Hes made Axe Capital what it is.
Hes sacrificed everything along the way, including, most recently, his marriage.
As The Wrong Maria Gonzalez kicks off, Axe stares out at the city at night.
Credit: Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME
Hes lost, unsure of what to do.
He calls Wendy, his lighthouse in the storm and also the wife of his enemy.
Surprise, he doesnt!
Of course, such a move is extremely dangerous.
If hes caught, Axe Capital would certainly be done for, and Axe would end up in prison.
Meanwhile, Oliver Dake and Bryan Connerty get a bad draw on their case.
Chuck doesnt accept this, and just like Axe, he goes to Wendy in a panic.
He fills her in on everything and says that he has no idea what to do.
Impose your will on him, says Wendy.
Alright, back to the $2 billion.
When Taylor learns that Axe will be cordoning off that money from Axe Capitals total count, theyre livid.
That news is bad enough as it is, but things get worse.
Axe Capital is going to end the day with a massive loss, something Taylor doesnt want.
How heavy are we in Brazil?
asks one of the workers.
Jim Morrison near the end, quips Wags.
Wendy tries to tell them that days like this happen, but they wont accept that.
Taylor tells Wendy that they cant lose their mystique, because its all they have.
If Taylor loses that mystique, theyre nothing but a figurehead with no experience.
In other words: The next few hours are crucial.
Of course, Axe doesnt help matters by showing up at the office.
Ari hurriedly films him the entire time to try and keep a record of his whereabouts for the case.
Axe looms over everybody, listening in on their conversations, itching to make his own plays.
Axe turns right around and begins making moves, and that leads to Maria getting detained by ICE.
When Bryan and Dake head to the holding center to get her, they have the wrong Maria Gonzalez.
Thats where Chuck comes in.
Dake may not be one to bend the rules, but Chucks always loved wading into those murky waters.
He ambushes Fundt and calls in his favor, but he doesnt do so angrily.
Instead, he grovels.
He says he just wants Fundt to step away from the case.
The question is, what did Chuck truly give up?
What cost is he willing to accrue to get to put Axe away?
It feels like theres a lot more to this judge story to come.
That kind of move is something that Axe respects, and he tells Taylor as much.
He comes back to the office and tells them that he wont pull the $2 billion.
Im your hedge, he says.
Hes both admiring of and threatened by Taylor.
After a fun but rather familiar premiere, The Wrong Maria Gonzalez sees season 3 shifting into another gear.
Welcome back,Billions.
