Tamal Kundu
The sixth season of ‘Billions’ begins by shaking things up. With Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) fleeing to Switzerland, the narrative seems to have undergone a drastic and necessary overhaul. Michael Prince (Corey Stoll) is the new billionaire in town, and his way of doing business is radically different from Bobby. After failing to capture Bobby due to Michael’s betrayal, Attorney General of New York Chuck Rhoades, Jr. (Paul Giamatti) has deduced that the entire billionaire class is corrupt and greedy and decided to come after them all. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Billions’ season 6 episode 1. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Billions Season 6 Episode 1 Recap
Episode 1, titled ‘Cannonade,’ begins as Chuck leads a mob of angry people to face off against another group that has cannons. The narrative then shifts to a week earlier. Chuck’s attempt to find tranquillity by pretending to be a farmer in a village far from New York is interrupted by a series of cannon blasts. He keeps asserting to people that he is not on a sabbatical. He is still the AG, who is working from the farm.
In New York, Wendy (Maggie Siff) makes coffee at a restaurant, and Taylor watches a video of a marriage proposal. Michael and Scooter (Daniel Breaker) discover that Wags (David Costabile) is having a heart attack and calls the emergency services. When Wags eventually returns to work, he figures out that the Nimbus rings that Michael and Scooter earlier distributed among the employees are keeping track of them.
Although he has renamed Axe’s company as Michael Prince Capital, Michael struggles to earn the loyalty of his employees. Meanwhile, Chuck begins a feud with his billionaire cannon-firing neighbor, Melville Revere (Michael McKean). He discovers that the other residents of the village have also grown tired of Revere and his cannon blasts. However, they can’t do anything because Revere is too wealthy and influential.
Billions Season 6 Episode 1 Ending: What Is the Prince List?
After his takeover of the company that formerly belonged to Axe, Michael finds his new employees wary of him. Taylor and Wendy feel that they are forced to work for him, so they are downright hostile. The situation is even more complicated with Wags. If Michael fires him, he has to pay him $80 million. It is probably the last bit of revenge that Axe could exact from Michael after being ousted from his own company. Now, Wags admits that he has no desire to leave because he loves working at the company.
Other employees feel that Michael is too indecisive and not ruthless enough to run a hedge fund. Their doubts are reflected by the investors. As Revere is one of the prominent investors that Michael has inherited from Axe, he travels to Chuck’s farm to convince him to stop the feud. Predictably, it doesn’t work, as Chuck is still livid about Michael’s betrayal.
Ultimately, on Wendy’s advice, Michael decides to show his employees what he is truly about and how different he is from Axe. He calls a meeting with both the employees and investors and declares that Michael Prince Capital will let go of all the investors that put dirty capitals in their company. He announces the creation of the Prince List, which will only include investors that have accumulated wealth through the correct way.
Why Does Chuck Declare Who He Is in front of the Reporters?
As a show, ‘Billions’ is still about the conflict between capitalism and regulation, but the goalpost has shifted in season 6. Chuck’s experience with hunting Axe and eventually failing to capture him has made him even more anti-wealth than before. In the season 6 premiere, he gathers his neighbors and forces Revere to stop firing the cannons, claiming that there is a species of endangered turtles living in Revere’s land.
With Kate’s help, Chuck gets the media to come and witness as he takes Revere down. This helps him establish to the rest of the world that he is a government employee that genuinely wants to change capitalism and hold the billionaires accountable for their business malpractices. When ‘Billions’ first came out, it represented people’s cynical attitude to wealth and those who accumulated it. Neither Axe nor Chuck was beyond bending rules to get what they wanted. In contrast, Michael wants to rebuild their company with a cleaner image. Things are far from over between him and Chuck. In season 6, it appears that Chuck intends to turn himself into a public figure with an anti-billionaire platform. His success against Revere gives him a good start in that regard.
Read More: Why Did Damian Lewis’ Axe Leave Billions?
