BILLIONS – THE FINALE SEASON 1

It’s been awhile since I recapped the show. But I couldn’t let the FINALE pass by without a recap.

A nice start in Soho – Axe is waiting for Wendy as she leaves her spin class.

First of all, I love that they show Wendy walking out of Soul Cycle, hair messed up, actually looking like she WORKED out. Whenever I watch a show with a chick at the gym, they always have makeup on and their hair is perfect.  Second of all, how 50 Shades of Grey was it when Wendy walked out and Axe happened to be standing by that sweet Maserati like he just walked out of GQ photo shoot?

Lastly, If there is a person who is giving out a Maserati on top of a bonus, I want that job. I promise I learn fast and am uber qualified. just saying…

After Wendy’s little chat with Axe, it’s a new day, it’s a new dawn.

Axe is on a money-raising mission and has Wags follow him around the city driving from office to office. After no luck, a light bulb goes off in Axe’s head and he realizes the $3,000 super nice suit and tie isn’t going to cut it. Axe throws his mega expensive suit in the trash (some lucky bum is going to be happy to find that), sends Wags back to the office and goes back to basics.

You and I both know that his sweatshirt and tee is not exactly kicking it Old Navy style. More like John Varvatos and Vince but it works. It’s true Axe. He throws down the gauntlet and gives the white-shoe fund Carter Staley an ultimatum – you are either with me NOW or you are with me NEVER.  Axe, doing what he does best, lays the fear of g-d in them. Carter Staley is on board.

In other matters, It’s Lonnie’s (who seriously has the best afro EVER)  first day on the job. He is at the office less than a minute before Chuck has him on a new Axe case. Notice how fast Bryan was replaced? Lonnie doesn’t even have a minute to take his coat off . Before we know it he is in Greenwich interrogating the police.

Axe, oblivious to what went down at the Greenwich Police Headquarters, is driving his high-profile Rolls Royce, Wait. We need to stop for a minute. Is it me or a is a Rolls Royce a car for a 90 year-old man? Like if I am rolling in that kind of money, there is no shot I am driving a Rolls Royce or even a Bentley. I feel like it’s so grandpa.  Arthur got away with it because he was chauffeured around AND he was too drunk to drive anyway.

Okay sorry for the digression. Anyway, as he is speeding down the road, Raul Gomez pulls him over and gives Axe a heads up that all is not right in the world. Axe is being investigated, once again by Chuck Rhoades, but this time for the Danzig incident.

This information is enough to send him and Lara packing to flee the country.  Lara annoys me to no end in the next part when Axe tells her about Wendy:  ” I f*cking knew it. I told you. I knew it. She needs to be shut down. Tight. Right f*cking now.” Who says tight?

Also I need to mention last weeks episode since I didn’t recap it. WTF was the deal with Lara’s Madonna outfit and passing out with her sister on the couch WITH a glass of wine in her hand. She certainly didn’t seem that drunk when Axe woke her AND the whole helicopter/department store shopping – I can’t.

But I digress.

We are back in NYC the following day. Wendy strolls cheerfully into Axe’s office only for Axe to take out her legs from under her. Not only does Axe confront Wendy with being a two-sided traitor, he is super fast to pull out incriminating pages of Dominatrix websites Wendy had been visiting. UGH.

How embarrassing and how disgusting that he was following her web traffic. I don’t get it….he accuses Wendy of betraying his confidence yet he has been secretly taking tabs on her computer? WTF. Talk about invasion of privacy! Not okay.

In other lands, aka as Lara’s world, she is preparing the family to get out of dodge.

Bryan surprises Lonnie during his lunch break at Old Town Bar (I was trying to figure out what Burger Joint this was forever) and presses him for how he has such laser focused information on the Danzig case. Lonnie isn’t giving up anything but Bryan knows all about Chuck’s game and warns Lonnie.

WHO’S IN CONTROL NOW?

As soon as I saw Wendy with her phone on the table, I knew she was recording Chuck. Right? I thought this was the second to best scene in the finale. Chuck and Wendy come to final blows. She confronts Chuck about reading her session notes and he certainly does not deny it. Instead he accuses of her of being “right there in the middle with a bunch of criminals.”

Wendy learns that not only did Chuck deceive her once but twice. Chuck went to see “Troy” without Wendy’s permission (by the way, what the hell was Troy wearing on her  fingers in that sex scene? excuse my lack of S&M knowledge). Funny how Wendy is so much more upset about the Troy incident then Chuck breaking into her computer. She throws him out and that about wraps up their marriage (for now).

The following morning, Chuck’s team gathers in Chuck’s office and Bryan quickly notices Chuck did not exactly sleep at home.  Chuck announces he is ending the investigation of the Danzig case and Chuck lets it all sink in. Lonnie quietly whispers to Bryan “It’s Chinatown, Jake”. I had zero clue what that meant but apparently it’s from a movie I never saw with Faye Dunaway:

 

And for my personal favorite scene in the finale….

Wendy is waiting for Axe in his office ( love that she is sitting in HIS office chair) to play the audio recording stating she had nothing to do with the investigation. In a matter of seconds, Axe “says” he will destroy all he has on Wendy AND he will wire $5m into her bank account. She should have def negotiated for $20 STICKS. That would officially have made her a Powerball winner, Wags (did you hear him say that?). Wendy plays this beautifully – quits Axe Capital, scores $5mil and rides off into the sunset with her sick new Maserati, I guarantee, to have drinks with Chase, the hot head-hunter.

Meanwhile Chuck asks Kate to go over personnel files to see who else is finding out information for the enemy camp. Turns out it’s the janitor. Chuck sets up a nice ploy telling Dale he needs the latest on the Axe wire as the janitor is listening.

Axe gives Lara the heads up that all is quiet on the Western Front. Their kids do not have to become fondue eaters and Wendy did not sell them out. Lara does NOT want to discuss Wendy at all. Axe obeys but I reckon there will be lots of work trying to get Wendy back in the future.

Orrin Bach calls Bryan and asks him to meet at Axe’s favorite pizza shop. Orrin delivers the news that Chuck received his intel on Axe by snooping into Wendy’s laptop. This sets the stage for the perfect grand entrance – Oh Axe, always mustering a plan. Tempting Bryan with amazing pizza, he does the AXE show and tries to persuade him to go TEAM AXE, 7 figures. Bryan leaves without a yes or no. Guess we will have to wait until next season.

Axe gets a call from Hall that the office has been bugged. Chuck’s trick worked. Axe tears the office apart down to the rivets and comes up empty-handed (of course).  Chuck shows up, at g-d knows what hour, for the final hoedown, I mean showdown.

There is a lot of banter back and forth. I was lost. I felt like I was listening to an Ayn Rand book audiobook. But the gist was they both blamed each other for the loss of Wendy. How will they ever recover? Beats me,  since my guess is Wendy will be dating Chase and working with Zenobia in an honest workplace.

The final scene was modeled after a VERY famous Gene Hackman movie, The Conversation (hence the name of this episode). I never saw it but I am guessing if you did, you knew right away. Apparently my movie knowledge is not vast enough.

What did you think???? Still loving this show??

UNTIL NEXT SEASON!!
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