I was a little bit hesitant to watch Billions. I knew the show was around, I read the hype but glazed over it. I will confess that it wasn’t on my A list of TV shows to watch… After binge watching it this weekend, I can say I was wrong to assume that. The main reason for this was simple; I think I am still grieving Tara’s death from Sons of Anarchy which of course, was played by the beautiful and raw Maggie Siff. Also an avid Homeland fan, the emotional trauma attached to Brody was still circulating in the emotional TV compartment of my brain. Perhaps I wasn’t ready to see them as other characters just yet… They do say that there is no time limit to grief!
Anyway, the show is definitely worth watching. There is a great pace to it, continual suspense, the characters, their interactions and dynamics is intriguing to watch unfold. It is definitely a high stakes drama. Not to mention the ridiculously talented cast; the two alpha males of the show; Damien Lewis nails the role of Bobby Axelrod – the trendy and “for the people” billionaire and Paul Giamatti plays the ferocious and unrelenting Chuck Rhoades as U.S. attorney. But who I really want to talk about is Maggie Siff who plays Wendy. She is Chuck’s wife and works for Bobby Axelrod as their go to for HR/psychology related matters int he office. She has worked for Bobby for years. Hello…! Perfect setup for tension and conflict writing – BOOM! It always plants the question – where does her loyalty ultimately lie…mmmm
Maggie, what a babe. Wendy, what a character. The best thing about her is she is on par with these men. She has just as much impact, pull, weight as her husband and her boss. I love it! I just love watching her in this role and she is oh so stylish. The wardrobe team on the show have done such a wonderful job here and especially Eric Daman (which did not surprise me at all – his previous work is amazing). I cannot get over the most amazing job he has done to capture her character so accurately! There is a wonderful article here that goes into the details of her wardrobe and the correlation to character.
Far too often the costume construction of a character goes under the radar. It is an extension of their character and can say sooooo much. It truly is a team of people from writers, wardrobe and producers/directors etc who see this vision and pull all the elements together.
We now have entire websites dedicates to this such as with the TV show Suits and this which provides exact matches or close matches of outfits and accessories from Billions. https://thetake.com/episode/859/billions-season-1-episode-1-clothes-outfits
Something that is so appealing about this show is how multifaceted the characters are. There is so much depth and I feel as seasons continue we will be take on this journey with them as they reveal more and more about themselves. Wendy seems to be an anchor in the show. She steers both men on the right course, navigates those storms and high risk situations with grace, ease and foresight.
The kink scenes between Wendy and Chuck are particular interesting to me. Just as she is comfortable in her work wear and rockin’ it, she is equally comfortable in her dominatrix get up. I am looking forward to understanding in more depth, this relationship – the triggers, what they both get out of it, the background etc – it is so well places within the story that it leaves us wanting more. We become voyeurs seeking a closer, detailed look. All of this has been brilliantly executed by costume, character and direction.
I just wanted to have a little prattle about this show – how important casting is and all the other hard working departments that create a show that so often get glazed over.
Have a watch and I guarantee you won’t be able to stop.
babbleworthy 