Pilot

**Pilot** is the name of the first episode of the Season 1 of *Billions*. The episode was written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin and directed by Neil Burger.

## Plot Summary

Charles "Chuck" Rhoades, Jr., a powerful U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is tipped to a case of insider trading with links to billionaire hedge fund king Robert "Bobby" Axelrod. While it could be a career-defining case for Chuck, he must tread carefully, because his wife, Wendy, is the in-house performance coach at Axe Capital and Axe's key confidante. But a costly purchase by Axe gives Chuck the opening he needs, setting off a cat and mouse game where the stakes are high and intensely personal.

## Plot

Chuck enters the office to find Ari Spyros of the S.E.C. showing evidence of an insider trading case involving Pepsum Pharmaceuticals. The main benefactors of these trades are all loosely linked to Bobby Axelrod.

After partnering up with Bruno to become co-owner of Capparello's Pizzeria, his favorite childhood hangout, Bobby hosts a meeting with the families of his former partners. On 9/11, the hedge fund saw the death of all its employees, save for Bobby Axelrod, who took it upon himself to lead the organization, eventually converting it into Axe Capital, and provide salaries and tuition to all the affected families.

Though he recognizes that Bobby is dirty, Chuck is hesitant to pursue Axelrod as he carries a persona of being "the peoples champion" and has made significant donations to New York's firefighters and police organizations. Chuck shares with Bryan Connerty the wisdom of waiting for the right moment before "sticking it to the bull".

Lara takes aside June Raichlein, one of the 9/11 widows, for making a scene during Bobby's meeting where she calls out Bobby for not doing more for them. While Bobby handles it well during the meeting, Lara threatens her afterwards that should she attempt to bad-mouth Bobby again, she will find herself with no support from them.

Kate informs both Chuck and Bryan that the "Norton Place", a home valued at 83 million dollars is up for sale, and Bobby Axelrod has his sights on it. Chuck and Bryan note that such a purchase would tarnish Bobby's image as the people of NY would not think kindly of such an egregious purchase.

Chuck brings up the idea to Wendy of becoming the head of HR at General Electric. Wendy rebuffs the notion and the two argue. Chuck confesses that if he brings up a lawsuit against Bobby Axelrod, that there may be a conflict of interest given her employment as Axe Capital's personal psychiatrist.

Chuck Sr. attempts to provide a more lenient punishment for Skip Wolkowski by speaking to his son Chuck. Chuck refuses as Skip is guilty of insider trading and believes that criminals who engage in these types of activities are too often allowed to pay their way out of any consequences. Chuck also states to his father that its insulting he attempted to affect his decision.

During his son's basketball game, Bobby is approached by Dollar Bill and Pouch regarding their position on Superior. Dollar Bill, who bribed a warehouse employee for access to inventory, shares with the group that he is confident Superior produced too many aluminum wheels and the stock will dip as there is too much merchandise to move. Bobby agrees with Dollar Bill.

At a press conference, Chuck declares a triumph on the Latin Kings, having made numerous arrests and seizing 400 kilos of drugs. A reporter from The Financial Journal, Mike Dimonda, challenges Chuck on being too soft on financial crimes. Chuck brings up how tough he was on Skip and others, but the reporter states it's not enough and calls into question if the reason is that his wife works for Axe Capital, one of the largest hedge funds in NY. The attack having gotten under Chuck's skin, he tells Bryan to speak to Axe's lawyer Orrin, and advise him to tell Axe not to purchase the Norton Place. Afterwards, Chuck calls Spyros and threatens him for sending the reporter to manipulate him.

Danny Margolis pays a visit to Bobby and attempts to make an insider trade pitch, but Bobby recognizes the signs of a nervous man and sends Danny packing. Bobby calls Hall, who confirms that it seems Danny has been pinched by the S.E.C and was wearing a wire. He advises Bobby to save himself by sacrificing someone else. Bobby agrees and decides to setup a meeting with Mike Dimonda. He feeds the reporter the information Hall gave him, and advises the reporter to look into Steven Birch and the trade on Arcadian Railroad.

At the Delivering Alpha Conference, Steven Birch and Bobby Axelrod share the stage and take part in a Q&A. Chuck and Axe meet face to face and throw verbal jabs at one another. Chuck tells Axe he doesn't have the balls to actually buy the Norton Place as its a far too dangerous move. Axe questions if Chuck has the courage to go after him and blemish his "perfect conviction record".

Wags calls Axe and informs him that someone else is making a play for the Norton Place at $62 million. Axe, upon seeing his neutered dog and the animals sad state, makes a split second decision, informing Wags to make a counteroffer for $63 million in cash up front.

Mike calls Chuck for comment on Skip's suicide, but Chuck answers no comment. In front of his staff, Chuck double-downs on his decision and says that its important they convict white collar criminals with the same severity they would a petty drug dealer. After the meeting, Bryan shows Chuck the front page of the New York Post, which confirms Bobby Axelrod's purchase of the Norton Place.

Hall calls Axe and informs him that Chuck has opened a case file on him and that it could eventually lead to prosecution.

## Cast

### Starring

* Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades
* Damian Lewis as Bobby Axelrod
* Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades
* Malin Åkerman as Lara Axelrod
* Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty
* David Costabile as Mike Wagner
* Condola Rashad as Kate Sacker

### Guest Starring

* Jeffrey DeMunn as Chuck Rhoades, Sr.
* Terry Kinney as Hall
* Glenn Fleshler as Orrin Bach
* Stephen Kunken as Ari Spyros
* Nathan Darrow as Mick Danzig
* Arthur J. Nascarella as Bruno Capparelo
* Deborah Rush as Ellen Rhoades
* Melissa Errico as June Raichlein
* Danny Mastrogiorgio as Eric Isaacson
* Robert LuPone as Skip Wolkowska
* Jerry O'Connell as Steven Birch
* Christopher Paul Richards as Dean Axelrod
* Jack Gore as Gordie Axelrod

## Crew

* Directed by & Executive Producer: Neil Burger
* Written & Created by & Executive Producers: Brian Koppelman, David Levien 6 Andrew Ross Sorkin
* Produced by: Marcus Viscidi & Perri Kipperman
* Associate Producer: Mike Harrop
* Director of Photography: Eric Steelberg
* Production Designer: Michael Shaw
* Edited by: Naomi Geraghty
* Music by: Eskmo
* Casting by: Avy Kaufman (Jon Goracy & Leeba Zakharov)

## Trivia

* The pilot reunites director Neil Burger with Giamatti, who worked together on *The Illusionist*.
* Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) says to Bobby Axelrod, "There's a saying in baseball: towns fire managers. Owners just give them the bad news." Paul Giamatti's father, Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti, was commissioner of Major League Baseball from April 1989 until his death in September 1989. Although his tenure as commissioner was brief, he was commissioner during the most famous dismissal of a manager in baseball history: the decision to render Pete Rose as "permanently ineligible" from baseball because he was found to have bet on Major League games. In 2018, Paul Giamatti told the New York Times that, unlike his father, he actually doesn't care that much about baseball: "I'm not a big sports fan, but I like sports movies."

## Quotes

* Bobby Axelrod: What's the point of having f\*\*\* you money if you never say f\*\*\* you?
* Chuck Rhoades: A good matador doesn't kill a fresh bull. You wait until he's been stuck a few times.