‘Billions’ Season 5: Why Bobby Axelrod's beloved right-hand man Wags deserves a lover
Squeeze some financial finesse along with a spoon of sadistic tendencies, a pinch of humor, two drops of cynicism and add in over five buckets of loyalty and there, you've got your man — Mike “Wags” Wagner (David Costabile).
Back with a bonanza, ‘Billions’ brings the big bucks into the wheels of fortune. As the season begins, the spotlight may be on Bobby F**king Axelrod (Damian Lewis) or Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) or even, the new business tycoon in town, Michael Prince (Corey Stoll) — but the heart of the show belongs to Wags, the COO of Axe Capital! Like one Reddit fan says, “Axe says ‘do this’ and Wags gets it done. He’s consigliere, he’s the fixer, and he’s the enforcer. All in one.”
Ever since the show started, Wags has been Axe's beloved right-hand man. A self-proclaimed drug addict and a sex addict who needs cocaine to focus, he's the guy you could always hang out with, but never take home. Oh, and he has the best lines! Remember when he said, “Your ego just wrote a check your body can't cash,” or “You see an opportunity like that again, you grab it like it's a horse c**k and you're Catherine the Great.”
Take the latest episode ‘The Chris Rock Test’, where he says at the drop of a hat:
Axe: Wags, you ever get tired of working for a living?
Wags: Every damn day. But I've got a nasty addiction called money, so I do what I do.
Coming to this week's episode, there is a major shocker where Wags’s face turns white as a sheet at a strip club. He sees a young lady and confesses to Bobby that he failed The Chris Rock Test. The pole dancer with the stage name is Brandi (Kelsey Lea Jones), but her real name is Mandy and she is Wags’s daughter.
Wait, what? Confused? So, are we. To seek some comfort, Wags awkwardly hugs Bobby. But it makes one wonder, doesn't Wags deserve a life of his own? Doesn't he deserve to have a lover? It's been so long that Wags has been at every beck and call of Bobby and don't get us wrong, he does it by choice and takes pride in what he does. Oh, and of course, every now and then, he knows how to charm the ladies for a booty call. But it's time for him to find someone he truly would want to spend his life with, isn't it?
Five seasons of ‘Billions’ have passed and Wags hasn't had a real connection with anyone else. So much so, that it makes you wonder, will he ever be as close to anyone else than Axe? Even at the beginning of season five, Wags is on a soul-searching motorcycle road-trip with Axe. But as more episodes roll out, it is time for him to slow down with a lover on his arms, isn't it?
Only time will tell if such a day does come. For now, we can safely say, fans are not letting go of their love for Wags anytime soon. “I like Wags. He's like that guy in your group who has it all together and is successful and insightful, yet does more drugs and commits more debauchery than any junkie you know. Every sesh, he gains further insight into his own life,” one posted and another said, “He is the ultimate nihilist whose self-directed purpose in life is to toy with the universe around him to get shit done. Pleasure is his vice, his leverage (the Vaportini scene, the Ortolan scene) and his strength.”
“Everyone needs a right-hand man like Wags!” one fan wrote and another said, “How did Wags drop the ball that hard? Was there no trust fund? Did you not learn about your kid until that moment? The horror!!”
If you haven't watched the latest episode yet, catch it on Showtime App or Showtime after it premieres Sundays at 9 pm ET.
