06x10 - Johnny Favorite

[bunniefuu]

- [MAN] Previously on Billions.
- The Games

can no longer be held in New York City.

[PRINCE] He had to remind me
that he took from me.

Now it's time to take back.

He'll come charging right at you.

We need to wave something
to get his attention.

That park is the perfect target.

[PRINCE] He's coming after all
the Vandeveld Park keyholders.

Someone needs to advocate

for the people who actually pay taxes,

and on this one, that's me.

I need you to write a letter
to the New York Senate

requesting a special session
to vote on his removal.

[SWEENEY] State Attorney General Rhoades

has used his seat of power
to wage personal vendettas.

- Aye.
- Aye.

- Aye.
- Charles Rhoades Jr is hereby

removed as attorney general
of the state of New York.

I am not actually sh*t
dead in my trench.

Close your eyes, Chuck.
It's over and done.

[DAVE] And with heavy hearts,

we raise our glasses to a man

who led this office so intrepidly.

Chuck, I'm just sorry
this couldn't be a proper

beefsteak sendoff, but...

Oh, I'm off red meat anyway.

[ALL LAUGH]

Well, as long as you never lose
those carnivorous instincts,

we, the people, still need them.

Well, I'm not sure what good
they'll do me now, but...

You, Chuck Rhoades,

reminded us how to take
on great foes and forces

without fear or concern for oneself,

and you leave us fortified to
continue on in that same spirit.

[ALL] Hear, hear.

[ALLERD] We'll miss you, Chuck.

Now I'll have to actually
do my own case work.

[ALL LAUGH]

Well, I'll miss the mission,
and all of you.

The whole place.

Even the Barney Miller coffee.

- [ALL LAUGH]
- Thank you very much.

Thank you, guys.

[ANDY, OVER PHONE] You okay?

- [PRINCE] Of course, why?
- Just a feeling.

Maybe it's the calling that's a problem.

I want to see too.
What are you doing this week...

- er, this weekend.
- Uh...

[MOUTHS SILENTLY] You can.

- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Just got to Telemark.

By Saturday, I'll be on a portaledge.

We're trying to b*at Papert's record.

- This is your second attempt?
- Third.

You want to come with?

Be a good-luck charm?

I'm seeking the exact
opposite of an icy ledge

and suspension ropes.

Tempting.

But I'm solid with my plans.

So we're here again.

We're not anywhere.
You're not being punished.

If the snow hits early,

I can have you helicoptered
from Yukon to Oslo.

I'm a call away.

Am I going to see you with a microphone

taped to your lapel,

sitting next to Anderson Cooper
in the Toobin seat?

Ooh, it has to be bad luck
to call it that.

And, no, I don't think
that's where I'm headed.

Public service of another sort.
A different elected office.

Or a podcast, maybe.

Building an audience
seems to be the best moat

anyone can manufacture these days.

- And since you were sidelined...
- I'm on the sidelines.

But the verb form,
it fails to accurately capture

the force with which I was
ripped from this office.

This is no coach's DNP.
This is a putsch.

And despite what I said to the room,

in the spirit of bonhomie,
you have to know that I...

we are still very much engaged
in this fight for the soul...

Well, no, I am engaged.

No doubt, it's my job to be.

And as you did,

I have to move the office
forward in my way.

And I handpicked you for this.

I saw a rough diamond
with jeweler's eyes.

You said it was with a tailor's eye.

I did indeed, yes. Point stands.

Change is hard. No one
expects you to be happy with this.

Or content.

But enjoy the valedictory.

This is a celebration of you.

[CHUCKLES] Yeah.

Like a wake.

♪ I don't mind you ♪
♪ Coming here ♪

♪ And wasting all my time ♪

♪ 'Cause when you're standing ♪
♪ Oh so near ♪

♪ I kind of lose my mind ♪

♪ It's not the perfume ♪
♪ That you wear ♪

♪ It's not the ribbons ♪
♪ In your hair ♪

- Get in, Rhoades.
- When you rendition someone,

it's better to cuff and rope them
before the talking starts.

Otherwise, they may take off running.

Oh, you try running in those wingtips,

you'll fall on your ass
like Buster Keaton.

At which point we can get
to the binding and so forth.

Thanks for the offer, guys, but, uh...

Chuck, we have your things.

A plan has been made.

We're taking you to Rundas Lodge.

Fresh air. Delicious vittles.

And vigorous bodywork.

I was going to stroll across the bridge.

Take a contemplative constitutional

through a crumbling city.

Feels more appropriate
than lounging in some spa.

No, you can take your constitutionals

when you're in the nursing home.

- Get in the damn car.
- Don't make us drug you.

[ENGINE STARTS]

♪ You look so fancy I can tell ♪

♪ And I don't mind you ♪
♪ Hanging out ♪

♪ And talking in your sleep ♪

♪ I guess you're just ♪
♪ What I needed ♪

♪ Just what I needed ♪

♪ I needed someone to feed ♪

♪ I guess you're just ♪
♪ What I needed ♪

♪ Just what I needed ♪

♪ I needed someone to bleed ♪

Now, all phones in the GoDark bag.

Signal blocking,

off the grid for the duration.

[CHUCK] Not happening.

Oh, I'm working the sh*t
out of this puppy

to find the next perch from
which to exact my revenge.

All that will be there after.

I encourage you to do the reset.
It's why we're here.

No, I'll reset the f*ck out
of myself phone in hand.

Well, if one guy has his phone,
that ruins it.

Fine.

And you're reimbursing me
for the GoDark bag, son.

Hmm.

[SCOOTER] Rhoades has been felled,
but not finished.

- I would like to talk about next...
- I don't.

Don't want to talk about that.

You want to talk about the spoils.

The theory is,

you must reward yourself
after a victory.

It strengthens the subconscious

to lay it all on the line
in the next battle.

Without it,
an autonomic weakness sets in

for which even iron discipline
cannot compensate.

Understood, on a visceral level.

Even without all the science-y words.

Hell, I don't even wait for a win.

- [CHUCKLES]
- That's just debauchery.

[PRINCE] I spoke with Andy.
She's not free.

But what Scooter was describing

I think is even more important
for the troops than the general.

- They'll be fine.
- [PRINCE] No, no, no.

They need to eat the dragon's heart,
to taste it.

Really? This group?

Especially this group.
There's no other way.

Is that some sort of code
for a hard reboot, or a...?

[PRINCE] Call an all-hands meeting.

Night after tomorrow at the house.

Pull!

[g*nshots]

Crap.

They break when they land,
if it's any comfort.

Being a wiseass is unbecoming
for a member of the bench.

And this choke is faulty.

Sure it is.

Pull.

- Wasn't ready.
- [SENIOR LAUGHS]

Only a fool says "pull"
if he isn't ready.

Too much pulling in
your room last night.

Watch and learn, boys.

Pull.

[g*nshots]

I think I nicked the second one.

- Oh, bullshit.
- [IRA] Clean misses.

Pull!

[IRA] Whoa!

A double! You're in the zone!

I just picture Prince's
face on the clay,

and the pellets seem to find it.

Obsession focuses a man.

I am obsessed with helping you
rebrand and refocus, Chuck.

We think you need a position,
a power base to operate from.

We don't want to see you
spiral out going after revenge.

[SENIOR] Chief Counsel
at a defense contractor.

Now, that is the kind of money

that wipes the stain
of any failure away.

You can strategize about
Prince along with me,

or we can sh**t in silence.

Because the idea that some
fresh air and mud baths

could change who I am
or what I stand for is laughable.

Chuck, we don't want you
to change entirely.

But some growth, some effort...

No, uninterested.

Try, for just a moment,

being the kind of man who might sit

on the highest court in the land.

A listener,
a considerer of all possibilities.

Consultants, lobbyists.

These people wield more
power than you ever had.

- We have a list.
- [SENIOR] He can't.

Like a leopard can't change its spots.

And that's not just a cliché.
It's true.

You shave the coat,

the spots are still there,
right down to his f*cking hide.

I'm heading back to make some calls.

Well, you're going to look desperate.

No. Activated. Motivated.
Not desperate. It's different.

They'll see that.

And maybe try throwing
your g*ns at the clays,

you might actually hit something.

Ehh.

[CHUCKLES]

[PHONE RINGING]

Our custom is to pick up, say hello.

I am tired of explaining

Olympic sponsors' down payments
are non-refundable.

You took a sh*t and missed.

Go copulate with yourself,
you cheap-ass f*ck.

I hope that wasn't your pastor.

Now, I have come here
to actually help you.

Is this a setup? Like with a boy?

Because I don't think you
and I have the same taste.

Setting you up to win
that congressional seat.

Call this number.

He is the best at digging up
sh*t on people,

far better than the other side'll have.

You need to see what he unearths on you.

On me?

I thought the idea was
to find sh*t on the other side.

First things first: Know thyself.

[CHUCKLES]

I appreciate it. I do.

Um, but my closet's bare.

Not a skeleton to be found.

[LAUGHS] Please.

Anyone with a five-figure (K)

has hidden sh*t they've forgotten about,

or never even knew about.

Once you're in the race,
it won't stay hidden for long.

You can get ahead of yours,

or wait till the other side
splatters you with it.

Your call.

Pretty sure my call is
not making this call.

Then yours won't be
much of a race at all.

[PHILIP] How great's your book
doing since you got it back?

[TUK] I'm not ashamed of it.

[PHILIP] Yeah,
you feel good about it, don't you?

[CHUCKLES]

You know,
some religions think that the egg

is the symbol of the soul.

- Did you know that?
- [RIAN] Does this make sense?

"DAOs are Internet-native
organizations collectively run

and owned by their members."
Or should I add:

"an exclusive pipeline into crypto"?

Do you know where I can get
High John the Conqueror root

in New York? I want to try it

- and see if it...
- Whoops.

Someone's down the
Angel Heart rabbit hole.

I am, way down, and it is truly f*cking

with my sleep-wake homeostasis.

When you watch it end to end,
over and over again,

it actually gets less clear.

It starts to slither through your mind

like a cinematic human centipede.

You could, and I'm not just saying this

because Mickey Rourke is,
well, Mickey Rourke.

Just stop watching.

Yeah, but I have to prove my theory

that everyone is a Harry Angel
or a Johnny Favorite.

Ugh, some of us are Lisa Bonet
trying to make the world

forget Denise Huxtable existed.

Philip seems to be creating a real

"leader of men" vibe on the floor.

Why I'm staying in here.

I have something for you,
if you have the bandwidth.

[WINSTON] Heads up.

We're closed tomorrow. Whole operation.

That's really more a me decision

than a directive from up on high.

There's an all-hands
tomorrow night at Prince's.

So, no, it's not.

Office is to remain empty tomorrow

while everyone gathers their thoughts.

And the subject of this all-hands is?

[WAGS] Known upon arrival.

All other questions,

please submit to "Oh, right,
we don't give a sh*t."

We'll see you there.

Okay, then.

What was all that?

They've been living on borrowed time

in another man's memories.

It's just so much better
when we parallel play.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

I appealed to them and I implored them,

but the answer is no.

No service until the
party is fully seated.

I did get drinks.

Parochial f*cking posture.

[CHUCKLES]

We have Chuck declared legally dead,

and in ten minutes,

we are sawing into bison rib eyes.

Agreed?

I'll get him.

I understand.

- [KNOCK ON DOOR]
- Again, I understand. [SIGHS]

But I'd like to meet in person

to tell you what I plan to do about it.

Mm-hmm.
And I await word from your office.

- Jesus Christ.
- We're eating.

Well, we're not eating.

We're waiting for you
so that we can eat.

Ira, what I have an appetite
for won't arrive on a plate.

I know, buddy,

but sitting up here
seething's no good for you.

You've been dinged.
You have no momentum.

No one's going to touch you right now.

I'm aware,
but the last time I felt like myself

was on the floor of that chamber.

Win or lose, it's where I belong.

So why can't you act like my Chuck Bodak

and close my cut
so I can answer the next bell?

Sometimes a good cornerman
throws in the towel

when his fighter is too
game but overmatched.

Oh, don't you dare.

Look.

They won't serve the table
until we're all seated,

and I don't look forward
to any of our crew

in a hypoglycemic state.

Five minutes, and you get your food,

and then I'm back to the phones.

[SWERDLOW] I want to tell you something.

This gristle is as good as
anything I've ever ingested.

Sorry, Chuck, I snagged your seat.

I didn't know you'd be joining us.

- A surprise to us all.
- Oh, I doubt that.

Sure, there might have been
some rhyme to my reason.

Oh, yeah, your father called me in

to offer you my array
of special therapies.

NADs to lengthen your telomeres.

And that's the fountain of youth,
my man.

Or if that's too exotic for you,
how about some PRT...

"platelet replacement therapy"?

I'll just give you a sh*t in the scalp,

you'll be looking like Oscar
Gamble in three months.

Or blast you in the cock,
now you're Jeff Stryker.

I can remake you into
whatever man or woman

that you want to be, cookie.

I'm in need of neither detoxification,

nor concierge medical cocktails.

Mm. I'll be the judge,

jury, and executioner on that one.

And I've already rendered my verdict.

- Look at that pallor.
- Oh.

We're just going to fire up
your frank and beans.

You're going to be like mnh-mnh!

Why don't you listen to the Doc, son.

We all could use a little
modern-day Geritol.

- Especially you.
- Nope. No time.

I have to get back to the room.

I'm glad you've got your repast.

Just, uh, have them send mine up.

I see, now, why... why are you in...

in such a hurry to
get back to your room?

You got yourself a
wonderful lady up there?

Huh? If so, the Doc has a special, uh...

Calls, Dad. Making calls.

I told him to give it a rest.
He doesn't listen.

Can adults be colicky?

No. Wait, what do you think that means?

Wait, cranky, out of sorts,
like you are right now.

I'm not colicky.

Out of sorts, I'll allow, sure.

And a little cranky. f*ck.

Give me a Binky and a blankie
and a bottle, please.

Bartender, can I get a boilermaker?

Only instead of beer,

can you throw baby
formula in that tumbler?

You always cheer me up, Mafee.

So glad you could switch
our weekly to tonight.

Tomorrow, I have to go to an all-hands

at Michael Prince's house.

That sounds... maybe threatening?

I don't know.

Is he going to fire the entire place?

Not sure.

Maybe I'd be better off.
Remove the engine limiter.

Because as is,
he neutralizes certain of my moves,

for reasons only he's privy to.

I'd offer you a spot at High Plains,

- but we can't afford to pay you.
- Oh, no?

What about your million
in crypto from Axe?

You must have arbed it ten, fifteen X.

- Where's it at?
- Don't know.

Don't know how much?

I don't think about it.

What the f*ck does that mean?

You didn't think about how
much you could have made

with a million bucks of free
electric lightning on a drive?

I didn't.

Mafee, you could have turned
that times, .

- Okay.
- Okay?

It is very much not okay.

It is with me, and it's my money.
So I left it alone.

If I had gotten in the
game with gifted coin,

with something that
just landed in my lap,

I would have started obsessing,
you know me.

I would have tried to figure out
every single possible move

until no other move was possible,

and then figure it out more.

It would have owned me,
instead of me owning it.

And I don't want to be owned like that.

I don't understand how
that can make you happy.

Look, I know the theory.

It's immoral to let a
sucker keep his money.

And the market is the sucker.

But the whole snorting
Cymbalta and grinding,

it just wasn't making me happy.

Is it making you happy?

Wags said you'd let yourself in.

[SIGHS]

I have your self-research.

Some campaign advice too.

What's that?

Don't run.

Your life,
your family's lives will be upended,

twisted beyond recognition.

Win or lose, you'll never get it back.

I have to run.

Good.

Only kind of person who should.

Why two?

This is the one anyone can get.

This is the one only I can.

So, you're the one, aren't you...

that helped Axelrod b*at us
every single time?

All that matters is,

I'm on your side now.

It's a good thing you're
in the private sector.

At least I know I'm not getting rousted.

I should roust your
paternalistic self anyway.

Little intense, Kate.

Notch it back a notch and a half or so.

Maybe if you'd let me
fail once or twice,

I wouldn't have to bring it like this,

but this wasn't your way, was it?

Why fail when you don't have to?

Well, this is about a time
where I should have,

in boarding school.

- You were a superstar there.
- I was.

And as I'm sure you remember,
I ended up engaging

in a bit of civil disobedience

which ended up in the storming
of the admin building.

What I remember is that it was peaceful

until you hurled a paperweight
through a pane glass window

and the whole place went up
Do the Right Thing -style.

Nothing b*rned. Nobody d*ed.

And I was never embarrassed
about my part in it.

I knew there would be consequences,

and I was willing to face them.

Well, one must be willing when
one performs civil disobedience.

The risk is what makes it hard to do.

And you did pay the price.

You were suspended for, what, two weeks?

Yes. Yes, I was.

And that was it.

Which was strange,
because some of the other kids

had notes put in their files,

and their colleges bounced
their acceptances because of it.

Not me, though.

Which I thought was because of the ways

that I contributed at school...

student government,
sports and theater and all of it.

That is why.

You paid the headmaster's
mortgage off, in cash,

so she wouldn't send a note to college,

and they wouldn't rescind my admission.

And I'd do it again.

You were right to protest.

And you earned your way into school.
The end.

Folks with a much longer
tenure at the seat of power

and influence have been doing
this stuff for generations,

to people like us.

Why wouldn't we safeguard
our own forward progress?

Yours?

This isn't about me, Kate,

or what I did.
You don't care about any of that.

You're distracting yourself,

worrying about the externals,

about all the things outside of yourself

that are impacting your life.

Grow the hell up and realize

the only thing you can control is you.

And next time you surprise me,

bring a cake and some candles

and get ready to sing me a g*dd*mn song.

[ENGINE STARTS]

I see we're both of the
Jimmy Conway school.

Early to the meet.

Yeah, well, me more than you, it seems.

How goes it?

There's a psychological term

for thinking that once you
see someone do something,

you can repeat the action, unaided.

Dunning-Kruger, sure.

Spyros is a walking example of it.

- Except for coffee.
- Yeah. Inflated self-assessment.

That's him, except with the beans.

Wild, though.

Seems the less you know
how to do something,

the more you're willing to
believe you can accomplish it.

The flip side is that optimists
live longer than pessimists,

and aren't as easily dissuaded
from learning things.

At the early stages of learning, yeah.

But when things get hard,

that's when pessimists put
shoulder into sled and push,

because to them,
everything is difficult.

So exertion is the
only reasonable choice.

Like most things,
what you want is to be able to control

your emotional range enough to
trigger whichever is more useful

in the micro-moment.

Do you do this consciously?
Did you build this consciously?

Oh, this is fun.
Is this what we're doing here?

Well, we're here to investigate,
that's for sure.

Yeah, it's fun as f*ck.

Maybe almost as fun as the state
senate session was for you.

The Albany m*ssacre.

So that's why you summoned me,

to upbraid me for taking out Chuck.

No, not at all.

But I am fascinated by the
choices you made to do it,

how you did it, why you did,
why you did it the way you did.

And I will need answers.

But not for the reasons you think.

Why, then?

You asked me a while back
to do the real thing with you,

to sharpen your blade.

And maybe your moves got me to the place

where I'm ready to do that.

What's the source of the maybe?
Why isn't it a firm...?

Because you haven't
answered my questions yet.

- You haven't asked them.
- Oh, well...

as Pitbull said,

"Get ready, 'cause here I come."

The immersion chamber is
my journey into isolation

and emotional resets.

- Hmm.
- A series of colored lights

and soft but urgent sounds
will surround you.

You don't close your eyes,

you simply watch and let
the experience flow over you.

- Chuck.
- Hmm.

I feel like a -year-old again,

but before my pet dog d*ed.

We should put this in everyone's house.

I think we'd end all strife,
wars, and conflict.

That's what everybody says

the first time they do
magic mushrooms too,

but somehow the wars and strife
just seem to keep on going.

Perhaps you'll solve that problem today.

We find this process
refreshes and renews the mind.

It's very Altered States.

So, uh, a naked Blair Brown

will come save me from
my homunculus self?

[CHUCKLES]

Was that the first Chayefsky
reference around here?

How can that be?

All right, you know what?

Let's just get in.

There's a red panic button,

but you won't panic.

- You'll be safe the whole time.
- Uh-huh.

[NAOMI] And I'll be
monitoring your progress.

You're not alone,
but you're completely isolated.

It's comforting.

Just try and stay present.
See you on the other side.

[CHUCKLES]

This isn't an intake.

This isn't about meds.
It isn't patient/client.

This is a performance coaching session.

That work for you, if that's my focus?

It all works for me... in your hands.

That something you're used to?

Putting yourself in
someone else's hands?

Depends on the grip.
But, yes, I can delegate.

I can relinquish control.
I can free myself of the yoke.

- I can trust.
- Then why didn't you relinquish control

of the state senate session?

Trust that it would get done
without your presence.

Define "it."

It wasn't enough for you
to take down Chuck.

You needed to be there to watch it.

Is that for vengeance?

Certainty? Credit? Voyeurism?

Ah, so this is a reaction
to what I did to your ex?

- Are you...?
- You did what had to be done,

with an efficacy that
made me curious enough

to want to engage with you here.

That, plus the all-hands,

tells me you are evolving

into the next version of who you are.

The question is why, to all of it.

I needed to be there to
make sure it happened.

Yeah, sure, you needed to be
behind the scenes.

But instead, you let yourself be seen.

Photographed, even.

No one knew how powerful

Robert Moses was till he was long gone.

That was from a time when
behind-the-scenes power

meant more than power displayed.

That's all changed now.

Credit must be logged.

Yeah. Yes.

The show of personal force
recalibrates expectations.

Not only in the public sphere,
but here as well.

My power in this place
was never in dispute.

It's more than that.

It's the one-two punch:
Albany, now the all-hands.

Yeah, sets them up for a knockout.

- Who?
- Everyone.

Well, it sure got everyone here rattled.

I just heard Prince is behind
Chuck Rhoades going down.

If he could do that to Rhoades,
none of us is safe.

You shouldn't believe rumors like that.

Right. He's not the
kind of man who would...

How would he even...?

f*ck, you're right.

All-hands or a coronation?

Either way, executions are a-coming.

He wasn't just there.
Prince did him, is what I heard.

How would Prince have "done him"?

It's state senate vote
parliamentary procedure.

Sure. And Dr. Fowler was a su1c1de.

Anyway, we can meet
at my apartment at the open

to organize ourselves
against whatever grilling

he's going to give us.

- We were gonna watch a movie.
- Angel Heart, obviously.

You, too, Rian?

I didn't mean to get
sucked into his insanity,

but then I started watching,

and it's so weird and nihilistic,

and I think maybe perfect.

We've just about figured out
what the fans mean.

They seem to start spinning
at the strangest times.

But, yes, tomorrow. We'll be there.

Obviously. We're working.

You're not a man who
does things by accident

or who relies on fate,

so you knew the effect
your actions would have.

Want to tell me what you were
hoping the employees would feel?

I was thinking about Chuck.

I was thinking about my broader
outside agenda, about...

m*therf*cker!

Whoa!

Yeah.

It's an old carny trick
picked up by behavioralists.

Breaks the pattern. Now say

the words that you've said to yourself

but don't want to say out loud

for fear they will mark
you an egoist or a fool.

Good. This is good. This is all good.

Stop trying to prolong it so
you can think of what to say

and say the words.

The Prince Cappers,
most of them still at heart,

are holding back.

They know I'm formidable...

They don't truly fear you.

And they're aware
of how good I am, but...

- But you need their respect.
- Most of all, I need them to...

Ah. Oh.

Love.

You want to be loved.

It's easy for a man like you
to get one of those.

I need all three.

I don't like to admit that,
but it's true.

It's what I demand.

[MAN] Hey, f*cking Richie.
f*cking Richie.

Hey, f*cking Richie.
What do you mean, who?

It's Ron.

[LAUGHS]

Yes, Ron! Ron f*cking Chestnut!

The big f*cking R, kid.

- [LAUGHS]
- Damn it.

What did you think, it was your
ex-wife's f*cking divorce lawyer

honking at you?

[LAUGHS]

What?

[CACKLES] Honk! Honk! Honk!

Pay up, douchebag...

Huh?

Oh. Hold on.

Yeah, I... I...
I see your little sign, dear.

Sir, for the experience
to be its most efficacious,

silence is absolutely needed.

Oh, well, I am almost done with my call.

And it's almost my turn
to get all efficacious

up in there anyway, so...

- Hey, buddy, you done?
- [NAOMI] He has minutes left.

No, I think I can afford to give it up.

You need it more than I do.

Call you back. Funny guy, huh?

[LAUGHS]

Yeah. Thanks all the same.

Ahem, so, uh, what do I do now?

I strip? A little tighty-whitie action?

No, sir, fully clothed.

Ew. Boo.

Color me disappointed.

- [CHUCK] You okay?
- All right, hit it.

Whew!

[LAUGHS]

[HOWLS]

Oh, it's like a f*cking kaleidoscope!

It's a very cool sensory experience.

[MAN] Is this all it does?

Very, and maybe it'll work on him?

I just hope he doesn't break it.

[MAN] Look at this. Let me take a video.

Hey, this is me!

This is me inside the peyote machine!

I can see how losing the Olympics

would put you in a, uh,

vengeance and consolidation
of power mode.

- That tracks.
- I agree.

Yeah, especially with the
bribery and dirty dealings

required to have gotten
the Games in the first place.

That's the first time
you've stepped out of line.

- Back it up.
- If I back it up,

it's out the door. Gone, baby, gone.

I don't work with people
who hold back from me.

You wrangled.

Manipulated. Pressured.
Extorted. Paid folks off.

And I'm okay with that.
I'm fine with someone like you

doing that which is required.

That's not the problem.

- But there is a problem.
- Yeah.

- What's that?
- You're a f*cking liar.

Worse, the person you tell
the biggest lies to is yourself.

You spend so much time
twisting yourself up into knots

trying to make yourself
believe that your aim is true

and noble and good.

You almost make yourself believe it.

You wanted a burning bush
to tell you that what you did

to get this hedge fund
was good and right.

All you have is your
own conscience burning.

Please.
The guy who was here before me...

- No.
- Yes. We're gonna talk about this.

He wasn't similarly called?

You don't think the voice of
power whispered to him and said,

"Do it all, have it all"?

You want to know?

Axe wanted freedom, total and complete.

And the other guy, Chuck, he wants...

he needs a righteous w*r,

and you gave them both
exactly what they asked for.

No, I didn't give Axe his freedom.

I paid for it.

And you want to know why Axe
is satisfied with freedom?

Why Chuck is priapic for warfare?

Why conquest and victory
is enough for them?

Because they are lesser Caesars.

You want to be a greater Caesar?

What are you going to do
with all that power?

Pax Romana.

I'm going to manifest it.

And you're going to help me.

The name plates are already changed.

You work faster on this sh*t

than Patton updating
the stars on his jeep.

But I was too slow to get you
on the "no fly" list at security.

I'm guessing...

you're here to establish a détente.

A détente would presume
that we're still at w*r.

Skirmish is over, so let's just, uh...

how would you say it?

Keep the lines of dialogue open.

And when I dialogue with you,
what are we talking about?

It's ironic, me here...

you there.

That was supposed to be my chair.

If I had have stayed,
I'd be sitting there.

If you had stayed,
Michael Prince would have had

no idea how to remove Chuck.

See?

Ironic.

- Sure.
- I understand you not wanting

to give me a heads-up on how
you're steering the office.

I wouldn't.

Maybe you're coming after us.

But, uh, maybe you're sitting there

and you're seeing what I saw.

That the world is more than billionaires

and the people who hate them.

That you can prosecute
the real inequalities.

The ones that don't put you
in the crosshairs

of my current boss.

Because?

Say the rest.

You came here to say it.

The lever that got
Chuck out still exists.

Yes, it does.

I don't know what my next move is.

But I can tell you this.

You knew what Prince
was planning for Chuck,

and you played on all our
weaknesses to make it happen.

You used everything you
could to manipulate me.

I blame Prince,
but I also know you knew,

and you knew better,
and you let it happen.

So no, I won't give you the heads-up.

We won't be talking.

You're not welcome here,

because either you always were,

or you have become exactly
who I want to send to prison.

I did what I had to do.

I thought we'd both be
used to that by now.

Glad you finally joined us for a meal.

A man has to eat, as you like to say.

He does indeed.

You hurt it sh**ting?

No, it's just stiff.

I fractured it punching
a wall in frustration

when I lost a Supreme Court appeal

on a death penalty case back in ' .

An innocent man was ex*cuted that day.

Ricochet from a
Waterford crystal tumbler

I threw against the wall

when I made and lost
over million in one day.

Ice Juice.

Well, nothing to show
by lifting my shirt,

but the Kn*fe wounds are there,
believe you me.

Jeffcoat and the U.S. Attorney job?

Yeah.

That was a body blow, to be sure.

But it was one professional to another,

and I got my licks in later.

No, the more recent purge is the
one I'm going to be healing from

- for some time to come.
- And Prince, that fucker,

was there to watch the
whole thing go down.

- Ouch.
- You know, the one

that still stabs me in the balls

was a simple procedure.

Decorum dictates that
I can't say her name,

but...

you all know her by her laugh.

You know who I'm talking about,
sugar, right?

The grand dame outlived
her nemesis Johnny Carson,

only to croak on my table.

[LAUGHS]

Oh, sh*t.

That was the first time
they took away my license, the f*ckers.

Why are you so quiet?

You only book wins?

Nah, the calluses are so thick
he just can't feel anything,

one way or another.

I was king.

I was the king of New York once.

I had so many properties.

Manhattan, Midtown, uptown,

the Bronx...

Three dozen, maybe more at the time.

Was I supposed to go around myself,

checking the sprinklers in all of them,

making sure they worked?

The fire doors unobstructed, unlocked,

not chained against a rash of break-ins?

My property managers
were supposed to do it.

There were hundreds of those doors

in the buildings that I owned.

Like the Partido Lounge.

Oh, sh*t, the fire.

Yeah, Dad, you don't have to...

Place went up like a
goddamned Roman candle.

Carlos Guzman.

That was his name, the monster.

Soaked rags in kerosene
and turned the place to ashes

because his ex-wife was
there with her new boyfriend.

Sirens screaming all night long,

different engine companies,

ambulances,

the f*cking meat wagons for the bodies.

Later, I, uh, sat there in the courtroom

when he received his sentencing.

His eyes were black.

Lifeless.

He was the guilty party in all the ways.

So...

souls went into the club that night,

came out.

The fire took the rest.

Anyway, Carlos Guzman got to life.

And you know who was on
the front page of the Post,

the Times, all the papers the next day?

It wasn't him.

It was me.

[WOMEN LAUGHING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[GLASSES CLINK]

So you think you have
me all figured out?

[SCOFFS] Yeah.

It's what I started to say before.

For you to succeed at being
whatever it is you want to be...

Caesar, Carnegie,
Teddy fricking Roosevelt...

you need to stop lying to yourself.

- I do not lie.
- You do.

And some of those lies
you'll probably keep telling.

The lies of kindness,
lies to maintain power,

lies to keep things calm.

Big lies, even.

And maybe that's fine.

But inside, you can't.

- And why not?
- Because it's getting in your way.

You don't want to be an emperor

because it's good for other people.

You want power because you like power.

Because it feels good in your hands.

Because you can't imagine
anyone else deserves it

more than you do.
But if you lie to yourself about it,

you'll do real harm with
whatever power you get.

Every generation there's
maybe three people like me.

Why should I waste being one of them?

Because out of those three,
every years,

nine every century, every millennium,

maybe one f*cking guy doesn't
f*ck the world up the ass

when he actually gets the reins.

Someone has to sit in that seat.

So I ask myself,

am I the one in a thousand years?

And my answer

is a full-throated yes.

Let's not forget about you

and what you want out of all this.

Me?

What do I want,

besides to do my job and do it well?

You tell me.

My guess is something significant.

Because if not,

that means you're a rubbernecker,

a ticket buyer to the freak show,

some kind of pervert.

Why else would you saw
someone's skull in half,

lift it up and look inside?

So which is it, A or B?

I guess I just don't know.

And after all that talk
about not lying to oneself.

I'm not lying to myself.

I'm lying to you.

[SWERDLOW] What are you talking about?
That's my cock.

[ALL LAUGH]

I'm guessing it was a teacher.

No, but, like, in all seriousness...

You may recognize him.

Anyway,
our good man suffered a reversal,

- and we had to pull him away.
- [SENIOR] Men's weekend.

Can you even say that anymore,

or does it have to be, like,
"Gendered persons..."?

Diana's celebrating the one-year
anniversary of her divorce.

[DIANA] I grew up in lake country,

so that's why we came.

These guys came with me,

and it's a real blast of nostalgia.

Let me, um... Let me check your pulse.

[DIANA] Are you really a doctor?

That's all we keep saying.
"Are you really a doctor?"

It's completely fresh
and organic pet food.

Is that right?

Private equity money must be lining up.

It's not just a business.
It's my passion.

Three hots and a cot,
some oily rubdowns in the spa.

You know what I said?
I said, "I'm f*cking in."

[LAUGHS]

Get me out of here.

[ALL LAUGHING]

[MAN] You're all a shitty crowd.

- Ladies.
- [SWERDLOW] Yeah?

I, um...

I believe I glimpsed you earlier,

and it is high time

that my friends and I buy you a round.

Oh, we're fine, thank you.

That's not very friendly, is it?

She said no, thank you.

I wasn't talking to you, funny guy.

[GLASS SHATTERS]

- f*ck, man!
- So sorry, sir.

These shoes cost more than your house.
Do you even have a house?

Why are we letting people
like you into our country?

Behold the American aristocrat,
Ronald Chestnut.

Yeah, Ron, that's right.
I caught your name earlier.

And Ron is a person who
confuses wealth with class,

and money with character.

Of course, this country
wasn't built on money.

It was built on work.

Honest, hard work,

which is why that man is more American

than you'll ever be.

Oh, it looks like
you want to swing on me.

- Oh...
- [LAUGHING] Yeah, I bet!

But we both know you won't,

because I not only caught your name,
I ran it too.

So I know you're on parole
for unpaid child support

and an embezzlement charge.

That's right, ladies, there he is.

Fancy pants deadbeat, quite a patriot.

Bet you're kicking yourself
for turning him down.

So you can take that swing, go ahead.

But if you do,
you'll be collared for fighting,

for drunk and disorderly,
because you're undoubtedly both,

and you'll go back inside
for the rest of those

four g*dd*mn years you owe.

Let's get out of this sh*thole.

[APPLAUSE]

I thought I was going to be
doing some suturing tonight.

It's a good thing my credentials
still work in the database.

[IRA] Got to love the government.

sh*t, there's no denying it,
the way you came alive just now.

Was a thing of beauty, my boy.

[DEGIULIO] No matter what we want.

[IRA] It's who you are.
You see a bully, you have to step in.

And you do it better than anyone else.

Like I keep trying to tell you,

it's just how I'm built.

All right, now that we've gotten
the group hand job

out of the way,
who's up for a drinking game?

It's called Viking,
and it's very easy to play.

- All right, I'm game,
- I'm the Viking.

I got the two rowers on my side.

- If you don't row, you drink.
- Is that the Viking?

Just easy with the questions, please.

I'm just trying to explain
the game, so...

- Hey, hey. You leaving?
- Mm.

But Anne seemed pretty impressed
with how you handled that guy.

You hang in, you may get lucky.

Oh, I'm pretty sure
that wouldn't be luck.

Oh, if you say so.

No, I realized something, Ira.

Beyond my place in the world,
and you said it.

Prince showed himself in Albany.

He didn't have to.

You know, once everything is in motion,

he could've gone and let the
floor fall out from under me.

But he came to watch,

which shows he loves the blood sport.

And someone who loves the blood sport

can be induced into another fight.

One where he's at the disadvantage,

a fight that he is going to lose.

- How are you going to do it?
- I don't know. Not yet.

Have a good time.

I'm going to take that
constitutional now.

- [SWERDLOW] I was rowing.
- [DIANA] No.

[SWERDLOW] Are you f*cking...
Fine, f*ck me.

Oh, boy, here we go. Round four, ready?

I'm the Viking, I'm the Viking.
Who's rowing?

- I am.
- Okay.

Oh!

[SWERDLOW] Nice.

[INAUDIBLE]

We're about to break the vase

and see whose dog tags are inside here.

Can't tell if we're gonna
get made or get clipped.

- That's what makes it all...
- Horrifying?

I was gonna say exciting,
but you got to do you.

Someone sets out to slay a dragon.

It takes a while. It's a journey.

A quest that gets sidetracked,

delayed, there are wins
and losses along the way.

This person is a leader,
and behind them is an army,

making sure that when they do
get to the dragon, it will die.

Is this an all-hands or a meeting
of the Tolkien Society?

[PRINCE] And finally,
it's just the knight and the dragon,

and the knight isn't sure
how it's going to go.

Wouldn't be a quest of any
worth if it didn't have risk.

It's an epic fight.

The sword finds its home,
and the dragon dies.

But that isn't the end.

I k*lled the dragon
that was Chuck Rhoades.

You may have become aware,
and it may have disturbed you.

But all of you

guarded the castle while I was gone.

You rode with me when you had to.

You protected me from any threats.

There's a reason why the k*lling
isn't the end of the story.

The real end is when
you eat the dragon's heart,

passing it around so everyone can taste

freshly slaughtered power.

You get the most power
from the hearts of your enemies.

Yes.

And since dragon hearts
are hard to come by...

Here you are.

...and something a little
more delicious than blood.

[LAUGHS]

[APPLAUSE AND CHEERS]

Whoo!

My victories are our victories.

My wins are your wins.

And dragons aren't the only creatures
that should fly,

so you're all getting
a Wheels Up membership,

plus a hundred K
in flight credits, on me.

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

Please welcome Questlove
DJing the night.

["LET'S DANCE" BY DAVID BOWIE PLAYING]

♪ Put on your red shoes ♪
♪ And dance the blues ♪

♪ Let's dance ♪

♪ To the sound they're playing ♪
♪ On the radio ♪

♪ Let's sway ♪

♪ While color ♪
♪ Lights up your face ♪

Look at this. He converted them.

He f*cking got them all.
They f*cking love him.

sh*t, that was the plan all along.

They're ready.

For what?

♪ I'll run with you ♪

[WOMAN] Yeah!

♪ And if you say "hide" ♪

♪ We'll hide ♪

- [LAUGHING]
- Hold on.

Here, come on.

[DOOR LOCK BEEPING]

- Bingo.
- Where's Chuck?

No idea. He never came back to the bar.

Well, you were supposed
to hit him with a cocktail

to cure what ails him,

and instead you're walking
off with the prescription.

I can give him the cushion,

but I ain't doing the pushing, Big Papa.

Well... it's not going to ruin my night.

Me neither.

[FUNKY DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

This is a classy touch.

Isn't the whole thing pretty classy?

No, but that's good, you know?

You did it right, honestly.

I mean, I'm sure you hate it,
but the lights are off

and, like, nobody seems
to be judging each other.

Nothing is stuffy or formal.

You found the vibe.

Good. Enjoy.

You're not into it, are you?

Parts. I'm not sure it matters.

Open your mouth.

That is what you think it is.

I took one earlier.

You may not be the kind
of person who does this,

so you can spit it out,
and I'll pretend not to see.

Or...

[CHUCKLES]

[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

- Appreciate this.
- Hey, man.

It's a moment, Mike.

Moment that deserves the real songs.

The night demands it.

Absolutely.

You got a request?

You know, I'm the best at what I do.

That's why we're here.

You're the best at what you do.

That's why you're here.

- You pick them.
- It's an honor.

- [MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
- [CROWD CHEERS]

[WOMAN] Ready?

Coming.

[SPLUTTERS]

[FUNKY DANCE MUSIC PLAYS]

[INAUDIBLE]

My turn. Hi.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Did you call the guy?
- I did.

I know exactly how
they'll come after me.

As a hypocrite.

I am someone who says I believe

in what is good and fair and right,

and not in accruing power,

but who has constantly sought
to use power in her favor.

[CHUCKLES] And has accrued quite a lot.

It's an easy spin.

We put you into play using
your power for others.

Our friend Michael Prince
has set a shining example

- of exactly that.
- Oh, he has. And I see how well

it works on everyone.

So you're ready?

Not yet.

Not now.

No, this is where I'm meant to be.

Plus, I got you guys on my side now.

I'm good, right?

Yes. You are.

I know the manuscript is late,

but it's worth it.

I'm... I'm sending you
the last chapter now.

Well, I had to figure out how it ended.

I just spent the whole day doing that.

♪ Rock ♪

♪ Freeze ♪

♪ Rock ♪

♪ Freeze ♪

♪ Rock ♪

♪ Blow ♪

♪ Higher, baby ♪

♪ Get higher, baby ♪

♪ Get higher, baby ♪

♪ And don't ever come down ♪

♪ Freebase ♪

[DANCE MUSIC CONTINUES]

This is Uomo nel Presente.

Man in Present.

- Amazing.
- Grazie.

I see how much it's hitting you, Tuk.

Why don't you finish it?

Me?

Prego.

[ALL CHANTING] Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

[ALL GASP]

Oh, f*ck, did I do that?

[CHUCKLES] It's okay.

Its purpose was to exist
for one night only, and then...

Okay, what is that
supposed to represent?

The ephemeral nature of joy

and a reminder to embrace it
when you have it.

[CHUCKLES]

I mean, I get the idea that
something exists temporarily.

What was I supposed to care about,

the temporary part or the art part?

It is lacking a certain
narrative consistency.

Mm-hmm.

We could leave.

Find some...

together.

I just can't fall in love
with someone I work with.

And I know me, or at least I know me

when this sort of situation happens,

not that I've been in
this sort of situation,

but I've been in something where...

It's a smart choice.

See? I was right.

Prince is Johnny Favorite.

He actually knows who he is.

You really don't understand that movie.

[GASPS]

The fans.

The fans are spinning
when evil is present.

Wow. I see it all now.

[POLICE SIREN WAILING DISTANTLY]

[WOMAN] If the Earth were to
be swallowed by a black hole,

it's entire mass would be reduced

to the size of a quarter.

Everything inside the black hole
is outside our knowledge.

We can theorize that it exists,
but we can never be sure.

We know it is infinite.

[INHALES AND EXHALES]

Like breath.

Close your eyes,

and though you may have
heard it many times,

focus on each breath.

Knowing that breath goes on forever,

count them until you reach a million.

Then go beyond that
until you reach a billion,

an almost incomprehensible number.

You never will reach it,
because by the time you do,

you will have stopped counting.

Which is the whole idea.

You good?

You sleep okay?

Absolutely.

Good.

Let's go!

I got a nice sh*t of penicillin
for anyone who needs it.

- No need for me.
- Yeah, me neither.

Already had one.

What the hell did you
run off to do last night,

check your voicemail?

You don't know how to have any fun.

- Worked out for me, though.
- Look, I cannot believe

you actually went
and hired a bunch of...

I did nothing of the sort.

That nice lady, Anne, and her friends

are what is known
in the trade as civilians.

[CHUCK LAUGHS]

Where is your mind at, sonny?

Well, I guess my mind

was thinking back over your history.

Whatever, get me back to the city,

because you may have brought me up here

with a plan in your heads,

but I'm the guy leaving with one now.

Yeah.

This is just what I needed,
and I know just what to do.

So... let's roll.

[ENGINE STARTS]

♪ I don't mind you ♪
♪ Coming here ♪

♪ Wasting all my time ♪

♪ 'Cause when you're standing ♪
♪ Oh, so near ♪

♪ I kinda lose my mind ♪

♪ It's not the perfume ♪
♪ That you wear ♪

♪ It's not the ribbons ♪
♪ In your hair ♪

♪ And I don't mind you ♪
♪ Coming here ♪

♪ And wasting all my time ♪

["JUST WHAT I NEEDED"
BY THE CARS CONTINUES]