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The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 5 Episode 12 No Direction Home

Billions MVP Awards for Season 5, Episode 12, “No Direction Home”

by Gingersnap | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | October 6, 2021

We have finished awarding our Most Valuable Players for Billions season five in our series compilation, the ‘Billions MVP Fanbook,’ which commemorates all those in honor of achievement for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses to date – from sports references, music and tasty food to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks. In case you missed it, here are the MVPs for season five episodes one, two, three, four, five, six, seveneight, nineten and eleven.

Let us conclude that tradition as we award our Most Valuable Players (MVPs) for the season finale. Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 5, Episode 12, “No Direction Home.”

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Damian Lewis Discusses the Future of Billions

“Axe Has Been Vanquished”

by Jeremy Egner | New York Times | October 3, 2021

This article includes spoilers from Sunday’s Season 5 finale of “Billions.”

One of TV’s last great antiheroes departed Sunday night on Showtime’s “Billions.”

Bobby Axelrod, the proudly venal hedge-fund titan played by Damian Lewis, flew off into the sunset in the Season 5 finale, slipping the grasp of the law and his chief nemesis, Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), one last time on his way to a less punitive future in Switzerland.

While the character’s final scene was somewhat open-ended, with Axe (as he is most commonly known) being welcomed by the Swiss authorities after fleeing America, Lewis confirmed in a recent video interview that he was leaving the show.

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Billions Creators Discuss That Game-Changing Exit in Season 5 Finale

Postmortem 

by Derek Lawrence | Entertainment Weekly | October 3, 2021

“It feels like we’re at the end.”

Sadly, Ben Kim, we are at the end of Bobby Axelrod… at least for now.

So much went down in Sunday’s season 5 finale of Billions that we might need 43 hours to talk about it all, but the biggest news is the departure of original star Damian Lewis. The Emmy winner’s decision to take a step back has long been in the works, and also follows the April death of his wife, actress Helen McCrory.

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Billions At a Crossroads: Showrunners Break Down Season 5 Finale

“We Knew We Had to Have All These Good-Byes”

by Cynthia Littleton | Variety | October 3, 2021

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not seen “No Direction Home,” the Season 5 finale of “Billions.”

“Billions” will get a big reset in its upcoming sixth season as the durable Showtime drama shift its prism on the world of billionaires, vulture capitalists and global high finance.

“Billions” co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien confirm that Damian Lewis has bowed out after five seasons as the show’s central figure, the meglomaniac hedge fund billionaire Bobby Axelrod. Lewis may come back in the future — you can never say never — but Season 6 will move forward with a new king of what was once Axe’s castle, Mike Prince as played by Corey Stoll. In the narrative of “Billions,” “Herr Axelrod,” as Lewis was greeted in his final scene, will cool his heels in Switzerland for a while. Season 6 will bow Jan. 23, Showtime confirmed Sunday.

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Damian Lewis Won’t Be Back for Billions Season Six

Escaping the Grasp of Chuck Rhoades

by Bethy Squires | Vulture | October 3, 2021

Spoilers for Sunday’s season 5 finale of Billions.

Bobby Axelrod has finally escaped the grasp of Chuck Rhoades, but at what cost? All his dang money, is what cost! Shortly after the Billions season 5 finale, Deadline reported that Damian Lewis will not be coming back for season 6. Mike Prince (Cory Stoll) owns all his companies, and Axe finally know what it feels like to lose. Series EP Brian Koppelman praised Lewis on Twitter after the finale, saying that working with the actor was an “incredible joy.” On behalf of himself and David Levine, Koppelman thanked Lewis “for the work, of course, and the fellowship, and for all you sacrificed to come do this with us.”

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Damian Lewis Exits Billions After 5 Seasons – Deadline

Bobby Axelrod On the Run in Switzerland

by Dominic Patten | Deadline | October 3, 2021

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details of the Billions Season 5 finale that debuted on streaming early this morning and on Showtime tonight

Damian Lewis has exited Showtime’s Billions.

With his very rich Bobby Axelrod on the run in Switzerland from the legal claws of Paul Giamatti’s Empire State Attorney General, Emmy winner Lewis ended his five season run on the Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin-created, high finance drama with a smile tonight. After years of staying just one step ahead of the law and a big loss, Axelrod also saw nearly all his considerable fortune gone as he settled down to a handcuffs-free life in Europe.

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Damian Lewis Exits Billions After 5 Seasons – Hollywood Reporter

Say Good-Bye to Bobby Axelrod

by Kimberly Nordyke | The Hollywood Reporter | October 3, 2021

Damian Lewis is exiting Billions after five seasons.

Lewis played Bobby Axelrod, aka Axe, on the Showtime series, which aired its season five finale Sunday night.

Showtime also said that season six will premiere Jan. 23 and released a trailer (watch it below). The news comes about a year to the day after the network announced the sixth-season renewal.

Paul Giamatti, Corey Stoll and Maggie Siff will return for season six, while Daniel Breaker (Girls5eva), who stars as Scooter, the chief of staff to Michael Prince (Stoll), has been upped to series regular.

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Billions Season 5 Episode 12 No Direction Home: New York Times Review

The Axe Falls

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | October 3, 2021

Season 5, Episode 12, Season Finale: ‘No Direction Home’

The walls close in on Bobby as Chuck sharpens his knives. Then an unlikely ally intervenes.

“So this is what it is to lose,” says Bobby Axelrod. “OK.”

He’s talking to Mike Prince, the man who helped engineer his downfall — a decisive one this time. How do we know it’s decisive? Because, I think, of that concluding “OK.” (Also, Damian Lewis, who plays Axe, just made public he is leaving the show.) Until this point, Axe has always scratched and clawed like a cornered animal to fight his way out of defeat, whether at the hands of his legal nemesis Chuck Rhoades or his business rivals, like Prince. This time, though? He admits he has been beaten, and makes his peace with it.

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Billions Season 5 Episode 12 No Direction Home: Vulture Review

How Does It Feel?

by Sarene Leeds | Vulture | October 3, 2021

That’s the last time Chuck Rhoades ever makes a Big Night-caliber breakfast for Mike Prince.

Here’s what I’ve learned from covering two seasons of Billions: Although it will always be a challenge to predict the outcome, the eventual conclusion is hardly ever a surprise.

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Billions Season 5 Episode 12 No Direction Home: Entertainment Weekly Review

Not Everything Is As it Seems

by Kyle Fowle | Entertainment Weekly | October 3, 2021

It was only a matter of time before Billions pulled the rug out from under us and revealed the true arc of this season. It happens every year (you could criticize the show for being repetitive, in fact, as there’s generally not much structural change from one season to the next) and yet, because of the cast and the writing, it’s incredibly entertaining. It’s always a blast to watch the whole tower of cards come crashing down, creating chaos leading into the next season.

At the beginning of tonight’s finale, Chuck walks into Axe Capital and asks if “he’s in his office.” “Where else would he be?” replies Dollar Bill, “it’s his office, isn’t it?” “For now,” says Chuck. The implication, based on the season’s events, is that Axe has retreated to his office, forcing Chuck to arrest him on his own turf and that Axe has accepted the impending arrest.

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Billions on Showtime, Season 5 Episode 12: No Direction Home (Season Finale)

The Traitor, The Fugitive and The Idiot

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | October 3, 2021

How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

-Bob Dylan

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is how you do a Season Finale and how you title it – with a brilliant Bob Dylan song that fits the bill perfectly!

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From the Trader’s Desk: Is This the End of the Beginning? Billions S5 E11 Victory Smoke

Or the Beginning of the End?

by Lady Trader | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | October 1, 2021

Is this the end of the beginning?
Or the beginning of the end?
Losing control or are you winning?
Is your life real or just pretend?
End of the Beginning – Black Sabbath

After a quick trip to the West Coast, the Trader’s Desk is back for your Friday enjoyment. I have thoughts, so let’s get right to it.

Continue reading From the Trader’s Desk: Is This the End of the Beginning? Billions S5 E11 Victory Smoke