Billions season 5: Bosses on Axe, Chuck, Taylor struggle to come

Tonight’s Billions season 4 finale set the table for season 5, though a more appropriate metaphor may be suiting up some warriors for battle. After spending some of the season on the same page, Axe and Chuck are readying their suits of armor once more. Meanwhile, Taylor seems content with waiting a few moments before grabbing their spear and charging in. They’re willing to let the two take each other on so that they can take on whoever is vulnerable and weak.

So did the writers always know that season 4 would end with this battle setup? Hardly — though it was considered in an inevitability that we’d get to this point. Speaking via Entertainment Weekly, executive producer David Levien noted that there was an eventual plan to bring the two characters to this place:

When we thought of bringing them together, we didn’t know exactly when they would start to be at odds again, but we just knew two men with these qualities, this alpha-dog mentality, that a peace and alliance could never last forever.

Now, the sparks are turning into flames — and how worried should they be about Taylor? That’s something fellow EP Brian Koppelman discusses:

What you get with Taylor is someone who is as smart, clear-eyed, lucid as the other two, and every bit as good at game theory and understanding power dynamics, with a different emotional toolkit than them. So it makes Taylor an incredibly formidable opponent.

Season 5 will be a bloodbath; even if you don’t see it, there’s gotta be a metaphorical brainbleed somewhere.

Who shall come out on top?

How about this for a novel prediction? None of them. Billions isn’t quite set up to be a show where the powerful are meant to be victorious. We enjoy watching Chuck and Axe, for example, but that doesn’t mean we want to be friends with them. We wouldn’t be shocked if all three end up imploding before the series comes to a close and eventually, someone new and equally power-hungry comes in and takes their place. we just don’t think this is a world populated with the kind and virtuous. It’s instead one where the greedy tend to rule the day and it’s a cycle — take over, be powerful, and intimidate others until you’re gone. Then, someone else cycles in.

We don’t view Billions as some sort of morality play — that’s not where this theory comes from. It’s just reality, and reality is that people in this world often go hard and burn out … though you do also have a few others who manage to accumulate billions (hence the titles) and keep the sharks at bay for long enough to keep them.

Did you read our review for the finale?

If not, check out the link here! Also, we suggest sharing your expectations for Billions season 5 in the comments. (Photo: Showtime.)