'Billions' Season 5 Episode 4: Who is Catherine Brant and is a romance brewing between her and Chuck Rhoades?
Spoilers for 'Billions' Season 5 Episode 4 'Opportunity Zone'
A sweet surprise lurks in the corner as you tune into the latest episode of ‘Billions’ and catch sight of the phenomenal actress, Julianna Margulies. Known for flamboyant cameos, the Showtime series had been teasing the ‘Good Wife’ star's juicy role for a long time now. And when she finally came on board, the 53-year-old sparkled on screen.
In ‘Opportunity Zone’, Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) starts a new curve in his career as an Ivy League professor. As he enters, his eyes lock with Brant and there is a crackling connection. When he says he's read her book ‘The O Gap’, she asks, “Was it helpful?” and he shudders to answer. “Why is it that when I ask men, that's the reaction I get? Women just give me hugs of thanks,” she snaps back but Chuck is quick to retort, “are you asking for a hug?”, catching her off-guard.
She stumps him again when she mentions his speech and it's his turn to ask, “Was it helpful?” Pat comes the answer, “Yes! See how easy that is.” The introductory scene itself brings a smile across your face and fills your mind with the question: Who really is Catherine Brant? An Ivy League sociology professor and best-selling author, she comes with an “ask". She wants him to come to his class and ask some questions. At first, Chuck refuses but when she helps him get his strict teaching strategy to students on the first day, he fulfills her wish and there begins a new friendship, a partnership — or should we say a potential romantic liaison? The sparks are flying and Chuck is single after the divorce debacle with Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff). So why wouldn't he start an affair? Oh, and Catherine is as charming as one can be, especially in the way she supports Chuck and lifts his spirits on the very first day.
Tight-lipped about the character development, creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien don't say much other than that “her story and Chuck's (Paul Giamatti) intertwine a bit” in an Entertainment Weekly interview. Koppelman adds, “She's written a bestselling book in the area of sex and sociology, she’s sex-positive, she has a clear point of view on where feminism sits and where she sits in modern feminism, and she’s a brilliant person. Sitting with Julianna just let us know that she would be able to sink her teeth into this kind of character. It’s not that she and the character are similar, it’s that we felt like she would understand this character’s journey.”
Slipping a few more details, Margulies reveals she could give time for four episodes and adds, "I play a sociology professor at Yale who has written this one book that was a New York Times No. 1 bestseller a few months in a row and changed peoples’ lives, so she’s a little bit of a hotshot in her field. It was a fun character to dive into. And all of my scenes were with Paul Giamatti, someone I’ve been dying to work with since I saw him in Sideways, so I was thrilled.”
Talking about her dynamic with Giamatti and calling him a “consummate actor”, she says, "He’s actually an actor who works very much like I do, in that I love to run lines until we know them inside and out. He loves doing that, so there’s a real kismet going on set that’s just easy and gentle and it doesn’t feel like I’m breaking my back. I’m just having a really good time."
Delving deeper into her character, she says, "I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you that she’s sort of the conduit for Chuck Rhoades finding another side of himself. And I think it’s because she comes from a place of complete non-judgment, nothing fazes her; she’s been studying his kind of behavior all of her life, she teaches it at school, and she’s a scholar." She adds, "So she isn’t deterred by his behavior, which he finds that quite enlightening. So I think you’re going to be able to see a different side of Chuck Rhoades as he’s discovering himself outside of what he’s always thought he needed."
After watching the episode, fans are convinced she is his love interest. "Has Chuck got a Wendy replacement?... Even though Wendy can never be replaced EVER!!!.... let’s see where it goes with Catherine," one said and another posted, "Julianna Margulies is such a great love interest for Chuck. Both age and intellectually appropriate. #Billions." One fan tweeted, "Julianna Margulies character is like Wendy 2.0 to Chuck lol." Another wrote, "Chuck's gonna fall for Julianna Margulies. I can already tell.... #Billions." As more episodes roll out, it will be interesting to see where her character goes and whether she can be a replacement to Wendy in Chuck's life.
