musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Music is a big part of Billions. The writers make purposeful choices with music placement, so we know that these decisions are made to tell a story, shine a light on who a character is, or to set a tone.
Season 7 was no exception with a mix of legendary artists and some that may be new to the viewers. If you have ever wondered while watching an episode “what is that song?” we have you covered!
Here is the Music of Billions playlist for Season 7 listed by episode.
Enjoy!!
The Gulag Archipelago, mentioned by Victor and that titles the episode, is a book written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. I never read it but I am familiar with the author thanks to my Russian literature loving parents’ home library. Solzhenitsyn wrote to help raise global awareness about the political repression in the USSR. This particular book tells the story of a zek (a Gulag inmate) from his arrest to the show trial to being sent to a Gulag (labor camp in Siberia) to reflect on and learn from “his mistakes” based on interviews, reports, legal documents and Solzhenitsyn’s own experience as a zek. And as Solzhenitsyn revisits the ways things could have gone in his book, our characters deal with their past mistakes in their unique ways in the episode. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 7 Episode 5: The Gulag Archipelago”
Talk about twists and turns — Billions is on fire!
As Ira and his girlfriend are having dinner at Craft, the new Halls are sitting at the next table recording their conversation. We do not know if it is her ordering $14 a gram white truffles, 20 grams of them, on her Tagliatelle with Guffanti Butter from Emilia Romagna (the region of Italy which I believe has made the most sacred contributions to human kind: prosciutto, parmigiano-reggiano, and balsamic vinegar) but Ira hesitates to propose. Since he has lost all his savings in Ice Juice, they cannot have the wedding she deserves, cannot go to the honeymoon they discussed and cannot even afford the engagement ring he has picked for her. He can barely give her truffles! Ira is in love and probably expecting his girlfriend to say she would marry him no matter what, but guess what, she wants to wait! Is anyone marrying for love anymore? Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 3: A Generation Too Late”
