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Billions MVPs: Season 7 Episode 6, “The Man in the Olive Drab T-Shirt”

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Gingersnap
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The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs 

by Staff | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | September 20, 2023

Billions is back and so is our MVP series! We continue to award our Most Valuable Players for Billions season seven in our series compilation, the ‘Billions MVP Fanbook,’ which commemorates all those in honor of achievement for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses from the episode – from sports references, music and tasty food to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks. In case you missed it, catch up with the MVPs of the season seven premiere Tower of London, episode two Original Sin, episode three Winston Dick Energy, episode four Hurricane Rosie and episode five The Gulag Archipelago.

Now let’s dive in. Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 7, Episode 6, “The Man in the Olive Drab T-Shirt.”

Gingersnap

Most Apropos Song for a Scene – PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me’ plays when Axe and Chuck meet on the tarmac in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland under the cover of darkness. The song plays again when Chuck calls Axe on the phone at the end of the episode. And just when Chuck thought he was rid of Axe…

Lyrics:

Tie yourself to me
No one else, no
You’re not rid of me, mmm
You’re not rid of me

Surprise Cameo (sort of) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the ‘Man in the Olive Drab T-Shirt!’ In his cameo Zelenskyy is speaking to Axe, Grigor and four other oligarchs via video phone conferencing, thanking them for the weapons they brokered for the Ukrainian military defense. It appears Billions edited existing footage of him into the episode, which makes me wonder if Showtime/Paramount still had to request approval for that and if so, who did they call? “Oh hi President Zelenskyy, this is Brian Koppelman of Billions. Could we obtain approval to splice you into footage with Bobby Axelrod?”

Clever Kumquat Comeback Award – Axe to Grigor: “Oh did I forget to send you a fucking fruit basket?” Charlie Crews would be so proud.

Best Line – Ira. When Chuck announced he would do a favor for Bobby Axelrod, Ira retorts with, “Those words just tumbled out of your mouth like a meth addict’s teeth. And just as fucked up.”

Supreme Sleaze Ball Swerdlow Sayings in a Scene – Monogramed Adidas tracksuit man is back! Another one of my wishful thinking character re-appearances I wrote about here. Rick Hoffman plays Swerdlow with the perfect amount of 1970’s creepy uncle vibes. IMO the funniest scene in the entire episode was the exchange between Chuck, Charles, Swerdlow and Ira discussing Bunky’s seminal fluid in Chuck’s office.

The doc explains to Chuck how women (younger trophy third and fourth wives is implied) are getting pregnant after their husbands’ death without pre-frozen sperm or eggs. “Post-mortem jizz retrieval, you dig? Well, you get the stiff on the table even though he ain’t so stiff no more. Get my drift? And then you drain those berries. And you do it soon enough, you end up with viable swimmers. Jizz. Stuff of life.”

These third and fourth wives leave nothing for the previous first families when it comes to inheritance. He goes on to state, “No respect for the starter wives in our culture, chicks who break the seal. In Thailand, even the minor wives get one hell of a birthday bunfight.”

And it doesn’t end there. When Swerdlow lets the cat out of the bag that he has been supplying erectile dysfunction pills to Ira, Chuck is dismayed. The Doc explains that the sublingual supreme Viagra-like lozenges hit the bloodstream instantly: “Like a ball-peen fucking hammer. Turns any man into a world-class sheet athlete.”  HAHAHAHAHA Sheet Athlete!

And the gifts keep on giving with Doc Swerdlow:

Terrific Title – I award this to Chuck who dubbed Charles Senior “The guardian of the product of [Bunky’s] vas deferens.” LMAO

Emily Post Etiquette Award – I hereby present this medal to Charles Senior who is aghast at Chuck’s breakfast table manners. He demands, “Continental style in this house, left hand, tines downward. This look like Ruby fucking Tuesday to you!?!?”

Food For Thought:

  • Love when Axe and Chuck banter different names at each other. On the tarmac Chuck says, “I’ll need a name, Robert.” We know Bobby, we know Axe; but Robert on the other hand is Chuck’s formal way of chastising. Like when you were a kid and you knew you were in trouble when one of your parents yelled your first, middle and last name at you from another room. But this isn’t the first time Chuck has called Axe out of his name. Back in season 1, episode 12 The Conversation, Chuck pronounces, “Because you’re a criminal…BOB!!”
  • My smug little man Krakow is back! Love that character. Don’t give him wings, don’t want him flying out some window!!!
  • Another cinematography honorable mention: From afar the camera pans over a dark Manhattan lit up by its city lights, with a visible Statue of Liberty aglow, her island surrounded by the waters of Upper New York Bay. Then the camera lens tightens in on the Statue of Liberty sculpture from a window view in a room in which Prince will deliver his speech.

Damianista

Champion of Table Manners – Chuck Senior

Chuck Senior always has the best lines. And he makes me laugh hard when he scolds Chuck about not using the proper table etiquette at HIS table! Look at the pic below. Chuck is using the fork with his right hand which is a no-no for Senior 🙂

“Continental style in this house, left hand, tines downward. This look like Ruby fucking Tuesday to you!?!?”

I am still laughing 🙂

Read the rest of the original article at Fan Fun With Damian Lewis here.