S01.E07: The Punch

[formerlyfreedom]

The pressure starts to affect Axe. Chuck uses the past to his advantage.

 

.

 

[AsanteSana]

This show is getting better! Finally.

[dwmarch]

I like this show so far and I thought this was a great episode. I'm really enjoying all the scheming and wheels within wheels.

 

I didn't think I'd like the story about Axe's kids being pampered pansies but it works well with the overall narrative. Mom's approach is to protect her own, including from themselves. Dad comes to get them after a harsh six hours of camping does them in. Each parent is choosing according to their outlook. Axe assumes everything will be fine so he's not worried about his kids needing street smarts. Mom (whose name I can't remember offhand) knows that their next house might not be as cushy as the beach house and there might not be anything but cheese omelettes in their future. Axe thinks he can't fail and any problem he has can be set right with a bag of cash. Mom sees a day when there will be no bags of cash and all their other currencies (threats, influence, charm, etc) will not function as actual currency.

 

Chuck has been a bit of a wimp to this point in the series so I really enjoyed seeing him wipe his ass with that smug SEC guy. You know you might be a rapist when your best defense is that the statute of limitations has expired.

 

The drama with Chuck's wife doesn't interest me all that much. She keeps Chuck around despite his misery and his moobs because every so often she can put on thigh-high boots and step on his nuts. It was a nice contrast to the happy couple they went to dinner with. I could see Chuck thinking you wouldn't be so happy if she was putting out cigarettes on your bare chest. Now that's love. Get some challenge in your life people!

 

And I'd say that was the theme of the whole episode. Everyone in different places. The meeting at Axe Capital was being chaired by the lackeys (who give just as good of motivational speeches as Axe does), Axe himself is getting into a fistfight and ending up at the police station where he is the one least in charge, the kids are uprooted from their digital comas and forced to confront the real world (and I loved that they didn't understand why the water was brown because they've never seen dirty water before!), mom is getting ready to go back to finding dinner with her feet, Chuck's wife is looking for a new job (and possibly a new guy, there was something going on there), Bryan gets to sit in the big chair and make all the big decisions, the intrepid reporter holds off on a damaging story so he can get onto a private jet and one of Axe's golden boys is wearing a wire. Nobody was sitting still in this episode. I liked the shakeups.

[dmc]

I tried.   I really wanted to like this show but I just don't.  I don't feel invested in any of the characters.  My sympathies lie more with Axe than Chuck but that isn't saying much.   I didn't like this episode at all. 

I don't understand why Axe's reaction with his kids being with a drunk would be to punch him (mine would be to grab my kids and make sure they never saw this person again).  I also don't understand how a punch is tied to this case at all. The show tried to connect them but the whole time I was like....uhh this is a HUGE stretch.

Axe's wife is again part of the worst story line available.  Her reaction to her kids being disrespectful is to drag them out to ocean to dig for clams.  She thinks one afternoon of digging for clams will teach them to kind of drive their father has...it's won't.  Also, the whole conversation with the chef made no sense.  The kids were like we eat cheese omelets every day and she made no comment to the contrary.  No offense but that is ridiculous...why is your chef making the same meal daily???

 

So now Wendy may be starting something with the head hunter???  Why again are Wendy and Chuck together???

 

Also how long before Bryan realizes Chuck is worse than Axe.  Bryan seems ethical and Chuck seems like a petulant child.

[fivestone]

I like this show, but this episode was so boring. The only plot line I like is Axe's wife trying to teach her kids street smarts. They are spoiled, smart-ass rich kids who need a dose of reality. She's my favourite character on this show.

 

Anyway, I can only hope that Chuck gets his comeuppance, and soon. Can't stand him.

[DarkRaichu]

Chuck and Axe are the same really.  They would break the law and crush anyone on their ways in a heartbeat to get what they want.

 

I like the show better when it is more Axe-centered.  

Daddy to the rescue!! LOL.  His kids are going to grow up just like those rich people whose name he replaced from that building.

[scrb]

How does the guy being guilty of DUI exculpate Axe from assault?

 

Police union guy said they can't be with a hedge fund whose owner gets a misdemeanor.

 

Yet when the Feds are prosecuting them for all manner of cheating, he was willing to stick with Axe?

 

Chuck saying everyone on Wall Street cheats (or something like that) sounds like Bernie Sanders.  Oh and US Attorneys aren't motivated to level the playing field for the little guys.  They have political ambitions and taking down big fish like Axelrod is their ticket to being elected governor, senator and possibly POTUS.

 

The thing is, all the kinky stuff Chuck is into with the wife, may trip him up if he's ever up for high office or something like a Federal Appeals Court judge or the SCOTUS.  The FBI goes over those nominees with a fine tooth comb, like they're doing now for potential nominees to replace Scalia.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

Chuck saying everyone on Wall Street cheats (or something like that) sounds like Bernie Sanders.

 

He said there are no innocent men on Wall Street.  Axe has already said the same thing.  He claims everyone does it, he just does it better.

[NorthstarATL]

 

How does the guy being guilty of DUI exculpate Axe from assault?

Technically it doesn't. The assault happened. But with the full video there is now context to it. The "victim" loses any sympathy and is open to drunk driving and endangerment charges himself.

[Broderbits]

How could they possibly bring any drunk driving charges because of what he said in a video? Wouldn't they need actual evidence, like a breathalyzer or blood test?

Axe, however, is plainly caught in the act of assault. Not self-defense or protecting his kids, but making himself feel better by punching someone.

[scrb]

You know what would make Chuck more likeable?

If he at some point screamed "I'm not drinking any fucking merlot!"

[lovinbob]

The thing is, all the kinky stuff Chuck is into with the wife, may trip him up if he's ever up for high office or something like a Federal Appeals Court judge or the SCOTUS.  The FBI goes over those nominees with a fine tooth comb, like they're doing now for potential nominees to replace Scalia.

Yes, I'm sure that's why this storyline is in place. Could you imagine if Axe came across this info—let alone a Senate confirmation committee, or the media? Otherwise, I'm really not interested in watching Giamatti get his freak on.

[Pop Tart]

 

Chuck and Axe are the same really.  They would break the law and crush anyone on their ways in a heartbeat to get what they want.

 

I'm enjoying the show - it's not quite there yet in terms of being must see, but I think it's getting more solid as the season moves along. I do think it would have been more interesting if it wasn't clear that Axe was actually doing something illegal. If his actions were more ambiguous in terms of whether he'd crossed the line, then there would be far more tension in the US Attorney going after him. I think it would have created more drama to not be able to tell just who is breaking the law. Is it the hedge fund guy, because all hedge fund guys are criminals, or is it the US Attorney who in his zeal to "get" Axe, starts to break the law himself? 

[scrb]

With Eliot Spitzer in the news again, you wonder if they partly modeled Chuck after Spitzer, who also went after Wall Street and then had shortcomings in his personal life which became a liability for high office.

[caligirl50]

I like the show better when it is more Axe-centered.

 

Amen. Way too much pissed-off Paul Giamatti and not enough Damian Lewis.  Although I did like the scene where Paul/Chuck got the better of the SEC asshole.

Edited March 14, 2016 by caligirl50