All language subtitles for Billions.S07E06.WEB (SDH)

[man]
Previously on Billions...

[Chuck] Mr. Andolov,

My first act as
attorney general

was to freeze your funds
in the United States.

My second act is inviting you
to leave our sunny shores.

I, of course, picked up
the scent of the Axelrod

behind this.

Charles Rhodes, Jr.
is hereby removed

as attorney general
of the state of New York.

[Chuck] Everywhere
he goes, we are watching.

It's hard to march
toward the presidency

when you're always
looking over your shoulder.

The beginnings of a plan.

Secrecy and deception.

I'm starting to get misty.

Jesus.
You like shaking people up.

Like it? I don't know.

It just happens.

I love that you're loyal

until I help
get you elected to Congress.

[Chuck]
You've accumulated so much,

you think laws
don't apply to you?

Who appointed you the keeper
of these cosmic rules

in the first place?

The fucking arrogance!

♪♪♪♪♪

♪♪♪♪♪

[sighs]
Oh, I've always wanted

to see
Vestmannaeyjar in the dark.

Best way for a newly installed
U.S. Attorney not to be tracked.

And for an international
fugitive not to be extradited.

Something for everyone.

Lay it out for me.

I've been told
I needed to see you.

When Wendy wants something,
she's very persuasive.

Eh, that's why I called her.

I need safe passage to America.

-For you?
-No, not for me.

I'll need a name, Robert.

Yeah, Charles,
I'm working up to it.

Is that because
I'm going to hate it?

Well, you ain't gonna love it.

[speaking Ukranian]

[man speaking Ukranian]

[tense music playing]

Vasily Melnikov, stabbed.

Vladislav Avayev, shot.

Sergey Protosenya, hanged.

Alexander Tyulyakov,
also hanged.

And the list goes on.

All friends and colleagues
of mine. All dead.

[Axe] My condolences.

Dangerous time
to be an oligarch.

[Grigor]
Yet when you called and asked,

even though we had agreed

you would stay out
of my part of the world,

I helped you anyway.

Helped me?

No, we both worked together

to help the man
in the olive drab t-shirt.

Because both he
and his country needed it.

-Yours, too.
-Hmm.

Not how the Kremlin sees it.

[Axe]
That's how you see it.

You know, it's no good being
a citizen, even a rich one,

from a country
that's isolated, bled dry.

Well, like how I felt
when you chased me

out of the United States.

Ah, that's semi-ancient
history.

Now you have freedom here
in Europe. We both do.

To walk the streets.
To wet our beaks.

Thanks to the arms
that I financed,

and you sourced.

And you think this
wipes our ledger clean?

Oh, did I forget to send you
a fucking fruit basket?

Oh, a few kumquats is not
going to change anything.

But our ledger is not clean.

It is like a windshield
that was tended to

by your... [squeaking sounds]

....squeegee men that thrived
under your Mayor Dinkins.

All the showy effort
and noise,

and still, windshield
covered in grime and dirt.

Until I am rehabilitated
in the United States,

we are not square.

I'm not even rehabilitated
there.

And I'm not a foreign national.
You are.

And I am the one
defying my government

during a purge
that makes Joe Stalin

look like Joan fucking Baez.

If my loyalty
is even questioned

by the leaders of my country--

I get it. You go on
the dead oligarch list.

Hm. So now...

to what I need.

And what you will
deliver on a platter.

I need to return to America.

On a deeply personal mission.

You do know that
all your funds are frozen?

Down to the last kopek.

Plus, you're on
a sanctions list.

No matter what the mission,

I suggest you conduct it
somewhere else.

[Grigor] No, Axe.

You will arrange it
so I can walk back in,

do my business freely,

and in return,
I will grant something to you.

Could be tickets
to the Bolshoi,

could be to allow you

to keep walking around here,

breathing freely.

Threats? Really?

What in my history makes you
think I respond well to threats?

What in my history
makes you think

it's merely a threat?

♪♪♪♪♪

[Chuck]
Grigor Andolov.

It's within your authority,

within your ability
to figure it out anyway.

[Chuck] To give
an exiled criminal a visa?

So he can, what,

muscle in on the Brighton Beach
heroin trade?

Fuck with our next election?

[Axe]
His wife's still in New York.

She's suing for divorce
on grounds of abandonment.

Well, maybe he can
countersue for irony.

And if he can't even show up...

she gets a default judgment
worth billions.

Oh! Now we're talking
your love language.

This is important to me.

Important to you.

To the man who defied me

on that heliport
not so long ago?

[scoffs] I would consider it
a personal favor.

When Ali was broke,
could no longer fight,

couldn't even
pick up his dinner tab,

Smoking Joe
hauled him into his limo,

counted out a thousand bucks,
cash.

Sure, the old combatants code.

But based on the shiny new
G800,

plenty of purses
rolling your way.

Yeah, I'm flush.

So I'll make you an offer.

You get Grigor to the U.S.,

I'll owe you a debt.

You do remember when I kicked
him out of there, that, too,

was a favor to you?

Yeah, it's all more perplexing

than the betrayal
of Johnny Caspar.

But I need it done.

So if you do it,

I promise that I will come
through for you when you ask.

And I think you know,
when I make a promise,

I don't come up short.

[dry chuckle]

[sighs] Well, I'll say it.

We aren't breaking through.

Yet you remain undefined

beyond rich, smart, nice guy.

The party primaries are sucking
up all the media attention.

Do I have to fly
the National damn Guard

every time
I want some political ink?

Can you?

I'm not laughing.

What else has had
that type of impact,

historically,
for an outsider candidate?

The only independent to ever
really get traction was--

Yes. Perot.

I saw it as a kid.

I buy a--a half hour
on every major network.

-Live speech.
-Hm. It'll play like you're

making an acceptance speech
at your own national convention.

Yeah, we call that
the primetime roadblock.

No way around us, we'll
reframe the entire race.

How do you win
outside the system?

You run as the antidote
to the system.

The theme will be
taking inventory,

looking inside ourselves

to see how
we let things get this bad.

Yes. Asking the hard,
honest questions

no politician dares ask...

to remake ourselves
in order to remake the country.

Before it's too late.

[Wags] The full Lincoln.
Do it the right way,

the other candidates
will look like

lawn jockeys
at the Belmont Stakes.

[Wendy] Tell the story...

of how you ask your people

how you can do better,

be better, as you
will also ask the country.

I like that.

Then you have to really do it.

Solicit honest feedback
from your employees.

Use it as fuel for the speech.

Use it as an example.

[Luke] Yeah, great.

I'll run focus groups with
your people to get that info.

[Prince] Hm.

Boil it down to a lean
PowerPoint to present to you.

I'm not sure inserting a layer

between Mike and his guys
is the way to success.

Happens to be the only way

the political research
process works.

Filters,
funnels, all of it.

No, no, no.
I want the full fire hose.

That's the point.
As Wendy says.

Okay, how about this?

I run the process
with Mike in the room.

We make it authentic,
substantial.

Full fat, full flavor.

So Mike can eat it up
and then spit it out.

We'd spend all week
Heimliching the guy.

This has to be a battle cry.

No, no, no time for
self-recrimination or anything

that blunts
the tip of the sword.

Like actual self-knowledge?

I have to run this process.

So you can baby-proof
the credenza.

So I can keep out the noise.
Same process I used

to elect a third of the Senate.

Oh, the same guys
that are so out of touch,

Mike had to step in
and run 'em out of town?

I don't need my candidate
picking pepper out of fly shit

-on the eve of a major speech.
-[Prince] I've heard enough.

Brad, you can run the process
with me in the room.

Wendy'll be there, too.
Team of rivals.

Make the buy,
set the meeting.

♪♪♪♪♪

[door opens]

[sighs]

We are gonna do something
extremely hard.

[Ira] Um, great?

[sighs] Yeah, everyone's
gonna be angry about it.

It'll cause enormous tension
with Washington,

with Albany, too.

Sounds horrible.
What's it entail?

Getting a previously
ejected oligarch

back into the country.

-A Russian oligarch?
-[Chuck] Mm-hmm.

One with a big red
target on his back.

From DOJ, from DHS,
from Interpol, too.

Grigor Andolov.

And you want to do this now,

during the second coming
of the Red Menace.

Like I said, extremely hard.

If it's doable at all.

Why would you even consider it?

As a favor to Bobby Axelrod.

Those words just
tumbled out of your mouth

like a meth addict's teeth...

-[sighs]
-...and just as fucked up.

[stammers] How do you
figure you'll pull this off?

I have to talk
to a special advisor.

-Big man in certain circles.
-[door opens]

Bunky Stevens
is going to be a father

with his third wife, Candy.

Neat trick,
considering he died

-a few months back.
-[Swerdlow] Mm-mm.

Post-mortem
jizz retrieval, you dig?

Not sure I do.

[Swerdlow] Well, you get
the stiff on the table,

even though
he ain't so stiff no more.

Get my drift?

And then you
drain those berries.

You do it soon enough, you
end up with viable swimmers,

Jizz. Stuff of life.

[Chuck Sr.]
Stuff of fraud.

There's a new fertility start-up
out there doing this.

Candy is just beefing up
her claim on the estate.

The first and second wives
will get nothing...

now that there's
going to be an heir.

No respect for the starter
wives in our culture,

chicks who break the seal.

In Thailand,
even the minor wives

get one hell of
a birthday bunfight.

Uh-huh.

You're going to want
to think global

but act local on this one.

[Chuck] Mm.

It's your worst nightmare,
isn't it?

A paternity suit that
can't be settled out of court.

Oh, it's a question of
basic fairness, don't you see?

Never your concern.

And I don't recall you
thinking much of

Bunky or his wives, either.

So the fact that you're
suddenly the guardian

of the product
of his vas deferens,

I know there's more
to the story.

That mean that
you're not gonna

club this company
into oblivion

and seize the embryos that
result from this unholy process?

It means I'll look into it,

and decide what
I'll do as usual.

Bye, Dad.

Hey, sugar, you be getting
that shit I've been sending you?

I have. And I thank you.

[scoffs] It's, uh, uh,

I guess it's what
you'd call PEDs,

but in lozenge form.

So, put it under your tongue.

It hits the bloodstream
instantly.

Like a ball-peen
fucking hammer.

Turns any man into
a world-class sheet-athlete.

Wonderful.

[Chuck Sr.]
And I'm left wondering why

none of this sublingual supreme
has been sent my way.

For the simple reason it may
kill you, big papa,

like Dirty Harry in '71.

[door closes]

He goes
into this speech confident,

he comes out sailing.

Zooming up the fucking polls.

And we're just supposed
to stand there clapping

like extras
in a Riefenstahl film.

With Bradford running point,

the feedbacks gonna be jet
fuel.

[utensils clink]

Uh, there is a potential
equal time issue.

It's been dealt with.

I spread some more
ad dollars around

and if any candidate
tries to buy equal time

within a week of Prince, they
won't find any left for sale.

Nicely solved.

Power of
the motherfucking purse.

All over but the shouting.

She's too effective.
We need her out of here.

Isn't she supposed
to be running for Congress,

instead of doing
henchman duty for Prince?

She needs to understand
the hazards of staying.

♪♪♪♪♪

In my experience,
rich, powerful men

think they want to hear
the unvarnished truth

but don't actually
want to hear it.

Yeah, is this really
just a loyalty test?

If it is, let's pass it,
get back to our desks.

It's earning season, people.

I don't know, best just
call it the way you see it.

You mean as long as
it's what he wants to hear?

I mean, tell him
what he wants to hear

no matter how you see it.

What if that comes across
as inauthentic?

Does your comp
come across as inauthentic?

[Rian]
Guys, easy peasy.

Like seeing your dorm-mate
in an off-off-Broadway play.

You say something vague,
adjective free,

"That was all you up there."

And then let the ego
fill in the blanks.

[chair sliding]

I'm calling bullshit
on this whole exercise,

and I sure as fuck
won't suck up.

[chair rattles]

Mike, you are like
a combination of Benjamin Graham

and fucking Hal
from Space Odyssey,

everywhere, all at once,

processing, prodding me
to make better trades.

♪♪♪♪♪

Why is there anything you've
been wanting to say to Mike,

but thought you couldn't?

I don't deserve you.

The guilt, it's crushing me.

That's something I think
we should work on.

And the challenges
trading with him, day to day?

I have this recurring dream
in which you make bank.

I'm talking 10X

while doing
an ungodly amount of push ups.

But is it really a dream?

♪♪♪♪♪

I'm just saying it ain't easy.

When you set a standard that's
through the freaking roof.

[clears throat]

Mike, this is you and me.

Criticism? Who are we kidding?

Uh, would you--
Would you like to, uh...?

[door closes]

-Jesus.
-Let's move on.

Yep.

♪♪♪♪♪

[elevator dings]

[elevator whirrs]

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

-I am?
-As much as we need you there,

we need you here.

Besides, not enough hand
sanitizer in the world

-to make me do that job.
-[chuckles]

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

But you're still here?

My filing deadline's
months away.

But we're days away
from Prince's campaign

becoming a black hole.

Everything in its vicinity
sucked right in.

You'll just be part of
the fabric of the thing,

unable to assert yourself
as anything other than

"Prince's fill-in-the-blank".

[chuckles] All because he's
about to throw down a gauntlet?

More of a grenade.

At the parties you'll
need to nominate you.

So I just establish a little
distance when I leave is all.

With your family dough?

With the whitest collar
background

of anyone at the firm?

Ask Chang and Eng.

Not a lot of distance
when you're joined at the hip.

[chuckles]

♪♪♪♪♪

[Chuck] Must feel different
to walk this hall

as an impresario.

No longer the guy
in the squared circle.

Eh, still feel every bump.

Whether you're giving 'em
whether you're taking 'em,

whether you're scripting 'em.

I've always wondered
if I could do it.

Fall down for a living.

[chuckles] You don't have
that far to fall.

[chuckles]
Look, you could do it.

When this
crowd comes alive,

you'd come alive.

There is nothing else...

-like this.
-[Chuck] Yeah.

Well, no one knows
the game like you do, Hunter.

And that's why
I need your advice.

You got a game that
needs to be played?

Yes, exactly.

I need to turn one guy heel,

and another guy
babyface. In one move.

[Hunter] Oof.

Double turn. Tough to pull off.

But when it's done right,

one of my personal favorites.

How do I pull it off?

You need to let the heel come
in

and get the heat from the
crowd.

Then your babyface comes
and gets the pop.

[soft chuckle]

The heat and the pop, huh?

Oh, yeah.

Tell me more about these guys.
What do you got on 'em?

Well, they both think
they're babyfaces.

That's for damn sure.
But neither one of them is.

Every sitting senator
would give their gavel arm

for a survey result like this.

Did any of it feel real to you?

I can read between the lines.

I picked up that
I can be intimidating.

I'll work on that.

[scoffs]

This is how Vietnams happen.

How politicians lose touch
with reality.

Hard questions stop being asked

and they believe
their own hype.

So you want us to go back
around

and troll for negative
feedback?

So that's written down
somewhere,

so it fucks with Mike's head?

[Wendy]
I wouldn't frame it like that.

But if he's going to ask
the rest of us,

the country, to take inventory,

then he should
really fucking do it.

Otherwise, he's as fake

as the politicians
he's running against,

and the voters are going
to smell it on him

and send him packing.

She's right.

You want a samurai sword
and Hattori Hanz blade?

Those only come
from the hottest flames.

Find me a master swordsmith
without some serious burns.

♪♪♪♪♪

[Wags] He's letting you

run a second round
of honesty sessions?

[Wendy] Without Prince
in the room this time.

No Luke either.

I'm not comfortable with this.

We don't know where
actual honesty will lead.

[Wags]
Fuck yeah, we do.

The greatest
televised meltdown

since Howard Beale.

Prince's narcissism
is a mile-wide

and a micron thick.

Watch the movie.
Beale stays on air,

Schumacher gets
kicked to the curb.

I want to keep having
a firm to run.

Watch it to the end.

Beale gets his brains blown
out.

Schumacher gets
to schtup a young,

luscious-as-a-plum
Faye Dunaway.

[Wendy]
Taylor isn't wrong.

This could implode MPC,

as well as the campaign
and all of our places in it.

I wanna slam Prince's ego
with a battering ram.

No telling where
the fragments will land.

If it hurts business.

If it blows us up, too...

price we gotta pay.

[sighs]

One question, related
to the files we discussed

a few weeks back.

Yep.

If I stay on board here,
am I killing

my chances
with the mainstream party?

Can't expect either party
to bear hug you

after he shoots 'em
in the vitals.

What if I wall myself off
from the campaign?

Restrict myself to firm
business until I leave?

The firm is the campaign.

No wall to be built

unless you wanna drywall
your own office door.

[exhales]

I was hoping we could,
uh, I don't know...

think outside the box.

Mmm, not so easy
when you're in one.

[sighs]

Got the case for ya.

Commodities fraud.

Uh, market manipulation
in the oil industry.

That'll do. [sighs]

Sure you want
to go down this road?

We list Andolov
as an expert witness,

then asked DOJ and DHS

to parole him
into the country.

Get ready for
some hairpin turns.

The guy's a sanctioned oligarch
who you chased out.

I mean, there's impossible,

then there's climbing
the Dawn Wall

with a pair of Havaianas
and a bag of chalk.

I think I can sell it.

I also learned that
Grigor's wife is not alone

in her divorce action--
she's got a backer,

a hedge fund,
he's bankrolling her,

no doubt for a big piece
of the settlement.

-Who?
-Our very own Todd Krakow.

And knowing him,
that's not the only reason

he's lurking around.

[chuckles] Because
what we need here

are some more obstacles.

[sighs]

Damn the torpedoes,
file the parole request.

[Ira] I've got
something else for you.

-Can it wait till morning?
-Uh...

you're going to want
to see this today.

[Chuck sighs]

♪♪♪♪♪

Dad.

Uh, your pal Bunky
signed a consent form.

Well, hold the fucking roll.
If your boy signed off on it,

how come he didn't
get the missus

to do the extraction pre-mortem?

I mean, that's lots more fun.

You know what I'm sayin',
baby girl?

He didn't want to raise a kid.

He wanted a posthumous tot
to live on after him.

That's like that fucking movie
about the octopus.

She popped some eggs
from her cooch,

and then she slides
into an undersea death spiral.

Hm.

This isn't about Bunky at all.
What is it?

Okay, fine.

I'll tell you.

It's Roxanne and Willow.

[indistinct chatter]

[Chuck Sr.]
I saw them praying...

to Jesus.

When we agreed
we wouldn't raise Willow

with religion at all.

Beware, Sonny Boy,
legacy is a lie!

There is no control
in the hereafter.

Oh, shit. It's true.

You know, once they get
the Jesus fever,

it's rarely treatable.

Just like the fucking
Orthodox in my tribe.

Yeah, a Rhoades
spouting the Lord's Prayer,

I know what a disaster
that is for you.

You need to talk to Roxanne.

Just rein it in
before it takes root.

Not in a talking mood.

I'm drawing up my demands

for the upbringing
of my progeny.

Schooling, vacations,
earthly pursuits.

This-- This God shit?

Strictly off the list.

Because ultimatums
work so well in a marriage?

If she won't heed mine,
then we are headed for divorce.

And I'm going for custody.

♪♪♪♪♪

[door slides shut]

I knew you'd come.
I've been expecting you.

I saw in the papers
you're back in your old job.

Indeed.

But I figured
you'd make an appointment.

I'm not actually here for that.

It's about my father.

Oh. Well. Usually is.

[Chuck scoffs]
No, I need some information.

About the nature of control.

Dominance.

Why some seem
unable to give it up.

You trying to save yourself?

[Chuck]
No. Not this time, no.

My dad needs some peace.

But his daughter...

she needs to be spared
the kind of upbringing I had.

That relentless,
controlling instinct which--

Which led you here
in the first place.

Which led me to mirror him
in 98% of my interactions.

And then to have to completely
repudiate it here.

Sometimes there's
a certain comfort

in jumping
at others' command.

Control is all
an illusion anyway.

Huh. Tell that to the guy

in the business end
of the truncheon.

But if you're
paying someone to wield it,

who's really in control?

End of the day,
client gets the meal.

I just plate the food.

You think my dad
is fooling himself?

[Troy] Raging against
his own impotence, maybe.

His mortality.

Control is often
an expression of fear.

People who truly believe
they're in control?

More likely to escalate
their actions till they fail.

Leads to poor decision making.

-Magical thinking.
-Hm.

Problem is...

telling a controller
not to doesn't work.

I've noticed.

Your hope lies in convincing
him

that his true power
is best displayed

in not having to use it.

♪♪♪♪♪

I promised them anonymity.

Then work to get them past
their instinct for flattery,

for base self-interest.

I'm ready for
the unplugged version.

"Self-satisfied."
"Loves himself."

"Mother Teresa of Wall Street."

"Loves the smell
of his own farts,

like the "Smug Alert"
episode of South Park"?

-Never saw that one.
-I have.

It's a top-tier episode.
Heh. Who said that?

You can't think
I'm gonna name names.

I just-- I want to do
some relationship repair.

[stammers]
Of course, no.

Uh, "Entitled, thinks he can
buy us off with private planes.

I mean, I'll take the flights,
but fuck that."

[sighs then scoffs]

"Forces you to come to his party
and act like you like it

while he slakes his appetite--"

[Luke]
Stop right there.

There's no reason for Mike

to be subject to
the petty staff jealousies

and--and character sniping.

I mean, we all
sat through your round.

I didn't take you
for the squeamish type.

And this is when
we bring it back around,

put it in a context?

[scoffs]

Here's the context.
You have to decide

what taking inventory
actually means.

Whether you can push through
the friction

as commander in chief,
a lot fucking worse

than what you heard just now.

And do what must be done.

What only you can do
for the country.

Even if it turns you
into a dartboard.

I think you can,
or I'd be lying to your face

like everyone else on that floor
instead of, you know...

giving you what you asked for.

♪♪♪♪♪

That'll be all.

[door closes]

[clears throat]

These are all A-list attorneys.

Serious political chops, too.

You think
we need more firepower?

[Sacker] No.

But I don't want to leave
without replacing myself.

But it's time. Past time.

The speech is tomorrow.

I need to get with the party
that can nominate me.

Terms of my hire, remember?

What do you want?

What will it take

to stick around longer
till we can right the ship?

If I stay
and help you right it,

it'll be pretty hard
to get off it.

If your departure
is made public,

this of all weeks...

Maybe we all go quiet on this

until the hand-off's complete.

It has to be public.
It has to be now.

A couple of days at the most.

I need to establish
a little distance to him.

Scrub your name off mine
while I still can.

-It's just politics, Mike.
-[sighs]

I hope you understand.

Don't walk away
from Prince Capital

or Prince himself.

I don't quit now,

both parties will freeze me
out.

Nothing on the plus side
of the ledger

competes with that.

"Love To Love You, Baby."

Come again?

It's the song that took
dance music from the club floor

to the top of the charts.

Broke me as a music manager.

Made Donna Summer into
the queen of a whole new genre.

You said it ended badly.

Always does.

But before that, she was
my double platinum ticket.

No bigger pop star
in the '70s.

No Black woman, beside Diana
with her cultural power,

her crossover cachet.

And she knew it.

Came to me to cut my
percentage.

Once, then again and again.

Natural progression
with most stars.

But I hung in,
choked down every indignity.

And do you know why?

Because everyone
answered my call.

Just hoping it'd be about
Donna.

It would've been worth it
to do the job for free

for that alone.

No indignities
at Prince Capital.

But unlike Donna,
the name is about to be

a liability for me.

You don't want to be frozen
out.

I get it.

But how cold are you going
to feel in the wilderness?

In the dead of winter?
When your calls go unanswered?

♪♪♪♪♪

Surprise, surprise.
We've got a Russia problem.

Hmm. Oh!

[Chuck] Apparently,
it's going around.

Chuck. My friends in DC

tell me you're trying
to bring Grigor Andolov

in as some bullshit witness.

Are you fucking crazy?

How's the country better off
with that droog in it?

Uh, let's reframe that.

How many tens of millions of
dollars do you stand to lose

if he can contest
his divorce action?

Mm. You should know better
than to mock the crime

-of spousal abandonment.
-[chuckles]

Or the stigma and isolation?

The inability
to plan one's future?

A woman's emotions
torn fucking asunder.

[Chuck] Ohh...

You're not just
bankrolling her.

You're sleeping with her.

-[Krakow] Okay, look...
-[chuckles]

[Krakow]
It started off all business,

but Oksana is
a very soulful woman.

She's been through a lot.
[inhales]

The heart wants
what the heart wants.

So does the DOJ,
and we need the guy here.

Then I may need
to align with forces

whose interests run
counter to yours.

-In a big fucking way.
-[Chuck snickers]

And I never do my enemies
minor boo-boos, Chuck.

Keep up that watered-down
Machiavelli shit with me,

the feds will be
a far more pressing problem

than some foreign actor.

You better not mess
with that divorce proceeding.

Oh, that one's all yours.

[scoffs]

[Chuck snickers]

[Ira]
He's not the only grouser.

I just heard from DeGiulio.

He got the request to parole
Grigor back into the States?

Wants to discuss it in person.

Along with your old pals
Governor Sweeney

and Attorney General Mahar.

The three of them together.

[Ira] When they come at you
as a three man,

think chair shot,
not rubber stamp.

My ink pad's at the ready.

Chuck, is it really worth
choosing Grigor over Krakow

and not one,
but two levels of government?

To please this guy
of all people.

I mean, what's he ever
done for you...

Hm.

...except wear you out
and haunt your days?

No, this is
the vaunted Bobby Axelrod,

mover of markets,

puller of levers.

And he needed me.
[scoffs]

Called me. Had to ask me
for a personal favor.

Offered to be in my debt.

Sure, I wanted to say no,
almost did. But...

Well, that's too rare
and valuable

a commodity these days.

Especially from one
who knows what it means.

Well, that is more old school
than Sammy Davis Jr.

tapping with
the Will Mastin Trio.

♪♪♪♪♪

I lead from the front.

I do everything I ask
of those under my command

and not from
a goddamn swivel chair.

The difference between you
and General Patton?

He didn't ask for
his employee's criticism.

He just slapped them
in the face.

Criticism informs, elucidates.

This was insubordination.

Maybe Luke was right--
maybe you weren't ready

for the full fire hose.

My own people think
that they can lie to me,

mock me.

Plus, Sacker's leaving,

planning on
"distancing herself"?

We were cruising along

at flank speed before all this.

Mm. The presidential.

When did I become Lex Luthor?

Anytime somebody
runs for office,

they either become Superman
or that other thing.

I didn't change.

Everybody looks at you
through different eyes now,

but that doesn't matter.
What matters is this:

There's nothing wrong
with deciding you want

the unvarnished,
unquestioned love.

In fact, that may be
the most healthy choice.

Sometimes quitting
isn't capitulation.

Sometimes it shows grit
and wisdom.

♪♪♪♪♪

♪♪♪♪♪

[net swishes]

Scooter called you?

[Andy]
He told me what happened.

I know this is
where you'd go.

Well, it used to actually work.

Now I feel the chill
in this room, too.

Well, too warm
and you slip on the court.

[scoffs]

I used to feel the warmth
in every room I entered.

Especially
Michael Prince Capital.

Now it just seems like a lie.

Those rooms were warm
because you paid them.

I told myself I didn't care.

But I thought the warmth
was real. Or I wanted to.

[Andy] Then let's
talk court conditions.

[sighs]
I was at Indiana A&M, too.

My teammates loved me there.

If we're really
taking inventory,

some of them hated your guts.

Until they got to know me,
maybe.

No.

Until you lead them
to some wins.

Then they loved you.

I just had to show them
I was all about the team.

The team was all about you.
Always.

You always had the ball.

You always made your shots
or dished it.

They had to learn that
the path to glory

ran through you.

So I shouldn't worry about
seeking real love?

I'm saying, the way to get it
is to be a winner.

That's as real
as it fucking gets.

Is that cold or superficial
or hollow?

Well, that's the world
we're living in.

And it's the one
you say you want to lead.

♪♪♪♪♪

[indistinct chatter]

And he's fucking late.

Quite the assemblage
for a pro forma parole request.

Pro fucking forma?
Coddling a Russian criminal

on the dawn of
a second Cold War.

Last I saw you, Governor,
you were forcing me from office

in a bloodless coup.

I'd say cold wars
are your métier.

Uh, Mr. Andolov has agreed

to cooperate
in a critical case.

His safe passage
will be strictly limited--

To rat-fucking me and my
biggest donor, Todd Krakow.

[Daevisha] Chuck,
my office, your old office,

you personally ran Grigor
out of this country.

Surely, whatever grudge you hold
against the governor--

Me? I'm all about
moving forward.

This has to stop
at the water's edge.

Let this fucker in and we're
going to look ridiculous.

Like patsies. Like...

Putin's got pee tapes
on the lot of us.

I know better
than to try to stop you, Chuck.

You will find a way over,

you will find a way through.

Used to be my modus, sure.

I am appealing
to you, though.

Don't alienate us.

And don't burn Todd Krakow

and 50 other
political powerhouses

in your first months back
at Southern.

Don't make them your last.

I used to believe in
zero-sum...

in choosing a side,
generally my own,

and alienating all others.

But this go-around, I see
that we can all be winners,

all be friends.

Why draw lines in the sand

when we can build a castle?

[scoffs]
Castles made of sand?

You know, it's happened, Chuck.
You've lost your fucking mind.

Maybe I just found it, Bob.

Chuck,
in a known language, please.

I'm talking about
telling our own story.

A story in which we work
the emotional levers

to all get
what we actually want.

And how exactly do we reach
this promised land?

My special advisor on this
will answer all your questions.

You might say
he does it for a living.

♪ Time to play the game ♪

[heavy metal music
playing over phone speaker]

[crowd cheering
over phone speaker]

[singer cackles]

[music ends]

So, you found
a good lawyer yet?

Excuse me?

[Chuck]
Your custody case.

Oh, I know your prenup's
a fortress of steel,

and that you're ready to crush.

I'm short-listing litigators

and still building out
my list of demands.

Uh-huh.

[Chuck Sr.]
Go ahead, son.

I've known you
long enough to know

when you've got a point to
make.

[chuckles]
Well...

probably not one
that's welcome here, so--

Out with it.

No, it's just that I've noticed
that power is the ability

to influence others,

not dictate to them.

True power is
not having to use it.

Are you gonna flash
your history chops now

and hold forth
on how the great emperors

and cons were such
because they showed mercy?

I'm not.

We both know I'm talking
about your daughter.

[Chuck Sr.] That's right.

Now, she ought not be beholden

to some made-up deity.

When you'd rather have her
be beholden to you.

Your way.

You'll have her obedience

and you'll have moments
of her affection...

Uh, she's human, after all.

And won't be able to escape
her inclination to love you,

but she'll try.

Oh, boy, how she'll try,

if you run power games
on her and her mother.

Domination...

is an all-or-nothing
proposition.

It does not work
if you carve out exemptions.

What is it that
you're suggesting?

Go on dominating
everyone else in your life.

Put your stamp on things
and mark your turf.

Yes, and go ahead
and show her that,

when she's old enough
to apprehend it.

But when it comes to her now...

give her a sense of
stability...

and self worth.

Because that's where
true power comes from.

Ease up.

As a means of achieving
the same result.

Actually, control them more
by seeming to cede it.

Wouldn't have worked with you.

Who's to say

I may have needed the firm
hand,

but neither of these
women are me.

Oh, that's for damn sure.

[Chuck] It could spare
you a custody fight.

You might even get
what's on that list of yours,

and they'll never know

they played right
into what you wanted.

I like this plan.

Hm.

Some sense must have been

whipped into you after all.

That firm hand. Yep.

Okay, sonny...

I will try it your way.

[Chuck] Good.

[Chuck clears throat]

Continental style in this
house,

left hand, tines downward.

This look like
Ruby fucking Tuesday to you?

♪♪♪♪♪

[Luke] Speech of his life.

I cannot believe
he missed the run-through.

[Scooter] Mike doesn't
need run-throughs.

He's Africa/Brass-era Coltrane.

-He finds it as he goes.
-Can you find it if it went?

We're live on eight channels
in five minutes

and he's not even here.

[Bradford Luke]
There he is.

[Prince] Who's ready
to turn this upside down?

Didn't need a run-through.

Any more than Jay-Z
needs to write down his lyrics.

Just roll tape and let me go.

♪♪♪♪♪

Thank you.

For not keeping me safe.

In my bubble.

The idea that I would
reassess my campaign,

quit, because of a few grumblers
in the company...

Well, I needed to hear that.

I was a professional
boot in the ass.

Finally saw what you were doing.

The destiny, it's in me.

I knew you'd put yourself
back together.

Glad you did.

[woman] Ready?

♪♪♪♪♪

I put him back together

after you kicked the pieces
across the floor.

[footsteps receding]

I thought you were out the
door.

I'd like to stay at MPC
until my filing deadline.

Then run as an independent
on Mike's ticket.

Stay close to the resources,
the juice.

If you're sure, I can get you
on a cutaway shot.

I know it's a risk
taking on the party machinery.

I'm not just going to be some
schmo out in the wilderness...

in a run for Congress.

We're live.

In five, four, three...

♪♪♪♪♪

I'm Mike Prince.

If you only follow
the primaries,

you don't know me.

That's by design.

So the status quo can keep
a hold of your futures.

I bought this time
and it didn't come cheap

because I'm my own man.

And because we need
to have a hard conversation

about why both parties,
and our system, are broken.

This is about the inventory
we all need to take

in order to get
where we're going,

even if we don't
always like what we see.

♪♪♪♪♪

[door closes]

[Krakow] Grigor.

Buddy, you're back.

You are surprised
to see me here?

I'm surprised
to see you here as well,

since four of
the last five nights,

you've been spotted outside
Oksana's penthouse.

My penthouse, not your own.

She's been distraught
in your absence.

I've tried to counsel her.

Tell her to, you know, hang in.

This is why I brought you
a special gift.

You should open it now.

Might come in handy
in case you need to "hang in."

My friend Christian
designed them personally.

Gossamer wings.

Now, I cannot tell you
if they support flights,

since I didn't test them
myself, but...

Since you live
on the 29th floor,

maybe you would
like to be the test pilot.

You could have sent this
message in so many ways,

without coming to New York.

What fucking fun would there be
in letting someone else

throw you out the window?

I swear, Oksana and I
are just friends.

W-we're not even friends.

It was just a--a mere
business arrangement--

But you spent so many months
in her company.

I'll never see her again.

I'll stop funding
the divorce action.

In fact, I'll end it
with one fucking phone call.

It's hard to argue
abandonment now anyway.

This is good news.

It clears the way
for my own divorce suit...

on grounds of adultery.

Thank you.

♪♪♪♪♪

[sighs]

My business is concluded.
Now, yours can begin.

It's quite a favor
Axe granted you.

And that you granted him.

[dry chuckle]

How the hell did you two
become friends again,

after what he did to you?

Well, one has
the greatest respect

for one's fiercest adversary.

Who else believes so strongly
in your abilities?

Well, it's time.
You ready to do the turn?

Like Andre in '87.

♪♪♪♪♪

[engine starts]

♪♪♪♪♪

[police sirens chirp]

[sirens blaring]

[sirens stop]

[indistinct chatter]

Let's go. Out of the car.

You have no authority over me.

I am a sovereign citizen.

I reject the right of the
United States to detain me,

or to compel my testimony.

I am a citizen
of the greatest nation

in the history of the world,
led by the greatest leader.

So fuck you and fuck America.

[crowd murmuring]

[Sweeney clears throat]

Mr. Andolov
was here to testify

in a federal case,
to work with us.

However, he took that
opportunity to try and steal

sensitive military technology
for his country.

Now, upon receiving
this intel, I handed it off

to federal law enforcement
for coordinated action.

Chuck.

[sighs]

As U.S. Attorney,

I realized that this was

a complex federal matter,

so I contacted Solicitor General
DeGiulio and the DOJ.

[camera shutters clicking]

Main Justice saw the critical
nature of this case

on New York
and included the state AG.

Using state police
and undercover operatives,

we conducted a sting operation
and interdicted Mr. Andolov

before any secrets
could be stolen.

As you can see in the video,

his true sentiments
came to light.

He will be deported
immediately.

It is a bad day for the
Kremlin,

a good day for justice
around the world.

Questions?

[reporters clamoring]

[woman] What about the risk
of rolling an old criminal

like Mr. Andolov into the U.S.
in the first place?

[Daevisha]
He was poised to have...

Wow...

He swoops in, kills my play,

does a heel turn here.

He's rehabbed in Russia,
a hero to the Kremlin,

quashing those rumors
that he helped Ukraine.

Mm.

You guys are all
champions of the city.

-Ah.
-It's quite a work you put on.

Mm-hmm.
Except for the part with you.

-That was a shoot.
-Hm.

Fuck. You weren't in on that?

No, real.

Only way I see it,
everything he said stands.

He'll now have Moscow's full
backing to do whatever he wants,

wherever he wants.

-[reporters clamoring]
-Long arms.

One warning was enough.

That and those fucking wings.

[Daevisha] We cooperate...

[door closes]

The dial groups
we ran during the speech--

spiked the whole time.

I've never seen
anything like it.

Mike is trending
on every platform.

Pundits on both sides
are calling it a major victory.

Calling me for jobs, too.
My phone's blowing up.

All this coverage,

-you couldn't buy it.
-But he did.

[Scooter]
"Rising above the smallness

and negativity
of the primaries."

"Owning primetime,
because he can. Literally."

Mike wants to do
one of these every month.

Draw up a check,
I'll draw up a plan.

♪♪♪♪♪

I owe you an apology.

We both had our points of view.

I had my own agenda.

Keeping control of the
campaign.

You just served Mike.

No wonder
he trusts you so much.

♪♪♪♪♪

[reporter over video]
It's the kind of speech

no politician ever gives.

Because they can't afford to.
In more ways than one.

That alone gives Michael Prince
the edge tonight,

a true independent,
storming the gates...

[clicks video off]

♪♪♪♪♪

["Rid of Me"
by PJ Harvey playing]

It's done.

I saw. Thanks.

No, I should be thanking you.

For making me better. Sharper.

For raising the level of play,
as you always have.

I can't say I wish
I was back there

-slugging it out with you.
-Mm-hmm.

-We went enough rounds.
-Yeah.

Took me some time to realize,
that was reason enough

to help you from the start.

Old combatants' code.

That's the other reason.

Someday, and that day
will definitely come,

I will call upon you
to repay this debt.

And I know
you won't come up short.

♪ I'm going to twist
Your head off, see ♪

[phone clatters]

♪ Till you say don't you wish ♪

♪ You never
Never met her? ♪

♪ Don't you don't you
Wish you ♪

♪ Never, never met her? ♪

♪ Don't you, don't you
Wish you ♪

♪ Never, never met her? ♪

♪ Don't you, don't you
Wish you ♪

♪ Never, never met her? ♪

♪ I beg you ♪

♪ My darling ♪

♪ Don't leave me ♪

♪ I'm hurting ♪

♪ I've been lonely ♪

♪ Above everything ♪

♪ Above every day ♪

♪ I'm hurting ♪

♪♪♪♪♪