A lot can happen in a day.
A man can go from being a leading candidate in a presidential election to a nobody in politics, and (or!) he can lose his billionaire status — in one day!
Many men can teeter on the verge of being penniless when, later in the day, their luck turns, making them the richest they’ve ever been.
We’ll discuss everything that went down on Billions Season 7 Episode 12 — and it was a lot, so this will be a long review — and if you’re yet to get caught up, beware of spoilers.
Billions’ non-linear storytelling format has always worked for the episodes leading up to and including its season finales.
The format allows the writers to hit viewers with revelations and surprises, flashing back to hours, days, weeks, and even months before the events of the current episode.
And as sure as the sky is blue, they utilized this format to reveal shocker after shocker, and that’s where we’ll begin — with one such shocking revelation.
Sacker had been working with the mutinous trio (if we can them that anymore) all along!
I expected surprises for the Billions series fiale, but that was not on my bingo card.
In retrospect, it all makes sense because, as noted in my Billions Season 7 Episode 8 review, I was pretty skeptical of why it was Saker who outed them and not someone like Philip, who had observed their little gatherings (or had he?).
She was an integral part of the plan, and they might not have pulled it off without her. She worked for Prince diligently while sabotaging him on the side.
Philip being part of the plan was not that much of a surprise. While he’s always been a prick, he made a point of being loud, which was quite suspicious.
There were doubts about where his loyalties lie, and apparently, they lie in his feelings.
People will forget what you did to them, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Seeing your mentor trampled by a wealthy man was an unforgettable feeling for Philip.
In the present, Prince was on cloud nine, living his dreams.
A meeting with the president at Camp David was an almost guarantee that the Whitehouse was his for the taking.
After what happened in Billions Season 7 Episode 5 that led to the loss of millions, you’d think he would have learned a lesson about having his phone out of arm’s reach.
Prince’s few minutes at Camp David allowed Axe to execute his plan. The plan was simple, and only Axe could have devised it.
Creating fake crises, manipulating the market, and making much money. Does that ring a bell?
Taking down Prince was a team effort that had a lot of illegalities and the calling in of favors.
Chuck used his office to create an illusion. A lot had been leaked out of the office throughout the years, and it had been dealt considerable blows; why not use that for good?
Philip ensured the traders at MPC didn’t reverse their trades the moment things went south, and even Dave held the other end together to ensure the SEC didn’t bail out Prince.
And just like that, a man lost his fresh political career and a sh*t ton of money!
The obliteration of Mike Prince was an exciting affair, but I was never totally invested in the outcome.
I have outlined the reasons why I was uninvested in this article about why beating Prince would not be satisfying for the series finale.
Seeing him take such hits one after another made me sympathize with him. I was concerned that he might jump out a window because I couldn’t handle it if that were me.
In my Billions Season 7 Episode 1 review, I expressed my reservations about why Wendy, Wags, and Taylor were adamant about Bobby returning.
It didn’t seem like Mike was that bad, at least not worse than Axe, and their hatred for him was unwarranted.
Throughout Billions Season 7, they tried to prove to themselves that Prince was evil, but nothing they came up with quite hit the mark.
It seemed like they longed for the past when Axe was the king and would do anything to have him return.
Events in this episode proved that speculation true because their eyes lit up when they realized they had pulled it off.
Like he had done to their king, they had ousted Prince from the throne and installed their former king, Axe.
Any good psychiatrist would reveal that about them if they were to take the time to visit.
Ultimately, this ended up being a battle between Prince and Axe, and removing Prince from the presidential ticket was a pathetic excuse.
The writers beat that horse too much and didn’t fool anyone.
Framing Mike as a huge supervillain failed epically, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy seeing him taken down a notch.
For starters, I love seeing a good plot executed, especially where brains are needed.
I know it doesn’t sound like it, but Axe’s charm also enamors me, and seeing him win was also exciting.
Finally, Prince could take it because that was a game he had played not long ago, and like Dunlop, I, too, wasn’t thrilled by his nuke comments on The Owl.
The first three-quarters of the episode’s runtime was told not linearly, but the rest was relayed linearly as it revealed the characters’ fates.
If there was one thing they got right, it was that.
After being ousted, Mike promised to return with force. He will regain his place after he has turned a hundred million into billions.
Axe: You’ve still got about a hundred million in those accounts, don’t you?
Prince: Just about, yeah.
Axe: Well, in Indiana, that’s like being a billionaire.
Prince: That’s right. Yes, it is. You know what? Maybe I should be thanking all you bastards for giving me a chance to go out and do it all again. Spin it up.
Scooter had always been the man behind the man, sacrificing his own ambitions for Prince’s sake. Even if I hated how he went along with everything Prince wanted, I had a slight change of mind seeing him make his exit.
That man was pure of heart. He didn’t take anything personally. He was genuinely too good for this.
Scooter had all the reasons to turn against Prince, and even when Prince was beaten, he let him down quickly.
If anyone deserved the money they got to keep, it was Scooter.
Even after Taylor risked everything to have Axe back, they decided to leave. It wasn’t surprising because Taylor was a leader. They had a mind like Axe’s, and being a follower was wasting them.
Soon enough, they will raise millions for various philanthropic endeavors.
Wendy incentivized them to try a new approach to making money, and Axe Global became The Taylor Mason Foundation.
Wendy: Problem is, the money does the same thing that flying through the clouds without instruments does. You can’t tell which way is up, which is down, and you don’t know you’re spinning until it’s too late. Unless you have a great co-pilot who’s monitoring the instruments.
Taylor: Thanks for being mine.
Wendy decided to leave altogether, but I had a feeling she would land at another company similar to Mental. But for now, spending time with her family was good enough.
Chuck finally got the fatherly approval he had been after from Senior all these years, and taking down Prince was a pale feeling in comparison.
It had never gotten that emotional between them. Those were death emotions. Senior might die.
After slaying the latest giant, Chuck goes back to do what he does best. I felt he and Bobby would meet soon because he didn’t miss how Bobby used the Admirals Fund to enrich his people. That’s fraud! And Chuck lives for it.
Axe: Tell ’em, Wags.
Wags: Little side pocket we had so the brass could enjoy the spoils of the best ideas.
Axe: Cherry-picking trades for a secret internal fund.
Chuck: That could look very bad. [chuckles] Fraudulent, even.
Axe: In a certain light, maybe.
Sacker returned to the AG’s office to crack the whip on lawbreakers, and even after getting his law license back, Brian was okay with cooking. Maybe he found his second passion later in life.
Bradford landed on solid ground and couldn’t wait to get away from Prince.
He knew his situation was dire and needed to take a job where he could get it. Maybe he got a successful career, or all sides blacklisted him after that Prince mess.
Bobby Axelrod has trading in his DNA, and with his newfound freedom in America, nothing could stop him. It was only a matter of time before he made trillions.
With Wags at his side, they were looking for more places to try their luck.
Wags: You don’t have to say it. I will be here with you to get this place cranking again. But then…
Axe: What? Miami? With all those other rich fucks? You know, it does have a lot to recommend it. It is the center of it all right now.
“Admirals Fund” did an excellent job of ending this story while leaving the room open for a potential spinoff, or two, or even three.
Based on Prince’s promise, Taylor’s new venture, and the new Axe Global, you have three spinoff ideas.
Did Billions’ series finale reveal the characters on which the announced spinoffs will be centered?
It’s the end of this chapter, and I have no intrusive thoughts.
This was an excellent series finale that tied the story together nicely and was entertaining as hell. All that’s if you ignore the Mike Prince supervillain nonsense.
Over to you, Billions Fanatics. What did you think? Unburden in the comment section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.