S05.E01: The New Decas

[PrincessPurrsALot]

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Bobby Axelrod reaches a major milestone; Chuck struggles to get his bearings, and he and Wendy navigate a new normal; tensions are high at Axe Cap now that Taylor Mason is back; Axe faces off against new rival Mike Prince.

Original air date 2020.05.03

[scrb]

That marriage scene was interminable.

So was Axe and Wags getting high up in the Great North.

Chuck faced with Wendy ready to pull the trigger on the divorce is ready to try to give up his kink, after saying last season that he can’t, he won’t.

Axe hits $10 billion so he goes to take ayahuasca.  So a spiritual journey is it?  Of course the prospect of a VF cover celebrating rich men — is VF that debased these days? —  causes him to bail on the transcon motorcycle ride and private jet back to NY to make the shoot.

So much for spiritual taking stock of life on the occasion of a material wealth milestone.

Axe admits to Wendy that hitting the big $10 billion was like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk but the thrill is fleeting.  The he finds out Mike Prince got the VF cover and he plans to destroy Prince for upstaging him, for taking away his shine.

So much for Bobby the cool rich asshole.

Meanwhile Sacker has bailed out of a federal prosecutor job to come work for Axe in the NY State AG office, so that she could run for Congress.  OK, not buying that route to politics but whatever.  Looks like Connerty may not be in the picture this season, which would be odd choice.

Chuck finds out Axe had an operation to mine bitcoin by stealing electricity from some small town, costing the town hundreds of thousands in electricity on the open market.

So much for Bobby the man of the people rich asshole.

Taylor’s team isn’t fitting in well at Axe Capital but it’s a boring story line, don’t care.

Taylor is suppose to give Chuck intel on Axe’s illegal activities but Axe suspects they’re  a mole.  They give themselves up easily, which seems surprisingly impatient for them, considering that they like to swim in place for cardio?

Bobby tells Taylor that they can still serve him well because they’re a profit generating organism.

Yeah he really said that.  So much for snappy dialogue from the writers of Billions.

So as predicted at the end of season 3 when they made peace,, the detente is over and the show is back to Chuck vs. Bobby.

Taylor finds another physical release besides swimming in place.  They trash what looks like a very expensive apt.  Lauren had tipped them off about this service which lets rich people smash things with a big hammer.

Maybe Taylor didn’t like being called a profit-generating organism.

Yes the rich do despicable things, especially as TV portrays the rich.  I’m not sure Chuck Sr. wedding, Axe getting high in the Canadian wilderness to Taylor smashing up expensive things are interesting.

Now boar on the floor on the other hand ...

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by scrb

[EtheltoTillie]

Who was wielding the bat at the end?  Wendy?  I really couldn't tell. 

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, GussieK said:

Who was wielding the bat at the end?  Wendy?  I really couldn't tell. 

Taylor... Taylor's friend/employee (forgetting her name at the moment) gave them a pass or something to a rage room, a place where people can go to smash and break stuff just to release pent up rage.

Edited May 3, 2020 by AntFTW

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

Taylor... Taylor's friend/employee (forgetting her name at the moment) gave them a pass or something to a rage room, a place where people can go to smash and break stuff just to release pent up rage.

Thanks.  I was watching with only half an eye.  The episode was kind of draggy.   Oh, now I see it was in the thorough summary above, but I had missed it on first read. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by GussieK

[LibertarianSlut]

This was not a good season beginning.  

There is no way that Chuck, a very busy and important man—so important that he gets to work out of NYC instead of Albany—wouldn’t check his text messages and find out that his son had alcohol poisoning until leaving his apartment for the day.  That bothered me.  

I hate it when Chuck does his “federal case” shtick, where he explains to the bad guys—in this case, the guys who were stealing electricity—just exactly what he was going to do with them, and by the time he’s done, the closest they’ll get to an electronic device is a calculator in jail.  Guess what Chuck, you’re not “federal” anymore.  The rate of conviction at the state level is grossly lower, and anyone with two brain cells in their heads would lawyer up, because law enforcement is allowed to lie.  It would be worth the five figures just to get a lawyer on retainer to understand whether Chuck has any kind of real case.  Maybe the search warrant was bad.  That would destroy the entire case.  The accused would get this all checked out, as they were skilled people, not nailed for spray-painting the bus station.  They always get the legal shit wrong.  I know it’s a tall order to expect them to get it right on a show that is about the legal system.  

The meeting between the de facto Mase Cap and Axe Cap people was so unfunny and unappealing.  It was unrealistic.  No one acts like that.  I hate the way Wendy generously doles out the word “fuck” as if it’s supposed to make her some kind of badass, as if her cursing is in direct proportion to how good she does her job.  I feel like whoever writes Wendy misses the mark.  Professional women at the highest levels do not need to curse every single sentence to make their points. 

With regard to Prince, Axe just acted like a big baby, as usual.  Who cares?

The only good scene of the entire episode was between Wendy and Lauren in Wendy’s office.  Lauren just pops onscreen.  She has so much chemistry with the camera.  She is sharp and I want to know so much about her, and she doesn’t wield the word “fuck” like an axe.  

Kind of a meh start to what will probably be a meh season.  I like this show when it is about legal and financial maneuvering that could happen in the real world.  When they just go off into fantasies is where they do their worst work.  There is no Wendy in real life.  I don’t relate to her.  I wish her presence would be diminished.  I wish all of the main characters’ presences would be diminished, as they are being written as caricatures.  They need a huge influx of fresh new cast, people like Lauren.  

[Traveller519]

Oh I love this gloriously dumb show. Enough time has passed that Charles had enough time to get divorced, separate assets, presumably make alternate living arrangements, get a full scale wedding planned and get his ex-wife back in his good graces. And yet, so little time has passed that the Mase Cap/Axe Cap employee feud is still in the juvenile prank stages with all employees still on board, including the PR/IR specialist who works for exclusively for the Sub-Fund with only one source of capital.

And, of course, Axe's most comparative rival (similar age, similar worth, both investors) who has never been mentioned before is now front of mine. Will Young Buffet here get a ceremonial flight back to Indiana. Seems like slightly smaller stakes than Gregori.

All that said, I do enjoy the wider themes. Chuck's continuing neglect of anything approaching responsibility in his immediate family life continues to amaze him when things go off the rails, both small and large. Mafee's genuine excitement at Becky Lynch getting tossed around the office, though he likely would have been up at reception a nano-second after she started raising a fuss. Wag's gentle guiding hand, and complete overreaction to the most inconsequential of blights. Throw in Taylor taking a pot shot at Chuck's training regimen and it was enough to give me a smile in the midst of a rainy night in isolation.

[txhorns79]

7 hours ago, LibertarianSlut said:

There is no way that Chuck, a very busy and important man—so important that he gets to work out of NYC instead of Albany—wouldn’t check his text messages and find out that his son had alcohol poisoning until leaving his apartment for the day.  That bothered me.  

He wasn't leaving his apartment.  He was leaving his session with his dominatrix.  That was why Wendy couldn't get a hold of him.  She said it was the only time he was off the grid.  That was also why she lectured him about putting his personal needs ahead of the people that love him.  

[LibertarianSlut]

^^^

Oh, I stand corrected.  I guess I missed that.  I don’t really believe that Chuck wouldn’t be available at the dominatrix.  He is too obsessed with controlling his image, and I think it would occur to him, the way it occurs to other megalomaniacs, that it would look really bad if one of his minor children had died while he was visiting with a dominatrix.  The public knows about his penchant for BDSM now, so I would think he would have a fail safe, like an emergency number that a select few, including Wendy, could call.  I mean, if this is what the show is telling us, I guess I believe them, but it seems really out of character for Chuck.  

[Dminches]

I really like this show but it has morphed into just entertainment as opposed to having believable story lines and characters.  For example, why wasn’t Wendy on top of the discourse in the work place.  Isn’t that her job?  Instead she asks Jade for guidance?

If Axe knew that Taylor was there as Chuck’s spy he would not have allowed it to go on for 4 months before confronting her.

I could go on and on.

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The promos for the season were exciting.  This episode was draining.  It made no sense that Axe Capital had not addressed the issues with the teams before now.  And the wrestler coming to the office, while fun and certainly in keeping with the old company culture, would not have been enough to turn around everyone's attitude.  Her speech was so blunt I almost sprained my eyes from rolling them.  

Chuck's toast went on way too long.  Enough already.  We get it; you're pretending you are going to trash talk your father at his wedding.  Move on. 

Also, enough with the ever-so-edgy drug experiences for Axe and Wags.  At this point it is just pathetic.  I also have a hard time imaging Axe was out of pocket long enough for his cultural appropriation and subsequent 3400+ mile ride.  Ooooh, the boys have bikes! They are soooooo cool! 🙄

I know they are establishing the new season, but this really dragged.  It's a waste of a good cast. 

As always, shut up Bonnie.

[Dminches]

24 minutes ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Also, enough with the ever-so-edgy drug experiences for Axe and Wags.  At this point it is just pathetic.  I also have a hard time imaging Axe was out of pocket long enough for his cultural appropriation and subsequent 3400+ mile ride.  Ooooh, the boys have bikes! They are soooooo cool! 🙄

 

Axe’s beard was pretty long.  It would take 2-3 weeks minimum to grow that.  No way he would stay away that long.  He can’t go 10 minutes without looking at his phone.

 

[dmc]

I agree with everyone I was underwhelmed but Billions is like that the first episode is always shit

 

Chuck Sr. getting married was a shocker.  I thought for sure he was a cheater for life but would stay married.  He's terrible but he's my favorite character.

 

I am all for Wendy and Chuck divorcing.

 

 

 

 

[jvr]

On 5/3/2020 at 1:48 AM, scrb said:

Axe hits $10 billion so he goes to take ayahuasca.  So a spiritual journey is it?  Of course the prospect of a VF cover celebrating rich men — is VF that debased these days? —  causes him to bail on the transcon motorcycle ride and private jet back to NY to make the shoot.

There was (at least) one woman there in the group shot I saw (on the left)... doesn't change what you stated but something I noticed. I knew when Axe left early when they called for solo portraits something was going to go down with that magazine profile. 

I liked Taylor better when they were first introduced and they seemed like they had a soul and cared nothing about money. Like I remember when they weren't even sure they wanted to stick around after interning (or whatever their first role was), they were just interested in learning and being mentored and then going off to save the world with some bs. They have morphed into something I don't think I really like as much. I like that Chuck knew Taylor was triple crossing him, no need to make him stupid just like it would have been dumb for Axe to trust Taylor after everything that happened. Can't wait to see how this plays out, and whether Taylor will get out of this somehow.

Happy Wendy started the divorce proceedings. Chuck is always ignoring her and thinking he can do whatever the fuck he wants. She told him to write something up to get it out there...what did he think? If he just didn't do it, then nothing would happen. I see from the previews he will go straight asshole on her (freezing her assets). Fine by me, no chance of reconciliation.  She has a lot more money than he does I think (depends on that trust fund he blew up trying to screw over Axe).

[Lone Wolf]

6 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I know they are establishing the new season, but this really dragged. 

As always, shut up Bonnie.

Agreed.  I checked twice to see how much time was left.

My Bonnie is Spyros.  

The plot wasn't predictable, but elements of it were...knew Kev was going to turn around and keep drinking as soon as he said it was gross (btw, okay, Chuck was off the grid during the aftermath, but maybe "Wend" should have been keeping an eye on her son during the reception).  Knew Prince was going to be trouble as soon as he strode into the photo shoot.  Knew the wrestler was a set up as soon as we heard her yelling.  Knew the box Axe was carrying had the Churchill books in it (which incidentally were in amazing condition considering they were published over 70 years ago).

Meh, 80% of why I watch is for the wealth porn (same with Succession).  Plus I've liked Giamatti since Sideways (although he's been chewing the scenery for the last few seasons), and I like Wags.  He reminds me of Rip Torn, who, bless his troubled soul, could do no wrong. 

 

[ahpny]

Why would Axe (1) need to conceal bitcoin mining (its wholly legal as far as I know); (2) need to mask his connection with this particular bitcoin mining operation or (3) need to steal power to do bitcoin mining? He's got >10B, but he has to cheat some small upstate town out of a couple hundred thousand dollars? I don't get it. A quant might be able to confirm that bitcoin mining could be a loosing proposition since the cost of the power needed to run the computers to do it may exceed the expected return.

Taylor should be in deep trouble, having burned all good will with both Axe and Chuck. No wonder Taylor took advantage of the "let off steam" apartment for wrecking stuff.

 

[Lemons]

11 hours ago, dmc said:

I agree with everyone I was underwhelmed but Billions is like that the first episode is always shit

 

Chuck Sr. getting married was a shocker.  I thought for sure he was a cheater for life but would stay married.  He's terrible but he's my favorite character.

 

I am all for Wendy and Chuck divorcing.

 

 

 

 

I hate that they gave the characters two kids. Neither of them are the type who would seem to want kids and they certainly don’t make their children a priority. I hate Wendy’s character and hope she’s not in too much.  She’s getting more ridiculous every season. 

[BigDfromLA]

So Wendy flat out said to Chuck that she was anxious to see other people, which was why she was in such a hurry to get the ball rolling with their split/divorce. I think Wendy is going to hook up with either Axe or Lauren...maybe both!

[mledawn]

Disappointing season opener. This show seems to just retread the same basic plotlines over and over.
Just mildly, from someone who spent far too much time working in a corporate office, that schtick with the wrestler wouldn't have worked for one minute if the morale situation was as bad as it was made out to be. Truly grumpy, unhappy people don't flip their switch because some fun woman with an Irish accent gives a pep talk.

[dmc]

13 hours ago, Lemons said:

I hate that they gave the characters two kids. Neither of them are the type who would seem to want kids and they certainly don’t make their children a priority. I hate Wendy’s character and hope she’s not in too much.  She’s getting more ridiculous every season. 

I don’t know if that so much of function of their parenting skills or the fact that none of us viewers want to watch their kids on screen.  We rarely see any of the characters at home.  Season 1 we did and it was sort of phased out to show the work environment more. 
 

Wendy annoys a lot of people.  But I’m so annoyed by Chuck most of the time, that Wendy doesn’t have a chance to.  For me, Chuck is the worst character on this show.  He’s one of those people whose words never line up with his actions.  
 

I think the big issue with Wendy is her job doesn’t make sense.  It was always kind of weird and now it’s like what is she doing there?  I think it would be better if she left Axe capital.  
 

 

[roughing it]

20 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

My Bonnie is Spyros.

For me, Bonnie = Spyros and Spyros = Bonnie.  Despise them both equally.  Also Wags.

Actually, I'm not sure if there is anyone I like anymore.

I sure as shit hope that Axe and Wendy do NOT get together.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Meh, I wasn't a fan of the ayahuasca bit they did on Ray Donovan last season and I wasn't liking it here either. That's probably something that should be experienced first hand, not through fictional people on a TV screen.

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I think Wendy is going to hook up with either Axe or Lauren...maybe both!

And maybe at the same time! Nah, I still think Lauren will go after either Axe or Chuck, especially now that Taylor has outed themself to Axe.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Joimiaroxeu

[Ottis]

And so a new season starts, and I greet it with ... meh. Back to Chuck vs. Axe. With Taylor swerving between them. 

Meanwhile, the Chuck/Wendy saga drags on. Look, it's clear that both Chuck and Axe have career interests that will always trump relationship interests. If you can live with that while enjoying the monetary benefits, go for it. If not, move on. Neither Axe nor Chuck are men who women remain with based on looks and charm alone. There always needed to be more. Prioritize.

I guess the addition of Prince is the season's new twist. All I keep thinking when I see him is that the actor beefed up since House of Cards.

On 5/5/2020 at 12:33 PM, mledawn said:

Just mildly, from someone who spent far too much time working in a corporate office, that schtick with the wrestler wouldn't have worked for one minute if the morale situation was as bad as it was made out to be. Truly grumpy, unhappy people don't flip their switch because some fun woman with an Irish accent gives a pep talk.

Exactly. Most employees would have branded it "stupid" and nothing would have changed. Though admittedly, these folks seem especially shallow as a group.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Ottis