S06.E04: Burn Rate

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Facing political headwinds against the Olympic Games, Prince turns to Wendy for help. Meanwhile, Scooter and Wags must work together to help secure the games. Taylor chases a holy grail play and Sacker makes a big decision.

Original air date 2022.02.13

[SnapHappy]

First it was "Lyin' Eyes", this week it's "Hungry Like the Wolf".   If nothing else, this show gets those songs buried in my brain.  Fortunately, I love them both. 

I'm sad to see the dismantling of Taylor.  Some may see evolution & growth, I see the youthful optimism and brilliant, inherent sweetness slowly eroding, and then just dissolving away.  Almost like watching their soul leave their body.   

Bumping that golden number up will never stop.  Because the word "enough" doesn't exist in that world. 

I really enjoyed the monetary tally sheets popping up on-screen.  I kept pausing my DVR to read through the lists of luxury goods and services, interspersed with drugstore finds and reality-priced items.  Cool addition for this episode and a good illustration that even the richest of the rich can still use ordinary Chapstick.  And that "class photo" near the end was great.  

Edited February 13, 2022 by SnapHappy

[aghst]

First of all the title, "burn rate" refers to how much a struggling company is spending.  Typically about startups which haven't established consistent revenues.  You never hear about hugely profitable companies having a burn rate.

They want to refer to the money Prince is spending on this Olympics bid and maybe what individual people are spending?

Hard to tell if all those tallies for the money each character was spending is suppose to impress viewers or repulse them.  Sure there's aspirational things but if that's what those onscreen numbers are about, it's akin to "advertorials" which you saw in magazines sometimes where they have pictures of people, usually famous people, all decked out in fancy, expensive clothes, with the caption listing the prices and brand names.

Or are they showing that all these people have expensive tastes and habits and they all have a "number" at which they'd quit and do something else, like some vague idea of doing good or making the world better, as Taylor talks about.

Of course a lot of people are probably thinking of a number in their heads, after which they are independently wealthy and could spend their time doing something else.

Taylor wants to amass $100 million and quit to help people.  But they're wearing $180k worth of items, including a very expensive watch.  The clothes don't look like anything special -- is it the labels and the price lists which are suppose to impress?  You can't even see the watch that is well over $100k.

Remember when Taylor first worked at Axe Capital and they were looking at a fancy, expensive apartment?  Connerty tried to flip her, appealing to their ideals, challenging them if Axe could buy them, make them compromise themselves.  Well obviously they were willing to sell out (for very expensive Patek Phillipe watches among other things), though they told themselves that they would make enough money some day to make a big difference.

Prince quickly figured out Taylor's number, told them they're not independently wealthy, made them raise their number to $1 billion.  

What a crock, $100 million IS independently wealthy anywhere, anytime.  Is the show trying to show the greed of Wall Street or explain it and put it in a favorable light?

Because the first couple of episodes of the season, they were going on about inequality and taking down the "billies" -- kind of talk which probably isn't common in NYC.

They didn't show the numbers for Chuck but he probably wasn't wearing a suit from Men's Warehouse.  They didn't show numbers for Sacker either when she was around Chuck.

But as soon as she signed on with Prince, before she probably even got her first paycheck, she was wearing over $30k in clothes with a new hairdo and being chauffeured around in a fancy car. She joined because Prince convinced her that he would help her realize her political ambitions.

BTW, first Wendy and then Prince accosted her in the street.  Stalking much?  Kate should be skeeved out when Prince jumps in front of her while she's jogging the streets of NYC -- do a lot of people do that or would they jog in the park or at a fancy gym?

The Olympics plot is ridiculous.  First of all, Chuck's stunt worked?  Give me a break, people would recognize it for the grandstanding that it was.  Prosecutors are often ambitious people.  They want to work big cases, get on camera a lot and use that fame to run for higher office, like Kate Sacker expressed in this episode -- of course she's going to bail on Chuck and his vendettas.

Then Chuck is able to get the Boss and Bon Jovi to hold a private concert for the IOC members who are looking to be corrupted?  These rock stars have fuck-you money so why would they bother?  WTF do they care about Olympics in Jersey?

Wags arranges expensive prostitutes -- one of them is working on her Ph.D, which is a cliche -- and some expensive, hard to obtain drugs for them.  Prince doesn't want to know about how they have to corrupt people but of course he does know.

Wendy wants to coach the Olympics athletes?  Even if Prince does bring the games to NY, the athletes already have coaches and counselors working with them for YEARS.  Wendy doesn't want to devote that kind of time plus she already has a day job and kids that she neglects.

This is Wendy's idea of making a difference.🙄

But then they have wide shots of the people at MPC with huge numbers over their heads, running upwards.  These are suppose to be the numbers they're targeting or the money they're making every minute.

If it's truly their "burn rate" it would be the numbers they're spending on fancy watches or how about the ridiculous $350 vegan snacks from Whole Foods or some fancy candy that Rian and Taylor were munching on as they did some late night research at the office which was valued at $2 million?

Or that fancy coffee that Prince served to Sacker?  Makes you think the rich chase things just because they have a high price label, not because these things are intrinsically that valuable.  I forget the price on the coffee but it was several hundred or over a thousand.  There is no coffee worth 200-300 times what you can get at a cafe or buy to grind your own at home.

Again, does the show think these high price labels impress viewers or make them mad?  

Actually, they just make viewers roll their eyes at the show.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by aghst

[Lone Wolf]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

First of all the title, "burn rate" refers to how much a struggling company is spending.  Typically about startups which haven't established consistent revenues.  You never hear about hugely profitable companies having a burn rate.

They want to refer to the money Prince is spending on this Olympics bid and maybe what individual people are spending?

Hard to tell if all those tallies for the money each character was spending is suppose to impress viewers or repulse them.  Sure there's aspirational things but if that's what those onscreen numbers are about, it's akin to "advertorials" which you saw in magazines sometimes where they have pictures of people, usually famous people, all decked out in fancy, expensive clothes, with the caption listing the prices and brand names.

Prince quickly figured out Taylor's number, told them they're not independently wealthy, made them raise their number to $1 billion.  

They didn't show the numbers for Chuck but he probably wasn't wearing a suit from Men's Warehouse.  They didn't show numbers for Sacker either when she was around Chuck.

But as soon as she signed on with Prince, before she probably even got her first paycheck, she was wearing over $30k in clothes with a new hairdo and being chauffeured around in a fancy car. She joined because Prince convinced her that he would help her realize her political ambitions.

Then Chuck is able to get the Boss and Bon Jovi to hold a private concert for the IOC members who are looking to be corrupted?  These rock stars have fuck-you money so why would they bother?  WTF do they care about Olympics in Jersey?

Wags arranges expensive prostitutes -- one of them is working on her Ph.D, which is a cliche -- and some expensive, hard to obtain drugs for them.  Prince doesn't want to know about how they have to corrupt people but of course he does know.

Or that fancy coffee that Prince served to Sacker?  Makes you think the rich chase things just because they have a high price label, not because these things are intrinsically that valuable.  I forget the price on the coffee but it was several hundred or over a thousand.  There is no coffee worth 200-300 times what you can get at a cafe or buy to grind your own at home.

 

I've heard burn rate used to describe what someone's spending to cover their expenses, regardless of whether the cash flow is positive or negative  (although your definition is technically correct) - Chris Rock once used the term in just that context during an interview.  Given that, I took the stop tallies to be indicative of the individual's burn rate, which in turn tied to the class photo at the end juxtaposing what their ever-increasing magic number was to reach financial freedom. Same for the tallies of the cost to bring the Olympics to town so far.

Apparently the cost of that particular Geisha coffee ($600) is mainly due to the inherent scarcity of it.  Like anything else, supply and demand.... 

I think the writers just grabbed Bruce and BJ because they're the most well-known celebrities who live in Jersey who are vocal about their support of it, e.g., the Hurricane Sandy concert.  I'd call it 50/50 whether they'd get involved with an Olympics campaign IRL.  If all it meant was a private party (for which they would likely get paid or at least have their expenses covered), they might.

Wags went to a lot of trouble and missed out on some fun and games that wasn't really necessary - the last I heard, women ovulate every month.  Either he didn't think it through or Prince's "integrity and morals" are rubbing off on him (unlikely).

I don't think Chuck wears suits from MW - his are probably custom tailored also.  He comes from money, makes a good living, married extremely well, and he used wear to some great vested outfits in the early seasons that I haven't been able to find off the rack.  They didn't show his stop tally because he wasn't part of Prince's firm - that's also why they didn't show Sacker's until she was.

I think Prince was just bringing Taylor down to earth.  He was already doing what they aspired to and he made them realize that as well-intentioned as their goal was, they were being naive about what it took to accomplish it.  And it worked, although not in the way that he wanted to.

And not for nothin', but Haagen-Dazs still makes The Dazzler.  It sounds amazing, but I have a feeling that if I tried to eat one I'd have the same reaction as the Governor had.

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Lone Wolf

[paigow]

100 Million is not going to keep a pro sports franchise running... much less several philanthropic projects.

Creating more jobs at The Meadowlands would definitely be something Bon Jovi supports 

[paigow]

The last resort for Chuck is to marry Sacker, then divorce her so she spends more time litigating in family court than zoning hearings...

[dmc]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

First of all the title, "burn rate" refers to how much a struggling company is spending.  Typically about startups which haven't established consistent revenues.  You never hear about hugely profitable companies having a burn rate.

They want to refer to the money Prince is spending on this Olympics bid and maybe what individual people are spending?

Hard to tell if all those tallies for the money each character was spending is suppose to impress viewers or repulse them.  Sure there's aspirational things but if that's what those onscreen numbers are about, it's akin to "advertorials" which you saw in magazines sometimes where they have pictures of people, usually famous people, all decked out in fancy, expensive clothes, with the caption listing the prices and brand names.

Or are they showing that all these people have expensive tastes and habits and they all have a "number" at which they'd quit and do something else, like some vague idea of doing good or making the world better, as Taylor talks about.

Of course a lot of people are probably thinking of a number in their heads, after which they are independently wealthy and could spend their time doing something else.

Taylor wants to amass $100 million and quit to help people.  But they're wearing $180k worth of items, including a very expensive watch.  The clothes don't look like anything special -- is it the labels and the price lists which are suppose to impress?  You can't even see the watch that is well over $100k.

Remember when Taylor first worked at Axe Capital and they were looking at a fancy, expensive apartment?  Connerty tried to flip her, appealing to their ideals, challenging them if Axe could buy them, make them compromise themselves.  Well obviously they were willing to sell out (for very expensive Patek Phillipe watches among other things), though they told themselves that they would make enough money some day to make a big difference.

Prince quickly figured out Taylor's number, told them they're not independently wealthy, made them raise their number to $1 billion.  

What a crock, $100 million IS independently wealthy anywhere, anytime.  Is the show trying to show the greed of Wall Street or explain it and put it in a favorable light?

Because the first couple of episodes of the season, they were going on about inequality and taking down the "billies" -- kind of talk which probably isn't common in NYC.

They didn't show the numbers for Chuck but he probably wasn't wearing a suit from Men's Warehouse.  They didn't show numbers for Sacker either when she was around Chuck.

But as soon as she signed on with Prince, before she probably even got her first paycheck, she was wearing over $30k in clothes with a new hairdo and being chauffeured around in a fancy car. She joined because Prince convinced her that he would help her realize her political ambitions.

BTW, first Wendy and then Prince accosted her in the street.  Stalking much?  Kate should be skeeved out when Prince jumps in front of her while she's jogging the streets of NYC -- do a lot of people do that or would they jog in the park or at a fancy gym?

The Olympics plot is ridiculous.  First of all, Chuck's stunt worked?  Give me a break, people would recognize it for the grandstanding that it was.  Prosecutors are often ambitious people.  They want to work big cases, get on camera a lot and use that fame to run for higher office, like Kate Sacker expressed in this episode -- of course she's going to bail on Chuck and his vendettas.

Then Chuck is able to get the Boss and Bon Jovi to hold a private concert for the IOC members who are looking to be corrupted?  These rock stars have fuck-you money so why would they bother?  WTF do they care about Olympics in Jersey?

Wags arranges expensive prostitutes -- one of them is working on her Ph.D, which is a cliche -- and some expensive, hard to obtain drugs for them.  Prince doesn't want to know about how they have to corrupt people but of course he does know.

Wendy wants to coach the Olympics athletes?  Even if Prince does bring the games to NY, the athletes already have coaches and counselors working with them for YEARS.  Wendy doesn't want to devote that kind of time plus she already has a day job and kids that she neglects.

This is Wendy's idea of making a difference.🙄

But then they have wide shots of the people at MPC with huge numbers over their heads, running upwards.  These are suppose to be the numbers they're targeting or the money they're making every minute.

If it's truly their "burn rate" it would be the numbers they're spending on fancy watches or how about the ridiculous $350 vegan snacks from Whole Foods or some fancy candy that Rian and Taylor were munching on as they did some late night research at the office which was valued at $2 million?

Or that fancy coffee that Prince served to Sacker?  Makes you think the rich chase things just because they have a high price label, not because these things are intrinsically that valuable.  I forget the price on the coffee but it was several hundred or over a thousand.  There is no coffee worth 200-300 times what you can get at a cafe or buy to grind your own at home.

Again, does the show think these high price labels impress viewers or make them mad?  

Actually, they just make viewers roll their eyes at the show.

 

 

 

 

My thoughts re Taylor:  You can help someone with no money. Plenty of not rich people are volunteering helping people. Only Taylor would think that only helping people on a bigger scale is more valuable. However it’s more about her than it is about the people she’s helping.  She wants to feel good about herself and thinks that this will do it. If it was about helping people she could already be doing that.
 

I thought this episode on the whole was better because I like Billions more when it’s wheeling and dealing.  I can’t believe Chuck is surprise that Sacker left.  She is a career of her own to worry about.  Chuck is turned into a caricature. He’s basically not about justice anymore at all.  He’s just legit harassing people at this point 

Edited February 13, 2022 by dmc

[paigow]

600 dollar pots of coffee would buy a lot of data...

[aghst]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

100 Million is not going to keep a pro sports franchise running... much less several philanthropic projects.

Creating more jobs at The Meadowlands would definitely be something Bon Jovi supports 

Taylor isn't trying to run a pro sports team.

Lets say Taylor wants to fund Wifi to Africa.  Prince said with his $10 billion he could fund the Wifi project with $150 million cap ex for years.

Is that the kind of thing they want to do to make a difference?

First of all a lot of residents in Africa don't even have access to safe running water or electricity.  A lot of them have phones but it's not unknown that they have to travel to recharge them.  There's also the dubious utility of Wifi for everyone.  Look at what going online has done for industrialized nations.  Certainly productivity but it's allowed extremists to find and recruit people, spread disinformation.

Very likely if we didn't have the web, social media or instant messaging, we'd be doing a lot better during the pandemic and there would be far less political polarization.  Africa already has a very low vaccination rate because it imported the anti-vaxx disinformation from other countries to add to their own misinformed ideas.

Bringing free Wifi to the masses sounds good on paper but it's more messy than one would assume.

Taylor doesn't have $100 million and she's been working for Axe and now Prince for what 4-5 years?  They could earn money more faster but it would still take them decades, because they're going to raise their target again once they approach $1 billion.

 

Also what does it say about Chuck that he aligns with telecoms and phone carriers, among the most hated companies there are to block free Wifi for NYC residents?  You know it's true too, every time a smaller city builds their own fiber network, the cable companies and telecoms upgrade the infrastructure in that city and keep the prices down.  So they've been doing an end-run, buying state legislators to pass laws barring municipal broadband.

 

 

[chocolatine]

Did Taylor really think that stealing WiFi from telecom companies and giving it away for free was a viable business model? They're supposed to be much smarter than that. As *woke* as Taylor seems to be, Prince is totally right that they have no idea what the people of Africa really need.

Who was that guy spouting platitudes in the beginning of the episode to the employees of MPC? It was complete BS and I don't believe for a second that the traders took him seriously. And Prince spend $200k on that speech? Why was that necessary, if he already has Wendy on payroll, who is supposed to be the bestest performance coach in the history of performance coaching?

Why is Ira still friends with Chuck after Chuck screwed him over with Ice Juice?

I remember when I was in middle school, some girls would make a "game" of adding up the cost of everything they were wearing - it was terrible for me because my family had just come into the country as refugees and most of what I wore was second-hand/donated - the on-screen tallies in this episode reminded me of that. I do pretty well for myself now, but most of those people's outfits and accessories cost more than the new car I bought last year.

[aghst]

That was John Calipari or Coach Cal, a famous college basketball coach.

Corporations and big firms definitely pay big speaker fees for their employees to watch them.  Usually popular politicians.

But Cal is a "winner" so they probably want to hear from a winner.  Plus Prince is a former college basketball player.

 

[hoodooznoodooz]

Underwear from middle school …….. $0

[sheetmoss]

15 hours ago, aghst said:

~

Taylor wants to amass $100 million and quit to help people.  But they're wearing $180k worth of items, including a very expensive watch.  The clothes don't look like anything special -- is it the labels and the price lists which are suppose to impress?  You can't even see the watch that is well over $100k.

~

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually I think Taylor wanted her fortune to generate a $100 mil/yr from investments w/o touching principle.

Prince was saying something about 5%  - so I believe Taylor's  goal amount  was amassing $2 billion generating 5% -  would give her $100 mil/yr for her causes

$100 mil invested wisely gives you about  $4-5 mil a yr

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by sheetmoss

[l star]

I think Taylor intended to invest $100 million and use the 5% returns. 

I loved the price lists. I’m nosy like that. At first I thought they were going to tell us Prince was overextending himself by throwing all that money around but never mind. It included some cute things though like Wendy’s bracelet made by her daughter ($2) and the middle school underwear ($0). Those were nice character details.

Chuck is so patronizing and controlling with Kate. Prince judged that right on- she wants to be a peer. Chuck blew off her ambitions and concerns too many times. Now of course he’ll yell at Wendy for it. I couldn’t believe he actually thought he was going to get Ira hired. Prince is a little boring and a lot preachy, not an idiot.

I enjoyed seeing the frustration the governor acting like a politician brought both men. Chuck was so insulted by the fetch comment. 

Don’t use the B word in front of me- Jesus Prince. So basically do as you want, just don’t tell me about it. Like hire hookers and pass out drugs. He’s different from every other powerful person how, again?

Taylor’s plan was short sighted. I feel like Prince knew that all along and let her hang herself as a lesson. He seemed to be second guessing how much he was willing to spend on it when she asked for that second influx of cash though. 

I’m liking Rian more this season. She was a nice balance for Taylor this ep. 

I don’t like Wendy’s hair this season. It’s too messy. I liked the smoother, side bang better. She’s so beautiful, but this ages her. 

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to believe in Prince or not. Even Wendy seems to have thrown in now (at least as far as it gets her what she wants), but I think her reservations about bringing Kate in were genuine. I think she sees his ego and its pitfalls in a way the others don’t. I think he mainly sounds like someone who completely buys into their own bullshit. 

[aghst]

That's the other ridiculous thing.  Rian's number is suppose to be modest, $600k for a condo in Pittsburgh or something like that.

That's only a few years to make at a firm like that but NYC rents are high and she was also wearing expensive things.

Her little backpacking getup was like $6k.

Then she talked about going to Turkey and staying in a hostel?

She was eating $350 in vegan snacks and $80 in candies.

She's probably developed expensive tastes working for hedge funds.  If not the Geisha coffee, they have other gourmet stuff for the break room.

Is she commuting to Manhattan from Staten Island or some other hinterlands?  No she's probably spending thousands a month on rent, maybe over $10k.

So she's going to travel and stay in a hostel?  She's going to leave her expensive backpack and probably expensive contents at the hostel?

[Marley]

Prince is so annoying and the way he talks and makes stupid speeches constantly is so boring I could barely pay attention. So I’m not even sure what happened in this episode.

The tallys annoyed me actually.

[chick binewski]

 

On 2/13/2022 at 3:13 PM, dmc said:

My thoughts re Taylor:  You can help someone with no money. Plenty of not rich people are volunteering helping people. Only Taylor would think that only helping people on a bigger scale is more valuable. However it’s more about her than it is about the people she’s helping.  She wants to feel good about herself and thinks that this will do it. If it was about helping people she could already be doing that.

 

On 2/13/2022 at 4:29 PM, aghst said:

First of all a lot of residents in Africa don't even have access to safe running water or electricity.  A lot of them have phones but it's not unknown that they have to travel to recharge them.  There's also the dubious utility of Wifi for everyone.  Look at what going online has done for industrialized nations.  Certainly productivity but it's allowed extremists to find and recruit people, spread disinformation.

Very likely if we didn't have the web, social media or instant messaging, we'd be doing a lot better during the pandemic and there would be far less political polarization.  Africa already has a very low vaccination rate because it imported the anti-vaxx disinformation from other countries to add to their own misinformed ideas.

Bringing free Wifi to the masses sounds good on paper but it's more messy than one would assume.

 

Taylor really didn't seem to think the wi-fi through which bugged bc they've got a big strategic brain, but also fell right in line with their wish to feel good about doing something rather than doing actual good.  As smart as Taylor is it gets frustrating to watch the character ignore the only solution to their issue every season: quit.

 

On 2/14/2022 at 3:52 AM, l star said:

Don’t use the B word in front of me- Jesus Prince. So basically do as you want, just don’t tell me about it. Like hire hookers and pass out drugs. He’s different from every other powerful person how, again?

Taylor’s plan was short sighted. I feel like Prince knew that all along and let her hang herself as a lesson. He seemed to be second guessing how much he was willing to spend on it when she asked for that second influx of cash though. 

I’m liking Rian more this season. She was a nice balance for Taylor this ep. 

I don’t like Wendy’s hair this season. It’s too messy. I liked the smoother, side bang better. She’s so beautiful, but this ages her. 

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to believe in Prince or not. Even Wendy seems to have thrown in now (at least as far as it gets her what she wants), but I think her reservations about bringing Kate in were genuine. I think she sees his ego and its pitfalls in a way the others don’t. I think he mainly sounds like someone who completely buys into their own bullshit. 

Yeah, I don't buy any version where Prince is a good guy. He, like Taylor, is smart enough to twist his language and explain his actions around motivations and ideas after the fact but it's all crap.

I tend to think no character on this show behaves like an actual human, but Sacker's move seemed way out of character to me. And I think (hope) it will in some way bite Prince in the ass for not listening to Wendy (who is still also terrible). And it's Chuck's turn to get the W at the end of this season, no?

On 2/14/2022 at 4:34 PM, Marley said:

Prince is so annoying and the way he talks and makes stupid speeches constantly is so boring I could barely pay attention. So I’m not even sure what happened in this episode.

The tallys annoyed me actually.

I find this show to have the clunkiest sharp dialogue ever, if that makes sense. And I think Stoll is still having an issue with delivering all those pop culture sub-references. But I do find everyone on this show to bring speeches, not dialogue.

The tally in the teeniest font ever was giving my fading eyesight a run for its money. Most egregious was Taylor & Rian spending four times as much for vegan snacks from Whole Foods than they paid for a vegetarian dinner at an award-winning NY restaurant.

I have no idea why Wags is still engaged to Chelsea. Or what Campbell Scott was doing with that manner of speech. I also don't understand why the governor can't get his driver to take him on a 15 minute trip to a NJ deli. But I will say since moving from Jersey to Florida a TEC on a hard roll is one of the things I miss most.

[dwmarch]

3 hours ago, chick binewski said:

Sacker's move seemed way out of character to me.

There is a part of me that firmly believes this is all part of a setup to make Sacker into Chuck's inside agent within MPC. But then again, that's what I thought was going on with Chuck's father last season and it turned out that no, Sr. was indeed just doing his own thing. Also Chuck and Sacker had their arguments in private and not in the style of the legendary Axe vs. Dollar Bill "argument" in Season 1 that got everybody in the office talking. So I have no idea what is going on with Sacker right now except to say that neither one of these dudes should trust her.

3 hours ago, chick binewski said:

I have no idea why Wags is still engaged to Chelsea.

I can think of a fairly obvious reason and being a gentleman, I will leave it at that.

3 hours ago, chick binewski said:

I also don't understand why the governor can't get his driver to take him on a 15 minute trip to a NJ deli.

Because that would mean going to Jersey.

[Starchild]

Didn't Prince just promise Wendy she could have something that he had already promised to his ex? The Olympic head performance coach role?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Stonks? Aw, look at Billions pandering to reddit.

Yeah, Chuck is going to regret trying to string Kate along. Unless she's doing a double double-cross to help take down Prince's Olympics scheme from the inside and she doesn't want Chuck messing up her act.

A $600M boat? FFS. Prince is just as bad as the guys he thinks he's better than. IMO, just because you can afford something you don't necessarily have to have it.

Huh, I completely misinterpreted the whole burn rate thing. I thought it referred to the concept of everyone having a price. That price would be contingent upon the ideal level at which they'd want to live, and with what kinds of accoutrements of wealth.

Quote

Or what Campbell Scott was doing with that manner of speech.

He talked in a similar way when he played a Long Island German aristocratic on Royal Pains. Maybe playing expat European elites is his shtick now?

Quote

Africa already has a very low vaccination rate because it imported the anti-vaxx disinformation from other countries to add to their own misinformed ideas.

I think it's more complicated than that. Distribution is exceedingly more difficult in many parts of Africa, as is safe and effective storage. Plus initially the First World countries were not being great about sharing the vaccine. And there are certain foreign bad actors who deliberately exert religion-based influence in Africa that is to the vulnerable citizenry's detriment. IMO it's too easy to blame the victims.

[MyArchangel]

On 2/13/2022 at 7:39 AM, aghst said:

First of all the title, "burn rate" refers to how much a struggling company is spending.  Typically about startups which haven't established consistent revenues.  You never hear about hugely profitable companies having a burn rate.

They want to refer to the money Prince is spending on this Olympics bid and maybe what individual people are spending?

Hard to tell if all those tallies for the money each character was spending is suppose to impress viewers or repulse them.  Sure there's aspirational things but if that's what those onscreen numbers are about, it's akin to "advertorials" which you saw in magazines sometimes where they have pictures of people, usually famous people, all decked out in fancy, expensive clothes, with the caption listing the prices and brand names.

Or are they showing that all these people have expensive tastes and habits and they all have a "number" at which they'd quit and do something else, like some vague idea of doing good or making the world better, as Taylor talks about.

Of course a lot of people are probably thinking of a number in their heads, after which they are independently wealthy and could spend their time doing something else.

Taylor wants to amass $100 million and quit to help people.  But they're wearing $180k worth of items, including a very expensive watch.  The clothes don't look like anything special -- is it the labels and the price lists which are suppose to impress?  You can't even see the watch that is well over $100k.

Remember when Taylor first worked at Axe Capital and they were looking at a fancy, expensive apartment?  Connerty tried to flip her, appealing to their ideals, challenging them if Axe could buy them, make them compromise themselves.  Well obviously they were willing to sell out (for very expensive Patek Phillipe watches among other things), though they told themselves that they would make enough money some day to make a big difference.

Prince quickly figured out Taylor's number, told them they're not independently wealthy, made them raise their number to $1 billion.  

What a crock, $100 million IS independently wealthy anywhere, anytime.  Is the show trying to show the greed of Wall Street or explain it and put it in a favorable light?

Because the first couple of episodes of the season, they were going on about inequality and taking down the "billies" -- kind of talk which probably isn't common in NYC.

They didn't show the numbers for Chuck but he probably wasn't wearing a suit from Men's Warehouse.  They didn't show numbers for Sacker either when she was around Chuck.

But as soon as she signed on with Prince, before she probably even got her first paycheck, she was wearing over $30k in clothes with a new hairdo and being chauffeured around in a fancy car. She joined because Prince convinced her that he would help her realize her political ambitions.

BTW, first Wendy and then Prince accosted her in the street.  Stalking much?  Kate should be skeeved out when Prince jumps in front of her while she's jogging the streets of NYC -- do a lot of people do that or would they jog in the park or at a fancy gym?

The Olympics plot is ridiculous.  First of all, Chuck's stunt worked?  Give me a break, people would recognize it for the grandstanding that it was.  Prosecutors are often ambitious people.  They want to work big cases, get on camera a lot and use that fame to run for higher office, like Kate Sacker expressed in this episode -- of course she's going to bail on Chuck and his vendettas.

Then Chuck is able to get the Boss and Bon Jovi to hold a private concert for the IOC members who are looking to be corrupted?  These rock stars have fuck-you money so why would they bother?  WTF do they care about Olympics in Jersey?

Wags arranges expensive prostitutes -- one of them is working on her Ph.D, which is a cliche -- and some expensive, hard to obtain drugs for them.  Prince doesn't want to know about how they have to corrupt people but of course he does know.

Wendy wants to coach the Olympics athletes?  Even if Prince does bring the games to NY, the athletes already have coaches and counselors working with them for YEARS.  Wendy doesn't want to devote that kind of time plus she already has a day job and kids that she neglects.

This is Wendy's idea of making a difference.🙄

But then they have wide shots of the people at MPC with huge numbers over their heads, running upwards.  These are suppose to be the numbers they're targeting or the money they're making every minute.

If it's truly their "burn rate" it would be the numbers they're spending on fancy watches or how about the ridiculous $350 vegan snacks from Whole Foods or some fancy candy that Rian and Taylor were munching on as they did some late night research at the office which was valued at $2 million?

Or that fancy coffee that Prince served to Sacker?  Makes you think the rich chase things just because they have a high price label, not because these things are intrinsically that valuable.  I forget the price on the coffee but it was several hundred or over a thousand.  There is no coffee worth 200-300 times what you can get at a cafe or buy to grind your own at home.

Again, does the show think these high price labels impress viewers or make them mad?  

Actually, they just make viewers roll their eyes at the show.

 

 

 

 

Elida Geisha coffee is $1,029 per pound.  It is from Panama and is very expensive becuase it has unique cultivating conditions and only a certain amount of it can be grown every year.  Gesha coffee actually began in Ethopia and is names after the forest from which the beans were first discovered came from. It has a very distinct flavor and is one of the most exclusive coffees in the world. It was brought from Ethopia to Costa Rica in the 1950's and then taken to Panama. The distinctive taste is what sets it apart from other coffees. It can be flowery and fruit like flavor that varies depending upon the origin. Coffee shops actually have to bid on this coffee just to get their hands on it which has lead to the very high price tag. I have a colleague who is an exceptionally talented surgeon (cardiothoracic) and is very well compensated for his skill.  We were having a meeting about 6 months ago and he brought Gesha coffee to the meeting, brewed it and then told us about the coffee. It was a nice treat and I guess many could think he was throwing it around like "I can afford this but you can't type of thing" but that isn't the type of person he is. I have been his lead trauma RN for well over 7 years now and he has always treated myself and our staff not as employees but as equals which is very rare in our fields. About 15 yrs ago he took us to this very well known French restaurant here in LA that has since closed for a Christmas party and gifted us not only with a full 7 course French dinner but also gave us all cashmere sweaters, 14K tri-color necklaces but myself and our chief anesthesiologist received Rolex watches. Like I said he is very, very generous and doesn't do this to impress but takes care of our staff. Now I've always been the 7-11 coffee type. Milk/sugar and I am good to go. While this coffee was nice, I wouldn't spend $1,029 per pound, $600 per pound or $60 a cup for it. A 16oz cup of coffee at 7-11 is $1 and that is for any size. That's always been my style. Trust me as an ER/trauma nurse, I know coffee. I have had more coffee pass my lips and keep me going than most people. The Gesha coffee was alright, but it wasn't $1,029 alright. 

My thought on seeing the numbers after everyone at different times during this episode was to show that essentially people could be bought if the number was right. Basically everyone has a number in this episode. I think it varies given the person and what it is they are trying to do but in that world, everyone has a number. I'm still not convinced that Kate is doing this to benefit herself but it is a grand play against Prince and the billionaire class to rope them all together and then choke them off, one by one until Prince is finally brought to his knees by Chuck and the AG's office by buying off people and Kate will be the one from the inside to make that happen and amass all the dirty laundry to give Chuck and herself the catch of a lifetime. It propels Kate's congressional, possibly senatorial campaign and ultimately as she stated a few season back, possibly propelling her to the White House. I think that is the play. The first scenes from this episode to me were crystal clear in making that happen when she told him about Prince wanting the meeting and so on and he told her "no, your going to go and your going to accept". What better way for Chuck to make things happen than to have someone he ultimately trusts on the inside to get the dirt and to take all of them down, including the governor because ultimately that is Chuck's goal, being governor of NY and has been since season 1.

[Bluesky]

On 2/14/2022 at 2:22 AM, sheetmoss said:

Actually I think Taylor wanted her fortune to generate a $100 mil/yr from investments w/o touching principle.

Prince was saying something about 5%  - so I believe Taylor's  goal amount  was amassing $2 billion generating 5% -  would give her $100 mil/yr for her causes

$100 mil invested wisely gives you about  $4-5 mil a yr

 

 

The only reason these people were extremely super wealthy was Axe stole, cheated and killed.  If that’s not the case with Prince I would guess their incomes have gone down.  
 

If they are still lying, cheating, stealing, and destroying innocent people then Taylor won’t make it to early retirement with $2 billion.  

[Ottis]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:39 AM, aghst said:

What a crock, $100 million IS independently wealthy anywhere, anytime.  Is the show trying to show the greed of Wall Street or explain it and put it in a favorable light?

And ...

On 2/13/2022 at 10:39 AM, aghst said:

Again, does the show think these high price labels impress viewers or make them mad?

It feels like the show took a hard left this season and decided everyone with money was immoral and unethical. The sheer fact they somehow accumulated money makes them bad, m'kay? So showing these prices seemed like a "look at how much money these awful people spend!"

And yet, the "champion of the people" (Chuck) is just as bad, and just as concerned about his own welfare. In fact, ALL of these characters on this show are concerned first with their own success, whether that is defined as prestige, power or money. A few of them occasionally feel empathy, then go ahead and crush it for their own gain.

But the show makes a point to highlight money as evil, while barely noting the hypocrisy of others. Sacker wants to leave her job putting bad guys in jail to ... run for office. In its own way, that is as disappointing as anything Prince does. Well, except maybe trapping his ex-wife.

This show was much better in its early seasons, when characters were more complex and sometimes they were overwhelmed as events overtook them. Now I don't care about any of them.

On 2/21/2022 at 3:47 PM, MyArchangel said:

Now I've always been the 7-11 coffee type. Milk/sugar and I am good to go. While this coffee was nice, I wouldn't spend $1,029 per pound, $600 per pound or $60 a cup for it. A 16oz cup of coffee at 7-11 is $1 and that is for any size. That's always been my style. Trust me as an ER/trauma nurse, I know coffee. I have had more coffee pass my lips and keep me going than most people. The Gesha coffee was alright, but it wasn't $1,029 alright. 

One thing I am most pleased about in my own life is that I don't drink coffee, and all of these references are lost on me. Never have. It's addictive, and the coffee (and restaurant) industries have created this "coffee culture" thing that has become a social staple - for no reason other than to sell coffee. When people send memes that show they can't function without coffee, it irritates the hell out of me. You can't function without a beverage? Anyway, I am very happy to never have to deal with any of that. Plus it saves me money!

On 2/19/2022 at 5:51 PM, Starchild said:

Didn't Prince just promise Wendy she could have something that he had already promised to his ex? The Olympic head performance coach role?

Probably. That's how he rolls. He is hugely manipulative under a kind facade, and he does whatever he needs to in order to win. Just like Axe. I prefer Axe. You know where you stand.

On 3/21/2022 at 4:25 PM, Bluesky said:

The only reason these people were extremely super wealthy was Axe stole, cheated and killed.  If that’s not the case with Prince I would guess their incomes have gone down.

I don't agree. The show clearly wants us to assume that. But sometimes people get rich because they had a good idea. Other times, like with S1 and S2 Axe, people get rich because they are smart and take time to dive into every detail. Sure, as time went on he broke the law. But I get weary of people IRL who resent those who make extra effort - and benefit from it. Because many times, there is nothing illegal about it. It's just working harder, and often being smarter, than others. And once you have a little money, are smart and good at details, you can grow it fast. The first million is the toughest!

Edited August 9, 2023 by Ottis

[Starchild]

I stopped watching 1 (or 2?) seasons ago because Corey Stoll is one of those actors who, through no fault of their own (just one of those things), I have to grit my teeth to watch, and only if there's some other aspect of the thing I'm watching that I like enough to counter his presence. I'm a big vampire fan so I was able to tolerate him during The Strain (first time I encountered him in big doses). Maggie Siff has the same effect on me.

I'm an "eat the rich" type, so after Bobby (entertaining to watch) left, then Taylor (interesting to watch) and Mafee (who seemed to still retain some decency) became as loathsome as everyone else, I was out. I have to watch a few YouTube recap videos ahead of Bobby's return on Sunday to get caught up on the main events I missed. Hopefully everyone will get what they deserve when this series wraps up.

[Dianaofthehunt]

* Rian has a bad case of vocal fry.

* It’s about time Kate flew the coop.

* Ms. Rashad’s line readings are too rushed and mumbled.

* I’m intrigued by the idea of redistributing unused bandwidth. Could this happen in real life?

* That was Campbell Scott, the same actor who played in “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle” and “Big Night”? I would never have recognized him.

* About those financial breakdowns: I’m guessing J. Jill or L.L. Bean would be considered downmarket by the traders. I guess that’s why I’m not one. 💸💸

Edited August 9, 2023 by Dianaofthehunt

[Bluesky]

On 8/8/2023 at 9:11 PM, Ottis said:

And ...

It feels like the show took a hard left this season and decided everyone with money was immoral and unethical. The sheer fact they somehow accumulated money makes them bad, m'kay? So showing these prices seemed like a "look at how much money these awful people spend!"

And yet, the "champion of the people" (Chuck) is just as bad, and just as concerned about his own welfare. In fact, ALL of these characters on this show are concerned first with their own success, whether that is defined as prestige, power or money. A few of them occasionally feel empathy, then go ahead and crush it for their own gain.

But the show makes a point to highlight money as evil, while barely noting the hypocrisy of others. Sacker wants to leave her job putting bad guys in jail to ... run for office. In its own way, that is as disappointing as anything Prince does. Well, except maybe trapping his ex-wife.

This show was much better in its early seasons, when characters were more complex and sometimes they were overwhelmed as events overtook them. Now I don't care about any of them.

One thing I am most pleased about in my own life is that I don't drink coffee, and all of these references are lost on me. Never have. It's addictive, and the coffee (and restaurant) industries have created this "coffee culture" thing that has become a social staple - for no reason other than to sell coffee. When people send memes that show they can't function without coffee, it irritates the hell out of me. You can't function without a beverage? Anyway, I am very happy to never have to deal with any of that. Plus it saves me money!

Probably. That's how he rolls. He is hugely manipulative under a kind facade, and he does whatever he needs to in order to win. Just like Axe. I prefer Axe. You know where you stand.

I don't agree. The show clearly wants us to assume that. But sometimes people get rich because they had a good idea. Other times, like with S1 and S2 Axe, people get rich because they are smart and take time to dive into every detail. Sure, as time went on he broke the law. But I get weary of people IRL who resent those who make extra effort - and benefit from it. Because many times, there is nothing illegal about it. It's just working harder, and often being smarter, than others. And once you have a little money, are smart and good at details, you can grow it fast. The first million is the toughest!

This is not a case of someone making the extra effort and getting rich from it and everyone resents it.   Some things might not have been illegal like profiting off dead firefighters.  But he outperformed everyone else by money laundering, insider trading, bribery, murder.  He would have done fine and reached the billions by being honest but he had a pathological need to be number one. 
You can grow money fast and you can lose it all just as fast in what they do.