How Showtime's 'Billions' went from dull to dazzling (*spoilers welcome*)

[yallerdawg]

Improbably, a series seemingly about rich white guys measuring their dicks is an essential show of our era. (Okay, maybe not that improbably.)

Source: Vox, by Todd VanDerWerff

*****

The original premise of Billions was probably unsustainable. It centered on Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), a US attorney for the Southern District of New York, who grew tired of prosecuting small-time crimes and decided to take down Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), a titan of finance he knew was crooked. Chuck’s wife, Wendy (Maggie Siff), worked for Bobby and thus became an unlikely figure in both men’s games.

The second season concluded with a series of revelations that showed just how long of a game the series could play and substantially muddied its ethical waters. The question wasn’t whether to root for Chuck or Bobby; instead, the question was figuring out a way to tear down the entire system they existed within. The show still had the gleam associated with wealth and power, but it was interested in questions beyond its central battle. When it finally moved past it in the middle of season three, there was a wealth of other stories waiting to be told, including...

Much has been made of how Asia Kate Dillon’s Taylor Mason, a promising new employee of Bobby Axelrod’s company, Axelrod Capital, is almost certainly the first nonbinary regular character on a major American TV show. (Both Taylor and Dillon use they/them pronouns.)

"I didn’t get a chance to talk about my beautiful boy Wags (David Costabile, left) in this article, so I’ll at least put him in a photo."

By wedding its larger concerns to the sheer, propulsive fun of the business thriller, Billions found a way to serve the audience its cake, then keep serving them so much cake they wondered where all the cake came from and desperately wanted to stop eating it. That makes Billions, at times, a show where it’s hard to find someone to “root” for, but the series is canny enough to know that’s the whole point.

We’re not damned; we’re already in hell, and we need to find a way to pull it down around our ears to make something better. But good fucking luck with that.

Read it all at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/6/12/17451298/billions-season-3-finale-recap-showtime-explained

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. I'm a huge fan.

Always liked Paul Giamati, and Constible. ( Breaking Bad introduced him to me)
Then the writing hooked me. I like the direction they hinted at in the finale this year.

[yallerdawg]

2. The Season 2 finale was one of the best I've ever seen.

But the writing, and the banter, and the obscure/not so obscure references are highly entertaining!

Like an M Night Shyamalan movie, we're more expectant of 'the twist' at the end - but that doesn't stop these characters/actors from having a good story to tell.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Only thing I have not really figured out is ...

What does Wags actually DO? Besides provide edgy remarks. He doesn't trade. he doesn't hire/fire.
He's supposed to be very very close to Bobby but most of their hang out time is work related.

[yallerdawg]

5. Wags is COO to Axe's CEO.

Wags gives Axe the assurance that a loyal kindred spirit is watching out when Axe is elsewhere occupied. Wags has disagreed on occasion, but defers to the boss on all things.

This is another one of those "pirate ship" business models, fly by the seat of their pants with questionable morals and thumbing their noses at the rules, with the surety of obscene personal wealth.

Axe and Wags have it all, and this is what the crew aspires to.

[itsrobert]

4. It was never boring for me.

Don't agree with the article's premise.

[yallerdawg]

6. Season 1 was pretty much as expected.

DA versus 1 percenter.

It wasn't until we all got "The Sting" at the end of Season 2 where it really kicked it up a notch, and now we expect excellence - as delivered in Season 3.