‘Billions’ Season 4, Episode 7: Garbage People

Very small point, but it jumped out to me. How did/would/could Mafee get past all that high speed security at AXCAP???I In real life, no, or they would all be replaced.

Wendy Rhodes knows in exquisite detail that both Chuck and Taylor grew up without real homes, without loving fathers. We can't blame Wendy for trying to get away from Chuck but its monstous that she set fire to Taylor's dream/fantasy of a real, loving relationship with their parents. What did she gain from this monstrous betrayal? Cemented her allegiance to Bobby Axelrod who we know, like Trump, is loyal to no one?

This episode was on par with "Whitecaps" from The Sopranos in terms of acting and writing.

I believe the Wendy character truly was showing remorse during her nocturnal solitary run for a whole host of reasons that may or may not have to do with guilt for what she's done to others. It's not clear that she believes in the supposed mantra of medical professionals to "...first, do no harm"; she instead cries out in realizing that her entire life is a facade. 1) posing as a therapist who feigns empathy but in fact is a cold, calculating viper driving a harmful self-serving agenda; 2) glamorous, gorgeously dressed serene-looking wife of the state's top barrister, who then mortifies her by exposing their private life of kinky sex; 3) a woman who explicitly told her husband she wants good old fashioned seduction and wooing instead of being a dom, yet he ignores that and has forever etched in everyone's brain that she is a scary woman; and, last, but very important, Wendy could be unconsciously jealous as the "office wife" to Axe, who is now taken with Rebecca, a very powerful, brilliant and wealthy woman who's more his equal than his ex-wife could ever be, and more crucial to him even than Wendy's role of being his hired gun, Svengali and Mata Hari. That Wendy is supremely evil in this episode could be because she's proving she's "all that" vs. Rebecca and everyone else in his life. Yet, she's in this state because of the pact between Chuck and Axe.

Seeing Wendy's face as Mafee yelled at her, and her breakdown along the river, was deeply satisfying. She has always been a wolf in sheep's clothing, and it was rewarding to see a character she actually liked and cared about show her who she really is.

Sacker and Connery bantering about Mitzvot and Kashrut? Priceless!

Why is anyone expressing surprise or regret as the Wendy character acts with total disregard of the existence of ethical rules? Why would this character be different from any other? If Chuck were a typical lawyer we'd have trial by fire or wager. If Bobby were a typical businessman, we'd have socialism. And if Wendy were a typical therapist, we'd use leeches to cure anxieties and hand out lobotomies like lolly pops.

Im a confirmed Game of Thrones fan, but I think its a shame that the Battle of Winterfell played out on the same night as this episode of Billions and overshadowed it (no "pun"), when Billions played out its Battle of Winterfell in the boardroom, and in many ways did a better job. More strategy. And in broad daylight! A devastating episode, with Wendy as the Night King (or Queen)

I couldn't buy Wendy Chuck from the start. I just got used to it. It's probably a little more believable now that they're selling the house. Wendy and Axe are clearly soul mates. But why bother? Bring back Oliver Dake.

I must say that while I've really enjoyed this season the wheeling and dealing sometimes goes over my head so I come here to maybe get a handle on it all. So Plan A at Axe Cap is for Axe's billionaire squeeze to provide, I think, $100M in venture capital to TMI to fund Doug's project, with the idea being that Axe would then buy the rights and presumably pull the plug on the whole thing? So, then, doesn't the seed money go down the drain? It sounds like an awfully expensive endeavor when the ultimate goal is to make Taylor feel bad. For a while. Instead they need to go with Plan B. But when Hard Bob walks in and announces that the government is putting the kibosh on the whole project out of security concerns, what choice does Taylor have? If anything it seems Axe gave Taylor the perfect out. I mean, Doug was even in the room when the whole thing fell apart. It's not as if Taylor could do anything about it. The project was dead in the water.

I was glad to see Sean Collins recognize Dan Soder as Mafee. Something of a weakling who is punching above his weight, Mafee's verbal attack on Wendy in Axe's office was one of the most human, real moments in the episode if not the series. Angry and brave, things he's never shown before.

I thought it was this upside-down episode as far as what you usually see from the characters: 1. Mafee loses his cool completely. 2. Stoic, never-ruffled Wendy cries. 3. Axe indulges Bruno. 4. Logical Taylor makes a decision/mistake based on emotion and then has to reverse it. 5. Todd Krakow has to come to Axe for help. Great acting on all fronts...

Great episode. I was truly hoping that Taylor's Father would rip up the check and toss it on the floor. When he started to, and decided not to, Taylor gave him the "yeah, just as I thought" look. I believe Taylor may have thought highly of him, and perhaps changed the strategy to support the cause if he had ripped it.

Keep thinking about her name. Wendy with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Tinker Bell told Peter that Wendy was a “great ugly girl”. Wendy Rhodes was certainly that in this episode. Her unethical use of session records to topple Taylor was reprehensible. Peter cried because he had no mother and told Wendy he “ran away the day he was born”. Chuck and Bobby are clearly Lost Boys and have taught Wendy how to fly so they could have her tuck them in at night. Bobby finds simplicity and peace at the pizza joint of his youth and Chuck wants to be a pancake eater. But they both fell out of the pram just like the Lost Boys. Wendy is as nasty as her employer and spouse.

I'm a little surprised that no one is commenting on the Connerty wiretapping. Why do I suspect that Chuck and Charles are laying some kind of trap? ( I hope so!) No way that Chuck would allow himself to think that Connerty just let it go after he was denied the first time.

I thought it was ironic that the actor that played that sleazy government guy also played Conrad Hilton on Mad Men. This episode borrowed heavily from Matt Weiner’s style. That apple pie scene reminded me of when Don came home to an empty house for Thanksgiving weekend in the season one finale. Giamatti's Chuck standing in the street having been driven from his house by the real estate agent was pure Don Draper. The montage of all the main players alone with a classic sixties tune playing over the final scene was pure Mad Men as was the silent credits. Even Bobby's surprise dinner for Bruno echoed Sterling Draper get-togethers. This installment, after last week's episode with the 'wish-I-could-unsee' safety pin moment was one of the series' best. It was very Mad Men in feel to me which is the highest compliment I could give a show.

Agree with all comments that this was indeed a powerful episode - also a depressing one. There really is no one to root for, possibly Taylor who had to bail on his father to save his company. Being supremely rational, that was his only choice. Wendy had a choice. She did not have to use her professional knowledge of Taylor to destroy him. She is more performance coach than a therapist, but her actions are highly unethical by any standard. Mafee is right, she is not who she purports to be, not even close. The most neglected "characters" in this series at the children of Wendy and Chuck. Nothing in the plot line draws them in as parents to two relatively young children. They occasionally appear as they did last week when Wendy had to vacate the house, but they are more like floor lamps, part of the furnishings in the house. The writers really should have made Chuck and Wendy childless.

I thought this episode, especially, hit it out of the park. From when the great choice of Joni Mitchell's "River" came on at the end, I was undone. That's what a great show ideally does. Yes, the silence for the credit roll was powerful. Superb performances - Maggie Siff's fractured, betrayed betrayer, exceptional too was Asia Kate Dillon's expression at the end - what a performance. A deeply talented cast, every one. It's layered, nuianced, funny, tragic, going from camp to sorrow in a minute. Thank you, Billions!

This episode took my breath away on so many levels - the open acknowledgement of betrayal of Wendy to Taylor and then to see Taylor melt with such deep hurt, the final scene between Taylor and her selfish dad, even the outburst of McFee calling Wendy out - such raw and real hurt and pain. I thought the best part of the show was the silence during the entire roll out of the credits. Loud music from the closing scene is ALWAYS carried over and played during that time. But after every blow of betrayal that was made, the silence allowed those acts and its pain to truly sink in for the audience to absorb and reflect. The last time I recall a similar effect with silence while the credits rolled was in "Six Feet Under" when the character Nate Fisher passed away. Silence can be extremely powerful.

Freddie in the pizza party scene looked familiar. Thanks for clearing up. Would love to see a list of cameos over the seasons. Besides the porn “stars”, Mark Cuban, the ubiquitous Donny Deutch, who else has appeared? I think a few other Wall st heavies, but not sure. BTW, Wendy is the most interesting character. Where does she go now? We thought the pie was a peace offering to Chuck. Not!

I keep wondering which person on the show it is that I should be rooting for. Everyone seems so damaged and corrupt. It used to be Taylor but now I'm not sure. Connerty--only out for revenge, even now that he has the throne. Mafee?

Bravo Paul Giamatti!

No, it wasn’t awful to see Wendy breakdown. Good riddance. The last couple of episodes have revealed her to be as bad or even worse than the rest of this nest of vipers.

Wow! This episode destroyed me. I was not expecting that. I am made of steel but I was in flood of tears during the final five minutes. I was watching the episode in a diner and had to plug my eyes with paper napkins. The buildup was deceptive. Everyone acted like they were having fun playing a game. Even Taylor thought they had a handle on things. But the crash was spectacular. Taylor’s face when they confirmed that Wendy was manipulating them was epic. It’s what I have waited to see from Asia Kate Dillon. A character isn’t simply a compilation of lines of dialogue. On a different note, I was immensely happy to see Taylor smartly dressed. A smart person who prides themselves on being keenly observant gets why conscientiously selecting work outfits is important. That pie: Symbolic of Chuck’s realisation that his marriage only exists in his mind. It’s a powerful callback to Taylor’s words in the opening minutes - “the song is about a relationship that never existed”. That kind of subtle poetry is why I love the show so much. Axe being influenced by his very sensible girlfriend is what a healthy relationship looks like. It’s still feeling tentative but I’m not mad at that. Great work all around.

All the main characters are breathtakingly calculating and cold. But for me, this week’s show had raw emotional power. Chuck’s story about his father’s cruelty to his mother may explain Chuck’s sexual interests: His father has a need to dominate women. Almost in an act rebellion against him, Chuck prefers women to dominate him in rituals of masochism. And it seems clear does want to have a real home with Wendy. That seems unlikely know, but who knows? Bobby showed real kindness to Bruno by asking him what he really wants and buys him out on the spot. Yes, the characters are a cold and heartless lot, but this episode showed the humanity in each of them.