User Reviews

Episode 8: Another "generic" episode with lots of plots, side plots, whatever plots you call it. It aims to show drama and thrill, but so far, what is seen IMO is just deceitful and dirty rivalries, family treason or cheating for some in the mild sense of the word, many improbable situations with bewildered or faces in disbelief

and the cream of the cream, the mumbo ending that's so unrealistic that I have to wait for the clouds to disperse and the ugly truth show its face.

This is the best episode of the show so far. I don't care how slow it is.

Bobby was, up until this point, a ruthless narcissistic sociopath. Now he's just a man, albeit a very bright one, who capitalized on a situation - 911 - in an effort to help the families of those, he assumed, were lost in the towers. Not only in making 750 million by shorting the market directly tied to the terrorist attack, but at the same doing so with their families memories in mind. So is he a sociopath, or just a Wall Street shark who understands numbers in the way most people understand love and compassion. In this context they come across as the same things. As for his portly, morally ambiguous counterpart, he comes across as the knight in shining armor. Now I'm rooting for Bobby and hoping the AG and FBI are screwed. I might also add that the suspension of disbelief is severely strained when having to accept the utterly improbable relationship between Maggie Siff and Paul Giamatti. Croak.

Squash is a game of two players who hit a ball against a wall. The very, very conscious choice of title can be read as a metaphorical recap of the plot.

Chuck makes his deputy Brian leak a document which is harmful to Axe. Notwithstanding all the talking, charming, eating and the both have together, Brian is just another wall for Chuck, which he has to hit to get to Axe.

On the other side of the game, Axe has done the same. He has sent a loyal underling, Donnie, on a mission to fool the attorney's office. This defensive boast may be considered to be the shot that has been answered by the offensive boast placed by Chuck using Brian as a wall.

We see some rails in the episode, too, mainly performed by the two couples, but the indirect hits are the more impressive.

Both Chuck and Axe show a ruthlessness in this episode that seems as if they have taken off not only their gloves but also masks.

Why I don't like the episode? The 9/11 story line could have been easily foreseen, whereas the twist with Donnie is as surprising as it is disappointing from the perspective of suspense. The whole episode lacked the ambiguity which has surrounded Axe, Chuck, and the whole season up to this point. Is 'Billions' finally going from gray to black-and-white?