YumTime is the name of the third episode of the Season 1 of Billions. The episode was written by Willie Reale and directed by Scott Hornbacher.
Plot Summary[]
Chuck discovers that while he pursued Steven Birch, the rival Eastern District has made inroads in the Axe case and that he needs to get it back. Axe makes an activist play for a family-owned bakery corporation - a move reverberates back to Chuck by way of a very personal connection. Meanwhile, Wendy is thrown into a moral dilemma during a confidential session. And Lara Axelrod tries to protect her husband's reputation from a potentially damaging "tell all" book.
Plot[]
June Raichlein, the widow who criticized Lara & Axe during their memorial fund meeting, is having sex with the publisher of Goose Quill. There is a purpose behind bedding this old man though, as June has just completed a literary work and Goose is a publisher. "9-12: The Day After", is a nearly 300-page memoir about her life focusing especially on how she pushed forward after the tragic death of her husband in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack. Goose confirms with June, after their session is over, that he is going to make her a best-seller and that the publicity launch of her book will happen this week.
Bobby and Ben Kim meetup early in the morning at the Axelrod residence. Axe and Kim share a YumTime snack and the two agree that the flavor is rather awful and not how they remember it from their childhood. Axe can't even finish his and shares with Ben that this will be a problem as he owns a significant amount of YumTime. And its not just physical inventory, Axe will soon own 4.9% shares of the companies stock.
While Chuck walks his dog and picks a fight with a man refusing to pick up after his own dog's poo, Bryan and Terri awaken from their own night of passion to a phone call. The call was to inform Terri that a hedge fund criminal from Greenwich, guilty of securities and wire fraud, will flip on his own boss to give the Attorney General in the NY Eastern District a bigger fish by the name of Pete Decker, one of the men connected to Bobby Axelrod. Bryan shares this news with Chuck, and the two agree that if Decker in turn is caught and flipped, then the Eastern District will be the ones to catch Bobby Axelrod. Chuck ends the call with the realization that this must be more of Ari Spyros' work. Before leaving the park, Chuck intimidates the dog walker, who always leaves his own dog's poo laying around and never carries any poo bags, to pick up the dog turds with his own hands. The dog walker is disgusted, but Chuck remains firm, and the dog walker ends up doing it.
Wendy and Wags have a session where they discuss power dynamics in both sex and in life. Wendy presses that this conversation is about Maria Saldana for Wags, and Wags admits that it is. He says that Maria threatened to leave if she didn't get better compensation and that he had to capitulate. Wendy questions if Wags is uncomfortable because Maria is a woman, but Wags says it was the way Maria chose to handle the matter that bothers him. He agrees she is worth keeping, but that it proves she is not loyal, and that if any man did what she did he would feel the same way. Wags reveals to Wendy that his plan is to keep Maria on for two more years, to make her miserable and reduce her portfolio before ultimately firing her so as to set an example for the others.
Lara runs into June and Lilly at the gym and learns of June's book. While June leaves quickly, Lara, on a hunch, places a call to acquire a copy of the book before it is released. Meanwhile Donnie Caan and Axe have a meeting. Though Donnie continues to appear off his game, Axe chooses to increase Donnie's access to the firms' funds. More money to play with effectively means a larger salary for Donnie and his family, and so Donnie is very appreciative. Axe directs Donnie to purchase 200,000 shares of Rubinex and makes it clear that even though its a much larger trade then what Donnie is used to, it's a sure thing.
Chuck offers to exchange cases to Amelia, the Attorney General at the Eastern District, in the hopes that he can be the one to build the case against Axelrod. Amelia is offended that Chuck attempts to low ball her and hangs up. Kate makes note of the chemistry between Bryan and Tara and offers to provide investigative assistance in the Decker matter.
Wags and Bobby have a sit down with Evelyn Benson and Sherm, two of the senior board members of YumTime, and demand a seat at the table and a say in management decisions. Wags shares that they are aware company profits have declined 8 years in a row while executive compensation is up 300%. He makes it clear that if they don't get what they want, this information will go public and they will be forced out. After Wags finishes up with the stick, Bobby goes in with the carrot and offers up that he knows how to turn things around and it will be to the benefit of all involved, except for Hutch that is. Evelyn and Sherm make it clear that YumTime belongs to the Bailey Family, who founded the company, and that they cannot and will not unseat Hutch Bailey the Third. Moreover, since their Chairman Jerome Purkheiser sees Hutch like a son, their plan is likely to fail.
While Wags and Axe believe their attempt was unsuccessful, it did scare Evelyn enough to reach out to Chuck Sr., the man who granted her the board member seat at YumTime and her lover. Chuck Sr. comes to the conclusion that Axe must be making this play to hurt his son as payback for opening a case file on Axe Capital. He advises Evelyn to "persuade" Jerome to not depose Hutch in case Axe decides to call her bluff and lobby the Chairman.
Chuck orders Lonnie Watley to give his Statue of Liberty bombing case to the Eastern District. Lonnie is angered that he will lose two years of work and will receive little to no credit, but Chuck assures him he will make it up to him and that its necessary for their Axelrod case. Lonnie agrees to go along with it and Chuck calls Amelia who agrees to the trade. Much to Chuck's distaste, this will also mean that Spyros will be returning to work with Chuck in the Southern District as he is tied to the case.
Lara has a sit down with Orrin Bach and provides a copy of June's manuscript. Orrin agrees with Lara's assessment that it does not paint Bobby in a positive light, but is uncertain that he can bring a defamation suit as the bulk of what is written about Axe is true. Lara defends her husbands actions but Orrin makes it clear that the public will not see things her way. He offers three options; counter-attack after the book is published, purchase the publisher, thereby seizing ownership of June's book, or to have a meeting with June wherein Orrin will attempt to reason with her. Lara is not confident any of these options will work, so she chooses to play hardball instead.
Bryan and Tara lead the arrest on Decker and bring him to Chuck and Spyros. Chuck makes it clear to Decker that his only option is to flip on Axelrod if he wants to be a free man, but Decker refuses. At the same time, Axe and Jerome meet at the pizzeria and discuss YumTime's future. Jerome states the company is now public and thus beholden to meeting quarterly earning projections for shareholders. Bobby shares that the pizza they are eating is delicious only because Bruno still makes it the same way as he did in Axe's childhood. Axe stresses that YumTime sacrificing quality ingredients will be its downfall and that overall the management is too short sighted with Hutch at the helm.
At the next YumTime board meeting, Axe and Hutch face-off. Axe introduces simple terms, that the company should return to the old ingredients and will see their profits soar. Hutch accuses Axe of being a carpetbagger, saying he is only interested in pumping and dumping the company to line his own pockets. June argues against Axe, saying that sugar is far more expensive then corn syrup and will destroy their profits, but Axe counters that they can makeup the difference by streamlining inefficiencies in the company and trimming "bloated" executive compensation and company perks, such as the corporate jet. Chairman Jerome puts forth a motion to remove Hutch as CEO, and much to the shock of Evelyn and Hutch, the motion passes. Immediately after, Jerome pushes another motion to dismiss Evelyn so that Bobby Axelrod may assume her seat on the board. Evelyn is furious at this betrayal, but Jerome assures her that if she doesn't put up a fight, she will get to glowing letter from the board to use at her job interviews. The motion passes and Evelyn storms off same as Hutch.
Wendy and Maria Saldana have another session where Maria thanks Wendy for pushing her to get what she believes she was worth. Maria explains the other offer from Zenobia and that what ultimately made her decide to stay with Axe Capital was how Wags was so respectful to her. Wendy, perhaps feeling guilty or out of disgust in Wags, steers the session in a way where Maria realizes that to achieve "a better version" of herself, she should take the Zenobia offer instead. Maria cleans out her office, much to Wags disappointment.
Chuck Sr. discusses with his son Axelrod's recent play with YumTime and how it has cost him $200,000. He questions what his son will do about it, but Chuck says its all legal and he refuses to act in vengeance in the name of family. After regrouping in his office, Kate shares that Decker is handling his parents retirement fund, and that its 8-figures thanks to Decker's trading. Bryan is hesitant to pursue the parents, advising that if they are innocent in all this, it would be in poor taste, but Chuck says they must seize all opportunities. In recognition of how helpful Kate has been recently, Chuck officially brings her into their fold and orders her to drop her boring "internet cases", which Kate is more then happy to do.
June experiences one of the worst days of her life; she see's her funds dry up and is publicly embarrassed when both her gym and country club membership are cancelled. After finding out her son lost his spot at Stanford, despite strong grades and being a legacy candidate, she has a meltdown and curses Lara's name. Regaining her composure, she meets with Lara at the Axe residence with a "revised" version of her memoir and provides it to Lara for her feedback. Lara has June sign a non-disclosure agreement, which she has already prepared. When leaving, Lara lets June know that there was some type of error in her sons application and that she should receive a call soon confirming his admittance to Stanford. June thanks Lara and leaves.
Wendy and Chuck put a hold on any romance as Chuck confesses, despite saying the opposite to Chuck Sr. earlier, that he has his father on in his mind and is upset with how Axe attacked the man to get under his skin. Wendy uses the break time to call Maria and offers to give $250,000 to trade for Wendy. Maria says she promised Axe Capital that she wouldn't poach any of their money, but Wendy assures her that it will be their secret, and Maria agrees to do it. Axe and Lara have no trouble getting in the mood as the two decide to celebrate in the bedroom for what they accomplished in the day.
The following day, at a little league baseball game, Chuck meets with Decker. Decker is upset that he came to bother him, but Chuck assures him that he is here for his parents, who are watching their grandchildren play, and makes note of the numerous people he has on standby waiting to make the arrest. Since Decker's parents retirement fund benefited from the Pepsum Pharmaceuticals insider trade, they will be collateral damage due to Decker's choices. Decker understands what he must do, and yields to Chuck, agreeing to come in after the weekend to give Chuck what he wants.
Chuck basks in the glory of victory as he walks his dog. He crosses path with the dog walker from earlier, who can now be seen carrying poo bags, and the two nod at one another.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades
- Damian Lewis as Bobby Axelrod
- Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades
- Malin Åkerman as Lara Axelrod
- Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty
- David Costabile as Mike Wagner
- Condola Rashad as Kate Sacker
Guest Starring[]
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Chuck Rhoades, Sr.
- Scott Cohen as Pete Decker
- Susan Misner as Terri McCue
- Glenn Fleshler as Orrin Bach
- Melissa Errico as June Raichlein
- Stephen Kunken as Ari Spyros
- Tamara Tunie as Amelia
- David Cromer as Donnie Caan
- Annapurna Sriram as Tara Mohr
- Kate Arrington as Saldana
- Louisa Krause as Lu
- Austin Pendleton as Goose Quill
- Jeremy Bobb as Hutch Bailey III
- Kate Jennings Grant as Evelyn Benson
- John Henry Cox as Jerry Purkheiser
- Arthur Nascarella as Bruno Capparelo
- Mark Gessner as Jacobsen
- Catherine A. Callahan as Lilly Smith
Crew[]
- Created by & Executive Producers: Brian Koppelman, David Levien & Andrew Ross Sorkin
- Casting by: Allison Estrin
- Music by: Eskmo
- Edited by: Naomi Geraghty
- Production Designer: Michael Shaw
- Director of Photography: Jake Polonsky
- Consulting Producer: Peter K. Blake
- Co-Producer: Wes Jones
- Producers: Perri Kipperman & Heidi Schreck
- Co-Executive Producer & Written by: Willie Reale
- Co-Executive Producer: Amy Kaufman
- Directed by: Scott Hornbacher
| v - e - dSeason 1 |
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| Pilot • Naming Rights • YumTime • Short Squeeze • The Good Life • The Deal • The Punch • Boasts and Rails • Where the F*** is Donnie? • Quality of Life • Magical Thinking • The Conversation |