All language subtitles for Billions.S05E08.1080p.WEB.H264-GLHF

Mike Prince

is Axe's real enemy.

I want to officially
welcome each of you to...

Taylor Mason Carbon!

-[cheering]
-Whoo! Nice. All right!

You know my new artist,
Tanner? He's not workin'.

You know what,
let me talk to him.

This happened to be
a Nico Tanner original?

[groans]

The doctors are
running some tests,

but they think he'll
need a kidney transplant.

My father wasn't
healthy enough to pass

the workup to get
on the donor list.

I have a guy.

They need you to rip
a letter on my behalf

out of the SEC
and grease the skids

-to a charter.
-Sure.

Welcome to the NYAG.

Today,
you're gonna go after a cabinet member.

Secretary of the Treasury,
Todd Krakow.

We have a problem
with the assignment.

I'm not part of a
criminal enterprise...

He's out. Fired by
the White House.

[whispering] Back
to square fuckin' one!

Is this a reward or
to teach me a lesson?

Both.

We need a rockstar in our corner,
too.

Mike Prince.

Go to him. Enlist him. Team up.

Get me anyone who
can help us find out

what is near and dear to
Michael Thomas Aquinas Prince.

Because when I find
out what matters to him,

I am going to
fuckin' destroy it.

And him right along with it.

[Royal music playing]

[sighs]

[speaking in Danish]

[sighs]

Ah.

You're putting on
this little show here

instead of at home
and instead of managing

our underperforming employees.

That means you got
somethin' to tell me.

You read me like the Sunday papers,
honcho.

I was re-toxing last
night at the Aviary

and learned one
Michael Prince is ready

to be confirmed
Ambassador Extraordinary

and Plenipotentiary to Denmark.

You don't fuckin' say.

I do.

And while I saw the upside in
him posting up in Copenhagen,

I also envisioned
him parachuting back

into our fair city,
the anointed one.

So I decided to give him
a smorgasbord of shit.

I spent the last 18
hours in a whirlwind

of Mike Prince research-wining,
dining,

drugging, grooming,

levering, horse-trading...

And the dividend?

Prince keeps himself locked down

Fort Knox-style. But
one Roger Dunbar,

known to you as Scooter,
is our way in.

The man likes to play
the angles at football

and basketball and horse racing.

Scooter's a sports bettor?

On a staggering scale
through numerous fronts.

He's trying to disguise it,

but no way he can afford
the inevitable swings.

He's leaking like a
raft at a kid's pool party.

And his leaks
are Prince's leaks.

The sort of vulnerability
that stops you

from getting government
security clearance.

And for good reason.

Nail him to the pyre,
douse him with oil,

and light his ass up.

Yes. Joan of Arc style.

But first, a quick nap.

[sighs]

Watch yourself with them
when you go in there later.

You make it sound
like I'm going into

the lion enclosure at the zoo.

[chuckles]

Axe Cap's been called worse.

Yeah.

Or are you just afraid
I'm gonna say something

to make you look bad?

-Fuck no. The opposite.
-[chuckles]

Just... if you're
not used to it,

the money talk
from my colleagues

can be relentless,
shameless, suffocating.

Ah. You know,

only rich people get
embarrassed by money talk.

The rest of us get embarrassed
because we don't have any money.

My job is to train them
to tune every fiber of

their being to get
as much as they can.

But I've seen the
negative effect it can have.

It can restrict
growth in other ways.

Well, you can say that,
'cause you're one of 'em.

You're rich.

How much you make?

-Really?
-Yeah.

It'll clarify things.

My bonus was $9
million last year.

Jesus.

Look,
I get that some of this is new to you.

And...

you can be who you want to be.

But y-you just seem...

[inhales]

I don't know,
overly interested in what those buyers

like Lisa had to
say the other night.

But when we met,
you acted like money is like chains.

So I guess I'm just saying,
beware.

Yeah, I hear you.

It's just that now that
I have a little bit of it,

that money, I...

it's startin' to
feel like freedom.

Karl!

You rang?

You look ready to toss your
cap into the air at West Point.

Don't make a
whole thing out of it.

Pull the record of every
prisoner I've put away.

-Here and at SDNY.
-Criminal records?

Uh, no, medical records.

I'm lookin' for a kidney.

Pristine quality.
[clicks tongue] Primo.

Ah,
Chuck. Shoppin' for the old man.

I get it.

I used to walk six
miles to the army PX

to get my dad a pack of Lucky's.

-How's he doin'?
-Hm.

Like Clint Eastwood.
Straight-backed but uh--

But sometimes,
he just gets that lost look in the eyes

and starts talking
to the furniture?

In a sense.

Rough for him. Rougher for you.

Hmm.

Gets the old compassion flowing.

I'll grab what I can.

Gotta tell ya,
it works. You look great.

-Don't make a whole--
-Copy!

I heard you fell back
to the country place.

Yeah, trying to figure
out how much to sell it for.

Lara always liked it. Me?

I can't stand the
quiet. You interested?

Nah, too rich for my blood.

But you're still interested
in a bank charter, right?

-You know I am.
-Well...

There may be a way
around our obstacle.

When we heard that Rhoades
was teaching up at the law school,

I tapped some Yale
connects I know from boating.

And it turns out he was using
a bunch of the law school kids

as a think tank to
take out Krakow.

Motherfucker.

So I ran my own think tank.

Feels like time for a recount.

Do it.

Find a true believer
amongst those acolytes

and let's get Rhoades
caught in a crossfire hurricane.

And find me another
charter. Get Victor on it.

Designing for the space?

Making sure it's lit properly.

Right. Like Von Sydow,
not Dusty.

[imitating] "I don't sell
my work by the yard."

I get it. I studied art history.

And yet you work here.

Well, in a way, so do you.

Who fuck are you?

The name's Mafee.

I don't think I'll
remember that.

Do you own any art?

I have a hand-painted
production cell

from the movie Tron
with the young Bridges.

-Not--
-Obviously.

I meant as an investment.

Oh,
not yet. But I'll start acquiring

in the next 12 to 18 months.

-What do you like?
-No fuckin' idea.

I don't know anything about
the underlying commodity.

Don't need to.

Just that it can go up in value.

It's speculation,
with an option for manipulation.

What'll you give me for that?

You were worried about me,
and I beat 'em.

That group of
overpaid philistines

just gave me $3,200.
for a signed doodle.

-Seriously?
-Yeah.

Hm.

[indistinct chatter]

It's great that you
guys are doing this.

So many so-called
impact investors,

they don't really care.

We're money where your
mouth is type of people.

[presenter] And now,
please welcome our host

for the evening, Mike Novogratz.

[audience cheering]

[Novogratz] I want
to thank all of you

for supporting us tonight.

The mission of the Bail Project

is to combat racial and
economic disparities

within our broken
criminal justice system...

-[Rian] Mock tuna wrap?
-No, thanks.

Maybe. Whoa.

Take the pretend
tuna. And a napkin.

-So you...
-Yes.

I... have to go
grind some daiquiris.

Wait, it's not daiquiri season.
And you don't grind them.

I don't know why I said
that. I gotta go. [chuckles]

[Novogratz] ...if you
want to dig deeper,

you can pay in
Bitcoin or dollars.

And I'm giving you
a good reason to.

It's my great pleasure
to introduce to you

a friend of the Bail Project,

an American hero...

my friend, Mr. Jason Isbell.

[audience cheering]

Thank you all.

If you ever spent
even one night in jail,

then you understand just
how precious your freedom is.

And if you're a human
being with your eyes open,

you realize that

freedom isn't exactly equally
available for everybody.

So I'm happy to be here
with you this evening.

[Isbell strums guitar]

I couldn't be happy
in the city at night

You can't see the
stars for the neon lights

The sidewalk's dirty
and the river's worse

The underground
trains all run in reverse

Nobody here can dance like me

Everybody's clapping
on the one and the three

Am I

The last of my kind?

Am I

The last of my kind?

So many people
with so much to do

The winter's so cold
your hands turn blue

Old men sleeping
on the filthy ground

They spend their whole
day just walking around

And nobody else
here seems to care

They walk right past them
like they ain't even there

Am I

- The last of my kind?
-[cell phone chimes]

Oh, shit!

[scoffs]

[scoffs]

This isn't great.

A picture of you burning
a bathtub full of ballots?

No.

Back in college,
junior year. [sighs]

You rigged the election?

You really wanted to
be president of the YCC.

More than that.

Look closely and you'll see
the name of my opponent,

Robertson Wycoff.

Oh my God,
this guy was straight out of the

Niedermeyer from Animal House
school of student government.

Ah,
I'm starting to remember you telling me

about this in law school.

He was like a fascist back then,
right?

I remember the times,

we were pro-divestment,
anti-apartheid.

He leaned more status quo,

said South Africa
wasn't our problem.

You couldn't risk
letting him win.

No, indeed.

So some friends of mine did
the Saybrook College vote tally,

which meant we could
suppress my opponent's turnout.

Retroactively.

You stole a student election
and posed for pictures.

[scoffs]

Our own little homage
to "Landslide Lyndon."

People find out you
turned your dorm room

into Tammany Hall,
that's a potential career killer.

And I have been sent this memento mori,
anonymously,

with the gracious
opportunity to resign

my teaching post at Yale.

It's extortion. You can't.

I don't plan to.

You have any idea who sent it?

I do.

A recalcitrant former pupil.

[scoffs]

And much like a disobedient dog,

I will bring him to heel.

I forget that when
you have a boss,

they can summon you.

Or is that more of a king thing?

Both? Anyway,
here I am, summoned.

Close the door.

I want to talk about last
night. If you ran into me,

you can run into people
we do business with.

People who will
wonder about you,

about what kind of
place I'm running,

why I don't pay
enough for my people

not to work second jobs.

I can wear a wig.

I have no desire to
make you uncomfortable

or to job shame you.

What's with the gig?

It's a gig economy.

For some people.

Not mid-six-figure
pre-bonus analysts.

My roommates and I have been
doing the Party Down thing

together ever since
we got to the city.

So you don't want
to leave them behind.

There are less laborious
ways to keep in touch.

A WhatsApp group,
the occasional escape room.

Uh... hmm.

I get the distinction now.

You're my boss, but not a king.

You don't own my time.

We have a work relationship.

Let's keep it that way. Cool?

Kewl.

That time I said it with
the K and W spelling.

Could you hear it? [chuckles]

Thanks for your concern.

Now back to work we go.

Oh, leave it open, closed?

I'm feeling closed.

You take steps yet?

Uh... percolating.

I'll get to it.

What's up? You seem phlegmatic.

-Even for--
-No, no, I'm fine.

I'm just in attack mode,
and, uh--

Come on,
Mamoun's is the cleanest falafel

outside of the Holy Land. You
haven't even touched yours.

[muttering]

The thing with the
woman I was seeing--

[sighs]
--that's over.

Oh... she was a keeper,
you said.

Yeah, that's what most guys
would call someone that smart,

beautiful, kind,
and willing to throw them a threesome.

Wowza.

-You'd think.
-You didn't like it?

No. I liked it.

Of course I liked it.

[chuckles]

Give me pistachio ice cream,

I'll eat it and smile,

as Diamond David
Lee Roth would say.

But, yeah, it was uncomfortable.

It's just too many limbs.

-[laughs]
-Too many questions.

[chuckling] Oh, what to do.

Yeah.

Give me rum raisin,
on the other hand,

I'll inhale the whole pint
and root around the fridge

to find another one.

And that's what I was missing.

Well, Cat seems pretty,
you know, liberated.

Have you broached the
subject of what you really want?

A-as you said,
she's smart and sensitive.

And she saw-- [stammering]

She saw that it
would never work,

not all the way from me.

Not without,
you know... [clicks tongue]

And so she said
something along the lines of,

"We'll always have Paris."

Only the words she used were harsher,
you know?

And all about wasting her time.

-[sighs]
-Shit.

And now I got some
goddamn college kid

wasting my fucking time.

Well,
whatever you're feeling about

what she did to you, do to him.

And I'll help.

You want half my
turkey and chopped liver?

Underrated sandwich.

Bet I can name two better ones.

And I just know you want in
on the other side of that action.

-Why would I?
-'Cause, like Michael Cheritto,

for you,
the action is the juice.

Don't know him.

You should see Heat.

On my list.

But I get that you're
saying you think

-I'm a gambling man.
-I don't think it.

I observed it.

Those guys are just
scattered to the wind.

They're your runners,
placing your bets

so they don't track back to you.

But I tracked it back.

Look,
those guys are a street marketing team.

I'm building out a brand
on a new company.

Bullshit.

This hobby of yours makes
you vulnerable to extortion.

And that extortion has come.

Prince finds out about this,
he shitcans you,

then you're an orphan
without a purpose.

I thought I was so GD careful.

None of that matters now.

Give up Prince.

Nothin' to give.

He may be the best at bleaching.

But no one gets
to 11 figures clean.

Go home.

Remember the thing.

Come tell Axe and me.

And your life stays the same.

Don't,
and you lose everything you hold sacred.

Glad you accepted
my offer to drop by.

I didn't like the
circumstances you left under.

Never bad to march with
your conscience intact.

Not sure I agree with that.

Conscience can be a little
bit like those old nonstick pans.

Flakes off under heat.

Produces noxious fumes
that ruin the whole enterprise.

Now,
what you're really looking for

is a cast iron soul.

Durable, seasoned.

If I wanted advice
about pots and pans,

I'd have signed up
to intern for Guy Fieri.

[chuckles]

Well then,
here's the advice you really came for.

Sign your name

to everything you write.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

You do. And you should own it.

C'mon,
do what your Chef Fieri does.

Use your leverage.
Don't throw it away.

Hell,
he started out with a '67 Camaro,

bleached goatee,
and a hankering for Sloppy Joe,

and he ended up with an empire.

Morality isn't leverage.

Democracy isn't
leverage. Decency--

It was a student election.

To decide who got to woo
Oingo Boingo to Spring Fling

and push them
not to play Sun City.

It wasn't Il Duce in '34.

There's a difference.

Not as much as you think.

One leads to the other.

Oh, fuck.

I can tell how good
that felt to you to say.

Problem is, it's just not true.

You're right about one thing.

Sending an anonymous
email was weak.

I answer for that now.

Just like you will have to
answer for your mistake.

[scoffs]

Huh.

See,
this is where old days I'd have appealed

to your fear and greed centers.

Dangled an unattainable
post-graduation job

in front of you,
or the specter of some

member of your family
getting into legal trouble.

Instead,

allow me to share with you
a lesson from my own life.

So it's guilt then,
I'm guessin'.

Listen, Merle.

I don't know you,

or what you do or
plan to do with your life.

But I know this.

If you move me out
by using blackmail,

you will be setting
yourself up for a life...

[chuckles]

well, a life quite like mine.

One open to moments of

deep regret and loss of face.

Ah, the stern warning.

The wisdom from down the road.

I'm giving you the most
valuable thing I have:

perspective.

You have the chance
to live a life of honor.

To sleep through the night--

You know what? I
already have a father

who sells me his bad choices,
his object lessons.

You have a day
to resign gracefully.

After that,
I'm blasting the picture out wide.

[door closes]

I may have a vote-rigging
problem on my horizon.

I assume you're not teeing up a big,
juicy case.

Oh, in this scenario,

I'm the golf ball.
Take a look at this.

Hmm...

Nice lighter. ST. Dupont?

Let's talk about those
ballots I'm taking the lighter to.

Hmm.

Does the election-tampering
bother you?

Nah, I'd have a bigger problem
if you weren't in it to win it.

I was on the right side of history,
if that matters.

Yeah, no, not much.

[inhales]

Look,
you were practically a kid.

I am guessing you
had your reasons

or were just
practicing your moves.

But now as a state
constitutional officer,

your voters may feel
differently about this if it gets out.

That's why I'm here.

You want me to tee up a big,
juicy case,

one that screams out
justice and fairness,

and bumps your tee time
right off the front page.

I do. Yes.

As you'd say... "Let me work."

I will need you to sign a
contract that states clearly

you're exclusively working
here and nowhere else.

And if I won't sign?

I think maybe then you're gone.

I can't have people here
who are less committed

than contestants
on The Bachelor.

There is no way you've even seen

one episode of The
Bachelor. How can you--

Sometimes it
helps me fall asleep.

Their insipid self-confidence

and beauty is a somnolent.

But the point is,
if you work with me,

I need your blood,
because that is what I give.

I don't know.

I want you here. You
think clearly. That's rare.

But you can also
communicate clearly.

The combo is more rare.

And then there's
the ability to charm,

get people on your side
without resorting to cheap tricks.

Plus, also,
I can see you struggling to remain

a good person
despite the temptations.

It would seem a
mistake to fire someone

with those characteristics, no?

I don't want to fire you.

You want to own me.

And that's not cool.

You haven't answered me.

Right.

[cell phone chimes]

Oh...

Ya likes?

I dug like Indiana
Jones in the Ark picture.

I see that.

These are potent.

And could be
quite helpful to me.

Yeah. I and everyone now

not only understand
why you stole the election,

but we're rooting
for you in retrospect.

You had to take him out.
By any means necessary.

If Yale's student body president

was anti-divestment,

picking the speakers
for every event,

stacking the decks
at every meeting.

His own quotes and
speeches say it all.

How did you get these?

That's a question I expect

from my brother-in-law,
the garmento.

The point is, use this stuff.

And then even if that
picture of you is released,

the story will be...

you were fighting
institutionalized racism

and slaying a dragon.

A dragon who currently serves

as the beloved
university chaplain.

I looked him up,
too. A lifetime of service.

So he turned out
to be a good guy

because you saved him.

[door knocks]

Hey, boss.

Uh,
attorney-client or broheim time?

[Ira] Just signing off.

Thank you.

What's up, Karl?

Got a hit.

Prisoner named Aman Dekel.

He matches a certain
profile you need.

Clean bill of health on this one,
too.

Not a drinker.

Religious man who was
incarcerated for crimes

in the name of his maker.

Looney. But the
required pristine kidneys.

Outstanding. You make contact?

I did. He's expecting
you tomorrow.

He will sacrifice the bean
for payment to be negotiated

and the ability to
move out of state

to be with his family as
soon as he's released.

That can be arranged.

Ah,
the things we do for those we love huh?

[cell door slams]

Thank you very much.

-[scoffing] Ugh.
-[chuckles]

Doctor Gilbert.

I know what you're doing here
and who you hoped to meet,

but I'm afraid Aman Dekel
isn't gonna make it today.

And neither are the
beautiful glomeruli

in his kidneys.

-Is that so?
-When you put me in here,

I became more powerful than
you could ever have imagined.

[laughs]

Well, less powerful than,
say, any free man.

From one perspective,
but from another...

the residents
of this institution

come to me with
their afflictions.

And I give them
better treatment than

the hacks in the infirmary.

And that's why they were happy

to come to me
and to lure you in.

And why you will never
get what you're lookin' for.

It's not me,

but my father that
you're doing this to.

All the same. Organ
failure is beastly.

[clicks tongue] Took my own mom.

We're talking total
physiologic breakdown.

Incontinence.

Your dad will be
wishing for incontinence,

because urine output will cease

and then the swelling comes...

the feet,
the legs and the... [sighs]

the pain that that brings...

it's pain that
makes you pass out

and wish you never wake up.
Vomiting, seizures.

Whoo-hoo.

[laughs] Oy.

You've really gotten away
from that whole do no harm deal.

It's what happens
when your ideals

get turned inside out.

You know well what
I'm talking about.

Guard!

How's your sister, Jerry?

Much better, thanks.

It's a tricky medical condition
that was misdiagnosed.

Ovarian cysts.

They thought it was cancer.

They would've gutted her.

You were right about getting
a second opinion downstate.

You need anything?

Hmm. I'd love a LaCroix.

And an escort for
the Attorney General.

He's leaving.

[Jerry] Come on. Let's go.

[groaning]

You know, I'm not visiting
any more prisons anytime soon.

It's always a punch
in the fucking face.

[chuckles]

-Thanks, Peach.
-Mm-hmm.

You got my smoke signal.

I did. Thanks for the
trip down memory lane.

It was nicer to relive
than it was to live.

[chuckles]

What do you want?

This.

[clicks tongue]

[sighing]

Phew. Healthcare proxy?

Why me?

Because Roxanne's too young.

She'll never let me go.

She will keep the
machines on for years,

hoping for a miracle
while I crap myself

and the money runs out.

And Chuck,
he might pull the plug when

I'm in the middle of a sentence.

He's doing everything
he can to help you.

Sure, he is.

But you, you're the one
with liquid silver in her veins,

the cool-headed killer.

You'll do the right
thing at the right time.

At the "right time,"
you'll be comatose,

completely incommunicative,

and you want me to
come in waving this around

in front of your
young wife and son?

It'll be a total shit show.

That's why I'm asking you.

No, I-- I pray,

to the extent that I pray,

that these decisions
never need be made.

But...

if the worst comes to pass,
Wendy...

if I hit the fucking wall

and become a full gomer,

I need you to be clear-eyed
and punch my ticket.

Can I count on you?

[sighs]

Sure, Dad.

If it comes to it,
I'll put you down.

[door opens, closes]

That's a good girl.

[Chuck] I see.

While I've been out
scouring the countryside

trying to save your life,

you put your trust
in someone else.

Oh,
I've been doing what needs to be done.

Or are you here to tell me

that you found me a
donor and it isn't necessary?

[exhales]

No.

Unfortunately, it is.

I'll leave you two to
settle your business.

Scooter's on his way up.

Heh. Longest
elevator ride of his life.

I knew he was gonna cave.

Saw it in his eyes that he'd
do anything to save himself.

[elevator bell rings]

You look surprised.
Was I not invited?

I felt, in a way, that I was.

Or at least that my
invitation was implied.

Love this.

Raw concrete. Very wabi-sabi.

You have Rande
Gerber decorate for ya?

[sighs]

Threw yourself at
the merciful hem

of the Shogun skirts?

Not exactly. He was
already well aware of the bets.

Because they were his.

Too bad. Ambassador with

a gambling problem's a no-go.

No problem here.

I have a better winning
percentage than the Vegas books.

Plus,
sports betting is now legal in this state.

Those runners you saw
placed the action for me

at the sports books
at upstate casinos.

Because that much money,
with my profile,

would have moved the lines.

Yes. You had your
man put 'em down

to get you a better price.

Protect and serve.

Don't worry, though,
my records are orderly.

We have it all documented
in exquisite detail.

Taxes paid on all the profits.

And the Danes are
a sporting bunch.

They love a good wager.

You made a mistake coming here,
Mike.

I smoked you out.

You could have had me
wasting my time on this

until your post was clinched.

But now I know which
direction I need to go in.

Without meaning to,
you guys have just revealed it to me.

You're trying to
put a read on me?

Steady hands,
no micro-expressions,

nothing there.

So you can look as long and
hard as you want at my life,

past or present.

There's nothing there
for you to chew on.

You sure?

When a man's bluffing,

he looks a guy
right in the eyes.

I look people in the eye because

I believe in myself.

And I like to connect with them.

Which is one of the things
I love about the Danes,

their warmth.

They have the most
delightful demeanor

and a wonderful word
to describe their state

of cozy well-being.

Hygge.

It's the contentment of feeling warm,
being warm.

Danes are hygge-like.

And in the time I will be
spending in their midst,

I plan to embrace
their way of life.

While you will remain here--

Cold, lonely,

self-obsessed,

and most assuredly
not hygge-like.

Fuck.

I didn't anticipate the carom.

But what did you pick up on him?

Not a goddamn thing.
I was fucking bluffing.

Next time you
bring me something,

make sure it's something.

You'll always be my guy, Wags.

But don't make me have to get
another guy that you report to.

Now, I said something to this kid,
Merle.

About the cost of these actions.

[clears throat]

And although I was merely
trying to influence him...

Fuck, Ira,
I was him at law school.

And if someone,
anyone had tried to warn me off

becoming who I did,
I'd have listened.

I was right there with you,
and I know exactly who you were,

the smartest and most
rigorous student in our class.

The only one who ever doubted you was you,
man.

And y-you wouldn't have listened

to any kind of warning

or bromide from anyone,
especially not some--

Some grizzled old pol?

Yeah, something like that.

You know, I always figured
I'd keep growing in a real way.

That the worst parts of
me would recede over time,

that I'd be able to will
myself forward to the better.

Oh, instead?

As 50 looms, you come to
see that those sub-optimal parts,

the bugs, as it were...

[chuckles] They aren't bugs.

No. Turns out, they are you.

Hmm. Might not be an age thing.

From the moment our
parents look at us a certain way,

it might all be set
in fucking stone.

You gotta deploy the
materials I gave you.

Nope.

I'm shredding these printouts.

And I need you to destroy
the original package

you put together.

[sighs] I won't.

And neither will you.

I'm glad to know
that you've changed.

In your heart.

But just... what if you
didn't tell your heart

what you were doing yet and
first you got out of this jam?

This kid is coming for you.

If he had a pistol,
would you let him shoot you?

No, you'd defend yourself

and then go about making amends.

Once you knew you
were still breathing.

Do the same here.

I know you better
than you know yourself.

And I know what you need.

So...

you take that and do
the thing you have to.

[sighs]

Yes?

What's he doing here?

He's part of it.

Part of?

Such a thing.

What is?

[exhales] A violation
of this scope,

given your history?

And to think I wouldn't have a
system in place to monitor you,

given said history.

[whispering] That's
downright insulting.

[clicks tongue] Such a thing.

All right. That's
quite enough of that.

Though, incredibly, he is right.

Why are you running
a search through

the employees' medical records?

Go.

Traditionally,
the scent hound gets

to tear at the
quarry at hunt's end.

Out.

It's nothing personal.
Just business.

I always liked you.

It's Chuck's father.

He's gonna die unless
he gets a kidney.

-So I thought I--
-You should have come to me.

Would you have let
me run the search?

No. But I'd have
saved you from that.

We haven't been
able to save each other

from much lately.

Since you're here,

let me try.

Mike Prince.

Let it go.

I sat with him, with Taylor.

He's not out to hurt you.

If he wasn't before, he is now.

Because he knows my intentions.

Let it go anyway. In the past,

when I have nudged, counseled,

warned you to lay off
against other opponents,

it's because you
were beating yourself.

Being rash, lacking focus,

becoming consumed
by your own rage.

But in this case,
it's something else.

He'll likely beat you.

I beat him in Yonkers.

Did you?

Or did he kinda let
you have that one?

This is a strange fucking pep talk,
Wend.

Because I'm not giving you one.

[scoffs]

Do you know how many
sports movies I've watched

over the last 20
years? All of them.

So believe me,
I know how to do 'em.

And I have the right
poll for this moment.

You think he's Tin Cup McAvoy,
and you're Don Johnson,

and you'll let the quirk in
his character defeat him,

but it might just be
the other way around.

Not gonna keep
putting balls in the drink.

That's what Roy thought, too.

But once guys like
you and him commit,

you'll keep hitting until
there are no more Pro V-Ones

-left in your golf bag.
-Right.

So what do you
suggest I do instead?

Figure out who or what

from your past
you're still furious at,

because that's where it
always really comes from,

and go hit that. Or
finally decide to let it go.

The past.

You're right.

It's always the fucking past.

Wags. In here, please.

Axe Capital!

We've been looking
to hit all of Prince's

current holdings and businesses,
right?

As was ordered. To create a dip

in the value of his portfolio

before the big feature

on him airs on The Hour.

Axe figured out we're
aiming at the wrong target.

We were with Prince.
And Prince said,

"You can look as long and
hard as you want in my life,

past and present.

There's nothing there
for you to chew on."

But no one said anything

about his past.

Axe picked up on his tell.

He's got a secret.

Fucking find it.

Hey. You know how
we had feelers out

on a half-dozen of
those shady companies

crying out for public execution?

-Yeah, Axe filled me in.
-We're like a fishing boat

with a bunch of
lines over the side.

And we got a tug.

It's called Plaintif-Full.

Good.

Chum the local press.
Wait for another bite,

then set the fucking hook.

[door opens]

Dean Walker is here.

I imagine she is.

[exhales]

Hm.

I had a visit from a young
man named Merle Howard

-a few hours ago.
-I see.

He wanted to throw
himself on the mercy

of the court, so to speak.

He told me of his
plans to blackmail you,

get you ousted,
and how you talked him out of it.

He literally said
he'd misjudged you

and wanted to
report himself to me

for an honor code violation.

I forgave him, of course.

And he asked that I'd
drop the entire matter.

-Really?
-Mm-hmm.

So I did some good. Ha!

Well, that is wonderful news.

Yet we live in an age
that doesn't give me

that opportunity to let it go.

If a student knows
something and tells me,

I have no choice
but to investigate it.

That picture of you, Chuck...

what it says about the whole
foundation of your career.

You have to know
there was context.

I was part of a movement

to push the Yale Corporation
to divest holdings--

You stole an election
for social justice?

Divestment itself
was in the balance?

I could make that case.

Against the Robertson
Wycoff I know?

Sounds like a reach.

Here's your
window. Closing fast.

[scoffs]

I guess I thought I
could make a difference

by winning that election.

So you have.

And I'm sure that picture
of you will never come out.

Merle kept it. Said
he was destroying it.

Well,
then is there a way we can consider

this a closed matter?

Not quite.

That's not the only
thing Merle told me.

He also mentioned a student
law clinic you put together.

He'd made his peace
with it. But from where I sit,

it sounds like a
goddamn hit squad.

I see.

Yale Law School
is the nation's finest

because we refuse to
compromise on our principles.

Even if the money came
from outside sources,

even if it was voluntary.

This is against school policy

and non-fucking-negotiable.

Then I step down.
[clicks tongue]

And you redirect
the money funding

the operation
back to my office--

No. We'll keep the bestowal.

And use it for the
good and fair purpose

for which it was
meant to be used.

But I accept your resignation

and I thank you for it.

You did do a good thing.

Two, really.

Merle Howard has
a chance to be a

productive member of society.

And Yale is now protected
from a mentor like you.

[door opens, closes]

[sighs]

Rough day?

Not my best.

But I did something.

I actually kept a promise to myself,
a good one.

So that's...

I guess the word is progress.

Hmm. So you feel great?

Oh, let's not get carried away.

Well,
maybe this will take it over the top.

I was researching some big,
juicy cases that would put

a halo over your head
and found a small article

in a local paper about
some neighborhood folks

that got fleeced
by a payday lender.

Company's called Plaintif-Full.

[scoffs] Are they as bad
as their name suggests?

Bad-faith operators. Predatory.

Well, I no longer need it.

But I am in the mood
to take someone down.

[scoffs]

Let's do it because
it's the right thing to do.

Refreshing.

Old school. Move fast on this.

You know it.

[door closes]

I got it.

When you said the past,

it jogged my memory of
an old Fortune article.

I used to read
'em on the crapper.

Is that the actual
one from the crapper?

No,
I pulled that one out of archives.

The story is about
Prince's deceased partner,

David Fells.

Now Prince sold off 40%
of his company years ago

to Microsoft,
back when Fells was still alive.

It was his first big
score. His first billion.

But he's always famously
refused to sell off the rest.

To give up control.

And?

And...

this might be a way
for you to wrest control

of his goddamn
company from within,

like a Guinea worm.

Because Fells's
founder's shares come with

ten to one voting rights.

You get those,

you can stage a boardroom coup.

I've been in touch
with Fells's next of kin,

his mother.

She's agreed to meet.

[smacks lips] And she's
no fan of Mike Prince.

-How do you know that?
-'Cause she said,

"I have just what you need
to torpedo Mike Prince."

She has the founder's shares
and the super voting rights.

What else could that mean?

Fuel up your jet?

You know it.

Bring her to me.

[Axe] Mrs. Fells...

Oh, Brenda.

Brenda.

I'm gonna to put this bluntly,
and I'm not

gonna bother negotiating.

I will back up an armored
car for your son's shares.

I-- I'm sorry,
I don't have them.

Uh-uh...

he sold them before he died,
to Michael Prince.

I shouldn't have come.

Well, ma'am, that is too bad.

But you knew this
before I flew you in.

And you didn't say don't, so...

That leads me to believe
it might be something else.

Oh,
I'm sure it's something else.

It's something I've known
and carried for years,

since my s-all right, look.

I signed an NDA.

Prince came to me years ago,
right after David was buried.

He gave me money
and he had me sign.

This is just you and me talking.

Whatever you tell me,
and if it's valuable,

and I use it,

I will cover any losses
or liabilities you face.

Only an idiot would
take your word

and not write this
up with lawyers.

Only an idiot would
make the offer.

[scoffs]

My son was brilliant,

but he was troubled.

He had trouble finding
his way through the world.

He didn't make friends easily.

And then he started in with
the drinking and the drugs.

Except for Michael Prince.

Those two spent thousands
of hours in my garage working.

You know,
Prince was like the forward face

of all my son's genius.

And then one day,
he stops by with

what seemed like a windfall,
$200,000.

He said he'd gotten
a licensing agreement

and that he would buy
David's piece of the company

to take the pressure off.

So David could chill out,
you know,

clean up, dry out.

He said that while the
first one didn't work,

they would start a new company

when David was strong again.

And-and to tip the scales,

he brought along
the check and tickets

to Rio for Carnival.

Michael's gonna join
him on the last day.

So David accepted, he went.

And then the Microsoft
deal was announced,

and the numbers were reported,
and Michael Prince had made...

wh-- uh a hundred times

what he'd paid David,
a thousand.

He knew the offer was coming.

Oh, he knew,
and he stalled it off

until he could
secure David's piece.

Made it look like a favor
and put him out in the cold.

I mean, do you know

what that does to a 25-year-old?

To lose out like that?

I mean,
to be stabbed in the back like that

by your best friend?

The drinking and using
went into overdrive.

He said he was
ready to come home.

But he didn't.

He-- he went dark.

And he wound up
dying a month later

in a single-car accident.

Michael Prince

built his fortune
on my son's grave.

[exhales]

I was supposed to--

by now I was supposed
to be done with my PhD

in economic
philosophy at U Chicago.

I'd have published
my dissertation.

But then Bobby Axelrod
put a promise of mentorship,

a meeting of the minds,
a kinship of ideas,

and a way of seeing the
markets I'd never felt before,

and so much money in
front of me that I just...

I never even
called the professor

I was supposed to go work with.

I just withdrew
from the program.

You wish you were at
the place fun goes to die

instead of making jillions

solving unsolvable
puzzles every day?

I never thought I
was the kind of person

who would be
tempted by all this.

And then I told myself that anyone,
everyone,

would lose a piece
of themselves for this.

It made me able
to justify what I did.

And then here I was.

And it was the perfect chance
to conduct an experiment,

a test case.

Part of you wants me to
make the escape you couldn't.

But the other part
wants me to stay.

To prove to you that no
one can resist the clarion call.

I'm on the wrong
side of our generation.

Even just the four
years between when Axe

put the choice to me, and now...

No, yeah, you're old. I'm not.

But I'm not sitting here
like I'm better than you.

Fuck. [scoffs]

You chose something
sturdy and real,

and where, like, you could land.

I'm still floating.

That's what I've been thinking
about since we last talked.

-How I'm caught between.
-Really?

I don't want to go work in
the Ford plant for 40 years

like a rivet head.

But knowing I'm
really in something?

[sighs]

Yeah, that seems good.

I'm gonna ditch the
catering company.

Good. But I can't let
you just go and do it

without warning you what
else you need to be ready for.

What else one gives
up to go on the journey.

Oh, so what else do you give up?

Nights, weekends, holidays.

Your world will become
a series of data sets,

line items on a P and L.

Everything broken
down into basis points.

And your victories
will not be the money,

the thing that
anybody can measure,

but the stuff they can't
begin to appreciate.

Looking beyond
what's quantifiable,

the subtle refinements,
the elegance of success.

I'll quit the catering company.

Then buy it. Turn it
over to my friends.

Nice gesture. They
won't appreciate it.

But at least you'll know you
did a good thing for them.

Your real friends,
few as they may be, will get it.

And the ones that don't,

don't have the capacity to be

the kind of friend you need.

So instead of friendship,

you have to use
work to fill the void?

I guess I do.

[sighs]

Thanks for this.

[Axe] Yeah, he was in town.

I figured he'd dig the work.

This is really good work, man.

[Tanner] Cool.

I dig yours.

Hey. You know,
maybe you want to commission one.

I spend most of my
money on guitars

-but I'm thinking about it.
-Yeah, good. Good.

Hey,
you want to come by my place tonight?

I'm having my team by
for a special viewing party.

Oh, no, thank you.

I-I don't ever really
feel comfortable around

the financial set, right?

Oh, yeah. [chuckles]

But there-- there
are some upsides.

Only thing that sounds
worse is hanging out

with record label executives.

Especially when
I'm trying to work.

I just want to do my thing.

I don't want to be
somebody's trick monkey.

Anyway,
thanks for showing me this stuff.

Really good.
Really inspirational.

Oh, thanks.

-Hey see you in a bit.
-Yeah.

["It's Good To Be King"
by Tom Petty plays]

-Okay.
-[light chatter]

[laughter]

Does the paint
get on your stuff?

Or do you like, add it?

Tuk,
you shouldn't bother the man.

He doesn't like small talk.

What-- what, uh,

what is it that
you're trying to ask?

I just dropped 10K
on this Gucci jacket

to wear out to clubs, but--

but now I'm thinking
if I splash some paint--

Oh, Tuk.

Yeah,
you really shouldn't do that.

You'll just ruin your jacket,
loser.

Exactly.

The artist thing works for
him because he's an artist.

[Dollar Bill] Get your own game,

like buying the girl
the $10,000 jacket.

Maybe you'll get
some gratitude points.

Oh, Tuk.

...of your own little town

Yeah, the world would swing

Oh, if I

Were king

Hi. I heard we had
to watch this thing.

My friends were going out

and I didn't know
where else to go really.

-Do you mind?
-[laptop chatter]

It's good to be king

And have your own way

Get a feeling of peace

At the end of the day

Mr. Ambassador,
your habiliments.

All right, everyone.

You are gonna like this.

He's a self-made billionaire,

an advocate for the
environment and our future,

a man who asks the tough
questions about inequality.

But to paraphrase Balzac,

behind every great fortune,

there is great cruelty.

And in the case of Mr. Prince,

exploitation and betrayal.

Over the next part of the hour,

we will explore a fortune stolen

and a legacy pilfered.

It's been hard.

It's been brutal, really,

to watch the world
celebrate this man

and know the truth about
what he did to my son,

which is steal from
him and destroy him.

You best hope you are
not Dollar Bill's mission,

because he will ride
you down like Tombstone.

[chuckling]

[chants] Dollar
Bill! Dollar Bill!

It helps to make friends

Anyone seen Tanner?

[all] No.

That fish? He went for the lure.

And he got hooked.

Fuck yeah!

Pick up the company
on the cheap.

Already done.

[grunts]

[cell phone chimes]

Pull Plaintif-Full's
corporate charter,

-their company by-laws.
-That is what

I'm elbow deep in right now.

Why would Axe care about buying
up a marginal shitbag operation

that after our takedown
has basically zero value?

What are we missing? What angle?

Not what angle, what asset.

The way they got away
with a bunch of their

unethical lending
is doing it in-house.

They have a bank charter.

They have a
fucking bank charter.

[sighs]

We just delivered Axe's bank.

Jenny said,
when she was just five years old

There was nothin'
happening at all

Every time she puts on the radio

There was nothin'
goin' down at all

Not at all

Then, one fine mornin' she
puts on a New York station

They know, she don't believe...

You disappeared. You
weren't answering your phone.

Don't talk!

Just saying hi.

Can I watch?

You can stay, you can leave,
you can do whatever.

You wanted pure?

This is pure as I got!

Make yourself a
drink if you want.

You just let me work.

Jenny said,
when she was just about five years old

"You know, my parents are
gonna be the death of us all"

Two TV sets and
two Cadillac cars

Well, you know,
ain't gonna help me at all

No, just your time do

Then, one fine morning she
turns on a New York station

She doesn't believe
what she hears at all

Ooh, she started dancin' to that

Fine, fine music

You know,
her life was saved by rock'n'roll