First up:
Round 1: Lara Axelrod vs.
The one with a vendetta?
Also on the publishers shelf: a manuscript of Junes soon-to-be-published memoir, titled9/12: The Day After.
Credit: Jeff Neumann/Showtime
At approximately 70,000 words and 279 pages, it looks to be a sensational read.
And the publisher shes banging cant wait to start selling it.
Neither can Lara Axelrod.
Chapter 10 turns out to be a big problem.
There arent many good ones, shes told, since defamation wouldnt apply here.
Whatever the book alleges looks to be the truth.
But thats okay because it occurs to Lara that she has something more effective than legal options social recourse.
And so begins Laras campaign to ruin the 9/11 widows life even more than it already has been.
She effectively gets June blackballed from the most important facets of her life.
Her names not in the system anymore.
Tee time at the country club?
Her sons legacy admission to Stanford?
Yes, those may seem like petty luxuries that Americans should be able to live without.
But in their world, not making the barre class is essentially subhuman behavior.
And it doesnt take her long to figure out whos behind this streak of bad luck.
So June comes to Lara with her tail between her legs and a revised version of her manuscript.
Chapter 10 has been heavily edited, she tells Lara.
Lara responds kindly…by telling June that maybe her son will get into Stanford after all.
Later that night, Lara fills Axe in on her good deeds.
Theyre a perfect team.
Now we see a truckload of YumTime products arrive at Axelrods doorstep.
So what does Axe plan to do with his notable 4.9 percent stake in the YumTime company?
A lot of people want to know, none more than Hutch Bailey III.
It was that first Hutch who founded the company, in fact.
Bobby has a meeting with the non-Hutch YumTime board members to tell them his investment isnota vote of confidence.
More specifically, Axe proposes that the company gets rid of Hutch Bailey III altogether.
Hes an unfit scion who inherited a family business he wasnt qualified to run, Axe tells them.
Plus, Hutch messed with all the recipes.
Chuck Sr. theorizes that this is Bobbysrealplay to send a f you message to the Rhoades clan.
His name is Jerry Purkheiser, and hes a real folksy guy, it turns out.
Over slices, he lays out what he thinks hes wrong with YumTime.
Its classic, time immemorial, Bobby tells Jerry.
Hutch I starts it, Hutch II grows it, Hutch III blows it.
Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.
So Bobby shows up to the next board meeting to make his pitch.
Predictably, Hutch III resists, labeling Axe a carpetbagger and a raider.
But then after that, a strange second vote happens.
Yes, this was part of Bobbys plan to get at Chuck Sr. all along.
But it also has a whiff of misogyny.
The scene ends with her leaving the room in a huff.
He wants to run for governor someday, we learn and governors dont get elected forlosingto bankers.
No, not the bank-account kind of ATM, but the poop kind of ATM.
But Wendy, with outlandish clarity, knowsexactlyhow it relates to Wags professional situation.
Wheres her loyalty, he wonders.
He hates people with no loyalty.
So he tells Wendy that hes got a plan to make Maria pay.
She, in short, will get ATMed by the company by getting fed less valuable information than before.
You know, like poop.
Thats payback, Axe Capital-style.
Wendy doesnt feel good about this because of her own personal loyalty to Maria.
As with everything Wendy touches, it works.
Maria bounces, much to Wags chagrin and Wendys delight.
In fact, Wendys so happy with the move, she makes one of her own.
Annoyed, Chuck tries to horse trade with the Eastern District to get the Decker case back.
He offers them a glamorous terrorism case Statue of Liberty bombing attempt and closes the deal.
The only problem is that he also has to take Spyros along with the case.
Its a small gesture, comedy-wise, but an uncharacteristically charming one forBillions.
If Decker provides dirt on Axe, hell get to walk.
Everyone can smell it, and they let him know it, too.
I may have even laughed out loud.
But anywho, thats all just a fun diversion.
The main takeaway is that Decker is unwilling to play ball.
Good job, Kate!
Of course, Deckers own parents are in the stands.
Theyll be in handcuffs before the seventh-inning stretch if Decker doesnt cooperate.
Needless to say, he does.
Winner: Chuck Rhoades
Round 5: Chuck Rhoades vs. (Getting the theme of the episode yet?)
But not this morning.
Chuck finds the pajamad man and his dog and gives him a verbal thrashing.
I am that guy, Rhoades tells him.
That guy who wont let your dog poop all over the city.
Why dont you just let it slide?
says Dog Poop Man, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
That just makes Chuck even angrier.
AND THE GUY DOES.
Because this is Chuck Rhoades city, and nobody poops on Chuck in this town.
