Categories Billions Recap

Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 10: Redemption – May 28, 2018

“A Man Who Turns on His Family, He Turns on Himself”

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 28, 2018

Source: Showtime

The moment you think your favorite show cannot get any better, Billions proves you wrong and delivers a brilliant hour of TV with family at its center.

As Chuck delivers Carrie Caminetti, the corrupt Buffalo mayoral candidate, to Randy Kornbluth from The Journal in an envelope, Randy knows the US Attorney should expect something in return: Everything he has on Jeffcoat! We find out Jeffcoat was the governor of Texas before becoming the AG in the new administration. He is rich, twenty times 10-15 million rich, complete with a PR team whose only job is to keep the boss out of the financial press. Chuck finds, at a time where most people try to look richer than they are, Jeffcoat downplaying his wealth intriguing.  The rumors about how the Jeffcoat brothers made their money, according to Kornbluth, center around Jock’s “televangelist” brother and the ownership of the TV stations he broadcasts on.

Continue reading Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 10: Redemption – May 28, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Forbes – May 27, 2018

This Week’s Episode Brings Both ‘Redemption’ and a Striptease

by Dana Feldman | Forbes | May 27, 2018

Source: Showtime

Redemption

There are only two episodes left in the third season of Showtime’s No. 2 drama series Billions and this season is the show’s best yet. The latest episode entitled “Redemption” has more than its share of surprises, including Axe Capper Ben Kim (Daniel K. Isaac) doing a striptease in front of potential investors.

Chuck Aims To Take Jock Down Once And For All:

On the heels of Wendy’s (Maggie Siff) advice, Chuck puts a plan into action and digs up dirt on Waylon ‘Jock’ Jeffcoat (Clancy Brown). He suspects his boss may know what he’s up to, but moves forward despite the danger. We’ve seen how Jock obliterates his enemies, but Chuck isn’t one to easily back down from a fight.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Forbes – May 27, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Entertainment Weekly – May 27, 2018

Axe and Chuck Make Necessary, Difficult Sacrifices

by Kyle Fowle | Entertainment Weekly | May 27, 2018

Source: Showtime

Redemption

With the feud between Chuck Rhoades and Bobby Axelrod firmly in the past (for now), the third season of Billions had to change its course. The battle of the biggest players in their fields played out to a draw, resulting in a simple question: What would come next? With only a few episodes left in the season, Billions is beginning to answer that question. The stakes are piling up, new villains have emerged, and the show is once again finding another gear. The endgame is in sight, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

“Redemption” begins with a familiar Billions scene: the clandestine parking lot meeting. Here, Chuck meets with a reporter and offers up a lot of dirt on one of the mayoral candidates for Buffalo. That information comes with a price, though. Chuck wants everything the reporter has on Jock Jeffcoat, the Attorney General who’s become Chuck’s sworn enemy. Evidence the paper couldn’t corroborate, or rumors about Jock, Chuck wants it all.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Entertainment Weekly – May 27, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: New York Times – May 27, 2018

Defcon 6

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | May 27, 2018

Source: Showtime

Redemption

“Billions” has always been an odd-couple show.

From its pilot episode to its Twitter hashtag emoji, it’s centered on the contrast between the lean, mean local boy made good Bobby Axelrod and the gruff, tough Yale-educated bulldog Chuck Rhoades. Played by Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti respectively, they’re the proverbial study in contrasts.

But in Attorney General Jock Jeffcoat, I think Chuck has met an even better (mis)match. The man presides over the Justice Department like a Confederate caudillo, reviving Giuliani/Reagan-era drug war polices on a whim because he didn’t like the look of the neighborhoods his car drove through on the way from the airport, using an obscene epithet favored by our current commander-in-chief to describe them. And as portrayed by Clancy Brown, a charming but physically imposing actor best known for genre work, he looks as if he could squash Chuck like a bug. When this guy invites himself over to Chuck’s place for dinner, Giamatti invests the garrulous fake courtesy of his reply (“Great! O.K.! Very good!”) with just a hint of panic.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: New York Times – May 27, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Vulture – May 27, 2018

All in a Day’s Work

by Nicole Cliffe | Vulture | May 27, 2018

Source: Showtime

Redemption

I am delighted to report that Grigor Andolov is becoming a more interesting character/eventual antagonist for Axe! And, unsurprisingly, the nicer and more benign he is towards Axe, the scarier he seems in general. If he brought me flowers I would assume I’d be digging my own shallow grave before the day is out.

If we had to impose an overarching theme on this episode, it would be people changing others’ perceptions of them in a single day, for good or bad. Grigor, rising above mine (and Axe’s, after that late-episode reveal)! Bobby letting down Taylor in a really profound way, and Taylor fearing they’ve irrevocably changed their relationship with Oscar. Sacker stepping out from her father’s shadow so Chuck can see her teeth. And, of course, BEN KIM.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: Vulture – May 27, 2018

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From the Trader’s Desk: Billions S3 Ep9 Icebreaker – May 25, 2018

Axe: Killing Yourself to Live?

by Lady Trader | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 25, 2018

Source: Showtime

So you think it’s me who’s strange
But you’ve never had to make the change
Never give your trust away
You’ll end up paying till your dying day
Killing Yourself to Live – Black Sabbath

Is that what Axe is doing? Is he putting himself (and possibly others) in such a dangerous position, just so he can still be Bobby “Fucking” Axelrod? And in the end, will it be worth it? Is he Killing Himself to Live?

Happy Friday from the Trader’s Desk. Please indulge me this week, as I won’t be doing a usual recap, but more of my observations on the state of things at Axe Capital, and the possible consequences.

This week’s episode, “Icebreaker” was many things, but first and foremost for me, the word intense comes to mind. There was also an overtone of doom (at least in my opinion).Two main characters, Axe and Taylor, are putting themselves in precarious positions, although one is much more dangerous than the other.

Continue reading From the Trader’s Desk: Billions S3 Ep9 Icebreaker – May 25, 2018

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Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 9: Icebreaker – May 21, 2018

“But if somebody owned your ass, how would you feel?”

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 21, 2018

The Bottle Rockets’ “Wave that Flag” opens this week’s episode in which both Axe and Chuck figure out how they would feel if somebody owned their asses.

As Chuck is spending some time with Jeffcoat in West Texas, he happens to go on a hunting trip with him and ends up shooting the coyote that has been picking off Jeffcoat’s calves for a while. It turns out Chuck learnt from the best:

“My father taught me. Once you have the animal in your sights, breathe easy and let fly.”

Continue reading Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 9: Icebreaker – May 21, 2018

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Photos & Videos: Next Time on Billions Episode 10 – May 21, 2018

Season 3, Episode 10: Redemption

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 21, 2018

On the next episode of Billions, Axe explores an unappealing investment at a desperate moment. Taylor makes a personal compromise for business. Chuck suspects a major foe may be on to his scheme. Sacker calls in a favor from the FBI. Wendy advises an Axe Capper to make bold moves.

Source: Showtime

To view more sneak peek photos, please visit our Gallery

Official clip: Next on Episode 10: 

Official clip: “What the Hell Was That?”: 

Categories Billions Recap

Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Refinery 29 – May 20, 2018

“Sitting Here in the Dark, Like an Assassin”

by Molly Stout | May 20, 2018 | Refinery 29

We’ve been waiting so long for John Malkovich to make his appearance on Billions that we started questioning the casting news: Were we sure we read that he was joining the cast as a Russian oligarch? Did we misread that, and he’s actually gonna show up on the final few episodes of The Americans? Was it all just wishful thinking on our part, fan fiction we came up with in a dream?
Nope. Finally, Malkovich made his Billions debut, dripping in Russian stereotypes. We first meet his character, Grigor Andolov, at a hockey rink, where the monotone, cold-blooded, probably murderous character is fresh off checking an opponent on the ice. At first, Malkovich’s Grigor reminded us a bit of an inebriated Uncle Junior from The Sopranos — if Junior had been rich and constantly drunk. Then we started getting Godfather vibes, particularly when Grigor begins his “funny story” in the episode’s final scene. But we’re not giving enough credit to Malkovich, who is essentially sui generis, and has created an original, watchable character in spite of all the familiar caricatures of rich, evil Russians infiltrating our government these days.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Refinery 29 – May 20, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Forbes – May 20, 2018

John Malkovich is an ‘Icebreaker’ and Stephen Kunken Talks Spyros

by Dana Feldman | Forbes | May 20, 2018

Source: Showtime

Icebreaker

The third season of ‘Billions’ continues to get better with each passing episode. The show is no longer centered around the cat and mouse game between Chuck (Paul Giamatti) and Axe (Damian Lewis). Tectonic shifts in plot, wavering loyalties and ever-evolving power plays are doing as intended, keeping fans on the edge of their seats week after week. 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 are planted in this episode that can definitely lead to very exciting storylines next year.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Forbes – May 20, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: New York Times – May 20, 2018

Bear Market

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | May 20, 2018

Source: Showtime

Icebreaker

You can take the boys out of the blood feud, but you can’t take the blood feud out of the boys. Just two episodes after the successful conclusion of the truce that saw the main men of “Billions” call an end to hostilities and help each other out of potentially career-ending legal trouble, both Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades have launched dangerous new contests of the will. And this time around, it’s not the courtroom versus the boardroom: Each man has entered into a rivalry with a bigger fish in their own professional pond.

For Chuck, this means setting his sights on a new white whale: Attorney General Jock Jeffcoat, the Alamo authoritarian running the Justice Department. For Bobby, it entails entering an alliance of creepy convenience with Grigor Andolov, a cheerfully violent Russian oil baron, whose bottomless reserves of liquid cash are exceeded only by his well-earned reputation for criminality and cruelty. Together, writers Adam R. Perlman and Willie Reale and director Stacie Passon operate this week’s episode, titled “Icebreaker,” like a factory assembly line, cranking out perfect new foils for two characters who are never complete without conflict.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: New York Times – May 20, 2018

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Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Vulture – May 20, 2018

I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This

by Nicole Cliffe | Vulture | May 20, 2018

Source: Showtime

Icebreaker

Children, gather round. We have ourselves a “new” pair of Big Bads for the remainder of the season. I say “new” because Jock, our much hated Attorney General, has been wiggling around like a loose tooth since the season premiere, but only now is he really starting to ache. He’s not enough on his own to be interesting, of course, so we need someone to aggravate the heck out of Axe as well. And I am CONCERNED about the show’s choice for Axe’s new antagonist.

John Malkovich is always fun, he’s a fun dude! And when he plays scary, it’s particularly delicious. So I am extremely prepared for him to be good as his stint as Grigor Andolov develops, but this his first outing left me a bit… meh. It’s just more scenery-chewing than I would love to see from him. This particular character is SO in-your-face, being hugely dangerous and mercurial and Keyser Soze-y, and a softer touch of menace would make him significantly scarier. Right now he’s like a professional wrestler with an amped-up backstory, when I think the show would benefit more from a guy so dangerous that he doesn’t need to keep telling you how dangerous he is, or that you had better not lose his money.

Continue reading Billions Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Vulture – May 20, 2018