The series Billions has run its course for the season. Twelve episodes. I would strongly expect there will be another season. And in the next new season I'm sure we can expect everyone to be out to fuck everyone else.
When I was young and sillier than I am now, I loved to go to dictionaries and see how they defined the curse words I knew. I loved how dryly the definitions read. Of course there is only one great curse word that sits on top of the mountain. The word Richard Burton called that great Anglo-Saxon word of all time: fuck.
I'd have loved if Richard Burton did a complete soliloquy containing as many iterations of the word as anyone could mash in there. It's a pity Shakespeare stayed away from the word. But then again, he probably valued his head.
No worry. If you ever feel a need to hear the word repeated in as many iterations as a screenwriter can work into his characters mouths, you only have to tune into any episode of Billions and listen to the f-bomb fly.
All the characters utter it. Even Richard Thomas, a long way from his John Boy role on The Waltons as he plays Sanford Bensinger, a composite character of a financial buyout titan. Is he Carl Icahn?
Having Richard utter the word is a shock to anyone who watched The Waltons and followed John Boy's march to maturity. It's almost like having Shirley Temple uttering the word because she broke a nail. It's jarring.
It's no surprise that a 12-episode miniseries is a progression of each episode advancing the viewer to the windup. And Billions is no exception.
The season can be summarized as Chuck getting back in the prosecutorial spotlight as New York's Attorney General, a job that doesn't require him to ever appear in Albany; Wendy's tussle with the Medical Board over the suspension of her medical license; Chuck's private war with the U.S. Attorney General "Jock" and the U.S. Attorney for New York's Sovereign District, Bryan Connerty.
Then there's Taylor Mason, the breakaway hedge fund that Bobby Axelrod so wants to destroy for the temerity to break ranks with Bobby and go out on his own. Bobby tells you when you're through. Not the other way around.
The penultimate episode has Bryan Connerty getting his safe-cracking brother to gain access to Chuck's father's safe. Bryan is certain the Rhoadeses are up to something hugely illegal and wants to see what the wiretaps can't tell him.
Along the way, we have the Feds busting in on Chuck Sr. as he lays in bed with his Native-American mistress and love child in an upstate motel. Pure embarrassment. But, a pure endorsement that sex doesn't end when you're past 60. The old guy has has "got it together" as Bryan admits to having seen him naked.
Bobby and Rebecca continue their dance to save the Saler enterprise. (Read Sears) But somehow, underneath it all, you do have the sense that Bobby is still Bobby Axelrod, and he smells financial gain beyond saving the ice cream counter that Rebecca fondly remembers from growing up. Bobby is not sentimental.
Taylor has already pinched the company that supplies Saler's with their appliances. And the alternative manufacturer, acquired by Rebecca, turns out to be toxic with the stain of child labor at its manufacturing plants in South America. Oh-oh. Bad news on the doorstep.
Now we get to the word fuck in all its grammatical glory. Looking the word up in the OED we get two entries. One for the verb, one for the noun. "Coarse slang" on both.
Sir Richard was of course right. It's the greatest word in English language. And dead certain a shame Shakespeare didn't get to use it.
Fuck. How do I say thee? Let me count the ways
No need to repeat the definitions, you can look them up yourself. What I always love about the OED is the section that iterates the phrases, or other compounded uses of the word. Thus, we are treated to the examples: fuck about adv; fuck around adv; fuck up adv; fuck off adv; fuck-me adj; fuck-up comb; fuckwit noun; fucker noun; fucking vb, adj, adv.
The final episode is of course the wind-up. And it's here we get to count the ways people get fucked.
The opening and closing of the episode treats us to how elaborate the equipment has to be for Chuck to get a spanking from the dominatrix. Definitely assembly required.
The prelude also has Bobby asking Rebecca to do him a favor and get Wendy a "state changer." Take her somewhere where she can get things out of her head. Spa, shopping, something. Rebecca knows just the thing.
If you know your famous people, then it's easy to spot Mark Cuban in fron of earth moving equipment, greeting Wendy and Rebecca and introducing them to the gentleman who is going to teach them to run heavy equipment for the day. (Famous financial celebrities now and then make cameo appearances. Not Bernie Madoff, however. Porn stars have also been on the bill.)
The scene further unfolds with Wendy and Rebecca in separate cabs of earthmovers, graders, front loaders, going free reign on a large tract of land. They smash junker autos. They have a ball playing with boy toys. Back at the pub for a celebratory drink they congratulate each other on having moved "fucking" earth today. They resist the advances of the local lotharios and head outside for Axe's waiting helicopter to take them back to prosaic urban life.
Bobby outmaneuvers Rebecca, gains control of Saler's with John Boy's fucking help, gained from eating pancakes created by a chef flown in for just that: breakfast. Pure Axelrod.
Bobby has designed his torpedo to kill two birds with one shot. Taylor's holding in a stock now loaded with crushing debt has sent his fund's value plummeting. Rebecca's relationship with Bobby is over, even though Bobby has pointed out the closing of Saler's for parts will personally net Rebecca at least a billion dollars, and probably laudatory profiles in all the financial publications, Rebecca can't see past the betrayal. Bobby has fucked Rebecca and fucked Taylor. Look for a new gal pal for Bobby next year.
Wendy's anticipated suspension of her medical license has been bought off by Bobby contributing $25 million for pancreatic cancer research, obviously a pet project of the Medical Board members. Good deeds do go rewarded. Wendy is back with a verbal warning. But, Chucked is fucked when Wendy realizes her husband didn't come to her rescue. Chuck's not going to get fucked anytime soon by Wendy. since shes spends the night at Bobby's apartment, all chaste surroundings, in a guest bedroom. No fucking going on there. At least not yet.
A fucked Taylor is forced to crawl back to Axe Capital, with his team, working under the umbrella of Axe Cap.
But like a Shakespearean play, we do get some great soliloquies. And one of the best characters to deliver them is Chuck and Waylon "Jock" Jeffcoat.
Jock, being from Texas, with a great mane of silver hair, nice suit and tie and imposing build, comes out with some beauts. Like, he's going to come out "cleaner than a choir boy's pecker." "I'm here to crush you, publicly...as loud as a cow elk trying to squeeze out breached twins." God, what is it like to grow up in Texas? The man is Will Rogers with a diploma. And Will was from Oklahoma.
Chuck of course is one for the stage. He gets in Waylon's face with an extended soliloquy, in Italian, from something is grandfather said. Chuck's memory and breath control is showstopping, and ends with that most Italian of gestures of all that is the back of one's hand scraping the chin and stopping in front of his oppo's face. A long way to go to say "fuck you." It's beautiful. Even Jock gets a kick out of it. Two stags clashing horns in the forest. And neither one is in Albany or Washington D.C.
The die is cast. Jeff threatens destruction. Chuck says come and get me. The traps are set. But which one will catch who?
Back at the U.S. Attorney's office on St. Andrew's Place in New York, Bryan is exhibiting information withdrawal. He's desperate to know what's on the redacted tape recording of a conversation in Chuck Sr's dining room. He knows if only he can get to the tape. But by law, he's prohibited from listening to the full tape. His No. 2, Kate Sacker is adamant that Bryan stop trying to find out who the "idiot" is referred to on the tape. Bryan is convinced it will lead him to the person he can flip to get the Rhoadeses convicted on conspiracy and bribery charges over the development of Sr.'s real estate project.
Bryan cracks. He breaks the evidence seal on the tape and listens to the full tape. Bryan has been fucked. Big time.
Bryan is the idiot. The Rhoadeses have set him and Jock up to break the law. In a murder-solving recap by Inspector Poirot, Chuck explains to a very fucked Bryan the elaborate sting operation they have played on Bryan and Jock. Flashbacks to what we hadn't seen fill the screen.
Chuck always knew Bryan could be made to cross the line. He knew they were bugged. He concocted enough conversation to give the listening Connerty the belief that something of a major illegality was being concocted by the Rhoadeses. They purposely crafted their conversation to lead Bryan to think there was someone who could be flipped and used to bring the house down. The "idiot." Guess who the idiot was?
They bugged Bryan by having Kate replace Bryan's flag pin with a flag pin with a bug in it. A conversation between the equally overzealous Jeffcoat and Bryan, where Bryan is ordered to beak the law is captured. Bryan at the computer listening to the tape late at night in the office is captured via a video feed. Bryan is fucked. A picture of that is what comes out of Sr.'s safe that is being emptied via a Bryan Connerty executed search warrant. Oh Bryan, what have you done? A Fordham boy who went to church and stayed in touch with mom at the holidays.
So, will next season give us no Waylon Jeffcoat and no Bryan Connerty? Only their agents know for sure. Will we see the rise of Kate Sacker?
The prior season ended with a new alliance being formed between Chuck and Axe. Now we're going to see a new alliance between Taylor and Chuck to bring Axe down. Taylor is poised to watch the two stags kill each other and leave him standing.
We know that's not going to happen. The two stars are not getting written out. Unless the show is not going forward. Then everyone gets written out.
What we can count on, are great soundtrack selections. Peter Townsend's "Behind Blue Eyes" plays as Bobby calculates. What color are Damian Lewis's eyes? Dave Hause's "Sabateurs" plays as the players drink scotch and figure out how to fuck each other.
There's a lot of scotch being consumed when these people think. And then they fuck each other often.
Any less fucking and the show would be cancelled.
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