'Black Monday' Season 1 Episode 2: Mo's true motives for befriending Blair laid bare

Showtime's take on the historically disastrous stock market crash of the 1980s aired way ahead of its premiere date, and certainly, the audience is not disappointed. Based on the true incidents that led to the stock market crash of 1987, the Don Cheadle (Maurice Monroe or Mo), Andrew Rannells (as Blair Pfaff), and Regina Hall (as Dawn Darcy) starring 'Black Monday' takes a look at the group of outcasts who take Wall Street by storm just a few years before it crashed. Coming from writers Jordan Cahan and David Caspe, and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the first episode which had an early premiere on December 28, left us with some extremely convoluted characters and a raging stock market. 

Picking up from where Episode 1 had left off, the promo trailer from Showtime suggests that the second episode will look into Mo's deep-rooted intention behind befriending Blair. The secret was already revealed towards the end of the first episode, where Blair turned out to be the fiance of the heiress to a company that Mo wants his firm to invest in. While the company, which is popular for its denim jeans, has been avoiding any kind of investments from Mo's firms, Cheadle's character is just as arrogant as any broker at the stock market. Clad in silk suits with cocaine hidden in his pockets, Mo chalks out just the perfect plan to convince Blair that he was solely recruited for his skills, and a little bit of his empathy.

However, episode 2 might turn all of that around. We hear Mo explaining to Darcy that he would like to maintain a father-son relationship with Blair so that he "can get close enough to stab him in the back." The scene immediately shifts to an almost bathetic moment where Blair is seen asking if people are not tired of being so corrupted all the time. The two characters were already established to act as each other's foils but with the revelation in episode 2, it seems like their relationship is about to take an extremely anticlimactic turn. Blair is a man who is honest about his job and wants to marry the woman he loves, but Mo is someone who is more about the bigger picture than the trivialities of everyday life. 

The promo for the second episode also suggests a side to Darcy which only flickered in through the first episode. Unlike her co-workers, Darcy has some sympathy for Blair and she immediately snaps at Mo when he talks about backstabbing the new guy. Darcy is just as ruthless as the men around her, but her mature sensibility will probably come into focus in the second episode, where she seems to be completely at odds with Mo. 'Black Monday' series is set to premiere on January 20, and the second episode will follow on January 27, on Showtime. 

Watch the promo clip below: