No secret that I was pretty disgusted with Axe in the last episode. In this episode some of his humanity is back, beautifully on display, and, thankfully, there’s a visible thaw in the ice-cold of last week’s fire house scene.
When he gets news of Donnie’s death, Damian lends Bobby that cast over the eyes that looks like someone has clubbed him in the knees. He’s hobbled. The episode proceeds to careen back and forth in time in an expert way that fills in all the holes that need filling in Donnie’s story.
We are extremely pleased to welcome a new blogger, Holliedazzle, today to our blog. Here is a short bio in her own words:
“A life long lover of gingers, Holliedazzle hails from the midwest and spends her free time cosplaying, indulging in all her geeky interests, and also on the stage as a burlesque performer! Also a mother to one sweet little boy, and wife to her own foxy ginger man 🙂 She discovered Damian through her husband’s recommendation to try out this new show “Homeland”, who starred an actor that had been on his radar since “Band of Brothers” became one of his all-time favorite shows. So, really, its all his fault that she’s here!” 😛
Having enjoyed Holliedazzle’s spot-on commentary on Damian’s acting on the blog, we asked if she would be interested in writing about Damian’s acting, in particular about the ways he uses his face and body in bringing our all-time favorite characters to life. We are delighted she has kindly agreed and is giving us the many faces of Damian Lewis today. And it goes without saying we sincerely hope to keep her around for more than two posts. Fingers crossed! Enjoy.
We have had our “educated” speculation last couple of weeks and we now have it all out in Episode 10 Quality of Life: Axe has known Donnie was sick. He sees something is seriously wrong with him in the meeting where Donnie does not see the matrix and follows him to the men’s room.
“Cancer.” “Yeah.” “Shit.” “Pancreatic.” “Shit.” I would probably say “Double scoop of shit” Wags-style. Axe will make sure Donnie sees the top oncologist in the country. He should put himself together and see Axe by the end of the day.
We learn Donnie was closeted until he met Walter. He feels guilty about his wife so gives her all he has and starts back at zero with a plan to make the money his kids would need for a comfortable future in 10 years. Alas, life intervenes. He wants his kids to live a comfortable life. Axe offers “rewards of paradise” on earth: 40 million dollars pre-tax. But there is a downside. His last months will not be his own. Donnie is in unless he is going to jail. Axe assures him lawyers will take care of that part. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Episode 10: Quality of Life”
Damianista’s note: I wrote this post after watching The Pilot. And I have now updated it with all the new information we have got in the last two weeks. Are things as black and white as they seem… or are they gray? You decide. I just want to applaud the show creators for making us think about such a sensitive topic, and think about it hard.
Billions is first and foremost a New York show. And there is nothing more natural than the darkest day of the city, September 11, still shadowing the lives and relationships of our characters even after 15 years. Obviously the darkest day in the history of the nation, September 11 is also a very dark day for financial services firms many of which had offices in the World Trade Center. I remember Cantor Fitzgerald losing two thirds of its workforce on 9/11.
source: spoilertv.com
One of the first things we learn about Axe in Billions is he is a 9/11 survivor. He is, in fact, the only partner that survived the terrorist attacks because he was out of office on meetings while most of his colleagues and friends died. And seeing that Axe Capital is now located in Westport, Connecticut, we also learn Axe Capital is among the financial houses that chose to move from Wall Street to neighboring Connecticut or New Jersey after the destruction of downtown NYC on 9/11.
We then find Axe in a conference room at Axe Capital with the widows and kids of those friends that died on 9/11. Axe has been giving college scholarships to these kids for years. He has been keeping it private that there has never been a press release or an interview with him about it. It is, in fact, a reason for him to leave an interview.
“Sometimes I don’t know where
This dirty road is taking me
Sometimes I can’t even see the reason why
I guess I keep a-gamblin’
Lots of booze and lots of ramblin’
It’s easier than just waitin’ around to die.”
Because you feel it.
It was certainly an aha moment to see Donnie frantically hiding his pills during the FBI raid in his house in Episode 8. I have been uneasy since Axe rewarded him for his loyalty: tripling his stack and giving him 200K shares of Rubinex despite the fact that the guy was not able to deliver! But the pills last week and Wendy noticing his weight loss this week and… I knew… Donnie is seriously sick. And this makes a few other things make sense for me. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Episode 9: Where the **** is Donnie?”
