07x09 - Game Theory Optimal

[bunniefuu]

[KATE SACKER] Previously on Billions.

What is that? A fire crackling?

Yeah. Lobby bar. It's homey.

- All of you are gonna get one.
- This'll track your sleep,

your resting heart rate,
and other vitals

in the name of well-being
and productivity.

You wear it / .

- [LOUD CRASH]
- FBI!

- Spread out!
- Dr. Gilbert, my name is Chuck Rhoades.

- You know I'm innocent.
- Innocent?

No, I cannot credit that assertion.

We'll make a dang fortune.
And this is the kind of idea

custom-made to campaign on.

He's one of the heads of the firm.

Young guy named Philip
Charyn finds himself

on the opposite side of Prince.

Sounds Byzantine.

[WENDY] It seemed to me
that he was asking me

to bring you in on the situation.

- 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.

[WAGS] I love that you're ditching
your race for Congress.

You should go long, Purell.
I'm not ditching a thing.

But you're still here?

Most important actions
a president can take

are those that assure

that no nuclear w*apon is ever fired.

If a hostile nation state
were going to initiate,

I would be open to launching first

in order to shut them down.

Even if it may mean the end
of the world as we know it.

People without self-doubt
should never put themselves

in a position of complete power.

They're the only ones who should rule,

because the other people
let self-doubt rule them.

That would never be me.

[BILLY JOEL: "I'VE LOVED THESE DAYS"]

♪ Now we take our time ♪

♪ So nonchalant ♪

♪ And spend our nights ♪

♪ So bon vivant ♪

♪ We dress our days ♪

♪ In silken robes ♪

♪ The money comes ♪

♪ The money goes ♪

♪ We know it's all ♪

♪ A passing phase ♪

♪ We light our lamps ♪

♪ For atmosphere ♪

♪ And hang our hopes ♪

♪ On chandeliers ♪

♪ We're going long ♪

♪ We're gaining weight ♪

♪ We're sleeping long ♪

Hope you enjoy. Take your time.

Thank you, Sal.

Counselor,
you've been eyeing me all night.

You're the only other person
in the establishment.

Not sure where else I might look.

I didn't say you were looking at me.

I said you were eyeing me.

Of course you're looking. We're talking.

But, uh,
your eyes keep searching my face,

trying to find an answer.

Only thing is,
you're dancing around the question.

[CHUCKLES] Oh!

Once a cop, huh?

Even in retirement.

Not observant
'cause I was an officer of the law.

Reason I was an effective
officer of the law,

reason I rose in the ranks as I did,

that's because, to start,
I had the power of observation,

which,
you want to know what that really is?

I suspect I'm gonna hear
your perspective on it.

So, yeah, sure.

It's the refusal to look away.

We all want to,

especially when we glimpse something

we'd prefer not to see,

or we notice something
we'd rather not deal with.

You know, guys know their
wife is stepping out on them

months, years
before they bring themselves

to accept that knowledge.

Same way an investor has that
sneaky feeling in his stomach

that his money guy is lying to him.

But he writes it off to the last
veal parm he had for lunch...

And you think you've noticed something

in how my eyes are
alighting on your face?

If you stall much longer,

we're gonna have to ask
them to open for breakfast.

And they didn't even do that for Sinatra

when he was sitting back over there

in the sanctified seats.

Well, I'm sure they would have,
if he'd asked.

[CHUCKLES]

Chuck, we've supped.

We've libated.

Now's the time.

Now is the time, huh?

Okay, okay.

Now is the time.

Just out with it, Rhoades.

The practice of making sure
a guilty man goes down,

whether the evidence exists
or needs to be helped along,

when no doubt exists in the minds

of the arresting officers,
their peers, et cetera.

It used to happen sometimes.

Still does, I'm sure.

Guy would stick a bag of
dope in a wife-beater's car.

That kind of thing.

Because you knew the world
would be better with him gone.

Yeah, but...

it never works the way
the cop thinks it will,

flaking a guy.

Not really.

Somewhere between the idea and
the execution, things go wrong.

You gotta have the evidence
of guilt of the actual crime,

not the crime you think he might commit

or also committed.

The one you're arresting him for.

Or else?

Anima in periculo.

[LAUGHS] Oh!

You remember some of the
Latin the nuns gave you.

That brings a smile.
But if I wanted to ensure

my soul would never be in peril,

I'd have become,
I don't know, a veterinarian.

[SCOFFS] Yeah.

But still, this is different.

What it does to a person's
insides to frame someone.

And that's still not why it's on my
"do not recommend" list.

The problem is,

the system collapses
under its own weight.

Not right away. Soon enough.

Those lines on the road to
justice exist to serve everyone.

They should not be traipsed over.

But what if the guy isn't only guilty,

but a continuing and
enormous danger to society?

To the world?

So it is some kind of permission
you're after, not guidance.

I can't grant it.

I won't.

Bad for you. Bad for the whole deal.

You want absolution in advance,

take it up with a commissioner
of a different department.

Why can't you get this guy

under the legitimate
weight of your own office?

Because this guy can't be
got with normal methods.

He's a king.

But a mad king.

Now you said something.

Old days, when a king was confirmed mad,

that's when his own court
was ready to depose him.

Help depose him.

They usually ended up without
their heads for their trouble.

Well, if they were in the court,
they probably had it coming.

Find them.

Use their own outrage against him.

I happen to care about at least one

of these particular courtiers.

[LAUGHS]

Then there's only one thing to do.

Drink, my friend.

[WINE POURING]

[SIGHS]

I was sitting there at my desk,

waiting for everyone
else but you to leave.

And I sat there for another hour...

deciding.

I think there's a mutiny in the works.

Evidence?

Circumstantial but strongly suggestive.

I was doing my usual
post-decision review process...

You do that? How often?

Once a week, so I don't get sloppy.

And whilst reviewing,
something came clear.

The moment I went to tell
Prince I was leaving the firm.

The idea to do that, to leave,

wasn't really mine.

Who whispered it, then?

Wags put it in my head,

and I don't think it was out
of the goodness of his heart.

You think he wanted to get rid of you?

He came on like he was
looking out for me.

He doesn't do that.

And that insight made me
rethink something else.

A few times,
when I've approached small groups,

they changed the conversation
or stopped talking entirely.

Should we wake Prince?

Not yet. No.

When did this happen?
Who are the groups?

I took contemporaneous notes. Here.

Let's pull it up.

- Pull it up?
- Yeah.

As old Warner Wolf used to say,
"Let's go to the videotape."

We record everything except
privileged conversations.

You record those too, don't you?

Don't we? Come on.

I have been walking and
thinking about this all night.

After the eating and drinking, I mean.

Hmm. I inferred that part.

The kids are sleeping,
so let's keep it quiet-ish.

Easy. Not that kind of drunk.

Ah.

The inquisitive kind.

Okay.

Come on.

Fire away.

How do you convince
somebody you won't hurt them

if you really mean it?

Do you need me to play along

like I think you're
asking theoretically,

or about some random
person I don't know?

I do not, no.

I have been ruminating
about what caused you

to send your charge Philip to me.

Sent him because he asked.

Do you need me to play along

like that's true?

I do not.

No.

But I do need a reason
to keep this going.

The Philip thing made me fairly certain

that you see Prince the way I do.

Before I respond to that...

I need to know.

What do you see in him that's different

than what you see in any other target?

Well, the self-interest is the same.

The scope and scale of
the ambition is not.

Nor the grandiosity of vision.

Sure, others of his general
stature bilk society

while padding their own pockets,

but not a one of them that
I have personally chased

had the desire or capability
to get to where his hand

was on the nuclear button
so he could press it first.

Yeah, well...

Yes, this guy would, or could, at least.

"Could" is unacceptable.

What if I agreed with that?

What then?

I am back at my reason for the visit.

How do I convince you it would
be safe for you to work with me?

In what way?

I can't find a path to
get him within what I do.

But with someone on the inside,
the path would reveal itself.

If not to bring him to justice,

at least to stop his ascent.

As you know, somewhere deep...

that I would stop short of
causing you irreparable harm...

at this point, I, too, am close
to feeling that in the reverse.

Jesus, it's late.

I sound like I'm in
a Tennessee Williams.

[SIGHS]

But it doesn't matter what I feel

about how you'd treat me.

Not really.

What matters is,
for what you want to try,

for it to have any chance of succeeding,

I'd have to enlist other people.

I have enlisted other people.

But I can't vouch for you to them,

because you would hurt
them if you had to

without more than a moment's thought.

[SCOFFS]

Well, at least you grant me
that I would take that moment.

I can see that you've grown.

But it doesn't change the
finality of my position.

I can't vouch.

And even if I did,
they wouldn't believe me.

Not after...

everything they've seen you do.

Thanks for answering the door.

I've also felt the kind of
misalignment you describe,

but not from Wags.

Let's just see what was going on.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[WAGS] ...zooming up
the f*cking polls...

[FAST-FORWARDING]

...there is a potential
equal time issue.

[FAST-FORWARDING]

[WENDY] We definitely
need her out of here.

[TAYLOR] ...running for Congress.

And duty for Prince?

[WAGS] The hazards of staying.

So the cameras are pointed away

from the PMs at their desk,

away from the Bloombergs.

There are zones of safety,
and with that,

this is mostly legal.

You take over your enemy's company,

you put in appropriate measures

without exposing Prince unnecessarily.

I heard some talk about you
giving out tracker rings

before I got here.

Decoys?

We assumed people would figure it out.

And stop looking for anything else.

Devious. In a good way.

If you had all this stuff recorded,
why didn't you know?

It's like the NSA under the Patriot Act,

pulling down all communications.

When you record everything,
you can't review.

So you wait until circumstance dictates.

Then look for keywords
and trust it's all there.

I'll have this sent out and
have the sound cleaned up.

But I can tell by body language

they weren't talking about the Knicks.

It was after that
conversation in the elevator

that he broached the idea of me leaving.

You know, for my benefit.

I don't want to dignify the colloquial,

but "suss" does feel appropriate.

We should fire them all, for starters.

Maybe.

Look at this.

I had hoped the sixth sense was wrong.

This was taken when they
were in England together,

reportedly in the hotel.

sh*t.

I hired an expert on
English architecture

and antiquities weeks ago.

Still waiting for some
kind of verification.

We will move quickly and
decisively when we know more,

but we need the rest of it first.

So, we're not waking him.

Not tonight. But soon.

You're thinking about all the things

we can see with these cameras.

Don't do that.

Pretend you don't know.

The other way is a path to despair.

Just tell me the bathrooms aren't...

It was a discussion, but no.

That was a bridge too far.

Yeah.

I want out.

Out?

I wish I could just bail on all of it.

I wish I could, I guess, go backwards

to before I knew so much,

before there was so much
reason to be alarmed.

The burden of what you know

and what you believe will happen...

I can see why you'd
just want to erase it.

Or, if not erase, I could just leave.

Absent myself from the situation.

From Prince Capital.

Let it all fall where it will,

you know, despite what I believe.

What's prompting this?

Today. Now.

Chuck came to see me.

Proposed joining sides.

You and he? Working together?

On this?

And he's right, tactically,

if I could trust him
not to harm my people,

and I... I almost do.

I can see why this...
this interaction, this question,

pushes you to make your own plans

to scale the wall to freedom.

But picture yourself,

in whatever setting,

seeing Prince ascend...

whenever you turned on the television

or opened your browser.

[SIGHS]

Seeing Chuck with that kind of
hopeless conviction on his face

kind of convinced me that I
probably can't stop it anyway.

So if I was some other place,
some other job,

maybe helping people,
maybe lifting people up,

perhaps I'd feel I was
doing some f*cking thing.

Then explore that path.

Put the word out.

Which probably means
just checking that folder

you have in your inbox.

The one that has all the
incoming from headhunters,

hiring executives, CEOs.

I have. As soon as Chuck left,

I opened that very folder...

and saw a few things worth considering.

Then consider them.

But also consider...

that as you get closer

to any moment of huge import,

huge impact, huge challenge,

the desire to flee becomes
almost overwhelming.

Sometimes that instinct serves us.

And sometimes it's trying to protect

what doesn't need protecting

and is, instead, stopping us

from taking that very risk

we absolutely need to take.

You've been out all morning.

You rescheduled a court appearance.

You skipped the Chiefs' meeting.

You have Allerd running back and forth

to the records room
for old case files all day.

What are you doing?

I had to reschedule that hearing

because I needed to be
at a different hearing.

What hearing?

A sentence-reduction hearing.

[SCOFFS] I've had a hell of a morning.

[JUDGE] We are here on
the Government's Rule ,

motion to reduce defendant's sentence

for substantial assistance
to the government.

How is the government represented?

Your Honor.

[SCOFFS] No.

Wait... uh, no. No. Absolutely not.

This man is conflicted.
He-he's gonna try and screw me.

Sir, the nature of this hearing
is to reduce your sentence.

Due respect, Judge, not with him.

It is a trick.

He visited me in prison to harass me.

- He's gonna try att*ck...
- [JUDGE] Sir.

Counselor, calm your client.

Trying, Your Honor.

The defendant is highly agitated.
I-I'm inclined to...

[CHUCK] Your Honor, please.

Not what I'm here for.

I see there are visits by you.

Does the defendant have
grounds for his claims?

Your Honor, the defendant has
provided substantial assistance,

as described in the government's papers.

[GILBERT] He's here to mess with me,
I'm telling you.

He's... he's getting my sentence reduced

so that he-he can lock
me up for something else.

[JUDGE] You will sit quietly

until the government
states its case, sir,

or you will be sent out of the room.

Mr. Rhoades, I will give you
about two short sentences

to establish the capacity
in which you're here.

If I don't like it, you're out.

And we will figure out who else
will represent the government.

Despite Dr. Gilbert's
reasonable concerns

about my intentions,

I am here to argue that
his sentence be ended now.

All final years lopped off.

Dr. Gilbert has tended
to fellow inmates.

He's helped guards
with their health care.

Taught CPR and other
first aid in the facility.

Saved lives.

That is impressive.

But that is really what
he's supposed to be doing.

Rehabilitating.

I don't see it as grounds for reducing.

[CHUCK] Your Honor,
in the current climate,

anyone who improves the prison system,

makes it more humane, more functional,

they are providing substantial
help to law enforcement.

Now Dr. Gilbert has
provided useful information

and proven himself a
valuable member of society,

both inside the prison and out.

[SIGHS]

Motion granted.

And sentence is hereby
reduced to months,

which have been served.

Defendant should be processed out

by the Bureau of Prisons immediately.

Would you like to return to your
cell to collect your belongings?

I'm, uh, happy to never go
back if I don't have to.

Clerk, see about getting
this man some street clothes.

[GAVEL BANGS]

Enjoy dinner tonight at
home with your family.

Dr. Gilbert, before you go,

there's one thing I
would like do in return.

You have no right to ask anything of me.

Not a g*dd*mn thing.

What the hell do you want?

To give you the opportunity to
state exactly what I did to you.

Give the full brace.

Leave nothing out.

I let the attorney general convince me

that breaking the law was necessary

to upholding the law.

Rhoades hoped... No.

He knew that I would receive
the maximum sentence,

and he got just that.

Planted evidence,

and left me to rot
behind bars for his sins.

Not my own.

He betrayed me...

Okay, erase this insanity right now.

- No, sir.
- You got the man early release.

How about having him say that, at least?

Not the drill on this one.
Needed the damning stuff.

- It's insanity.
- Saying it twice

doesn't make it so.

It was so before I said...

[SIGHS] Chuck, man,

this is not the time to blow yourself up

while making amends.

Oh, it's always the time for that.

And it's a nice side benefit of this,

but that's not what I'm doing here.

I'll wait you out,
'cause the longer I do,

the longer this all stays
right here in the room with us.

If you stay, you're kind of co-signing,

- uh, whatever he does.
- I'm not.

Mr. Schirmer,
did you try to stop the defendant

from committing career hara-kiri?

I'm not leaving.
I'm not letting it happen.

Whatever the f*ck it is.

Little favor, if you don't mind.

A company asked me to give a talk.

Mental. Huh.

Telehealth start-up.

Even better, tele-mental health.

Online therapy.

With the current microscope on Prince,

I want to make sure it's a place
I can be associated with.

Non-toxic.

Paid speaking gig. Nice.

Cha-ching.

It can be.

If you could just skim their financials,

let me know they're solvent,
there are no red flags.

That'd be good.

Eu entend.

That's Portuguese.

You know, instead of sitting there

with that Amerigo Bonasera
undertaker look on your face,

check the frame.
Or, no, give me your phone.

Maybe that's better. Yours is newer.

My phone is kind of permanently
in non-record mode these days.

Probably best. Okay, I'll use mine.

I'm center frame?

Can you just nod?
That doesn't make you complicit.

Maybe fill me in on the exact plan.

See these files?

These represent every case
wherein I cut a corner.

The blind trust violation of Ice Juice.

Arranging voter suppression
to win my AG election.

Remember Hap Halloran,
the municipal administrator?

Bribed him by providing a second
honeymoon for his wife and him

in Puerto Rico.

Organized a heist,
pulled by Jackie Connerty.

[LAUGHS] My God!
Just hearing myself say it out loud.

Organized a heist.

- A heist?
- [CHUCK] Yes, sir.

No, that was a fun one, actually.

A real peach, it was.

[CHUCK] And it did someone a service.

Leah Calder.

We stole back the ring
her spoiled son gave

- her almost daughter-in-law.
- You know, I-I-I...

I don't really need to...
Actually, yeah, don't tell me.

But it was wrong and
a dereliction of duty,

and as such, I have to catalog it

and speak it into that
recorder right there.

You don't. You really don't.

Assuming now these files are,
uh, your notes on all of your...

I hesitate to call them
your illegal actions...

[CHUCK] Stop hesitating.

These files represent the wins only.

The video will be the full truth.

The breadth of the thing.

I intend to lay it out,
as with the Dr. Gilbert video,

case by case.

What do you keep checking for?

Well, when someone
does something batshit,

you call in reinforcements.

I had hoped they would show up

- before you rode the lightning...
- [DOOR OPENS]

I hear you're going full Section .

Talk to me, son.

Got your due diligence on Mental.

That was fast.

That's why they call me the cheetah.

They do not really call me that.

Anyhoo, their business model
is strong like bull.

They hire the doctors full time,
so no per diem work.

Nobody has to deal with
the insurance company.

They do it for you.

Major employee and patient retention.

They seem to be insulated

from the current healthcare crapshack.

And they have a strong market share.

So they're a winner.

Not full-on Simone Biles, but close.

The bridge between the therapeutic piece

and the business piece is
not as strong as it could be.

But you're just giving them
a pep talk, right?

I believe so.
Do... Do you think I should pass?

No. I think it's got potential.

It's a cool comp.

In fact, I might want
to make an investment,

buy some shares on the private market.

Go ahead.

Thanks for the info.

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

"Batshit."

Ira texted that word to me.

I figured he was just
allowing his anxiety

to get the better of him,

as his people have a wont to do.

We come by it honestly.

The ones that didn't have anxiety

got run through by Cossacks.

[SENIOR] No doubt.

And in this case, as back then,

you were exactly right.

It's the only word.

Batshit.

Destroying yourself when
you have enough people

wanting to destroy you already?

Confessing when no salvation
is actually available.

At least his people put their
sins on the head of a goat

and k*lled the damn goat.

Actually,
we'd just leave it in the woods.

And, uh, easy on the "my people" stuff,
how about?

Yeah, you're right.

I'm tense because I'm
watching our boy fall apart.

So I'm-I'm letting fly
like I'm at the club,

not out in world.

You're right that I am
not after salvation.

Oh, this is worse
than even I feared, then.

You are wallowing in your guilt.

Do you think I've never felt guilt,
Junior?

I've felt it rise up to
the bottom of my throat,

do a reach-around and
tickle my epiglottis.

But did I self-immolate?

- Guessing you did not?
- [SENIOR] No.

I discharged it with a
weekend on Isla Santana,

in the West Indies.

That's real? Isla Santana?

One huge fee covers open bar
and unlimited assignations

with an international staff
of professionals, right?

I've-I've heard legend, but you've been?
You can confirm.

Oh, I-I have emptied my pockets

and my glans in that blessed place.

It is real.

So real that I had to play some golf

to get a break from all
the discharging of guilt.

Came back a new man.

I don't think a trip
to Debauchery Island

is gonna do it for me.

You should get tested for low T.

[IRA] Chuck, you're obviously right

that true guilt can't be assuaged

by a romp in the sun with nubiles.

But that doesn't mean
that this is the time,

is the place, is the venue,
is the forum...

[LAUGHING]

You know, much as I have enjoyed
watching you flail about,

assuming that I am
determined to bayonet myself,

I just...
I can't let it go on any longer.

[SIGHS]

You two are my most loyal compadres,
and as such,

I will invite you inside the lean-to.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Uh, just an afternoon
green juice for me.

No, no, I found one.

A winner, that is, I'm pretty sure.

I want to put it in front of Prince.

A private company I think
will be good for him.

For all of us. MPC.

Have you run it by Philip and Taylor?

They're occupado.

How would you like to present with me?

Well, I wouldn't.

You haven't even heard the idea.

I'm sure it's good.

I'm just not sure you're sure.

What about Tuk, or someone else?

Look, I know how you feel.

It's not easy going in and pitching.

But if it's strong enough to do with me,

it's strong enough to do on your own.

You just have to be strong enough.

[INHALES SHARPLY]

[SIGHS]

Hey there, boss.

I got a seat reserved
for you on a b*llet train

about to leave the f*cking station.

Um, that is the way

the opening of a pitch
sounds around here, no?

I mean, some people's.

Why don't you just tell me
what it is while I take a look.

Can do, can do.

Company is called Mental.

In the telehealth space.

- You can see all the...
- Yeah, we've been wanting

to get into health care since
we quietly slid out of Korlera.

Cool model with video therapy sessions

and AI support.

Direct insurance billing,
juicy receivables.

They're poised to be both
very profitable and very good.

For, you know, da people.

Which is our brand.

Bingo.

I'm doing it again.

Where'd you come up with this?

Wendy.

[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]

Yes?

Thank you.

I like it. I'll consider it.

Can I have my tablet back?

Does not augur well, all of us here.

We are not filled
with lightness and joy, no.

Take a look at this.
It's a screenshot I grabbed.

I see Taylor.

That's the foreground element, yes.

They are at the hotel where they
stayed when they went to London.

You say "hotel"
like it has quotation marks around it.

Indeed. Sacker and I had suspicions

that there are mutineers in the company.

And then I remembered this image.

I'm guessing it is not a hotel.

No. Not. Expert confirmed.

I have a printout of the report,
but you don't need it.

What you need to know is this:

This molding is a unique design.
One of a kind.

Decorating the walls of Haddon Hall,

a castle owned and,
when this picture was taken,

occupied by Bobby Axelrod.

It is high risk.

High danger.

Asymmetrical return if you're right.

It is everything I have told
you to have the acorns to try.

Thank you.

Ain't saying it's gonna work.

[LAUGHS]

Just saying I understand.

And like Watson's th hole
at the ' Open,

ballsy to claim when you're
staring down Nicklaus.

- And had he failed...
- [IRA] But he didn't.

Called the birdie, hit the birdie.

May Chuck be so lucky.

I guess I'm not your attorney anymore,

so I have no real standing
to advise you against this.

And I won't,

because as your friend, I get it too.

[SIGHS]

[CAMERA CHIMES]

The first time I bent the rules.

Actually, let me be more clear.

The first time I abused
my position of office

and broke the law...

the first I remember, anyway...

was back when I was a line prosecutor.

I had this witness who wanted to recant.

[SIGHS] So, I made it clear to him

that that was not gonna work.

[ALEXIS] So, yeah, thanks for coming.

Really great to meet in person.

Okay, are we gonna talk
about the supposed topic

of my pretend speech?

Or do you want to tell me
what I'm really doing here?

- Of course.
- Damn, she's good.

The speech was a smoke
screen so you could get me in

and hire me as a consultant?

Since I have a combination of skills

in therapy and performance,
and a grounding in business.

Am I close?

You're not far off.

The speech was a smoke
screen for consulting,

which was a smoke screen
for the real position.

Oh.

[ALEXIS] Our CEO is stepping down,

and like you said,
you have the unique qualification

to take the seat.

You give us the best
chance to do good work,

and you can help people
do and be their best

and build a profitable
company along with it.

[ROBIN] You'd own a nice
piece of the company.

You'd be responsible for the day-to-day

- as much as you want to be.
- A lot, we hope.

[ROBIN] Plus how and where we expand,

how to keep our therapists
doing optimal work.

The vision of the company.

- [ALEXIS] Our former...
- [ROBIN] Soon-to-be-former...

Right, soon-to-be-former CEO
has a very limited vision

of what this company really can be.

As founders,
we spend most of the time pushing him.

Leading from behind.

We want someone who's eyes-forward,

and we think that's you.

The compensation package.

- We have to assume.
- Come on, we know.

Yes, we know that Wags and Wendy

were also with Taylor,

and went to Axelrod when
they were in London,

supposedly on company business.

My allies,
lined up against me with my enemy.

Fire them all. For cause.

That's the feeling, yes, but...

[LUKE] Yes, but if you fire them now,

the bulk of the C-suite
of your eponymous firm,

you'll look like a bad hirer
and a worse manager.

Things will feel unstable.

Plus, they will have a story to tell.

And they will find a way to tell it.

Out in the world, free radicals.

It is far too dangerous
to keep them here.

I can create a pathway,

work it so that when they are fired,

they will be forced to sign NDAs

in exchange for our promise not to sue

and seek prosecution of each
one for corporate espionage.

Not now, Kate, but...

Wendy. Come see me.

Meet in my office in .

Stay here.

Consider scenarios.

But do nothing.

[CHUCK, ON VIDEO] The first time
I abused my position of office

- and broke the law...
- [TURNS VIDEO OFF]

Despite what's said on here,

it's a lot of wins
represented on this video.

Big ones.

Cases and ops I was
proud to be a part of.

- And bad people went to prison.
- I know, Karl.

And nothing that happens
will change my scorecard.

Our scorecard.

This isn't my swan song.

You don't want me to talk you out of it,

- I'm not going to.
- Good.

Now I'm gonna want all that on a drive

that can't be copied.

All right.

What's the thing?

I've become aware of Mental,
and your involvement.

I don't think it's a conflict.

I'll be speaking and advising,

helping get their therapists
rowing in the right direction.

They're giving me stock as comp.

All okay.

I agree.

But I have info about the company

that might help shape
your next steps with them.

The CEO is stepping down.

The board will want someone with
your credentials to take over.

That tracks. They hinted around it,

but I'm here.

I didn't take the gig.

You know, one thing I've learned

about how to make my
people more effective

is to let them stretch.

I won't lose you if I
encourage you to take leaps.

I-I'll still need you to work with me

and my top performers.

But also, you could help train
some of the Mental therapists

to work with our younger people.

Synergies are there.

Don't mistake this as being
entirely selfless on my part.

I make a score on the company.

And I know that when I
get to the White House,

you won't just stay here
with the folks that are left.

But now, maybe I lock in half of you.

[SIGHS]

Thank you, Mike.

[SIGHS]

[DOOR OPENS]

So I wanted to sit with you privately

and ask you some important questions,
because, in a way,

I feel like you speak for
the whole trading floor.

Have any of you considered leaving?

Hey, I just got back.

I signed a two-year contract.

I have two years left as well.

Okay.

Do you feel you're growing?

[VICTOR] You mean our books?

Our returns?

[SCOFFS]

It's been hard.

[TUK] Yeah, it has been hard.

Hard to make progress
building good momentum

when we're getting whipsawed around.

[VICTOR] Yeah.

Drop hot foreign money.

No more ESG. Go domestic.

"Do good"?

f*ck's sake, that's not a strategy.

It's been a real pain in the boccis

trying to find the alpha
through this noise.

Wait, are you asking us about
leaving because you're leaving?

Well, you all did kind of say
that all I was good for lately

was performance coaching.

- But that's a real need.
- Duh.

Will there be a new resource
put in place for us?

[DOLLAR BILL] Hey!

They're not gonna be
half as good as Wendy.

But...

if you train them,

and they can get us back
to where you get us,

then, hey, get your ya-ya's.

This isn't a session.

Or it's a different kind of session.

I've made a decision,

and I want to do this in front of you.

Robin? It's Wendy Rhoades.

I'm accepting your offer.

I've got the DocuSign on my iPad,

and I've had my lawyer review it,

so we should be good to start Monday.

[LAUGHS]

Me too.

And I will see you then.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

- [MAYER] Well...
- [LAUGHS]

You know, it's true, I... I can't
abandon those people at the firm,

despite the state of my
relationships right now.

But I also can't abandon the prospect

of helping all those
other people out there,

Mental users who I
might be able to touch

through this new company.

And I can't run from what
Chuck has put in front of me.

[INHALES AND EXHALES SHARPLY]

I need to do it all.

Somehow.

And just think how good
you have made me feel.

I will go home tonight
knowing that I, too,

have made a small difference.

That's exactly where
I am going right now.

Home.

To try to do the same thing.

I'm bringing you something
I didn't plan on bringing you.

I get what you mean faster
than most anyone you know,

but even I need, like,
one or two more words.

Prince is so smart. So careful.

So intentional right now.

He just did something for me that I know

he couldn't have wanted to do,
but he did it

to make me even more beholden to him,
even more in his debt.

And I don't matter at all
compared to most of the folks

he's gonna really be working.

Yeah. He got himself
to where he got himself

because he's very f*cking good.

So, the problem is,

if he is the existential
thr*at we know him to be,

and he's that good,

well, it brought me
to a certain conclusion.

The one that got you
to decide to bring us

whatever it is you weren't going to.

The conclusion that we can't do it.

Can't stop him.

Not alone. That we're depriving
ourselves of a w*apon.

But that w*apon...

Okay, now I am there.

You're about to say
your ex-husband's name,

because while we have
certain information,

he has tools that we don't have.

Chuck? She's about to say Chuck?

sh*t.

He came to me.

But not in his old way.

He approached with an earnestness.

I was moved, actually.

You're saying he got you to trust him?

He's been working on himself.

Hold on.

Let me look at you.

This is bad.

You kind of look like
maybe he got to you.

As if you opened your heart to him.

No. No way.

Maybe I wanted to hear
what he had to say.

[LAUGHS]

Maybe I wanted to offload

some of the responsibility.

But, yes,
I find myself trusting him again.

Adding law enforcement?
The top f*cking prosecutor?

Making him privy to sh*t
we've done and will have to do,

that's bad for all of us.

I don't care what it
means for all of us.

I do, however,
care what it means for her.

sh*t.

[BOTTLE CLATTERS]

There's something I have to do

before we go any further with this.

Are we supposed to just wait here?

- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Mr. Wagner.

You don't know me.

Not really.

You may think of me as a right-hand man,

a second-in-command,

a facilitator, a fixer.

You may not take me very
seriously because of that.

But know this:

when I set my sights

on accomplishing something important,

I take dead aim,

and I systematically go over or
through everything in my path

until I have reached that objective.

So consider this your warning.

I know you've been sweet-talking Wendy,

making assurances to her,

saying a lot of sh*t I've
heard from you in the past.

But that woman is made
of the finest stuff

on this earthly plane.

Stuff that wretches like us

can only appreciate,

not truly apprehend.

She's ripped herself open

to help the people at
our company survive

the roughest of transitions.

And she deserves the
opposite of betrayal.

On this we agree.

Which is why I will not
allow you to hurt her.

And if somehow you find your
way around me and do hurt her,

if you cross her

or f*ck her over,

then f*cking you back
will become my mission...

my sole m*therf*cking reason for being.

And then there'll be nothing
for you to hide behind,

because I will come for you.

I don't know how,

but I will figure it the f*ck out,

and I will get you.

It is not my intention or my plan.

You have my word.

Your word means rat sh*t.

Bubonic plague rat sh*t.

Rat sh*t even the
other rats won't touch.

- You're right.
- I am right.

I mean, I know I'm right.

I'm right? You just said that?

Yeah. So, let's go.

I think we're just about
squared away on Wendy for now.

One issue left.

Who do we actually trust
to oversee the place

once I put the others in a box?

Great. Done.

Call 'em in.

All of 'em.

Thank you all for
coming to this meeting,

this uneasy alliance.

That's a f*cking understatement.

I have come to understand
what it will take

to make it possible for us to
work together in this endeavor.

And I have gone to those lengths.

This is a drive that cannot be copied.

It contains a cataloguing
of moves I have made,

extralegal and plain illegal,

that would flush me from office

and public life irrevocably,

would get me disbarred and jailed

if it were to come out.

Okay, and that proves what?

I have always been highly skilled

at earning people's trust
through means legit and illegit.

- And at betraying it, Chuck.
- Yes.

That too.

And so I realize that
now I need to give trust.

Wendy, I know
if I hand you this material,

you will never use it against me,

even if I deserve it,

for the sake of our children.

Sadly true.

But Wags will not hesitate

to ruin me,

as he just made painfully
clear in my office.

So my only question is, do you trust him

not to burn me with this

if I do right by all of you?

With my life.

Then I do, too.

[TAYLOR] Do you have a plan,

now that we can all trust each other?

I have a goal.
Take Mike Prince's billions.

Separate him from the thing
that makes him so powerful

and attractive to the voters.

Without his money he is Superman,

and the entire planet is Kryptonite.

And we're all suddenly supposed
to figure out how to do this

after we've been trying
and failing to do it,

jointly and separately, for months?

There is a way to us finding a way.

Another player, similarly motivated,

who would be a great w*apon,

and one who is near
and dear to your hearts.

[CELL PHONES VIBRATE]

Prince calling me in for a meet.

Me too. Right now. At his house.

Same. That ain't good.

We have to go.

[BILLY JOEL: "I'VE LOVED THESE DAYS"]

♪ We light our lamps ♪

♪ For atmosphere ♪

♪ And hang our hopes ♪

♪ On chandeliers ♪

♪ We're going long ♪

♪ We're gaining weight ♪

♪ We're sleeping long ♪

♪ And far too late ♪

♪ And so it's time ♪

♪ To change our ways ♪

♪ But I've loved these days ♪

Are we...?

- [ELEVATOR CHIMES]
- [ELEVATOR DOORS SLIDE OPEN]

This doesn't even look fun adjacent.

No. Not fun at all.

Wendy, Wags and Taylor have
been plotting an assassination.

My assassination.

Staying silent is the first wise thing

any of you have done in a long while.

Do you need me to get
security to escort them out?

I won't be f*ring the three of them

and making this public.

Not yet.

No, they're gonna be
punished in a different way.

First, they're gonna lose
every cent of bonus money

they have coming to them,

and their other money is
gonna remain in the fund,

gated, to insure no further disloyalty.

They'll also lose their reputations

when they lose the corporate
espionage suit we've filed.

Oh, that's right.
We haven't filed it yet.

But that's, uh...
that's good to go, right, Kate?

Yeah. Hey, it's all ready.

Signed and sealed,
waiting to be delivered.

You're all frozen in place.

Wendy, you're lame-ducked here.

You'll execute your new CEO duties,

and if nothing else goes wrong,

you'll fully onboard
there after the election.

At which time you'll be fired.

If you haven't figured it out yet,

I'm a majority owner of
Mental through a shell corp.

Taylor, you're done.

No authority.

No log-in privileges.

A figurehead.

Call it garden leave,
but inside a glass box.

One notable exception to the
outward-facing status quo.

Wagner, you'll lose your ability
to authorize large trades.

And small trades.

And paystubs.

You can just kind of walk around

shouting nonsense
mantras to the traders.

So for you, nothing really changes.

And Philip.

[SCOOTER] Philip, my boy.

My boy.

Take a look at this.

[PHILIP, ONSCREEN] 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.

[WENDY] Then you do that.

My office? You f*cking can't...

[SCOOTER] Before you
complain about the violation

of your doctor-patient privilege, Wendy,

you should know that
Philip signed a waiver

before that session, didn't you, Philip?

Of course.

Yes, I did.

Philip will now be vested
with the sign-off power

Wags has been stripped of.

We're done with you.

So you can go.

You have the conn.

Make us some money
heading into the election.

Help me win.

Notify the on-call pilot.

Get the Global Express
gassed and fired up.

- Destination?
- London.

I'm going to Haddon Hall.

[BILLY JOEL: "I'VE LOVED THESE DAYS"]

♪ So before we end ♪

♪ And then begin ♪

♪ We'll drink a toast ♪

♪ To how it's been ♪

♪ A few more hours ♪

♪ To be complete ♪

♪ A few more nights ♪

♪ On satin sheets ♪

♪ A few more times ♪

♪ That I can say ♪

♪ I've loved these days ♪