The third episode of the season opens with Ira and gold digging girlfriend eating a meal he can no longer afford as she turns down a suedo-proposal after she learns he can’t afford the type of ring she would like. Spoiler alert: after accepting money from Axe and agreeing to make a statement about Chuck’s involvement in setting up Bobby with the Ice Juice scheme, Ira goes through with the proposal.
I’ve never liked his character because he allows himself to be a pawn, whether that be for Axe or Bobby. As he proposed to a woman he didn’t love, who he knew didn’t love him, I didn’t empathize with him, I pitied him.
He is what so many characters in this show can become if they lose their fire, just rich people trying to keep up with the rest, buying what should make them happy, but never will.
Lara not knowing if $300 million was enough shows me again that she’s losing her fire, that she’s losing the things I loved about the character. She and Axe are no longer a team, so she’s diving headfirst into a life it seemed she was never truly invested in. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this point, but I really feel like Lara has had a personality transplant this season and I don't like how her character's being wasted.
While last season was the season that showed their relationship unraveling, I can’t help but wonder why they’ve thrown the towel in so easily.
While Lara seems to be giving up, Axe is fighting to still be in the game. He spends the entire episode trying to get Mike in control of a fund, so that he can direct his trades and still do the job that he wants from the shadows.
Axe is simply doing what Axe does, but I have no doubt that this will blow up in his face, and maybe his energy would be better spent clearing his name and fighting for his family, rather than loading another gun that could potentially be used against him.
As Chuck tries to do the right thing, for the first time in a long time, we are reminded yet again that we are in a new political era and the game is no longer the same. The new Attorney General orders Chuck to prosecute Jose Lugo, a prisoner who killed a prison guard.
As Chuck looks into the case, we learn, via Bryan that the prisoner was the victim. After threatening the prison warden into cooperating with him, the press get ahold of the story. Just as Chuck think’s he’s won, the AG informs him that he still must go forward with the case.
I am excited to see how Chuck will deal with his new boss as the season goes on. He readily bends his morals for what he believes is the greater good, but when he is forced to go against what he believes for reasons that he does not agree with, Chuck is not ok.
Creating a new enemy to make us root for Chuck in some small way was smart and should be fun to watch as the season comes to a head.
The AxeCap quant storyline felt tired. It was obvious they were going to come to the conclusion that humans are better than machines. It just felt like a filler storyline and more and more, the analysts are feeling like childish Grey’s Anatomy interns, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
In a show like Billions, I don’t need the comic relief that they seem to be pushing with the AxeCap scenes. It’s not the type of show that I want to watch. Even Wendy’s sessions are starting to feel contrived.
I’m looking forward to seeing how far Bryan goes with what he now knows about Chuck’s involvement in Ice Juice.
