Episode 9 of the season really did not do much for me. This episode, showed many characters fighting against their nature, which while moderately interesting, did not do much for the story or for me as a viewer. It was clearly a filler episode.
Bobby was celebrating his birthday, and spent the few days that the episode takes place over, accepting gifts. The gift with the biggest impact came from Dollar Bill. He tells Bobby about a tip that can make them upwards of $100 million. However, information was acquired illegally, and Bobby spends the episode wondering if he should go through with it, afraid to be in hot water with Chuck and the law again.
As he celebrates his birthday, he tries to decide the man that he is, and if he is still the type of man who lives above the law, unafraid to take risks. After a bit of thinking, Axe decides to follow the tip, given to Dollar Bill by Axe’s former employee Victor who he fired as a way to tie up any illegal or unethical strings. What’s more, in exchange for the intel, Bobby agrees to bring Victor back into the fold, agreeing to give him is own firm.
At the same time, Chuck’s office gets a subpoena for Stephanie Reed so she can speak to them about her time at Axe Capital. The only bit of intel she can give them, is hearing the name Victor from Dollar Bill. Clearly, associating with Victor yet again will not end well for Axe.
Chuck heads to Sandicot this episode to get upstate voters invested in him, and to see if he can build a case against Bobby. However, after Foley tells him that it would not be in his best interest politically to go after Axe for the Sandicot debacle, he chooses to back away, fighting against his nature. I felt, for obvious reasons, that this would not last long. This episode, Chuck also learns that Bobby was the one who bought all of his Churchill first editions, and that sends him into an agree tailspin.
Bobby is Chuck’s vice, and it is clear if he could let his vendetta go, he would be much happier. It is just simply not in his nature.
Against her better judgement, Lara calls to personally invite Wendy to Axe’s birthday party. When she calls her house, Chuck picks up the phone, and the two of them have a somewhat nice, yet awkward conversation. Chuck relays Lara’s message to Wendy, selflessly encouraging her to go to the birthday party. Wendy then goes to speak to Axe to see if it is something he really wants. It is, so she hesitantly agrees.
When Wendy arrives, she speaks to Lara, and Lara learns that it was Wendy, not Bobby who made the two of them not speaking at the office, a condition of Wendy’s return to Axe Capital. I was glad to see that Lara finally knew the truth, but it has been difficult to watch her relationship with Axe deteriorate bit by bit without him really seeming to notice.
Without Wendy’s friendship and trust, Bobby is losing a lot and not thinking clearly, and it is effecting several aspects of his life. I hope they can find a way to work things out, and Bobby’s desire to go back to his outlaw ways do not continue to alienate the people who are most important to him.
