'Billions' Season 5 Preview: It's about time Bobby Axelrod gets a ruthless woman like Lara in his life
'Billions' fans will understand when we say why it is hard to dislike a character like Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). Brash, arrogant, ruthless, meticulous, genius and well, he's just filthy rich. It is fair to say a major chunk of the pilot episode of 'Billions' in 2016 was to showcase the man Bobby f*****g Axelrod was. For those who remember Wendy Rhoades' (Maggie Siff) description of Axe to Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti)— 'The man's an enigma. And nobody could think like him'.
Not to mention the fact that in Lara Axelrod (Malin Åkerman), the wife of this devious billionaire, there was a self-taught, equally ruthless, stylish and aggressive woman who was a perfect foil. The tough but the sexy lady from Inwood oozed badassery since her introduction and mirrored Axe in many ways.
A classic example of her way of getting things done is when June Raichlein (Melissa Errico), the widow of Rake Raichlen, one of Axe's partners at the hedge fund that he worked at prior to Axe Capital, writes a book and one of the chapters is on Axe that would put him in a bad light and legal trouble. Lara's mission sees her ruin June's world— a cancelled registration from her Barre class, tee time in a spot and her son's college admission to Stanford declined. She strips June of her sanity with some evil but genius moves.
That said, Lara wasn't a yes-woman to Axe. Their war room discussions are another proof of how they strategized to bring competition down. She wasn't Axe's super-ego, but what she was, was a level-headed woman with just as much stake in Axe Capital. It was a defining moment for Axe when he's caught in a crime that is equivalent to cheating— Lying. He lies. It may have led to the power couple calling it quits, but there's still that ice-cold ruthlessness left in the woman.
In the finale of Season 2, 'Ball in Hand', Axe reveals to Lara that he's about to get arrested. Her response is calculative, measured and even: "I know we talked about this. We prepared for this. But I’m not running with you. And neither are the kids. It’s not fair to them. So you do what you gotta do, but we’re staying." If anything, this was a statement. Next up she's attempting to keep her own amassed wealth while Axe is set to go behind bars.
"Are there things I can do today to protect myself? Would I be wise to consider extreme measures? Separation? Divorce?" she asks layer Orrin Bach (Glenn Fleshler). And you thought Axe was a mastermind and a cold-hearted b****rd. It is a pity that after Åkerman's exit from the show, there really isn't a character who could match up to be as ruthless as Lara was. While there was a filler in Rebbeca (Nina Arianda), she wasn't close to being what Lara was and for that matter for all the platonic romance between Wendy and Axe, it's doesn't come close to the character Lara was.
Will 'Billions' Season 5 see somebody complement Axe just like Lara did? With the whole morale-boosting win over Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), it does seem the man has got his mojo and this edge back. What he needs is a Lara by his side.
'Billions' Season 5 debuts May 3, 9 pm ET on Showtime.
