Billions (2016) s07e06 Episode Script

1
[MAN] Previously on Billions
[CHUCK] Mr. Andolov,
My first act as attorney general
was to freeze your funds
in the United States.
My second act is inviting you
to leave our sunny shores.
I, of course,
picked up the scent of the Axelrod
behind this.
Charles Rhodes, Jr. is hereby removed
as attorney general of
the state of New York.
[CHUCK] Everywhere he goes,
we are watching.
It's hard to march toward the presidency
when you're always looking
over your shoulder.
The beginnings of a plan.
Secrecy and deception.
I'm starting to get misty.
Jesus. You like shaking people up.
Like it? I don't know. It just happens.
I love that you're loyal
until I help get you
elected to Congress.
[CHUCK] You've accumulated so much,
you think laws don't apply to you?
Who appointed you the
keeper of these cosmic rules
in the first place?
The fucking arrogance!
[SIGHS] Oh, I've always wanted
to see Vestmannaeyjar in the dark.
Best way for a newly installed
U.S. Attorney not to be tracked.
And for an international
fugitive not to be extradited.
Something for everyone.
Lay it out for me.
I've been told I needed to see you.
When Wendy wants something,
she's very persuasive.
Eh, that's why I called her.
I need safe passage to America.
- For you?
- No, not for me.
I'll need a name, Robert.
Yeah, Charles, I'm working up to it.
Is that because I'm going to hate it?
Well, you ain't gonna love it.
[SPEAKING UKRANIAN]
[MAN SPEAKING UKRANIAN]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Vasily Melnikov, stabbed.
Vladislav Avayev, shot.
Sergey Protosenya, hanged.
Alexander Tyulyakov, also hanged.
And the list goes on.
All friends and colleagues of mine.
All dead.
[AXE] My condolences.
Dangerous time to be an oligarch.
[GRIGOR] Yet when you called and asked,
even though we had agreed
you would stay out
of my part of the world,
I helped you anyway.
Helped me?
No, we both worked together
to help the man in the
olive drab t-shirt.
Because both he and
his country needed it.
- Yours, too.
- Hmm.
Not how the Kremlin sees it.
[AXE] That's how you see it.
You know, it's no good being a citizen,
even a rich one,
from a country that's isolated,
bled dry.
Well, like how I felt when you chased me
out of the United States.
Ah, that's semi-ancient history.
Now you have freedom here in Europe.
We both do.
To walk the streets. To wet our beaks.
Thanks to the arms that I financed,
and you sourced.
And you think this
wipes our ledger clean?
Oh, did I forget to send
you a fucking fruit basket?
Oh, a few kumquats is not
going to change anything.
But our ledger is not clean.
It is like a windshield
that was tended to
by your [SQUEAKING SOUNDS]
squeegee men that thrived
under your Mayor Dinkins.
All the showy effort and noise,
and still, windshield
covered in grime and dirt.
Until I am rehabilitated
in the United States,
we are not square.
I'm not even rehabilitated there.
And I'm not a foreign national. You are.
And I am the one defying my government
during a purge that makes Joe Stalin
look like Joan fucking Baez.
If my loyalty is even questioned
by the leaders of my country
I get it.
You go on the dead oligarch list.
Hm. So now
to what I need.
And what you will deliver on a platter.
I need to return to America.
On a deeply personal mission.
You do know that all
your funds are frozen?
Down to the last kopek.
Plus, you're on a sanctions list.
No matter what the mission,
I suggest you conduct it somewhere else.
[GRIGOR] No, Axe.
You will arrange it
so I can walk back in,
do my business freely,
and in return,
I will grant something to you.
Could be tickets to the Bolshoi,
could be to allow you
to keep walking around here,
breathing freely.
Threats? Really?
What in my history makes you
think I respond well to threats?
What in my history makes you think
it's merely a threat?
[CHUCK] Grigor Andolov.
It's within your authority,
within your ability to
figure it out anyway.
[CHUCK] To give an
exiled criminal a visa?
So he can, what,
muscle in on the Brighton
Beach heroin trade?
Fuck with our next election?
[AXE] His wife's still in New York.
She's suing for divorce
on grounds of abandonment.
Well, maybe he can countersue for irony.
And if he can't even show up
she gets a default
judgment worth billions.
Oh! Now we're talking
your love language.
This is important to me.
Important to you.
To the man who defied me
on that heliport not so long ago?
[SCOFFS] I would consider
it a personal favor.
When Ali was broke,
could no longer fight,
couldn't even pick up his dinner tab,
Smoking Joe hauled him into his limo,
counted out a thousand bucks, cash.
Sure, the old combatants code.
But based on the shiny new G800,
plenty of purses rolling your way.
Yeah, I'm flush.
So I'll make you an offer.
You get Grigor to the U.S.,
I'll owe you a debt.
You do remember when I kicked
him out of there, that, too,
was a favor to you?
Yeah, it's all more perplexing
than the betrayal of Johnny Caspar.
But I need it done.
So if you do it,
I promise that I will come
through for you when you ask.
And I think you know,
when I make a promise,
I don't come up short.
[DRY CHUCKLE]
[SIGHS] Well, I'll say it.
We aren't breaking through.
Yet you remain undefined
beyond rich, smart, nice guy.
The party primaries are sucking
up all the media attention.
Do I have to fly the National damn Guard
every time I want some political ink?
Can you?
I'm not laughing.
What else has had that type of impact,
historically, for an outsider candidate?
The only independent to ever
really get traction was
Yes. Perot.
I saw it as a kid.
I buy a a half hour
on every major network.
- Live speech.
- Hm. It'll play like you're
making an acceptance speech at
your own national convention.
Yeah, we call that
the primetime roadblock.
No way around us,
we'll reframe the entire race.
How do you win outside the system?
You run as the antidote to the system.
The theme will be taking inventory,
looking inside ourselves
to see how we let things get this bad.
Yes. Asking the hard, honest questions
no politician dares ask
to remake ourselves in
order to remake the country.
Before it's too late.
[WAGS] The full Lincoln.
Do it the right way,
the other candidates will look like
lawn jockeys at the Belmont Stakes.
[WENDY] Tell the story
of how you ask your people
how you can do better,
be better,
as you will also ask the country.
I like that.
Then you have to really do it.
Solicit honest feedback
from your employees.
Use it as fuel for the speech.
Use it as an example.
[LUKE] Yeah, great.
I'll run focus groups with your people
- to get that info.
- [PRINCE] Hm.
Boil it down to a lean
PowerPoint to present to you.
I'm not sure inserting a layer
between Mike and his guys
is the way to success.
Happens to be the only way
the political research process works.
Filters, funnels, all of it.
No, no, no. I want the full fire hose.
That's the point. As Wendy says.
Okay, how about this?
I run the process with Mike in the room.
We make it authentic, substantial.
Full fat, full flavor.
So Mike can eat it up
and then spit it out.
We'd spend all week Heimliching the guy.
This has to be a battle cry.
No, no, no time for
self-recrimination or anything
that blunts the tip of the sword.
Like actual self-knowledge?
I have to run this process.
So you can baby-proof the credenza.
So I can keep out the noise.
Same process I used
to elect a third of the Senate.
Oh, the same guys
that are so out of touch,
Mike had to step in
and run 'em out of town?
I don't need my candidate
picking pepper out of fly shit
- on the eve of a major speech.
- [PRINCE] I've heard enough.
Brad, you can run the
process with me in the room.
Wendy'll be there, too. Team of rivals.
Make the buy, set the meeting.
[DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS]
We are gonna do
something extremely hard.
[IRA] Um, great?
[SIGHS] Yeah,
everyone's gonna be angry about it.
It'll cause enormous
tension with Washington,
with Albany, too.
Sounds horrible. What's it entail?
Getting a previously ejected oligarch
back into the country.
- A Russian oligarch?
- [CHUCK] Mm-hmm.
One with a big red target on his back.
From DOJ, from DHS, from Interpol, too.
Grigor Andolov.
And you want to do this now,
during the second coming
of the Red Menace.
Like I said, extremely hard.
If it's doable at all.
Why would you even consider it?
As a favor to Bobby Axelrod.
Those words just tumbled
out of your mouth
like a meth addict's teeth
- [SIGHS]
- and just as fucked up.
[STAMMERS] How do you
figure you'll pull this off?
I have to talk to a special advisor.
- Big man in certain circles.
- [DOOR OPENS]
Bunky Stevens is going to be a father
with his third wife, Candy.
Neat trick, considering he died
- a few months back.
- [SWERDLOW] Mm-mm.
Post-mortem jizz retrieval, you dig?
Not sure I do.
[SWERDLOW] Well,
you get the stiff on the table,
even though he ain't so stiff no more.
Get my drift?
And then you drain those berries.
You do it soon enough,
you end up with viable swimmers,
Jizz. Stuff of life.
[CHUCK SR.] Stuff of fraud.
There's a new fertility
start-up out there doing this.
Candy is just beefing up
her claim on the estate.
The first and second
wives will get nothing
now that there's going to be an heir.
No respect for the starter
wives in our culture,
chicks who break the seal.
In Thailand, even the minor wives
get one hell of a birthday bunfight.
Uh-huh.
You're going to want to think global
but act local on this one.
[CHUCK] Mm.
It's your worst nightmare, isn't it?
A paternity suit that can't
be settled out of court.
Oh, it's a question of basic fairness,
don't you see?
Never your concern.
And I don't recall you thinking much of
Bunky or his wives, either.
So the fact that you're
suddenly the guardian
of the product of his vas deferens,
I know there's more to the story.
That mean that you're not gonna
club this company into oblivion
and seize the embryos that
result from this unholy process?
It means I'll look into it,
and decide what I'll do as usual.
Bye, Dad.
Hey, sugar, you be getting that
shit I've been sending you?
I have. And I thank you.
[SCOFFS] It's, uh, uh,
I guess it's what you'd call PEDs,
but in lozenge form.
So, put it under your tongue.
It hits the bloodstream instantly.
Like a ball-peen fucking hammer.
Turns any man into a
world-class sheet-athlete.
Wonderful.
[CHUCK SR.] And I'm left wondering why
none of this sublingual
supreme has been sent my way.
For the simple reason
it may kill you, big papa,
like Dirty Harry in '71.
[DOOR CLOSES]
He goes into this speech confident,
he comes out sailing.
Zooming up the fucking polls.
And we're just supposed
to stand there clapping
like extras in a Riefenstahl film.
With Bradford running point,
the feedbacks gonna be jet fuel.
[UTENSILS CLINK]
Uh, there is a potential
equal time issue.
It's been dealt with.
I spread some more ad dollars around
and if any candidate
tries to buy equal time
within a week of Prince,
they won't find any left for sale.
Nicely solved.
Power of the motherfucking purse.
All over but the shouting.
She's too effective.
We need her out of here.
Isn't she supposed to be
running for Congress,
instead of doing
henchman duty for Prince?
She needs to understand
the hazards of staying.
In my experience, rich, powerful men
think they want to hear
the unvarnished truth
but don't actually want to hear it.
Yeah, is this really
just a loyalty test?
If it is, let's pass it,
get back to our desks.
It's earning season, people.
I don't know,
best just call it the way you see it.
You mean as long as it's
what he wants to hear?
I mean, tell him what he wants to hear
no matter how you see it.
What if that comes
across as inauthentic?
Does your comp come
across as inauthentic?
[RIAN] Guys, easy peasy.
Like seeing your dorm-mate
in an off-off-Broadway play.
You say something vague, adjective free,
"That was all you up there."
And then let the ego fill in the blanks.
[CHAIR SLIDING]
I'm calling bullshit
on this whole exercise,
and I sure as fuck won't suck up.
[CHAIR RATTLES]
Mike, you are like a combination
of Benjamin Graham
and fucking Hal from Space Odyssey,
everywhere, all at once,
processing, prodding me
to make better trades.
Why is there anything you've
been wanting to say to Mike,
but thought you couldn't?
I don't deserve you.
The guilt, it's crushing me.
That's something I think
we should work on.
And the challenges trading with him,
day to day?
I have this recurring dream
in which you make bank.
I'm talking 10X
while doing an ungodly
amount of push ups.
But is it really a dream?
I'm just saying it ain't easy.
When you set a standard that's
through the freaking roof.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Mike, this is you and me.
Criticism? Who are we kidding?
Uh, would you
Would you like to, uh?
[DOOR CLOSES]
- Jesus.
- Let's move on.
Yep.
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
[ELEVATOR WHIRRS]
I love that you're ditching
your race for Congress.
- I am?
- As much as we need you there,
we need you here.
Besides, not enough
hand sanitizer in the world
- to make me do that job.
- [CHUCKLES]
You should go long Purell,
I'm not ditching a thing.
But you're still here?
My filing deadline's months away.
But we're days away
from Prince's campaign
becoming a black hole.
Everything in its
vicinity sucked right in.
You'll just be part of
the fabric of the thing,
unable to assert yourself
as anything other than
"Prince's fill-in-the-blank".
[CHUCKLES] All because he's
about to throw down a gauntlet?
More of a grenade.
At the parties you'll
need to nominate you.
So I just establish a little
distance when I leave is all.
With your family dough?
With the whitest collar background
of anyone at the firm?
Ask Chang and Eng.
Not a lot of distance when
you're joined at the hip.
[CHUCKLES]
[CHUCK] Must feel
different to walk this hall
as an impresario.
No longer the guy in the squared circle.
Eh, still feel every bump.
Whether you're giving 'em
whether you're taking 'em,
whether you're scripting 'em.
I've always wondered if I could do it.
Fall down for a living.
[CHUCKLES] You don't
have that far to fall.
[CHUCKLES] Look, you could do it.
When this crowd comes alive,
you'd come alive.
There is nothing else
- like this.
- [CHUCK] Yeah.
Well, no one knows the game
like you do, Hunter.
And that's why I need your advice.
You got a game that needs to be played?
Yes, exactly.
I need to turn one guy heel,
and another guy babyface. In one move.
[HUNTER] Oof.
Double turn. Tough to pull off.
But when it's done right,
one of my personal favorites.
How do I pull it off?
You need to let the heel come in
and get the heat from the crowd.
Then your babyface
comes and gets the pop.
[SOFT CHUCKLE]
The heat and the pop, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Tell me more about these guys.
What do you got on 'em?
Well, they both think they're babyfaces.
That's for damn sure.
But neither one of them is.
Every sitting senator
would give their gavel arm
for a survey result like this.
Did any of it feel real to you?
I can read between the lines.
I picked up that I can be intimidating.
I'll work on that.
[SCOFFS]
This is how Vietnams happen.
How politicians lose touch with reality.
Hard questions stop being asked
and they believe their own hype.
So you want us to go back around
and troll for negative feedback?
So that's written down somewhere,
- so it fucks with Mike's head?
- [WENDY] I wouldn't frame it like that.
But if he's going to ask the rest of us,
the country, to take inventory,
then he should really fucking do it.
Otherwise, he's as fake
as the politicians he's running against,
and the voters are
going to smell it on him
and send him packing.
She's right.
You want a samurai sword
and Hattori Hanz blade?
Those only come from the hottest flames.
Find me a master swordsmith
without some serious burns.
[WAGS] He's letting you run
a second round of honesty sessions?
[WENDY] Without Prince
in the room this time.
No Luke either.
I'm not comfortable with this.
We don't know where
actual honesty will lead.
[WAGS] Fuck yeah, we do.
The greatest televised meltdown
since Howard Beale.
Prince's narcissism is a mile-wide
and a micron thick.
Watch the movie. Beale stays on air,
Schumacher gets kicked to the curb.
I want to keep having a firm to run.
Watch it to the end.
Beale gets his brains blown out.
Schumacher gets to schtup a young,
luscious-as-a-plum Faye Dunaway.
[WENDY] Taylor isn't wrong.
This could implode MPC,
as well as the campaign
and all of our places in it.
I wanna slam Prince's ego
with a battering ram.
No telling where the
fragments will land.
If it hurts business.
If it blows us up, too
price we gotta pay.
[SIGHS]
One question,
related to the files we discussed
a few weeks back.
Yep.
If I stay on board here, am I killing
my chances with the mainstream party?
Can't expect either
party to bear hug you
after he shoots 'em in the vitals.
What if I wall myself
off from the campaign?
Restrict myself to firm
business until I leave?
The firm is the campaign.
No wall to be built
unless you wanna drywall
your own office door.
[EXHALES]
I was hoping we could,
uh, I don't know
think outside the box.
Mmm, not so easy when you're in one.
[SIGHS]
Got the case for ya.
Commodities fraud.
Uh, market manipulation
in the oil industry.
That'll do. [SIGHS]
Sure you want to go down this road?
We list Andolov as an expert witness,
then asked DOJ and DHS
to parole him into the country.
Get ready for some hairpin turns.
The guy's a sanctioned
oligarch who you chased out.
I mean, there's impossible,
then there's climbing the Dawn Wall
with a pair of Havaianas
and a bag of chalk.
I think I can sell it.
I also learned that
Grigor's wife is not alone
in her divorce action
she's got a backer,
a hedge fund, he's bankrolling her,
no doubt for a big
piece of the settlement.
- Who?
- Our very own Todd Krakow.
And knowing him,
that's not the only reason
he's lurking around.
[CHUCKLES] Because what we need here
are some more obstacles.
[SIGHS]
Damn the torpedoes,
file the parole request.
[IRA] I've got something else for you.
- Can it wait till morning?
- Uh
you're going to want to see this today.
[CHUCK SIGHS]
Dad.
Uh, your pal Bunky
signed a consent form.
Well, hold the fucking roll.
If your boy signed off on it,
how come he didn't get the missus
to do the extraction pre-mortem?
I mean, that's lots more fun.
You know what I'm sayin', baby girl?
He didn't want to raise a kid.
He wanted a posthumous
tot to live on after him.
That's like that fucking
movie about the octopus.
She popped some eggs from her cooch,
and then she slides into
an undersea death spiral.
Hm.
This isn't about Bunky at all.
What is it?
Okay, fine.
I'll tell you.
It's Roxanne and Willow.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[CHUCK SR.] I saw them praying
to Jesus.
When we agreed we wouldn't raise Willow
with religion at all.
Beware, Sonny Boy, legacy is a lie!
There is no control in the hereafter.
Oh, shit. It's true.
You know, once they get the Jesus fever,
it's rarely treatable.
Just like the fucking
Orthodox in my tribe.
Yeah, a Rhoades
spouting the Lord's Prayer,
I know what a disaster that is for you.
You need to talk to Roxanne.
Just rein it in before it takes root.
Not in a talking mood.
I'm drawing up my demands
for the upbringing of my progeny.
Schooling, vacations, earthly pursuits.
This This God shit?
Strictly off the list.
Because ultimatums work
so well in a marriage?
If she won't heed mine,
then we are headed for divorce.
And I'm going for custody.
[DOOR SLIDES SHUT]
I knew you'd come.
I've been expecting you.
I saw in the papers
you're back in your old job.
Indeed.
But I figured you'd make an appointment.
I'm not actually here for that.
It's about my father.
Oh. Well. Usually is.
[CHUCK SCOFFS] No,
I need some information.
About the nature of control.
Dominance.
Why some seem unable to give it up.
You trying to save yourself?
[CHUCK] No. Not this time, no.
My dad needs some peace.
But his daughter
she needs to be spared
the kind of upbringing I had.
That relentless,
controlling instinct which
Which led you here in the first place.
Which led me to mirror him
in 98% of my interactions.
And then to have to
completely repudiate it here.
Sometimes there's a certain comfort
in jumping at others' command.
Control is all an illusion anyway.
Huh. Tell that to the guy
in the business end of the truncheon.
But if you're paying
someone to wield it,
who's really in control?
End of the day, client gets the meal.
I just plate the food.
You think my dad is fooling himself?
[TROY] Raging against his own impotence,
maybe.
His mortality.
Control is often an expression of fear.
People who truly believe
they're in control?
More likely to escalate
their actions till they fail.
Leads to poor decision making.
- Magical thinking.
- Hm.
Problem is
telling a controller
not to doesn't work.
I've noticed.
Your hope lies in convincing him
that his true power is best displayed
in not having to use it.
I promised them anonymity.
Then work to get them past
their instinct for flattery,
for base self-interest.
I'm ready for the unplugged version.
"Self-satisfied." "Loves himself."
"Mother Teresa of Wall Street."
"Loves the smell of his own farts,
like the "Smug Alert"
episode of South Park"?
- Never saw that one.
- I have.
It's a top-tier episode.
Heh. Who said that?
You can't think I'm gonna name names.
I just
I want to do some relationship repair.
[STAMMERS] Of course, no.
Uh, "Entitled, thinks he can
buy us off with private planes.
I mean, I'll take the flights,
but fuck that."
[SIGHS THEN SCOFFS]
"Forces you to come to his
party and act like you like it
while he slakes his appetite"
[LUKE] Stop right there.
There's no reason for Mike
to be subject to the
petty staff jealousies
and and character sniping.
I mean, we all sat through your round.
I didn't take you for
the squeamish type.
And this is when we
bring it back around,
put it in a context?
[SCOFFS]
Here's the context. You have to decide
what taking inventory actually means.
Whether you can push
through the friction
as commander in chief,
a lot fucking worse
than what you heard just now.
And do what must be done.
What only you can do for the country.
Even if it turns you into a dartboard.
I think you can,
or I'd be lying to your face
like everyone else on that
floor instead of, you know
giving you what you asked for.
That'll be all.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[CLEARS THROAT]
These are all A-list attorneys.
Serious political chops, too.
You think we need more firepower?
[SACKER] No.
But I don't want to leave
without replacing myself.
But it's time. Past time.
The speech is tomorrow.
I need to get with the party
that can nominate me.
Terms of my hire, remember?
What do you want?
What will it take
to stick around longer
till we can right the ship?
If I stay and help you right it,
it'll be pretty hard to get off it.
If your departure is made public,
this of all weeks
Maybe we all go quiet on this
until the hand-off's complete.
It has to be public. It has to be now.
A couple of days at the most.
I need to establish a
little distance to him.
Scrub your name off
mine while I still can.
- It's just politics, Mike.
- [SIGHS]
I hope you understand.
Don't walk away from Prince Capital
or Prince himself.
I don't quit now,
both parties will freeze me out.
Nothing on the plus side of the ledger
competes with that.
"Love To Love You, Baby."
Come again?
It's the song that took dance
music from the club floor
to the top of the charts.
Broke me as a music manager.
Made Donna Summer into the
queen of a whole new genre.
You said it ended badly.
Always does.
But before that,
she was my double platinum ticket.
No bigger pop star in the '70s.
No Black woman,
beside Diana with her cultural power,
her crossover cachet.
And she knew it.
Came to me to cut my percentage.
Once, then again and again.
Natural progression with most stars.
But I hung in,
choked down every indignity.
And do you know why?
Because everyone answered my call.
Just hoping it'd be about Donna.
It would've been worth
it to do the job for free
for that alone.
No indignities at Prince Capital.
But unlike Donna,
the name is about to be
a liability for me.
You don't want to be frozen out.
I get it.
But how cold are you going
to feel in the wilderness?
In the dead of winter?
When your calls go unanswered?
Surprise, surprise.
We've got a Russia problem.
Hmm. Oh!
[CHUCK] Apparently, it's going around.
Chuck. My friends in DC
tell me you're trying
to bring Grigor Andolov
in as some bullshit witness.
Are you fucking crazy?
How's the country better
off with that droog in it?
Uh, let's reframe that.
How many tens of millions of
dollars do you stand to lose
if he can contest his divorce action?
Mm. You should know better
than to mock the crime
- of spousal abandonment.
- [CHUCKLES]
Or the stigma and isolation?
The inability to plan one's future?
A woman's emotions torn fucking asunder.
[CHUCK] Ohh
You're not just bankrolling her.
You're sleeping with her.
- [KRAKOW] Okay, look
- [CHUCKLES]
[KRAKOW] It started off all business,
but Oksana is a very soulful woman.
She's been through a lot. [INHALES]
The heart wants what the heart wants.
So does the DOJ,
and we need the guy here.
Then I may need to align with forces
whose interests run counter to yours.
- In a big fucking way.
- [CHUCK SNICKERS]
And I never do my enemies
minor boo-boos, Chuck.
Keep up that watered-down
Machiavelli shit with me,
the feds will be a far
more pressing problem
than some foreign actor.
You better not mess with
that divorce proceeding.
Oh, that one's all yours.
[SCOFFS]
[CHUCK SNICKERS]
[IRA] He's not the only grouser.
I just heard from DeGiulio.
He got the request to parole
Grigor back into the States?
Wants to discuss it in person.
Along with your old
pals Governor Sweeney
and Attorney General Mahar.
The three of them together.
[IRA] When they come
at you as a three man,
think chair shot, not rubber stamp.
My ink pad's at the ready.
Chuck, is it really worth
choosing Grigor over Krakow
and not one,
but two levels of government?
To please this guy of all people.
- I mean, what's he ever done for you
- Hm.
except wear you out
and haunt your days?
No, this is the vaunted Bobby Axelrod,
mover of markets,
puller of levers.
And he needed me. [SCOFFS]
Called me.
Had to ask me for a personal favor.
Offered to be in my debt.
Sure, I wanted to say no,
almost did. But
Well, that's too rare and valuable
a commodity these days.
Especially from one who
knows what it means.
Well, that is more old
school than Sammy Davis Jr.
tapping with the Will Mastin Trio.
I lead from the front.
I do everything I ask of
those under my command
and not from a goddamn swivel chair.
The difference between
you and General Patton?
He didn't ask for his
employee's criticism.
He just slapped them in the face.
Criticism informs, elucidates.
This was insubordination.
Maybe Luke was right
maybe you weren't ready
for the full fire hose.
My own people think
that they can lie to me,
mock me.
Plus, Sacker's leaving,
planning on "distancing herself"?
We were cruising along
at flank speed before all this.
Mm. The presidential.
When did I become Lex Luthor?
Anytime somebody runs for office,
they either become Superman
or that other thing.
I didn't change.
Everybody looks at you
through different eyes now,
but that doesn't matter.
What matters is this:
There's nothing wrong
with deciding you want
the unvarnished, unquestioned love.
In fact, that may be
the most healthy choice.
Sometimes quitting isn't capitulation.
Sometimes it shows grit and wisdom.
[NET SWISHES]
Scooter called you?
[ANDY] He told me what happened.
I know this is where you'd go.
Well, it used to actually work.
Now I feel the chill in this room, too.
Well, too warm
and you slip on the court.
[SCOFFS]
I used to feel the warmth
in every room I entered.
Especially Michael Prince Capital.
Now it just seems like a lie.
Those rooms were warm
because you paid them.
I told myself I didn't care.
But I thought the warmth was real.
Or I wanted to.
[ANDY] Then let's talk court conditions.
- [SIGHS]
- I was at Indiana A&M, too.
My teammates loved me there.
If we're really taking inventory,
some of them hated your guts.
- Until they got to know me, maybe.
- No.
Until you lead them to some wins.
Then they loved you.
I just had to show them
I was all about the team.
The team was all about you. Always.
You always had the ball.
You always made your shots or dished it.
They had to learn that the path to glory
ran through you.
So I shouldn't worry
about seeking real love?
I'm saying,
the way to get it is to be a winner.
That's as real as it fucking gets.
Is that cold or superficial or hollow?
Well, that's the world we're living in.
And it's the one you
say you want to lead.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
And he's fucking late.
Quite the assemblage for a
pro forma parole request.
Pro fucking forma?
Coddling a Russian criminal
on the dawn of a second Cold War.
Last I saw you, Governor,
you were forcing me from office
in a bloodless coup.
I'd say cold wars are your métier.
Uh, Mr. Andolov has agreed
to cooperate in a critical case.
His safe passage
will be strictly limited
To rat-fucking me and my biggest donor,
Todd Krakow.
[DAEVISHA] Chuck,
my office, your old office,
you personally ran Grigor
out of this country.
Surely, whatever grudge
you hold against the governor
Me? I'm all about moving forward.
This has to stop at the water's edge.
Let this fucker in and we're
going to look ridiculous.
Like patsies. Like
Putin's got pee tapes on the lot of us.
I know better than to try
to stop you, Chuck.
You will find a way over,
you will find a way through.
Used to be my modus, sure.
I am appealing to you, though.
Don't alienate us.
And don't burn Todd Krakow
and 50 other political powerhouses
in your first months back at Southern.
Don't make them your last.
I used to believe in zero-sum
in choosing a side, generally my own,
and alienating all others.
But this go-around,
I see that we can all be winners,
all be friends.
Why draw lines in the sand
when we can build a castle?
[SCOFFS] Castles made of sand?
You know, it's happened, Chuck.
You've lost your fucking mind.
Maybe I just found it, Bob.
Chuck, in a known language, please.
I'm talking about telling our own story.
A story in which we work
the emotional levers
to all get what we actually want.
And how exactly do we
reach this promised land?
My special advisor on this
will answer all your questions.
You might say he does it for a living.
Time to play the game ♪
[HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING
OVER PHONE SPEAKER]
[CROWD CHEERING OVER PHONE SPEAKER]
[SINGER CACKLES]
[MUSIC ENDS]
So, you found a good lawyer yet?
Excuse me?
[CHUCK] Your custody case.
Oh, I know your prenup's
a fortress of steel,
and that you're ready to crush.
I'm short-listing litigators
and still building out
my list of demands.
Uh-huh.
[CHUCK SR.] Go ahead, son.
I've known you long enough to know
when you've got a point to make.
[CHUCKLES] Well
probably not one
that's welcome here, so
Out with it.
No, it's just that I've noticed
that power is the ability
to influence others,
not dictate to them.
True power is not having to use it.
Are you gonna flash
your history chops now
and hold forth on how the great emperors
and cons were such
because they showed mercy?
I'm not.
We both know I'm talking
about your daughter.
[CHUCK SR.] That's right.
Now, she ought not be beholden
to some made-up deity.
When you'd rather have
her be beholden to you.
Your way.
You'll have her obedience
and you'll have moments
of her affection
Uh, she's human, after all.
And won't be able to escape
her inclination to love you,
but she'll try.
Oh, boy, how she'll try,
if you run power games
on her and her mother.
Domination
is an all-or-nothing proposition.
It does not work if you
carve out exemptions.
What is it that you're suggesting?
Go on dominating everyone
else in your life.
Put your stamp on things
and mark your turf.
Yes, and go ahead and show her that,
when she's old enough to apprehend it.
But when it comes to her now
give her a sense of stability
and self worth.
Because that's where
true power comes from.
Ease up.
As a means of achieving the same result.
Actually, control them more
by seeming to cede it.
Wouldn't have worked with you.
Who's to say
I may have needed the firm hand,
but neither of these women are me.
Oh, that's for damn sure.
[CHUCK] It could spare
you a custody fight.
You might even get what's
on that list of yours,
and they'll never know
they played right into what you wanted.
- I like this plan.
- Hm.
Some sense must have been
whipped into you after all.
That firm hand. Yep.
Okay, sonny
I will try it your way.
[CHUCK] Good.
[CHUCK CLEARS THROAT]
Continental style in this house,
left hand, tines downward.
This look like Ruby
fucking Tuesday to you?
[LUKE] Speech of his life.
I cannot believe he
missed the run-through.
[SCOOTER] Mike doesn't
need run-throughs.
He's Africa/Brass-era Coltrane.
- He finds it as he goes.
- Can you find it if it went?
We're live on eight
channels in five minutes
and he's not even here.
[BRADFORD LUKE] There he is.
[PRINCE] Who's ready to
turn this upside down?
Didn't need a run-through.
Any more than Jay-Z needs
to write down his lyrics.
Just roll tape and let me go.
Thank you.
For not keeping me safe.
In my bubble.
The idea that I would
reassess my campaign,
quit, because of a few
grumblers in the company
Well, I needed to hear that.
I was a professional boot in the ass.
Finally saw what you were doing.
The destiny, it's in me.
I knew you'd put yourself back together.
Glad you did.
[WOMAN] Ready?
I put him back together
after you kicked the
pieces across the floor.
[FOOTSTEPS RECEDING]
I thought you were out the door.
I'd like to stay at MPC
until my filing deadline.
Then run as an independent
on Mike's ticket.
Stay close to the resources, the juice.
If you're sure,
I can get you on a cutaway shot.
I know it's a risk taking
on the party machinery.
I'm not just going to be some
schmo out in the wilderness
in a run for Congress.
We're live.
In five, four, three
I'm Mike Prince.
If you only follow the primaries,
you don't know me.
That's by design.
So the status quo can keep
a hold of your futures.
I bought this time and
it didn't come cheap
because I'm my own man.
And because we need to
have a hard conversation
about why both parties,
and our system, are broken.
This is about the inventory
we all need to take
in order to get where we're going,
even if we don't always
like what we see.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[KRAKOW] Grigor.
Buddy, you're back.
You are surprised to see me here?
I'm surprised to see you here as well,
since four of the last five nights,
you've been spotted
outside Oksana's penthouse.
My penthouse, not your own.
She's been distraught in your absence.
I've tried to counsel her.
Tell her to, you know, hang in.
This is why I brought
you a special gift.
You should open it now.
Might come in handy
in case you need to "hang in."
My friend Christian
designed them personally.
Gossamer wings.
Now, I cannot tell you
if they support flights,
since I didn't test them myself, but
Since you live on the 29th floor,
maybe you would like
to be the test pilot.
You could have sent this
message in so many ways,
without coming to New York.
What fucking fun would there
be in letting someone else
throw you out the window?
I swear, Oksana and I are just friends.
W-we're not even friends.
It was just a
a mere business arrangement
But you spent so many
months in her company.
I'll never see her again.
I'll stop funding the divorce action.
In fact, I'll end it
with one fucking phone call.
It's hard to argue
abandonment now anyway.
This is good news.
It clears the way for
my own divorce suit
on grounds of adultery.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
My business is concluded.
Now, yours can begin.
It's quite a favor Axe granted you.
And that you granted him.
[DRY CHUCKLE]
How the hell did you two
become friends again,
after what he did to you?
Well, one has the greatest respect
for one's fiercest adversary.
Who else believes so
strongly in your abilities?
Well, it's time.
You ready to do the turn?
Like Andre in '87.
[ENGINE STARTS]
[POLICE SIRENS CHIRP]
[SIRENS BLARING]
[SIRENS STOP]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Let's go. Out of the car.
You have no authority over me.
I am a sovereign citizen.
I reject the right of the
United States to detain me,
or to compel my testimony.
I am a citizen of the greatest nation
in the history of the world,
led by the greatest leader.
So fuck you and fuck America.
[CROWD MURMURING]
[SWEENEY CLEARS THROAT]
Mr. Andolov was here to testify
in a federal case, to work with us.
However, he took that opportunity
to try and steal
sensitive military
technology for his country.
Now, upon receiving this intel,
I handed it off
to federal law enforcement
for coordinated action.
Chuck.
[SIGHS]
As U.S. Attorney,
I realized that this was
a complex federal matter,
so I contacted Solicitor
General DeGiulio and the DOJ.
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
Main Justice saw the
critical nature of this case
on New York and included the state AG.
Using state police and
undercover operatives,
we conducted a sting operation
and interdicted Mr. Andolov
before any secrets could be stolen.
As you can see in the video,
his true sentiments came to light.
He will be deported immediately.
It is a bad day for the Kremlin,
a good day for justice around the world.
Questions?
[REPORTERS CLAMORING]
[WOMAN] What about the risk
of rolling an old criminal
like Mr. Andolov into the
U.S. in the first place?
[DAEVISHA] He was poised to have
Wow
He swoops in, kills my play,
does a heel turn here.
He's rehabbed in Russia,
a hero to the Kremlin,
quashing those rumors
that he helped Ukraine.
Mm.
You guys are all champions of the city.
- Ah.
- It's quite a work you put on.
Mm-hmm. Except for the part with you.
- That was a shoot.
- Hm.
Fuck. You weren't in on that?
No, real.
Only way I see it,
everything he said stands.
He'll now have Moscow's full
backing to do whatever he wants,
wherever he wants.
- [REPORTERS CLAMORING]
- Long arms.
One warning was enough.
That and those fucking wings.
[DAEVISHA] We cooperate
[DOOR CLOSES]
The dial groups we ran
during the speech
spiked the whole time.
I've never seen anything like it.
Mike is trending on every platform.
Pundits on both sides are
calling it a major victory.
Calling me for jobs, too.
My phone's blowing up.
All this coverage,
- you couldn't buy it.
- But he did.
[SCOOTER] "Rising above the smallness
and negativity of the primaries."
"Owning primetime, because he can.
Literally."
Mike wants to do one
of these every month.
Draw up a check, I'll draw up a plan.
I owe you an apology.
We both had our points of view.
I had my own agenda.
Keeping control of the campaign.
You just served Mike.
No wonder he trusts you so much.
[REPORTER OVER VIDEO]
It's the kind of speech
no politician ever gives.
Because they can't afford to.
In more ways than one.
That alone gives Michael
Prince the edge tonight,
a true independent,
storming the gates
[CLICKS VIDEO OFF]
["RID OF ME" BY PJ HARVEY PLAYING]
It's done.
I saw. Thanks.
No, I should be thanking you.
For making me better. Sharper.
For raising the level of play,
as you always have.
I can't say I wish I was back there
- slugging it out with you.
- Mm-hmm.
- We went enough rounds.
- Yeah.
Took me some time to realize,
that was reason enough
to help you from the start.
Old combatants' code.
That's the other reason.
Someday,
and that day will definitely come,
I will call upon you to repay this debt.
And I know you won't come up short.
I'm going to twist ♪
Your head off, see ♪
[PHONE CLATTERS]
Till you say don't you wish ♪
You never ♪
Never met her? ♪
Don't you don't you ♪
Wish you ♪
Never, never met her? ♪
Don't you, don't you ♪
Wish you ♪
Never, never met her? ♪
Don't you, don't you ♪
Wish you ♪
Never, never met her? ♪
I beg you ♪
My darling ♪
Don't leave me ♪
I'm hurting ♪
I've been lonely ♪
Above everything ♪
Above every day ♪
I'm hurting ♪