The ‘Billions’ Recap Reality Index: “The Kingmaker” (Season 2, Episode 8)

The recap is back! Welcome back to the Billions Recap Reality Index where this week we provide you with due diligence on the eighth episode of Season 2, “The Kingmaker.”

Who is Jack Foley? This is the question Axe is trying to get to the bottom of as he investigates out how the hell the Sandicot deal blew up, a journey that has him run into a familiar face from season one. Meanwhile, Chuck is starting to take his political aspirations a bit more seriously (with his father offering guidance whether or not Chuck wants it). Finally, we get to see Wags and Mafee enjoy a night out in a prime brokerage sponsored adventure.

Will Axe finally get to the bottom of the Black Jack Foley mystery? Is Chuck ready for the dog eat dog world of NY politics? And who will be the first to rock a fleece? We answer all those questions and more below:

THE BILLIONS RECAP REALITY INDEX

REALER THAN PRIME BROKERAGE GUYS ONLY ADDING VALUE BY HOOKING UP A FREE MEAL AND DRINKS

• DOLLAR BILL COMING THROUGH WITH THE QUARTER ZIP FLEECE!
  PLUS 1

• Black Jack Foley, feeling disrespected because Chuck didn’t hook up the clerkship for his granddaughter, jumps ship to another candidate.
  PLUS 1 for fickle donors.

• 6:28 – When Chuck says to his father politics isn’t about cutting backroom deals, Chuck Sr’s reply is perfect: “You sound like a fucking hippie” PLUS 1

• Mafee accepting dinner from a prime brokerage because fuck it why not. Another one of the joys of being on the buyside.
  PLUS 3

• When Chuck tries to throw name recognition in his face, his primary opponent quickly points out Pataki came from nowhere with zero name recognition to eventually get elected governor.
  PLUS 1

• Taylor explains that at Axe Capital, because Axe likes Taylor, other coworkers do, too. Or pretend to.
  PLUS 1

• Wendy explains to Taylor how to show a coworker at a fund you care: “Buy them something.”
  PLUS 2

• 22:20 – Wags takes the prime brokerage guys to Saint Venus, one of the secret clubs in New York where the girls giving lap dances aren’t strippers, but college girls or white collar professionals. These have gotten pretty popular the past few years.
  PLUS 3

• Mafee totally would love getting a wrestling poster autographed by The Undertaker.
  PLUS 1

• Chuck Sr would be excited about getting an engraved paper invitation to an event and lament how such charming formalities are increasingly rare.
  PLUS 1

• Talking to Axe, Black Jack Foley explains that the one quality he values most is loyalty. The writers did a perfect job modeling him after a NY State kingmaker.
  PLUS 1

• Foley meets with Chuck in his study with the walls covered with his books and assorted relics. For some reason every major donor has a room like this in their home to sit down with candidates.
  PLUS 1

• Foley tells Chuck how things work. “Find the right guy and get him out of his own way… elections aren’t about ideas, elections are about candidates.”
  PLUS 1

• Foley makes Chuck do the ask. Learning how to beg is the most critical skill a candidate can learn.
  PLUS 1

• Axe marches into the Yale Club wearing a t-shirt and jeans because that place has gone to hell and doesn’t maintain a respectable dress code
  PLUS 1

• Chuck realizes he can use the war with Axe to his benefit, exploiting the Sandicot situation to boost his poll numbers upstate. He’s finally thinking like a candidate.
  PLUS 1

TOTAL FOR REAL: PLUS 21

FAKER THAN A HEDGE FUND TRADER TRYING TO PREVENT, NOT ENCOURAGE, A COWORKER FROM RELAPSING

• Axe Capital wouldn’t have just Spartan Ives as their one prime brokerage. They’d have multiple prime brokerages.
  MINUS 3

• Chuck Rhoades wouldn’t meet a potential primary opponent out there in the open for all the rumor mills to get started.
  MINUS 1

• Axe Capital’s former chief of staff got the job with no prior experience in finance and just a few years out of college? No way.
  MINUS 2

• The opposition research Chuck requested his friend to do on his primary opponent comes back as a one sheet summary? Sorry, but oppo books in real life are much much more substantial.
  MINUS 3

• 52:40 – Even though the Yale Club has no standards anymore you still can’t start a fight in there. That kind of shit is only okay at the New York Athletic Club.
  MINUS 1

TOTAL FOR FAKE: MINUS 12

OVERALL SCORE FOR “THE KINGMAKER”: PLUS 9

Plus 9! A strong finish for a strong episode! First off, kudos for the writers for using a night out on prime brokerage guys’ tabs as a launch pad for Wags and Mafee’s night out. Many a legendary night out has begun in exactly that fashion. Also, the showdown between Axe and Chuck at the Yale Club was a fantastic way to close and shows just how complicated both characters are. Axe, a billionaire hedge fund manager who came from nothing and Chuck, a champion of the everyday man with just about as patrician a background as one can have. Each character is a paradox, and their conflict continues to make this season of Billions a must watch. As such, the Reality Index will maintain our Buy rating on this season. Be sure to stick with us next week when we once again separate reality from fiction in our recap.

OVERALL SCORE FOR BILLIONS SEASON 2: PLUS 64

Comfortably Smug is a government relations professional with a focus on the financial services industry. He can be found on Twitter with his musings on all things finance and politics at @ComfortablySmug

Watch "The Kingmaker" episode of Billions on Hulu