Billions (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 1 - The New Decas - full transcript
[Axe] Previously
on Billions...
You want me
to help put you
in the State Attorney
General's office.
I do.
[Harry] The Churchill World War
II‐‐ it's a hell of a set.
Well, maybe
I can circle back
and grab them
before they're gone.
These are the books
you asked for.
Find all the other signed
first editions for sale.
And buy them all,
every single last one of them.
You could've been anything‐‐
you chose to be a prosecutor.
You're the guy who
taught me everything.
I'm glad you still
feel that way.
Your father has tasted
the fruits of our tribe.
Is that my little sister,
for Chrissakes?
When are you coming home?
I don't know.
But you are coming home?
I don't know.
[Chuck] When I look at the
shambles my life has become‐‐
[Chuck] from my firing,
[Chuck] to my election
with strings attached,
[Chuck] to the destruction
of my marriage,
it all tracks
back to one source.
One man.
And that very man
charged me with
arresting you
in order to force you
back into his employ.
You were such
a worthy fucking adversary.
I want you on my side.
And I want you to help me
take him down,
[Chuck] once and for all.
Chuck Rhoades wants to use me
to help him nail Axe.
[Taylor] They're both lined up
to destroy each other.
[Taylor] At the right moment
when both have their guns
[Taylor] raised, I'll step out
of the way and let it happen.
[Taylor] They'll put each other
in the ground
[Taylor] and I'll go about
my fucking business.
Welcome home.
Happy to be here.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
It's so wonderful to be
gathered here together
to witness this
blessed occasion.
Two souls, who've found
one another,
in the great expanse.
Two people, fiery and strong,
joining their flames into
a single burning ember....
[Jane Halftown] ...In
our tradition,
[Jane Halftown] marriage
means 'never alone.'
[Jane Halftown] So will you
take this man,
[Jane Halftown] to care for,
for all of your days?
[Roxanne] I will.
[Jane Halftown] And will you
take this woman,
to care for,
for all of your days?
Of course I will.
For as many as I've got left,
anyway.
[laughter]
♪ cheerful music ♪
[sighs]
You will now live together
under one blanket...
[applause]
♪ Patti Smith's "Gone Again" ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Hey, now, man's own kin ♪
♪ We commend into the wind ♪
♪ Grateful arms,
grateful limbs ♪
♪ Grateful soul,
he's gone again ♪
♪ indistinct singing ♪
[maracas shaking]
[rhythmic chanting]
[steam hisses]
[chanting continues]
[exhales heavily]
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[exhales heavily]
♪♪♪
[gags]
[retching]
[coughing]
[gags]
Ugh.
[both breathing heavily]
[crickets chirping]
[inhales sharply]
[owl hoots]
Right?
Right?!
♪♪♪
Yessssssss.
See it?...
Feel it?...
...It's almost too much.
Too much goodness
in the world.
The great Earth Mother
blowing it around
like smoke
from the trees...
[Axe] Kings!
They don't
blow around, man.
♪♪♪
They stand there
and they take.
First the village,
then the city.
Mass the troops
for the keep.
And once the keep...
Yeah.
The whole world.
♪♪♪
That's a whole lot
of war to wage.
♪♪♪
That's a whole lot
of heads to chop,
heads to chop,
heads to chop‐‐
Chop, chop, chop....
Mess,
messy, mess.
Beautiful mess.
Yeah...
[laughs]
Come on,
let's see if
we can make it back.
[band plays Stray Cats'
"Rock This Town"]
♪♪♪
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Well, my baby and me went out
late Saturday night ♪
♪ I had my hair piled high and
my baby just looked so right ♪
♪ Well, pick you up at ten,
gotta have you home at two ♪
♪ Mama don't know what
I catched off of you ♪
♪ But that's all right 'cause ♪
♪ We're looking as cool
as can be ♪
You okay, Chuck?
‐Oh. You know it!
‐You sure?
Better than okay. Yes.
A venerable occasion.
Weddings can be tough when
you've become recently...
unattached.
All that romance
in the air.
Exactly what I'm looking
to capitalize on.
Who's the brunette stunner
over there?
[Brogan] How 'bout
an intro‐‐
♪ And change of a dollar
for the jukebox ♪
That'd be his wife.
Ouch.
Or is it ex?
Uh, uh.
Not officially. Yet.
Heading that way.
What's the statute of
limitations on exes these days?
Ohh!
Until your shvantz
turns to rust and falls off,
Brogan.
Which is why
I'm kidding!
Naturally.
'Cause we're all friends.
‐Sure, you're kidding.
‐Absolutely.
And I am truly blessed
to have a brain trust,
a cadre, a kitchen cabinet
such as you all.
♪ We're gonna rock this town,
rock it inside out ♪
♪♪♪
Excuse me...
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
[indistinct speaking]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hey, hey, hey,
watch it, Kev.
Come on.
We don't do that.
You wanna try some wine at
dinner, we can do it together.
Like people.
Sorry, Dad,
I just wanted to taste it.
But it's gross.
Exactly.
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
...It's family.
That's what families do:
stick together.
♪♪♪
That's why
you're here?
You're actually
fucking here.
"Sticking together"
while he marries someone
who could be his‐‐
Soldier forth.
That's what Charles
always told me,
and he's right.
♪ We're gonna rock this town,
make 'em scream and shout ♪
Maybe it's time
to stop listening
to what Rhoades men say
and decide what we think
for a fucking change.
♪ We're gonna rock till you
drop, we're gonna rock ♪
Excuse me.
[indistinct conversations
in distance]
Ms. Sacker.
Sorry to crash,
but I have what I need
to give the go‐ahead on
the crypto mine takedown.
As soon as you give me
the go‐ahead.
They will get
in position tonight.
Move first thing
in the morning.
Click, click, boom. Do it.
What about press?
They're salivating over
all things crypto right now.
No press. Yet.
Then at the right moment,
lots and lots of it.
Do the thing.
I have to go, uh,
get back to
the nuptials.
[Sacker] Maybe I'll stick
around, watch the toast.
[chuckles]
See you celebrate the love.
You're a ruthless prosecutor.
It's why I hired you over.
Don't waste it here.
Use it on the operation.
[Sacker] Ah.
First I watch you squirm.
Then I make them squirm.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ We'll have our fill of tears ♪
♪ Our share of sighs ♪
A dance
with the groom?
♪ My only prayer ♪
Can I say no?
I think not.
♪ Is that you realize ♪
♪ You'll always be beautiful ♪
♪ In my eyes ♪
♪ You will always be ♪
Avert your eyes, Chuck.
We'll watch for you.
We'll‐‐We'll tell you
if the old man gets handsy.
Oooh, he's bringing out the old
American Bandstand moves.
Feels more like
Soul Train to me.
Ooh, he's got
a pep in his step‐‐
I'm impressed.
She looks stunned.
In a good way.
Good for him.
Not for you.
It does feel like a betrayal
of some sort.
From one of them.
Or both.
No, no, no, no.
It's as it should be.
The bonds of family
are stronger than‐‐
‐Whoa, that's a deep dip!
‐[laughs]
Bravo!
Real Rudolph Valentino move!
Ahh, Jesus.
[laughter]
[laughs]
I'll be sad to lose you
as a member of the family.
You're the grandfather
of my children:
we'll always be family.
So stop this madness.
Go get some ass
if that's what you want...
[sighs]
...and then re‐up with the unit.
Like you did?
We're at your wedding.
To someone else.
I'm sitting at a table
with your ex‐wife.
Thing you have to
understand
about me and your
ex‐mother‐in‐law is‐‐
May I cut in?
You had your chance,
Sonny.
Maybe if you'd been this
insistent when she was yours‐‐
Dad!
Your dance,
my boy.
♪ You'll always be beautiful ♪
♪ In my eyes ♪
I figured I'd move in
for the save.
There was
a time for that.
It's long passed.
You mean to say you enjoyed
dancing with him?
I mean, he does
move like Valentino.
Oh, for Chrissakes.
Really? You too?
[chuckles]
♪♪♪
♪ And the passing years
will show ♪
There's not a second of this
I enjoy.
Old days, we would have
made our getaway.
McQueen
and Ali MacGraw style.
Mm. More like
Beatty and Dunaway‐‐
lot of talk of escape,
but in the end:
[clicks tongue] ratatatat
with the Tommy gun.
Bloody, tragic.
No escape.
From any of it.
Just because we haven't
made our escape as of yet,
doesn't mean we can't.
As friends, I mean,
not romantically.
Just find our way
out of here.
Talk.
Oh, there'll be
an escape.
Here it is.
[music ends]
[applause]
Go time.
Ah.
[indistinct conversations]
[soft piano music playing]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[microphone squeals]
I was speaking with my mother
the other day,
about how hard it would be
to appropriately, to honestly,
salute my father on the day
of this blessed union.
And she said to me:
"Look, you do not have to stand
in front of a group of people
and say nice things
about that man.
You do not have to valorize him.
Speak your truth, Son."
Now, as most of you know,
I have no problem
making a speech
that goes against convention,
that brooks the tide
of the expected,
so that I may speak
the unvarnished.
And that is what
I have decided to do today.
[chuckles]
So buckle up...
Because...
I am not gonna say nice things
about my dad.
I don't want to.
♪ suspenseful music ♪
You all know what I would say.
You all know the truth. No.
Instead: I want to...
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
celebrate his magnificent bride,
Roxanne!
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
[laughs]
No. Because she has done that
which I'd thought impossible.
Turned my dad into
a big pile of mush.
[laughter]
Defanged the old wolf.
Well. Made him into one of
those Build‐A‐Bears
with the bright red valentine
for a heart
and the cuddly fur
to hold onto and hug.
[Chuck] Certainly got him
going to Build‐A‐Bear
[Chuck] for his little daughter.
[Chuck] And Roxanne,
and her people,
have taken him in as their own.
Much as we consider her ours.
That's the wonderful
thing about family.
It lives and breathes.
It never contracts.
Only expands.
As ours has now.
[Chuck] I can't believe
a man can get so lucky.
And, uh, now I'm speaking
about me, not Dad.
Because I have someone who
loves him as much as I do,
someone to share him with.
♪ Bad Company's "Bad Company" ♪
[Chuck] So. Here's to you both.
And to all of us basking
in the radiance of your joy.
[Chuck] As we raise
our glasses...
‐Yeah!
‐Cheers!
‐[laughter]
‐Cheers!
[applause]
♪ Company ♪
♪ Always on the run ♪
You've come far
and learned much.
♪ Destiny ♪
Until we see each other
and move your knowledge
into the world, be well.
Safe travels.
♪ Is the rising sun ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Oh, I was born ♪
♪ Six gun in my hand ♪
♪♪
♪ Behind a gun ♪
[engines start]
♪ I'll make my final stand ♪
♪ I'll make my final stand ♪
♪ That's why they call me ♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ And I can't deny ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
[birds chirping]
[door creaks, closes]
[gate creaks]
[sighs]
[Wendy] Kevin was drinking.
Chuck, where the fuck are you?
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[brakes squeal]
♪♪♪
[pounding on door]
♪♪♪
[exhales heavily]
He's sleeping it off.
[sighs]
[door creaks, closes]
I handled it.
It's handled.
There's nothing for you to do.
Babysitter will
be here soon.
Then I'll go to work.
Oh. Fuck.
I don't know how
I missed your calls.
[scoffs]
I know.
[sighs]
[Wendy] I know where you were
and what you were doing...
...because that's the only time
you're off the grid completely.
That's a stiff
fucking shot.
And it landed.
So. Standing eight count
for C. Rhoades.
Now. Can we stop punching
at each other, please?
You flail at me wildly
and then y‐you put your chin
right there.
What do you
expect me to do?
[sighs heavily]
I was in no way prepared
for how that travesty of
a wedding was going to hit me.
How it was gonna make me feel
about things between us.
I was just...
totally alone.
And [chuckles]
you guys here‐‐
in Bobby Axelrod's
spare fucking apartment.
With goddamned Van Goghs
on the walls.
While I'm, uh...
[chuckles]
Ahh,
it was the only thing
I could think of.
How could I have known
there would be an emergency?
Part of being a parent‐‐
No, no, part of being a person,
a grown person,
is carrying that thought
somewhere inside:
that you might be needed
by those you love,
by those
you're responsible to,
and making sure you're
available for that.
Instead of being a prisoner
to your appetites.
♪ soft music ♪
You know this.
What do I know anymore,
really?...
I have lost
my bearings.
Oh. Until recently, I had always
had a North Star.
Twin North Stars.
Justice
and Wendy Rhoades.
And with those guiding me,
I was able to move forward,
to progress, to find
and stay on my path.
♪♪♪
But in the end,
although they were
always there for me,
I served neither.
[Chuck] Not
nearly enough.
But I have lately determined
to find my way back.
♪♪♪
It's clear that I must.
♪♪♪
I want to dive in.
[sighs]
To engage.
But...it's too late.
It's time for
some self‐care now.
I can't let my happiness be
controlled by anyone but me.
It was a mistake to call you
last night for help.
It was my night
with the kids.
My problem.
That's how
divorced people talk.
Yeah.
It is.
The separation
has convinced me.
We need to be done.
♪♪♪
And I want to issue
a public statement.
I‐I‐I want to‐‐I want
to do it this week.
Today.
I want it to be out there.
Have your office
draw one up
and have it sent it to me
by day's end.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Look at me.
Look into my eyes.
I know you won't
believe this,
because I've given you
little cause to:
But I am on the brink
of huge change.
♪♪♪
I am going to
force myself to evolve.
♪♪♪
I believe that you
believe that, Chuck.
♪♪♪
[inhales sharply]
♪ suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[tires screech]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You are under arrest
for utility theft.
For starters.
Lock 'em up and shut 'em down.
‐[Sacker] Come on.
‐[handcuffs click]
[Sacker] Let's go.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[power fades]
♪♪♪
Look at all this wattage,
fellas...
You see this little
dink of a column?
That was last year's usage
at the warehouse...
‐Mm‐hmm.
‐Then see this middle column?
That was the estimated usage of
a 120‐unit apartment building,
as it was
phonily classified.
But look at this monster.
That's a big, throbbing,
ugly red megawatt number...
‐Mm.
‐...now isn't it?
What that column
means is that
your little operation
was pulling so much juice,
the entire town ran
clean out of electricity.
And had to go on the open market
to buy more from the grid.
It cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars‐‐
and drove the town's
entire rate up.
Taxpayers,
eating that burden.
Because of you.
And for what?
So your multitude of
computers and servers
could solve some
abstract math equations
resulting in the mining
of Bitcoin.
Worth millions
right now‐‐whoopee‐‐
but backed by what?
Nada. Nix. Zot.
What's the dollar
backed by,
since we went off
the gold standard?
Well, uh, roads,
the military, industry,
the credit of the federal
government, that sort of thing.
But, I get your point.
We're not here to discuss
monetary theory though.
We're here to discuss who
put you fucking nerds‐‐
sorry: 'engineers'‐‐
in business.
[chuckles]
We have information you work for
a Wall Street consortium‐‐
There are indeed certain
finance dudes involved.
I'll allow it.
You don't get to "allow."
That's for court.
Names.
You're going to
have to say the name.
There's no way
we're saying it.
Any number of
hedge fund magnates.
Uh.
Let's go alphabetical.
Axelrod, Robert,
for starters.
Yes, but none of us dealt with
that guy directly.
Then I'm gonna need
the person in town
who got paid off to let you
pull so much power
you caused a brownout
across the county.
Because he did.
Didn't he?
[sighs]
You can tell me
or I can prosecute you
until your lives are
smoking piles of rubble
and you're put in a place
where a calculator
is as close as
you'll get to a computer.
Your choice....
♪ dramatic music ♪
It's the Town Supervisor.
His name is....
♪♪♪
[door closes]
Gimme a ticket
for a carousel...
Airplane.
Gimme a ticket
for an airplane.
Ain't got time to
take a fast train‐‐
No. Those go
place to place,
I'm just going around
in circles.
Hence the carousel.
Why was I surprised when
Axelrod's name got mentioned?
Why weren't you?
Because I knew he was in this.
That's why I wanted
to go after it.
Hmm. I'm happy to be working
with you again, Chuck.
It has to help me advance
and grow this time.
I came over here‐‐
To help me make this place
the preeminent prosecutorial
office in the state.
Which we will.
We are.
And so you could
be my rabbi
for my congressional run,
end of next year.
But I need to be
on the inside.
To see the moves
as they are happening.
Not as they are
revealed to the world.
I need to be
your worthy assistant,
setting up the tricks and seeing
what you did with your hands.
[chuckles]
Not gonna be one of those rubes
in the audience gasping
at the magic anymore...
[scoffs]
You know.
The thing about change is:
even when you want to,
it's really fucking hard.
I know I have to
bring you in.
And that I can trust you.
I know it up here.
And I'm working on bringing it
down here, too.
Don't work on it.
Do it. Now.
You don't have to trust me,
but you have to trust me.
Ya know?
You're talking about
a partnership.
You offering that, for real?
If I don't, you staying?
You already
know the answer.
Then you know mine.
Yes.
And if you see me giving in
to the man I used to be...
I'll be all over it.
Good.
That's good.
As it should be.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[footsteps approaching]
Okay people,
town hall time.
This gonna be an every month
thing, like my period?
[laughter]
Keep that up and we can
make it a daily thing,
‐like you getting fisted.
‐Ohh!
As in up the junker
just like a punker.
That'll teach ya
to come at the brass‐‐
Spyros!
This forum should be
looked forward to.
It's a chance for us
to investigate issues
that affect our
culture here...
But this time it's serious.
There was an incident‐‐
someone reversing the water
on the toilet flush
in the unisex bathroom,
which sprayed a Mase Capper...
[laughter]
Gross negligence on the part of
building maintenance.
And, uh, oh,
I‐I do mean gross.
No one can prove
it was sabotage‐‐
Give me that.
[flask clinking]
This shit‐‐literally‐‐
has got to stop.
[Wendy] There were investors
on premises.
[Wendy] They may redeem.
[Wendy] We're making
ourselves look like
world‐class schmucks here.
So now it's time:
We need to come together
as one company, one team,
one family.
Now I want to hear from you all
about what exactly
the problem is here.
♪♪♪
[sighs]
This is a safe space.
♪♪♪
Fine, I'll speak.
Far from being welcoming
these last couple of months,
the Axe Cap folks have been
downright dickish...
‐What?!
‐[all murmuring]
Oh, did I not
properly welcome you?
Let me correct that rudeness
right now.
[imitates farting]
[laughter]
And just so you know I'm not
some thin‐skinned whiner,
I've been through Plebe Summer
at the Naval Academy.
‐[all murmuring]
‐Wow.
This goes beyond
practical jokes.
It's getting hostile
and it's unprofessional.
‐Exaggerated.
‐Totally.
I've got to say, this isn't
a one‐way street.
Oh, please‐‐
There's a...haughty,
condescending attitude
flowing from the quant side.
Bunch of stuck‐up
bitches and bros.
Yeah!
Lording their giant
cerebellums‐‐
And we're not some
Luddite dumbasses
just because we come from
an analysis‐driven‐‐
[chuckles]
Could've fooled me‐‐
So we don't want to debate
Full Stack versus Mean Stack
over bagels in the kitchen.
That doesn't mean
we can't do the math‐‐
Uh. Yes, it does‐‐
Some of us
can do the math!
Some of them can't.
Mafee.
‐Suck my Node. js, Bill‐‐
‐Oh!
You don't even know
what the fuck that means.
[indistinct shouting]
[Wendy] Alright. Hey.
I'll take you outside!
I will...
Hey! Hey! Hey!
‐Let's go!
‐Hey!
Meeting fucking adjourned.
For now.
But this is far from over.
Your homework for next time‐‐
‐Homework?
‐Fucking right.
You will‐‐
each of you will‐‐
[Wendy] come up with three
productive things that you,
[Wendy] personally, can do to
make this place function better.
Do it.
Or risk me getting really mad.
[indistinct conversations]
We both know it:
with this business
the way it is,
it's a fight
just to survive.
We need unity.
And this discord‐‐
I won't have it.
The one you should be having
this conversation with is Axe.
It's his Plug Uglies that are
doing the instigating.
And we both know that.
I did have this conversation
with him
before he left on his trip.
And?
He said something very similar
to what you just did.
All systems have to die
eventually.
Excuse me.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[engines shut off]
[birds chirping]
[exhales sharply]
You okay?
I don't know which end,
but I feel like
something's gonna come out.
Well. You can handle your drugs,
must have been the bumpy road.
[groans]
Bumpy is right.
I've got
a case of the grapes
like they talk about
in literature.
[sighs heavily]
You know,
what we took last night
is nature's antidepressant.
I see the value.
The clarity I had,
the perspective.
Everyone should
have the chance
to gaze upon their life
from that perch.
But I did not like what I saw
from that perch.
Well, archon,
we had to do something
to ring in your status.
Most never make it to a million
much less a billion.
And you have ascended to that
lofty plateau of ten of those.
If a personal net worth
of ten big tubs
doesn't bring a smile
to your face‐‐
'You're in the wrong
line of work?'
Mm.
Well. Maybe I am.
I thought all of this would
make me feel...
good.
If this doesn't...
Yeah.
What will?
Maybe this.
An invitation for you to do
a Vanity Fair cover photo shoot
for the "New Decas" issue,
all about the rarified few
who have hit
the ten billion dollar mark.
That cover is
valuable real estate.
Lot of fresh capital
flowing in after it.
It's worth it‐‐
No, no, we're here,
we're doing this.
We should see it through.
Thirty‐four hundred
more miles to go.
Yeah. Sure. Okay.
Somebody else will probably
get the cover.
♪ Is our claim to fame ♪
Probably...Mike Prince.
Huh...
So, what's your call?
♪ I can hear them say ♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ And I won't deny ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Bad, bad company ♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪ Oh, yeah, till the day I die ♪
When did you know
it wasn't just me?
That doesn't matter
at all.
It's the New Decas!
The Ten‐Billion crew.
The crema on top of
the crème‐de‐la‐crème.
And you are right
in the center of it.
Because who is
more Deca than you?
What this gathering
seems to say is that:
We're all about the same.
Which is not
really the message
I'm looking to get out
to our investors.
You're not gonna
look the same.
Not with your posture,
the way you set your eyes...
And where you really set
yourself apart is the interview.
We'll do a five minute power
session before you sit‐‐
Is this why you made sure
she came with?
That and‐‐
So I wouldn't kill you?
I did think if
there were a witness,
it would be harder for you
to commit homicide.
Harder.
Not impossible.
But it's good you made sure
she's here.
Wend, let's go psych out
these motherfuckers,
so they look shook
on that cover.
We can do that.
We will do that.
[door bangs]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Ah, the 'great man.'
♪♪♪
Mm‐hmm.
Mike...
'Lo, Axe.
‐Scooter.
‐Wagsy.
I see you're still
making sure
his hand never touches
a doorknob.
As you are trying and failing to
do the same for your general.
Michael Prince.
Michael "Thomas Aquinas" Prince.
Really?
Always an honor
to meet a legend.
And yes, just like my father
and his father and his and his.
[chuckles]
Better than St. Blaise,
patron saint
of throat ailments.
If that were the name
my Dad and the rest wore,
I'd bear it proudly.
I have no doubt
you'd find a way to be proud.
With just a dash
of humility on top.
A man with no humility is
a man with no pride at all.
Alright,
let's do this.
♪ dramatic music ♪
[indistinct conversations]
How are ya?
♪♪♪
Turn a little bit
into‐‐Yep.
♪♪♪
Couldn't get him
the cover alone, huh?
[chuckles]
Wags, so sad.
We didn't want
a solo cover.
Too much focus,
too much attention.
We are at the place
in our lives‐‐all of us‐‐
where it is time to turn
our focus to others.
You guys got to feel
the same way, right?
No, of course,
mos' def.
Indube.
Okay, everybody,
eyes over here.
[camera shutter clicking]
You know, they didn't tell me
you'd be here, Axe.
Yeah, they failed to
mention that detail
in the pitch to me, too.
Been a faster "yes" had I known.
[photographer] Awesome.
Ball coach in high school
told it to me, I never forgot:
You make sure the guy
passing the ball
to the guy passing it to you
gets as much credit
as you do for
putting it in the hoop.
Yeah. But it was you
won Mr. Basketball
in the state of Indiana
that year, wasn't it?
Not the other guys.
[photographer] Yep.
Only because my teammates
were so great.
[photographer] Great.
It's much more fun
to share the praise.
Oh. Sure it is. Wish my whole
team was here with me.
Yeah.
Which is why I was hoping
you'd make it to 'The Mike'
this year.
We could keep this going.
I already accepted.
As you always do,
but then you never show up.
Well. I always mean to,
you know?
We'd love to host you.
You and I could do
a fireside chat.
It'd be the highlight
of the conference.
Ah.
Maybe this year we will.
[camera shutter clicking]
[photographer] Awesome.
This looks great.
He seems in prime form.
So how was your trip?
Good.
I met
the Creator of Souls.
[camera beeping, clicking]
...Oh.
[photographer] Turn your bodies
[photographer] a little bit over
on that one, please.
Yeah, that's great.
No. That's good. Perfect.
[camera beeps, clicks]
That was really good.
You got it?
Yeah. I think we're great.
[photographer] Alright.
Let's break down the set
and, uh, get ready for
the individual portraits.
[indistinct conversations]
Got a problem upstate.
The mining town.
I can't sit for the portrait
or the interview.
We reschedule
for tomorrow.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[door closes]
♪♪♪
[keys clacking]
[sighs]
You asked for me.
[door closes]
I know that a) you don't
directly work for Axe Cap
and b) this isn't
exactly your job
but I was hoping you might
help me with something.
Why am I the one that‐‐
It's a sensitive thing.
[inhales deeply]
It needs to be released
to the right people,
in the right way,
I figure with your experience,
with your delicate touch‐‐
With my connections
from
my W Magazine and NY Post
gossip days?
Yeah.
You sure
you want to do this?
Chuck was supposed to do it.
He didn't.
So when one of us wants
to...move on,
with other people,
in public,
I don't want them to think
it's some kind of a scoop.
Give the press
a little red meat
so they don't come looking for
the kill later.
Smart.
There are a couple phrases
I might switch around.
Do it.
I'll email it to you.
I trust you to
make it better.
[chuckles] That's what I'd say
to someone to let them know
that I see them,
that they're special.
Leave 'em feeling great
for doing me a service.
But you're smoother.
I think I might be able to
learn something from you.
I will handle this
right away.
But first,
let me learn from you.
How do we fix this bullshit
between your crew and ours?
It's getting tribal
out there.
I'm not sure
that's the problem.
It might just be
the result of the problem.
Instead of thinking about
the culture conflict,
maybe think about
the culture itself.
In what way?
Mafee says
Axe Cap used to be
the most fun place
to work on earth.
At one point.
Yeah. For a time.
Not lately.
And not just from Mafee.
The stories are out there‐‐
the way I hear it,
this place used to be
outrageous.
Eating contests,
body sushi,
impromptu trips on
the private jet to Amsterdam
for frites and spacecakes
from The Bulldog.
Fucking fun, you know,
where anything could happen.
Now, everyone's feeling
the pressure of the numbers.
[Lauren] The quarter.
The P&L.
Important. Also dry.
[Lauren] And pressure kills
results. I can rise above.
But if you want the rest of
these folks to stop
thinking of each other
as enemies
and come together
as a unit,
you've got to put some fun
back in this bish.
Start tossing midgets
or something.
Or call 'em little people
if that makes you feel better.
But toss 'em.
[chuckles]
You're right.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[door closes]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Becky, Wendy Rhoades.
Long time.
[door opens]
[Wags] I spoke to Bach:
The crypto‐mine action
was done by the State AG‐‐
not the US Attorney
or the DA.
It was Chuck Rhoades.
Isn't that fucking cute.
Okay.
So. We've got to
minimize damage
and figure out a way to get up
and running elsewhere.
Also. We need to
talk to the other
fund managers that
we partnered with.
But you're the only one
who might be able
to make this go away.
‐[Axe] Yeah.
Okay. So.
I'll see what I can do.
But in the meantime you make
sure that the click monkeys
and our inside man get
some nice insulation, okay‐‐
get 'em good lawyers
and make 'em understand
they should stand up.
Yep.
On it.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[cellphone vibrates]
[sighs]
[inhales deeply]
Hello.
Hey, Chuck.
I need to see you...
As soon as
you can do it.
I'll tell you what
it's about in person.
Well. I'm, uh,
in the middle of something,
it's going to
have to be tomorrow.
What you're in the middle of
is what it's all about.
Needs to be now.
[chuckles]
Well. Sorry, pard,
it's going to have to hold.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[breathes deeply]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[Taylor] Rage room?
I don't see a situation
where I'd‐‐
I can't imagine the pressure
building inside of you
as you try to navigate
what you're trying to.
All without ever
losing your cool
or letting on
how you really feel.
Just letting everyone believe
I see the world the way they do.
I've got this.
Just so you know,
there's an outlet
for when you can't keep it
off your face anymore.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[door opens]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hmm.
♪♪♪
I was about to
break my PB.
For swimming in place?
This is the most time and energy
efficient way to get laps in.
No need for flip turns.
Ah.
And I'm not sure questioning
my workout practices
is something I'd do‐‐
Then let me make a flip turn
and tell you about the call
I just got from Axe.
I have him in
a Peruvian Necktie.
You know what that is?
No. But it sounds tight.
Mm.
Gets even tighter.
I made a certain bust
in the crypto space.
One that's costing him
a lot of money.
Which you wouldn't have
stumbled upon but for me.
What I need now is for you to
get close to any small,
seemingly off‐the‐cuff meetings
you see happening,
to listen to
the whispers, to‐‐
You still don't know how
all the pieces go together
on the crypto thing, huh?
I can't tie it to Axe as is,
if that's what you're asking.
Which means this thing
won't touch him.
Axe still isn't
talking to me about
what you might call
'the deckle of the chop.'
Mm. Just nibbling
at the edges, huh?
And, uh,
swimming in place.
As you see, yes.
But you have both the
imagination and the perseverance
to convince yourself that
this is not treading water.
What this pool says about you
is that you have the capacity
to fight boredom,
the tide, the endless,
beating march against you.
These are basically
the only qualities of my own
that are worth a damn.
They speak well of you.
And are almost the direct
opposite of the qualities
that make Axe the shining light
of his age.
Oh. People like us must destroy
people like him.
You're not wrong.
I understand how
and why you see it that way.
As I, of course, do.
I will try my best.
I trust that you will.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[pool beeps, hums]
[exhales sharply]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Did you serve me best by
letting me walk into that shoot,
or would it have been
better to prep me,
deal with the consequences
of me refusing to go?
Well, which is it?
I haven't decided yet.
Yes you have.
And you're here to thank me.
I'm here because when I hit
the ten billion mark,
I felt a flicker
of excitement
about the same as finding
a twenty dollar bill
on the sidewalk,
and then...nothing.
The ayahuasca...
I had a moment of seeing
the whole thing, from above,
from inside,
from a whole other dimension.
But even from
every vantage point.
What I saw was ugliness,
and while maybe
I hadn't lost yet,
there was no feeling that‐‐
[sighs] that I'd won.
None at all.
You would never allow yourself
to take it in,
to appreciate it,
because that would mean
acknowledging you'd done well,
succeeded,
won the game.
That there was a place to pause.
Or stop.
Is it a game
can be won?
Eh. The answer to that is
a philosophical axiom‐‐
true without needing
to be proved:
When you decide you've won,
you've won.
Until then, no.
Hmm.
[indistinct conversations]
So you gonna thank me?
You asked for
Vanity Fair.
[Axe] This is
last month's.
The one he's gracing
the cover of.
The only one
that matters.
It's not out yet.
It's hitting online
shortly.
[door opens]
Hmm.
[door closes]
I'd like to try this.
Huh. On it, sire.
Update on
the crypto situation.
[Victor] Our miners
walked.
Huh. That was quick.
[Victor] Yeah.
You think
they cut a deal?
If those little shits
cut a deal, I will‐‐
Of course they cut a deal.
What else?
The Town Supervisor
was picked up.
He's being held
without bail.
‐[cellphone vibrates]
‐They're squeezing him.
Vanity Fair
article dropped.
[keys clacking]
Those ink‐stained
motherfuckers.
Sonofabitch.
Mike Prince made a move.
[Wags] Fuck.
We'll have this taken down.
We'll pay to pull back
the print version.
We'll pulp
the whole goddamned run.
Enough, Wags.
You got flanked by his guy‐‐
Fucking Scooter‐‐
And I got flanked by him.
[Axe] [chuckles]
"Investors with
a traditional strategy,
like Axe,
have become legends,
and they deserve
to be legends.
But legends fade,
and their value is then
mostly in the stories
about them,
lessons to future generations
on what to do, what not to do."
Fucking Prince's
pull quote.
Fucker is putting me
out to pasture.
‐Cocksuc‐‐
‐There's more:
[Axe] "But I'm not interested in
becoming a story just yet.
So I change
with the times.
Investors like me, who are
also business operators,
are always on
the cutting edge,
[Axe] shifting to machine
learning and impact investing,
not just for profit but for
the profitability of mankind."
Prick.
You want me to look over
his companies for weakness?
Maybe put some shorts on?
No.
He's too big,
he's too powerful.
Man's a Grizz,
Kodiak Island sized.
And dangerous.
[sighs]
We got to get close
to bring him down.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[cellphone vibrates]
Hey. Good looking cover,
Mike, congratulations.
Kind of you
to call, Axe.
I thought we were all
going to be on there,
I don't know how the hell
they decided
to go with
that picture of me.
Yeah, of course.
How could you.
Me? I don't need
that kind of press‐‐
[Axe] you know, investors and
all‐‐ but good for you.
Anyway, I've, uh,
decided the time is right.
[Axe] Let's have that
fireside chat.
Oh, that's great news.
Great.
It'll be the highlight
of the conference.
I'm looking forward to‐‐
Yeah, me too.
Try to take me out
in some magazine?
I'll come see you
on your home fucking turf.
[sighs]
[woman] Motherfucker,
just let me in.
[woman #2] Who are you?
[woman] I will run
right through you.
[woman] Who am I?
Let me in.
[woman #2] Yeah, I'm just gonna
call security,
and you need to
stop yelling.
[woman] No, you're not gonna
call security, you stupid dope.
[woman] I will freakin'
dance on your head.
I need to see
Wendy Rhoades.
Not without
an appointment.
You tell Wendy Rhoades
to get out of her little office
[woman] right now
before I go back there
[woman] and fuck the head
off her!
I told you to never come to
my place of work!
You're gonna have to
throw me out.
Whoa!
Ugh! Ugh!
Ugh! Ugh!
[grunts]
Ohh!
Oh!
[both laughing]
♪♪♪
[Wendy] Axe Capital,
MaseCap,
I give you, the champion
of the world,
The MAN!
Becky Lynch!
[cheers and applause]
Thank you! Thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah.
Now, none of youse
know this,
because Wendy over here
keeps her mouth shut,
but when I was in my low
and lost period of my life,
before I became The Man,
it was Wendy who convinced me
that finally a woman could be
the biggest star
in professional wrestling.
And she was right.
I am The Man
in that business now.
[cheers and applause]
So when she asked me
to come here
and share a few
professional secrets,
there was no way
I was lettin' her down.
So secret number one,
the real Kayfabe shit:
The greatest thing
that you can do in my game
is to "put someone over,"
to make them look good.
[light laughter]
In wrestling,
we don't all like each other.
‐That part's not for show.
‐[laughter]
I honestly cannot stand some of
them women that I have to fight.
But at the end of the day,
we're all part of
a bigger family, alright?
And we all 'do the job'
for each other.
Which is what we call it when
we let someone else pin us
because there is nothing more
noble than taking a beatin'
and makin' somebody else
look good
for the good of the whole
goddamned operation.
And, no. No.
Sometimes it doesn't feel good.
We all want to fight.
We all want to win.
And when the time is right,
you shut your mouth
and you do the job.
And then maybe you move
to a different town,
and someone
does the job for you.
Can I just say
holy shit!
Holy shit!
[cheers and applause]
You may, Mafee.
Now. Becky,
who could obviously
kick my ass to the ground,
just did the job for me.
To remind us that we're all
in this together,
and what a fucking pisser it is
to work here‐‐
where a stunt like this is,
you know, just a Tuesday.
[light laughter]
So: are we ready to
do the fucking job
for each other or what?
[cheers and applause]
♪ mid‐tempo music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
That was impressive.
A grand gesture.
I can see how much you care
about this place.
And it moves me to say:
I'll do what I can to
get my people to lean in.
Good.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[indistinct conversations]
If that's how you feel, then
you should probably tell him.
Tell him what?
Whatever it is
you're really doing here.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You think this will fix
the adjustment problems
of our teams?
And also fix the problems
between me and you?
We need to feel
like one company.
Or none of it will work‐‐
And then I would confide
in you again, right?
♪♪♪
I am not here because
you forced me to be.
Or because Chuck did.
I am here as Chuck's operative
because he wants to get you.
I know.
I figured there was
a good chance of it anyway.
How?
If you were really here
'cause I forced you to be,
your body language
would be different.
I have tried to
slump my shoulders.
But if it were real,
you'd try to avoid showing me
you were hurting.
You'd walk with
your shoulders back...
If you didn't trust me, why did
you want me working for you?
'Cause I thought
our goals were aligned.
And I still think
they can be.
Even after
what I just told you?
You need to be here.
Doing this...
not just for a living,
not just to keep your name
strong in the business...
but to feel alive.
Maybe even to be alive.
You need that
feeling you get
when you see what
no one else can.
And bet on that vision.
And be right.
'Cause you, Taylor, are
a profit generating organism.
You're just put together
that way.
That's what I need.
And why we are aligned.
No matter your
conflicted feelings.
And Rhoades?
Fight him off,
neutralize him.
And if I can't?
Fuck 'can't.'
We just agreed
on who you are.
The person who does.
♪♪♪
Okay. I will.
♪♪♪
I see that.
Good.
Now, how do you recommend
I deal with Rhoades?
He is going to continue
to act like a friend.
Remind him of why actually
being your friend
is the smartest
course of action.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[computer dings]
♪♪♪
Oh, what the fuck...
♪♪♪
[line ringing]
You've reached Wendy Rhoades.
Please leave a message.
‐[line beeps]
‐Uh. Yeah, Wend, it's me.
I see we've reached the place
of unilateral action.
Not gracious, or cool,
or reflective in any way of
how we've fucking gone about‐‐
♪♪♪
just give me a call back
after you get this.
♪♪♪
[cellphone thuds]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[sighs]
[door closes]
Everything okay?
Oh. Just some upheaval on
the home front, as you know.
Everything'll
settle into place.
What do you got there?
Something meaningful.
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
Ahh.
[sighs]
[sniffs]
[chuckles]
Ahh.
...'Never give in.
Never in nothing, great or
small; large or petty.
Never give in,
except to convictions of honour
and good sense.
Never yield to force.
Never yield to
the apparently
overwhelming might
of the enemy.'
[taps on book]
I went back to my book seller
a few months after I sold it.
He told me the set
had been bought.
And I couldn't find
any others.
No. It seems the, uh,
market on first‐edition
Churchills had been cornered.
That's what
I do to markets.
Ah.
[chuckles]
But now, I am returning these to
you as an act of friendship...
Because I want you to remember
when we weren't friends,
how the world was a very hot
and uncomfortable place.
And to that end,
I would like you to also
help me keep it cool.
♪♪♪
How shall I do that?
That crypto mine that
you busted upstate‐‐
Mm.
I'd appreciate it
if you'd drop the case.
Well, Bobby,
I very much want to be friends.
[chuckles]
And I was surprised‐‐
dismayed really‐‐
when we made the arrests
and found out you were
in the middle of that.
Not really in the middle‐‐
maybe loosely connected.
All the same...
I can't just drop it,
not altogether.
It's too far along.
Questions will be raised,
prying eyes will be focused.
Uh huh.
Then what can
you do for me?
[sighs]
Best I can do is make it a civil
and not a criminal action.
Which will be hard to sell
to my team and my office
and is an act of friendship
that goes beyond the norm.
It is, in fact, of the kind
you just demonstrated.
So, it'll cost you
some money in fines,
but as you like to remind the
world, you got plenty of that.
Yeah. Sure, Chuck.
That I do.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[door opens]
[door closes]
[indistinct conversations]
It's a triple cross.
Taylor told Axelrod
why they're at Axe Cap.
How'd you figure it?
He came at me,
to remind me of
the last time I went at him.
What it cost me.
What are we gonna
do about it?
He wants to be friends,
so we'll be friends.
Right up until
the moment we drop him.
Unless you think
that's too, uh, "Old Chuck."
No, that's just Chuck.
[chuckles]
As it should be.
As it ever will be.
Okay.
Here's what I'm thinking.
♪ Patti Smith's
"Summer Cannibals" ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ I was down in Georgia ♪
♪ Nothing was as real ♪
♪ As the street
beneath my feet ♪
♪ Descending into air ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ The cauldron was a‐bubbling ♪
♪ The flesh was lean ♪
♪ And the women moved forward ♪
♪ Like piranhas in a stream ♪
♪ They spread themselves
before me ♪
♪ An offering so sweet ♪
♪ And they beckoned
and they beckoned ♪
♪ "Come on, darling, eat" ♪
♪ Eat the summer cannibals ♪
[grunting]
♪ Eat, eat, eat ♪
♪ You eat the summer cannibals ♪
♪ Eat, eat, eat ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ They circled around me ♪
♪ Natives in a ring ♪
♪ And I saw their souls
a‐withering ♪
♪ Like snakes in chains ♪
♪ And they wrapped themselves
around me ♪
♪ Mmm, what a treat ♪
♪ And they rattled their tales
hissin' ♪
♪ "Come on, let's eat" ♪
♪ Eat the summer cannibals ♪
♪ Eat, eat ♪
on Billions...
You want me
to help put you
in the State Attorney
General's office.
I do.
[Harry] The Churchill World War
II‐‐ it's a hell of a set.
Well, maybe
I can circle back
and grab them
before they're gone.
These are the books
you asked for.
Find all the other signed
first editions for sale.
And buy them all,
every single last one of them.
You could've been anything‐‐
you chose to be a prosecutor.
You're the guy who
taught me everything.
I'm glad you still
feel that way.
Your father has tasted
the fruits of our tribe.
Is that my little sister,
for Chrissakes?
When are you coming home?
I don't know.
But you are coming home?
I don't know.
[Chuck] When I look at the
shambles my life has become‐‐
[Chuck] from my firing,
[Chuck] to my election
with strings attached,
[Chuck] to the destruction
of my marriage,
it all tracks
back to one source.
One man.
And that very man
charged me with
arresting you
in order to force you
back into his employ.
You were such
a worthy fucking adversary.
I want you on my side.
And I want you to help me
take him down,
[Chuck] once and for all.
Chuck Rhoades wants to use me
to help him nail Axe.
[Taylor] They're both lined up
to destroy each other.
[Taylor] At the right moment
when both have their guns
[Taylor] raised, I'll step out
of the way and let it happen.
[Taylor] They'll put each other
in the ground
[Taylor] and I'll go about
my fucking business.
Welcome home.
Happy to be here.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
It's so wonderful to be
gathered here together
to witness this
blessed occasion.
Two souls, who've found
one another,
in the great expanse.
Two people, fiery and strong,
joining their flames into
a single burning ember....
[Jane Halftown] ...In
our tradition,
[Jane Halftown] marriage
means 'never alone.'
[Jane Halftown] So will you
take this man,
[Jane Halftown] to care for,
for all of your days?
[Roxanne] I will.
[Jane Halftown] And will you
take this woman,
to care for,
for all of your days?
Of course I will.
For as many as I've got left,
anyway.
[laughter]
♪ cheerful music ♪
[sighs]
You will now live together
under one blanket...
[applause]
♪ Patti Smith's "Gone Again" ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Hey, now, man's own kin ♪
♪ We commend into the wind ♪
♪ Grateful arms,
grateful limbs ♪
♪ Grateful soul,
he's gone again ♪
♪ indistinct singing ♪
[maracas shaking]
[rhythmic chanting]
[steam hisses]
[chanting continues]
[exhales heavily]
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
[exhales heavily]
♪♪♪
[gags]
[retching]
[coughing]
[gags]
Ugh.
[both breathing heavily]
[crickets chirping]
[inhales sharply]
[owl hoots]
Right?
Right?!
♪♪♪
Yessssssss.
See it?...
Feel it?...
...It's almost too much.
Too much goodness
in the world.
The great Earth Mother
blowing it around
like smoke
from the trees...
[Axe] Kings!
They don't
blow around, man.
♪♪♪
They stand there
and they take.
First the village,
then the city.
Mass the troops
for the keep.
And once the keep...
Yeah.
The whole world.
♪♪♪
That's a whole lot
of war to wage.
♪♪♪
That's a whole lot
of heads to chop,
heads to chop,
heads to chop‐‐
Chop, chop, chop....
Mess,
messy, mess.
Beautiful mess.
Yeah...
[laughs]
Come on,
let's see if
we can make it back.
[band plays Stray Cats'
"Rock This Town"]
♪♪♪
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Well, my baby and me went out
late Saturday night ♪
♪ I had my hair piled high and
my baby just looked so right ♪
♪ Well, pick you up at ten,
gotta have you home at two ♪
♪ Mama don't know what
I catched off of you ♪
♪ But that's all right 'cause ♪
♪ We're looking as cool
as can be ♪
You okay, Chuck?
‐Oh. You know it!
‐You sure?
Better than okay. Yes.
A venerable occasion.
Weddings can be tough when
you've become recently...
unattached.
All that romance
in the air.
Exactly what I'm looking
to capitalize on.
Who's the brunette stunner
over there?
[Brogan] How 'bout
an intro‐‐
♪ And change of a dollar
for the jukebox ♪
That'd be his wife.
Ouch.
Or is it ex?
Uh, uh.
Not officially. Yet.
Heading that way.
What's the statute of
limitations on exes these days?
Ohh!
Until your shvantz
turns to rust and falls off,
Brogan.
Which is why
I'm kidding!
Naturally.
'Cause we're all friends.
‐Sure, you're kidding.
‐Absolutely.
And I am truly blessed
to have a brain trust,
a cadre, a kitchen cabinet
such as you all.
♪ We're gonna rock this town,
rock it inside out ♪
♪♪♪
Excuse me...
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
[indistinct speaking]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hey, hey, hey,
watch it, Kev.
Come on.
We don't do that.
You wanna try some wine at
dinner, we can do it together.
Like people.
Sorry, Dad,
I just wanted to taste it.
But it's gross.
Exactly.
[indistinct conversations]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
...It's family.
That's what families do:
stick together.
♪♪♪
That's why
you're here?
You're actually
fucking here.
"Sticking together"
while he marries someone
who could be his‐‐
Soldier forth.
That's what Charles
always told me,
and he's right.
♪ We're gonna rock this town,
make 'em scream and shout ♪
Maybe it's time
to stop listening
to what Rhoades men say
and decide what we think
for a fucking change.
♪ We're gonna rock till you
drop, we're gonna rock ♪
Excuse me.
[indistinct conversations
in distance]
Ms. Sacker.
Sorry to crash,
but I have what I need
to give the go‐ahead on
the crypto mine takedown.
As soon as you give me
the go‐ahead.
They will get
in position tonight.
Move first thing
in the morning.
Click, click, boom. Do it.
What about press?
They're salivating over
all things crypto right now.
No press. Yet.
Then at the right moment,
lots and lots of it.
Do the thing.
I have to go, uh,
get back to
the nuptials.
[Sacker] Maybe I'll stick
around, watch the toast.
[chuckles]
See you celebrate the love.
You're a ruthless prosecutor.
It's why I hired you over.
Don't waste it here.
Use it on the operation.
[Sacker] Ah.
First I watch you squirm.
Then I make them squirm.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ We'll have our fill of tears ♪
♪ Our share of sighs ♪
A dance
with the groom?
♪ My only prayer ♪
Can I say no?
I think not.
♪ Is that you realize ♪
♪ You'll always be beautiful ♪
♪ In my eyes ♪
♪ You will always be ♪
Avert your eyes, Chuck.
We'll watch for you.
We'll‐‐We'll tell you
if the old man gets handsy.
Oooh, he's bringing out the old
American Bandstand moves.
Feels more like
Soul Train to me.
Ooh, he's got
a pep in his step‐‐
I'm impressed.
She looks stunned.
In a good way.
Good for him.
Not for you.
It does feel like a betrayal
of some sort.
From one of them.
Or both.
No, no, no, no.
It's as it should be.
The bonds of family
are stronger than‐‐
‐Whoa, that's a deep dip!
‐[laughs]
Bravo!
Real Rudolph Valentino move!
Ahh, Jesus.
[laughter]
[laughs]
I'll be sad to lose you
as a member of the family.
You're the grandfather
of my children:
we'll always be family.
So stop this madness.
Go get some ass
if that's what you want...
[sighs]
...and then re‐up with the unit.
Like you did?
We're at your wedding.
To someone else.
I'm sitting at a table
with your ex‐wife.
Thing you have to
understand
about me and your
ex‐mother‐in‐law is‐‐
May I cut in?
You had your chance,
Sonny.
Maybe if you'd been this
insistent when she was yours‐‐
Dad!
Your dance,
my boy.
♪ You'll always be beautiful ♪
♪ In my eyes ♪
I figured I'd move in
for the save.
There was
a time for that.
It's long passed.
You mean to say you enjoyed
dancing with him?
I mean, he does
move like Valentino.
Oh, for Chrissakes.
Really? You too?
[chuckles]
♪♪♪
♪ And the passing years
will show ♪
There's not a second of this
I enjoy.
Old days, we would have
made our getaway.
McQueen
and Ali MacGraw style.
Mm. More like
Beatty and Dunaway‐‐
lot of talk of escape,
but in the end:
[clicks tongue] ratatatat
with the Tommy gun.
Bloody, tragic.
No escape.
From any of it.
Just because we haven't
made our escape as of yet,
doesn't mean we can't.
As friends, I mean,
not romantically.
Just find our way
out of here.
Talk.
Oh, there'll be
an escape.
Here it is.
[music ends]
[applause]
Go time.
Ah.
[indistinct conversations]
[soft piano music playing]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[microphone squeals]
I was speaking with my mother
the other day,
about how hard it would be
to appropriately, to honestly,
salute my father on the day
of this blessed union.
And she said to me:
"Look, you do not have to stand
in front of a group of people
and say nice things
about that man.
You do not have to valorize him.
Speak your truth, Son."
Now, as most of you know,
I have no problem
making a speech
that goes against convention,
that brooks the tide
of the expected,
so that I may speak
the unvarnished.
And that is what
I have decided to do today.
[chuckles]
So buckle up...
Because...
I am not gonna say nice things
about my dad.
I don't want to.
♪ suspenseful music ♪
You all know what I would say.
You all know the truth. No.
Instead: I want to...
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
celebrate his magnificent bride,
Roxanne!
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
[laughs]
No. Because she has done that
which I'd thought impossible.
Turned my dad into
a big pile of mush.
[laughter]
Defanged the old wolf.
Well. Made him into one of
those Build‐A‐Bears
with the bright red valentine
for a heart
and the cuddly fur
to hold onto and hug.
[Chuck] Certainly got him
going to Build‐A‐Bear
[Chuck] for his little daughter.
[Chuck] And Roxanne,
and her people,
have taken him in as their own.
Much as we consider her ours.
That's the wonderful
thing about family.
It lives and breathes.
It never contracts.
Only expands.
As ours has now.
[Chuck] I can't believe
a man can get so lucky.
And, uh, now I'm speaking
about me, not Dad.
Because I have someone who
loves him as much as I do,
someone to share him with.
♪ Bad Company's "Bad Company" ♪
[Chuck] So. Here's to you both.
And to all of us basking
in the radiance of your joy.
[Chuck] As we raise
our glasses...
‐Yeah!
‐Cheers!
‐[laughter]
‐Cheers!
[applause]
♪ Company ♪
♪ Always on the run ♪
You've come far
and learned much.
♪ Destiny ♪
Until we see each other
and move your knowledge
into the world, be well.
Safe travels.
♪ Is the rising sun ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Oh, I was born ♪
♪ Six gun in my hand ♪
♪♪
♪ Behind a gun ♪
[engines start]
♪ I'll make my final stand ♪
♪ I'll make my final stand ♪
♪ That's why they call me ♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ And I can't deny ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
[birds chirping]
[door creaks, closes]
[gate creaks]
[sighs]
[Wendy] Kevin was drinking.
Chuck, where the fuck are you?
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[brakes squeal]
♪♪♪
[pounding on door]
♪♪♪
[exhales heavily]
He's sleeping it off.
[sighs]
[door creaks, closes]
I handled it.
It's handled.
There's nothing for you to do.
Babysitter will
be here soon.
Then I'll go to work.
Oh. Fuck.
I don't know how
I missed your calls.
[scoffs]
I know.
[sighs]
[Wendy] I know where you were
and what you were doing...
...because that's the only time
you're off the grid completely.
That's a stiff
fucking shot.
And it landed.
So. Standing eight count
for C. Rhoades.
Now. Can we stop punching
at each other, please?
You flail at me wildly
and then y‐you put your chin
right there.
What do you
expect me to do?
[sighs heavily]
I was in no way prepared
for how that travesty of
a wedding was going to hit me.
How it was gonna make me feel
about things between us.
I was just...
totally alone.
And [chuckles]
you guys here‐‐
in Bobby Axelrod's
spare fucking apartment.
With goddamned Van Goghs
on the walls.
While I'm, uh...
[chuckles]
Ahh,
it was the only thing
I could think of.
How could I have known
there would be an emergency?
Part of being a parent‐‐
No, no, part of being a person,
a grown person,
is carrying that thought
somewhere inside:
that you might be needed
by those you love,
by those
you're responsible to,
and making sure you're
available for that.
Instead of being a prisoner
to your appetites.
♪ soft music ♪
You know this.
What do I know anymore,
really?...
I have lost
my bearings.
Oh. Until recently, I had always
had a North Star.
Twin North Stars.
Justice
and Wendy Rhoades.
And with those guiding me,
I was able to move forward,
to progress, to find
and stay on my path.
♪♪♪
But in the end,
although they were
always there for me,
I served neither.
[Chuck] Not
nearly enough.
But I have lately determined
to find my way back.
♪♪♪
It's clear that I must.
♪♪♪
I want to dive in.
[sighs]
To engage.
But...it's too late.
It's time for
some self‐care now.
I can't let my happiness be
controlled by anyone but me.
It was a mistake to call you
last night for help.
It was my night
with the kids.
My problem.
That's how
divorced people talk.
Yeah.
It is.
The separation
has convinced me.
We need to be done.
♪♪♪
And I want to issue
a public statement.
I‐I‐I want to‐‐I want
to do it this week.
Today.
I want it to be out there.
Have your office
draw one up
and have it sent it to me
by day's end.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Look at me.
Look into my eyes.
I know you won't
believe this,
because I've given you
little cause to:
But I am on the brink
of huge change.
♪♪♪
I am going to
force myself to evolve.
♪♪♪
I believe that you
believe that, Chuck.
♪♪♪
[inhales sharply]
♪ suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[tires screech]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You are under arrest
for utility theft.
For starters.
Lock 'em up and shut 'em down.
‐[Sacker] Come on.
‐[handcuffs click]
[Sacker] Let's go.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[power fades]
♪♪♪
Look at all this wattage,
fellas...
You see this little
dink of a column?
That was last year's usage
at the warehouse...
‐Mm‐hmm.
‐Then see this middle column?
That was the estimated usage of
a 120‐unit apartment building,
as it was
phonily classified.
But look at this monster.
That's a big, throbbing,
ugly red megawatt number...
‐Mm.
‐...now isn't it?
What that column
means is that
your little operation
was pulling so much juice,
the entire town ran
clean out of electricity.
And had to go on the open market
to buy more from the grid.
It cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars‐‐
and drove the town's
entire rate up.
Taxpayers,
eating that burden.
Because of you.
And for what?
So your multitude of
computers and servers
could solve some
abstract math equations
resulting in the mining
of Bitcoin.
Worth millions
right now‐‐whoopee‐‐
but backed by what?
Nada. Nix. Zot.
What's the dollar
backed by,
since we went off
the gold standard?
Well, uh, roads,
the military, industry,
the credit of the federal
government, that sort of thing.
But, I get your point.
We're not here to discuss
monetary theory though.
We're here to discuss who
put you fucking nerds‐‐
sorry: 'engineers'‐‐
in business.
[chuckles]
We have information you work for
a Wall Street consortium‐‐
There are indeed certain
finance dudes involved.
I'll allow it.
You don't get to "allow."
That's for court.
Names.
You're going to
have to say the name.
There's no way
we're saying it.
Any number of
hedge fund magnates.
Uh.
Let's go alphabetical.
Axelrod, Robert,
for starters.
Yes, but none of us dealt with
that guy directly.
Then I'm gonna need
the person in town
who got paid off to let you
pull so much power
you caused a brownout
across the county.
Because he did.
Didn't he?
[sighs]
You can tell me
or I can prosecute you
until your lives are
smoking piles of rubble
and you're put in a place
where a calculator
is as close as
you'll get to a computer.
Your choice....
♪ dramatic music ♪
It's the Town Supervisor.
His name is....
♪♪♪
[door closes]
Gimme a ticket
for a carousel...
Airplane.
Gimme a ticket
for an airplane.
Ain't got time to
take a fast train‐‐
No. Those go
place to place,
I'm just going around
in circles.
Hence the carousel.
Why was I surprised when
Axelrod's name got mentioned?
Why weren't you?
Because I knew he was in this.
That's why I wanted
to go after it.
Hmm. I'm happy to be working
with you again, Chuck.
It has to help me advance
and grow this time.
I came over here‐‐
To help me make this place
the preeminent prosecutorial
office in the state.
Which we will.
We are.
And so you could
be my rabbi
for my congressional run,
end of next year.
But I need to be
on the inside.
To see the moves
as they are happening.
Not as they are
revealed to the world.
I need to be
your worthy assistant,
setting up the tricks and seeing
what you did with your hands.
[chuckles]
Not gonna be one of those rubes
in the audience gasping
at the magic anymore...
[scoffs]
You know.
The thing about change is:
even when you want to,
it's really fucking hard.
I know I have to
bring you in.
And that I can trust you.
I know it up here.
And I'm working on bringing it
down here, too.
Don't work on it.
Do it. Now.
You don't have to trust me,
but you have to trust me.
Ya know?
You're talking about
a partnership.
You offering that, for real?
If I don't, you staying?
You already
know the answer.
Then you know mine.
Yes.
And if you see me giving in
to the man I used to be...
I'll be all over it.
Good.
That's good.
As it should be.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[footsteps approaching]
Okay people,
town hall time.
This gonna be an every month
thing, like my period?
[laughter]
Keep that up and we can
make it a daily thing,
‐like you getting fisted.
‐Ohh!
As in up the junker
just like a punker.
That'll teach ya
to come at the brass‐‐
Spyros!
This forum should be
looked forward to.
It's a chance for us
to investigate issues
that affect our
culture here...
But this time it's serious.
There was an incident‐‐
someone reversing the water
on the toilet flush
in the unisex bathroom,
which sprayed a Mase Capper...
[laughter]
Gross negligence on the part of
building maintenance.
And, uh, oh,
I‐I do mean gross.
No one can prove
it was sabotage‐‐
Give me that.
[flask clinking]
This shit‐‐literally‐‐
has got to stop.
[Wendy] There were investors
on premises.
[Wendy] They may redeem.
[Wendy] We're making
ourselves look like
world‐class schmucks here.
So now it's time:
We need to come together
as one company, one team,
one family.
Now I want to hear from you all
about what exactly
the problem is here.
♪♪♪
[sighs]
This is a safe space.
♪♪♪
Fine, I'll speak.
Far from being welcoming
these last couple of months,
the Axe Cap folks have been
downright dickish...
‐What?!
‐[all murmuring]
Oh, did I not
properly welcome you?
Let me correct that rudeness
right now.
[imitates farting]
[laughter]
And just so you know I'm not
some thin‐skinned whiner,
I've been through Plebe Summer
at the Naval Academy.
‐[all murmuring]
‐Wow.
This goes beyond
practical jokes.
It's getting hostile
and it's unprofessional.
‐Exaggerated.
‐Totally.
I've got to say, this isn't
a one‐way street.
Oh, please‐‐
There's a...haughty,
condescending attitude
flowing from the quant side.
Bunch of stuck‐up
bitches and bros.
Yeah!
Lording their giant
cerebellums‐‐
And we're not some
Luddite dumbasses
just because we come from
an analysis‐driven‐‐
[chuckles]
Could've fooled me‐‐
So we don't want to debate
Full Stack versus Mean Stack
over bagels in the kitchen.
That doesn't mean
we can't do the math‐‐
Uh. Yes, it does‐‐
Some of us
can do the math!
Some of them can't.
Mafee.
‐Suck my Node. js, Bill‐‐
‐Oh!
You don't even know
what the fuck that means.
[indistinct shouting]
[Wendy] Alright. Hey.
I'll take you outside!
I will...
Hey! Hey! Hey!
‐Let's go!
‐Hey!
Meeting fucking adjourned.
For now.
But this is far from over.
Your homework for next time‐‐
‐Homework?
‐Fucking right.
You will‐‐
each of you will‐‐
[Wendy] come up with three
productive things that you,
[Wendy] personally, can do to
make this place function better.
Do it.
Or risk me getting really mad.
[indistinct conversations]
We both know it:
with this business
the way it is,
it's a fight
just to survive.
We need unity.
And this discord‐‐
I won't have it.
The one you should be having
this conversation with is Axe.
It's his Plug Uglies that are
doing the instigating.
And we both know that.
I did have this conversation
with him
before he left on his trip.
And?
He said something very similar
to what you just did.
All systems have to die
eventually.
Excuse me.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[engines shut off]
[birds chirping]
[exhales sharply]
You okay?
I don't know which end,
but I feel like
something's gonna come out.
Well. You can handle your drugs,
must have been the bumpy road.
[groans]
Bumpy is right.
I've got
a case of the grapes
like they talk about
in literature.
[sighs heavily]
You know,
what we took last night
is nature's antidepressant.
I see the value.
The clarity I had,
the perspective.
Everyone should
have the chance
to gaze upon their life
from that perch.
But I did not like what I saw
from that perch.
Well, archon,
we had to do something
to ring in your status.
Most never make it to a million
much less a billion.
And you have ascended to that
lofty plateau of ten of those.
If a personal net worth
of ten big tubs
doesn't bring a smile
to your face‐‐
'You're in the wrong
line of work?'
Mm.
Well. Maybe I am.
I thought all of this would
make me feel...
good.
If this doesn't...
Yeah.
What will?
Maybe this.
An invitation for you to do
a Vanity Fair cover photo shoot
for the "New Decas" issue,
all about the rarified few
who have hit
the ten billion dollar mark.
That cover is
valuable real estate.
Lot of fresh capital
flowing in after it.
It's worth it‐‐
No, no, we're here,
we're doing this.
We should see it through.
Thirty‐four hundred
more miles to go.
Yeah. Sure. Okay.
Somebody else will probably
get the cover.
♪ Is our claim to fame ♪
Probably...Mike Prince.
Huh...
So, what's your call?
♪ I can hear them say ♪
♪ Bad company ♪
♪ And I won't deny ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Bad, bad company ♪
♪ Till the day I die ♪
♪ Oh, yeah, till the day I die ♪
When did you know
it wasn't just me?
That doesn't matter
at all.
It's the New Decas!
The Ten‐Billion crew.
The crema on top of
the crème‐de‐la‐crème.
And you are right
in the center of it.
Because who is
more Deca than you?
What this gathering
seems to say is that:
We're all about the same.
Which is not
really the message
I'm looking to get out
to our investors.
You're not gonna
look the same.
Not with your posture,
the way you set your eyes...
And where you really set
yourself apart is the interview.
We'll do a five minute power
session before you sit‐‐
Is this why you made sure
she came with?
That and‐‐
So I wouldn't kill you?
I did think if
there were a witness,
it would be harder for you
to commit homicide.
Harder.
Not impossible.
But it's good you made sure
she's here.
Wend, let's go psych out
these motherfuckers,
so they look shook
on that cover.
We can do that.
We will do that.
[door bangs]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Ah, the 'great man.'
♪♪♪
Mm‐hmm.
Mike...
'Lo, Axe.
‐Scooter.
‐Wagsy.
I see you're still
making sure
his hand never touches
a doorknob.
As you are trying and failing to
do the same for your general.
Michael Prince.
Michael "Thomas Aquinas" Prince.
Really?
Always an honor
to meet a legend.
And yes, just like my father
and his father and his and his.
[chuckles]
Better than St. Blaise,
patron saint
of throat ailments.
If that were the name
my Dad and the rest wore,
I'd bear it proudly.
I have no doubt
you'd find a way to be proud.
With just a dash
of humility on top.
A man with no humility is
a man with no pride at all.
Alright,
let's do this.
♪ dramatic music ♪
[indistinct conversations]
How are ya?
♪♪♪
Turn a little bit
into‐‐Yep.
♪♪♪
Couldn't get him
the cover alone, huh?
[chuckles]
Wags, so sad.
We didn't want
a solo cover.
Too much focus,
too much attention.
We are at the place
in our lives‐‐all of us‐‐
where it is time to turn
our focus to others.
You guys got to feel
the same way, right?
No, of course,
mos' def.
Indube.
Okay, everybody,
eyes over here.
[camera shutter clicking]
You know, they didn't tell me
you'd be here, Axe.
Yeah, they failed to
mention that detail
in the pitch to me, too.
Been a faster "yes" had I known.
[photographer] Awesome.
Ball coach in high school
told it to me, I never forgot:
You make sure the guy
passing the ball
to the guy passing it to you
gets as much credit
as you do for
putting it in the hoop.
Yeah. But it was you
won Mr. Basketball
in the state of Indiana
that year, wasn't it?
Not the other guys.
[photographer] Yep.
Only because my teammates
were so great.
[photographer] Great.
It's much more fun
to share the praise.
Oh. Sure it is. Wish my whole
team was here with me.
Yeah.
Which is why I was hoping
you'd make it to 'The Mike'
this year.
We could keep this going.
I already accepted.
As you always do,
but then you never show up.
Well. I always mean to,
you know?
We'd love to host you.
You and I could do
a fireside chat.
It'd be the highlight
of the conference.
Ah.
Maybe this year we will.
[camera shutter clicking]
[photographer] Awesome.
This looks great.
He seems in prime form.
So how was your trip?
Good.
I met
the Creator of Souls.
[camera beeping, clicking]
...Oh.
[photographer] Turn your bodies
[photographer] a little bit over
on that one, please.
Yeah, that's great.
No. That's good. Perfect.
[camera beeps, clicks]
That was really good.
You got it?
Yeah. I think we're great.
[photographer] Alright.
Let's break down the set
and, uh, get ready for
the individual portraits.
[indistinct conversations]
Got a problem upstate.
The mining town.
I can't sit for the portrait
or the interview.
We reschedule
for tomorrow.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[door closes]
♪♪♪
[keys clacking]
[sighs]
You asked for me.
[door closes]
I know that a) you don't
directly work for Axe Cap
and b) this isn't
exactly your job
but I was hoping you might
help me with something.
Why am I the one that‐‐
It's a sensitive thing.
[inhales deeply]
It needs to be released
to the right people,
in the right way,
I figure with your experience,
with your delicate touch‐‐
With my connections
from
my W Magazine and NY Post
gossip days?
Yeah.
You sure
you want to do this?
Chuck was supposed to do it.
He didn't.
So when one of us wants
to...move on,
with other people,
in public,
I don't want them to think
it's some kind of a scoop.
Give the press
a little red meat
so they don't come looking for
the kill later.
Smart.
There are a couple phrases
I might switch around.
Do it.
I'll email it to you.
I trust you to
make it better.
[chuckles] That's what I'd say
to someone to let them know
that I see them,
that they're special.
Leave 'em feeling great
for doing me a service.
But you're smoother.
I think I might be able to
learn something from you.
I will handle this
right away.
But first,
let me learn from you.
How do we fix this bullshit
between your crew and ours?
It's getting tribal
out there.
I'm not sure
that's the problem.
It might just be
the result of the problem.
Instead of thinking about
the culture conflict,
maybe think about
the culture itself.
In what way?
Mafee says
Axe Cap used to be
the most fun place
to work on earth.
At one point.
Yeah. For a time.
Not lately.
And not just from Mafee.
The stories are out there‐‐
the way I hear it,
this place used to be
outrageous.
Eating contests,
body sushi,
impromptu trips on
the private jet to Amsterdam
for frites and spacecakes
from The Bulldog.
Fucking fun, you know,
where anything could happen.
Now, everyone's feeling
the pressure of the numbers.
[Lauren] The quarter.
The P&L.
Important. Also dry.
[Lauren] And pressure kills
results. I can rise above.
But if you want the rest of
these folks to stop
thinking of each other
as enemies
and come together
as a unit,
you've got to put some fun
back in this bish.
Start tossing midgets
or something.
Or call 'em little people
if that makes you feel better.
But toss 'em.
[chuckles]
You're right.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[door closes]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Becky, Wendy Rhoades.
Long time.
[door opens]
[Wags] I spoke to Bach:
The crypto‐mine action
was done by the State AG‐‐
not the US Attorney
or the DA.
It was Chuck Rhoades.
Isn't that fucking cute.
Okay.
So. We've got to
minimize damage
and figure out a way to get up
and running elsewhere.
Also. We need to
talk to the other
fund managers that
we partnered with.
But you're the only one
who might be able
to make this go away.
‐[Axe] Yeah.
Okay. So.
I'll see what I can do.
But in the meantime you make
sure that the click monkeys
and our inside man get
some nice insulation, okay‐‐
get 'em good lawyers
and make 'em understand
they should stand up.
Yep.
On it.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[cellphone vibrates]
[sighs]
[inhales deeply]
Hello.
Hey, Chuck.
I need to see you...
As soon as
you can do it.
I'll tell you what
it's about in person.
Well. I'm, uh,
in the middle of something,
it's going to
have to be tomorrow.
What you're in the middle of
is what it's all about.
Needs to be now.
[chuckles]
Well. Sorry, pard,
it's going to have to hold.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[breathes deeply]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[Taylor] Rage room?
I don't see a situation
where I'd‐‐
I can't imagine the pressure
building inside of you
as you try to navigate
what you're trying to.
All without ever
losing your cool
or letting on
how you really feel.
Just letting everyone believe
I see the world the way they do.
I've got this.
Just so you know,
there's an outlet
for when you can't keep it
off your face anymore.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[door opens]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hmm.
♪♪♪
I was about to
break my PB.
For swimming in place?
This is the most time and energy
efficient way to get laps in.
No need for flip turns.
Ah.
And I'm not sure questioning
my workout practices
is something I'd do‐‐
Then let me make a flip turn
and tell you about the call
I just got from Axe.
I have him in
a Peruvian Necktie.
You know what that is?
No. But it sounds tight.
Mm.
Gets even tighter.
I made a certain bust
in the crypto space.
One that's costing him
a lot of money.
Which you wouldn't have
stumbled upon but for me.
What I need now is for you to
get close to any small,
seemingly off‐the‐cuff meetings
you see happening,
to listen to
the whispers, to‐‐
You still don't know how
all the pieces go together
on the crypto thing, huh?
I can't tie it to Axe as is,
if that's what you're asking.
Which means this thing
won't touch him.
Axe still isn't
talking to me about
what you might call
'the deckle of the chop.'
Mm. Just nibbling
at the edges, huh?
And, uh,
swimming in place.
As you see, yes.
But you have both the
imagination and the perseverance
to convince yourself that
this is not treading water.
What this pool says about you
is that you have the capacity
to fight boredom,
the tide, the endless,
beating march against you.
These are basically
the only qualities of my own
that are worth a damn.
They speak well of you.
And are almost the direct
opposite of the qualities
that make Axe the shining light
of his age.
Oh. People like us must destroy
people like him.
You're not wrong.
I understand how
and why you see it that way.
As I, of course, do.
I will try my best.
I trust that you will.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[pool beeps, hums]
[exhales sharply]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Did you serve me best by
letting me walk into that shoot,
or would it have been
better to prep me,
deal with the consequences
of me refusing to go?
Well, which is it?
I haven't decided yet.
Yes you have.
And you're here to thank me.
I'm here because when I hit
the ten billion mark,
I felt a flicker
of excitement
about the same as finding
a twenty dollar bill
on the sidewalk,
and then...nothing.
The ayahuasca...
I had a moment of seeing
the whole thing, from above,
from inside,
from a whole other dimension.
But even from
every vantage point.
What I saw was ugliness,
and while maybe
I hadn't lost yet,
there was no feeling that‐‐
[sighs] that I'd won.
None at all.
You would never allow yourself
to take it in,
to appreciate it,
because that would mean
acknowledging you'd done well,
succeeded,
won the game.
That there was a place to pause.
Or stop.
Is it a game
can be won?
Eh. The answer to that is
a philosophical axiom‐‐
true without needing
to be proved:
When you decide you've won,
you've won.
Until then, no.
Hmm.
[indistinct conversations]
So you gonna thank me?
You asked for
Vanity Fair.
[Axe] This is
last month's.
The one he's gracing
the cover of.
The only one
that matters.
It's not out yet.
It's hitting online
shortly.
[door opens]
Hmm.
[door closes]
I'd like to try this.
Huh. On it, sire.
Update on
the crypto situation.
[Victor] Our miners
walked.
Huh. That was quick.
[Victor] Yeah.
You think
they cut a deal?
If those little shits
cut a deal, I will‐‐
Of course they cut a deal.
What else?
The Town Supervisor
was picked up.
He's being held
without bail.
‐[cellphone vibrates]
‐They're squeezing him.
Vanity Fair
article dropped.
[keys clacking]
Those ink‐stained
motherfuckers.
Sonofabitch.
Mike Prince made a move.
[Wags] Fuck.
We'll have this taken down.
We'll pay to pull back
the print version.
We'll pulp
the whole goddamned run.
Enough, Wags.
You got flanked by his guy‐‐
Fucking Scooter‐‐
And I got flanked by him.
[Axe] [chuckles]
"Investors with
a traditional strategy,
like Axe,
have become legends,
and they deserve
to be legends.
But legends fade,
and their value is then
mostly in the stories
about them,
lessons to future generations
on what to do, what not to do."
Fucking Prince's
pull quote.
Fucker is putting me
out to pasture.
‐Cocksuc‐‐
‐There's more:
[Axe] "But I'm not interested in
becoming a story just yet.
So I change
with the times.
Investors like me, who are
also business operators,
are always on
the cutting edge,
[Axe] shifting to machine
learning and impact investing,
not just for profit but for
the profitability of mankind."
Prick.
You want me to look over
his companies for weakness?
Maybe put some shorts on?
No.
He's too big,
he's too powerful.
Man's a Grizz,
Kodiak Island sized.
And dangerous.
[sighs]
We got to get close
to bring him down.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[cellphone vibrates]
Hey. Good looking cover,
Mike, congratulations.
Kind of you
to call, Axe.
I thought we were all
going to be on there,
I don't know how the hell
they decided
to go with
that picture of me.
Yeah, of course.
How could you.
Me? I don't need
that kind of press‐‐
[Axe] you know, investors and
all‐‐ but good for you.
Anyway, I've, uh,
decided the time is right.
[Axe] Let's have that
fireside chat.
Oh, that's great news.
Great.
It'll be the highlight
of the conference.
I'm looking forward to‐‐
Yeah, me too.
Try to take me out
in some magazine?
I'll come see you
on your home fucking turf.
[sighs]
[woman] Motherfucker,
just let me in.
[woman #2] Who are you?
[woman] I will run
right through you.
[woman] Who am I?
Let me in.
[woman #2] Yeah, I'm just gonna
call security,
and you need to
stop yelling.
[woman] No, you're not gonna
call security, you stupid dope.
[woman] I will freakin'
dance on your head.
I need to see
Wendy Rhoades.
Not without
an appointment.
You tell Wendy Rhoades
to get out of her little office
[woman] right now
before I go back there
[woman] and fuck the head
off her!
I told you to never come to
my place of work!
You're gonna have to
throw me out.
Whoa!
Ugh! Ugh!
Ugh! Ugh!
[grunts]
Ohh!
Oh!
[both laughing]
♪♪♪
[Wendy] Axe Capital,
MaseCap,
I give you, the champion
of the world,
The MAN!
Becky Lynch!
[cheers and applause]
Thank you! Thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah.
Now, none of youse
know this,
because Wendy over here
keeps her mouth shut,
but when I was in my low
and lost period of my life,
before I became The Man,
it was Wendy who convinced me
that finally a woman could be
the biggest star
in professional wrestling.
And she was right.
I am The Man
in that business now.
[cheers and applause]
So when she asked me
to come here
and share a few
professional secrets,
there was no way
I was lettin' her down.
So secret number one,
the real Kayfabe shit:
The greatest thing
that you can do in my game
is to "put someone over,"
to make them look good.
[light laughter]
In wrestling,
we don't all like each other.
‐That part's not for show.
‐[laughter]
I honestly cannot stand some of
them women that I have to fight.
But at the end of the day,
we're all part of
a bigger family, alright?
And we all 'do the job'
for each other.
Which is what we call it when
we let someone else pin us
because there is nothing more
noble than taking a beatin'
and makin' somebody else
look good
for the good of the whole
goddamned operation.
And, no. No.
Sometimes it doesn't feel good.
We all want to fight.
We all want to win.
And when the time is right,
you shut your mouth
and you do the job.
And then maybe you move
to a different town,
and someone
does the job for you.
Can I just say
holy shit!
Holy shit!
[cheers and applause]
You may, Mafee.
Now. Becky,
who could obviously
kick my ass to the ground,
just did the job for me.
To remind us that we're all
in this together,
and what a fucking pisser it is
to work here‐‐
where a stunt like this is,
you know, just a Tuesday.
[light laughter]
So: are we ready to
do the fucking job
for each other or what?
[cheers and applause]
♪ mid‐tempo music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
That was impressive.
A grand gesture.
I can see how much you care
about this place.
And it moves me to say:
I'll do what I can to
get my people to lean in.
Good.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[indistinct conversations]
If that's how you feel, then
you should probably tell him.
Tell him what?
Whatever it is
you're really doing here.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You think this will fix
the adjustment problems
of our teams?
And also fix the problems
between me and you?
We need to feel
like one company.
Or none of it will work‐‐
And then I would confide
in you again, right?
♪♪♪
I am not here because
you forced me to be.
Or because Chuck did.
I am here as Chuck's operative
because he wants to get you.
I know.
I figured there was
a good chance of it anyway.
How?
If you were really here
'cause I forced you to be,
your body language
would be different.
I have tried to
slump my shoulders.
But if it were real,
you'd try to avoid showing me
you were hurting.
You'd walk with
your shoulders back...
If you didn't trust me, why did
you want me working for you?
'Cause I thought
our goals were aligned.
And I still think
they can be.
Even after
what I just told you?
You need to be here.
Doing this...
not just for a living,
not just to keep your name
strong in the business...
but to feel alive.
Maybe even to be alive.
You need that
feeling you get
when you see what
no one else can.
And bet on that vision.
And be right.
'Cause you, Taylor, are
a profit generating organism.
You're just put together
that way.
That's what I need.
And why we are aligned.
No matter your
conflicted feelings.
And Rhoades?
Fight him off,
neutralize him.
And if I can't?
Fuck 'can't.'
We just agreed
on who you are.
The person who does.
♪♪♪
Okay. I will.
♪♪♪
I see that.
Good.
Now, how do you recommend
I deal with Rhoades?
He is going to continue
to act like a friend.
Remind him of why actually
being your friend
is the smartest
course of action.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[computer dings]
♪♪♪
Oh, what the fuck...
♪♪♪
[line ringing]
You've reached Wendy Rhoades.
Please leave a message.
‐[line beeps]
‐Uh. Yeah, Wend, it's me.
I see we've reached the place
of unilateral action.
Not gracious, or cool,
or reflective in any way of
how we've fucking gone about‐‐
♪♪♪
just give me a call back
after you get this.
♪♪♪
[cellphone thuds]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
[sighs]
[door closes]
Everything okay?
Oh. Just some upheaval on
the home front, as you know.
Everything'll
settle into place.
What do you got there?
Something meaningful.
♪ soft music ♪
♪♪♪
Ahh.
[sighs]
[sniffs]
[chuckles]
Ahh.
...'Never give in.
Never in nothing, great or
small; large or petty.
Never give in,
except to convictions of honour
and good sense.
Never yield to force.
Never yield to
the apparently
overwhelming might
of the enemy.'
[taps on book]
I went back to my book seller
a few months after I sold it.
He told me the set
had been bought.
And I couldn't find
any others.
No. It seems the, uh,
market on first‐edition
Churchills had been cornered.
That's what
I do to markets.
Ah.
[chuckles]
But now, I am returning these to
you as an act of friendship...
Because I want you to remember
when we weren't friends,
how the world was a very hot
and uncomfortable place.
And to that end,
I would like you to also
help me keep it cool.
♪♪♪
How shall I do that?
That crypto mine that
you busted upstate‐‐
Mm.
I'd appreciate it
if you'd drop the case.
Well, Bobby,
I very much want to be friends.
[chuckles]
And I was surprised‐‐
dismayed really‐‐
when we made the arrests
and found out you were
in the middle of that.
Not really in the middle‐‐
maybe loosely connected.
All the same...
I can't just drop it,
not altogether.
It's too far along.
Questions will be raised,
prying eyes will be focused.
Uh huh.
Then what can
you do for me?
[sighs]
Best I can do is make it a civil
and not a criminal action.
Which will be hard to sell
to my team and my office
and is an act of friendship
that goes beyond the norm.
It is, in fact, of the kind
you just demonstrated.
So, it'll cost you
some money in fines,
but as you like to remind the
world, you got plenty of that.
Yeah. Sure, Chuck.
That I do.
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[door opens]
[door closes]
[indistinct conversations]
It's a triple cross.
Taylor told Axelrod
why they're at Axe Cap.
How'd you figure it?
He came at me,
to remind me of
the last time I went at him.
What it cost me.
What are we gonna
do about it?
He wants to be friends,
so we'll be friends.
Right up until
the moment we drop him.
Unless you think
that's too, uh, "Old Chuck."
No, that's just Chuck.
[chuckles]
As it should be.
As it ever will be.
Okay.
Here's what I'm thinking.
♪ Patti Smith's
"Summer Cannibals" ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ I was down in Georgia ♪
♪ Nothing was as real ♪
♪ As the street
beneath my feet ♪
♪ Descending into air ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ The cauldron was a‐bubbling ♪
♪ The flesh was lean ♪
♪ And the women moved forward ♪
♪ Like piranhas in a stream ♪
♪ They spread themselves
before me ♪
♪ An offering so sweet ♪
♪ And they beckoned
and they beckoned ♪
♪ "Come on, darling, eat" ♪
♪ Eat the summer cannibals ♪
[grunting]
♪ Eat, eat, eat ♪
♪ You eat the summer cannibals ♪
♪ Eat, eat, eat ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ They circled around me ♪
♪ Natives in a ring ♪
♪ And I saw their souls
a‐withering ♪
♪ Like snakes in chains ♪
♪ And they wrapped themselves
around me ♪
♪ Mmm, what a treat ♪
♪ And they rattled their tales
hissin' ♪
♪ "Come on, let's eat" ♪
♪ Eat the summer cannibals ♪
♪ Eat, eat ♪