That F@%*ing Scene : "Pretend we're having an argument"
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I’ve been watching a lot of Billions over the past couple weeks and it’s been really great.
It’s a show that had longevity and success, but that doesn’t quite get the love it deserves. Billions has a reputation for being good television, while I believe it measures up to some of the heavyweights of the twenty-first century. At least, the first three seasons do. It’s not as spectacular or emotionally wrenching as, let’s say Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, but it’s still a powerful, character driven show that challenges traditional moral and values.
It’s really all you can ask from television in 2021, since most running shows don’t accomplish half of that. Today, I’ll break down a scene that embodies perfectly why Billions is such a good show: Axelrod and Dollar Bill’s pretend argument. To give you a little context, Bill is walking back into the office after beating an insider trading charge under a thunder of applause and his boss immediately call him into his offer with a pissed off look in his face.
I’ll leave the scene work its magic on you from this point on:
What is so cool about two grown men behaving like pro wrestlers in a corporate office?
I’ve identified four reasons:
1) They’re behaving like a pro wrestler in a corporate office. It doesn’t make a lot of sense when I explain it like that, but in the context of Billions, it establishes a counterpoint to the monotony and the self-seriousness of Bobby Axelrod’s mortal enemy, State Attorney Chuck Rhoades Jr. Billions’ narrative edge relies on this contrast. The fraudulent market manipulators are the fun people and the law enforcers are the boring, sanctimonious ones.
This confrontation represents a generational clash of values about perception of work. The rigid and institutional lawmen are motivated by a sense of duty engrained in them by various circumstances out of their control, while the fiery, free thinking traders work from a place of passion. They work all the time, but they find ways to have fun doing it. That makes them relatable. Not everyone has the privilege to do this at work, but everyone would like to.
2) They show an incredible level of respect to one another. Axelrod and Dollar Bill’s pretend fight is also great because it is spontaneous. Axe obviously trusts his long-tenured employee and their confrontation is neither scripted nor streamlined by human resources. It is fueled by a boss’ respect for his employee’s sense of the game. Axelrod warns Bill of every move he’s about to (poking, shoving) like the aforementioned pro wrestlers.
Axe and Dollar Bill instinctively understand something about each other: they are two competitive beasts fueled by the adrenaline of the game. So, they feed each other like dopamine fiends. They get so hyped up that they end up declaring their love to one another. This is another key detail that makes Axe Capital more relatable than the so-called good guys. Their relationships are more meaningful. Relationships matter. Axelrod understands that. Rhoades doesn’t.
This scene exemplifies the edge Axelrod has on his competitor
3) The 1:40 poking incident. I laugh out loud every time I see it. Because it’s a detail that wasn’t in Axelrod’s improvised script and I believe it’s the result of actor Kelly AuCoin getting lost in his character. Axelrod warns Bill that he’s going to poke him and instructs him to poke back. But instead, Bill flicks him off because HE DOESN’T LIKE getting poked. Because he usually calls the shots. He’s not used to being on the receiving end of aggressive behavior.
Damian Lewis riffs off this unscripted incident perfectly. He looks like he’s going to explode for a second, composes himself and then leans right back into poking Bill. His employee NEVER pokes him like instructed, but he ends up shoving Axelrod without being prompted. The adrenaline of the scene accelerated naturally between the two actors They get lost in the energy of the confrontation and end up blending reality and fiction
4) It represents a greater shift in values. Ultimately, I love the “Pretend we’re having an argument” scene because it really embodies a greater shift in values the world underwent in the twenty-first century. The rise of individualism has turned everything into a competition. Social institutions supposed to protect you are now operated by lawyers and professionals who are trying to win like Chuck Rhoades Jr., rather than to protect and serve.
The corporate boss has become the new protector of those who can bring back value to him. Dollar Bill put his neck out for the company, so Axelrod spent the money to defend him, has grown closer to his employee and is now including him in under-the-table shenanigans. Loyalty and friendship have replaced morals. That is why ultimately Axe Capital is the more relatable side. It speaks to values we millennials are both understanding and experiencing.
