Billions: The Gulag Archipelago

September 8, 2023 3:02 PM - Season 7, Episode 5

There's a lot of money to be made in helium, but Prince is off courting Killer Mike's endorsement. In the meantime, Chuck is trying to handle a potentially embarrassing situation for a friend.
posted by Etrigan (3 comments total)

I know we're eventually going to see all the pieces come together, but this is the first time in a while that the show has felt like there's scheming, and that's where Billions is at its best.
posted by Etrigan at 3:03 PM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

I like the financial and legal schemes because I don't notice until those get exceptionally silly. The political stuff is rough this season because -- look, it is very plausible that someone like Mike Prince would spend a lot of money convincing himself he could become president. It is even possible that finance guys would think it possible. It is not believable that Wendy or Chuck would be worried about it. So... Wendy's storyline is particularly rough in that regard. I usually don't have trouble with suspension of disbelief, but I hate presidential politics fiction because it usually vibes very wrong.
posted by grandiloquiet at 7:19 PM on September 15, 2023

Yeah, their sheer bloody terror does kinda seem weirdly over the top. I guess we're supposed to believe that since Trump happened, the idea of a rich guy buying his way to the White House is just inherently frightening, but Prince just seems like any junior Senator who's been in DC for a couple of years and thinks he's got the answer to all of America's problems.
posted by Etrigan at 5:50 AM on September 16, 2023