Author:
Simulacrum
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Date:
5/8/2017 10:01:40 AM
Subject:
Billions
I watch the Season 2 marathon of Billions yesterday on Show Time, and I liked it. The show doesn't do anything special. It's just well-crafted and interesting. The characters are flawed in believable ways, and I like the Machiavellian power plays. The plot moves along at a tolerable pace, reversals and twists aren't stupid, and you can buy into motivations.
The best thing about the show is that they don't rely on shock value or gratuitous silliness. It's a smart PG-13 drama that justifies its serial format and stays away from kink, F-bombs, and the rampant carnography other shows use to keep the audience interested. This series uses good writing and trusts its audience to appreciate the cat-and-mouse warfare between a U.S. Attorney and a hedge fund mogul. Their moves are clever, but the fallout always damages those nearest and dearest to them. The writers know their Senecan revenge-tragedy conventions.
The cast is strong, though I would have cast other people for the lead roles. I don't care much for Paul Giamatti or Damien Lewis. Lewis is too "feature actor" and rat-like, and I've never liked Giamatti in anything except the 2008 John Adams series. Everybody else is good.
4/5 simolians
