IR TV Review: BILLIONS - EPISODE 1 ("The New Decas") [Showtime-S5]

The preternatural distinctiveness of alphas in many ways is never knowing when a game is won, even when the losses stack up in response. This is a lesson that "Wolf Of Wall Street" tried to show. Too much is never enough but even building back again is its own relevance. With thr start of the 5th season of "Billions", the two perceived enemies in Chuck Rhodes (Paul Giamatti) & Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) still understand the tit-for-tat relevance while understanding that the actual chase in many ways is the joy of the game. Unlike say "Suits", "Billions" operates at a higher keel where success and ambition give way to lessons of loss of humility. Are people simply acting one way to get what they want or to satisfy an ideal.Wendy Rhodes (played by Maggie Siff) and Taylor Mason (played by Asia Kate Dillon) revels in the same way though in different conjectures. The men want to play until the game explodes. The women want to get the prize and keep building. Taylor is an interesting structure because she understands the complexities of both and yet (like with Vulcan philosophy) needs a way to channel her anger while she is gunning for her best deal. The idea of what is right and wrong don't necessarily come into play. The episode, the first of Season 5, is entitled "The New Decas" describing those who have joined the 10 billion dollar club. But as the new episode begins there is an idea of what is beyond that. And like the godlike personification that Axelrod pulls, the toppling of a kingdom depends on which way the leadership leads.B

By Tim Wassberg