Hello from the Trader’s Desk!
I hope you all had a fabulous winter, and are ready to get Spring rolling with Axe, Chuck, Wendy and the gang! And, I hope everyone is healthy and staying safe!
As we all eagerly anticipate Season 5 of our favorite show, “Billions“, we here at Fan Fun thought it would be interesting for us to share some of our thoughts on the upcoming season. We’ve done this the past few seasons, and it’s always great at the end of the season to see how our predictions turned out.
What do you think will happen in Season 5??
Lady Trader
One Expectation: As with any Billions season, I expect high drama and crackling writing. Music, food, and pop culture references are the DNA of this show, and I’d have it no other way.
One Fantasy: My fantasy would be for Rebecca to return and really screw Axe on a business deal. I so loved the character of Rebecca- a strong businesswoman – and hated what happened to her. I’m always #TeamAxe, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think he should get away with that kind of fuckery!
One Wish: I wish Wendy will realize that the two boys in her life, Axe and Chuck, are just toxic and move on and be happy. Why should she constantly be the ping pong between these two? I will admit, I was not a big Wendy fan for a long time, but last season she grew, did what was right and showed a human side that I think was lacking the previous seasons. Now that she has shown she’s not a cyborg, I’m a fan.
Looking Forward to: More fin-speak please! I know I’m in the minority of wanting the “in the weeds” type of financial jargon, but I love following the strategies and the moves. Last season it seemed that it was all about the dynamics between the main characters, and I enjoyed analyzing them; but give me a good stock story, and I’m in heaven.
Not Looking Forward to: This might be unpopular (and when are my opinions not?) but I’m not looking forward to the character of Catherine ‘Cat’ Brant played by Julianna Margulies. From what I have read, this is a character that explores Chuck’s most boring trait – his sexual preferences. I have always disliked that plot line, as I just have never understood its value. To me, it’s shock for shock alone (much like anything Tarantino does).
Gingersnap
One Expectation: I expect Taylor will work the Trojan Horse avenue to their advantage and outsmart both Team Axe and Team Chuck, working them against each other, and come out with a win. Which means Axe will fall.
One Fantasy: After Taylor takes Axe down, I fantasize he will close up shop and move to California to be closer to his boys.
One Wish: I wish Wendy to find a man who’s brain she enjoys without having to whip the shit out of him. I hope she finds solace in her personal and professional life, leaving those two Titans behind in the dust.
Looking Forward To: I am so looking forward to the scene between Axe and Chuck at Chuck’s house in his kitchen, because it seems Axe gives him a cardboard box, perhaps with a gift inside. What gift you may ask? I think Axe is returning Chuck’s first edition Winston Churchill books! I took the liberty of adding in my own version of the dialogue from episode one, The New Decas:
“Oh, have you brought me a dowry, Robert? No? Well I’m curious as to whatever could this be?”
Chuck sees what’s inside the box and says,
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Axe replies with a devious grin:
Look at that face on Axe – like a proud toddler, as if he did YOU the favor of returning YOUR property LOL! Watch the scene here:
New faces and old foes.#Billions returns to #Showtime in one month. pic.twitter.com/IT8fyDrGj3
— Billions on Showtime (@SHO_Billions) April 3, 2020
Not Looking Forward To: The new blonde. I already don’t like her 😉 I much prefer a relationship-Axe. Bring back Rebecca or Lara.
Damianista
One Expectation: I expect Michael Prince (portrayed by the brilliant Corey Stoll) to have a super meaty role in Season 5. Because when you think about it, this is the first time ever in Billions that a “guest star” is making it to the new season poster! Me thinks Prince is here to stay and give Axe more than one major headache.
Now, according to the official Showtime blurb, Wendy forms alliances that would go against the interests of Axe and Chuck this season. If this implies that Wendy will not be there to keep Axe grounded then I expect the king to make emotional decisions (read “wrong”) once left on his own. Add to this, Taylor, the potential Trojan Horse to destroy Axe from within his own house, and it is not too far-fetched to expect that this season may not end on a happy note for the boss.
One Fantasy: Inspired by the first Season 5 teaser trailer, I fantasize about Chuck Senior… getting married!
Look at that!
We have Chuck and Wendy at the front and center – all dressed up for an event that looks like a wedding party. And when I look at the left side of the frame closely, I spy with my little eye Chuck Senior who is sitting at a rectangular table that looks like the head table at the event. Senior seems to sitting next to a woman, he is all smiles, and is he holding her hand, too?
So here is my fantasy: Can it be that Chuck Senior is getting married to Roxanne? And Chuck now officially has a little sister? Oh. My. God. How funny would THAT be?
One Wish: I really hope that the Rhoades’ marriage survives. Chuck and Wendy have always been the strong couple in Billions because, unlike Axe and Lara, they could get deep in their relationship, communicate and ultimately resolve their differences. But there is one necessary, if not sufficient, condition for this to happen now: Chuck must grow up, stop putting the blame on Axe for his marriage going south, and own his mistakes.
That said we know that Chuck will get close to Catherine Bryant, portrayed by the wonderful Julianna Marguiles, a professor of sociology at Yale who seems to like Chuck’s kinky side, or at least does not judge him for it…
… while Wendy seems to become more than good friends with Nico Tanner, portrayed by Frank Grillo, a modern artist.
But I am still holding out hope. Come on Chuck, yes, you can!
Looking Forward to: A character who has a notable absence in the new season promo videos as well as in the new season is Bryan “The Idiot” Connerty. And I am looking forward to finding out where Bryan lands!
Jail? Thanks to Kate, Jeffcoat’s Nixonian “if I order it, it is fucking legal” is on record, and Bryan seems to have done what his superior told him to do. So he will probably not end up in jail, will he?
Another government job? Well, I do not think Bryan can practice law again. And even if he can, I do not think a government job is in the cards for him. EVER.
Then how about Axe making a lion out of Bryan?
Better a lion for a day than a mouse for life…. https://t.co/lRSU36wIev
— Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 17, 2018
Not Looking Forward to: It is no secret I am not a big fan of single Axe and I am honestly not looking forward to professionals visiting him or Wags throwing him another over the top party with naked women, booze and drugs. And I admit I rolled my eyes when I saw Axe approaching a blonde woman half his age in Season 5 trailer!
That said I still cannot comprehend how cold, sneaky and calculating Axe was as he ruined Rebecca’s dreams. I do not want him to hurt any other woman so maybe he should stay single forever. SIGH.
The Tail That Wags The Dog
One expectation: Obviously I expect bringing Team Taylor back into the fold of Team Axe and I expect that to go badly.
I expect Taylor will be more focused on bringing down Axe than Chuck. I expect Sacker to be more involved this year. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see some interaction with her and TeamAxe which, up until now, hasn’t really happened yet.
I expect that Wendy will NOT go back to Chuck this season and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone tried to make a move on her, although I do not expect that person to be Bobby.
One wish: That we will see more of Bonnie this year. I simply adore Sarah Stiles – she is so unbelievably talented and fun to watch.
I know last year she was doing the Broadway musical Tootsie while filming was going on, but with that run over, I hope that the writers have been able to utilize her more. Every scene she is inis full of energy, spunk and attitude. She is the perfect player for Team Axe.
One fantasy: Wags gets his revenge on the stuffed-shirts that embarrassed him last season.
No way does Wags go down without a fight there. And he gave the best send-off threat ever there – he can’t do that and not follow through!
Looking Forward to: What role Connerty plays when he comes back. I believe we can expect him back by episode 5, and you know when he does he will come in with that same energy and fierceness with which he attacks every sandwich that he eats.
I am also looking forward to whatever happens between Dollar Bill and Spyros. They have quickly become my favorite part of the show, and that was even before the interview, at which they hinted that they have their best moments coming up. I can’t wait to see what those are!
Not looking forward to: What happens to both Chuck and Bobby as lovers and fathers. In the first season they managed to have their edge and still hold onto their roles as husbands to their wives and fathers to their two children. Now, they are both divorced (or separated – are Chuck and Wendy officially split up?) and the kids are no longer in the picture. That may be a necessity within the writing as it must be had to keep the kids relevant. Still, I think it would help their relatability if they could hold onto those otherwise everyday roles as members of a family. But I think we will see them fall further and further into the black hole of solitude they have dug for themselves, and that makes them harder to root for. I am not looking forward to that.
Am I the only one that feels like this season is lining up to be the series finale?
They typically announce early on that a series will have its last season. They did not say that for Billions. And Koppelman and Levien have repeatedly said they wanted to go as long as they have a story to tell. So I don’t think it’s the last season but I get your point that this could be a good time to tie the loose ends and have Taylor destroy both Bobby and Chuck! My series finale fantasy is Bobby making pizzaz at Capparello’s and Chuck working as an adjunct at a third-tier university.
I know that they usually announce it but you’re right, it will simply be a reset. You envision a brutal ending for Axe though. Lol. I see he and Chuck both losing Wendy, Axe taking out Taylor for good and Chuck retiring and suffering from the weight of his actions.
I would love to see that Axe reunites with Lara, realizing that she was his kryptonite all along while Wendy and Chuck also reunites because as much as Axe/Lar were the cute ride or die chick type of couple, Wendy/Chuck was actually the get even, progressive, super mind games and mind manipulator couple…. This is called balance. I am so Axe/Lar team all the way. Now that Axe tried all around, and Taylor destroys him, he can go back to who he was and with his soulmate, Lara.
On the other hand Chuck and Wendy will keep on growing stronger and Wendy will keep on empowering Chuck to be a more confident man.
I also would love to see that Saker and Connerty reunites now that he is no longer in the government and it will not be any more conflict of interest.
Please, please, please I a, praying for an Axe/Lara come back
Axe and Lara getting back together would be great – I’d take married Bobby over single Bobby any day!!!
That said Malin Akerman is not part of the cast at the moment – but there is always a possibility of surprise later in the show. Fingers crossed!
That I agree with you.
I will have my fingers and toes(lol) crossed all along praying and lighting candles to have I Axe be back with Lara because for 1) I meant everything about Lara being his kryptonite, 2) I hate to see Axe as a beat dead dad, hence history repeating itself, 3) Axe never and I mean never chased Lara or gave them another chance, 4) I want Axe not to be the cliche of being filfy rich but does not have his family anymore because that was the ultimate sacrifice to the devil and 5) I want Axe to win on all home front. He needs it, he deserve it and it’s time.
Now how do you propose explaining it or asking or suggesting or complain about it to the directors and producers. I want to keep watching this show….
P.S. I truly do not wish that him and Wendy ever cross this line because i think their dynamic’s will break…
I agree on all fronts. Being a good husband and a good father was what I loved about Bobby. But he did what he did and lost it all.
The writers definitely know what they are doing and I do not think the fans’ input will change their minds as they write the show. And it should not. It is their show and they should write the story in the way tat they want it unfolded. Don’t you think?
Well, to an extinct I can agree with you in regards that it is their show and they can do whatever they feel with it, but I guess I always believed in everything there can be some options shared and sometimes it actually could be good ones.
Look I get that this was already written and already layed out as they wanted it but again, although it may not mean anything or better yet it might not even do a dent into what will happened next specially if I stopped watching the show (because I don’t matter that much) but hey I still believe that if I keep on swallowing everything without trying to season it to my taste, well at the end two things will happened, I either 1) will never eat and 2) maybe after too much “talk” maybe someone will be willing to look into it and see if this food truly needs improvement or not.
What I mean is that, I alone can’t make a change and sometimes not every things is right just because it’s yours and you can do it as you want.
But hey, who am I kidding, the average person I guess could careless about values, family and the decency of living because as it is happening to them in real life, they do not want to also read or see it live.
So on that note, I will reinterate how I think Lara’s character should return and give Bobby a break, peace and happiness while he is fighting and making his billions while Wendy and Chuck to return stronger and more in love with each other, even though this latter is really reaching because man, Chuck is a piece of work. But I so do not want Wendy with Axe at all, this could break this dynamic duo, and yet I would love for Wendy to finally get a break and smile more…hey maybe a Wags/Wendy may not be bad?…. Now Taylor, truly got to go and the dynamic of Dollar Bill is so good.
#bringbacklara….
Being good parents must be where the writers are heading for i hope the main characters Bobby and Lara, Wendy and Chuck in series 5 are setting good parenting standard hope it finishing in favour of the children who must be suffering big time we can only wait and see
Yeah I wouldn’t want to be either an Axelrod or a Rhoades kid!
I second that. Besides the obvious perks, i wouldn’t want to be More of a Rhoades kid than an Axelrod. At Least it’s cool to be an Axelrod while the Rhoades are looking too tight/constipated to my liking.
I will not stop into reinterate how Lara coming back to Bobby would make a huge make over good guy on his character where he realizes that he is flawed and some mistakes could be done but “let’s salvage what is left” type of deal. Also where is the oldest Axelrod kid? And the Rhoades, where are they? We know the Axelrod boys are with Lara or so we thought until we saw Gordie in boarding school, but where are the Rhoades at?
Man I tell you, this show is truly showing the pitfall of how some people shouldn’t have any kids if they love money and power so much…hummm not liking this!
Good point – it would be way better if some people did not have kids!
Rhoades’ kids showed up twice this season – at the wedding and then later when Senior visited Chuck and Wendy with his new wife and baby.
The child actor playing Axelrod’s older kid changed once and they probably do not have the urge to integrate him into the storyline at the moment. He is probably attending another prestigious boarding school.
I also miss more scenes focused on stock trading. One that comes to mind is the negotiation of Daisy Cellular in the film
Out on a Limb.