First episode is up for streaming
I'm not sure if yesterday or next week is the official release date

Good to have this show back. And it took me 3 seasons to really come to accept these people live in a universe where every third line is a pop culture reference.

will have to try to catch up by midseason or something, I heard the showrunner on bomani's podcast and was like "wait, this is what the show is about?"

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

almost too much at times because it's hard to give everyone sufficient play

it cam get comically heavy on pop culture references, but it's more of a quirk than a crutch.

> And it took me 3 seasons to
>really come to accept these people live in a universe where
>every third line is a pop culture reference.

I finally caught up to this show last month and while it's entertaining...the writing really frustrates me at times.

Axe's wife is the worst. I'm glad she was phased out last season for the most part.

Dr. Wendy isn't nearly as bad as axe's wife but she isn't good either. Her supposed value to the firm (and other competing firms) is really farcical, her observations tend to be fairly obvious and often times her appearances ruin some really good momentum within an episode.

but yeah, it's entertaining overall and I love the interactions with the DA office so I'm here for season 4 but will probably complain a lot haha.

Lara was awful. They didn't know who to write her. First they tried to throw her out there as this working class down ass chick turned rich (we know this because she reminded us of her roots every other line), then they settled her into the nagging wife. now it seems they just sent her away. his kids didn't serve much purpose either beyond letting us know he has kids.

speaking of Kids, Chuck and Wendy's kids seem to have just vanished LOL

what specifically did you disagree with?

You've noticed the never ending pop culture references (and awkward celeb cameos) so surely you've noticed the constant analogies. Do you appreciate this aspect of the writing?

And then there's Dr. Wendy...ugh.


>Lara was awful. They didn't know who to write her. First they
>tried to throw her out there as this working class down ass
>chick turned rich (we know this because she reminded us of her
>roots every other line)

yes, awful

> then they settled her into the
>nagging wife. now it seems they just sent her away. his kids
>didn't serve much purpose either beyond letting us know he has
>kids.

there was also the brief intro of her as the psycho mom when she threw a tantrum cause her kid wandered into Dr. Wendy's office for some candy and a deeply invasive psychotherapy session.

and then they brought lara back because axe needed her expert street savvy advice on who to give bonuses to at the firm...lolz.

I love her cross between concerned doc, and everyone's string puller.

The show is over the top on many levels, and the references/analogies are part of this universe. I can see how it can come off grating but I enjoy it. The pop culture references did bug me the first couple seasons but I've accepted it.

>there was also the brief intro of her as the psycho mom when
>she threw a tantrum cause her kid wandered into Dr. Wendy's
>office for some candy and a deeply invasive psychotherapy
>session.
>
>and then they brought lara back because axe needed her expert
>street savvy advice on who to give bonuses to at the
>firm...lolz.

Yeah, they were never able to sell us on why she was this kick ass women who was so amazing that a guy as shady as Axe never even lied to her (except that one time).

I think my favorite Lara scene was after that Lady Axe set her up with for a business meeting was patronizing to her, and she complained to Axe "She treated me like I was just the wife" and Axe had to break it down for her.

>I love her cross between concerned doc, and everyone's string
>puller.

She's had too many cringeworthy scenes IMO. Seducing Mafee, having a 5 min convo with that astronaut and determining that she's not fit for space cause she's never been in a relationship before, being paid however much to hold that little dude's hand at the poker tourney and then him taking a break mid-hand to get her advice, etc. I just feel like they try so hard with her cause the show is lacking in the female lead dept.


>I think my favorite Lara scene was after that Lady Axe set her
>up with for a business meeting was patronizing to her, and she
>complained to Axe "She treated me like I was just the wife"
>and Axe had to break it down for her.

yeah that was fun and i feel like her screen time was severely cut back after that scene. that seemed like the moment the writers conceded 'ok this chick sucks lets move on'.

the whole thing with the hangover IV for $1000/pop annoyed me as well since that shit has been available for years now and it costs like $150. I'm probably being way too analytical with this show and need to accept it for what it is but it just comes off as lazy sometimes.

really bad.
I liked the poker game and her read of the astronaut girl though

at least we saw Axe's fam get phased out. Chuck & Wendy's kids just got disappeared. I wonder if they'll be back when he's campaigning

of the show IMO.

same goes for reducing Dr. Wendy's therapy sessions.

cringey writing or not the show isn't getting bogged down in useless shit.

I was able to pick right back up without having to review the last two to three episodes of last season.

Chuck is my guy. Too bad he can't get it up unless he's getting the dog snot beat out of him. Wendy just wants that plain ole regular loving now.

Axe is that dude!

Can't wait to see how Connerty gets his issue after messing with Chuck.

His face when asking lol
Poor Wendy

Then, when the fine ass Asian lady told Wendy that Chuck's issues were deep, I thought that there relationship is gonna wrap.

It also made me think about why Wendy stays so close to Axe. Chuck's issues probably make her look at Axe in a totally different way and may even contribute to some underlying attraction she has towards his alpha-maleness.

being around Axe and Dollar bill n' them

also why she pushes Chuck so hard. She can't be peeing on him AND have him out here losing.

Chuck Sr: "I'd slap your face and tell you to act like a man if I did'n't think it would turn ya on"

Chuck: "That's not how it works, dad!"

So he buys up a ton of shares in the company (25% i think) then plants the spy in there to record the whole money skimming scandal which hurts the company...why would he want that? Just to show ol' girl the things he's capable of? He kept saying it made them money somehow...how would that make them money?

Or was Eureka a competitor of the company they are invested in?

They had the market on lock partly because of their shady payroll practices. Once they got exposed it allowed her company to jump to the front of the line, but it was worth less for her because Axe bought a piece.

What I was unclear on was where Taylor fits in because she seemed pissed to know that hurting Taylor was his real motivation

i don't get why the lady would care about Taylor or maybe she wasn't but just figured out that Axe would only want to partner to make himself stronger against Taylor.

Speaking of Taylor, I don't see what leverage she has/had to make demands to Malkovic. Sure she played that well and he clearly figured it out and maybe he respects taht about her but even still...how does this give her any sorta bargaining power against him? She still needs him more than he needs her.

i'm remembering him saying only God knows why he's saying yes to her

I just got the sense that she didn't like Axe hiding his motivation, partly because it was more about a personal vendetta vs just making money, plus she probably doesn't want to be in the middle of their beef, especially with Grigor on team Taylor. Plus she let Axe fuck.

what's his character's purpose?
he adds nothing to the plot, he's not a foil to Axe, he's a fuckin turd in every way possible

I thought he'd drive his Porsche off the 39th St. Pier after Dollar Bill sonned him last season

he's not a threat or of any use. i was surprised to see him back this season honestly

>he's not a threat or of any use. i was surprised to see him
>back this season honestly

characters are interacting, Spiros interjects with something awkward and overconfident. Everyone makes a screwface at him or tells him to fuck off. He acts surprised/slightly hurt and exits

it aint that funny and pretty sure they jacked that from the Finch character in American Pie haha

I forget his name...he was way more fleshed out and even had some great moments but they kept bringing him back to the same stupid storyline

The writing this season is now so far gone and over the top that adjectives fail me
"I have the solution...the final solution" just...wow

i haven't seen last night's episode yet, but i'm starting to get concerned


>The writing this season is now so far gone and over the top
>that adjectives fail me
>"I have the solution...the final solution" just...wow
>

clearly this is a polarizing topic though.

some people in here lauding the writing and others saying its trash.

I dont mind them using references and the occasional goofy side story as long as they dont lean on it *too* much. I mentioned before that the pop culture drops are more of a quirk than a crutch, but they've leaned too hard on the latter this season (see Wags singing Chaka Khan). I dont want this show going full Family Guy.

That said, I felt like ep4 is steering back in the right direction.

>I dont mind them using references and the occasional goofy
>side story as long as they dont lean on it *too* much. I
>mentioned before that the pop culture drops are more of a
>quirk than a crutch, but they've leaned too hard on the latter
>this season (see Wags singing Chaka Khan). I dont want this
>show going full Family Guy.
>
>That said, I felt like ep4 is steering back in the right
>direction.

now that he's not under constant attack from Chuck. With those legal issues always looming overhead, dude and his entire crew were tense. So, they can breathe a little bit. Hence, the humorous tone coming from Ax Cap's folks.

Of all the Showtime series I've watched
(Homeland, Shameless, Californication, House of Lies, Billions)
They all started off strong, the first two seasons were always quality
Then they start a gradual decline where by seasons 5 and 6 they become unwatchable
recycled plots, lazy writing, cartoon villains, dragging story arcs
Next thing you know it's Season 8
I'm sticking with Billions this season but it's feeling like Neil going to the hotel to kill Waingro
(see what I did there?)

>So, they can breathe a little bit. Hence, the
>humorous tone coming from Ax Cap's folks.
>

Now, they’re all appearing to be freer.

I do agree with 3x on the downfall of those other series. Let’s get through this one and see what happens. There could be a ton of validity in his assessment which then causes us all to mean mug the tv.

>Now, they’re all appearing to be freer.

this does make sense.

however, they've really amped up the analogy thing with all of their characters which makes me think the writers are just really feeling themselves.

> (see Wags singing Chaka Khan). I dont want this
>show going full Family Guy.
>
>That said, I felt like ep4 is steering back in the right
>direction.

im liking this season better simply because the pace is better as mentioned in my other post. there's less starting and stopping which allows me to more quickly get over the corny one-liners.

He's all kinds of wrong for coming clean like that after they discussed it. Now Wendy and the kids (they exist again) have to eat it.

Grigor thing was abrupt and anticlimactic. Like an early season reboot. Axe vs Taylor (especially without Grigor) just isnt as compelling as Axe vs Chuck.

Right now I'm more interested in Chuck vs Jock/Brian/Sacker

He should be most scared of Sacker

> Now Wendy and the kids (they exist again)

this was the perfect out

They don't seem at all like a couple who has kids.

At least Axe having a family felt realistic. We just have no good reason to see them.

>Right now I'm more interested in Chuck vs Jock/Brian/Sacker
>
>He should be most scared of Sacker

And I'm still wondering how did their relationship become so tainted. Chuck and Sacker were good together. She's ambitions though and seems to always want to be on the side that she believes is winning. Cutthroat and is angling hard for her own influence and power to be increased. She's just like Chuck. The perfectly cloned protege if you will.

Pretty much the same way he just did Wendy. He asked Sacker if he could hit up her dad for dirt on Jock. Sacker said absolutely not, and Chuck went ahead and did it anyway. I can't remember exactly what she told him. She kept her cool but said something like remember what you're teaching me.

Even if we extract the thing with her daddy she told Chuck when.she was standing behind jock you recognized I was a political animal. Chuck knows hed have made the same move in her shoes.


>And I'm still wondering how did their relationship become so
>tainted. Chuck and Sacker were good together. She's ambitions
>though and seems to always want to be on the side that she
>believes is winning. Cutthroat and is angling hard for her own
>influence and power to be increased. She's just like Chuck.
>The perfectly cloned protege if you will.
>

>RE: Chuck fucked up when he put Sacker's dad in harm's way
>Pretty much the same way he just did Wendy. He asked Sacker
>if he could hit up her dad for dirt on Jock. Sacker said
>absolutely not, and Chuck went ahead and did it anyway. I
>can't remember exactly what she told him. She kept her cool
>but said something like remember what you're teaching me.

Sacker being spiteful or vengeful as a result of it.

Chuck is def a selfish dude who's hellbent on winning no matter what.

Wendy fostered it into him and then wanted him to just shut it off when it was convenient for her.

Your point about Sacker is taken though.

Or that she turned on Chuck out of spite. I think she was being pragmatic. It's just that Chuck's move with her dad stripped her of any hesitation to join what she felt was the winning side.

And Chuck doesn't deserve loyalty from ANYONE. He has a history of serving people up rather than take an L. Aside from ignoring Sacker's wishes, he straight up sacrificed Ira to get at Axe. Aside from publicly humiliating Wendy now, he put her whole career at risk when he snooped through her laptop to get at Axe. There are surely a few more examples i'm missing.

It's an interesting angle you mentioned about Wendy pushing him to win at all costs, but not realizing what that means. Also the fact that Axe has shown more loyalty to Wendy in that sense than Chuck has.

why I say that she’s been pushing him.

She knows exactly which buttons to push to get him firing on all cylinders and to where the game slows down for him. In other words, she helps him get him into the zone.

not on some dutiful political wife steez but more the power dynamic
she's always worn the pants in the marriage, so after she calms down she'll come back with a vengeance and regulate on Chuck
possibly by having him cut all ties with dad
(which is doomed to fail but Chuck will play along)
same thing with Grigor, he's not going quietly into the night sipping vodka and eating caviar

is downright amazing.

especially with how morally opposed she was to jock's insistence on prosecuting the innocent inmate.

but maybe im being naive to think any of that matters in the grand scheme of career ascension.

I'm sure she'd come to realize Chuck never cared about having to prosecute that innocent inmate, as much he was just salty about Jock picking his cases for him. He used Sacker's sense of justice to bring her on board in his plot to bring down Jock

plus she's always been a climber, and has zero reason to believe chuck wouldn't serve her up too if it came down to it.

What’s her motivation? She’s always been one to stay loyal to Axe without crossing the line. Why do it now?

When Taylor reached out, Wendy saw an opening. Use her own vulnerability which is real and while exploiting Taylor's empathy. Pretty ruthless

I can dig it

Probably her only screen time this season so make sure to remind us shes a street smart neighborhood girl

On some meta shit it was Lara saying good bye to the viewers. I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU GUYS DIDN'T LIKE MY CHARACTER. MAYBE YOU JUST CANT HANDLE A DOWN SCRAPPY WORKING CLASS GIRL

telling Axe he married her for her street smarts and neighborhood roots lol

Thanks for reminding us for the 1000th time!

it will literally be called Street Smarts. It helps young tough working class girls (she can relate) recognize their potential. She'll be asking axe to donate, reminding him once again why this cause is so important to her. and he'll put up the money, but mostly because it helps with some complicated scheme he's running.

this is showtime so we're talking season 9

Funny part about all this is that she plays the blue collar girl schtick all while demanding billions of dollars lmao

>Funny part about all this is that she plays the blue collar
>girl schtick all while demanding billions of dollars lmao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT0zn-mWJ2Y

Still I'm probably more team Chuck than Axe since Axe managed to out aint-shit Chuck this season. Love how dude thought him and Rebecca were even. Also why would you depend on Rudy of all people to pull off your plan?

The weakest season for sure, but I still enjoy the hell out of this show. I'm glad they realigned the rivalry back where it's supposed to be. I don't even care about the how.

My favorite small moment of this episode was Jock telling Chuck "You know what happens when a lumberjack yells timber and doesn't get out of the way?" Chuck shaking his head to pretend he doesn't know the answer, and Jock smugly saying "he gets crushed by a tree" LOL

in 10 categories-

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2019/6/7/18656652/billions-season-4-finale-similes

and ain't this the truth
“Characters on Billions do not talk like they are from anywhere other than Billions.”

i gave up on this show midway through the season. the jump the shark moments were piling up on a regular basis..

you clearly were never gonna like it. I'm not sure why you were watching. most of my hate watches are shows i used to like that fell off but i was vested. (Shameless comes to mind). I Do hate watch The Mayans but that's mainly because I miss hate watching the later seasons of SOA lol

.

But this is Showtime

I will tune in for next season since the finale was set up for what SHOULD be the final confrontation

I don't think Taylor escapes either

Think Axe smashed his overnight guest?

Is this the last we see of Connerty? (hope so)

Does Sacker parlay her double cross into a SDNY or US attorney spot then go after Chuck?

Will Dollar Bill finally toss Spyros off the nearest bridge?

I think they did but they won't address it until a flasback in epsidoe 5.

>But this is Showtime

Yeah, Showtime will run this long after Lewis and Giamiatti dip out. They'll happily make this about Ben Kim (turned evil) vs Mafee in season 12 if they wanna keep going.

>Is this the last we see of Connerty? (hope so)

We have to at least get a prison visit from either Chuck, or Axe trying to use him against Chuck.

>Does Sacker parlay her double cross into a SDNY or US attorney
>spot then go after Chuck?

Yeah, i don't know her play. She has political aspirations so she may go another route.

>Will Dollar Bill finally toss Spyros off the nearest bridge?

I more see Dollar Bill and Spyros in a situation where they accidentally killed someone and are trying to get rid of the body.