S06.E06: Hostis Humani Generis

[PrincessPurrsALot]

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After a donation to the city of New York puts a strain on the firm, Prince must find fresh capital. Despite skepticism from his team, Chuck searches for a way to undermine Prince's largesse. Sacker and a competitor size each other up.

Original air date 2022.02.27

[paigow]

Prince always plays the discipline card... He should make up any shortfall from his personal accounts.

[dwmarch]

Wow, Prince got his ass handed to him this episode. But I can't see him making the mistake regarding the origin of the train cars. That is like Axe getting tripped up by the weed dealer last season.

So Prince and Scooter have a plan to do a thing and when they do it they will leave the new guy in charge? Are they going to Mars or something?

Why did Chuck's dad think he was a candidate to get back on the Prince list? Also, who is his inside source?

Taylor's play last week was questionable enough for the entire office to get involved but using software to destroy someone's reputation so you can get a friendlier board is okay? And who is to say the next CEO won't have the exact same opinion of the NYPD?

[paigow]

6 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Why did Chuck's dad think he was a candidate to get back on the Prince list? Also, who is his inside source?

Wendy must be the rat... Still working for Axe... Using Chuck to break Prince

Edited February 27, 2022 by paigow

[paigow]

Many global car manufacturers build some models in the USA. Are those also classified as foreign built by the AG?

[SnapHappy]

Hyundai has a huge plant in Montgomery, Alabama.  Doesn't seem to bother the entire state government or thousands of workers that Hyundai is Korean. 

When did Rian become stupid?  Thinking she & Taylor are partners?  Mason Carbon doesn't appear to include whatever her last name is.  And work product developed on company time belongs to the organization, not the individual.  Taylor was generous including Rian in the money-making flip of her little app.  I can't stand her whining weirdness.  It's not interesting. 

I want Prince to crush Chuck.  I love Giamatti the actor, but I want to see him obliterated. 

And a whole 12 seconds of Wendy.  Nice job Maggie Siff, that's gotta be a sweet payday for a blink-and-she's-gone role these days.  She's really been minimized.  

[paigow]

Luckily, The Combine had no link to Mr. Big, so it might have a comeback...

[paigow]

1 hour ago, SnapHappy said:

When did Rian become stupid?

After spending $100 for a bag of vegan snacks...

[aghst]

There are several things about this episode which are questionable or wrong.

1.  What purview does the state have over the MTA receiving a donation?

2.  It's possible there are federal laws prohibiting subway trains made by a foreign company but pretty sure there are transit systems using things like trains and buses made by foreign companies.

3.  But even if that's the case, the optics would look bad and it's impossible to believe that Prince hadn't vetted these rules or that Sacker wouldn't be aware of the legal ramifications ahead of time.  Given that Prince is trying to curry political and public support for his Olympics bid.  The federal law would be basic legal research, that paralegals would look up.

4.  A company can't get ruined by social media alone, especially a company that rose with a lot of social media support suddenly having it turned all against him?  But Taylor didn't have to buy some company, they could have hired click farms to generate a lot of negative social media posts.

5.  Chuck may have had a lot of clout and connections when he was US Attorney in the SDNY but as NY state AG?  Why would the Indiana AG, who's probably a member of the opposite party as Chuck, take his side against a big university in the state?

6.  And how would some university administrator in Indiana know what's going on at MPC or know what Prince is planning at a given moment?  The rich give their money to hedge funds so that they don't have to make the hundreds of trades and decisions hedge funds make.  So no way that guy is going to be an effective plant for Chuck.

 

Otherwise Taylor stabbed Rian in the back and gave her some empty platitude, apparently they didn't GAF about ruining that guy.

Chuck and Dave didn't care about denying NYC new subway cars or screwing over the unions.

 

But the show is spinning out of the orbit of any plausibility.  This creative team is going to do the new show about Uber and the second season will be about Facebook.  They're going to take a lot of liberties, if the pattern in Billions is any indication.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Wow, is Kate that tall or is Dave extremely short? When they met, Sackler towered over her like she was a little kid.

Something about Scooter's nephew still rubs me the wrong way. Too smarmy for no apparent reason. But it looks like Prince and Scooter are planning to hand the company over to him at some point when they both exit it. Ugh.

Prince was likened to a female high school teacher seducing her male student and getting away with it because the kid's not going to complain. Creepy comparison.

Of course the goody two-shoes athlete investor had some dirt on him but I was thinking it would turn out to be steroids.

"Woke Spartacus." Oh, Taylor, no.

Can a boss actually refuse to accept their employee's resignation? And do it in such a patronizing way? He and Wendy were treating Kate like she was a grade schooler who got her Barbie lunchbox stolen.

There's a fan theory afloat that after Prince pulls off the Olympics in NYC he's going to run for president. If that happens my eyes will roll right out of my head and make a break for the freeway. 🙄

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A company can't get ruined by social media alone, especially a company that rose with a lot of social media support suddenly having it turned all against him?  

It wasn't just social media though. Things were coming to light about his background which could've gotten law enforcement interest. Social media was just the gateway.

[Starchild]

3 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Too smarmy for no apparent reason.

All the characters are like that. Somehow, even with the same writer, the only character that somehow manages to not be insufferable is Taylor. Honestly I don't know how they do it.

[Carolina Girl]

I’m so over Chuck and his childish obsession of using a government office to prosecute his personal demons.  You don’t find the man and then look for the crime.  You have the crime to begin with and then go after the perp.  

[Marley]

I hate Prince he’s so annoying and monotone. Why would I care about this guy as a main character.

Scooter sucks too. His banter with Prince is so lame.

I hate Scooter’s nephew. So fucking annoying. 

Chuck needs to actually go after crime. They are just trying to do Axe vs. Chuck 2.0 what’s the point. 

Who were all those ppl in the meeting with Prince and why did they all seem like such bad actors. 

Prince and Scooter are headed where? Who fucking cares sounds stupid anyways. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by Marley

[sheetmoss]

18 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

Hyundai has a huge plant in Montgomery, Alabama.  Doesn't seem to bother the entire state government or thousands of workers that Hyundai is Korean. 

13 hours ago, aghst said:

There are several things about this episode which are questionable or wrong.

1.  What purview does the state have over the MTA receiving a donation?

2.  It's possible there are federal laws prohibiting subway trains made by a foreign company but pretty sure there are transit systems using things like trains and buses made by foreign companies.

3.  But even if that's the case, the optics would look bad and it's impossible to believe that Prince hadn't vetted these rules or that Sacker wouldn't be aware of the legal ramifications ahead of time.  Given that Prince is trying to curry political and public support for his Olympics bid.  The federal law would be basic legal research, that paralegals would look up.

 

 

 

My guess - the subway gets federal transportation funds, a car manf doesn't  receive them - but  the state is free to give $$ incentives

Edited February 28, 2022 by sheetmoss

[l star]

I admit I fast forwarded a bit of this ep. There were a lot of speeches, even for this show. I think I caught everything relevant. 

I continue to like Dave. She’s a bit of sanity to Chuck’s ridiculousness. I like that she seems to take him with a shrug and a head shake. He seemed to actually think his pitch to Kate of one on either side of him was appealing. Shit like that is why she left. 

Interesting that Scooter feels MPC is so below him and his family. Prince didn’t even seem surprised. And Prince continued his lack of empathy for Scooter’s feelings. I feel like their partnership is forged from something other than belief in the other. The loyalty doesn’t seem sincere no matter their shared goals. They certainly aren’t friends like Axe and Wags were. 

I loved Wendy’s aww expression to Tuk in her office. You could just see her thinking oh, honey. My favorite line was from Taylor surprisingly- “it was nice to see you until it wasn’t.” I laughed. I think Taylor is playing with fire with Rian. They’ve led her to believe that her opinion matters, and now they are dismissing her and blaming her for being confused. I think Rian is going to hit back hard. 

9 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Can a boss actually refuse to accept their employee's resignation? And do it in such a patronizing way? He and Wendy were treating Kate like she was a grade schooler who got her Barbie lunchbox stolen.

There's a fan theory afloat that after Prince pulls off the Olympics in NYC he's going to run for president. If that happens my eyes will roll right out of my head and make a break for the freeway. 🙄

Kate was acting like a grade schooler. She was practically pouting. She deserved to be patronized.

I think they can refuse a resignation then fire the employee when they quit working. 

I can’t even with this speculation. Remember when this show was about one man trying to out maneuver the law while another tried to stay just ethical enough to get by? I can live with the switch to the new kind of billionaire who manages to stay hands off when a man’s life is destroyed based on his orders but that’s too far. 

19 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

And a whole 12 seconds of Wendy.  Nice job Maggie Siff, that's gotta be a sweet payday for a blink-and-she's-gone role these days.  She's really been minimized.  

There was barely more than that of Wags. Remember when they were friends? Supposedly the show runners knew for a couple seasons that Damian Lewis was leaving. They should have had a better plan than this. These two characters were basically secondary leads. Only Taylor seems to have survived.

In that 12 seconds, Wendy’s advice did pan out again. He made the call and got what he wanted. It may just be wishful thinking because of how much she’s been minimized, but I keep thinking Prince wants her there for something. Like he’s testing her with these inane problems. Maybe she’ll become part of his ‘thing.’ I rolled my eyes so hard at that. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by l star

[SnapHappy]

5 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

My guess - the subway gets federal transportation funds, a car manf doesn't  receive them - but  the state is free to give $$ incentives

Actually, and entire new infrastructure of roads, access ways and facilities had to be developed and put in place by Montgomery County government.  They did get incentives, but also federal funds for the public access portions of the project. 

Doesn't always happen though. 

[paigow]

On 2/28/2022 at 2:55 AM, Marley said:

Who were all those ppl in the meeting with Prince and why did they all seem like such bad actors. 

They are real Wall Street stars playing themselves

Edited March 1, 2022 by paigow

[Carolina Girl]

Correct me if I misheard anything.  Did Dave say that a public transportation system receiving federal dollars can only buy cars, etc., from AMERICAN companies?  Or was it just the fact that it was a CHINESE company?

Because if the former - someone needs to do some better research.  The Bay Area BART system purchased its new cars from a plant in Pittsburg, California - owned by Bombardier, a CANADIAN company.  I get that it's the same continent, but it's still a foreign company.  And I can assure you that BART gets hundreds of millions in federal funds, especially during COVID.  

[Joimiaroxeu]

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All the characters are like that. Somehow, even with the same writer, the only character that somehow manages to not be insufferable is Taylor.

They might not be insufferable yet. Seems to me they're growing more and more self-entitled by the episode. They just cover it up by painting their moves as being "for the greater good." Problem is, who gets to define what the greater good is? Is it whatever helps Taylor build their billion dollar war chest?

Edited February 28, 2022 by Joimiaroxeu

[paigow]

Taylor has warned Rian many times to quit and escape Wall Street with a tiny bit of self-respect. It is too late for Taylor. 

[Cotypubby]

My first thought when Prince was talking about the thing he wants to do is run for President. I don’t really know what else it would be.

No idea who the people were at the table when the Combine guy had the meeting with Prince, but Jesus Christ were they terrible actors. That was some of the worst line reading I’ve seen in a reputable show. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

It really bugs me that Maggie Siff hardly ever smiles, showing some teeth.

[dwmarch]

2 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

No idea who the people were at the table when the Combine guy had the meeting with Prince, but Jesus Christ were they terrible actors.

They weren't actors. Per the NY Times:

In this week’s “appearing as themselves” rundown, we see the Warby Parker chief executive, Neil Blumenthal; the Greenlight Capital founder, David Einhorn; the Wharton professor and TED talker Adam Grant; the dot com pioneer Seth Godin; and the philanthropist Jacqueline Novogratz as members of Prince Cap’s board.

[Dianaofthehunt]

^  Aha! When those “board members” spoke, I thought it was mighty magnanimous for the writers to actually give extras speaking lines. So that explains it.
All you posters who are commenting on the various plot lines and their holes…I’m amazed you can follow it all in a logical way! I think I’m just along for the ride at this point.