S01.E12: The Conversation

[formerlyfreedom]

Chuck goes in search of Axe and an explosive confrontation.

 

 

 

[dwmarch]

Loved it. Every minute of it. A few things in particular:

 

Axe ditching the suit and tie (and Wags) and securing deals one after another once he found his confidence.

 

Wendy getting her 5 million dollar bonus and then immediately quitting. Loved her outfit too, she looks great in casual clothes.

 

Tricking Axe into trashing his own office completely. Of course he'll have it rebuilt in a day or two but I loved that they were able to play such a dirty trick on him.

 

Axe attempting to recruit Bryan. "I didn't hear a no" indeed, especially after Chuck shit on Bryan in front of the troops. Bryan's frustration comes from having to play by the rules. If he switches sides he won't have to and Axe will be able to act on his information without worrying about sanitizing the source.

 

Chuck versus Wendy. Their prior arguments haven't been the highlight of the show but this one was great. They're both right and both wrong at the same time.

 

I'm looking forward to season 2!

[Bcharmer]

Great season finale!  Chuck and Wendy's argument was so intense, that at one point the force from Chuck's breath blew Wendy's hair out of place. 

[scrb]

Interesting, Chuck saying he felt he had to play dirty because Axe tried to catch him at the BDSM club.

 

But Wendy must have realized he was right that they're all criminals and she's just enabling them.

 

She could have left for another job but it took Axe accusing her of selling him out and showing her the blackmail pictures?

 

Besides the insider trading, she learned that Axe took advantage of a dying employee.

 

Meanwhile, Axe and Lara were ready to flee the country but none of what they talked about made sense.  They were going to pay the pilot a lot of money to breach the air traffic control of another country, so that US couldn't track them.  They were looking at cushy villas and fancy schools for the sons.  They were going to take cash and gold bars.  Then in the end, she says she didn't want her sons to be cheese fondue eaters.  So they were going to run away to Switzerland?  I'd be very surprised if they wouldn't have been extradited from Switzerland.  In the past, you had "financiers" flee the US to places like Cuba and South America to evade US authorities, not Switzerland.

[DarkRaichu]

Lol Chuck is a crybaby douche who wanted his cake and eat it too.  He knew going to those clubs would compromise his position as DA but still did it.  He knew he could not afford sending his kids to fancy school but did not want to take a cushy job.  He reached a dead end on his Axe investigation so he had to violate the trust of Wendy and jeopardize his marriage.  He was more despicable than Axe since the law that he bent was supposedly on his side.

Edited April 11, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[Joimiaroxeu]

Wonder if this show was taped before they knew there'd be a second season? That last scene between Axe and Chuck almost seemed like a show ender versus a season finale. That was a very powerhouse moment for the two strong actors.

So after her big "I quit!" speech to Axe Wendy still kept the car? Guess she's not quite making the full climb to the moral high ground.

[lovinbob]

I haven't enjoyed Giamatti in this show but I really did like him in that final scene. It seemed as if all pretense had been stripped, whereas in most of Chuck's scenes he's got this annoying swagger that Chuck (not the actor, but the character) can't really pull off. 

 

On the flip side, I love love LOVE Damian Lewis but his vocal mannerisms as Axe drive me a little nuts. He's got this weird nasal twang that I find very distracting.

 

So after her big "I quit!" speech to Axe Wendy still kept the car? Guess she's not quite making the full climb to the moral high ground.

 

I have to agree. What do we know about Wendy? Is she from nothing, like Axe and Lara? I want the Wendy-Axe backstory. (It's possible the show has given it to us and I wasn't paying attention.)

 

I loved when Chuck called Axe "Bob." That was a great line.

Edited April 11, 2016 by lovinbob

[Rock knocker]

This show needs Peg Bundy and some Iranians to show up and purge the cast

[khyber]

This show needs Peg Bundy and some Iranians to show up and purge the cast

I never watched Sons of Anarchy. Is this a reference to that show?

[jvr]

So after her big "I quit!" speech to Axe Wendy still kept the car? Guess she's not quite making the full climb to the moral high ground.

 

Why should Wendy give the car back? That's like saying she should give the 5M back too. Fuck outta here! The whole point was she peaced out with the money and the car when Axe was obviously trying to smooth things over to get her to stay. Remember when he gave her the car he said it was a gift for all she has done and wouldn't impact her end of year comp. Well she got that comp up from 2M to 5M and then said I'm done, I loved it when she quit because I thought it was time after Axe showed her what he would do to her in a hot second. It's got nothing to do with moral high ground, obviously not, since she continued to work there knowing they were all criminals. I think it just had more to do with taking control back from these two fucking babies in her life. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Wendy knows odds are pretty good that the car was purchased with money earned illegally, not to mention where that bonus money came from. It's fine if she can live with that but I think she needs to get over herself acting like she's better than either Axe or her husband.

[NorthstarATL]

Wendy knows odds are pretty good that the car was purchased with money earned illegally, not to mention where that bonus money came from. It's fine if she can live with that but I think she needs to get over herself acting like she's better than either Axe or her husband.

Yet her husband has no problem living off her "ill gotten gains"? I agree that she should have left her gig once there was a conflict of interest, but there is plenty of hypocrisy to go around.

[TV Anonymous]

After a whole season and 13 episodes this is what we get? A big ball of nothing? Color me underwhelmed. As far as cat-and-mouse game goes, on Shades of Blue at least Woz got arrested. Here? Nothing but big talk.

 

Series finale, as far as I concern.

[Rock knocker]

I never watched Sons of Anarchy. Is this a reference to that show?

 

Son's of Anarchy and Homeland

[Broderbits]

Wendy's story is the only one I'd be interested in for another season; the 2 male leads are just going to be doing more of the same old boring macho games.

 

It's extremely disheartening to me that in 2016, what goes on between consenting adults in the bedroom can still be used for blackmail by people who are engaged in actual criminal activities.

[scrb]

Only because those adults are very public figures, also public servant in the case of Chuck.

 

Some of Chuck's profile sounds like it was taken from Elliott Spitzer, who also prosecuted Wall Street as the NY State AG.

 

Spitzer also came from a privileged background like Chuck but decided to go into public service rather than cash in.

 

If he hadn't sabotaged himself with the mistress/prostitute scandal, he might eventually have been a presidential candidate.

[ahpny]

But Wendy must have realized he was right that they're all criminals and she's just enabling them.

This reminded me of the years-belated realization of Dr. Melfi on the Sopranos that all she was doing in treating Tony was making him a better-adjusted criminal, not a less criminally-inclined person. But as with Dr. Melfi, Wendy had to know going in that her most important patient was tainted in a way that was not fixable. The taint was an inseparable part of his success.

 

Indeed, Axe's dissing of the rival women-lead investment firm was his assertion of this point. They may sound nicer than those at Axe Capital, but if they're successful, they would need to be just as ruthless.

 

I didn't really buy the dynamic between Wendy and Chuck - the conflict of interest is just to glaring to exist in reality - or that she would be so cavalier to leave her laptop with highly incriminating information almost in plain view for her husband to access. She knew, both professionally and personally that he was obsessed with Axe, jealous of her position on a personal and monetary basis. She knew he was impulsive and prone to bend or break rules. As the bright person she's shown to be, she should never have left that laptop as she did. "Trust" can't be the answer to why she's leave her laptop so unguarded.. Chuck (falsely) thinks she's screwing Axe, and he's having unsanctioned BDSM sessions. She's pocketing millions and possibly siphoning that into an account he knows nothing about. She's also surreptitiously taping his conversations and torpedoing his most important case (which of course is based only upon stolen privileged information). Not a lot of evidence of deep trust going on here, but the taping of course occurred after his laptop spying.

 

Nevertheless, I found the episode pretty entertaining and a good season finale. I thought Chuck might be taping Axe in their meeting at Axe Cap, but Chuck seemed too unhinged and Axe didn't really say anything incriminating. I also half expected Chuck to approach Laura (Lara?) to say, "I think our spouses are screwing." Pretty good set up for next season. They did indeed both loose Wendy, the most compelling character. We should learn more about her next season.

[scrb]

Just realized they did a little homage to Coppola's "The Conversation."

 

That movie ends with the Gene Hackman character tearing apart his home looking for a bug and not finding it, just as Axe tore down Axe Capital headquarters.

 

Hackman plays a guy who professionally bugs people, listening in on private conversations for clients.

[caligirl50]

I love this show so much especially Maggie Siff. I have a huge girl crush on her.  I’m buying the dvd...if there is one.

[caligirl50]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and thought I’d throw this out there.  If Wendy and Axe have been working together for 15 years, wouldn't she have a lot more than $2 million her her Axe Capital trust? Years of salary and bonuses, I would think she would have $15 million or so socked away.  At least.  Her conversation with Chuck in an earlier episode, she said they would go through the money in 5 years, the way they spend.  She walked away at the end of episode 12 with additional cash and prizes, yes. Still, with that kind of money in the bank and a trust at Axe Capital, couldn’t she get a job that pays poorly?

Edited May 9, 2016 by caligirl50

[BigDfromLA]

I still cannot comprehend why Wendy ever married Chuck? He seems like the last guy someone like her would ever end up with. I just had a hard time buying them as a couple.

Chuck's father was the biggest ass in the entire show.

[FozzyBear]

On 7/11/2016 at 11:28 PM, BigDfromLA said:

I still cannot comprehend why Wendy ever married Chuck? He seems like the last guy someone like her would ever end up with. I just had a hard time buying them as a couple.

Chuck's father was the biggest ass in the entire show.

I just finished S1 and I’m on the fence. Some stuff I like, sone stuff I really don’t. The Chuck & Wendy dynamic is one I don’t. Why are either of them in this marriage? It feels very much a made for tv marriage because it creates conflict sort of thing. How has this thing with Axe capital never come up? Neither character is written as naive or particularly compromising. They both seem like selfish, driven type A personalities so how has this never bothered them before? Am I supposed to buy it as an extension of thier S&M play? Because I don’t. Maybe it makes more sense next season.

[Ottis]

On 7/12/2016 at 2:28 AM, BigDfromLA said:

I still cannot comprehend why Wendy ever married Chuck? He seems like the last guy someone like her would ever end up with. I just had a hard time buying them as a couple.

Chuck's father was the biggest ass in the entire show.

I don’t buy Giamatti in the role, period.

This is the ep where this show went downhill fast. Too many personal foibles, too much poor logic. Wendy quitting the criminals… with $5 million and a new car. Chuck has “nothing left to lose?” Looks like he has a job, snd some money. Both she and Chuck are S&M club members… think that will never get out? Just no sense. 
 

Neither Chuck nor Bobby bring unique talents to bear. They don’t  even seem very strategic. They had some past luck, and now they get tips. So?

The show has abandoned the interesting peeks into Wall Street cat and mouse games. Now it is all personal. Blech.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Ottis