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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Season 3 Awards – June 10, 2018
MVP, LVP, ROTY, CPOY, and Finale MVP, LVP
by Alec Hare | The Breakshot | June 10, 2018
Season 3
Wow. What a season! In Billions Season 3, the plot went left when we thought it would go straight and it went up when we thought it was going to go down. The showrunners pivoting the plot at every turn made this season unpredictable and fun. The season was basically two different seasons as the show resets in the middle. Not to mention in Season 4 we will be getting the return of the big three Chuck, Wendy, and Axe. Enough of that, it’s time to hand out Billions Season 3 Awards!!
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Recappables Podcast: Billions S3E12 Finale – June 10, 2018
The Ringer Staff Discusses the Third Season Finale Over Red Wine and a Foosball Table
by Mallory Rubin, Sean Fennessey and Alison Herman | The Ringer | June 10, 2018
Source: Showtime
The Ringer’s Mallory Rubin, Sean Fennessey, and Alison Herman get together over a foosball table and some red wine to celebrate the Season 3 finale of ‘Billions.’ They talk about Chuck’s downfall (6:54), the way Connerty and Taylor are becoming their former mentors (19:16), and their predictions for Season 4 (42:59).
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Season 3, Episode 12 Finale Recap: Vulture – June 10, 2018
Pest Control
by Nicole Cliffe | Vulture | June 10, 2018
Source: Showtime
Elmsley Count
I’ll be honest: This was a real mixed bag for me! It’s a good episode (they’re all good episodes!) but as big Billions reveals go, “Elmsley Count” lacked the enjoyable punch of the Ice Juice double cross, or Donnie’s dying play, or even Axe and Chuck teaming up to save Wendy from insider trading charges. I kept waiting for a little something more to drop, and was … mildly disappointed? … when nothing did.
Even though I didn’t get the little something I particularly wanted, there were still lots of fun and shiny balls in the air, and it’s a mark of the show’s quality that I expected a few more of them to drop on someone’s foot when we least expected it. There’s been a firewall between The Axe Capital Situation and The Southern District Situation these last few episodes, in that their respective problems are not elaborately interconnected for once, and it can feel a little creaky moving from one to the other with only Wendy as a commonality.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Season 3, Episode 12 Finale Recap: Forbes – June 10, 2018
Billions’ Creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien Talk Season 3 Finale
by Dana Feldman | Forbes | June 10, 2018
Elmsley Count
The season finale of Billions entitled “Elmsley Count” was a stunner! Where to begin? Two major things have happened that will make the wait for season four very difficult for diehard fans. First, Axe now knows Taylor started their own shop. To say they are enemies is an understatement. Second, Chuck has been stabbed in the back by virtually everyone he works with. As we know, though he may be down, it will not be for long.
As Showtime’s No. 2 drama series, Billions averages 4.5-to-5 million weekly viewers across platforms and the show’s viewership has grown season-over-season. Throughout season two, the series grew on Sunday nights by more than 35% from premiere-to-finale. And, the season three premiere was the show’s highest-rated ever with the March 25 debut up 23% from last year. A fourth season is in the works and seeds have been planted leading up to the finale that prove how exciting season four is going to be! The writers are already working and filming will resume in the fall. Show creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien spoke with me about the third season and why they think it was such a hit with fans. More on this below.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 12: Elmsley Count – June 10, 2018
“As You Sow, So Shall You Reap”
by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 10, 2018
Source: Showtime
First things first: Thank you, Billions, for the wonderful Super Fan Season Finale event in New York, thanks to which Lady Trader, Lewisto and I were able to see the season finale a few days earlier with a room full of super fans and the show creators and show runners Brian Koppelman and David Levien, followed by a Q&A.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Season 3, Episode 12 Finale Recap: New York Times – June 10, 2018
Crash of the Titans
by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | June 10, 2018
Source: Showtime
Elmsley Count
The fall was coming from inside the house. After years spent fending off attacks from without, from rival financiers to a certain ax-grinding United States attorney, Bobby Axelrod got caught flat-footed by his own protégé. Making good on the surprise ending of last week’s episode, in which Taylor Mason made a surprising move to go solo, the Season 3 finale of “Billions” showed Taylor’s plan in action — and it really was all action.
Named “Elmsley Count” after a magicians’ trick in which key cards are kept hidden from the audience, tonight’s hugely entertaining episode reminded me of nothing so much as another Season 3 finale: “Shut the Door. Have a Seat,” the third-season closer for “Mad Men.” That memorable hour was basically a heist movie in which the priceless treasure being stolen, by a breakaway ad agency led by Don Draper, was nothing more or less than their own talent (and client lists). Here, however, we see that heist more from the perspective of the gobsmacked titan than from that of the brash young upstart, as Bobby, Wags and Wendy slowly piece together the necessary details to form the big picture of their betrayal: the unreturned calls, the missing money, the absent analysts, and the juuuuust-this-side-of-suspicious actions of Taylor the day before.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Season 3, Episode 12 Finale Recap: Entertainment Weekly – June 10, 2018
Everything Falls Apart for Chuck and Axe
by Kyle Fowle | Entertainment Weekly | June 10, 2018
Source: Showtime
Elmsley Count
Billions built itself on the rivalry between Chuck Rhoades and Bobby Axelrod. It was the heart of the first season, which was entertaining but still finding itself, exploring what kind of show it would be. In season 2 their rivalry came to a head with a back-and-forth power play that led to a criminal investigation which played out in the first part of season 3. Season 2 shifted the stakes and the storytelling forever, though. The supporting cast became the show’s greatest strength, as the likes of Wags, Ari Spyros, Dollar Bill, and new addition Taylor Mason added everything the show was missing in its first season.
In other words, Billions could only be the story of Axe vs. Chuck for so long. At some point they had to move on from their blood feud and find new enemies, allowing the show to tell new stories and move the characters in different directions. One of the great draws of this show is that it never stagnates. The ground is always moving beneath the characters, and that makes for exciting, unpredictable drama. “Elmsley Count,” the season 3 finale, represents another massive shift, and it’s incredibly exciting.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on From the Trader’s Desk: Recapping S3E11 ‘Kompenso’ – June 8, 2018
Is Axe Ares, The God of War?
by Lady Trader | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 8, 2018
Source: Showtime
Rivals all across the land
He kills them with his knife in hand
He’s the meanest guy around his town
One look and he will cut you down Johnny Blade – Black Sabbath
Hello and welcome to the second to last week of Billions from the Trader’s Desk. This week I’ll be breaking down “Kompenso” in 3 Acts: Comp Day, The God of War, and Revenge of the Quants.
Before I get into my analysis, I’d just like to say that I love the casting of Patti D’Arbanville as Momma Axelrod. She’s a born and bred NYC girl, and that comes across in her accent and mannerisms playing Axe’s mom. Perfect casting Mr. Koppleman and Mr. Levien!
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions on Showtime 3.11: Kompenso – June 7, 2018
“A Win Isn’t a Win Unless It’s a Kill”
by JaniaJania | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 7, 2018
Source: Showtime
Billions, Season 3, episode 11, “Kompenso” was an episode built around annual comp reviews, those pesky one-on-ones with the boss where you justify your existence/paycheck, hope for good reviews of your work while fearing the worst. Who woulda thunk such events make for good drama?
This episode felt smaller, tighter, and therefore richer than the wide net thrown over oligarch intrigue and government-for-the-chosen shenanigans in the past few episodes. Lots of sit-downs, therefore lots of chance to build real connection between characters. All stories benefit from at least a couple episodes of close attention paid to the people, the balance and counter-balance of human connection, particularly for those characters who freakin hate human connection. If you hadn’t guessed already, you know for sure in this episode, that Bobby Axelrod is just not a people person.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions Superlatives: Best, Worst, Most from S3E11 – June 4, 2018
Betrayals, Bonuses, and a Woman Named Taiga
by Miles Surrey | The Ringer | June 4, 2018
Here is the best, worst, and most from the 11th episode of Season 3
We’ve reached the most important time of the year for Axe Cap employees: compensation reviews. That means two things: The employees have to plead their case to Axe for why they deserve a hefty bonus, and they also have to pray that Axe is in a giving mood. [Narrator voice] He is not in a giving mood.
But that’s not the only drama stirring in the penultimate episode of Billions’ third season, “Kompenso,” as Chuck orchestrates a clever plan to take down Attorney General Jock Jeffcoat, and runs into his old buddy Ira at a very delectable restaurant owned by an apparently very delectable man. There’s some great stuff to run through in this week’s superlatives, so let’s not waste another minute.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 11: Kompenso – June 4, 2018
The Worst Thing That Could Happen May Not be That Bad After All
by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 4, 2018
Source: Showtime
While I stand behind my words that Axe and Chuck have so much in common that they could be BFFs in another life, this episode finds them at opposite ends of the generosity scale. While Axe does not even want to hear the word accommodation when it comes to people helping him make money, Chuck goes out of his way to accommodate his old pal Ira.
The opening of Kompenso makes me smile and laugh for different reasons. It makes me smile because the opening song “Wicked Game” brings back sweet prom memories. It makes me laugh because it features my fellow Turkish-American Nusret, whose Instagram videos of him slicing and salting steak went viral and made him an international star overnight! Nusret now owns several restaurants, including one in New York, called Nusr-Et because Et means meat in Turkish! And while his dramatic serving skills seem to turn Kate Sacker of all people on, Kate prefers to look at the eclipse through the cereal box when Chuck offers to order the Tomahawk and have Nusret perform at the table.
