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Oasx posted:I don’t think Axe and Chuck are doing anything behind her back, she was there when they decided to work together and Chuck revealing his sexual activities had nothing to do with Axe. She put them together last season to protect herself against the Ice Juice fallout, but she has not been involved in any of their dealings this season. The main difference now is that Chuck and Axe unequivocally have each other's best interests at heart. Wendy could end up looking for revenge on Chuck via Axe, but he'll have no incentive to do so as long as Chuck is doing his bidding in high office. That conflict of interest is where things are going to get messy. Pretty classic blockbuster Billions episode. I'm glad the show went this direction. Coincidentally, I had been thinking beforehand that it would be great/fitting to see Axe and Chuck go up against Wendy somehow, and now it's looking like we'll get to see that happen. Vernacular fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Apr 8, 2019 |
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Apr 8, 2019 07:30
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Would love to see a montage of Chuck Sr. knowing grins/head nods. There have been many.
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Apr 18, 2019 06:08
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This felt like the weakest episode of the season so far, though I'm very much a fan of the Brian Connerty Descent into Amorality and Madness.
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Apr 22, 2019 21:30
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Ben Kim smiling and waving at disliked traitor Mafee was weird. I know he's supposed to be super nice beta cuck guy, but a dumb move like that still felt unnatural. This season has had some nice, classic Billions "wow" moments, but in general it's all feeling a bit weak. I'm not finding the Axe vs. Taylor storyline all that compelling, and Connerty, Sacker and Jeffcoat have awkwardly faded into the background as these peripheral makeshift antagonists. I know the show's brand of conflict has always kinda been variations on a theme, but now it's feeling especially recycled. The Wendy arc has the most depth, and to be fair it does seem like they're building toward something interesting there.
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Apr 30, 2019 06:55
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Haha was that Tim Ferriss as one of Mafee's trainers? I'm not really getting too much enjoyment out of this season, but the boxing match was definitely a good moment. Seems like it was meant to symbolize the feud between Axe and Taylor: lots of big talk and wasted energy that's ultimately not really worth it for either side, with both parties coming out looking bad. Vernacular fucked around with this message at 06:49 on May 7, 2019 |
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May 7, 2019 06:43
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So did the producers just decide that they didn't want to compete with the GoT finale tonight?
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May 20, 2019 04:30
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nooneofconsequence posted:I find it hard to believe Chuck wouldn't have even attempted to bullshit through the "when did you know" question. Wendy's obviously fishing for some kind of validation. Chuck's been trying to hold the family together. Chuck is a repository for anecdotes and stories. Make something up. I figured Wendy would see through it or find him insincere so we'd end up in the same place either way. To just punt on the question felt out of character. I thought that was strange as well, but it does fit in amongst mounting evidence that their relationship doesn't have the same meaning for him that it once did (despite occasionally paying lip service to wanting to keep things together). The dom/sub dynamic being thrown into question and subsequently publicized, Chuck not cutting the deal with Connerty to get Wendy off the hook, etc. I think he's (they're?) losing interest in maintaining the charade. Agreed though that the writers telegraphed it hard and it felt awkwardly done. I don't think I would mind the show veering off into Wendy-sleeping-with-Axe territory. It's a trope, no doubt, but that doesn't mean it won't have interesting ramifications for the show. It's also kind of been pre-ordained in a way, has it not? And the show does have a kind of a grandiose Shakespearean/Greek tragic feel, so it would be "in character". Besides, with things starting to feel more obviously recycled, it might be a good time to start ushering in the final act.
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May 29, 2019 01:58
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Binary Logic posted:"The kamikaze get a bad name, because everyone wants to focus on the suicide. But what they miss out on is...the purity of the commitment!" The arc was perfect timing for him. Restored some of the moral charge that had become such a defining trademark for the character, while also preventing him from slipping away entirely into some makeshift antagonist dead zone. As shlocky as it felt sometimes, I think Connerty was always an important moral counterweight amongst the purely macchiavellian egos of the show, so it's good to see the writers at least attempting to bring his recent machinations into alignment with his overarching need for moral grounding.
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May 30, 2019 01:49
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NowonSA posted:I mean, Connerty's about to do some real unethical and unmoral stuff, probably the most clean cut case of him being shady in the show so far if he even tries to steal what's in that safe, so I think this counseling is justifying and feeding in to his desire to switch to breaking the rules. Right but my point was that it restores a sense of moral context (be it rooted in honesty and jurisprudence or, in this case, not) to his actions, which the writers had dropped the ball with this season up until this counselor arc. It was kind of gratifying on some level watching him go full scumbag out of nowhere, but it was also a weird dehumanization of a character that had always been the token “human” on the show. It’s good that we’re once again getting windows into his meditations on purpose.
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May 31, 2019 16:47
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I thought I had grown tired of the typical Billions bait-and-switch/long con shtick but nope, still entertaining. Great finale. Giamatti was awesome, especially in that scene where he's just ranting in Italian at Jeffcoat. Seems like next season is well set up to be the last, but Showtime will probably just milk it to the point of utter exhaustion like they've done with Homeland.
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Jun 11, 2019 07:37
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Yeah, it's bad so far, and agreed that not having Connerty around sucks. Axe's speech at his son's school was full cringe. The Mike Prince storyline is whatever. Wendy and Axe are cartoons at this point. I guess they're building toward Taylor shaking things up. I don't know if that'd be satisfying, if the arc could be refreshingly different enough from when they left AxeCap the first time.
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May 20, 2020 05:11
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That bit when Wendy considered teaming up with Taylor actually felt very stilted and forced to me. Same with the ways the artist and rear end in a top hat CEO guy ate up her "whispering". In a show about superhuman professional efficacy, she's probably the most caricatured of the bunch, and that's saying something. At least the other characters have crises of performance every now and then. IMO she's been a weak point in the season so far, probably because her dynamic with Chuck has always been more interesting than it is with Axe. Hopefully they are building up to her going full shameless, sociopathic puppet master dom, not only pitting the big dogs against one another, but consciously and explicitly enjoying the experience of doing so. It would be really satisfying to see her own up to the fact that she's the biggest shark of the lot. That'd be the most fitting end to the show. I did actually like the new episode a bit more than the others. The Yonkers story was pretty well done. Vernacular fucked around with this message at 06:16 on May 27, 2020 |
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May 27, 2020 06:11
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Ur Getting Fatter posted:Lol at Wendy looking horrified at Axe while he compacts his dad’s car like this is a new low for him. an episode of billions ending with axe doing something that demonstrates how awful he is WOW i for one am shocked though i guess it’s a break from episodes ending with taylor doing something that demonstrates their state of moral confict
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Jun 2, 2020 07:12
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Binary Logic posted:The storylines are outrageous but the dialog and secondary characters in the past couple of episodes have been really entertaining. The limitless thing was indeed outrageous...but maybe also somewhat believable for a bunch of aggro, bloated ego trading junkies? Either way, it was a fun bit, especially the eventual downfall. Taylor's employee high AF ordering food from the Chilean government or whatever was great. Seems like there's a clear parallel theme being drawn between Axe and Chuck: neither is as effective when out of alignment with Wendy. Both have been sloppy all season, while she devotes her attention to Taylor, who is flourishing. I have a little more appreciation for the Mike Prince storyline now. The leads have been so accustomed to going up against morally unscrupulous foes that Axe immediately goes into "Axe vs Chuck" mode even when faced with an adversary who, while similarly competent and competitive, apparently lacks the same heartless Machiavellian streak. Prince is a good foil.
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Jun 16, 2020 04:57
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I caught that Krakow comment as well. I wonder if that was written/adlibbed back in January or February when it was a thing in East Asia, but before it made its way to the USA.
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Jun 23, 2020 10:50
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 17:19 |
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I thought for sure Billions was going to be another Homeland-style case of a Showtime show being milked to death, but this season has been surprisingly enjoyable. The Mike Prince, Axe Cap CEO thing has been much better than expected, and the Olympics angle is kind of the perfect vehicle. The Chuck side of things has been a little threadbare but Giamatti's so good he can probably make any material adequately compelling. Wondering if they're setting things up for a Chuck & Wendy reunion after this week's episode.
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Feb 21, 2022 12:19
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