Billions (2016) s07e07 Episode Script
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1
[PHILIP] Previously on Billions.
I buy a half hour
on every major network, live speech.
Solicit honest feedback
from your employees.
Use it as fuel for the speech.
He goes into the speech confident,
he comes out sailing.
I've been told I needed to see you.
When Wendy wants something,
she's very persuasive.
And that's why I called her.
With Bradford running point,
the feedback's gonna be jet fuel.
So you want us to go back around
and troll for negative feedback?
This could implode MPC,
as well as the campaign
and all of our places in it.
I would consider it a personal favor.
[CHUCK] We are gonna do something
extremely hard.
When did I become Lex Luthor?
Someone's quitting isn't capitulation.
So I shouldn't worry
about seeking real love.
I'm saying the way to
get it is to be a winner.
Thank you
for not keeping me safe.
The destiny is in me.
I put him back together
after you kicked the
pieces across the floor.
I'm Mike Prince.
Mike is trending on every platform.
It's done.
I saw.
Someday,
and that day will definitely come,
I will call upon you to repay this debt.
This is totally amazing.
That's how I do. I aim to amaze.
You've done it. I thought it
was only a theoretical model.
It was, back when
you were a Stanford Cardinal.
It's viable now.
What compressive strength
have you managed to achieve?
As you know, the standard crap
ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 psi.
My little baby gets close to 6,000.
- Damn.
- Plus, when the cracks form,
the bacteria creates
a self-healing effect.
It's an organic,
high-tech mimic of the lime clasts
and volcanic ash from
Ancient Roman concrete
that's had those buildings
standing for thousands of years.
- Beautiful.
- Yeah.
It's almost ready to go to market
and present to the Cement Masons unions.
That's why I moved the lab
here a little while back.
Before you do,
you gotta let me walk you in to my guy.
[THUD]
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[QUINN] Okay, so you are gonna want
to practice your starts,
your stops, your signals,
and your merges before
your next road test
so you don't have to do
this whole Phi Slama Jama
a third time.
So I definitely failed?
Flatter than a pancake.
And when you're ready
to give it another go,
you just head to the website
and book another test.
[SENIOR] Well, since
since we know he'll pass the next one,
how's about we save
everyone the trouble.
He was so close this time.
There must be a way to
shave a point or add one?
Close? No. Not a word I'd use.
The bus was close, though.
Which bus?
The bus that your young
charge almost sideswiped,
like Rick Mahorn did Wilkins that time.
Phi Slama Jama. Rick Mahorn.
You're a sports fan.
And unlike the boy, sir,
you are a quick study.
[LAUGHS] That I am.
What's your name, sir?
Quinn. Ern Quinn. Mr. Quinn.
Well, Ern, I think the thing to do
is for you to get some
tickets to see a game,
which is expensive, I know.
So, what I'm thinking is,
we make that happen
and then you make the
driver's license happen.
- [POLICE SIREN BLURTS]
- This is ridiculous.
I was social friends with Robert Moses!
Don't say your daddy's name.
I'll tell them to call Mom.
No. She'll flay me.
I should have made one
of them come with me.
These DMVs
Stands for Dumb Motherfucking Varmints,
by the way!
just want to charge a higher price.
I got this.
[EXCLAIMS]
To build.
That's man's impulse.
Well, mine, anyway.
But the best-made structures,
how long do they last?
Not long enough that future
civilizations won't use
the rubble of ours as a mere foundation.
Until now.
Bio-inspired vascular concrete.
It recognizes the weaknesses
within the concrete system
and is able to
enzymatically repair itself.
This will revolutionize
the country's crumbling infrastructure.
This material rebuilds the past,
fortifies the present,
secures the future.
This is magnificent.
It really is.
This is a game changer.
But the path from innovation to market
is fraught with danger.
It's Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots out there.
This can't be one of those
that doesn't make it.
[LAUGHS] Uh
What danger, exactly?
Deep-pocketed competitors, copycats,
foreign governments willing to steal it.
As you know, all those things and more
can destroy a young company.
But I can protect it. And you.
[TYPING]
[SIGHS]
You see, man's impulse is also to buy.
I want to get behind this in a big way.
I can take care of knocking
out the competitors,
as well as all the execution stuff,
the blocking and tackling
you don't need to get bogged down with.
This is something that
will help the world,
and we'll all get rich doing it.
I'm having in-house counsel join
so we can move quickly and aggressively.
I'm prepared to purchase
your entire company
and back a more robust timetable,
rolling this out in the next 14 months.
No, no, I'm not handing you the reins.
This is my life's work.
Which you'll lose no matter what
now that you've stuck your head out.
But we can prevent that.
We will prevent it.
This way, your vision is protected
and you get paid fairly.
You don't buy me out.
I made my bones when you were
going out with cheerleaders.
So, a Moe Greene no.
What ended up happening
to old Moe after that?
Thank you all for your time.
And the fucking scones.
I'm not selling.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[CLEARS THROAT]
[SIGHS]
Look, he put his whole
professional life into this.
I just think he didn't
see the blitzkrieg coming.
I didn't either.
Maybe you can go and talk to him.
I can. I'll try.
But he is stubborn.
I mean, real stubborn.
Yeah, okay, you do that.
Talk some reason into him.
This is the way he wins.
Because if I can't have
his company this way,
I want his tech. And I'll get it.
Legally. Aboveboard.
Fins up, you know what I'm saying, Kate?
We'll make a dang fortune,
and this is the kind of idea
custom-made to campaign on.
A new foundation for America.
I'm on it.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Hello, son.
Dad, I'm fine.
Kev, that's code for "not fine."
I fucked up and said your name.
[CHUCK] To whom?
I found the one sorry
son of a bitch at the DMV
that doesn't know the difference
between a gratuity and a bribe.
Don't say another word,
either of you.
I'm planning on telling Mike
he should punt on the
performance reviews.
Oh, you're planning.
Well, I mean, if you want to,
I'll of course step back and
I thought that's why
you said it that way,
so I would do it for you.
For Mike. For the firm.
It's not something that can be punted.
After those truth-telling sessions,
folks are queasy.
I think the staff knows
that Mike would never use
performance reviews as
a way to exact vengeance
on people who merely spoke
the truth about what they felt.
Yeah, well, the mere fact
that you just referred
to them as "staff"
says a lot about how
they'll feel being judged.
Well, I guess your finger is just lodged
right on the carotid of
[WAGS] No guesswork.
That's all anybody talked
about at movie night.
Movie night?
Is that a colloquialism for something?
Popcorn. Big screen.
I'm surprised you decided to skip.
Oh, shit.
Didn't know this was a thing.
Wasn't invited.
I should have double-checked their list.
- I just assumed they'd
- What'd you watch?
Double feature.
Glengarry and Wolf of Wall Street.
[CHUCKLES] Of course.
Do they even know what
Wolf is really saying?
Victor does.
Sacker, obv. Rian.
The rest, they think they should know
how to sell a pen better.
- You'll come next time.
- Oh, no.
You're the man of the people.
I'll remain where I belong.
Slightly above the staff.
Your words, not mine.
Scooter just texted me.
I understand the concern
about the performance reviews.
- When the fuck did you?
- You don't get here
without being able to multitask.
Like how you can do a
double shot of Michter's
while re-enacting your favorite
Nikki Dial-Rocco Siffredi scene.
Who are those people?
[BOTH] Better you don't know.
Okay.
I'll recuse myself from
the review process.
I was planning on doing it anyway.
I can't be seen as rewarding or
punishing anyone on the team
Team. Not staff. There you go.
just because they said
bad or good things about me.
Still, we have to do it.
Can't go forward without
a thorough look back
and a real evaluation of trading
tendencies, habits, all of it.
How does that work without
you in the middle of it?
You two will run the thing.
I'm glad to leave it in your able hands.
I need in there. Thank you.
Dad. Kevin. What?
It's just a bureaucratic squabble.
This aged man's attempt at bribing me
failed as badly as this young
man failed his driving test.
- He called the cops.
- You called the cops?
I called the cops.
[OFFICER] If money changed hands,
we're going to have
to arrest and charge.
[SIGHS]
Don't make me ask the question.
What question is that?
Please.
Yes, I know who you are.
But it's a tight spot here.
Can we have a moment with my father?
[SIGHS]
Charles, why are you even here,
and what did you think you were doing?
Making sure it went well.
- [SCOFFS]
- That peon had it in for Kevin
the moment he saw the Jag.
It intimidated him.
And like I said,
he didn't know the difference
between a bribe and a tip.
[QUINN] I heard that.
You're going to jail.
And Rhoades, Kevin, will be prohibited
from holding a license to
drive in New York state.
Jesus!
[CHUCK] I am aware that
attempted bribery
if that is in fact what can be
proved to have happened here
is a serious offense.
I can guarantee his
appearance at arraignment,
but if you will do me the courtesy
of releasing him and referring this
to the DA's office for investigation,
it would be appreciated.
I'd have to check with my superiors.
Well, check with the commish.
I have Raul Gomez in my favorites.
Thank you.
[SCOFFS]
The Department of Motor
Vehicles is not a playground
for the well-connected
to do as they will.
Ha!
That is a clerk's mentality
and a clerk you will always fucking be.
Dad! Not helping.
Uh
You know, the sad fact is
that some senility awaits us all
in the golden years.
Oh, bullshit.
Oh, are you saying he's?
There are over 100 types of dementia.
So, it can be tough to pinpoint
which we're talking about,
but I think it's clear that something
My last med workup says I'm sharp
as a goddamn titanium tack.
Can you say the same?
The commissioner is
granting your request.
You're free to go.
But he is indeed referring it
to the DA's office.
Great. Swell. Perfect.
Wouldn't have it any other way.
Thank you, officer.
And thank you, sir,
for your fealty to the
auto safety corridor.
I note the sarcasm, for the record.
[SIGHS]
Bowing and scraping like that?
- [CHUCK SIGHS]
- I thought you had juice!
Can we just get out of here, please?
Well, this should be
more fun than movie night.
No one thought you would want to come.
And right they were.
[PHILIP] Okay, on the screens
in front of each of us are dossiers
covering the P&Ls, activities,
results and tendencies of
each person who works at MPC.
We will conduct interviews
and do the feedback sessions
after we
We aren't at the feedback stage yet.
- You'll be called in.
- Yeah, no, we won't.
My man speaketh the truth.
I'm not sure why I just used
that biblical version of speak,
but I did, so
Because what we are
saying is as monumental
as that language implies.
Yes. Yeah. We were elected to tell you
that we all reject the
framework of this panel
judging us and our work.
The employees can't reject
- Team members.
- Absolutely.
The team members can't reject the idea
that their performance
is being evaluated.
Well, we are rejecting you, all of you,
as the ones evaluating.
You don't get to pick
how management decides.
Management does.
That's how business works.
Upon a time it did. Not now.
It's true, Wags.
We are in an un-brave new world.
I mean, no offense, Scooter,
but you're not in touch
with the rank and file.
You don't even come to movie night.
- I wasn't inv
- 'Cause we knew you wouldn't
want to and didn't want
to put you in the position.
As I said.
Look, the only one with the
right to decide our fate
is the actual decider.
But you all said that once you
gave your evaluation of Prince,
you weren't comfortable with
him conducting this review.
That is right and true.
Yeah, well,
he decided to change everything,
so we all reject the whole of it.
You roll it all for a least a year.
No performance reviews until then.
Or you can do it without
any performers to review.
You do know that comp is directly tied
to performance review?
Not this year, it isn't.
Well, fuck.
Indeed.
Well, you really
brought out the all-star team
for this vital matter of state
security involving my father.
As have you, Chuck,
with the great and powerful
Freddie Eisen in your corner.
He always brings a gun to a knife fight.
Yeah, it's just like the
government to lard it on.
You're always looking for a
chance to squander resources.
[CHUCKLES]
Uh, no offense, Chuck.
Yeah, sure, Eisen.
Look, I think we all know
the bright light of attention
is on this matter because of me.
You're trying to bleed me here.
Bleed you? For what?
A notch in your hatchet.
Uh, making a quota.
Some time in the limelight. Who knows?
Rubbish. We have kept
the press out of it so far,
and that's proof that you're off base.
But this is a chargeable offense.
Ah. This is where I come in.
- Mm.
- Uh, rubbish.
You're gonna have an impossible
time proving anything
beyond giving an unlawful gratuity,
which is a class "A" misdemeanor.
So, no jail time,
a fine,
and a course maybe.
There is no driving course
on how not to be an asshole.
But in this case, maybe we invent one.
[WHISPERING INAUDIBLY]
Okay.
But we expect the maximum on the fine,
and even that may not
placate the DMV folks.
Agreed.
You got a good deal here.
A real sweetheart.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
Better than you deserve.
If my client will take it.
I'll let you know.
[DOOR OPENS]
Well, if the bank
wants to call that loan,
you tell them you'll move
the corpus of the trust
to another institution.
Dad, don't conduct your
so-called business from here.
We have to resolve this situation
Some birds are chirping
in the background.
I can't hear a thing.
Get back to me with good news.
There is nothing to resolve with
the DMV as far as I'm concerned.
Well, as counsel, I have to disagree.
At least present you with
the deal we were able to
Well, no matter how good a
deal you think you struck
with your colleagues,
I won't sign it.
They should apologize to me.
And Kevin.
Thank you for your efforts, Freddie.
[SIGHS]
You picked the wrong guy
to try to charm, Pop.
So now you have to
That examiner was a power-mad little man
who should have passed
Kevin on principle alone.
[LAUGHS]
Uh
what principle is that?
That the Rhoades family
has contributed more
to this city and state than
Tell that to the bus driver.
No, no.
You see, close call or not,
Kevin avoided that bus.
- Ah.
- And that's all that matters.
- That's real life.
- [LAUGHS]
Near collisions. Near disaster.
That's when the mettle shows.
Our boy has it.
Shows he's got the skills.
That still doesn't speak
to the attempted bribe.
Boyo, if I take the fall
for unlawful gratuity,
that DMV apparatchik should
go down for accepting it.
[LAUGHS]
He didn't accept it.
He allowed you to complete
the criminal act to bust you.
- Don't be such an asshole.
- Ah.
If you saw the look on Kevin's face
when he heard that he had failed
you'd have done the same.
That's called love.
Yeah, but I didn't see it
because I wasn't there.
That is true.
He asked you to take him.
Not Wendy or me.
[LAUGHS]
I had been so overtaken with the idea
that you insinuated yourself
into the situation with the examiner,
I hadn't stopped to think
Well, it's high time you did.
He reached out to a paternal figure
who was not, in fact
his father.
Maybe he knew I'd risk life
and liberty on his behalf.
Maybe he counted on that.
Maybe he knew I was the only one.
[SIGHS]
Who's the asshole now?
Who's the asshole
now?
[TAPWATER RUNNING]
What the hell did you do to me?
To you, or for you?
I went over his proposal,
and there's a ton
of upside there. And what he was saying
about the pitfalls
facing a young company
You don't think I know
about the pitfalls?
I told you and your lab mates about them
chapter and goddamn verse
back in the day, if you recall.
This is different.
This is a robber baron making a
move on a proprietary process.
I'm telling you,
Mike Prince is one of the good guys.
- [LAUGHING] Oh, jeez!
- Does he have sharp elbows?
Of course he does. He has to.
And you want him to. It's what you need.
But he's got the company's
best interests at heart.
Is that why he's started an attack?
Your "good guy" Prince
has begun buying up rival patents.
Even ones vaguely related
to what my process does.
Which gives him standing
to sue me for infringement.
Which will block my
work due to injunction,
potentially for years.
It's called patent sharking.
And it's not what good guys do.
"Fins up." Fuck!
Yeah Shit, look,
it may not be exactly what you wanted,
but similar terms,
some compromises were
always gonna be a reality.
Selling to Prince without a fight
is the best move now.
If you do, Prince will relent
and the company will be spared all this.
You hope.
You will be credited for creating
this self-healing concrete.
The Nobel Prize doesn't go
to the hedge fund dude
who financed the thing.
Let me lay out a look at a
slightly different future:
yours.
You, Philip
have been slowly, or not so slowly,
selling your soul.
And soon, there'll be none left.
You'll never be happy at
Michael Prince Capital,
because the longer you stay,
the more you'll learn
about Michael Prince
and the more you'll hate yourself.
I've been a scientist-businessman
and a businessman-scientist.
And when one serves the other,
it can work.
The other way is just a slow death
of everything you ever hoped to be.
Marc, come on, you still have a chance
to win big on this right now.
You just got to show some flexibility.
It's a wonder I ever achieved
tenure without your counsel.
[TYPING]
In Will Guidara's book
Unreasonable Hospitality,
he tells a story about how,
when someone misses a
few meetings or is late,
the instinct is to get
right in their face
and give them massive guff about it.
Instead, Will says the thing to do
is check in about their welfare first.
I'm hunky-dory. Peachy keen.
Look, I had stuff to take care of.
Business stuff, and
No. Or, yes, but
whatever's getting in your head,
distracting you from your work,
because you did miss two meetings,
in which I covered, of course, but
No, really,
it's a business thing I was seeing to.
The Ruloff thing.
You need to talk to Wendy.
Your breathing, your cadence,
the pitch of your voice
tell me there's plenty of emotion
mixed in there with the business.
I've been there with an
innovator I cared about,
thinking there was a
balance to be struck.
And was there?
No.
I should have focused
only on the business.
Because the corrosive, controlling part
was already in the inventor,
as it is with your Dr. Ruloff.
That's why he doesn't want to partner,
he wants it all.
I think you got him wrong.
Wendy'll help you figure that out.
[KNOCKS]
[SIGHS]
I fucked up.
Huge mistake.
How much is it gonna cost Prince,
the firm?
No.
The opposite, I think.
But despite that,
if something isn't done,
if I don't do something to change
what's about to happen,
I don't know how the
hell I'm gonna be able
to live with myself.
Well, then you'd better have a seat.
Start at the beginning.
I've likely extricated you
from legal trouble.
Your friend down at the DMV's
gonna get promoted.
And his boss has a kid
who's gonna get an
internship at Justice.
So they'll quietly
accept the misdemeanor.
But what we have to discuss now
is the line of succession around here.
I just want it to remain clear
that I am a viable alternative
if the two of you are unable
to fulfill your parental duties.
That's all very well and good, Charles,
but Kevin,
you need to know
Your mother and I are your first calls
and your last.
But I did.
[SIGHS]
"Mom, my driving test is Monday morning.
Can you take me?"
"I have a meeting that morning.
Have you asked your father?"
"Dad, Monday morning, DMV?"
Uh-huh. "Is it possible to reschedule?"
It wasn't possible.
Kev, if you'd answered "no,"
I'd have found the time.
As would I have, if I'd known
your father responded he couldn't.
This is about you communicating
your needs more directly.
I did. I called Grandpa.
And I stepped forward,
once more into the breech.
I believe Kevin has what
the kids call receipts.
[SCOFFS]
None of us behaved perfectly here.
Ah, shit, Kev,
the immediate answer
should have been yes.
I know that.
I get caught up.
We both do.
This is
I'm just glad this is the extent
of the price we're paying,
and that it was your grandfather
and not you with the bribery.
I will go say good night
to my granddaughter.
And for the record,
Kevin drove the hell out
of that Jag under my watch.
Hmm.
My boy, there was a time
when a Benjamin Franklin
was the key to the city.
My mistake was not
accounting for inflation.
[CHUCK GROANS]
[LAUGHS] Oh, God.
Just when I thought
maybe we weren't too bad
at this parenting thing.
Yeah. Evidence to the contrary.
You and I need to communicate
every day about them.
That's where we fucked up.
Because if we'd been talking directly,
one of us
- No doubt. No doubt.
- would have
As far as working together better
I pledge to do my part.
As do I.
[CHUCK SIGHS]
I had a strange convo at work today.
I have to imagine that's,
uh, the norm there.
Kind of your job.
Yeah, but this
I'll share, since it wasn't a formal,
privileged conversation.
I sat him on the couch
instead of the chairs.
Uh-huh.
One of the heads of the firm.
Young guy named Philip Charyn.
There's a real
bare-knuckle business thing
that an outside figure, young Philip,
finds himself on the
opposite side of Prince.
Emotionally, though.
That's not a position
he can take publicly
within the firm.
Sounds Byzantine.
It seemed to me that he was asking me
to bring you in on the situation,
to pursue the issue on his behalf.
Huh.
And what did you indicate back?
Oh, I talked to him about
the blood-brain barrier.
How it keeps bacteria, viruses, fungus,
parasites in the bloodstream
out of the brain.
Parallel health achieved
by no cross-contamination.
Well, sounds about right.
And, uh, we should keep it that way.
For the health of the family and,
uh, our individual sanity.
That's exactly what I said.
[LAUGHS]
Wow.
In this arena,
communication has never been an issue.
We each know exactly
what the other means,
no matter what the other says.
It's somehow reassuring
and horrifying at the same time.
Quite so.
[LAUGHS]
Do I need to call a lawyer?
You sent for me.
You didn't tape an X
to a telephone pole,
but you asked for a meet just the same.
I don't want to talk to you.
Of course you don't.
Your mouth is dry.
You look like you put
in some hard miles.
You need to hydrate.
Marc Ruloff is a good man, a great man.
And I put him in Mike
Prince's crosshairs.
That's on me.
What if you could unwind it?
Find a way to save Ruloff's
company from Prince?
Well, I can't. I've tried.
Maybe I can.
Can you give me an
illegality I can pursue?
That's why we're here.
There aren't any. That's the problem.
What about you?
You're the guy that likes a big idea,
that likes the grand gesture, right?
Mm-hmm.
So put a stop to patent sharking.
And these sharks troll published patents
and buy everything that
could credibly allege
the invention infringes on it.
So they can sue.
Did you know there is
a plasma substitute
that could save soldiers'
lives wounded in theater?
But the inventor can't roll it out
because she's surrounded by sharks.
That is a great injustice,
but I can't change it.
Nor can I change the fundamental
nature of the enterprise
that is Michael Prince.
Because your Dr. Ruloff,
great man that you say he is,
is actually just a harbor seal.
And sharks will shark.
Harbor seals will harbor seal.
That is the way of the ocean.
[METALLIC RATTLING]
Gather around, you malingerers.
[SCOOTER] First, we heard you.
After this year,
with all the changes and drama,
we will not proceed with the
planned performance review.
It is more important that
instead of judging each other,
we come together. So
we are going to have the inaugural
Michael Prince Capital
Casino Night at Gotham Hall.
Everyone will be there.
Because you have to be
and because you fucking want to be.
This group will come together as a
[RIAN] Don't say "family."
That whole "work unit as family" thing
really stamps you as a Boomer.
- Gen X.
- We're not Boomers.
Not even close.
We read Doug Coupland in hardback.
You did. I'm much younger.
The point is,
we will come together as a
Goddamned family, or die trying.
Wags, Scooter. Need you.
[TOKENS RATTLE]
Kate has an angle on the Ruloff thing.
I wanted you to hear it.
We just set it in motion an hour ago.
Enzy-Novo, biotech firm.
They create the bacterial enzyme
that Ruloff's process uses.
And that, the enzyme,
it's proprietary, I imagine.
As patented as Carla Fracci's Giselle.
As Jordan's turnaround fadeaway.
- Ah.
- Yes, of course. Yeah.
By buying into this company
and the underlying patent,
Ruloff will be neutralized.
Without Enzy-Novo,
Ruloff is just making everyday cement.
It'll take him years to replace
or create his own bacteria.
Mm, I'd love to see Ruloff's
face when he finds out
he can't have the starter
for his concrete sourdough.
So, that second, when he's gut-punched,
is when we go back to him
with our last and best offer?
He'll sell whether he wants to or not.
He'll have to,
because he'll have no other choice.
He'll end up grateful, Mike,
when he sees what you do with his idea.
How you blow it out.
And, knowing you,
you'll be sure to credit him, too.
You know I will.
But all those hugs will have to wait
for the other side of the war.
[TYPING]
I have to sign off.
Who can become the host?
[SECRETARY] Uh, he's in a meeting.
[RULOFF] I'll tell you and
your lawyer at the same time.
Your attempted purchase of
Enzy-Novo has hit a snag,
and that snag is named
this guy right here.
I wouldn't dignify this,
I were you, Mike.
I didn't hear some rumor
needs confirming.
I'm in an exclusive
negotiation period with them,
so they had to tell me as
soon as your offer floated in.
Well, when your period ends,
I'll be there with a
wheelbarrow full of cash.
You won't outbid me. I need it more.
That's not something you admit to a guy
with unlimited resources.
That's why you should do the
magnifying glass/slide stuff
and leave the transactions
and wire transfers to me.
I'll focus on the science
of kicking your ass.
[LAUGHS] You want to get
into a buying war with me?
You're firing a pea shooter at a tank.
Maybe I have a tank of my own.
You can go around buying adjacent stuff.
Meanwhile, I'll publish my work.
Acclaim, prizes,
media attention will follow.
I'll be the man credited with
rebuilding the world, not you.
Philip
if this guy has a vulnerability,
a weakness,
a quirk of character that
we can use against him,
now would be the time to share it.
[SIGHS] I'd love to help,
but I've got nothing to help with.
I was an admiring student.
I've never seen that
contentious side of him before.
I've known him as nice. Conscientious.
I don't know how to get inside
his head and turn him around.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
He's a process guy.
He had a 1966 emerald-green
Karmann Ghia 1300.
He loved that car.
Talked about how the Karmann Ghia 1300
was made for the road.
They weren't durable cars,
so sometimes you'd see them in garages.
That really bothers him,
the thought that it might happen to his.
So he bought an entirely
different Karmann Ghia
and stripped it for parts
to save the green one.
Had someone in the engineering school
match the paint perfectly.
So he's an obsessive.
[PHILIP] I'd put it
slightly differently.
He's a man who follows his passion.
Who builds something
and then takes care of it.
That's where this is coming from.
I mean, he used to take
that car out to these rallies
with whales from the
Stanford Board of Trustees.
They used to try and buy it off him,
but he wouldn't sell.
The smile on his face when
he would drive off in it
pure joy of someone who
loved something enough
to take care of it in a way
that it served him perfectly.
Good. Good. Yeah.
That's just the story I needed to hear.
Kate, I'm betting Ruloff cozied up
to some billie board
member of the university
to back his war against me.
We still need to outbid him.
Well, what if we can't?
Yes,
if he did get himself a bigger tank,
that might be the case.
So we sue for injunctive relief
on behalf of one of our other patents.
We won't win that,
which you obviously know.
Winning won't matter.
As Philip's story tells us,
Ruloff will sacrifice everything
but the central project,
the central idea.
He'd cannibalize perfectly good cars
just to keep his on the road.
It was the getting it on the road
that was everything to him.
Still is.
If we can keep him in court,
and his prize Karmann
Ghia in the garage,
it'll drive him crazy enough to
share the Karmann Ghia with us,
as long as it gets it moving.
That tracks.
I know what to do.
A hearty welcome to all of you
gamesters, sports, speculators,
pikers, and punters.
Tonight, we offer you
the chance to test your luck
and skill at roulette, blackjack, craps,
baccarat and Texas Hold 'Em.
Drinks are free, and everyone
starts with 5,000 in chips,
with unlimited rebuys
at your own expense.
Proceeds go to charity, of course,
but the chip leader
at the end of the night
wins a special prize.
And what a prize it is.
Private air travel and all
expenses paid to Ireland,
to coincide with the Open.
And VIP rounds with this year's champion
at Royal County Down, Portrush,
Sligo, and Ballybunion.
Release the hounds!
[ALL CHEER]
["FUNK 49" BY JAMES GANG PLAYS]
Odd numbers only.
7, 17, 23, 24.
- Let's go.
- I know where you're going ♪
I don't think ♪
That's acting right ♪
You don't think ♪
It's showing ♪
[CHIPS CLINK]
Split 'em.
Split.
Falling down ♪
Don't misunderstand me ♪
You don't think I know your plan? ♪
Again?
Gonna raise.
Point is 9.
I'm backing up mine.
And give me all the hard ways.
Backing up mine.
You're wrong-way betting me.
Your future is in your hand.
Damn right it is.
Rebuy.
Already?
Don't worry. I have a system.
Do you take Venmo?
- There we go!
- [EXCITED CHATTER]
All right, let's bet some columns.
[BLOWS]
[DICE RATTLING]
- [CROUPIER] Seven.
- Oh!
Ah-ha. Mama's got a brand-new bag.
Fuck!
You gooched me.
Well, sometimes
that's what mamas have to do
to get the brand-new bag.
[CROWD CHEERS]
That is the sound of success.
Tonight's a hit. A palpable hit.
While you do your thing,
I am going to visit the tables.
- Baccarat?
- I know it's house odds,
but I've been a sucker for it
ever since the original Casino Royale.
[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]
Mm! Grey Goose martini. Shaken.
Or stirred. I don't really give a shit.
Ah, yes, chemin de fer.
Or as you vulgarians
like to call it, baccarat.
I usually play with tiles,
but this will have to do.
Mm!
Banco!
Vanessa.
- What do we got?
- Oh, we've got it all.
So, most of these folks,
the abstraction of having
chips instead of cards,
it's throwing their sense
of value off instantly.
Break it down for me.
[VANESSA] Okay.
This guy Victor, he's over there
rolling it up at roulette.
Aggressive, but smart.
On the other hand,
Tuk Lal's already made his
third visit to the rebuy cage.
He seems to think he has some
sort of system at blackjack.
I don't know.
His buddy Ben Kim over there
he's squeezing his original 5K in chips
hard enough to turn them into diamonds.
But scared money's
not gonna win tonight.
Taylor Mason,
clearly a high-level
thinking poker player,
is crushing everybody at Texas Hold 'Em.
And over here,
the one they're calling Dollar Bill,
he's a total nihilist
at the craps table.
Keep going. Deep dive.
Tell me how their behavior here
transfers to the workplace.
So, Ruloff,
far from letting himself be sharked,
got a killer whale to protect him,
but it ain't working.
Or it was working so well
that Prince had to
come at him another way
to strike the fatal blow.
Uh-huh. What was the move?
Filed suit to block Ruloff's
purchase of Enzy-Novo.
In California.
It's gonna end up in the 9th Circuit.
Where it'll be years
before it's settled out.
These two are gonna be like
the Lazarus A and Lazarus B on Trek.
Fighting into eternity.
I don't like it.
Neither one of these guys
should be spending their time
trying to win at all costs.
If this thing is as good for
the world as it promises to be,
they should only be
focused on bringing it out.
And worry about the money,
of which there will be plenty, later.
I mean, think about it.
Louis Pasteur's first order of business
was doing the good thing,
not cashing in on his breakthroughs
like these two brigands.
No single person should
control something like this.
There's got to be a way
to take them both out of the equation.
Unless the whole thing is a setup.
Wendy comes to you, you go to the kid,
he gets you to swallow the poison,
thinking it's just wine.
Oh, Wendy and I aren't out there
in that particular bad place,
in that particular way.
And, I mean, if we are,
give me the poison now.
Get it over with.
Or just be careful.
How come he didn't make a move
to stop things on his own?
His move was reaching me.
What else could he do on the inside?
Well, just play it out.
Don't drink whatever
goblet's put in front of you.
And then it doesn't
matter what's inside it.
Fine. Yes.
We proceed without allowing
any kind of opening,
as we always do.
But proceed we must.
How do we get it done?
The only word that comes to mind:
Spielbergian.
Is that a word?
It ought to be.
I just got a nasty text
from Marc Ruloff.
That's 'cause it's over.
You blocked him and beat him?
Nope.
But it's over all the same.
The Department of
Defense did a march-in.
The entire project was
declared classified
by the federal government.
Your patent, everything in this office,
and everything associated with this work
will now be controlled
by the federal government.
You have rights, and there is a process
which will now be overseen
by the Department of Defense.
You dropped the dime to the government?
Could he have tipped them off himself?
Killed it instead of
letting you have it?
Don't think so. Doesn't matter now.
The government will
sit on this discovery
like the Ark of the Covenant
in that endless warehouse.
Why won't they get it into the market?
Well, first of all, they're inept.
Then, you know,
think of the special interests.
The unions. The conflicts.
Yeah. They'll use potential unknown
health or structural liabilities
to get the government
to keep testing it.
Yeah, so, no. It's not coming to market.
Not now.
So no one gets the benefit.
It's like everyone just literally said,
"Fine, kill the damned infant."
Well, the upside is that when
I take the oath of office
and I do declassify it and release it,
it'll start us off very, very nicely.
Better: you hold until right after
you announce for a second term.
Eight years in office for
President Prince locked up.
Ooh, I like that a lot.
Hold it, then splash.
Maybe Ruloff did me a favor
by trying to stop me.
Let me go over your debt,
find you some corridors out of this.
I think
No. You've done enough.
More than enough.
Our engagement ends
when you walk out that door.
Before I do, I just want you
to know that my intentions
I misspoke.
Our engagement ends now.
[DOOR OPENS]
We're here to set the terms
for the performance reviews.
Should we wait until Philip
is here before we start?
He's not coming.
Oh, well,
there is a new harmonious
spirit on the floor.
We think there's a road to compromise
that you'll find productive.
It's irrelevant at this point.
We have what we need.
How's that?
You all said nothing
but told us everything.
I've taken Vanessa Selbst's raw research
and put it into language that discloses
what the usual comp process does,
and much more.
Using prospect theory,
as based on Kahneman and Tversky's
Nobel Prize-winning research
recognizing loss aversion
that veers directly into
sunk cost fallacy
along with many other
related pathologies
that were revealed the other night
the participation of the employees
is no longer required.
[VICTOR] Shit.
Casino Night wasn't some
team-building exercise.
It was an observation chamber.
Yes, we already know
what we need to know
in order to gauge the employees'
risk assessment,
strategic approach, expected outcome,
performance in general.
Thanks for your time.
Son of a bitch.
What's next, the Milgram experiment?
You want to see if we'll join
in shocking each other?
Oh, who was the winner of the big prize?
Peach took it down.
Fuck me.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Does she even golf?
I hear she's about to flip
it to a PM at another firm
for 300 grand.
Shame they're so upset.
Victor and Rian had some
of the best approaches.
Unlike the bulk of those losers.
Including you, Wags.
You were in on the gag,
and yet you bled off
$4,900 in chips at baccarat.
Me?
I thought I was on the inside,
that I'm exempt.
[LAUGHS] Oh, no.
No one's exempt.
Goddamn it.
Scooter,
you're definitely not getting invited
to mini golf next week.
None of you are.
Everything I did went to shit.
I tried to run a performance review,
and it turned into a
psychological study.
I tried to help the firm
and ended up with nothing.
I tried to help my old teacher,
he lost everything.
I hoped to change the world,
it went nowhere.
You're giving yourself a lot of credit
for how much you supposedly control.
[SIGHS]
No, you're right.
I should give you some.
Because when I went to you
and your ex-husband,
that's when the crap really
started flowing downhill.
Instead of handing out
the kudos and the blame,
why don't we talk about
turning this mess into action.
Because I saw you in his office,
and I know how you feel.
Whatever plan you're considering,
leave me out.
Whatever you, and Taylor,
and I don't know who else
are thinking about doing
I can't.
Won't. I don't even want to.
I need, and I will have,
complete deniability.
As-is, right now,
there is nothing I could tell anyone,
nothing I should tell anyone.
I aim to keep it that way.
Then you do that.
You have an old friend at Defense,
don't you?
Did you talk to him lately?
Maybe ask him to, well,
classify something
that could really help the country,
just to screw over a rival?
If my actions hurt the man,
that is the way it is.
I presume he intends to declassify it,
if and when he gets into office.
But I can keep the wolf at bay for now.
See how that works out.
Right.
A lot of ways this could have gone
once you connected me
with that fella Philip Charyn.
But then you knew that.
Yep. I suppose I did.
[DOOR OPENS]
Well, some things turn out just fine.
Yes, they do. A lot of things.
["DRIVE" BY R.E.M. PLAYS]
Smack, crack, bushwhacked ♪
- Tie another one ♪
- Congratulations.
To your racks, baby ♪
- [WENDY] So proud of you.
- [KEVIN] Thank you.
[CHUCK] Nice. Good job.
Hey, kids, rock and roll ♪
Nobody tells you ♪
Where to go, baby ♪
What if I ride? ♪
What if you walk? ♪
What if you rock ♪
Around the clock? ♪
Tick-tock ♪
Tick-tock ♪
What if you did? ♪
What if you walk? ♪
What if you tried ♪
To get off, baby? ♪
Oh ♪
[PHILIP] Previously on Billions.
I buy a half hour
on every major network, live speech.
Solicit honest feedback
from your employees.
Use it as fuel for the speech.
He goes into the speech confident,
he comes out sailing.
I've been told I needed to see you.
When Wendy wants something,
she's very persuasive.
And that's why I called her.
With Bradford running point,
the feedback's gonna be jet fuel.
So you want us to go back around
and troll for negative feedback?
This could implode MPC,
as well as the campaign
and all of our places in it.
I would consider it a personal favor.
[CHUCK] We are gonna do something
extremely hard.
When did I become Lex Luthor?
Someone's quitting isn't capitulation.
So I shouldn't worry
about seeking real love.
I'm saying the way to
get it is to be a winner.
Thank you
for not keeping me safe.
The destiny is in me.
I put him back together
after you kicked the
pieces across the floor.
I'm Mike Prince.
Mike is trending on every platform.
It's done.
I saw.
Someday,
and that day will definitely come,
I will call upon you to repay this debt.
This is totally amazing.
That's how I do. I aim to amaze.
You've done it. I thought it
was only a theoretical model.
It was, back when
you were a Stanford Cardinal.
It's viable now.
What compressive strength
have you managed to achieve?
As you know, the standard crap
ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 psi.
My little baby gets close to 6,000.
- Damn.
- Plus, when the cracks form,
the bacteria creates
a self-healing effect.
It's an organic,
high-tech mimic of the lime clasts
and volcanic ash from
Ancient Roman concrete
that's had those buildings
standing for thousands of years.
- Beautiful.
- Yeah.
It's almost ready to go to market
and present to the Cement Masons unions.
That's why I moved the lab
here a little while back.
Before you do,
you gotta let me walk you in to my guy.
[THUD]
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[QUINN] Okay, so you are gonna want
to practice your starts,
your stops, your signals,
and your merges before
your next road test
so you don't have to do
this whole Phi Slama Jama
a third time.
So I definitely failed?
Flatter than a pancake.
And when you're ready
to give it another go,
you just head to the website
and book another test.
[SENIOR] Well, since
since we know he'll pass the next one,
how's about we save
everyone the trouble.
He was so close this time.
There must be a way to
shave a point or add one?
Close? No. Not a word I'd use.
The bus was close, though.
Which bus?
The bus that your young
charge almost sideswiped,
like Rick Mahorn did Wilkins that time.
Phi Slama Jama. Rick Mahorn.
You're a sports fan.
And unlike the boy, sir,
you are a quick study.
[LAUGHS] That I am.
What's your name, sir?
Quinn. Ern Quinn. Mr. Quinn.
Well, Ern, I think the thing to do
is for you to get some
tickets to see a game,
which is expensive, I know.
So, what I'm thinking is,
we make that happen
and then you make the
driver's license happen.
- [POLICE SIREN BLURTS]
- This is ridiculous.
I was social friends with Robert Moses!
Don't say your daddy's name.
I'll tell them to call Mom.
No. She'll flay me.
I should have made one
of them come with me.
These DMVs
Stands for Dumb Motherfucking Varmints,
by the way!
just want to charge a higher price.
I got this.
[EXCLAIMS]
To build.
That's man's impulse.
Well, mine, anyway.
But the best-made structures,
how long do they last?
Not long enough that future
civilizations won't use
the rubble of ours as a mere foundation.
Until now.
Bio-inspired vascular concrete.
It recognizes the weaknesses
within the concrete system
and is able to
enzymatically repair itself.
This will revolutionize
the country's crumbling infrastructure.
This material rebuilds the past,
fortifies the present,
secures the future.
This is magnificent.
It really is.
This is a game changer.
But the path from innovation to market
is fraught with danger.
It's Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots out there.
This can't be one of those
that doesn't make it.
[LAUGHS] Uh
What danger, exactly?
Deep-pocketed competitors, copycats,
foreign governments willing to steal it.
As you know, all those things and more
can destroy a young company.
But I can protect it. And you.
[TYPING]
[SIGHS]
You see, man's impulse is also to buy.
I want to get behind this in a big way.
I can take care of knocking
out the competitors,
as well as all the execution stuff,
the blocking and tackling
you don't need to get bogged down with.
This is something that
will help the world,
and we'll all get rich doing it.
I'm having in-house counsel join
so we can move quickly and aggressively.
I'm prepared to purchase
your entire company
and back a more robust timetable,
rolling this out in the next 14 months.
No, no, I'm not handing you the reins.
This is my life's work.
Which you'll lose no matter what
now that you've stuck your head out.
But we can prevent that.
We will prevent it.
This way, your vision is protected
and you get paid fairly.
You don't buy me out.
I made my bones when you were
going out with cheerleaders.
So, a Moe Greene no.
What ended up happening
to old Moe after that?
Thank you all for your time.
And the fucking scones.
I'm not selling.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[CLEARS THROAT]
[SIGHS]
Look, he put his whole
professional life into this.
I just think he didn't
see the blitzkrieg coming.
I didn't either.
Maybe you can go and talk to him.
I can. I'll try.
But he is stubborn.
I mean, real stubborn.
Yeah, okay, you do that.
Talk some reason into him.
This is the way he wins.
Because if I can't have
his company this way,
I want his tech. And I'll get it.
Legally. Aboveboard.
Fins up, you know what I'm saying, Kate?
We'll make a dang fortune,
and this is the kind of idea
custom-made to campaign on.
A new foundation for America.
I'm on it.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Hello, son.
Dad, I'm fine.
Kev, that's code for "not fine."
I fucked up and said your name.
[CHUCK] To whom?
I found the one sorry
son of a bitch at the DMV
that doesn't know the difference
between a gratuity and a bribe.
Don't say another word,
either of you.
I'm planning on telling Mike
he should punt on the
performance reviews.
Oh, you're planning.
Well, I mean, if you want to,
I'll of course step back and
I thought that's why
you said it that way,
so I would do it for you.
For Mike. For the firm.
It's not something that can be punted.
After those truth-telling sessions,
folks are queasy.
I think the staff knows
that Mike would never use
performance reviews as
a way to exact vengeance
on people who merely spoke
the truth about what they felt.
Yeah, well, the mere fact
that you just referred
to them as "staff"
says a lot about how
they'll feel being judged.
Well, I guess your finger is just lodged
right on the carotid of
[WAGS] No guesswork.
That's all anybody talked
about at movie night.
Movie night?
Is that a colloquialism for something?
Popcorn. Big screen.
I'm surprised you decided to skip.
Oh, shit.
Didn't know this was a thing.
Wasn't invited.
I should have double-checked their list.
- I just assumed they'd
- What'd you watch?
Double feature.
Glengarry and Wolf of Wall Street.
[CHUCKLES] Of course.
Do they even know what
Wolf is really saying?
Victor does.
Sacker, obv. Rian.
The rest, they think they should know
how to sell a pen better.
- You'll come next time.
- Oh, no.
You're the man of the people.
I'll remain where I belong.
Slightly above the staff.
Your words, not mine.
Scooter just texted me.
I understand the concern
about the performance reviews.
- When the fuck did you?
- You don't get here
without being able to multitask.
Like how you can do a
double shot of Michter's
while re-enacting your favorite
Nikki Dial-Rocco Siffredi scene.
Who are those people?
[BOTH] Better you don't know.
Okay.
I'll recuse myself from
the review process.
I was planning on doing it anyway.
I can't be seen as rewarding or
punishing anyone on the team
Team. Not staff. There you go.
just because they said
bad or good things about me.
Still, we have to do it.
Can't go forward without
a thorough look back
and a real evaluation of trading
tendencies, habits, all of it.
How does that work without
you in the middle of it?
You two will run the thing.
I'm glad to leave it in your able hands.
I need in there. Thank you.
Dad. Kevin. What?
It's just a bureaucratic squabble.
This aged man's attempt at bribing me
failed as badly as this young
man failed his driving test.
- He called the cops.
- You called the cops?
I called the cops.
[OFFICER] If money changed hands,
we're going to have
to arrest and charge.
[SIGHS]
Don't make me ask the question.
What question is that?
Please.
Yes, I know who you are.
But it's a tight spot here.
Can we have a moment with my father?
[SIGHS]
Charles, why are you even here,
and what did you think you were doing?
Making sure it went well.
- [SCOFFS]
- That peon had it in for Kevin
the moment he saw the Jag.
It intimidated him.
And like I said,
he didn't know the difference
between a bribe and a tip.
[QUINN] I heard that.
You're going to jail.
And Rhoades, Kevin, will be prohibited
from holding a license to
drive in New York state.
Jesus!
[CHUCK] I am aware that
attempted bribery
if that is in fact what can be
proved to have happened here
is a serious offense.
I can guarantee his
appearance at arraignment,
but if you will do me the courtesy
of releasing him and referring this
to the DA's office for investigation,
it would be appreciated.
I'd have to check with my superiors.
Well, check with the commish.
I have Raul Gomez in my favorites.
Thank you.
[SCOFFS]
The Department of Motor
Vehicles is not a playground
for the well-connected
to do as they will.
Ha!
That is a clerk's mentality
and a clerk you will always fucking be.
Dad! Not helping.
Uh
You know, the sad fact is
that some senility awaits us all
in the golden years.
Oh, bullshit.
Oh, are you saying he's?
There are over 100 types of dementia.
So, it can be tough to pinpoint
which we're talking about,
but I think it's clear that something
My last med workup says I'm sharp
as a goddamn titanium tack.
Can you say the same?
The commissioner is
granting your request.
You're free to go.
But he is indeed referring it
to the DA's office.
Great. Swell. Perfect.
Wouldn't have it any other way.
Thank you, officer.
And thank you, sir,
for your fealty to the
auto safety corridor.
I note the sarcasm, for the record.
[SIGHS]
Bowing and scraping like that?
- [CHUCK SIGHS]
- I thought you had juice!
Can we just get out of here, please?
Well, this should be
more fun than movie night.
No one thought you would want to come.
And right they were.
[PHILIP] Okay, on the screens
in front of each of us are dossiers
covering the P&Ls, activities,
results and tendencies of
each person who works at MPC.
We will conduct interviews
and do the feedback sessions
after we
We aren't at the feedback stage yet.
- You'll be called in.
- Yeah, no, we won't.
My man speaketh the truth.
I'm not sure why I just used
that biblical version of speak,
but I did, so
Because what we are
saying is as monumental
as that language implies.
Yes. Yeah. We were elected to tell you
that we all reject the
framework of this panel
judging us and our work.
The employees can't reject
- Team members.
- Absolutely.
The team members can't reject the idea
that their performance
is being evaluated.
Well, we are rejecting you, all of you,
as the ones evaluating.
You don't get to pick
how management decides.
Management does.
That's how business works.
Upon a time it did. Not now.
It's true, Wags.
We are in an un-brave new world.
I mean, no offense, Scooter,
but you're not in touch
with the rank and file.
You don't even come to movie night.
- I wasn't inv
- 'Cause we knew you wouldn't
want to and didn't want
to put you in the position.
As I said.
Look, the only one with the
right to decide our fate
is the actual decider.
But you all said that once you
gave your evaluation of Prince,
you weren't comfortable with
him conducting this review.
That is right and true.
Yeah, well,
he decided to change everything,
so we all reject the whole of it.
You roll it all for a least a year.
No performance reviews until then.
Or you can do it without
any performers to review.
You do know that comp is directly tied
to performance review?
Not this year, it isn't.
Well, fuck.
Indeed.
Well, you really
brought out the all-star team
for this vital matter of state
security involving my father.
As have you, Chuck,
with the great and powerful
Freddie Eisen in your corner.
He always brings a gun to a knife fight.
Yeah, it's just like the
government to lard it on.
You're always looking for a
chance to squander resources.
[CHUCKLES]
Uh, no offense, Chuck.
Yeah, sure, Eisen.
Look, I think we all know
the bright light of attention
is on this matter because of me.
You're trying to bleed me here.
Bleed you? For what?
A notch in your hatchet.
Uh, making a quota.
Some time in the limelight. Who knows?
Rubbish. We have kept
the press out of it so far,
and that's proof that you're off base.
But this is a chargeable offense.
Ah. This is where I come in.
- Mm.
- Uh, rubbish.
You're gonna have an impossible
time proving anything
beyond giving an unlawful gratuity,
which is a class "A" misdemeanor.
So, no jail time,
a fine,
and a course maybe.
There is no driving course
on how not to be an asshole.
But in this case, maybe we invent one.
[WHISPERING INAUDIBLY]
Okay.
But we expect the maximum on the fine,
and even that may not
placate the DMV folks.
Agreed.
You got a good deal here.
A real sweetheart.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
Better than you deserve.
If my client will take it.
I'll let you know.
[DOOR OPENS]
Well, if the bank
wants to call that loan,
you tell them you'll move
the corpus of the trust
to another institution.
Dad, don't conduct your
so-called business from here.
We have to resolve this situation
Some birds are chirping
in the background.
I can't hear a thing.
Get back to me with good news.
There is nothing to resolve with
the DMV as far as I'm concerned.
Well, as counsel, I have to disagree.
At least present you with
the deal we were able to
Well, no matter how good a
deal you think you struck
with your colleagues,
I won't sign it.
They should apologize to me.
And Kevin.
Thank you for your efforts, Freddie.
[SIGHS]
You picked the wrong guy
to try to charm, Pop.
So now you have to
That examiner was a power-mad little man
who should have passed
Kevin on principle alone.
[LAUGHS]
Uh
what principle is that?
That the Rhoades family
has contributed more
to this city and state than
Tell that to the bus driver.
No, no.
You see, close call or not,
Kevin avoided that bus.
- Ah.
- And that's all that matters.
- That's real life.
- [LAUGHS]
Near collisions. Near disaster.
That's when the mettle shows.
Our boy has it.
Shows he's got the skills.
That still doesn't speak
to the attempted bribe.
Boyo, if I take the fall
for unlawful gratuity,
that DMV apparatchik should
go down for accepting it.
[LAUGHS]
He didn't accept it.
He allowed you to complete
the criminal act to bust you.
- Don't be such an asshole.
- Ah.
If you saw the look on Kevin's face
when he heard that he had failed
you'd have done the same.
That's called love.
Yeah, but I didn't see it
because I wasn't there.
That is true.
He asked you to take him.
Not Wendy or me.
[LAUGHS]
I had been so overtaken with the idea
that you insinuated yourself
into the situation with the examiner,
I hadn't stopped to think
Well, it's high time you did.
He reached out to a paternal figure
who was not, in fact
his father.
Maybe he knew I'd risk life
and liberty on his behalf.
Maybe he counted on that.
Maybe he knew I was the only one.
[SIGHS]
Who's the asshole now?
Who's the asshole
now?
[TAPWATER RUNNING]
What the hell did you do to me?
To you, or for you?
I went over his proposal,
and there's a ton
of upside there. And what he was saying
about the pitfalls
facing a young company
You don't think I know
about the pitfalls?
I told you and your lab mates about them
chapter and goddamn verse
back in the day, if you recall.
This is different.
This is a robber baron making a
move on a proprietary process.
I'm telling you,
Mike Prince is one of the good guys.
- [LAUGHING] Oh, jeez!
- Does he have sharp elbows?
Of course he does. He has to.
And you want him to. It's what you need.
But he's got the company's
best interests at heart.
Is that why he's started an attack?
Your "good guy" Prince
has begun buying up rival patents.
Even ones vaguely related
to what my process does.
Which gives him standing
to sue me for infringement.
Which will block my
work due to injunction,
potentially for years.
It's called patent sharking.
And it's not what good guys do.
"Fins up." Fuck!
Yeah Shit, look,
it may not be exactly what you wanted,
but similar terms,
some compromises were
always gonna be a reality.
Selling to Prince without a fight
is the best move now.
If you do, Prince will relent
and the company will be spared all this.
You hope.
You will be credited for creating
this self-healing concrete.
The Nobel Prize doesn't go
to the hedge fund dude
who financed the thing.
Let me lay out a look at a
slightly different future:
yours.
You, Philip
have been slowly, or not so slowly,
selling your soul.
And soon, there'll be none left.
You'll never be happy at
Michael Prince Capital,
because the longer you stay,
the more you'll learn
about Michael Prince
and the more you'll hate yourself.
I've been a scientist-businessman
and a businessman-scientist.
And when one serves the other,
it can work.
The other way is just a slow death
of everything you ever hoped to be.
Marc, come on, you still have a chance
to win big on this right now.
You just got to show some flexibility.
It's a wonder I ever achieved
tenure without your counsel.
[TYPING]
In Will Guidara's book
Unreasonable Hospitality,
he tells a story about how,
when someone misses a
few meetings or is late,
the instinct is to get
right in their face
and give them massive guff about it.
Instead, Will says the thing to do
is check in about their welfare first.
I'm hunky-dory. Peachy keen.
Look, I had stuff to take care of.
Business stuff, and
No. Or, yes, but
whatever's getting in your head,
distracting you from your work,
because you did miss two meetings,
in which I covered, of course, but
No, really,
it's a business thing I was seeing to.
The Ruloff thing.
You need to talk to Wendy.
Your breathing, your cadence,
the pitch of your voice
tell me there's plenty of emotion
mixed in there with the business.
I've been there with an
innovator I cared about,
thinking there was a
balance to be struck.
And was there?
No.
I should have focused
only on the business.
Because the corrosive, controlling part
was already in the inventor,
as it is with your Dr. Ruloff.
That's why he doesn't want to partner,
he wants it all.
I think you got him wrong.
Wendy'll help you figure that out.
[KNOCKS]
[SIGHS]
I fucked up.
Huge mistake.
How much is it gonna cost Prince,
the firm?
No.
The opposite, I think.
But despite that,
if something isn't done,
if I don't do something to change
what's about to happen,
I don't know how the
hell I'm gonna be able
to live with myself.
Well, then you'd better have a seat.
Start at the beginning.
I've likely extricated you
from legal trouble.
Your friend down at the DMV's
gonna get promoted.
And his boss has a kid
who's gonna get an
internship at Justice.
So they'll quietly
accept the misdemeanor.
But what we have to discuss now
is the line of succession around here.
I just want it to remain clear
that I am a viable alternative
if the two of you are unable
to fulfill your parental duties.
That's all very well and good, Charles,
but Kevin,
you need to know
Your mother and I are your first calls
and your last.
But I did.
[SIGHS]
"Mom, my driving test is Monday morning.
Can you take me?"
"I have a meeting that morning.
Have you asked your father?"
"Dad, Monday morning, DMV?"
Uh-huh. "Is it possible to reschedule?"
It wasn't possible.
Kev, if you'd answered "no,"
I'd have found the time.
As would I have, if I'd known
your father responded he couldn't.
This is about you communicating
your needs more directly.
I did. I called Grandpa.
And I stepped forward,
once more into the breech.
I believe Kevin has what
the kids call receipts.
[SCOFFS]
None of us behaved perfectly here.
Ah, shit, Kev,
the immediate answer
should have been yes.
I know that.
I get caught up.
We both do.
This is
I'm just glad this is the extent
of the price we're paying,
and that it was your grandfather
and not you with the bribery.
I will go say good night
to my granddaughter.
And for the record,
Kevin drove the hell out
of that Jag under my watch.
Hmm.
My boy, there was a time
when a Benjamin Franklin
was the key to the city.
My mistake was not
accounting for inflation.
[CHUCK GROANS]
[LAUGHS] Oh, God.
Just when I thought
maybe we weren't too bad
at this parenting thing.
Yeah. Evidence to the contrary.
You and I need to communicate
every day about them.
That's where we fucked up.
Because if we'd been talking directly,
one of us
- No doubt. No doubt.
- would have
As far as working together better
I pledge to do my part.
As do I.
[CHUCK SIGHS]
I had a strange convo at work today.
I have to imagine that's,
uh, the norm there.
Kind of your job.
Yeah, but this
I'll share, since it wasn't a formal,
privileged conversation.
I sat him on the couch
instead of the chairs.
Uh-huh.
One of the heads of the firm.
Young guy named Philip Charyn.
There's a real
bare-knuckle business thing
that an outside figure, young Philip,
finds himself on the
opposite side of Prince.
Emotionally, though.
That's not a position
he can take publicly
within the firm.
Sounds Byzantine.
It seemed to me that he was asking me
to bring you in on the situation,
to pursue the issue on his behalf.
Huh.
And what did you indicate back?
Oh, I talked to him about
the blood-brain barrier.
How it keeps bacteria, viruses, fungus,
parasites in the bloodstream
out of the brain.
Parallel health achieved
by no cross-contamination.
Well, sounds about right.
And, uh, we should keep it that way.
For the health of the family and,
uh, our individual sanity.
That's exactly what I said.
[LAUGHS]
Wow.
In this arena,
communication has never been an issue.
We each know exactly
what the other means,
no matter what the other says.
It's somehow reassuring
and horrifying at the same time.
Quite so.
[LAUGHS]
Do I need to call a lawyer?
You sent for me.
You didn't tape an X
to a telephone pole,
but you asked for a meet just the same.
I don't want to talk to you.
Of course you don't.
Your mouth is dry.
You look like you put
in some hard miles.
You need to hydrate.
Marc Ruloff is a good man, a great man.
And I put him in Mike
Prince's crosshairs.
That's on me.
What if you could unwind it?
Find a way to save Ruloff's
company from Prince?
Well, I can't. I've tried.
Maybe I can.
Can you give me an
illegality I can pursue?
That's why we're here.
There aren't any. That's the problem.
What about you?
You're the guy that likes a big idea,
that likes the grand gesture, right?
Mm-hmm.
So put a stop to patent sharking.
And these sharks troll published patents
and buy everything that
could credibly allege
the invention infringes on it.
So they can sue.
Did you know there is
a plasma substitute
that could save soldiers'
lives wounded in theater?
But the inventor can't roll it out
because she's surrounded by sharks.
That is a great injustice,
but I can't change it.
Nor can I change the fundamental
nature of the enterprise
that is Michael Prince.
Because your Dr. Ruloff,
great man that you say he is,
is actually just a harbor seal.
And sharks will shark.
Harbor seals will harbor seal.
That is the way of the ocean.
[METALLIC RATTLING]
Gather around, you malingerers.
[SCOOTER] First, we heard you.
After this year,
with all the changes and drama,
we will not proceed with the
planned performance review.
It is more important that
instead of judging each other,
we come together. So
we are going to have the inaugural
Michael Prince Capital
Casino Night at Gotham Hall.
Everyone will be there.
Because you have to be
and because you fucking want to be.
This group will come together as a
[RIAN] Don't say "family."
That whole "work unit as family" thing
really stamps you as a Boomer.
- Gen X.
- We're not Boomers.
Not even close.
We read Doug Coupland in hardback.
You did. I'm much younger.
The point is,
we will come together as a
Goddamned family, or die trying.
Wags, Scooter. Need you.
[TOKENS RATTLE]
Kate has an angle on the Ruloff thing.
I wanted you to hear it.
We just set it in motion an hour ago.
Enzy-Novo, biotech firm.
They create the bacterial enzyme
that Ruloff's process uses.
And that, the enzyme,
it's proprietary, I imagine.
As patented as Carla Fracci's Giselle.
As Jordan's turnaround fadeaway.
- Ah.
- Yes, of course. Yeah.
By buying into this company
and the underlying patent,
Ruloff will be neutralized.
Without Enzy-Novo,
Ruloff is just making everyday cement.
It'll take him years to replace
or create his own bacteria.
Mm, I'd love to see Ruloff's
face when he finds out
he can't have the starter
for his concrete sourdough.
So, that second, when he's gut-punched,
is when we go back to him
with our last and best offer?
He'll sell whether he wants to or not.
He'll have to,
because he'll have no other choice.
He'll end up grateful, Mike,
when he sees what you do with his idea.
How you blow it out.
And, knowing you,
you'll be sure to credit him, too.
You know I will.
But all those hugs will have to wait
for the other side of the war.
[TYPING]
I have to sign off.
Who can become the host?
[SECRETARY] Uh, he's in a meeting.
[RULOFF] I'll tell you and
your lawyer at the same time.
Your attempted purchase of
Enzy-Novo has hit a snag,
and that snag is named
this guy right here.
I wouldn't dignify this,
I were you, Mike.
I didn't hear some rumor
needs confirming.
I'm in an exclusive
negotiation period with them,
so they had to tell me as
soon as your offer floated in.
Well, when your period ends,
I'll be there with a
wheelbarrow full of cash.
You won't outbid me. I need it more.
That's not something you admit to a guy
with unlimited resources.
That's why you should do the
magnifying glass/slide stuff
and leave the transactions
and wire transfers to me.
I'll focus on the science
of kicking your ass.
[LAUGHS] You want to get
into a buying war with me?
You're firing a pea shooter at a tank.
Maybe I have a tank of my own.
You can go around buying adjacent stuff.
Meanwhile, I'll publish my work.
Acclaim, prizes,
media attention will follow.
I'll be the man credited with
rebuilding the world, not you.
Philip
if this guy has a vulnerability,
a weakness,
a quirk of character that
we can use against him,
now would be the time to share it.
[SIGHS] I'd love to help,
but I've got nothing to help with.
I was an admiring student.
I've never seen that
contentious side of him before.
I've known him as nice. Conscientious.
I don't know how to get inside
his head and turn him around.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
He's a process guy.
He had a 1966 emerald-green
Karmann Ghia 1300.
He loved that car.
Talked about how the Karmann Ghia 1300
was made for the road.
They weren't durable cars,
so sometimes you'd see them in garages.
That really bothers him,
the thought that it might happen to his.
So he bought an entirely
different Karmann Ghia
and stripped it for parts
to save the green one.
Had someone in the engineering school
match the paint perfectly.
So he's an obsessive.
[PHILIP] I'd put it
slightly differently.
He's a man who follows his passion.
Who builds something
and then takes care of it.
That's where this is coming from.
I mean, he used to take
that car out to these rallies
with whales from the
Stanford Board of Trustees.
They used to try and buy it off him,
but he wouldn't sell.
The smile on his face when
he would drive off in it
pure joy of someone who
loved something enough
to take care of it in a way
that it served him perfectly.
Good. Good. Yeah.
That's just the story I needed to hear.
Kate, I'm betting Ruloff cozied up
to some billie board
member of the university
to back his war against me.
We still need to outbid him.
Well, what if we can't?
Yes,
if he did get himself a bigger tank,
that might be the case.
So we sue for injunctive relief
on behalf of one of our other patents.
We won't win that,
which you obviously know.
Winning won't matter.
As Philip's story tells us,
Ruloff will sacrifice everything
but the central project,
the central idea.
He'd cannibalize perfectly good cars
just to keep his on the road.
It was the getting it on the road
that was everything to him.
Still is.
If we can keep him in court,
and his prize Karmann
Ghia in the garage,
it'll drive him crazy enough to
share the Karmann Ghia with us,
as long as it gets it moving.
That tracks.
I know what to do.
A hearty welcome to all of you
gamesters, sports, speculators,
pikers, and punters.
Tonight, we offer you
the chance to test your luck
and skill at roulette, blackjack, craps,
baccarat and Texas Hold 'Em.
Drinks are free, and everyone
starts with 5,000 in chips,
with unlimited rebuys
at your own expense.
Proceeds go to charity, of course,
but the chip leader
at the end of the night
wins a special prize.
And what a prize it is.
Private air travel and all
expenses paid to Ireland,
to coincide with the Open.
And VIP rounds with this year's champion
at Royal County Down, Portrush,
Sligo, and Ballybunion.
Release the hounds!
[ALL CHEER]
["FUNK 49" BY JAMES GANG PLAYS]
Odd numbers only.
7, 17, 23, 24.
- Let's go.
- I know where you're going ♪
I don't think ♪
That's acting right ♪
You don't think ♪
It's showing ♪
[CHIPS CLINK]
Split 'em.
Split.
Falling down ♪
Don't misunderstand me ♪
You don't think I know your plan? ♪
Again?
Gonna raise.
Point is 9.
I'm backing up mine.
And give me all the hard ways.
Backing up mine.
You're wrong-way betting me.
Your future is in your hand.
Damn right it is.
Rebuy.
Already?
Don't worry. I have a system.
Do you take Venmo?
- There we go!
- [EXCITED CHATTER]
All right, let's bet some columns.
[BLOWS]
[DICE RATTLING]
- [CROUPIER] Seven.
- Oh!
Ah-ha. Mama's got a brand-new bag.
Fuck!
You gooched me.
Well, sometimes
that's what mamas have to do
to get the brand-new bag.
[CROWD CHEERS]
That is the sound of success.
Tonight's a hit. A palpable hit.
While you do your thing,
I am going to visit the tables.
- Baccarat?
- I know it's house odds,
but I've been a sucker for it
ever since the original Casino Royale.
[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]
Mm! Grey Goose martini. Shaken.
Or stirred. I don't really give a shit.
Ah, yes, chemin de fer.
Or as you vulgarians
like to call it, baccarat.
I usually play with tiles,
but this will have to do.
Mm!
Banco!
Vanessa.
- What do we got?
- Oh, we've got it all.
So, most of these folks,
the abstraction of having
chips instead of cards,
it's throwing their sense
of value off instantly.
Break it down for me.
[VANESSA] Okay.
This guy Victor, he's over there
rolling it up at roulette.
Aggressive, but smart.
On the other hand,
Tuk Lal's already made his
third visit to the rebuy cage.
He seems to think he has some
sort of system at blackjack.
I don't know.
His buddy Ben Kim over there
he's squeezing his original 5K in chips
hard enough to turn them into diamonds.
But scared money's
not gonna win tonight.
Taylor Mason,
clearly a high-level
thinking poker player,
is crushing everybody at Texas Hold 'Em.
And over here,
the one they're calling Dollar Bill,
he's a total nihilist
at the craps table.
Keep going. Deep dive.
Tell me how their behavior here
transfers to the workplace.
So, Ruloff,
far from letting himself be sharked,
got a killer whale to protect him,
but it ain't working.
Or it was working so well
that Prince had to
come at him another way
to strike the fatal blow.
Uh-huh. What was the move?
Filed suit to block Ruloff's
purchase of Enzy-Novo.
In California.
It's gonna end up in the 9th Circuit.
Where it'll be years
before it's settled out.
These two are gonna be like
the Lazarus A and Lazarus B on Trek.
Fighting into eternity.
I don't like it.
Neither one of these guys
should be spending their time
trying to win at all costs.
If this thing is as good for
the world as it promises to be,
they should only be
focused on bringing it out.
And worry about the money,
of which there will be plenty, later.
I mean, think about it.
Louis Pasteur's first order of business
was doing the good thing,
not cashing in on his breakthroughs
like these two brigands.
No single person should
control something like this.
There's got to be a way
to take them both out of the equation.
Unless the whole thing is a setup.
Wendy comes to you, you go to the kid,
he gets you to swallow the poison,
thinking it's just wine.
Oh, Wendy and I aren't out there
in that particular bad place,
in that particular way.
And, I mean, if we are,
give me the poison now.
Get it over with.
Or just be careful.
How come he didn't make a move
to stop things on his own?
His move was reaching me.
What else could he do on the inside?
Well, just play it out.
Don't drink whatever
goblet's put in front of you.
And then it doesn't
matter what's inside it.
Fine. Yes.
We proceed without allowing
any kind of opening,
as we always do.
But proceed we must.
How do we get it done?
The only word that comes to mind:
Spielbergian.
Is that a word?
It ought to be.
I just got a nasty text
from Marc Ruloff.
That's 'cause it's over.
You blocked him and beat him?
Nope.
But it's over all the same.
The Department of
Defense did a march-in.
The entire project was
declared classified
by the federal government.
Your patent, everything in this office,
and everything associated with this work
will now be controlled
by the federal government.
You have rights, and there is a process
which will now be overseen
by the Department of Defense.
You dropped the dime to the government?
Could he have tipped them off himself?
Killed it instead of
letting you have it?
Don't think so. Doesn't matter now.
The government will
sit on this discovery
like the Ark of the Covenant
in that endless warehouse.
Why won't they get it into the market?
Well, first of all, they're inept.
Then, you know,
think of the special interests.
The unions. The conflicts.
Yeah. They'll use potential unknown
health or structural liabilities
to get the government
to keep testing it.
Yeah, so, no. It's not coming to market.
Not now.
So no one gets the benefit.
It's like everyone just literally said,
"Fine, kill the damned infant."
Well, the upside is that when
I take the oath of office
and I do declassify it and release it,
it'll start us off very, very nicely.
Better: you hold until right after
you announce for a second term.
Eight years in office for
President Prince locked up.
Ooh, I like that a lot.
Hold it, then splash.
Maybe Ruloff did me a favor
by trying to stop me.
Let me go over your debt,
find you some corridors out of this.
I think
No. You've done enough.
More than enough.
Our engagement ends
when you walk out that door.
Before I do, I just want you
to know that my intentions
I misspoke.
Our engagement ends now.
[DOOR OPENS]
We're here to set the terms
for the performance reviews.
Should we wait until Philip
is here before we start?
He's not coming.
Oh, well,
there is a new harmonious
spirit on the floor.
We think there's a road to compromise
that you'll find productive.
It's irrelevant at this point.
We have what we need.
How's that?
You all said nothing
but told us everything.
I've taken Vanessa Selbst's raw research
and put it into language that discloses
what the usual comp process does,
and much more.
Using prospect theory,
as based on Kahneman and Tversky's
Nobel Prize-winning research
recognizing loss aversion
that veers directly into
sunk cost fallacy
along with many other
related pathologies
that were revealed the other night
the participation of the employees
is no longer required.
[VICTOR] Shit.
Casino Night wasn't some
team-building exercise.
It was an observation chamber.
Yes, we already know
what we need to know
in order to gauge the employees'
risk assessment,
strategic approach, expected outcome,
performance in general.
Thanks for your time.
Son of a bitch.
What's next, the Milgram experiment?
You want to see if we'll join
in shocking each other?
Oh, who was the winner of the big prize?
Peach took it down.
Fuck me.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Does she even golf?
I hear she's about to flip
it to a PM at another firm
for 300 grand.
Shame they're so upset.
Victor and Rian had some
of the best approaches.
Unlike the bulk of those losers.
Including you, Wags.
You were in on the gag,
and yet you bled off
$4,900 in chips at baccarat.
Me?
I thought I was on the inside,
that I'm exempt.
[LAUGHS] Oh, no.
No one's exempt.
Goddamn it.
Scooter,
you're definitely not getting invited
to mini golf next week.
None of you are.
Everything I did went to shit.
I tried to run a performance review,
and it turned into a
psychological study.
I tried to help the firm
and ended up with nothing.
I tried to help my old teacher,
he lost everything.
I hoped to change the world,
it went nowhere.
You're giving yourself a lot of credit
for how much you supposedly control.
[SIGHS]
No, you're right.
I should give you some.
Because when I went to you
and your ex-husband,
that's when the crap really
started flowing downhill.
Instead of handing out
the kudos and the blame,
why don't we talk about
turning this mess into action.
Because I saw you in his office,
and I know how you feel.
Whatever plan you're considering,
leave me out.
Whatever you, and Taylor,
and I don't know who else
are thinking about doing
I can't.
Won't. I don't even want to.
I need, and I will have,
complete deniability.
As-is, right now,
there is nothing I could tell anyone,
nothing I should tell anyone.
I aim to keep it that way.
Then you do that.
You have an old friend at Defense,
don't you?
Did you talk to him lately?
Maybe ask him to, well,
classify something
that could really help the country,
just to screw over a rival?
If my actions hurt the man,
that is the way it is.
I presume he intends to declassify it,
if and when he gets into office.
But I can keep the wolf at bay for now.
See how that works out.
Right.
A lot of ways this could have gone
once you connected me
with that fella Philip Charyn.
But then you knew that.
Yep. I suppose I did.
[DOOR OPENS]
Well, some things turn out just fine.
Yes, they do. A lot of things.
["DRIVE" BY R.E.M. PLAYS]
Smack, crack, bushwhacked ♪
- Tie another one ♪
- Congratulations.
To your racks, baby ♪
- [WENDY] So proud of you.
- [KEVIN] Thank you.
[CHUCK] Nice. Good job.
Hey, kids, rock and roll ♪
Nobody tells you ♪
Where to go, baby ♪
What if I ride? ♪
What if you walk? ♪
What if you rock ♪
Around the clock? ♪
Tick-tock ♪
Tick-tock ♪
What if you did? ♪
What if you walk? ♪
What if you tried ♪
To get off, baby? ♪
Oh ♪