S03.E04: Hell of a Ride

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Axe explores the new arena of venture philanthropy and looks to neutralize old accomplices. Connerty’s scrutiny of Chuck intensifies. Chuck tries to reconcile with his father. Wags pursues an intensely personal real estate acquisition.

[minamurray78]

I really liked this episode. Specially the launch scene. You see their faces all light up for a moment, and then the explosion happens. It reminded me of the Challenger. They all were shocked, but of course it took Dollar Bill, what, 2 seconds to think money? I like the guy what damn. 

Every time I think Chuck's an ass, there's his father being even more disgusting. Of course he's proud of his son when he's fucked him good. I'll give this to Chuck: he knows that's fucked up and will never be that way with his own son.

Also, I was under the impression Wendy knew Chuck knew about her affair.

An episode without Lara is a good episode.

[scrb]

The B or C plot about Wags' burial aspirations was dumb, though the guy who played the ambulance chaser was good.

Yeah of course these people are horrible for celebrating so openly when they profited off a guy's death.

I still don't get why Bryan prioritizes trying to catch Chuck instead of Axe.  After losing Maria Gonzalez and other witnesses, whom he should have had fill out affidavits immediately, he goes after Rhoads' Sr. and lets other witnesses get away.

First of all, after working for Chuck for all these years, is he suppose to be surprised that Chuck isn't pure?

Secondly, last season, he was all gung ho about getting Axe but now he wants to try to catch Chuck?

Thing is, it would be so easy for Connerty to make Bobby seem like a villain, the way Bobby is always sneering, always playing up the I'm richer so I'm better than you all the time.

[jvr]

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I still don't get why Bryan prioritizes trying to catch Chuck instead of Axe.  After losing Maria Gonzalez and other witnesses, whom he should have had fill out affidavits immediately, he goes after Rhoads' Sr. and lets other witnesses get away.

First of all, after working for Chuck for all these years, is he suppose to be surprised that Chuck isn't pure?

Secondly, last season, he was all gung ho about getting Axe but now he wants to try to catch Chuck?

You just stated everything I kept thinking this episode and last concerning Connerty. Like wtf is going through his head? Why is he not questioning why all the witnesses concerning Axe's crime are disappearing BUT all these witnesses concerning possibly Chucks involvement are falling into his lap?!? Someone slips information under your apartment door and you don't start questioning who is truly benefiting from you spending so much time running around after your previous supervisor who, by the way, you know Axe hates? I don't think Connerty is an idiot but he is sure acting like one.

I liked how the episode started in the present and then we were shown what led up to it. For a moment I was thinking I'd missed an episode because I didn't understand how we'd jumped to Chuck's dad already being brought in.

 

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The B or C plot about Wags' burial aspirations was dumb, though the guy who played the ambulance chaser was good.

I liked it only because it made me wonder about whether it's true that there are no more burial spots in Manhattan. It wouldn't surprise me, I'm not going to google it though.

 

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Also, I was under the impression Wendy knew Chuck knew about her affair.

I'm not sure I'd categorize what she did as an affair... and I'm not sure either Wendy or Chuck would either. I'm actually sure they wouldn't because they discussed that both of them could do whatever they wanted now that they were apart (not that any of that matters when it comes to people's feelings). Maybe you mean her involvement with another man and not cheating (that's how I read affair)? 

Anyway, when Chuck's father presented the information to him he just pushed harder to get her to reconsider their separation and living apart, he never mentioned he knew. In the bdsm play though he does insinuate that she had been finding other outlets for her sexual needs. He describes her being with other men that were young, successful, with washboard abs etc... but I think Wendy assumed he was just fantasizing different scenarios of who she might have been with and not that he knew for sure. She was playing into his fantasy by describing an encounter because he said it was what he wanted. I wonder if Wendy thought back to that scene they had and now views it in a different light, it was maybe why she asked whether this might come up again in the future.

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I really liked this episode. Specially the launch scene. You see their faces all light up for a moment, and then the explosion happens.

I liked that scene too. I was hoping it would be successful just like Taylor, the emotions on display were very well done. I thought the moment of failure and falling back to earth for the big explosion was done very well.

[Dminches]

Was the opening scene the last one in real time?  I can't tell if Charles SR is going to rat on Chuck or if the threat of moving the casino caused him to change his mind.

Was Brian's visit to the sauna before the opening scene or after it?

[Lemons]

23 hours ago, Dminches said:

Was the opening scene the last one in real time?  I can't tell if Charles SR is going to rat on Chuck or if the threat of moving the casino caused him to change his mind.

Was Brian's visit to the sauna before the opening scene or after it?

He can't rat on him because he was threatened with making his land a bird sanctuary or something.  

I thought this episode was boring.  Axe and the goofy one with the mustache running around controlling the world because they have money.  OK, it's getting repetitive.  Neither goofy getting the burial plot or the board ok'ing the venture on the spot because Ax was against it were not plausible.  Not in the least.  

Edited April 17, 2018 by Lemons

[talktoomuch]

Probably my least favorite episode since mid Season 2. Dake turning several blind eyes to Chuck's nefarious wrangling (and making a deal with him to do so) and Connerty ignoring the case against Axe to focus on taking down Chuck both feel so OOC for them both, that the whole dragging of the prosecution storyline is becoming tedious. I mean I know they have to drag it out to its eventual dismissal, but do they have to make me dread every second of it? 

I didn't come into this season rooting for either Axe or Chuck more, but I feel like the writers are trying to make me Team Axe, so of course I must politely decline. Plus this season I finally realized how much I hate how tightly Damian Lewis holds his tiny little mouth and nonexistent lips when he's trying to be a badass. Vying real hard for my hatred of Paul Giamatti's gravelly whisper voice when he's trying to do the same.

[27bored]

I like that the show isn’t trying to make the IceJuice short completely one-sided. That was a brazen, wildly unethical thing Chuck did baiting Axe like that. But...Axe still did it. Chuck screwed over his dad and friend, and he’s a dick for that, but that’s not against the law. Axe organized a defrauding of a company just to fuck over Chuck and his family. That’s a crime...and Connerty seems intent on missing that.

On another topic: Jeffrey DeMunn really earned his paycheck this week. He had to appear naked and expose himself to Toby Leonard Moore, and give Paul Giamatti a long kiss on the mouth. If this were Game of Thrones, he’d be Emilia Clarke.

[minamurray78]

Apparently, Connerty can´t handle the full monty.

Wags would totally exploit that. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

13 hours ago, talktoomuch said:

Plus this season I finally realized how much I hate how tightly Damian Lewis holds his tiny little mouth and nonexistent lips when he's trying to be a badass.

Oh, my gosh! I feel exactly the same way!!!  I don’t know why someone having such a teeny tiny lipless mouth should bother me so much, but it irks me big time.

[TV Diva Queen]

When Chuck's dad kissed him like that - I got the feeling he is fixin' to kill himself.  

Edited April 17, 2018 by TV Diva Queen

[txhorns79]

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I like that the show isn’t trying to make the IceJuice short completely one-sided. That was a brazen, wildly unethical thing Chuck did baiting Axe like that. But...Axe still did it. Chuck screwed over his dad and friend, and he’s a dick for that, but that’s not against the law. Axe organized a defrauding of a company just to fuck over Chuck and his family. That’s a crime...and Connerty seems intent on missing that.

Chuck's off the books takedown of Axe probably crossed several ethical lines, and would likely get him fired as US Attorney, potentially disbarred and destroy his political career.  Chuck's actual crimes here come with the coverup.  He induced his father to sign a false affidavit, and has likely obstructed justice.  I don't think Connerty is missing anything, so much as he feels betrayed and used by Chuck.  

I am curious to see what the end result is here for Chuck and his dad.  It seems like his father has opted for permanent estrangement, but is simultaneously proud of his son for having taken him down. 

[scrb]

Then obstruction is a related but separate case.

But the main case is still Axe committing stock fraud and contaminating samples at the factory when he paid off that lab manager.

Because putting his own money in the IPO is not in and of itself a crime.  For all he knew, Axe might not have done anything with that information.  It's not his fault that Axe not only took the bait but is now tampering witnesses -- getting them deported, bribing them.

[txhorns79]

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Because putting his own money in the IPO is not in and of itself a crime.  For all he knew, Axe might not have done anything with that information.  It's not his fault that Axe not only took the bait but is now tampering witnesses -- getting them deported, bribing them.

Perhaps, but Chuck is a state actor, and used his office to help orchestrate his scheme.  He can't run an off the books operation with the hope of entrapping an enemy.  Any operation like Chuck ran would have to get approvals and be subject to strict standards so as not to potentially violate due process.  Chuck did none of that.  Even worse, to avoid discovery of his clandestine operation, Chuck conspired to cover up what he had done.  That very much could throw the entire underlying case into jeopardy.     

[Sheenieb]

So, I was always under the impression that there's quite an age difference between Chuck and Wendy. At least 10 years. However, if Chuck was celebrating his 25-year reunion, then that would make Chuck 47. Ira, I could see being in his late 40s, but Chuck looks like he's in his early 50s. So, if the math is right, then Chuck and Wendy can't be that far apart in age.

My least favorite episode so far. The Wags subplot was silly as hell.

[scrb]

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Perhaps, but Chuck is a state actor, and used his office to help orchestrate his scheme.  He can't run an off the books operation with the hope of entrapping an enemy.  Any operation like Chuck ran would have to get approvals and be subject to strict standards so as not to potentially violate due process.  Chuck did none of that.  Even worse, to avoid discovery of his clandestine operation, Chuck conspired to cover up what he had done.  That very much could throw the entire underlying case into jeopardy.     

Sure, since he's in a political job and aspires to run for higher office, his career would be jeopardized.  They could paint him as having a vendetta against Axe and going to extraordinary lengths to try to "get" Axe.

However, there is no way to prove that his intent was to lure Axe to try to tank the stock, because Chuck put his money on the line there.  The IPO was a good investment opportunity.  If not for Axe's actions, Ira and Chuck would have each made millions from the deal.

Plus it would be dumb for Axe's lawyers to admit that Axe was automatically going to try to hurt Axe financially.  So if we see that happening, that would be a dubious legal strategy.

You can talk about conflict of interest, poor judgement and even the coverup.  But there's no way the simple act of investing in an IPO constitutes an entrapment.  If Axe exercised better judgement himself, he would not have engaged in a crime and Chuck and Ira would have walked away with a lot of money, though just a tiny fraction of what Axe has.

But that wasn't good enough, he wanted to hurt Chuck so he committed the crime and for now, he can't trade.

 

We all know the end game for this arc is that Bobby will get his money and his trading license back and that Chuck will still be in a position to pursue Axe on something else.  I don't think they'd actually have him win the governor's race because if he's up in Albany, the Axe vs. Chuck dynamic peters out.

[dwmarch]

On 4/16/2018 at 9:55 PM, minamurray78 said:

Apparently, Connerty can´t handle the full monty.

Wags would totally exploit that. 

I got such a good laugh out of that. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

And yes Wags would, as we saw when some dude was trying to give Taylor a hard time in the sauna.

[txhorns79]

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However, there is no way to prove that his intent was to lure Axe to try to tank the stock, because Chuck put his money on the line there.  The IPO was a good investment opportunity.  If not for Axe's actions, Ira and Chuck would have each made millions from the deal.

Didn't they already have Axe and all his shady friends under surveillance before the scheme took place because they knew Axe was going to try to tank the stock?  Didn't Chuck use the jailed former hedge fund guy to tip off Axe, and got him released from prison after the deed was done?   And didn't Chuck try to cover up his role in all this?  My point being that any of those things goes a long to proving intent.    

Edited April 18, 2018 by txhorns79

[scrb]

5 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Didn't they already have Axe and all his shady friends under surveillance before the scheme took place because they knew Axe was going to try to tank the stock?  Didn't Chuck use the jailed former hedge fund guy to tip off Axe, and got him released from prison after the deed was done?   And didn't Chuck try to cover up his role in all this?  My point being that any of those things goes a long to proving intent.    

What happened was Chuck needed money so he put his valued Churchill book on some kind of consignment, kind of like a pawn shop for expensive objects.

He intended to buy it back when he had money again.

But Axe found out and bought Chuck's treasured book.

So Chuck knew Axe would go to certain lengths to fuck with him.

That is when he hatched this plan with the IPO, though sabotaging the IPO and staging these poisonings as well as actually poisoning Ice Juice so that investigators would find traces of the bio toxin at the factory went far beyond just buying someone else's treasured book.

Obviously Chuck believed that Axe would break any laws easily when Bobby had a chance to hurt him.  So he put his money in the IPO, though he can argue he was just making an investment.

If Axe left it alone, Chuck would have made a lot of money so win-win for him either way.

Chuck may not have been innocent but there is no way you can say Bobby is innocent in any way.  Chuck didn't hold a gun to Axe's head and say "sabotage my stock."

Chuck had Axe's number, that Bobby had no problems resorting to criminality.  The threshold for Bobby to commit illegal acts was very low.

[txhorns79]

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Obviously Chuck believed that Axe would break any laws easily when Bobby had a chance to hurt him.  So he put his money in the IPO, though he can argue he was just making an investment.

Chuck can't actually argue that.  He had his father sign a false affidavit claiming Chuck was unaware that any of his trust money was being used for the IPO.  The whole point of Chuck trying to cover things up is to hide his involvement in setting up Bobby.  

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Chuck may not have been innocent but there is no way you can say Bobby is innocent in any way.  Chuck didn't hold a gun to Axe's head and say "sabotage my stock."

I have not argued that Bobby was innocent.  What I argued was that Chuck's handling of the underlying scheme was such that the entire case could end up getting tossed because Chuck was running his own rogue operation without any approvals or oversight from main Justice.  As a state actor, he is bound by certain rules that he may have violated in his pursuit of Bobby.  That Bobby could have avoided all this by not going after Chuck doesn't matter.   

[DarkRaichu]

On 4/16/2018 at 12:08 PM, jvr said:

I liked how the episode started in the present and then we were shown what led up to it. For a moment I was thinking I'd missed an episode because I didn't understand how we'd jumped to Chuck's dad already being brought in.

It kind of mirrorred the episode in season 2 where Chuck setup his IPO trap to catch Axe.  It seems like in episodes with backward time progression, Chuck won / got what he wanted at the end of the episode.

 

On 4/16/2018 at 7:07 PM, talktoomuch said:

I didn't come into this season rooting for either Axe or Chuck more, but I feel like the writers are trying to make me Team Axe, so of course I must politely decline. Plus this season I finally realized how much I hate how tightly Damian Lewis holds his tiny little mouth and nonexistent lips when he's trying to be a badass. Vying real hard for my hatred of Paul Giamatti's gravelly whisper voice when he's trying to do the same.

This year the writers put a major brake in Axe vs Chuck dynamic.  This season seems to focus on conflicts between students vs mentors with Taylor vs Axe and Bryan vs Chuck

[MBayGal]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:58 PM, Sheenieb said:

So, I was always under the impression that there's quite an age difference between Chuck and Wendy. At least 10 years. However, if Chuck was celebrating his 25-year reunion, then that would make Chuck 47. Ira, I could see being in his late 40s, but Chuck looks like he's in his early 50s. So, if the math is right, then Chuck and Wendy can't be that far apart in age.

My least favorite episode so far. The Wags subplot was silly as hell.

When they went to the reunion dinner and Wendy had her hair pulled back, she looked 10-15 years older to me, tho she usually looks younger than Chuck.

[Chas411]

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but I feel like the writers are trying to make me Team Axe,

This is how I feel!! 

[wilnil]

I think the show's creators decided at the start that with a show like this, especially after the Great Recession, Occupy Wall Street etc., viewers would be likelier to see the shady-major-trader character as the pure villain role, and they wanted a storyline more subtle than that, so right from the start they showed us Bobby had some admirable qualities while showing us Chuck's character flaws. Hence the "Team Axe" vibe many of us have felt.

But as the show goes on, I notice we've gotten to see more of both the good and bad in both men -- and watch them drag each other, and themselves, toward their mutual ruin. 

As far as their respective criminality goes, I think Chuck is on thin ethical ice but mostly risks being fired in disgrace, while Bobby is in deep legal trouble criminally and civilly. Arguing "entrapment" wouldn't fly; no authorities (or even their tools like Boyd) ever suggested to Bobby that he should use his knowledge of the Rhoades' investment to try to ruin Chuck, much less to do it by staging a contamination scare to tank a company during its IPO. That was all his idea and his actions. (An entrapment defense, to me, would be more like the cases where undercover federal agents see if they can get a potential terrorist worked up into becoming a would-be bomber.)

And I'm not sure WTF is up with Connerty. The only thing I can think of is that Chuck's attempt at an everybody-wins scenario -- where Dake got the Axelrod case but had to take on Connerty for the spotlight role of prosecuting it, while Sacker got to head Chuck's criminal cases unit -- just didn't sit well with Connerty at all, and he felt betrayed and dumped by Chuck instead of rewarded, so now he's decided it was all because Chuck is uniquely corrupt (which, well, he is corrupt, but of course it's not that black-and-white). 

[scrb]

2 hours ago, wilnil said:

I think the show's creators decided at the start that with a show like this, especially after the Great Recession, Occupy Wall Street etc., viewers would be likelier to see the shady-major-trader character as the pure villain role, and they wanted a storyline more subtle than that, so right from the start they showed us Bobby had some admirable qualities while showing us Chuck's character flaws. Hence the "Team Axe" vibe many of us have felt.

But as the show goes on, I notice we've gotten to see more of both the good and bad in both men -- and watch them drag each other, and themselves, toward their mutual ruin. 

As far as their respective criminality goes, I think Chuck is on thin ethical ice but mostly risks being fired in disgrace, while Bobby is in deep legal trouble criminally and civilly. Arguing "entrapment" wouldn't fly; no authorities (or even their tools like Boyd) ever suggested to Bobby that he should use his knowledge of the Rhoades' investment to try to ruin Chuck, much less to do it by staging a contamination scare to tank a company during its IPO. That was all his idea and his actions. (An entrapment defense, to me, would be more like the cases where undercover federal agents see if they can get a potential terrorist worked up into becoming a would-be bomber.)

And I'm not sure WTF is up with Connerty. The only thing I can think of is that Chuck's attempt at an everybody-wins scenario -- where Dake got the Axelrod case but had to take on Connerty for the spotlight role of prosecuting it, while Sacker got to head Chuck's criminal cases unit -- just didn't sit well with Connerty at all, and he felt betrayed and dumped by Chuck instead of rewarded, so now he's decided it was all because Chuck is uniquely corrupt (which, well, he is corrupt, but of course it's not that black-and-white). 

Agree with everything though I struggle to remember any good thing Bobby has done.  He's willing to give up half his fortune to Lara without much of a fight?  Though he left some harsh voice mails on her phone that he managed to erase before she could listen but she still is leaving him -- though who knows if they don't reconcile.

I'm still not sure what the deal is with Connerty.  Maybe he's just way purer than anyone else?  When he was trying to flip Taylor, he tried to appeal to her on the basis of morality and not allowing her soul to be corrupted.  He said Axe tried to lure him and he would be living in a nice apt. like Taylor's but he slept better knowing he didn't succumb to money.  (of course, every attorney in the US Attorney's office has big opportunities with private firms, as Sacker had another job lined up and Chuck would have gotten a huge offer if he left).

A lot of people who work in the US Attorney's office has political aspirations.  They haven't shown Connerty having such aspirations but it would be typical.  One thing Bryan has to learn is not to antagonize superiors.  What would be better for his career in the long-term, brining down Bobby Axelrod or Chuck Rhoads, his previous boss?

If he does the latter, what is he telling his future bosses and employers?

[wilnil]

18 hours ago, scrb said:

Agree with everything though I struggle to remember any good thing Bobby has done.

In the early episodes of the first season, Bobby was shown as kind of a "man of the people" rich guy, who invested in his favorite local pizzeria to keep it open, was on good terms with blue-collar and public-worker unions (including but not limited to his in-laws), was contemptuous of inherited-money fat cats, and was supportive of Lara's attempts to make sure their kids didn't grow up spoiled and entitled. Then as the season wore on, we started to see the downsides -- like that he was so supportive of the cops and firefighters because he'd quietly used 9/11 to make a killing in the markets. But by that point we'd already had the stage set as a battle between Bobby as Mr. Salt of the Earth and Chuck as the Son of Privilege and Champion of Government Overreach.

18 hours ago, scrb said:

One thing Bryan has to learn is not to antagonize superiors.  What would be better for his career in the long-term, brining down Bobby Axelrod or Chuck Rhoads, his previous boss?

If he does the latter, what is he telling his future bosses and employers?

Absolutely. I'm pretty sure, given what we've seen of his life and ambitions, that Connerty wouldn't be too happy to end up as the most principled pain-in-the-ass lawyer at the legal aid clinic or nonprofit advocacy group. But that's definitely the direction he's heading in right now.

[AAEBoiler]

Sorry, but the rocket explosion in all likelihood wouldn't have cost the life of the astronaut and I'm saying astronaut because no CEO would be flying his own rocket and wouldn't be cleared to go to the space station. The current designs for manned capsules all have launch abort systems that would get the capsule away from an aborted lower stage. The launch footage they chose (the Antares failure from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in 2014) could easily have allowed the manned capsule to separate and survive a water landing in the Atlantic. My advice is "do better" TV writers.