S01.E02: Sh*t Show at the F**k Factory

[scrb]

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Logan's incapacitation sets off a heated debate among his children, as the board rushes to inform the media about leadership contingencies before the stock market opens. Meanwhile, Greg is tasked with retrieving important items from the Roy apartment; Kendall makes an impassioned final plea to keep Waystar Royco in the family, and receives sobering news from longtime general counsel Gerri Kellman that dampens a moment of vindication.

[scrb]

It's interesting, Bobby Axelrod grows up working class and becomes this hedge fund billionaire and speaks like some hipster but extremely well-read raconteur.

Meanwhile, these Roy kids were born into a billionaire household, presumably had the best education, but speak like adolescents learning swear words for the first time.  No obscure allusions, no word play, no signs of elite education whatsoever.

They're also blatantly contemptuous of each other and the contempt is fully justified.  Kendall talks trash but it just blows up in his face.  He finally gets what he wants, only to find out the company is in deep shit.  Then Logan wakes up anyways.

Shiv really knows how to cut down her brothers, never lets them forget what tools they are.  Yet she inexplicably has a soft spot for Tom, who's basically Kendall.  At least she knew well enough to drop it when Marcia put her in her place and said Logan would stay at that hospital, not go chasing some star doctors elsewhere.

Roman is about as redeeming as a hyena and about as charming.  He's the one they should have left home alone.

Conor is just some passive-aggressive lech.

 

The best part of the hospital?  Well that was some pretense of caring about the father's welfare, just before squabbling about who'd take over the company.

 

Most surprising thing about the Roy clan this episode is how much tolerance they show for Greg.   Money draws miserable people like Greg, Tom and probably Willa.  But it also seems to make people born into it horrible as well.  Kendall has a lot of money but he wants to be respected or something?  Yet he doesn't care about daddy's approval because when Logan said he doesn't want Kendall to succeed him, he didn't drop it.

[Eyes High]

4 hours ago, scrb said:

It's interesting, Bobby Axelrod grows up working class and becomes this hedge fund billionaire and speaks like some hipster but extremely well-read raconteur.

Meanwhile, these Roy kids were born into a billionaire household, presumably had the best education, but speak like adolescents learning swear words for the first time.  No obscure allusions, no word play, no signs of elite education whatsoever.

The masturbatory, allusion-laden dialogue from Bobby Axelrod and others on Billions is objectively terrible and no one, no matter how well read, actually speaks like that, but yes, your point otherwise stands.

Hard to believe Tony Roche (Veep, The Thick of It, In the Loop), the man who coined the fantastic word "omnishambles," wrote this episode. How the mighty have fallen!

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They're also blatantly contemptuous of each other and the contempt is fully justified. 

I have yet to understand why I should care about what happens to any of these people. They're not sympathetic, they're not interesting, they're not clever, and they're not even funny. They're just awful.

The only possible glimmer of interest was the possibility that Kendall deliberately provoked Laurence Yee into posting a nasty expose on his family to force Shiv and Roman to support him as CEO, but I wasn't sure whether he knew what he was doing or if it was just another of his mistakes.

[nilyank]

40 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

The only possible glimmer of interest was the possibility that Kendall deliberately provoked Laurence Yee into posting a nasty expose on his family to force Shiv and Roman to support him as CEO, but I wasn't sure whether he knew what he was doing or if it was just another of his mistakes.

Oh I think he knew exactly what he was doing. We have seen enough interactions between the two of them, that Kendall knew how Yee would react. It was like the last episode when he was the anonymous source when he leaked that info that he wanted.

[Maurina]

4 hours ago, Eyes High said:

I have yet to understand why I should care about what happens to any of these people. They're not sympathetic, they're not interesting, they're not clever, and they're not even funny. They're just awful.

Yes to all of this.  It's not enough that they're all played by great actors who are clearly trying.  These characters are almost completely unwatchable since there's nothing redeeming about them - or compelling.  I'm seriously disappointed.

[tennisgurl]

 I laughed pretty hard when Shiv and Roman started getting into a fight in the empty teaching room, and Tom just NOPEd right of their instantly. Its the smartest thing I've seen him do yet. Of all the siblings, I think I buy Shiv and Roman the most. Not that its a good sibling relationship or anything, but I do buy them as brother and sister. And it was kind of funny seeing Greg constantly toadying around, doing grunt work for the fam, who dont want to deal with his vulture self, but they haven't decided to full on kick him out yet. Especially as he keeps calling to "strategize" with his mom about everything from plaid slippers to weaseling his way into a job with the family he hardly knows. I will say, hitching his wagon to Shiv instead of Roman is the best call he has made so far. She at least seems basically competent. 

Glad that Bryan Cox is waking up. He is desperately needed. 

[ichbin]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

 I laughed pretty hard when Shiv and Roman started getting into a fight in the empty teaching room, and Tom just NOPEd right of their instantly. Its the smartest thing I've seen him do yet.

Agreed. I do anticipate Greg finally punching him at some point in a future episode though.  

So far so good.  These are all fun characters to watch.

[meep.meep]

Gregg keeps reminding me of Jonah on Veep - it's probably the height.

I wonder about the older brother's obsession with cryo.

[scrb]

Yeah the show creator worked under Iannucci but apparently not on Veep.

The characters on Veep don't have redeeming qualities either, except in the ability to entertain the viewers with their idiocy an insulting people.

Seen in that light, I can definitely see them trying to imitate Veep with the constant exchange of barbs.  But so far, they haven't done it with anywhere near the same kind of wit.

[meowmommy]

12 hours ago, Eyes High said:

I have yet to understand why I should care about what happens to any of these people. They're not sympathetic, they're not interesting, they're not clever, and they're not even funny. They're just awful.

As long as I think of this family as a double for a certain other very well known, shallow, corrupt, venal family, I don't have to have someone to root for.  The further they get driven into the ground, the better.  I don't think we're supposed to like these characters.  Especially the eldest son and chief entitled moron.  The more times he can get shit on, the happier a viewer I will be.

The scene where clueless Greg gets out of the taxi without taxi fare and blithely demands the taxi driver and the doorman sort out the fare was hilarious.  I only wish Marcia hadn't called and bailed him out, because I wanted to see how it would have ended otherwise.

[Eyes High]

13 hours ago, meowmommy said:

As long as I think of this family as a double for a certain other very well known, shallow, corrupt, venal family, I don't have to have someone to root for.  The further they get driven into the ground, the better.  I don't think we're supposed to like these characters.  Especially the eldest son and chief entitled moron.  The more times he can get shit on, the happier a viewer I will be.

I think we are supposed to like Kendall, judging by the close ups of his moist-eyed, devastated expression whenever someone says something cruel to him.

"Everyone is awful" works fine for satire, but this show isn't funny enough or clever enough to qualify. 

[nilyank]

Kendall is not the oldest; thay would be Connor who has a different mother than the other three. 

[atlantaloves]

Oh man, I am OUT......I tried, but this show is just nasty. 

[Lemons]

On 6/11/2018 at 6:26 PM, meep.meep said:

Gregg keeps reminding me of Jonah on Veep - it's probably the height.

I wonder about the older brother's obsession with cryo.

Too bad he's not as funny.  

On 6/12/2018 at 12:02 PM, Eyes High said:

I think we are supposed to like Kendall, judging by the close ups of his moist-eyed, devastated expression whenever someone says something cruel to him.

"Everyone is awful" works fine for satire, but this show isn't funny enough or clever enough to qualify. 

I think the close ups of him are supposed to remind us of another punchable face that's in the news right now.  The similar looks can't be coincidence.  

[Former Nun]

On 6/12/2018 at 3:48 PM, atlantaloves said:

Oh man, I am OUT......I tried, but this show is just nasty. 

Sadly, there's no Episode 3 page up yet.   I decided to give it One. More. Chance.   Episode 3 got me.  I think I'll see this show through to the end.

[Moxie Cat]

On June 11, 2018 at 10:02 PM, meowmommy said:

As long as I think of this family as a double for a certain other very well known, shallow, corrupt, venal family,

It's an interesting switch that Logan's third wife is vaguely age-appropriate though (although also heavily accented!). And that he is self-made. I wish he weren't incapacitated because aside from Shiv, he may be the most tolerable among them - but I suppose there's no story without the "succession" part.

So is Roman the Eric? Yikes.

[PRgal]

Just because one has an amazing education doesn't mean one doesn't swear.  Some people act a certain way because they want to play down their wealth (though it would be difficult if you were a member of a well-known family).  Boarding/prep school kids are known to "slum it down" at times.  

[Mothra]

On 6/20/2018 at 4:34 PM, PRgal said:

Just because one has an amazing education doesn't mean one doesn't swear.  Some people act a certain way because they want to play down their wealth (though it would be difficult if you were a member of a well-known family).  Boarding/prep school kids are known to "slum it down" at times.  

A fancy, expensive education at an elite school doesn't mean the graduate will be intelligent or interesting, or be able form complete sentences.  This is particularly true of graduates who belong to families able to donate buildings and endow chairs.  All the Trump children have good educations, but I've never seen anything to indicate that any of them is articulate or interested in anything outside the family business.  And Donald Trump himself graduated from Penn (well, with a degree from the business school), and even his most ardent supporters would not say he comes across as someone with an elite education.

I don't think the Roy progeny have the grace to pretend to be less than they are.  I think they are exactly as venal and ignorant as they appear to be.

I find Tom to be the most ghastly person on the show.  He seems to have deep psychological issues that include sadism.

[Milburn Stone]

On 9/14/2018 at 10:17 AM, Mothra said:

I find Tom to be the most ghastly person on the show.  He seems to have deep psychological issues that include sadism.

Agree.

[wonderwoman]

On 6/11/2018 at 8:58 AM, Eyes High said:

have yet to understand why I should care about what happens to any of these people. They're not sympathetic, they're not interesting, they're not clever, and they're not even funny. They're just awful

HBO has made this show available (except for the pilot) through monday via xfinity’s streaming  app for the weekend. heard a lot about this show. decided to watch an episode before rearranging my schedule to squeeze in 19 episodes. based on the first 15 minutes of this episode, i’ll probably pass. sooo tired of stories about the rich and the damaged.