Billions has always explored the one percent’s relationship with the rest of the world in a way most people have never considered.
It has shown how having staggering amounts of money can render some people above the law because, in a predominantly capitalistic world, those with a lot of money have a millennium’s worth of a head start over others.
But most of what we saw throughout the six seasons seemed a little out of the realm of possibility since the first time we were coming alive to the facts presented was through dramatization.
It all became too real when Mike Prince’s plan was revealed in the Billions Season 6 finale. It felt eerily familiar that a billionaire who overestimated himself thought he was the solution to the common person’s problem and would do anything to prove it. Anything.
We will discuss everything that went down on Billions Billions Season 7 Episode 1, so if you’re yet to get all caught up, beware of spoilers.
If real life has been any indication, nothing good can come from a billionaire dipping their toes into politics, and it can be said with absolute certainty that something terrible will come of it.
Michael Prince — like most other people in his tax bracket (the tax they avoid paying so much) — was nothing different. He had a brilliant mind for business and numbers. That’s basically it.
But when you achieve everything you ever set out to achieve, you risk forming too high of an opinion of yourself and thinking you’re God’s gift to the people.
This is not limited to billionaires. Even millionaires fall into the same trap.
I remember an interview I watched of some young millionaires who, when asked if they thought everyone could be a millionaire, were appalled that everyone is not.
And their reasoning? Everyone should be a millionaire because anyone can.
Back to Prince, he was nothing special. He was arrogant, narcissistic, and a little fascistic.
Taylor: You hear that shit? Hammer and anvil? That’s fucking Hitler from Munich in ’29. Is he hoping people won’t notice, or that they will?
Wendy: I’m not sure. But we’ve got to figure this the fuck out.
Wendy had dealt with enough of these people that she saw through him.
Wendy: There’s nothing more dangerous than a man who’s sure he’s never wrong. Add in the money, add in the intellect.
Wags: Smarts is good.
Wendy: Not when those smarts are used to strengthen the idea that no one else’s opinion counts. And in add his ability to lie to himself about who he really is, and finally, fold in a textbook God complex.
It might have been true that she wanted to see the bad in him because she missed Axe and would find any reason to bring him back, but it all worked out properly.
I’d hope everyone she recruited in her campaign against Prince saw Prince for what he was and were not nostalgic about the Axe days.
Mahar and Chuck’s union crashed and burned elsewhere, which was unsurprising. Chuck has always loved being in control, and being used in Mahar’s game was not empowering.
He loved bulldozing every obstacle to pat himself on the back for a well-done job. Being unable to see the complete picture was killing him, but being unable to spend time with his family was burying him alive.
So, he made the play Chuck makes when he’s out of options, drawing strength from the people’s power.
Mahar has not gotten to where she is by being soft. From her short time as New York’s District Attorney, she has proven to be cunning and ruthless, just like Chuck.
If Chuck thought he had gotten away with betraying her trust, he had another thing coming.
With Prince off chasing his dreams of being the president, the leadership of Michael Prince Capital was the next issue on the agenda, and it was surprising that Taylor didn’t get it all.
Truman had a sign on his desk that said, “The buck stops here.” Mine’s gonna say, “I am the buck.”
Mike
Phillip had been there for a second compared to what Taylor had gone through over the years, so it felt premature to give Phillip such a huge responsibility.
It was also surprising that Taylor didn’t fight to take sole leadership of the venture, but maybe it was because they were planning something else.
The episode’s highlight was Bobby Axelrod’s return.
The biggest concern was how they would get him from the legal troubles that saw him flee in the first place, and what they came up with was … okay.
Axe: Well, you know, geopolitics is fluid. Early in the conflict, Ukraine wanted Javelin anti-tanks, other things. Western governments weren’t able to get them there first.
Wendy: You?
Axe: Structured the deal. Took care of the financing. Arranged a friend — a guy you would not expect — to find and deliver the actual arms. Bought me a great deal of goodwill all across the continent, EU and here.
All he had to do was use a fraction of his vast wealth. See? Billionaires will always emerge on top.
But it made sense to have Axe return because the only way to fight fire is with fire, and only a billionaire can take on another billionaire.
Prince gave Taylor and Phillip the keys to Michael Prince Capital which saw the return of the old guard.
Dollar Bill had gone around the world and realized that the world had changed, and the only place he might fit in was Axe Capital. A guy like him always thrives in multitudes where he can draw attention to himself. It gives him the drive to perform better to draw positive attention.
“Tower of London” went for the jugular. Being the final season, Billions Season 7 doesn’t have the luxury of keeping everything a secret until the last episode, where they make a huge reveal. They have a show to end and a legacy to protect.
Conflicts for the remainder of the season were set up quickly, but the five-month flash-forward created some intrigue by giving us a taste of the future.
Sides were taken, but something tells me these are not the final teams because if one thing is true about Billions’ characters, they will betray each other in less than a day.
What did you think? Was the pacing just right, or did it feel rushed? Let us know in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.