BILLIONS (SHO): It's all a game of cat and mouse, or who has the biggest set of balls in this story of conflict between two very powerful men. The first is Bobby (Axe) Axelrod, the only surviving partner of Axe Capital hedge fund who just happened to be out of the office on 9/11. Damien Lewis gives us a multifaceted character who has enormous wealth which was probably earned illegally via insider trading. This guy's got it all: beautiful, loving wife, great kids, lives in a mansion with a full time chef and can buy anybody and does. He's so wealthy, he can go to the finest restaurants in a T-shirt. The second is the US Attorney, Chuck Rhoades played by an intense Paul Giamatti who is determined to take Axe down. Their common bond is Rhoades' wife, Wendy, (the very cool and very appealing Maggie Siff) a brilliant psychiatrist who works for Bobby as the in-house shrink, performance coach and cheerleader for the high pressure account execs who have self-doubt and are desperately trying to stay ahead of the game and earn Axe's approval because they fear replacement if they don't perform. She's been working with Bobby even before she met Chuck and makes tenfold what he makes. As a result, the Rhoades' have huge conflict of interest issues which prevents them from talking about work. Wendy loves her husband but is extremely loyal to Axe. Then there's the added bonus of the Rhoades' 50 Shades of Grey dominant/submissive sex play. Chuck is masochistic who likes to be tied up. The machinations of the financial world are as complicated as they are exciting and the writers have given us an intelligent show, smartly done. (See what I did there?) Score: 9. WATCH IT. Bonds and Bondage, can't miss.
