Billions Season 7 Episode 7 Review: DMV

While sometimes they can be an absolute headache to get around and seem inconvenient, bureaucratic processes are there to protect people, whether directly or indirectly.

Any attempt to skirt the part of or the complete process, especially in crucial matters, should be taken seriously.

In many cases, bypassing guidelines set to ensure everyone’s safety can be dangerous.

Billions Season 7 Episode 7 delivered a major surprise, and we will discuss everything that went down, so if you’re not yet caught up, beware of spoilers.

Kevin was all grown now, and like most teenagers his age, he was ready to take a driving test. Too bad he couldn’t drive to save his life. Even the worst of drivers could see that he needed to practice more based on how he parked.

Driving affects everyone; the extra layer is that it’s all about safety. It’s about safety for the driver and, as importantly, if not more, for other motorists and pedestrians whom they will interact with on the road.

It can’t be understated the level of proficiency needed so that someone is allowed on the road.

A lousy driver is a risk to everyone. The road is communal, and if they don’t value their lives, the lives of others should not be jeopardized.

Chuck Senior is a complicated character. Sometimes, he drives me insane based on his actions, and other times, I see how he is the most important person.

My boy, there was a time when a Benjamin Franklin was the key to this city. My mistake was not accounting for inflation.

Chuck Senior

His actions this hour drove me insane.

For a man who had raised Chuck Junior under his iron fist, it was surprising that he went all soft when Kevin failed his driving test. Was age catching up to him?

Probably not, because his brain seemed perfectly okay to think of bribing the DMV worker and clapping back when in trouble.

Sometimes, children need to be disappointed so that they may learn. He was not doing Kevin any favors.

His actions put Chuck in a problematic position for the millionth time, and were it not for the fact that Kevin was in trouble, Chuck Junior might have let him take the heat for this one. Who are we kidding? Chuck would never let that happen.

The ordeal brought some concerns for Chuck Junior, where his son went to his grandfather before his father. Chuck Junior worked so hard not to become like his father that he went to the other end and forgot he had a child to guide.

His disappointment in himself emanated strongly upon making that realization.

Speaking of disappointment, matters escalated at MPC after Prince made a play that wrecked Philip Charyn by hurting his mentor.

Have you ever done something thinking it would help, but it made things worse? I believe that was Philip’s biggest regret. He knew very well how Prince operated and still brought his professor to Prince to be cannibalized.

Your good guy, Prince, has begun buying up rival patents. Even ones vaguely related to what my process does, which gives him standing to sue me for infringement, which will block my work due to injunction potentially for years. It’s called patent sharking. And it’s not what good guys do.

Professor

I’ll admit that while I genuinely believe that a man like Prince becoming president is a gross perversion of democracy, nothing in his character was a red flag.

He might have done some things that appeared cruel or shady, but nothing explicit in his behavior warranted someone thinking he shouldn’t be president.

Wendy and Taylor preached about what a narcissist Prince was, but what billionaire isn’t?

The only thing that tarnished his character was that he became wealthy from stealing his friend’s idea and running with it as his own, but if you remember, Axe became a billionaire through insider forex trading that saw him and several other people ruin a country’s economy for their gain.

All these stories we heard.

But seeing him go after the professor’s invention was a different beast.

The ruthlessness and disregard for the common good in place of profit were appalling. The look of sheer glee on his face when he thought about how much money the concrete idea would make him spoke to something fundamental about rich people. They never have enough.

When Phillip woke up that morning, he didn’t know he would have one of his life’s most surprising couple of days.

He went from being a Prince Capper for life to wanting to cap Prince.

Anyone who was on the fence about Prince’s candidacy or was a little won over like I was by his speech on Billions Season 7 Episode 6 must have switched sides.

The war for the concrete’s patent and ownership highlighted a fatal flaw in bureaucratic processes. They can make something immoral plausible, and there would be no consequences.

That idea would revolutionize the world as we know it.

Not to go on a conspiracy tangent here, but sometimes I wonder why, all these decades later, a cure for HIV isn’t available. Is it that big companies stand to gain a lot from the temporary measures they develop?

Despite his best efforts, Chuck failed to find a legal angle to stop this hostile legal robbery, but after brainstorming with Ira, he came up with something.

The idea of having the Ministry of Defense take over the research to take it from one man’s hand was destructive for the larger picture because the people who need this innovation will not get it.

Phillip: So, no one gets to benefit. It’s like everyone just literally said fine, kill the damned infant.
Prince: Well, the upside is that when I take the oath of office, and I do declassify it and release it, it’ll start us off very, very nicely.
Sacker: Better. You hold until right after you announce for a second term. Eight years in office for President Prince locked up.
Prince: I like that a lot.

It gave Prince a reason to fight even harder to become the president because there was even more money.

It was only a matter of time before Wendy and Taylor’s looks drew someone’s attention, and draw it did.

Wendy Rhodes misstepped by thinking that Phillip might want to join her campaign because he seemed furious.

Having Phillip on their side would have been a significant win because he was at the top. He knew almost everything there was to know.

Even after seeing his mentor’s life’s work disappear into thin air and witnessing the man responsible do a victory lap while strategizing how to get his hands on it, Phillip didn’t fold.

His decision to remove himself from Wendy’s crew before he got in had much to do with his uncle. Scooter had stuck his neck out for Phillip, and it would be a great betrayal to go behind his back like that.

Wendy: Instead of handing out the kudos and the blame, why don’t we talk about turning this mess into action? Because I saw you in his office, and I know how you feel.
Philip: Whatever plan you’re considering, leave me out. Whatever you and Taylor and I don’t know who else we’re thinking about doing. I can’t. I need, and I will have complete deniability. As is right now, there is nothing I could tell anyone, nothing I should tell anyone. I aim to keep it that way.

Phillip’s final decision could be a game-changer. He might make Prince aware of the saboteurs in his presidential run, or he might be the one to help bring it all down. It could go either way.

Intrusive Thoughts

• 
  The problem with having brilliant employees is that they might outsmart you. They thought they had MPC cornered into not doing the evaluation, and it was fun for a moment there.

• 
  People change, and Sacker has changed. The very thing she helped Prince achieve would have made her skin crawl. I fear she has been corrupted.

• 
  Sometimes, Chuck can miss things in pursuit, and having Ira was good for him. Ira considered everything, including that Philip might have been a trap.

“DMV” was a good one, people. It balanced drama and comedy while exposing Prince for the fraud he was.

What did you think? Would Scooter have participated in movie night if invited? Let us know in the comments section.

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