S03.E06: The Third Ortolan

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Axe tracks down a critical piece of evidence that could destroy him. Both Axe and Chuck reckon with just how far they're willing to go to protect Wendy. The Ice Juice case comes to a head when a judge gives Connerty a difficult deadline.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I shouldn’t watch this show, because I have no short-term memory, nor any understanding of trading.

Why DID Wendy get in on the IJ short? I’m inclined to believe that it was innocent, because she has shown herself to have a strong moral compass. 

If anyone has the patience to explain Wendy’s involvement, I would be greatly appreciative and indebted.

A propos of nothing, they should have given her a more dignified name. I always think of Wendy’s the fast food chain.  

I am surprised they were so casual joking with Taylor about the flower delivery. Taylor has a lot power and influence with Axe, no?

Those poor birds. I read a description in which the bird’s sharp, broken bones draw blood in the mouth of the diner, which is supposed to contribute to the flavor/enjoyment.

Edited April 30, 2018 by hoodooznoodooz

[wilnil]

4 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Why DID Wendy get in on the IJ short? I’m inclined to believe that it was innocent, because she has shown herself to have a strong moral compass.

She found out that Chuck was deeply invested in the company, and also that Axe Capital was shorting the IJ stock big-time, meaning that Bobby & co. apparently had good reason to believe its price would plummet. When she warned Chuck that the investment was trouble and urged him to pull out, he blew her off (since this was all part of his larger plan to get Axe, though he couldn't tell her that). So Wendy, fearing Chuck would leave himself and their family broke, got in on the short so at least one of them would come away from the stock's collapse OK.

At this point, she knew nothing about what either Chuck or Axe were plotting, so she's not involved in those crimes -- though she looks pretty guilty to Connerty, and maybe to a jury. I'm not sure she's totally innocent, though, because a case could still be made for trading on insider info since she knew Axe had some reason to be shorting the stock so aggressively.

The end had me hooked, because I had no idea how they were going to play it. And what was interesting to me was that Chuck producing the slide seemed to surprise Wendy as much as it did Axe. Before then, I was expecting the twist to be that Wendy got them into Axe's place specifically so Chuck could plant the slide; I wasn't expecting it to be Chuck who "broke the stick" and totally changed the game.

As for the ortolan dinner, I loved the way they showed the guys' greed: Wags wants seconds and their host tells them "One (bird) is divine, two is gluttony," or something like that, and then Axe or Wags (forget which) pipes up with "How about three?"

[grommit2]

The important issues:
1) Will Axe get to keep the boat?
2) Will Axe get to keep the big Long Island house?
3) Will Spiros get his Porsche repaired, only to have an Axe defender run him off a cliff?
4) Will Taylor eat something and put on some weight? She's my favorite character, but, geez, eat something!
5) Will Axe come to the aid of his new buddy, Chuck,  and finance his run for Governor?

[PBSLover]

I think this was the best episode of the season so far.

1) I was going to comment last week that Malin Ackerman must be pissed that she not really featured this season but she was in a bit last night so it will be interesting to see how the relationship plays out. I don’t believe the marriage is over.

2) Is Chuck actually changing/growing/becoming less obtuse?  The end of the episode was VERY satisfying. I said out loud, “FINALLY!"

3) Nothing was mentioned what Dollar Bill did to Spiros. 

4) What has become of the case that Chuck was forced to prosecute by the AG? NO mention of that for a couple of episodes now. Like the AG didn’t know who planted the stories in the press. Please.

5) The boys in the Eastern division...what is going to happen there?

6) What the hell was the dinner ritual? Anyone know what that was? 

7) Wendy is dressing better so that makes me happy. Huge girl crush on Maggie.

I was worried that the show was burning itself out but it’s reignited. For me anyway.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Thank you soooo much, wilnil! You have helped me immensely. 

[jvr]

7 hours ago, wilnil said:

At this point, she knew nothing about what either Chuck or Axe were plotting, so she's not involved in those crimes -- though she looks pretty guilty to Connerty, and maybe to a jury. I'm not sure she's totally innocent, though, because a case could still be made for trading on insider info since she knew Axe had some reason to be shorting the stock so aggressively.

The short by Axe was public knowledge though so I doubt they could get her on that. She might have had a slight head start in knowing they were going to short but it wasn't secret once they executed the trade. It depends on the timing of her trade I guess. She is totally innocent for what Connerty is trying to prosecute her for at least.

Great episode. The minute Chuck met up with Wendy I was like, oh shit, he is going to use her to plant the slide! Wendy would have totally divorced his ass then, talk about another violation of her trust. But at least she might not have been in prison. I'm guessing Chuck was still going to turn himself in but he was just ensuring that Axe went down with him.

Edited May 1, 2018 by jvr

[scrb]

First of all, I don't care about the nerd romance.

Second, I guess they were trying to impress with some antiquated, obscure eating ritual.  But all I could think of was that eating foie gras wasn't enough animal cruelty so they had to find something even more cruel.

The case still continues to be baffling but Bryan says he's more interested in going after Chuck than Axe because Chuck's moral compass is weak?

OK, whatever, so Chuck may not be pure and deserves to go to jail but he's going to blow off prosecuting Axe?  You know, the reason you don't have witnesses is that you took your sweet time while Axe got rid of the witnesses.  That's prosecutorial incompetence.

It would make more sense if Connerty is going after Chuck now because he realized and admitted that he fucked up the Axe case.  But apparently they're suppose to be connected because Axe claiming Chuck baited him into contaminating the IJ is his get out of jail free card.

I don't buy for one second that Axe would go to prison, get cut off from his kids, all to save Wendy.  Nor do I buy that Connerty would decline to prosecute Chuck and Wendy because Bobby gave himself up.  Looked like he wanted to inflict punishment on the Rhoads and was going to go after his father too.

All because Chuck moved him out to Eastern and as he said, gave him another "career-making" case?

Also, why would Chuck look to plant the evidence.  It's ridiculous that Bobby would still keep that slide around if he had access to it.  You had Chuck going through that penthouse, leaving fingerprints everywhere.  Then he takes it out of the container with a piece of cloth so he wouldn't get his fingerprints on it?

Looks like they're going to band together to make the case(s) go away and things will be back to normal next season.

[wilnil]

4 hours ago, PBSLover said:

6) What the hell was the dinner ritual? Anyone know what that was? 

You mean the whole towels-over-the-head shtick, etc.? It's a real thing, apparently, part of what "true" gourmets do to appreciate an ortolan dinner. See the Wikipedia article (which, of course, has already been updated to include a reference to this episode).

7 minutes ago, scrb said:

I guess they were trying to impress with some antiquated, obscure eating ritual.  But all I could think of was that eating foie gras wasn't enough animal cruelty so they had to find something even more cruel.

Along with the increased rarity of the birds, the cruelty of how they overfeed then drown the birds is why France banned killing and cooking them, though apparently top chefs there have been pushing for the ban to be lifted over the past few years.

[DarkRaichu]

9 hours ago, grommit2 said:

4) Will Taylor eat something and put on some weight? She's my favorite character, but, geez, eat something!

She ate a twizzler on her bed while coding. :D

Speaking of that scene at the end. I think that was the happiest I have seen Taylor.  They look cute (in nerdy way) working next to each other in her bed 

[TV Diva Queen]

I don't think the slide Chuck produced at the table was the real one.  Notice when he was going to plant it in the shaving kit, he protected his fingerprints, then when he put it on the table, his fingers were touching it?  I'm probably wrong, but it seemed odd.  

[missyb]

29 minutes ago, TV Diva Queen said:

I don't think the slide Chuck produced at the table was the real one.  Notice when he was going to plant it in the shaving kit, he protected his fingerprints, then when he put it on the table, his fingers were touching it?  I'm probably wrong, but it seemed odd.  

That entire scene seemed a little inconsistent . First, the way Chuck took a walking tour of the entire penthouse on his way to the downstairs bathroom was a little hard to swallow. Wouldn't his absence for so long be obvious to Axe?  And I am sure Axe has motion detection cameras that were tripping all kinds of alarms. Never the less, I always suspend reality while watching TV. Otherwise, I can't enjoy it. And I do enjoy this show very much !

[Mileman]

I was expecting Trevor from Suits at some point indicating Chuck the batrhoom was the other way.

[TV Diva Queen]

41 minutes ago, missyb said:

That entire scene seemed a little inconsistent . First, the way Chuck took a walking tour of the entire penthouse on his way to the downstairs bathroom was a little hard to swallow. Wouldn't his absence for so long be obvious to Axe?  And I am sure Axe has motion detection cameras that were tripping all kinds of alarms. Never the less, I always suspend reality while watching TV. Otherwise, I can't enjoy it. And I do enjoy this show very much !

LOL - I'm with you on the cameras....I was expecting Chuck to come downstairs after his tour only to find Axe showing it to us on his phone.  

[hoodooznoodooz]

Didn’t the previews seem to imply the slide is still important next week?

If that’s true, no one has refrigerated it in a while. Doesn’t that seem weird?

[txhorns79]

Well at least we saw that Lara was right to leave Axe.  He's willing to go to jail to spare Wendy, without even a thought as to how this would effect his kids or wife.  If that isn't a statement of principles as to whom Axe actually cares about, then I don't know what is. 

I did roll my eyes at Chuck's tour of Axe's house.  Axe is uber-paranoid at the moment.  There's no way Chuck is just wandering around the place without Axe knowing.  And how was Chuck's plan going to work?  Did he think Bobby wouldn't realize that Chuck set him up?  How would Chuck explain why he was in Bobby's apartment the day before the slide was "found?"  I doubt anyone would buy it was just a coincidence. 

[Dminches]

Even if there are 2 slides and the one that Chuck showed Axe is a fake, Brian still has trading information on both Chuck and Wendy.  How does this help them?  It will be more interesting if the 3 of them actually work together to clear all of them.

[ahpny]

Quote

Well at least we saw that Lara was right to leave Axe.  He's willing to go to jail to spare Wendy, without even a thought as to how this would effect his kids or wife.  If that isn't a statement of principles as to whom Axe actually cares about, then I don't know what is. 

Undeniably true of course, and Axe's "special relationship" with Wendy helped push Lara and Axe apart. But - there's always a "but," - the choice wasn't between Axe going to jail and Lara (and/or the kids) going to jail. Sparing Lara the "embarrassment" of having an ex-husband felon - oh the horror as she subsists on just hundreds of millions of dollars in a worst case scenario - doesn't really move me. So, according to Lara, Wendy should rot in jail so Lara can hold her head high at the beauty parlor? Is Axe's reputation so sterling now that Lara is fighting off invitations from the ladies who lunch? As loathsome as Lara has always been, at least she's consistent. She never liked Wendy and would shiv her at the first chance she'd get.

Quote

I don't buy for one second that Axe would go to prison, get cut off from his kids, all to save Wendy.

I do, or at least that Axe would consider it. As Lara bitched, Axe had already been ignoring his kids for some time anyway. And while I'm ragging on Lara, if she's so concerned with Axe interacting with the kids, what's with the threatened move to California? How is that supposed to make this "problem" any better?

On a separate note, I don't understand what type of deal Chuck, Axe and Wendy can cook up that would get them all off. I suppose we'll see.

Edited May 2, 2018 by ahpny

[txhorns79]

Quote

And while I'm ragging on Lara, if she's so concerned with Axe interacting with the kids, what's with the threatened move to California? How is that supposed to make this "problem" any better?

I think she said she would move there if he went to jail, to escape the scandal and that no Judge would stand in her way because Bobby would be in jail.  She wasn't threatening to move now. 

Quote

So, according to Lara, Wendy should rot in jail so Lara can hold her head high at the beauty parlor?

I don't think that is what she saying.  It was more that Bobby was making huge decisions without even considering he had a family. 

[roughing it]

17 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I did roll my eyes at Chuck's tour of Axe's house.

Did anyone else get flashbacks of "Father of the Bride"?  I was expecting two threatening Doberman's, and Chuck yelling "Relent!"

[TV Diva Queen]

On 5/1/2018 at 11:09 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

Didn’t the previews seem to imply the slide is still important next week?

If that’s true, no one has refrigerated it in a while. Doesn’t that seem weird?

Chuck mumbled (as usual) to the Conga guy about how much time was left on it without being refrigerated.  Chuck had it in the fridge and then he and Wendy only went over to Axe's house.  Maybe all this in and out of the fridge will in the end, deem the slide useless.  ahahahah.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Surgeon's cuffs. I didn't know that's what they were called. I remember when I used to think off-the-rack suit jackets without buttons on the cuffs were tacky-looking. I had no idea they were ever constructed with cuffs that could be unbuttoned. Learn something new every day...

Taylor's new boyfriend has a very bad carbon footprint. I think they're cute together though.

Ditto comments upthread, did Chuck have two slides and gave Axe the fake one? Regardless, the incriminating stain likely degraded beyond recognition since it has now spent so much time outside of refrigeration.

Quote

Second, I guess they were trying to impress with some antiquated, obscure eating ritual.  But all I could think of was that eating foie gras wasn't enough animal cruelty so they had to find something even more cruel.

Right? I haven't been so disgusted at an eating scene since Ramsay chowed down on that sausage in front of a freshly castrated Reek.

[talktoomuch]

Maybe if the writers didn't make the Ice Juice deal so blatantly criminal on one side (Axe) but only ethically/morally sticky on the other side (Chuck), they wouldn't have to do all these plot gymnastics and character assassinations to accomplish the grudging truce they were apparently trying to get to all season. So now they're all, "See what we did there?" And I'm all. "Fuck you AND Connerty."

[kieyra]

New binge viewer. Most of my binge posts have been snarking at the music choices, Damien Lewis, or the borderline pretensious dialogue. But the writing of this epidose in particular is really fucking good. Dialogue is sharp and witty without inducing more than a groan or two. And getting Wendy, Chuck and Axe in a scene together was pretty fantastic.

[misstwpherecool]

I am a new binge viewer too. Pardon if I get my epi's mixed up.

I was thinking about the slides as well. Wasn't the original in a small hazmat bag with a red stripe. I didn't see that other than in a flashback at the office. Was it intentional that the doctor who said he wanted nothing all of the sudden jump to 200 million to signal Axe? Or it shows he can be bought?

There is/has been a lot of unethical/illegal poop going on the part of the prosecution which goes on in real life and show but a gasket blower for me was Sacker back dating her notes in front of the other staffer. Was she signaling Brian or going to the dark side?

Yeh, Axe would have that apartment wired except for a safe room for the shady stuff.

The FBI security question in front of lawyer made me cringe even in that show.

The pair of fixers-creepy.

The weasel compliance guy doesn't care about past rape allegations anymore? Did he learn to 'hedge' from his new employer-pay off or worse?

People speculate on what Axe knows about Chuck's apartment tour but what did Wendy & Axe discuss in his absence?