Tonight on Showtime the show Billions airs with an all new Sunday February 7, season 1 episode 4 called “Short Squeeze” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, Axe (Damian Lewis) deals with a betrayal.
On the last episode, Axe made an activist play in a move that reverberated back to Chuck. Axe and Donny promised Wags that they’d help him out with a big start. Axe ended up meeting up with the Yumtime board. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the Showtime synopsis, “Axe deals with a betrayal; Chuck learns the inner workings of Axe Capital.”
Tonight’s Shameless season 1 episode 4 is going to be great, and you won’t want to miss it. So be sure to tune in for our live coverage of Billions— tonight at 11 PM EST! While you wait for our recap, hit the comments down below and let us know how excited you are about the new show of the Billions, what are your thoughts on the show so far?
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#Billions begins in Greenwich CT after 4 am. A drunk guy shoots at deer in his yard with an automatic rifle. It’s one of Axe’s employees. The cops show up to arrest him. Axe gets a call and gets out of bed. He has Hall with him. Hall gets out and shakes hands with the cops.
The guy gets into the car with Axe. He asks what’s going on and he says he’s blowing steam. Axe asks why he’s doing this. He sighs and says he had a few drinks and watched the Yankees lose then there was nothing. They chat.
Wendy drops Chuck off at work and spots Pete Decker going inside but Chuck lies and says he didn’t see it. He gets out of the car. Axe tells his guy to keep it together and don’t ever let this happen again. Decker meets with Bryan and Chuck about his deal.
Bryan says he has to tell them everything to get the deal or he’ll be prosecuted. Chuck tells him his parents will go to jail too then asks prison or talking. Pete says okay let’s do this. Chuck asks him how Axe starts his day and Pete says any way he wants.
He says when he shows up the meeting starts and says he doesn’t need to call meetings, they form around him. He says you don’t know where his focus will land and it can land on you and be bad or good and then we see Axe chewing out Mafee about considering another offer.
Pete says information flows to you when you’re Bobby. He says Axe sees the whole board. Constantine calls Axe and he says they need to talk in person. Axe tells him he’s a good friend. He says you don’t know where he’s going or why.
Wags tells him Pouch needs to see him. Axe says he’s going to see Metallica in concert and tells Wags he has the con. Axe meets a couple of his pals and then a third shows up but it’s not Freddy. Freddy finally shows up and Axe tells them to get on the plane.
It’s the guy who wants to talk about the Cross-Co short. Pouch says he heard some key contracts are going to fall through and this YumTime deal puts him open to risk. Chuck asks where he gets inside information.
Pete says information comes from all over and says disgruntled employees, people looking to make a name and more. We see Chuck Sr playing golf with a pal who says he heard Axe is shorting something and says it’s Cross-Co, a trucking company.
Chuck Sr makes a call right then. Axe and his school pals Freddy and Ike play cards on the plane and talk about the good old days. Chuck asks who Axe’s right hand is then Pete tells him about trading on margin and the guys who are like loan sharks to Axe.
Bryan asks why they would do that and Pete says the business model is kind of like a casino. Pouch tells Wags the bad news about the Cross-Co short. Wags curses and shows him an email then goes to call Axe who says that can’t be a coincidence then says it’s a short squeeze.
They get Farraday on the phone and tell him they need another day. He asks him to buy the stock for him and hold it. Farraday says it’s coming from on high and Axe says he will lose him over this. He says if he doesn’t make it by the bell, that’s it.
Axe and Wags hang up on Farraday and they go. Tara asks Kate who they have in the room talking and asks if she can help with the paperwork but Kate brushes her off. In Quebec, Axe and his pals pour drinks.
Axe tells Ike that someone is trying to f-k him with a short squeeze. His buddies listen and then the drug dealer shows up with concierge marijuana. Axe tells them to go ahead to the course. Axe calls Wags and tells him he thinks it’s Chuck Sr coming after him.
Wags says he found a guy that can help on the short – Ken Malvern – and Axe curses. Axe tells him to also handle Sykes who is freaking about the short. Hall talks to Axe and tells him Chuck is working a witness against him.
Axe tells Hall that Chuck Sr is coming after him and to use it. Tara goes to poke around near the offices and sees Pete’s face on a white board. She didn’t realize Chuck was sitting in there but covers for the interruption.
She looks at something on Donna’s desk then Kate sees her through the window. Tara steps out and Kate goes to see what she was looking at. Kate goes into the bathroom and Kate follows quietly. Kate is texting and Kate catches her texting Pete Decker’s name.
Kate hauls Tara into Chuck’s office. She says that the guy texts her and makes her tell him about the financial cases. Chuck says to text him and tell him she has something big. He says she personally betrayed all of them.
Chuck Sr listens happily to the Cross-Co news when Quincy calls him. Chuck Sr is jubilant and says it’s good to be alive. Hall uses a burner phone to call Ari Spryos and he simple says “Cross-Co Trucking” then he hangs up the call and breaks the phone in Hallf and tosses it.
Axe and his pals head to the arena to listen to the sound check before the concert. Axe laughs as his pals go check out some groupies. Elise, a woman, asks Bobby why he’s not joining in and they talk about their favorite Metallic album.
Elise talks music and flirts with him. She’s the lead singer for the opening act. She sings Ratt’s Round and Round. Axe takes a call from Ken Malvern about Cross-Co. He walks away to take it. Axe says he must know why he’s calling and he asks what he’s offering.
He says 8% to cover his shares. Ken says make it more worth my while and pad my loss. Axe offers 10 and he wants 25%. Ken asks how much he wants it and Axe agrees. Ken says he’ll enjoy telling the story and then says – there can be only one.
James Hetfield from Metallica calls him over and he and Axe talk. James plays his guitar and sings – the band kicks in and the guys get to hear it from a foot away. Chuck asks Pete who gets to talk to Axe and he says anyone who can get close enough.
Chuck is handed a note and steps out. Ari is there and asks Chuck how f-d he is. He says Chuck Sr is fluffing Cross-Co stock and asks how much his cut is. Ari says the SEC is going to take down his dad and his confederates and hands him a file.
Ari says it’s not in the system yet. Chuck says his father would never do this to squeeze Axe but Ari says he did. Chuck ask if he sold yet and Ari says not yet but when he does and makes a boom sound. He says his father probably should have been nailed long before.
Chuck asks what he wants and Ari says a lot of f-ing respect and says he takes the lead and speaks first at all press conferences. He asks Chuck who’s the confused dog now. Chuck comes back in and asks Pete about short squeezes.
Pete says no one has ever squeezed him yet and says that means he knows something. He says with Axe it will go down at some point. Chuck Sr gets a call from his Chuck who tells him do not make another call tonight and do not make a trade until he sees him in the morning.
Chuck says you better say okay son then hang up. Chuck Sr says okay son then hangs up. Chuck is furious. Hall waits to meet Tara. Bryan and Kate watch from a nearby car with someone else. Tara sits on a bench. Hall looks over at her and sighs then looks around.
He checks a van nearby and then a sedan. Sure enough, the van has surveillance in it. Hall walks way without talking to her. At the concert, Axe and his pals jam right up by the stage. Axe walks away to take a call from Garth. He says he’s all over it.
Garth says people are asking why he drifted non-compliant. Axe says maybe the fund isn’t for him and says he can go get 4.5% or he can go where eagles dare. He reminds him his dad was a bootlegger and says that’s how he played it.
Axe says pull if you want to but get off my dick either way and hangs up. Hall calls Axe and says the Feds got Decker on Pepsum and he flipped but his source went bad on him. Axe says okay. Axe gets a drink backstage when Elise shows up and says hey.
She says he walked out on her and he says it was a work thing. He offers her a drink and says he almost missed Metallica and he flew in for them and his oldest friends. She asks why and says her road manager told her who he is.
She says she can’t imagine him being worried. He says you’d be surprised. They get a table. She says she barely has a dime but goes where she wants and is lucky to do what she loves. Axe says that’s him pretty much and all the choices are his.
She says don’t go Charles Foster Kane on me and he admits he never saw Citizen Kane. She says he has to immediately and see it on film on a projector. He says he promises. They stare at each other and she says she doesn’t do missed opportunities or regret and this can go where he wants.
Axe says if there was two of him, he’d go for it and says there’s just one and she asks if he’s married. He says yeah and it’s the real thing. She says her road manager didn’t tell her that then says it’s cool. She says she must be a real classic and Axe says she is.
Elise says she usually doesn’t misread things and says he led her on but then made the tough choice then says his wife is lucky. Then she says Axe is probably the lucky one and says don’t forget it. He leaves and she sighs.
Chuck asks Pete about after he left Axe. He says if you leave with loyalty, Axe wishes you well. He says he gives you seed money and you give him your ideas. He calls it a colonoscopy. He says he usually ruins your big ideas but it ends up being worth it.
Chuck asks if you make trades on his behalf and Pete says no but information shows up. He says he gets a sweet taste. Bryan asks if he invests with him. He says it’s LLCs, holding companies. Chuck asks when did Axe tell him to buy Pepsum?
Pete says never. Bryan curses and Chuck says he’ll be prosecuted for lying. Pete says he knows it was insider trading and says it was a voice on the phone. Pete says he can’t be sure but says it was probably Dollar Bill.
Pete says you can’t know and says he could never do what Axe does and says he keeps so much in his head and says to be him is to keep so much in your head without blowing up your brain. Chuck doesn’t like this and Chuck and Bryan walk out angry.
Chuck says they got something and says get the FBI on Bill Stearn and map the motherf-kers DNA. He says we will stretch him until he gets Axe. Constantine and Axe meet in person. Constantine tells him something major.
Axe finds one of his pals looking at his laptop and he hands Axe a concert shirt he got him. Axe asks what’s wrong and he tells him he’s in some shit and f-d up. He says he heard his Cross-Co talk and jumped on it.
Axe is upset and says he’s like Paulie, Adrian’s brother from Rocky. He says he should have asked like any friend would. Axe says he could have gotten him in on it without bringing attention to him. He tells Axe he f-d up and says he put everything into the short and then it took off.
He says he’s getting a margin call and has to make good by morning and can’t cover it. Axe asks how much he owes, how much their friendship is worth. He says $210k. He says it’s going to wipe him out. Axe opens his laptop and looks at his account.
Axe opens his phone and taps into his phone and says his people will cover his margin. He tells him to stay short and says if it’s going against you, you have to be able to withstand the pressure or it will crush you. Axe tells him he doesn’t hold on to a loser.
He seems to be talking about their friendship too and tells his pal he’s going to bed since the plane leaves early. He thanks Axe. Chuck comes to bed and Wendy wakes and rolls over. He says he knows she knows it’s Pete and he lied to her.
He says he’s proffering him. She says he could have said something like – I can’t talk about it. She says his dad called and says he’s been trying to find him for the last hour. He says Chuck Sr has the rare ability to push his buttons.
She says his dad just wants him to do what he wants. Chuck says his dad can’t help himself when it comes to him. Wendy says when you’re raised by someone like that, you lean towards self-preservation and hurt the ones you love. Chuck says he’s trying. Wendy says she knows.
Axe comes back to his hotel room and calls Lara on video chat. She asks how it was and he says it didn’t turn out how he thought. He says he can’t wait to get home. She agrees to wake up and talk for awhile. The maid wakes Axe’s pal who checks his laptop.
He sees the news that YumTime dropped Cross-Co. He’s so excited and runs downstairs looking for the other guys. They’re all gone. It’s 940 am – they left without him. The other guys are all hung over on the plane. Ike says this was epic and calls it an all timer.
He thanks Axe for bringing him and he says having Ike there made the trip. Chuck Sr sits eating when Chuck comes over. Chuck Sr tries to explain and Chuck says it’s insider trading and fraud. He says he’s glad he hasn’t dumped it yet because it would be a slam dunk case.
He says he had to give his neck to an enemy to save him. Chuck tells his dad he has to hold the stock and says nothing can be there to entice a prosecutor. Chuck Sr says this was about them hurting Axe. Chuck says he wants him to get Axe because he screwed him and his mistress over.
Chuck Sr says he did it because he wouldn’t act. He asks him to let him get out and Chuck says he can’t make a penny on this. Chuck Sr says he won’t break even and Chuck says no. It’s where he bought in and Chuck says no. Chuck Sr is mad.
It drops more and Chuck nods and his dad makes the call. He tells him to get him out of the deal. Chuck Sr says he just dumped $480k and Axe made $15 million. He asks if Chuck is happy now and Chuck asks if he looks happy. Chuck Sr says get the SOB already.
Wags approaches Axe and says Sykes is still in and Axe plops down and sighs. The managers run for his office but his assistant blocks them. Axe says sell everything. Wags asks what that means. He says de-lever but take it slow so they don’t bleed too much.
He says they’re dumping sector by sector starting with telecom. He tells Wags he’s out. Axe walks out the other door of his office so no one can get to him as he exits.
THE END!