Billions - Hell of a Ride - Review

As Craig Heidecker dies attempting to launch into space, Wags prepares for death himself.

The episode begins with a flash forward in an interrogation room. Dake and Connerty are offering Charles Rhoades Sr. immunity in exchange for a full confession implicating Chuck in the Ice Juice debacle.

While the fist scene established high stakes of the episode and made for a compelling hour of television, I never for a second thought that Charles Sr. would implicate Chuck. And after Chuck delivered a heartlessly heartwarming speech at his father’s Yale reunion, and the two exchanged a kiss, it turns out I was right. I was happy to see Connerty continue to step up and look for the truth. It won't be easy to take Chuck down, but I look forward to watching him try. He has always been the moral center of the show, the one man who does not seem to crave power, and putting him on his own this season, rather than as Chuck's right hand, was a smart move that is allowing the character to truly flex his moral muscles.

While I love watching the budding conflict between Chuck and Connerty, the power struggle between Charles Sr. and Chuck is one of the richest in the show and was a pleasure to watch this week. From Chuck’s confession of how he lost his virginity to the kiss his father planted on him, as an audience, we feel the power Charles Sr. has always held and we can feel the shift with every move Chuck makes. Both of them like the game and like to keep up certain appearances. No matter how he feels about his son, Charles Sr. would never implicate Chuck, whether that be because he loves him, or he would be left at he chess board all alone.

This week’s sub-plots were wholly entertaining. We got to follow Wags as he worked to secure the last empty burial plot in Manhattan for $350,000. He went up against another high-powered sleezeball and after getting his hands a little dirty, he came out on top.

The other revolved around Axe and him working with Silicon Valley nerd Oscar Langstraat to get World-Aid to invest in the solar energy company Rayveon. AxeCap will come away with a win, and Axe gets to take some power back.

Watching Axe play everyone in the boardroom while simultaneously being kicked off the board, reminded me why I love Axe and reminded me of that great scene in the season one episode “Naming Rights” when Bobby confronted the family who got him fired from his summer job as a teen. He is always the smartest person in the room, and he thrives off of that fact.

I enjoyed the addition of Oscar and look forward to seeing the character again.