S04.E08: Fight Night

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Axe helps Rebecca with a business venture. Chuck faces off with US Attorney General Jock Jeffcoat. Taylor ignites a public battle with Axe. Wendy suffers a blow that could jeopardize her career. Axe Capital and Taylor Mason Capital compete in an unlikely arena.

Yet another blow to  Wendy's career. She has taken multiple hits from Chuck and has violated her code of ethics in egregious ways.  Is this the season of destroy Wendy?

Original air date 2019.05.05 

[Lemons]

I've never liked the Wendy character, she always has a miserable look on her face and has a stupid job for someone who went to medical school.  She's no better than Chuck or Axe and can destroy lives as easily as the other two.  

I knew the fight would be a tie.  

[Joimiaroxeu]

Could someone explain Taylor's Sir Tristram De Lyones comment re the continuing battle with Axe? Thx.

Still wondering about Rebecca. I think she's just too perfect for Axe and has to be pulling a long con.

Lol, Chuck finds out in the worst possible way he has a new half-sister. And that poor child,  already getting used as a political pawn.

Oh yes, Taylor is THAT BITCH! How their a$$ taste, Axe? Meanwhile, the big fight was a draw. Yawn.

Wait, those house buyers were fake, weren't they? They were being obviously cagey about the wife's apparent pregnancy. Were did Chuck find them, at a dinner theatre?

Quote

Is this the season of destroy Wendy?

Unless it's the start of a redemption arc, I hope so. I think what she did to Taylor was the worst any of them have done short of killing people.

[Pike Ludwell]

The whole boxing thing was ridiculous, unrealistic, boring FILLER.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Pat Hoolihan

[janeta]

I will not be happy if this show doesn't end its run with Connerty (at least) in jail.

And  Spiros needs to just disappear.

Edited May 6, 2019 by janeta

[car54]

I was kind of hoping Dollar Bill would crumble and they'd send Bonnie in to take out Maffee.

[Starchild]

1 hour ago, janeta said:

I will not be happy if this show doesn't end its run with Connerty (at least) in jail.

And  Spiros needs to just disappear.

For this series to end in an even remotely satisfying way for me, the big 3 (Axe, Chuck, Wendy) should be in jail. Many of the rest of them also deserve it, but I could live with it if they went free.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for Wendy now? Because NOPE.

[The Solution]

I would like to give Wendy a medal for what she did to Taylor. I'll own it.

[scrb]

Yeah Taylor owned Axe on the TV show, on the fracking transactions and at the boxing match, especially her retort to him saying “I’ve taught you well.”

Like she said, whatever makes you feel better Bobby.

I don’t know is becoming more and more arm candy.  She’s suppose to be some mogul so she’s on his level.  They won’t saddle her with the vitamin Booster IVs or whatever dumb scheme they had Lara attempt that one time.  But Rebecca is suppose to be much more savvy than that and yet she’s trying to take over the Billions-universe version of Sears?

Who’s going to bother with those dilapidated stores and paper catalogs in the age of drone deliveries?

Chuck is trying to get with the times by pushing for mobile phone voting, only after he figures out that Jeffcoat is against it.  They are really straining to come up with ways for Chuck to clash with Connerty and Jeffcoat.  Voting is in the domain of the states so the US Attorney would have little say, unless he can bring a case of wrongdoing by state election officials.

Meanwhile Sacher seems to be sick of being caught in the middle of the Rhoads vs. Connerty pissing matches.  Normally someone in her position would go work somewhere else but it appears that they may be setting things up for her to change sides.

Or maybe she will go work for Taylor.

[Dminches]

9 hours ago, Starchild said:

For this series to end in an even remotely satisfying way for me, the big 3 (Axe, Chuck, Wendy) should be in jail. Many of the rest of them also deserve it, but I could live with it if they went free.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for Wendy now? Because NOPE.

My thought after last night was that I hope the big three lose in the end.

Axe has become totally reckless with his investing in his attempt to take down Taylor.  You would think that he would consider her small potatoes and just move on.

I am finding this season to be a bore and a stretch.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I can’t get past Rebecca’s doughy face. 

Spiros and Wags are the worst caricatures.

How can it surprise Wendy that someone from Taylor’s team reported her?

Taylor looked amazing in that waistcoat. 

Which reminds me: I hate the name Jock Jeffcoat.

[txhorns79]

56 minutes ago, Dminches said:

Axe has become totally reckless with his investing in his attempt to take down Taylor.  You would think that he would consider her small potatoes and just move on.

I think it's been a continuing storyline in the series that Axe is fairly reckless when it comes to his desire for revenge.  I mean, he nearly ended up in jail and almost destroyed his business when he attempted to take down Chuck. 

Quote

Who’s going to bother with those dilapidated stores and paper catalogs in the age of drone deliveries?

At least with the real Sears, my understanding is that the way the investors make a profit is through Sears vast real estate holdings, so while they have tried to revive the store itself, they have made huge profits by selling off or leasing land the company owns. 

[Cutty]

2 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

I can’t get past Rebecca’s doughy face. 

And her atrocious acting. The character and actress are just all kinds of awful. I miss Lara.

Outside of Taylor outmaneuvering Axe on the fracking stuff this episode was pretty blah on the whole. Too much pointless filler. The B story with Chuck/Connerty/mobile voting was also stupid and pointless. How many topics are they going to bring into this confrontation? SDNY would have no jurisdiction over state mobile voting, regardless of DOJ's position.  

Edited May 6, 2019 by Cutty

[PrincessPurrsALot]

4 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Which reminds me: I hate the name Jock Jeffcoat.

If ever there was a name to signal we are not supposed to like the character, this is it.  They could have also opted for Jerky McJerkson, Dick Inyourface, or Jack Jackass.  

[Carolina Girl]

It says so much about my new ambivalence towards this show that I am now looking at TWO episodes that have yet to be watched.  When before it was "must watch before sleep" on Sunday.

[grommit2]

Have to agree with most of the above.
Yes, the fight was pretty lame. I would have bet on Dollar Bill, but...glad I didn't.
And yes, Spiros is a total caricature of a not-funny court jester.
I will miss the pizza place...they served really good pizza.
Wendy is really getting clobbered, and deservedly so.  She totally violated her professional ethics.
Hooray for Taylor...my fave, she actually, sort of, beat Axe this one time.
Highlight of this episode was the many pop culture references, rendered in concise, pithy comments: "McFly at the Prom", "Code Red", etc.  Give that writer an extra large coffee...well-earned. We could start a thread with suggestions for more of these witty comments.
 

Edited May 6, 2019 by grommit2
Forgot a comment

[Auntie Anxiety]

2 hours ago, Carolina Girl said:

It says so much about my new ambivalence towards this show that I am now looking at TWO episodes that have yet to be watched.  When before it was "must watch before sleep" on Sunday.

I’ve been watching it hoping that the show will magically improve, but at the end of each episode, I find myself thinking, “who even cares?” They really should have read Billions it’s last rites after Season 2.

Rebecca has a claymation face.

[Marci]

Oh damn, another show that started out so good, and ended up all about people fighting each other on a personal level, with bad writing, bad storylines, and total BS.

Just like Suits, The Good Fight, and a lot more I probably never watched.

i give it a few more weeks before they start getting political, in a last-ditch ratings grab.

[EtheltoTillie]

4 hours ago, Marci said:

Oh damn, another show that started out so good, and ended up all about people fighting each other on a personal level, with bad writing, bad storylines, and total BS.

Just like Suits, The Good Fight, and a lot more I probably never watched.

i give it a few more weeks before they start getting political, in a last-ditch ratings grab.

It’s like two other Showtime series:  Ray Donovan and Shameless. Started out great but went off the rails after 3 seasons. Stopped watching both. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by GussieK

[Chaos Theory]

22 hours ago, The Solution said:

I would like to give Wendy a medal for what she did to Taylor. I'll own it.

That is the one thing I can't figure out about Wendy.  She can't or won't own her own bad deeds.  She would be alot happier once she does.   Don't get me wrong I love the character but she has been moping around too much.   Maybe she should let Chuck back into her bed.   Get some of that tension out.  

On 5/5/2019 at 10:05 PM, car54 said:

I was kind of hoping Dollar Bill would crumble and they'd send Bonnie in to take out Maffee.

That would have been hilarious.   I loved Bonnie and Wendy together.  They had some great scenes.  

[roughing it]

15 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Maybe she should let Chuck back into her bed.   Get some of that tension out.

Yes, Wendy needs a selfless "this one's for you" from Chuck.  No BDSM.  Just some good bangin'.

I hate Bonnie.  And Wags.

Edited May 7, 2019 by roughing it

[Chaos Theory]

22 minutes ago, roughing it said:

Yes, Wendy needs a selfless "this one's for you" from Chuck.  No BDSM.  Just some good bangin'.

I hate Bonnie.  And Wags.

See that’s the thing.  I think Wendy enjoys the BDSM as much as Chuck does.   The marriage would not have survived as long as it did if she wasn’t “into it”.   Her issue was that Chuck outed her without her consent....actually against her consent which is actually a major no no in BDSM which is all about consent.

That is why I don’t get Wendy lately.  She has been moping around and is understandably angry but at the same time being outed should be freeing.  i think that is what everyone at Axe Capital is trying  to tell her.  Be the Dominatrix.  Not just in the bedroom but in your everyday life to.  

And I absolutely love Bonnie.  I love that she fits in in a world of alpha men.  She is exactly the kind of character that makes me stay with a male dominated show like this.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[roughing it]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

See that’s the thing.  I think Wendy enjoys the BDSM as much as Chuck does.   The marriage would not have survived as long as it did if she wasn’t “into it”.   Her issue was that Chuck outed her without her consent....actually against her consent which is actually a major no no in BDSM which is all about consent.

Yes, Wendy does like the BDSM.  However, a few episodes ago, she wanted sex but not the BDSM, yet Chuck talked her into getting the BDSM stuff out of the box because that's what he needs.  Wendy went along with it for Chuck's sake, but on that night, that was not what she wanted.

Edited May 7, 2019 by roughing it

[roughing it]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

And I absolutely love Bonnie.  I love that she fits in in a world of alpha men.  She is exactly the kind of character that makes me stay with a male dominated show like this.

The reason I dislike both Bonnie and Wags so much is that I see them as cartoon characters trying to play the badass woman in a man's world and the badass man, trying to be the baddest in a man's world.  Bobby lately too.  It's like they are trying so hard to look badass that they actually come across as ridiculous. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I have always assumed that in Wendy and Chuck's relationship the BDSM is something they both enjoy; they have set the stage for that throughout the show then have tried to shift it some this season.  As far as Wendy wanting sex without BDSM at a given time, that is not outside the norms of what appears to be their type of relationship.  Just because the couple does one doesn't mean they don't do the other.  BDSM as foreplay is not uncommon.  So it seems more strange to me that they are acting like Chuck only ever wants BDSM.  Also the self harm/pain inducing techniques he was doing don't fit well into the dynamic they have presented.  Chuck is into being dominated by women.  Snapping himself with a rubber band does not include dominance, unless he's calling his right hand Sally and disassociating it from himself.  😁

The issue I have with the many of the characters is they are more caricatures than fully realized individuals.  A woman being successful in a man's world does not have to act just like one of the boys.  If they want to give us that, all the writers are doing is putting a male character in women's clothing.  I understand that secondary and tertiary characters cannot be built out as strongly as primary characters.  However, they should seem more than surface level if they are going to be more than random person in scene. 

On to the silliness of the boxing match.  Are there really that many people that want to see these two duke it out?  I can understand the members of Axe Cap and Taylor's firm being involved.  I just don't get the larger community giving a damn.  

[kieyra]

I really only picked up this show for Asia Kate Dillon, and still find the Taylor character very watchable. 

I find most of the rest of it, including the nearly non-stop faux-sophisticated cultural references (“this is just like when Billy Joe had to pull off that last heist or lose everything to Bobby Sue”), faintly ridiculous. 

I have to FF through all the Rhodes father/son scenes because otherwise the sheer white-dude smuggery will cause me to chuck my remote through the screen.

If I’m supposed to be rooting for Axe to “win” over Taylor ... well, I’m probably watching the wrong show.

(I wonder how big shot redhead actor dude feels about AKD stealing every scene from him. Sorry, I actually can’t remember his name and I didn’t watch Homeland. He was good as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall though.)

Edited May 8, 2019 by kieyra

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, kieyra said:

I find most of the rest of it, including the nearly non-stop faux-sophisticated cultural references (“this just like when Billy Joe had to pull off that last heist or lose everything to Bobby Sue”), faintly ridiculous. 

Indeed.  It feels like everyone is trying extra hard to be clever, and it adds very little to the story. 

[dwmarch]

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Indeed.  It feels like everyone is trying extra hard to be clever, and it adds very little to the story. 

I generally don't mind the references (got a good laugh out of the Pulp Fiction one earlier in the season) but I did find them annoying in this episode. It's not just that the characters make them all the time, it's that the person they are talking to always gets the reference and has an appropriate response. It has been my experience that dropping an obscure reference is entirely likely to generate a WTF in response and that never happens on this show.

[Dminches]

14 hours ago, kieyra said:

I really only picked up this show for Asia Kate Dillon, and still find the Taylor character very watchable. 

I find most of the rest of it, including the nearly non-stop faux-sophisticated cultural references (“this just like when Billy Joe had to pull off that last heist or lose everything to Bobby Sue”), faintly ridiculous. 

I have to FF through all the Rhodes father/son scenes because otherwise the sheer white-dude smuggery will cause me to chuck my remote through the screen.

If I’m supposed to be rooting for Axe to “win” over Taylor ... well, I’m probably watching the wrong show.

(I wonder how big shot redhead actor dude feels about AKD stealing every scene from him. Sorry, I actually can’t remember his name and I didn’t watch Homeland. He was good as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall though.)

The cultural references are so over done.  I have stopped trying to listen to them.

I am rooting for Taylor too so you are not alone.

[AlleC17]

I cheered out loud when Taylor still had that smirky smile after Bobby was gloating about fracking.  Good for you Taylor!  And I am pretty much over Wendy too.  Yeah, they went after you.  (well, not really, but whatever, heh) So you are allowed to be a shitty person and have zero consequences?  Guess again.  Maybe I should stop watching now, as I do not want Bobby to best Taylor in any way.  I wouldn't mind if the big 3 ended up in jail.

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, AlleC17 said:

I cheered out loud when Taylor still had that smirky smile after Bobby was gloating about fracking.  Good for you Taylor!  And I am pretty much over Wendy too.  Yeah, they went after you.  (well, not really, but whatever, heh) So you are allowed to be a shitty person and have zero consequences? 

Yeah, did Wendy forget that she was using Taylor's private sessions with her to try and undermine them?  Did she think that would just be okay?  Wendy really screwed herself with that action.   

Also, I did kind of laugh when they showed that Bonnie was running with Wendy without her hair pulled back.  Bonnie's hair is a huge curly bush.  No way is she running without pulling that mop back. 

[Auntie Anxiety]

I just read in The Daily Mail that the show was picked up for yet another season! And here I thought that everyone associated with this catastrophe realized it was time to put it out of its (and my) misery. Amazingly, 4.2M viewers continue to watch this dreck. I don’t think I can put my last remaining brain cells at risk for another season of inanity.

[Dminches]

7 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

I just read in The Daily Mail that the show was picked up for yet another season! And here I thought that everyone associated with this catastrophe realized it was time to put it out of its (and my) misery. Amazingly, 4.2M viewers continue to watch this dreck. I don’t think I can put my last remaining brain cells at risk for another season of inanity.

Not only are you watching it but you are writing about it too like the rest of us (just some humor).

[kieyra]

Yep, same. I had about five episodes piled up before I caught up. I also FF heavily. 

But ... I guess there will always be a market for fancy-talkin' white dudes doing the serious business of crime.

Edited May 9, 2019 by kieyra

[Lemons]

17 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

I just read in The Daily Mail that the show was picked up for yet another season! And here I thought that everyone associated with this catastrophe realized it was time to put it out of its (and my) misery. Amazingly, 4.2M viewers continue to watch this dreck. I don’t think I can put my last remaining brain cells at risk for another season of inanity.

I still like it a lot.  I'm disappointed in the way Chuck is being portrayed going around with Axe and using bribery, etc.  I thought as a US attorney he used that for the good of his job now it's the good of Chuck and his people.  

[MJS]

Phenomenal episode. Loved every twist and turn. What I have loved about this show is I find myself rooting for whomever is on the screen. However, I’m glad to Wendy suffer some consequences- here was a truly unethical thing to have done. Difference between she and everyone else is she knows it. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 5/8/2019 at 10:46 AM, Dminches said:

The cultural references are so over done.  I have stopped trying to listen to them.

I am rooting for Taylor too so you are not alone.

I agree. The vulgar/sexual references are also so overdone. And have been since the first season.