‘Billions’ Season 4, Episode 5: Best Served Cold

In the #metoo era we tend to notice “toxic masculinity” only in its most blatant and politically resonant aspect: top-heavy workplace relationships where one party is offered the choice of submitting or running away. “Billions” complicates that picture, revealing the male dominance imperative as something more encompassing and less specifically sexual. In the latest episode the “punk kid” John Rice and much of the Albany State House are ground into the dust. At the same time, the two main protagonists have shown all along some ambivalence about the quest for dominance. Bobby and Chuck are caricatures of the zero/sum mentality, yet they both submit, each in his own way, to a powerful woman, who for the moment has even managed to neutralize their fierce rivalry. Chuck seemingly defies Wendy when he refuses to abort his campaign for AG and reveals their private kinkiness to the world, but he will soon pay for his defiance with some delicious submission; it's win-win for both of them. What unites Wendy and Taylor is their shared conviction that reality can't be reduced to either/or. Look for Taylor to foil Axe’s efforts to bring them down by offering him a non-binary face-saving solution. I thought this last episode was one of the best so far, despite (or because of?) its utter implausibility. It was far easier to have Thomas Becket slain at the altar than to collar even one corrupt Albany politician, let alone a whole slew of them, at a funeral mass. Such fun!

Didn't anyone think that this episode was about the differing relationships between fathers and their children? Axe as a surrogate father and Rich. Rhodes and his father. Taylor (who comes out the best) and her father.

In case anyone else was curious about the mask Wags wore in the episode, this was the Opera LED Light + Galvanic Therapy Mask http://www.pleijsalon.com/product/opera-led-light-therapy-mask/ My wife and I own one and the results are nothing short of amazing!

I am Prefontaine Fan, and I'm a "Billions" addict. Even though the show is horrible, I cannot stop tuning in . My therapist says I only watch to see if it will ever hit bottom. But, each week, it defies reason by being worse than the week before. Chuck's minions find evidence of criminality among a whole slew of state legislators in a day, and, seemingly on the same day, Chuck cuts a deal with one of them, then with the governor, and then goes all Red Wedding at Black Jack's funeral by arresting half the official mourners? Puh-leeze! Is Sean T. Collins related to Aaron Sorkin?

Or maybe Wendy’s callback to Taylor is just another in a series of loosely-connected and unpredictable actions leading this character nowhere in particular? Her character’s position, front-and-center with Chuck, Axe, and Taylor, often seems at odds with her character’s development. Something there is just lacking. As per cultural references: Agreed that both the Natalie Wood and Wannsee remarks were unnecessary and over the line. Wannsee went over my head, but fairly blew my WWII-buff husband away. And the quick overhead shot of Axe’s boat seemed straight out of a murder scene in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The scene at the funeral was so over-the-top it really strained credulity, but was worth it for that expression on Chuck Sr.’s face alone! The guy is supposed to be so terrible, but he gives me the greatest laughs! I love the way Billions knows better than to take itself too seriously. I love the way it might place a final-episode-worthy plot twist in the middle of a season. I look forward to its stellar entertainment every week!

Billions specializes in obscure pop culture references, challenging the audience to keep up with them all. I was surprised when they fleetingly used the Wannsee Conference, and again surprised with the Corey Chase (a N.J. housewife turned porn star) inclusion. Wags added a couple of other rapid-fire references that went over my head -- I'm sure some web page tracks them all. As for offensive, Showtime has always been more in-your-face than rival HBO, note the very opening scene to Billions S1E1. I too thought Wendy was contacting Taylor out of appreciation for their sympathy, not because she was looking for an exploit. Chuck has been skating on very thin ice lately in re that marriage; maybe Wendy might align with Taylor at some point? As for Bobby's wife and kids, they haven't figured in much in the past few seasons; from a plot device point-of-view, they haven't been needed to illustrate much about Axe's character since the almost-U.S. departure with their go-bags and gold. Most TV shows seem to prefer singletons, so they may mix and match couples to keep the 'shipper fanbase happier. To me, the rivalry between Axe and Taylor has more believability than Chuck vs. his former underlings. Chuck as NY State AG just seems a big step down from SDNY AG, but it parallels the boss in each pyramid battling his former employees.

The first half of the episode was kind of "meh" after the stunning and very public betrayal of Wendy last week. I am with Sean in wondering why she stays with Chuck (more on that later). The second half contained enough dramatic plot twists for three shows. Like many viewers, I got the creepy sense the Bobby would throw his ungrateful protege overboard. Stripping him of his wealth was more in the Axe playbook and keeps alive a character that could come back to bite Bobby. Worth remembering that axiom from The Prince - never wound of you can't kill. I am with viewers who think that Wendy's call to Taylor is based on empathy and some needed support from someone she respects. This could open an alliance with Taylor that could hurt Chuck, even though Bobby might be collateral damage. The road to revenge might be paved less with good intentions than with an opportunity to strike back at her husband's betrayal. The scene in the church will Chuck going full out Avenger struck me as ridiculous and way over the top. It would have been more believable as a dream Chuck had to appease his father who was sitting in a pew. This is a rare example of over-caffeinated writers who normally deliver more plausible storylines.

Question for New Yorkers: Why is Chuck's office (and it seems the governor too) in NYC? Isn't it supposed to be in Albany?

I was surprised and disappointed not just by the writers including the reference to the Wansee Conference but to the characters’ reaction to that reference, namely more hooting and hollering. I was also surprised by the very limited response to this in the critical community. This review made just a passing reference to it, and only one commenter mentioned it. I did a Google search and found only one other review, in Vox, it at all. I’m guessing that “Wansee” didn’t mean anything to most viewers or else more — or, at least, some — might have objected to it. My wife had no idea what it meant, but when I told her, she was shocked that the writers would use that as a joke line. Obscure pop culture references are one thing, but the Holocaust is a different story. This reminds me of a large law firm in San Diego whose softball team wore baseball caps that said, “Uber alles” (“over all”). I pointed out to one of the partners that “Deutschland über alles” was the Nazi Germany national anthem. The partner did not seem to care.

This episode is a good example why I both love and hate the show. I love it, because I knew Axe was going to eviscerate Rice and wanted to see how he'd do it; but I didn't think it was very realistic that someone who is supposed to sharp enough to run a hedge fund would fall for such an obvious ploy. Does anyone really believe that Rice would not figure that Bobby would hear on the Street that he was the only one cashed out, just go off fishing, buy the stalled boat gag, and leave his phone behind to boot? Convenient for the plot, but not very realistic.

Part of the true brilliance of this show is the slow burn. I was slightly bored at the beginning of this episode, only to be knocked out, most specifically by what Axe did on the boat. We all could have predicted something nefarious was going to happen, but never could have conjured the eventual twist. To add: Thank you for telling us who the voice was of the tow guy. Things were flying at such a rapid pace, I missed that, and it has oddly given me a gleeful feeling. That’s really what Billions does for me; tickling my mind with how much I love to watch characters I would hate if they were real. Oh, but I live in NYC; I just chose to avoid these soulless creatures.

Episode five was orgiastic. I was impressed by Paul Giamatti’s gravitas at the memorial service. What an amazing actor he is. It’s a shame it’ll come back to bite him in the end. You could almost feel the hubris about to envelop him. The tension was the same on Bobby’s boat trip. I thought one of them was going to die. I agree he needs to teach the young man a lesson. However, the torching of his assets in a single day felt rushed. The writers try every week to make the characters edgy. But they keep showing that they are mostly normal, well adjusted adults. When writers spend their free time balancing chakras in their safe spaces they don’t get to meet people who are really over the top. Take this chica who landed on my desk this morning. She is allergic to air and urgently needs identical histamine therapy. Could I please, please scour the city to find her a physician to dispense life saving medication? She said her daddy was “like, super rich” and could afford customised lab grown medication. Oh, really? What’s his job? Pilot for Qantas Air.

Sean, maybe I’m being naive, but I would like to think Wendy and Taylor are the two characters in the show that can rise above the toxic masculinity that defines Chuck and Axe, and the survival = conquest mentality of Chuck Sr. Maybe in this moment of genuine suffering, as collateral damages to these men’s quests for power, they are not exploiting a vulnerability, but based on shared experiences, genuine trying to make a more human connection to each other?

If, as another commenter said, this episode is about powerlessness, it's interesting that Wendy quickly came around to understanding the internet trolling of her intimate life has nothing in reality to do with her. I'm not convinced Wendy contacted Taylor to exploit Taylor's 'weakness' of feeling sympathy for her. I'm hoping Wendy contacted Taylor because as much as Axe has demonized Taylor, they're the most sympathetic character on the show and Wendy has seen Taylor be vulnerable and knows Taylor is a decent human being. Maybe Wendy is grateful that Taylor reached out to her.

I was on the edge of my chair during that entire fishing expedition because I thought Axe was going to throw John Rice off the boat and let him drown. I love this show and I love the Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades characters. But I also have to be honest. I thought the scene where Chuck speaks at the Jack Foley Memorial service was too dramatic and too over the top to the point of borderline embarrassing. It felt more "Hollywood" than authentic "New York".

Where's Axe's wife and kids in all of this? Is there a casting issue? I thought for sure the next plot twist when Grigor got on the plane would be for him to ask, "where's your family?" and they'd be in some closet in a Russian consulate.

The machinations of Axe and Chuck, plus Taylor, lead to edge of the seat scenes which take us to remarkable truths. But words still matter, and I hope our great actors of today, especially Messrs. Lewis and Giamatti will question in future the persistent use of unnecessary darkness permeating Billions. E.g., in 'Served Cold,' reference was made to the infamous Second War Wannsee Conference of Nazis planning the Final Solution, a phrase before conjured at a midwest chicken farm. No viewer should ever be subjected to minimizing these horrific events. Also, when Axe takes John fishing, the phrase 'do a Natalie Wood...' is used. I challenge the use of our beloved star's death for any fleeting image it adds to the story, because unlike the Sopranos, it was a real life tragedy. The brilliance of Billions can proceed without using the greatest horror in human history, or a personal death of a Hollywood icon for a throwaway lines. These grave assaults on our basic national values should not continue.

This is the quintessential Billions episode. I thought it would be tough to not produce a dud after perhaps the most thrilling episode of all four seasons last week, but episode 5 was the perfect tonic to the thrill of episode 4. Power, however fleeting, is clearly Axe and Chuck's guiding principle, but this episode reintroduced the ancillary, petty squabbles that made the first three seasons so good. Chuck hijacking blackjack's funeral and "avenging" him like the Romans and Axe mercilessly crushing John are the mini plot lines that make sure the show never sees a lull. Koppelman and Levien masters of their craft, clearly operating at peak capacity in season four.

This week’s show is about powerlessness, or least the threat of it. Axe’s power is threatened by his protege John cashing out his stake in Axe Capital. Axe gets back at him by ruining John’s company. Chuck’s power is threatened when the AG essentially eviscerates his authority. He gets the governor to reverse this decision and arrests legislators at Black Jack’s funeral. This episode seals it for me: Axe and Chuck are thoroughly amoral to the core, willing to do anything to destroy their opponents. They are true soul brothers.