Season 3 of Billions will be coming back to Showtime on March 25th at 10/9 Central. The more I see of this show the more I wonder I’d ever want to be rich. Between Bobby Axlerod and Chuck Rhoades there doesn’t seem to be a single moment when they’re not scheming, conniving, or otherwise attempting to ruin one another in a fashion that’s easily considered to be cowardly or underhanded, or both by the standards of anyone else. The worst part about it is in that kind of a world it seems to come naturally and be expected of both men since the power that money brings and the money that power brings seem to conspire to bring on more and more problems. Humanity seems to have a price on it that a lot of people wouldn’t dare guess at, and in this case it’s a price that a lot of people couldn’t possibly pay.
I actually forgot that there are a lot of familiar faces in this show that have showed up in other TV programs over the years, such as Maggie Siff, who was of course in Sons of Anarchy for years. Then there’s a familiar face from Orange Is The New Black in the Axelrod camp, and Paul Giamatti is of course a very well known actor. In fact it would be remiss of me to say that any of these people are not well known for the roles they play in this show and many others. But in this show it happens that none of them seem entirely trustworthy, and that if one isn’t keeping their head on a swivel then they’re bound to get destroyed by the next person in line that’s either looking to take them down for financial and personal gain or because it’s their job.
One would think that enough money would fix the many different problems they had and possibly make life a smoother ride, but it only seems to make it bumpier as the more you earn the more people want to take you down out of envy or some self-righteous feeling that you’re doing something wrong. In this show that feeling would be entirely justified after all since the billionaires are nothing if not shady and willfully corrupt in their dealings. How they get by and do their business isn’t always the main focus but the fact that they’re anything but squeaky clean is a plot device that is used almost as a support for the plot that is constantly there and always serving as a reminder that while the high life is great and carries a lot of perks it’s still akin to having a target on one’s back.
If this show teaches anything, and it’s possible that it doesn’t teach anything real, it’s that money is not the answer to happiness or a secure life. The accumulated wealth that can make one a rich and powerful individual makes them a marked individual that needs to be on constant alert and can’t ever take a break.
What a depressing way to live. But it makes for great drama.
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