Category: Print Media

Fake It Till You Make It

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | June 7, 2020

Season 5, Episode 6: ‘The Nordic Model’

Bobby has already made it, of course. But if there’s money or status involved, he just can’t help himself. And he’s not the only one.

Fakes, forgeries, phonies, fugazis — they’re all very much on the brain of this week’s crackerjack episode of ‘Billions.’ For some characters, faking it is all they know how to do.

Take Spyros, Axe Cap’s pompous compliance officer. (Compliance? Please!) He becomes a target of mockery for wearing a fake pin for the high-IQ group Mensa, fronting as if he had taken and passed the membership test. A thoroughly annoyed Bobby Axelrod rips the pin off his lapel and chucks it; Spyros spends much of the ensuing scene on his knees, quietly searching for it in the background.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 6 Recap: New York Times – June 7, 2020

Anything is Fair Game

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 7, 2020

A painting. A drawing. A kidney. A patent. Oh, and an IQ test!

This fast-paced and clever Billions episode gives us an extremely  fun hour in which Axe, Chuck, Taylor and Wendy all have to play fast chess to deal with both personal and professional matters. Anything is fair game to get what they want. Some win, some lose and some get, well, outright creepy!

Continue reading Billions on Showtime, Season 5 Episode 6: The Nordic Model – June 7, 2020

The Catalyst

by Dana Feldman | Forbes | June 1, 2020

In the latest episode of Billions entitled “Contract” one life lesson is abundantly clear: Until you deal with your past, it will continue to haunt you.

Axe (Damian Lewis) is forced to deal with his painful childhood when he finds out his abusive father is once again in touch with his mother. He’s curious when he doesn’t see the luxury car he gave her in the driveway. She says she sold it but he doesn’t buy it. He learns she gave it to his father because she felt sorry for him.

An enraged Axe warns his mother that if she ever speaks to his father again, he will find out and cut her off and she’ll be left with nothing. And, in a show of who is boss now, he destroys the vehicle, leaving a pile of metal in front of his father’s home. We learn more about Axe’s broken childhood and how it was the catalyst for all he’s accomplished.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 5 Recap: Forbes – June 1, 2020

Trust is the Most Valuable Currency in Billions

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 31, 2020

So where to begin about this episode – entertaining, surprising, and heartbreaking – absolutely the best so far in Season 5? The best point of departure may be the definition of a “contract” as Axe gives during his game of billiards with Savion since we see a number of contracts – explicit or implicit – drawn, signed, or not, in one of the best hours Billions has given us in its history.

“Contract is an understanding between men that they’ll see things the same way, that they’ll keep code. That they’ll honor the spirit of their relationship even in unforeseen circumstances.”

Axe, Wags and Bach are sitting in Ms. Calder’s – the head of the office approving state charter applications – office clueless that Chuck was there earlier with Kate to convince Ms. Calder not to approve Axe’s application and thereby preventing a crime before happening!

Continue reading Billions on Showtime, Season 5 Episode 5: Contract – May 31, 2020