‘Billions’ Season 6 Episode 9 Summary: Distract and Conquer


“We need Chuck dead, not hurt and angry.” Wise words from Governor Bob Sweeney. When Chuck withdrew the Olympic Games without dealing the killing blow from Mike Prince, he sensed something that Chuck himself had failed to achieve. In retrospect, it was clear that a wounded, angry Prince would reciprocate, despite all his kindness in defeat. It was unclear whether his retaliation would actually be a deathblow.

But it certainly looks that way. Sweeney and the State Senate remove Chuck Rhoades from the position of state attorney general as a result of an elaborate plan devised by Prince. Chuck doing favors, making footsteps, talking—none of it does him any good.

And so he moves from one of his greatest professional victories—putting the kibosh to the Prince’s Olympics—to his biggest professional failure since being fired by Attorney General Jock Jeffcoat as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York a few seasons ago. In any case, this defeat is far worse because it bears the stamp of a firmer popular will, and Chuck is not accused of misdirecting his supposed boss, but of pursuing a corrupt personal vendetta.

To be fair to Chuck, I didn’t see his fall coming close either. Neither should we! Before Chuck learns of the attempt to overthrow him, most of the department is deeply invested in pursuing another pet project: making privately run but not-for-profit and tax-exempt parks and other similar opportunities to the public.

The quest is precipitated by two outrageous events involving brunettes, the first being Lieutenant Dave’s being banned from a private club, and the second being the banning of a Hispanic mother from a nearby park. Chuck powerfully arms local hedge fund big man Steven Birch (Jerry O’Connell) to create a list of residents who have access to the park, then takes them to court, where he comes to a settlement that will give him minimal gain. – the best thing he can count on under such dubious legal circumstances.

But they were all an imitation of Prince. Stuart Legere, the bribed university official whom Chuck believes to be his inside man; The host at the club where Dave and Legere will meet; mother denied entry to the park; the Wall Street scum that keeps him from getting in; Attorney representing members of the park: they’re all on Prince’s payroll, thanks to bribes from Wags and Scooter.

While doing all this, Prince acts on the advice of Kate Sacker, who was Chuck’s once right-hand man. Distract him like a bullfighter distracts a bull, he says, and he’ll become vulnerable too. And, of course, he’s so busy digging into the details of his great victory over the high and powerful that he misses the political blow that is taking place right under his nose.

At this point, the rapid-onset defeat of its main characters marks a “Billions”. It only took an episode or two for Prince and Chuck to involve Bobby Axelrod in the illegal marijuana business that had driven him out of the country. As soon as Prince got the Olympics, Chuck canceled them. And now, Prince defeated Chuck one episode later. No one is safe on this show, and that’s what gets television excited.

Chuck’s downfall could have perhaps been avoided had it not been for Prince’s decision to show up at Olympics Headquarters to brag in the form of a peace offering. The prince understood what it was: rubbing the billionaire’s nose at his defeat. Chuck’s worst enemy is himself.

Episode B’s story focuses on Taylor Mason, the one time wonder of Ax Cap. When graduates Mafee and Dollar Bill come for a visit, they also begin to banish mild-mannered traders Tuk and Ben Kim from the firm, no doubt hoping to recreate that old Ax Hat spell. Tuk and Ben’s new manager, Philip, is happy to release them if it’s time for them to really move on.

However, Taylor thinks this will make Philip look weak. Rather than allow a rival to tarnish his reputation, Taylor verbally releases a full-on Samuel L. Jackson to Mafee and Dollar Bill in “Pulp Fiction,” scaring them off their attempts to drive Ben and Tuk away. Philip is retroactively grateful for the help, even though he tells Taylor that Ax Cap’s only suspects are Ben and Tuk who miss the good old days.

Taylor, who wrestled with Ax’s influence all season, seems to be scolded. But no one on this show stays free for very long.

Change:

  • I would like to give a special round of applause to veteran character actor Kenneth Tigar as State Senator Clay Tharp, Chuck’s rare Republican ally who eventually sided with the Prince. It gives a dignified performance that focuses on Chuck’s sympathy for Tharp after the death of his wife, a sympathy he can no longer pay with support.

  • For you reference observers, this chapter was filled with them. Basketball? Prince compares himself to Coach Pat Riley. “Godfather”? That’s the name Chuck gave to Riley, while Mafee quotes the movie’s opening scene from “Be my friend?” The Coens? Ben Kim quotes Dude when describing his time on Prince Cap as “strikes and guts” like Dude in “The Big Lebowski.” Wrestle? Senator Tharp hats off to pincer Ken Patera.

  • Some fall into the reference space less frequently: Taylor quotes her entire “What ‘again’ again” speech from “Pulp Fiction.” For the literary minded, William Kennedy’s Albany-based novel cycle is also getting its flowers. Bob Sweeney mentions Prince’s feelings for Chuck, naming Stephen King’s main villain, Randall Flagg. And a judge compares Chuck’s legal approach to the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK”; The song closes the chapter and is perhaps the show’s most jarring musical cue to date.



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