Season 1 - 12 episodes (2016)
Season 2 - 12 episodes (2017)
Season 3 - 12 episodes (2018)
Season 4 - 12 episodes (2019)
Season 5 - 12 episodes (2020-21)
Season 6 - 12 episodes (2022)
Season 7 - 12 episodes (2023)
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Created by: Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff, Malin Åkerman, David Costabile, Asia Kate Dillon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Corey Stoll, Kelly AuCoin, Toby Leonard Moore
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
Hedge fund manager and philanthropist Bobby Axelrod aggressively accumulates wealth and power in the world of high finance, garnering the attention of New York United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades.
Verdict
The first two seasons are great and absolutely worth watching. We watch two titans face off in the financial industry, and the show does a great job of getting inside their heads. It feels like a realistic depiction of how the rich live, and the story is gripping. What does it take to become rich, and what does it take to prove someone's a criminal? Unfortunately, the first two seasons are clearly the best, and the rest of the seasons only get worse. Season three coasts on the previous seasons, and season four is where the show loses it. I can't recommend season four. It's an uninspired fantasy of how the rich live, falling into the worst tropes of a soap opera. Season five is somehow even worse, a parody of itself. Season five constantly reminds me of how far this show has fallen, becoming something not even worth mentioning.
It depends.
Review
The first two seasons are phenomenal, but that's also where the show ran out of inspiration. Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan from 2009 to 2017, is the inspiration for Chuck Rhoades. Bharara's 2013 prosecution of hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen of S.A.C. Capital Advisors loosely influenced the first season while Salomon Brothers' 1991 manipulation of U.S. Treasury bonds inspired the second. The third season isn't bad, but it's less than the first two seasons. With the fourth season, it's clear quality has dropped and the show becomes a caricature of itself. Season five continues a race to the bottom.
I only watched the first five seasons. Amazon Prime didn't have seasons six and seven, not that I had much desire to continue after season five. Damian Lewis isn't even in season six which doesn't help. Public opinion is that six is worse than five and seven isn't much better. I can't even imagine how a season could be worse than five.
Season one starts by showing us United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) with a dominatrix. It's his sexual proclivity, an intriguing juxtaposition for a man that holds so much power. Chuck investigates hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) for insider trading. Chuck is careful as he doesn't want to push too hard if there's any chance he could lose the case. He also has to mind appearances. Axe is publicly liked, at the peak of popularity and his business. Chuck's case could look petty. Axe is looking at buying an expensive house. While it will attract undue attention, as he surmises, what's the point of having money if you don't spend it. Chuck and Axe are both driven by ego.
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| Season 1 Episode 3: Paul Giamatti plays Chuck Rhoades |
It's wild how easily Axe throws money around, but he is a billionaire and it's clear he's smart though a bit egocentric. He's not against petty revenge, where in the second episode he pays for naming rights to a University building. I like how this show portrays Axe. He's so rich that he doesn't have to act like it or dress up. He drives a plain car. People that have some money want to let everyone know, people that are truly wealthy don't waste time impressing others. This show smartly captures that with Axe. Money isn't just about purchasing power, but with how the world revolves around Axe. In episode four he flies his friends out to see a Metallica concert. He has the influence to go anywhere, even getting to watch them practice. He has all access, and it's easy to be envious of his life.
While Chuck claims investigating Axe is for the greater good, it's really selfish ambition. Bringing down a public figure like Axe would be a huge win for Chuck. Both men like the power and influence their job provides. Chuck's interests just happen to align with the law. The writing is very good, the actors elevate the material, and the dynamic between these two powerful people is engrossing.
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| Season 1 Episode 6: Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff play Bobby Axelrod, Wendy Rhoades |
Chuck's wife Wendy (Maggie Siff) works for Axe. It's such a strange conflict of interests, but she maintains a strict separation of personal and business. Her employer is a source of conflict for Chuck. He doesn't like Axe, and his wife is one of 'them.'
The dialog contains frequent movie references. It's something that's fun in the first few seasons, but by season five every character talks like this which isn't believable. The characters also use a lot of sexual metaphors which just sounds juvenile. Maybe that's how these business types speak, but it also sounds like how people imagine they talk based on pop culture.
Wags (David Costabile) is Axe's right hand man. He's played so well, and he's such an intriguing character. He's odd but in such an off-putting and twisted manner. He's not evil, but he is very dark.
Chuck manages to discover a crime through Bill (Kelly AuCoin) that links to Axe Capital. There's a clear conflict of interest, and eventually Chuck has to relent. He wanted this case against a billionaire to bolster his own reputation. Axe settles and agrees to pay a nearly two billion dollar fine. The crazy thing is that Axe can easily cover it. Axe commits, but Chuck can't just take the win. He has to be smug and rub the deal in Axe's face. Chuck has to let everyone know how smart he is at every opportunity. Axe then mocks Chuck, telling him two billion doesn't hurt, not like a shark bite. It's a horsefly. Chuck then changes the terms of the deal and Axe walks out. Chuck later lies to Wendy about why the deal fell through.
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| Season 1 Episode 2: Malin Åkerman , Damian Lewis plays Lara, Bobby Axelrod |
Chuck can't accept he didn't get the win. This becomes a question of where's the line. Is it just for Chuck to break the rules to catch a rule breaker? When confronted with his mistake, Chuck claims he has no choice. The thing is, Axe has always been honest about what he's done, especially with those closet to him. Chuck isn't. He's lied to get ahead. Wendy knows that Chuck broke the rules, and he smugly tells her a wife can't be compelled to testify against her husband. She responds that she will happily volunteer. Chuck argues that Axe wants to bring him down, but that is just ego. The truth is Axe doesn't care about Chuck as much as Chuck cares about Axe. Chuck wants to take down a trophy. Wendy is between them, providing a perspective on both men.
Season one is awesome, and it covers a lot of ground as we watch two opposing forces. Chuck is certain that Axe had to cheat to get so rich. The question becomes how far will Chuck go to prove that. Will he compromise the law to catch someone he thinks is a criminal? Both characters are well developed, and the actors play their parts so well that you couldn't imagine anyone else doing as well of a job.
With season two Chuck is being investigated due to his actions in the first season. His marriage is suffering from the same reasons. Axe hires a chief of staff to vet conversations and prevent the recklessness that caused trouble in the first season. We also see his relationship with Chuck become personal, Axe pulls strings just to mess with him. We see the New York Giants football team as a prospective purchase for Axe. Seeing real celebrities like Giants co-owner Steve Tisch does a great job of grounding this show. We also see that despite Axe's money, what he comes back to the most are memories and feelings from his youth. He often gets pizza from his teenage hang out.Axe was the golden investor in season one, but the legal troubles are causing him to work harder due to extra attention.
This season features new analyst Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon). They rise through the company quickly due to their unique perspective. Bobby realizes that they see everything from the outside. With their direct and blunt manner, it makes them fun. It also gives us a view into Axe Capital from the ground floor.
Season one established the animosity between Chuck and Axe while season two is more drama as their deepening dislike for each other alienates those around them. Chuck's dad always seems to be in the periphery throwing wrenches into the gears. While it often affects Chuck, this season he deals a blow directly to Axe. Axe decides to get retribution. This is a twisting plot point that initially seems to be dire for Chuck and family before a reveal that it also has consequences for Bobby Axelrod. There are still questions about how far Chuck will go. His determination to catch Axe in the act always has implications that Chuck is being biased. Axe has always been smarter because he's disconnected. Can Chuck execute his plan? If he does, he'll burn a lot of bridges in the process.
I like season one more as it did a better job of showing who these characters are and how they live. Season two is less establishing that foundation and more focusing on the battle. Season two has a great ending with Chuck and Axe squaring off verbally.
Season three is the aftermath of season two. Chuck is wheeling and dealing while his chief assistant Brian Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore) is prosecuting instead of Chuck. Chuck also can't reveal all the evidence against Axe as it would incriminate himself. Chuck has made a few deals to protect himself. He's slowly becoming more like the person he's set on capturing. I don't understand how everyone doesn't see Chuck's personal vendetta.
This season is darker. Chuck and Axe have both given up trying to be legal. Chuck is still trying to discover the smoking gun, and with each step he's willing to go further. I assume Axe will be one step ahead, but the more desperate Chuck gets, I begin to wonder. Axe is trying to manage a company that's faltering due to his legal issues.
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| Season 3 Episode 8: Asia Kate Dillon, Damian Lewis play Taylor Mason, Bobby Axelrod |
Due to the events of season two, Wendy is facing repercussions. Chuck and Axe are both willing to sacrifice to save her, so she brings them into one room to negotiate. It's a big moment, both of these guys together. It sets big expectations for how this season will conclude. Wendy coaxes someone to lie for her at Axe's behest. It's ironic as it feels more like something Chuck would do.
There's conflict between Taylor and Axe this season. Taylor wants to run things legitimately and has done a formidable job in Axe's absence, but Axe is back and wants a fresh start apart from what Taylor has done. Instead of a congratulations, Taylor gets what equates to a reprimand. It's not earned, and feels like manufactured drama. It's also Axe wanting control back with Taylor not wanting to give it up. At the end of this season, the discord between Axe and Taylor is only beginning.
Screwing people over has become very natural for Chuck, but that doesn't always work out as planned. Now Wendy is pushing Axe to get revenge. At the end of the season, the three of them sit down again, echoing episode seven as Chuck and Axe plot to team up to get those that have wronged them.
Season four is the beginning of the revenge trail for Chuck and Axe. Can they work together?
This show is leaning more and more on movie references. Sometimes it's a case of too clever for its own good. Season three covered this with Taylor stating they were trying to emulate the speech and references of others, but more and more characters, even new ones, speak using move references to such a degree that it stretches credibility. It wouldn't be so ridiculous if it was just Wags and Axe or just the Axe office.
The first two seasons showed how Axe was able to do whatever he wanted, often living what seems like his teenage dream. Subsequent seasons have leaned into drama and ego for both Chuck and Axe. When we see how Axe lives in later seasons it seems like the odd fantasy that's divorced from reality. These characters seem smart in the first two seasons, now they're just petty. The first two seasons are the peak of this show. Season three might have been me clinging to the first two seasons, but this season is starting to show the cracks.
Chuck's ego strikes again. He was in line to be the state Attorney General. Due to all of his subterfuge, he's blackmailed to bow out or else his masochism will be revealed. He agrees and even tells Wendy he will back out. Then he admits to it publicly and states he will fight to be AG. His admission brings Wendy into the open as well, and she was completely blindsided.
Episode four features Bobby and Chuck back at the same table. The first time it was a big moment, but now every time they get together it feels like a gimmick. It means less. Their rivalry made this show, and their friendship signals the decline.
Axe wants to shut Taylor down and even gets some help from Wendy. While it seems out of character, Taylor did betray her. That and Wendy did perpetrate a big lie last season. Her descent isn't completely out of left field.
This season seems like the show has run out of ideas while trying to avoid repeating the first two seasons. Episode eight is a corporate boxing match between Mafee and Dollar Bill. Is this what rich people do? It feels like what people imagine rich people do. It's soap opera. While it's fun, it doesn't feel realistic. This season keeps getting more ridiculous. In episode nine, the Axe Capital staff stage a protest. Then there's the Dollar Bill and Bonnie relationship that is pointless. This season is not the same level of quality as previous seasons.
This show's big moments just don't have the same impact as we've seen similar scenes before. At the beginning of this season I was clinging to what this show was, but I slowly had to admit this show just isn't good anymore.
Chuck and Charles Sr. have been playing Connerty, who fell into the same trap as Chuck. He broke the rules to catch a criminal. Chuck decides to go after Axe again, because apparently Axe is the source of all his problems. That's the kind of myopia typical for Chuck.
Axe's feud with Taylor ends with him wanting to hire her back. He punished them for stepping out of line and not kneeling to Axe. It just feels too petty for Axe.
This is the first season where I became bored with ridiculous plot lines and the soap opera like double crosses. Silly scenes don't add to the plot. This season succumbs to tired plot lines and ridiculous character arcs just to fill space.
I didn't like the start to this season at all. Axe and Wags are undertaking some kind of meditation in a hut. We're also introduced to a new character, Mike Prince (Corey Stoll). I guess Axe needed a new rival. The show has now positioned Axe as ruthless and greedy with Prince as the altruistic billionaire that wants to give back. Axe doubts Prince's intentions.
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| Season 5 Episode 1: Corey Stoll, Damian Lewis play Mike Prince, Bobby Axelrod |
How does Chuck have any credibility? He's been trying to nab Axe for years with no results. It's clear he has a vendetta. No one would give him latitude to keep going, but somehow he still has that freedom to pursue his self serving interests.
At this point in the show Chuck and Axe are the same. They hold grudges and work the system to their own ends. At least Axe doesn't parade around as a district attorney and officer of the law. Axe honestly admits he's greedy.
This season feels like a bad parody. In episode two Chuck references Dexter so often that it didn't seem clever but a flagrant advertisement as Dexter is a Showtime series. In the same episode Chuck tries out water boarding to see if it's torture. It's like a bad meme. In episode four Wags's estranged son appears to save him. It's parody. Wags is the character I'd pick with the least chance to be saved. Episode five pulls a scene from The Godfather part and parcel. Why? In episode seven Axe and crew take a Limitless type drug that makes them smarter. This even does the zoom in to the dilating eye. If I had never seen this show, I'd write it off after that very scene. Episode seven truly marks the show's downfall. It's such a departure from what this show used to be.
This season also continues the extravagant use of movie quotes, but also does a lot more explaining of the quotes. It seems like a reaction to someone complaining there are too many, but the reaction should have been fewer quotes and not explanations. Why would Mike Prince talk in movie references. Too many characters do this.
Episode eight is the return from the break and Giamatti looks very different. He's lost weight, his beard, and his hair is gray now. He looks like a different person. Giamatti exercised during COVID, citing a desire improve his health.
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| Season 5 Episode 8: Paul Giamatti plays Chuck Rhoades |
Axe wants Axe Capital to become a bank and goes to insane lengths for that. He also upsets Taylor who now wants to get Axe. Axe admits he likes Wendy, which ruins a unique platonic relationship where two colleagues respected each other. It's cheap and uninspired, relegating it to just another love interest. Do the writers even care anymore?
Damian Lewis wanted to take time off after this season, but did it start in the second half of this season? It seems like all of Axe's appearances are short cameos on video chat.
Episode eleven ramps up for the big finale, while also mentioning the single copy Wu Tang Clan CD, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin that Martin Shkreli bought in 2015 for two million.
In the final episode it's likely Axe and Wags will go to jail. We get a big dialog face off between Chuck and Axe. It certainly seems like an end to the series. Chuck finally has evidence on Axe.
This series started out so well. The first two seasons are excellent. While many shows decline, it's surprising just how bad season five is. How can six be worse? If the final two seasons appear on a streaming service I have, I suppose I'll check it out, but I don't have much hope of it being good. Watch the first two seasons, but don't continue watching thinking it can't be that bad or that it can't get worse.
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