Billions on Showtime, Season 2 Episode 7: Victory Lap

source: Showtime

As we start the second half of Season 2, Axe and Chuck are at opposite ends in their personal and professional lives. Axe seems to have made up with Lara but is suffering from the Sandicot deal. Chuck, on the other hand, is doing his professional victory lap for taking down Boyd but has a fragile relationship with Wendy. And, in an interesting turn of events, Episode 7 Victory Lap makes both men converge to exactly the same point: Black Jack Foley. Man of the Hour. It seems we will get to see more of David Straithorn in the coming weeks.

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Damian Lewis and $$$: A Moderate Relationship

“It’s a good thing that I’m a rich ****in’ man.” — Bobby Axelrod

Damian Lewis is no stranger to playing men with money, in particular NEW MONEY. In The Forsyte Saga, he brings us Soames Forsyte, a member of an upper middle class family in Edwardian times, who is nicknamed “man of property” thanks to his ability to accumulate material possessions. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the Forsytes are very much self-conscious about their status and do not like to be reminded of being “new money.”

soamescharliebobby

Damian also brings us Charlie Crews aka “Officer New Money” in Life. Charlie sues the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD successfully for his imprisonment of 12 years for a murder he did not commit and receives an undisclosed settlement money that is rumored to be around 50 million dollars. Charlie splurges on things he was deprived of in prison: Space. He buys a huge house and no furniture. Fresh fruit. He buys an orange grove. Light. He invests in solar energy.

Now, 50 million is a very very VERY serious amount of money for (almost) anyone. But everything is relative in life and 50 million may not sound as serious to a man like…

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Billions on Showtime 2.06: Indian Four

Nearly midpoint to Billions Season 2, and tables are turning in Episode 5, “Indian Four”. We start the show geared up to go thru all the machinations, ebb and flow, tit for tat, cat and mouse that has been the hallmark of the series so far. And there is plenty of that rapid-fire tennis match back and forth to watch, but, there’s also something quite new this episode. It feels sort of homey, much less technical, more touchy-feely, dare I say, more human.

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Billions on Showtime, Season 2 Episode 6: Indian Four

source: Showtime

Well, if Episode 4 The Oath brought Axe together with his old buddy Freddie in the director chair, Episode 6 Indian Four is bringing Charlie Crews with his best buddy Ted Earley in the director chair!

source: NBC

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Billions on Showtime 2.05: Currency

Billions season 2 episode 5 is titled “Currency”, after the main play of the episode which happens to be a highly delicate currency play. Currency, the word, when spoken by Damian Lewis manifest as Bobby Axelrod, is also one among the many rhythmic words you’ll hear from him this episode, pronounced in impeccable New York-ese. We probably shouldn’t keep harping on his believability in this role. After all, that’s why they call it acting, right? Where most acting is a well-developed form of impersonation and most non-native accents are a form of ventriloquism, what Damian does with Bobby, in terms of body and language, is something else entirely. Something that is neither simply impersonation nor just ventriloquism.

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