[Rhoades, Sr.] Previously on Billions.
And that's why it's my pleasure
to announce my run as an independent candidate
for president of the United States.
[cheers and applause]
The open part of the marriage
can't continue during the campaign.
Let's start with the names of all your partners
in the last five years.
Bio-inspired vascular concrete
is able to enzymatically repair itself.
I'm prepared to purchase your entire company.
I'm not selling.
[man] Your patent, everything in this office,
and everything associated with this work
will now be controlled
by the federal government.
[Grateful Dead: "Dire Wolf"]
In the timbers of Fennario
The wolves Are running round
The winter was so hard And cold
Froze ten feet 'Neath the ground
Don't murder me
[saw sputters and whirrs]
I beg of you Don't murder me
Please don't murder me
I sat down to my supper
'Twas a bottle Of red whisky
[man] All right!
I said my prayers
And went to bed
That's the last They saw of me
Don't murder me
I beg of you
Don't murder me
Please don't murder me
[electric knife whirring]
When I awoke, the dire wolf
Six hundred pounds of sin
Was grinning at my window
All I said was "Come on in"
But don't murder me
I beg of you Don't murder me
Please don't murder me
Thank you.
Dad, uh, the Margaux has been poured.
The Wellington plated.
[Senior] Ah, there it is.
[sighs] Oh... shit. It's that time of the year?
Damn right.
I'm probably not gonna mix in,
but it makes the trip, so in case it has to happen,
I'll be ready.
Jesus, that's fecund.
You don't wash your chinstrap.
You also don't throw it in the Wellington.
Don't exaggerate. It's next to the Wellington.
Not anymore.
How many years have you been going up to The Owl?
I don't count that in years.
Fifty-two, though.
-[laughs] -Right from the start,
that uncivilized time had the most civilizing effect.
Even more necessary in today's world.
Better you than me.
Mm. No, sir. I can think of no man
that would benefit more from breathing that rustic air.
[chuckles]
I'd be proud to introduce my son,
the U.S. attorney, around the encampment.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I am not taking that particular boat trip
up the Mekong to find Kurtz.
Or to play naked Twister.
Even men who run the world need to get in touch
with our true animalistic nature.
And if that means the occasional nude frolic,
so be it.
I had this singular moment there once...
with a man.
Au natural, in the forest.
Hmm.
We were cut off from the others
and happened upon a coyote.
A predator.
We stared at each other, all three of us,
right into each other's souls.
And you know what happened?
You started screaming like Nancy Allen in Blow Out?
No, Sonny.
We had an experience
the mystics call transcendence.
We became one.
Ah. Oh.
I was the creature.
I was the other man.
-He was me. -Wow.
And you know what?
I never spoke to that man again,
but when he became president,
I got word that my tax returns were never,
from then forward...
at risk of audit.
Ah.
And the critter?
Died 16 weeks later.
I was awakened in my slumber
by a stabbing pain,
and knew it.
Then I went back to sleep and saw his death
as it happened from his point of view.
Hmm.
It was... magnificent.
Are you sure it wasn't just a kidney stone?
The point is,
fleeting moments in the wild can stick.
We need those moments.
[chuckles]
And you can create your own
if you come with me.
This city has just the kind of wild that does me good.
You go.
I'll stick around and deal with the coyotes I find here.
[laughs]
[Prince] I had it.
Right in my sights.
The answer to fix the country.
Ain't fixed yet far as these eyes can see.
Due to Byzantine and pointless reasons.
Namely the federal government.
[Johnson] Oh, preaching to the choir.
They're supposed to help municipalities,
but instead they create new thickets
-that need to be worked through. -It's pathetic.
Look at you, what's got you worked up
like Iverson over practice?
Oh, just self-healing concrete.
So you could build something once and only once.
Roads, runways, foundations, you name it.
And let it fix itself when inevitable cracks appear.
-You clocking this? -I am.
You make that concrete sound more self-aware
-than Skip Bayless. -[laughs]
-Smarter, too. -[all laugh]
Well, write me down for an allotment
of this super concrete.
I'll put a new library at Clark Atlanta,
put my mom's name on it.
-Where you keeping it at? -I'm not.
It's wherever the Pentagon locks up
important private sector stuff they can't control.
Never has a damned end, does it?
Well, it will, starting in 2024
when, as president, I start peeling back
this B.S. regulation.
-This just became news. -Yeah.
Mr. Prince, Mike Dimonda from the Journal.
I couldn't help overhearing what you were saying,
and I don't think you mind.
Tara Palmeri, at Puck.
Do you have any color or background
you want to share on the incident?
You know what? To heck with it.
I'm gonna let out my inner Bomani Jones, speak my mind.
You beat the brush, and you look and you look,
and finally you find something that'll help ensure our future.
Some real "leave our children
with something they can count on" stuff,
only to have Washington goons
and their New York State and Southern District hooligans
sweep in and make it disappear.
Sound more like Wilbon, but in the ballpark.
How long are we expected to live
in this Kafkaesque institutional maze
without a door known as our government?
My answer: until I'm elected.
And not a minute longer.
Well, are you ready, Ray?
Yeah
How 'bout you, Frank?
Oh, I'm there, baby
How 'bout you, Mikey?
Ready
Well, I think I'm all right
One, two, three, four
Three, two, one We came to suck
Everybody party 'Til the gasman comes
[laughter]
I know it.
I know this one.
I had it when we went to Italy
the summer after sophomore year.
Let's hope this baby doesn't get up to what we did.
[laughter]
So, what is it, Laurel?
Lindt, 80% dark.
[laughter]
Is this bothering you?
I know it's sort of gross.
-Who's next? -You gonna go?
Oh, no way.
Someone jump on the next one.
Oh, fuck, I will.
[women gasp and laugh]
Can't watch any more of this. Outside for some air.
Thing of beauty, I tell you.
The coverage of what I said at Torrisi,
couldn't have written it better myself.
Sure, but, guys, we can't be handing out gold stars
for some article gets us a one-point increase.
Not when we got Nancy Dunlop
burning up the track ahead of us.
Man, they love the guv.
Her mojo is spreading far beyond Montana
and the western states now.
She gives liberals a mild hit of conservative values,
and conservatives a taste of liberal policies
-they don't gag on. -How worried do I need to be?
I figure we'll run her down eventually.
Well, unless she secures the Democratic nomination
early enough to really consolidate.
Because with a centrist like her,
nominated by a major party,
there is no need for a door number 3.
I'll catch her in the national before that happens.
You will.
But if she gets the endorsement
of George Pike IV, you won't.
Getting face time with Fourth is harder
than following Bernie Mac at the Apollo.
More upside with Fourth. If he likes you.
It's hard to predict which way he'll lean.
He has his reasons.
That's what they say.
Well, his reasons have him attending The Owl.
Winter Conclave.
No worry about Dunlop getting to him there.
No female members allowed...
Oh. Wait.
-Yeah. -[Luke] Yep.
She just got named the first woman
to be granted full membership to The Owl.
Gets her right next to Fourth.
Female guests normally have to pack their bags at sunset.
Well, sounds like real progress.
I know where you're headed with this,
and I'm not going.
I can get more done
with moves like last night's.
I hate all that ninth-generation elitism.
As they instinctively hate
your brand of self-made billionaire elitism.
It doesn't matter.
You need them.
Governor Dunlop can have my spot
at the standing piss-fest,
or the naked tree hug,
or whatever the heck they do out there in the woods.
You can't afford that attitude, or to let her win over Fourth.
With his imprimatur, backing, and connections,
it'll be checkmate.
I got rich so I don't have to do crap like this.
I understand by your word choice
how strongly you feel about this, Mike.
I'm not gonna try to sell you.
You know what's at stake.
Fine, I'll go.
But you two are coming with me.
Uh, why do we always eat the smelly food in my office?
Aromatic, not smelly.
No, this is the perfume of life right here.
Then I say we take it and atomize your office with it.
Ira, we will all eat here together.
Besides, it's already been unpacked.
That's why we're here, isn't it?
Because of the smelly nonsense that Prince unpacked at Torrisi.
Couldn't have said it better.
This motherfucker thinks we've overreached.
We haven't even reached around yet.
I'm thinking Martin Act.
Subpoena everyone on suspicion.
No, that would seem political.
Don't box me out.
Like Governor Dunlop boxing Prince out,
if we were boxing you out, which we are not.
-But it's true about Dunlop. -Yeah.
If she consolidates the pro-business,
commonsense center in this election,
it'd pretty much eliminate any real chance
Prince has of winning.
And then we could really do our thing,
in the usual course of time.
Wait him out.
Like Trautman said to Will Teasle:
Stop the fight, let him escape, pick him up a few towns over.
Dunlop hasn't gotten the official endorsement
and Super PAC commitment from George Pike IV yet.
That's the domino.
Well, Dunlop and Fourth
will both be at the Winter Conclave of The Owl.
[sighs] Shit.
Twice in the span of 24 hours.
What gives?
Step aside. I'll come in.
I'll cede the space
when the tone of the visit is established.
Dad, I brought you a gift.
-And what's this? -It's for your trip.
It's peccary cork. Deerskin.
Can't have you ripping your hands
when you're chopping wood.
They will be useful.
So now, may I be granted full entrée?
[door closes]
Actually, Dad, I've been thinking about
what you were saying.
And, more crucially,
about the chance to see you in your element,
be there with you.
Father and son, together.
Well, you should've used the ears
more than the mouth the first time.
It's too late now.
I gave your bunk away to Ham Stevenson.
Oh, come on. He'll get over it.
I'm coming.
And Ira's coming too.
Well, Ham can cram in with Woof.
Or the Highlanders, I suppose.
We leave at 0700, Sonny.
Be neither late nor in a foul mood.
And dress like a gentleman who's ready
to throw all those niceties aside at a moment's.
[laughs]
Absolutely.
Lucky break.
A few of the Jaguars aren't going to come,
so we got their cabin and the others will disperse.
And we'll be right next to Wee-Wah.
Wee-Wah.
Fantastic.
It is, because it's Fourth Pike's cabin.
He usually hosts a second night fireside,
and an invite means direct--
[Prince] What's wrong?
A friend was climbing Makalu as a tune-up for Everest,
and there was an accident.
They took an alternate route because of weather,
and now they're injured and socked in.
That sounds rough. Is it Lynne?
Can she turn her beacon on so rescue teams can get her down?
Can't do that.
The alternate route may have been over the border in China.
Is. Is in China.
No beacon.
It has to be a private rescue.
Extra rough.
[Luke] This just got hot-button.
Now, any engagement with China just sets us up to get crushed
by some segment of our potential voters.
Oh, and the current government, of course.
You sure she can't make it down or be reached by other climbers?
If it gets truly dire, of course we'll step up.
But I-I can't send rescue choppers
every time a climbing buddy of yours gets socked in.
I am aware of the situation-relevant concerns
of your life right now,
and I wouldn't be asking
if this was just some climbing buddy.
It's not Lynne.
Who is it?
Derek.
Ah, Derek.
Good old Derek.
I bet he was on that list on your phone, wasn't he?
Mike...
he's gonna die up there if we don't help him.
Scooter, I need you to reach Craig at Tiger Team.
We need an exfil group detached to the Himalayas, ASAP.
And it needs to be an invisible op.
Budget's unlimited.
Throw full resources behind this.
Get with Andy for details,
and the climber's sat-phone for coordinates.
Again, invisible.
Thank you.
Don't even.
-You don't need to. -No, no.
When a man does the right thing
despite potentially disastrous consequences
to his own life's dream, there's nothing to add,
except how he must be a hell of a--
Ooh!
Is it a toys kind of night?
This is not that trunk.
But also...
it is a night for play.
-What then? -Open it.
Wags?
It's just...
something did happen to me
when your friends were doing that, and I thought--
Wait.
You were turned on?
No, no.
You were not turned on by their faces in shit.
It wasn't shit.
It just looked like shit.
But it was--
Stop saying words out of your mouth.
[door closes]
[sighs]
[inhales sharply]
I love breathing the same country air
that Goldwater did.
Cozy up to Dunlop and Fourth,
sprinkle some rose petals between them.
Help them cozy up. That's the thinking.
And keep anyone else away from Fourth.
He's here?
Well, that's fucking great.
It really is.
[chuckles]
Father-son bonding time, my leathery ass.
You're here because your target is.
-[scoffs] -Pure chance, Charles.
Yeah. Yeah, it's kismet.
Just remember, it's nesting owls only.
Uh-huh.
You're meant to come away
from every conversation a better man for it.
And the rule is, there's no business done.
And that goes doubly
for getting involved in other people's business.
Of course, naturally.
Wouldn't have it any other way.
Hello, boys.
Are you cold?
Some of you seem cold.
Saw a few of you, uh, answering the call
in the trees back there.
They were definitely cold.
[chuckles]
[man] Let's go.
Well! [laughs]
It's a new fucking day, isn't it?
Try and hide your enthusiasm.
See you at the bar.
Um...
there are a couple of sinks in the bathroom.
-Nothing else. -Of course.
Pick a tree.
Otherwise, it's outhouses only up here,
the way Corny Vanderbilt and Jake Astor intended.
And this is the smallest,
rustiest cot this side of summer camp.
[door opens]
Don't you worry about a thing, sugar.
You're gonna be sleeping
like a fucking Cub Scout in a coma.
How ya doing, guys?
Happy to see you. Happy to see me, Chuckles?
I'm elated.
All right.
Let's have some fun.
I'm ready to get in touch with my natural side,
Dr. Alex Comfort style.
A little cuissade, nnh!
A little postillionage, nnh. Right?
And with that, the revelry commences.
Doc, you do know this is dudes only, with one exception.
Oh, shit, boner killer.
I thought that was to fool the public,
but now that we're up here in the middle of fuckin' nowhere,
they'd bring the birds in by the busload.
Not that kind of encampment.
Oh, is that so?
[Ira] It isn't?
Fine.
Members with old-guard status, like me,
can do that at their discretion, cabin by cabin.
But I didn't order any, out of respect
for my upright son
and his faithful friend.
And for that, I thank you, Dad.
Still happy to see me?
Yeah, I'm fucking elated.
[chuckles]
[door opens and closes]
[man, on phone] Situation's complicated,
but the team in an unmarked helicopter
are in place on the Nepal side of the border.
We'll go for the rescue at first light.
Green-light is weather dependent, of course.
Got it. Please brief Andy as soon as you can.
I know if it can be done, you guys are the ones to do it.
That's not bad news.
I wish you'd have pointed out
the level of problem if they're caught.
Their standard mission imperative
is operational silence before, during, and after.
They won't get caught.
Well, good news is, if they do, we can leave here.
Why's that?
Because the campaign will be over.
[indistinct chatter]
[Dunlop, laughing] Right? Right?
[man] Yes.
Here, drink this. It's called a Headache.
Taught the barman how to make it.
It'll give you the opposite for now.
Have you conversated with Fourth yet?
He's still en route.
That man operates on his own timeline.
He has his reasons.
Uh, that's what they say about him, yep.
He's a tough nut to crack.
Just so you know. Especially for you.
Huh. Cracking tough nuts is my specialty.
Need me to prove it to you?
I didn't mean, uh--
Oh, I know what you didn't mean.
Feathers of the fathers. Hoot-hoot.
Hello, Governor.
Mike Prince. Have one with me.
A drink before the war.
And the fireside.
If we get invited.
Oh. One of us fucking will.
How about a whiskey ditch?
-Whiskey ditch for the man. -[bartender] Coming right up.
A whiskey ditch it is.
Thank you, Justin.
Feathers of the fathers.
Hoot-hoot.
Is that your thing?
You won't fake it?
Won't give in to it?
Make yourself feel like
you haven't sold out who you are
just to get in with the old guard?
'Cause if you're going up against me,
that shit will look pale as Winona Ryder in the '90s.
Mm.
-Hoot-hoot! -[all] Hoot-hoot!
[Dunlop laughs]
Ah. Two more.
Game on.
Yep.
I hate to be rude,
but I don't know why Mike called you in.
This is a briefing, not a therapy session.
He called me in as a support.
And in the case of you becoming heavily emotional,
to ensure that you get all the information you need.
Heavily emotional. Is that what you think I am?
I think you must be quite wonderful,
for you to hold the place in Mike's life that you do.
Don't do that.
Try and fucking disarm me.
This is a high-stress situation.
We don't need to talk. We can just sit quietly until--
[Craig, over video] It's Andy and...?
-Uh, Wendy Rhoades. -I'm gonna give you
what's called a "sit rep," just a breakdown
of the tactical situation in the area.
The purpose of it is to get us all on the same page.
[Wendy] Craig, quick redirect.
Uh, we're all good on the basics.
We know who you are, what a sit rep is.
We're all caught up.
What I need are the facts,
precise and unadorned.
Please don't spare my feelings.
Roger that. We looked into the possibility
of getting men up onto the climbing route
that the subject took in from Nepal.
Also dropping men into China
to come in from the other side, which would be faster.
But there are leg injury issues and frostbitten feet,
so it's unclear if the subject can walk,
much less climb, once we reach him.
So the only remaining alternative is--
-Helo extraction. -Correct,
which requires perfect conditions
and is also a much higher risk of being detected.
When can you do it? He's in trouble up there.
He's got no food. Just some tea and energy bars.
Low fuel for his stove.
He's tough...
but he won't last much longer.
We're looking at our weather windows now.
Will advise when it's a go.
Is there anything we can do in the meantime?
We have to wait till it's clear.
At that point, we'll move in,
high speed and low drag.
But right now, we can't risk anything
to make our circumstances worse.
-Right. -We'll advise when we can.
-Thanks, Craig. We'll talk soon. -Out.
If there's anything at any point
you want to offload emotionally...
I won't.
Still, the offer's out there.
And it's genuine.
You don't look good.
Suddenly, she was looking at me the way I imagine a coed
must've looked at Ted Bundy
the moment he revealed what he really was.
It's a lot to spring on someone, Wagsy.
But she brought me to see it first.
That's what's so unfair.
She brought you to celebrate the upcoming birth
of her friend's child.
They were playing their reindeer games,
and you decided you wanted to fuck the reindeer.
You are not supposed to judge.
I'm not judging. I'm getting inside her head,
showing you why she looked at you that way.
And I did not want to fuck the reindeer.
Okay, I did.
I absolutely did.
But I wasn't going to.
I just...
There was something...
so completely degrading about it.
So totally...
The abandon with which they went after it?
Good God.
That desire.
So dirty,
but ultimately so sweet.
And you wanted that abandon from Chelz...
which would bring it out in you.
Is that a crime?
[men shouting and cheering]
I'm not the only one thinking this seems incredibly sexual,
yet in a disgusting way, am I?
No. No, you're not.
[all cheer]
[grunts]
So, I've been hustling some newer, richer clients.
Bonding with some of those fellas,
and they invited me over
to party with their lady friends later.
Which cabin?
Fiddlestix.
You know those fellas chair the Federal Reserve
in several cities going back generations.
That so?
Doesn't mean they don't need their cocks straightened out.
[men cheering]
Who will be the next to venture
into the Indian leg wrestling pit?
They still call it that. Unbelievable.
It's a tradition, you child.
He's right, it's as inappropriate
as the tomahawk chop at a ballgame.
Do me a favor, try not to embarrass yourselves.
-Okay. -I got to get in there.
Why?
Like I said, man. Clients.
It'll garner me some cred.
Who will be the next modern-day Theogenes?
[indistinct chatter]
May I?
Well, you'll need it.
And it'll be fun to see it in action
in a firebrand in my own tradition.
Hold my nuts.
[wolf whistling]
-I'm up. -[spectators] Oh!
Who dares?
This is an NFW, right?
-"No fucking way"? -Close. "No friggin' win."
Word of participating in this travels, forget it.
[Luke] Not so sure.
Strange things move these people.
Who dares?
I dare.
[all cheer]
[men cheer and applaud]
Oh, shit, sister.
This just turned into a classic lose-lose for me.
-I don't know if I-- -Oh, stop it. Don't be a bore.
All right. It's your funeral, sweetie cakes.
Oh, make that Governor Sweetie Cakes.
This is gonna be a massacre for you, baby.
[men cheering]
-Let's do this. -Let's do this, then.
All right.
[all cheering]
[all groan]
[all cheer]
I cramped up, or I would have had you.
Oh, in your fucking dreams.
Come on, here you go.
-[Dunlop laughs] -[all cheer]
Fierce.
I'm not taking winners.
Motherfucker.
[Prince breathing heavily]
[zipper rasps]
[urinating]
[drunken laughter]
[man] Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
[yelling]
Oh, I'll say this in your favor.
At least you don't seem to be enjoying it here.
It's in your favor that you noticed that.
Yes, these are not the people I'm running to serve, Chuck.
I'm glad you know it.
Well, the thing of it is, you can't choose.
No one can.
[Chuck sighs]
[zipper rasps]
I have to feel I'm pushing against the great wheel
for a good and earnest reason.
Well, second thing I can say on your behalf:
you do put in the work.
You, too, Rhoades.
Don't think it isn't apparent what sets you apart
from all these third- and fourth-generation gliders.
Surely you look at me the same way.
I do come from money.
As I didn't.
But neither of us let it define us.
And both of us put ourselves in positions
where it's entirely up to us whether or not
we're looked upon as successes or failures.
You ever wonder why we have to keep doing it?
Whatever happened back before memory,
that's what drives us.
From there, all we can do is make the best of it.
We can't stop.
Yeah, but what if you did?
What if you decided it was enough
to rule the part of the world you already do?
Wouldn't that make you like me more, Chuck?
I just see where this goes from here.
People without self-doubt
should never put themselves
in a position of complete power.
They're the only ones who should rule,
because the other people let self-doubt rule them,
inviting second-guessing, inviting hesitation.
That would never be me.
Unfortunately that is why,
even as I have enjoyed this talk...
even as I know under different circumstances and conditions,
men with our ability to take in, synthesize, and use information
might have been more like brothers than enemies...
Yes, it's true.
But as much as I, too, enjoyed talking to you,
in the end, we were both just pissing in the wind.
Thank you for meeting me, Governor.
Oh, the secret note under the pillow was a fun touch.
I couldn't turn it down.
Though, as junior cabin members tasked
with picking up the continental breakfast,
you would've run into me anyway.
When my father heard
that I wanted to meet with you privately,
he volunteered that he'd had a past assignation
with a cleaning woman who could place the note.
It seemed too cruel to deny him the joy of participating.
[laughs]
This place, that cabin.
-Ah. -They make it so mysterious
and impossible to get in.
What they leave out is all the snoring and farting.
-And I'm just talking about me. -[chuckles] Well,
you're just trying to fit in.
Mm, I decided to do the thing, so I'm doing it.
Is there a topic we're kicking around
this fine morning?
You are my beau ideal
of a presidential candidate.
I want to talk about how I can help you secure it.
I prefer my support come from heartier stock.
You didn't even wrestle.
-[scoffs] -Support from the wuss quadrant
works against me in my part of the country.
But I know this is really about being against Mike Prince
more than for me.
-Does that matter? -Yeah.
You come out public for me
and then go tepid when I overtake Prince,
and it looks like I lost something.
Yeah.
Smart. I admit.
So maybe I do my work under the radar, then.
-Are you talking about Fourth? -I am.
I have made a career out of winning the ear of powerful men
and making them see the world the way I see it.
I get the value in what you're offering.
So you get face time with Fourth,
and you then can say
that I'm the number one pick in this draft.
Appreciate this.
Let's talk again before this Montana mudslide is over.
Don't forget your basket.
Oh.
-[man 1] Welcome. -Hey.
Hey, George.
How you doing, Fourth?
-[man 2] Great to see you again. -Fourth.
You know, that moniker was first hung on me right here,
when I was 8 years old.
Billy Graham needed help making s'mores.
-[laughs] -He called out "George Pike!"
And the three of us all answered at once.
Well, I'd love to find a time to toast some together and talk.
Maybe tonight.
We will.
[cell phone vibrates]
Yeah?
Tiger Team on the ground says
there's storm activity.
Shit.
Yes. It's a delay.
But in 12 to 14 hours, when it clears,
they'll make their move.
Twelve hours is ten fucking years.
Don't give in to that.
These are professionals. Hold on to that instead.
Thank you.
It's happening.
Tonight after dinner.
Invitation to Fourth's firepit talk.
Heck yes. Me alone?
Dunlop will be given the floor too.
-Damn. -All right, let's run scenarios.
She's gonna be coming into this just as prepared as I am.
She is on fire today.
What's my angle here?
What makes me the better candidate?
Go for action over all else.
Whatever you're doing or suggesting,
hell, whatever you're drinking,
make it anything other than weak.
[Fourth] We come here,
because to come here once a summer just--
It's not enough.
We come here to reconnect
with nature, our old friends.
Ourselves.
And our values.
To remember and refocus
what makes this country,
even in times of difficulty,
the greatest the world has ever known.
[Dunlop chuckles]
And we come here
to listen to new voices
so that they may lead us on to even more greatness.
You know, Jack used to come here.
And Bobby.
Their father. My father.
I remember, as a boy,
I was sitting in front of this fire
next to the president.
And it was that winter right after
the Berlin Crisis was just calming down.
And I heard him talk through
his decision tree.
Everyone talks about the Cuban Missile Crisis,
but the Berlin '61 standoff
was closer to nuclear war.
Yeah. That's very true. Very true.
No easy decision for even the best of minds.
Khrushchev was threatening to take over West Berlin,
and JFK was very seriously considering
a nuclear strike to stop him.
We owe your father a debt of thanks
for his counsel in preventing that.
Kick ass at conventional warfare, sure,
but the most important actions a president can take
are those that assure that no nuclear weapon is ever fired
by the United States
or any other country, ever.
Otherwise, it's end of the rodeo
and fini la comédie.
Well, that's a very sensible approach, Governor.
And there's no doubt the go/no go,
fire/no fire, it's...
[sighs] ...it's the only one that really matters.
[Prince] Hmm.
No nukes.
Let's have a concert. Chant it out.
Most times-- hell, most all the time--
that's right.
What distinction are you making, Mike?
It's not '61 anymore.
This isn't about slicing off a piece
of a Central European nation.
There are events in the world today
that can turn existential so quickly
that every option needs to be credibly on the table.
So am I to understand that you are actually suggesting
that there are first-strike strategies
that you see as plausible?
If a hostile nation-state were going to initiate,
if we knew they had plans to launch...
I would be open to launching first
in order to shut them down.
To save further carnage.
And how would you be so sure?
I'd have to be convinced it was the only course.
But that's what the people would be putting me there to judge.
No decision more important than go/no go, as you said.
Even if it may mean the end of the world as we know it.
Well, if you were making the decision and you hesitated,
then yes, it would be the end of the world.
But I would act only and because it would save
as much of the world as it was possible to save,
because the threat would be extinguished.
Well, that is a nuance few are brave enough to voice
in our current nanny-state climate.
She waffled on nukes and slipped.
[Fourth] Well, we should talk more,
much more about this.
We should wade into the finer points
and the mechanics of the thought processes.
But the core principle that we must all agree on
is strength of nation.
[Dunlop] Mm-hmm.
[Fourth] Declaration of loyalties.
We have to make sure
that you or this country is never bought.
It's never bribed.
And it's never blackmailed.
Hundred percent with you there.
My husband and I have pledged
to clear out all possible conflicts
the moment I am named as a candidate.
Yeah, I already have.
We're repatriating all funds.
Mine and the firm's. Not just from hot zones.
All foreign investments are to be liquidated
and pulled back onshore.
-All of it? -It's suicidal.
We'll be burning money.
I expect you to get me market prices.
You already went domestic with your entire portfolio,
business and personal, in advance?
Every dang penny.
[Fourth] Well.
This has been illuminating.
Huh!
I will see you all
at the sing-along later, huh?
Pleasure.
Thank you.
[Fourth] Ah, U.S. Attorney Rhoades.
I like to chamois my ball once a season,
even if I don't roll it.
Just keep it tip-top.
Well, illuminating discussion back there.
I like to let people define themselves, you know,
on their own terms.
To gauge where they stand.
Ah. And where do you stand?
I stand behind my convictions.
Always.
Okay.
Well, I see that you won't say it, so I will:
-That was lunacy. -Hmm?
I came up to this place for the express purpose
of finding you and telling you that Mike Prince was unfit.
But watching that, I immediately knew,
"No need. Fourth has to know. He told you himself."
That was utter lunacy.
Well, if I felt that, I would have said it.
You're not actually thinking of supporting a candidate
with those notions.
-You can't be. -You know, I'm thinking
that you're harboring loony notions.
Antiquated ones about good and bad,
from a time when things were simple and clear.
Well, let me tell you,
that never existed.
Hmm.
It was never simple.
Never clear.
And certainly not in these woods here.
Wow.
Tough to be clear when everyone's bombed and busy
playing naked paddy wagon all the time.
You know, we are in a literal dogfight at the moment
for the soul of our country.
Our history is being steered and written
by big men with agendas.
Not the populace, not the rule of law,
and certainly not the voters.
-It always has been. -[chuckles]
I would have thought recent events
might have taught you that,
and hoped your stay at The Owl had.
You know, you and people like you,
stewards of our codes and statutes,
you're not without utility.
But the ones I have in mind,
they create,
they dictate,
and they legislate beyond the courts.
And you, you tend to your patch of lawn
with your push mower.
But people like Mike Prince,
they ride combines right into the horizon.
[door closes loudly]
-Hi. -Hi.
-This for real? -[giggles]
Wendy came to visit me.
And that led to this?
She doesn't get paid enough.
[laughs]
Let's get started!
I get it. I get you.
It feels so obvious,
I'm surprised I didn't catch it before.
Catch what?
Wendy says it's a play on coprophagia.
It's all about debasement
and feelings of being unworthy, grotesque,
and then needing to be loved anyway.
And for you,
love needs to be expressed sexually,
with that kind of abandon,
almost as if I am absolutely
out of control with lust.
That I love you so much
that even your shit tastes like chocolate to me.
Because your shit is you.
And I love you.
Fuck.
That explanation just took me from javelin
to overcooked macaroni noodle.
What?
Nothing ruins a magic trick more
than knowing how it works.
You're out of here.
I figured that was your chopper I heard touching down.
This was a beginning for us.
A strong one.
I'll reach out to you through your office,
and we'll set up a series of meetings, introductions.
Good. I can't wait to start exploring a relationship.
Yes, but before we do,
you need to solve your marital issues quickly
and get that climber down
without putting a sharp stick in the Chinese's eyes...
or bending over to them.
[vehicle door opens and closes]
[engine starts]
Fourth is out. Let's bounce.
Hallelujah.
You got him. You fucking got him.
With one small wrinkle.
[Andy] You have eyes on them?
[Derek, on phone] Yes, thank fucking God.
I see a helicopter coming in.
Let's get you home.
I see something else.
Wait.
Derek, what do you see?
-[indistinct shouting] -[helicopter flying]
[man] Bogey, bogey. We were running clean.
-Did he turn on his beacon? -No.
We have Chinese military in the area.
They are right on top of us.
This is turning into a soup sandwich.
How the hell'd they'd get a lock?
Abort, abort. Sorry, chief, I'm bugging out.
[static crackles]
-[men shouting choppily] -[helicopter flying]
[man] Look out!
-Look out! -[gunshot]
[audio goes dead]
Shit.
Derek?
Can you hear me, Derek?
I'm sorry, Andy.
-They can still-- -We have to assume he's alive,
but in Chinese custody.
[door opens]
You leave now, you'll miss the best part.
I'll get over it.
Your buddy Ham can take my bunk now.
Ah, you're fair-weather Owls.
-Not Owls to the end. -Hmm.
To hell with you. Both of you.
Our country is wounded, gutted, and bleeding.
And Prince is minted,
and we don't have a single legal move to make.
He still has the hardest part ahead.
-Maybe he'll stumble. -[scoffs]
Maybe he won't even make it to the general.
Never underestimate the man who overestimates himself.
Meanwhile, we leave empty-handed.
We leave with nothing.
Not nothing.
We still have the splinters in our asses from the outhouse.
-We'll always have those. -[laughs]
Indeed we do, my friend.
And no one can take that away from us.
Not without some fine-point tweezers.
The arrow on the doorpost
Saying "This land is condemned"
"All the way From New Orleans"
"To Jerusalem"
I traveled Through East Texas
I've been tossing this whole thing around in my head
over and over.
Tiger Team is the best.
You said they're the best. Everyone does.
The phone was secure. The beacon was off.
Did you...
You didn't tip it, did you?
How did it go bad if you didn't?
You wanted him off the mountain.
He's off the damn mountain.
The stars above
The barren trees
Was his only audience
Them charcoal gypsy maidens
Can strut Their feathers well
[all chanting]
But nobody
Can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
[chanting continues]
See them big plantations Burning
Hear the cracking Of the whips
Smell that sweet magnolia Blooming
See the ghosts Of slavery ships
I can hear them tribes Moaning
Hear that undertaker's bell
Nobody can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
There's a woman By the river
With some fine young Handsome man
He's dressed up Like a squire