Tag: Paul Giamatti

Books are a Trigger for Billions

How many days to go until Billions is back on our screens you ask? Why, 32 days to be exact. But who’s counting? Spoiler: We are!!! March 25 cannot get here fast enough. Till we get some juicy new stuff to write about, here’s a revisit to the books seen on the various shelves of Billions last season.

Shows that care, like Billions, speak volumes with what they choose to put on the shelves behind the characters as they go about their Billion-y business. Books are about setting the stage and providing props for the characters and the action. Most interestingly, the placement of books is about saying a thing or two about the character who owns them, in a language both visual and textual (if you look closely enough :)) Alternatively, barring such esoteric “meaning”, at the very least, books laying about can be fun Easter eggs that may say a thing or two about the folks who put the show together.

So, join me as we browse through the bookshelves of Billions.

Continue reading “Books are a Trigger for Billions”

Bobby Axelrod and Wendy Rhoades: A Special Relationship – Part III

Damian Lewis teases about Bobby and Wendy, a relationship that keeps fascinating us, before Billions Season 2 premiere, in an interview with AssignmentX:

“As the paranoia increases, their relationship is challenged, too. Wendy is quite capable of taking care of herself, as we saw at the end of last season, when she plays Axe in that last moment and runs away with the Maserati and a five-million-dollar bonus. Was it five million? It suddenly doesn’t seem like very much in the world of Billions. And she doesn’t work with Axe anymore. Axe relies on her heavily, though. Of course, there’s always going to be a question of pride with him, and he attempts to lure her back. But it’s because, I think, there is some truth in the fact when she says, “We built this company together.” I think she is good counsel for him, and he needs her. He feels more confident with her. There certainly isn’t, for now, any kind of romantic interest between them.”

Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod and Wendy Rhoades: A Special Relationship – Part III”

Decisions Matter: Game Theory in
Billions – Part III

“What makes someone like Bobby tick, someone like Chuck tick? I think it’s the game and the game only. I think that becomes more important than the money or status and everything. It’s just the desire to win. And the greater your desire to win the greater you will compromise yourself. I think we all love watching people try to win.” – Damian Lewis

In case you missed Part I and Part II, you can see them here and here. And Part III is dedicated to the most impressive game we have seen in Billions: Chuck’s long game to get Axe.

Chuck delivers his most honest lines of the entire season as he stands in front of Axe in the last few minutes of Season 1: Continue reading “Decisions Matter: Game Theory in Billions – Part III”

Analyzing the New Billions Season 3 Poster Art and Logo

On Wednesday, January 24, Showtime released new promotional material for Billions season three. Are there spoilers, clues and hints hidden in the poster art and logo? I immediately began scrutinizing the photos for suggestion and significance. I mean, after all, it is instinctive to analyze everything since I have a degree in that field and do it for a living. It’s second nature. When dissecting the details of the promo material, you’ll never guess what I found. So come with me on a deep dive and see if we can come up with an indication of what’s to come.

Let’s start with the logo.

Source: Twitter @SHO_Billions 

Ominous, is it not? Dark slate grey background of metal with exposed rivets. Reminds me of a war ship and we know the Billions‘ writers like to reference historical battles and cannon fodder. Is that grey metal iron? In some biblical meanings, natural iron is a symbol of natural, rational truth. Will the truth come out that Wendy violated her contract to warn Chuck about Ice Juice and will Dake discover that she shorted the Ice Juice stock? This scenario is definitely a favorite of mine and my fellow blogger/partner in crime, Damianista, and she talks about it here.  Oh, and I’ll come back to biblical references in a few paragraphs below, even though it seems like it’s out of left field at the moment. Stick with me kid, it will make sense in a bit. Continue reading “Analyzing the New Billions Season 3 Poster Art and Logo”

Books are a Trigger for Billions – Repost

Perhaps not as sexy as the food or the music, nor as readily noticeable, is the backdrop of books used in a show. Shows that care about such things, like Billions, speak volumes with those carefully chosen volumes. It’s about setting the stage, providing props for the characters and the action. Most interestingly, the placement of books is about saying a thing or two about the character who owns them, in a language both visual and textual (if you look closely enough :)) Alternatively, barring such esoteric “meaning”, at the very least, books laying about can be fun Easter eggs that may say a thing or two about the folks who put the show together.

So, join me as we browse through the bookshelves of Billions.

Continue reading “Books are a Trigger for Billions – Repost”