office on New Year’s Day. But they are still smiling since should they have not had these jobs, they would have seen those beautiful islands only on TV – if they could have afforded cable! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 10: New Year’s Day”

Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 2: The Wrong Maria Gonzalez

Axe needs to stay away from trading. He does not. Chuck needs to stay away from the Axelrod case. He does not. As both suffer from insomnia and operate behind the scenes to remove any uncertainty in their way, I cannot help think they have so much in common that they could have been BFFs in another life.

We find Axe where we left him at the end of the season premiere: His terrace. No wonder he said he might as well give up his license to breathe when advised the only way to make Axe Capital liquid immediately was for him to give up his license to trade. Axe feels suffocated and his phone call to Wendy in the middle of the night brings nothing but an idea that this is an opportunity for him to realign who he is.  Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 2: The Wrong Maria Gonzalez”

Billions on Showtime 2.08: The Kingmaker

Let’s try something new. Let’s talk about Billions Season 2 Episode 8, “The Kingmaker”, as if it were a soap, a tabloid, heck, a professional wrestling match. The soapiness of this episode cannot be denied. Soaps get a bum rap. When they are good, there is great drama there, folks. Great storytelling. And the hardest working people in the business. And true to the genres of tabloid, soap, and wrestling match, “The Kingmaker” hit all the marks for great drama.

Continue reading “Billions on Showtime 2.08: The Kingmaker”

Billions on Showtime, Season 2 Episode 8: The Kingmaker

Black Jack Foley. Old steel and railroad money. One of the first businessmen that went to Russia after the wall fell. It seems he has taken after his great-great-great uncle Boss Tweed that he is pulling the strings in Albany. He is THE Kingmaker who takes your measure and bless you. And that is why both Axe and Chuck need a moment with this man as soon as possible.

source: Showtime

Chuck Sr gets a lukewarm call from Foley. His granddaughter has not got the clerkship. Chuck may have no idea Foley moved the casino away from Sandicot, but he should have some idea Foley will help him in Albany. Now that he feels disrespected, Foley will back Bob Sweeney’s campaign in gubernatorial elections.

We find out Chuck Sr keeps his 1998 Fundadores at his personal locker at Nat Sherman Townhouse and likes them at 80% humidity for their “funk.” Chuck Sr shares the news with his son. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 2 Episode 8: The Kingmaker”