Old rivals turned new friends become rivals once again
How far are you willing to go?
That’s the question that defines the season 4 finale ofBillions.
He’s not ready for this experience, and everything is moving too quickly.
Credit: Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME
By the end of the episode though, he’ll be ready.
This season has been building to three big confrontations.
Humming in the background of all this has been the relationship between Axe and Chuck.
After three seasons of being enemies, they came together to call a truce and work on mutual goals.
But as the season rolled on, it was clear that wasn’t going to work.
He calls Sanford, pitches his idea over a fancy pancake breakfast, and gets it done.
That leads to a truly brilliant, excruciating scene.
Of course, this isn’t about the bottom line for Rebecca, and she lets Axe know.
I’m very curious how (and if) Rebecca factors intothe fifth season.
Still, this plan ends up seriously damaging Taylor Mason Capital, which was Axe’s goal.
Taylor scrambles to find a way out with their company still intact, but there’s nothing there.
For once, there’s no real play.
Plus, Axe has pressured Chuck to fulfill his end of their deal and finally lock Taylor up.
But this is where things get interesting.
He sees Axe for who he is: a man willing to do anything to get whathewants.
There’s no benefit to Chuck.
But how does he finally come to the realization?
Well, it has to do with his grand plan to avoid prosecution from Bryan and Jock.
So, they set up a trap that they’d walk right into.
So, he set them up.
Chuck taunts Bryan on the recording, saying he couldn’t possibly be listening because that would be illegal.
Then, the FBI storms in.
That flag pin from the previous episode, the one Chuck gave to Kate?
She planted it on Bryan and therefore recorded Jock ordering him to listen to the audio.
That means Chuck no longer has to deal with both Bryan and Jock.
“No one is left standing,” he says as Bryan realizes what’s happened.
In all of this, Chuck realizes that Axe isn’t on his side in any meaningful way.
Taylor brings their team (Lauren, Mafee, etc.)
to Axe Cap, but they have their own motivations.
