‘Billions’ Season 6, Episode 11 Recap: I Like Mike

Related Articles

Queen Charlotte’s Prequel Tease Fixes A Bridgerton True Story Complaint

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively — Hollywood’s next billionaire power couple?

The end of “Heartstopper” is near: when will the new book arrive in Argentina?

Princes grand plan is revealed. Chuck is less than impressed. Michael [expletive] Prince is running for president.

There you have it as summed up by Chuck with all his usual verbal panache. After a season of oblique references and sotto voce hints Mike Princes grand plan beyond all his other grand plans is revealed with a bumper sticker reading I LIKE MIKE 2028. Behind the seizure of Axe Cap behind the creation of the Prince List behind the moonshot play for a New York Olympic Games behind this episodes introduction of universal basic income in the form of Princefunded Mike money behind every hardtoparse interaction with his righthand man Scooter and his wife Andy there it is. Mike Prince billionaire wants to become Mike Prince president of the United States of America.

You can all but feel the shock waves roll through the characters who wise up to this plan in real time. For starters theres Wags who brought Prince a plum deal with the Chinese government only to watch the bossman blow it up as publicly as possible over human rights violations and who wonders why Prince would offer a job to Chuck Rhoades of all people. The move against China is an attempt to carve a path as an ethical billionaire; the job offer is an attempt to take an enemy off the board for good.

Then theres Taylor and Philip the characters who theoretically give this episode Succession its title. Im inclined to believe its a cheeky reference to televisions other tale of the lifestyles of the rich and shameless; its a bit like that meme of the two SpiderMen pointing at each other. They spend most of the episode jockeying for position as Princes heir apparent although neither can quite fathom why he has chosen to name a successor at all.

Taylors pitch involves the proverbial move fast and break things approach. Philips approach is more methodical. But when the dust settles both of these wunderkinds realize theyre better off presenting themselves as a team of two in which the strengths of one complement those of the other. This seems to free up space in their brains to finally puzzle out the why of Princes maneuver and that why comes emblazoned with the presidential seal.