Billions recap: No good deed goes unpunished

As "Hostis Humani Generis" kicks off, Prince (Corey Stoll) is giving Governor Sweeney (Matt Servitto) a tour, showing him the new, state-of-the-art subway trains that he plans on bringing to New York as part of his bid for the 2028 Olympics. Prince plans on donating 1,000 clean energy railway cars to the city, and giving the Governor all the credit. It's just the latest in a long line of moves meant to shore up support for his Olympics bid, a bid that has the city itself divided.

Needless to say, this bit of generosity from Prince doesn't sit well with Chuck (Paul Giamatti). Daevisha Mahar (Sakina Jaffrey), Chuck's replacement for Kate (Condola Rashad) who goes by the name "Dave," doesn't understand why Chuck is so upset. Isn't this a net positive for the city of New York? Of course it is, but this season Chuck is laser focused on curbing not just illegal behavior, but what he believes is amoral behavior. He believes that Prince shouldn't even have the wealth to be able to buy and donate 1,000 railcars to the city. So, when the head of the union comes to him with grievances about these new proposed trains, Chuck doesn't hesitate to try and get the donation killed.

What follows is a typical back and forth between those who run the errands for Chuck and Prince, with Kate and Dave trying to get a read on each team's strategy while Scooter (Daniel Breaker) and Wags (David Costabile) advise Prince on what comes next. If he wants to go ahead with the subway initiative, he's going to need to bring more money into Mike Prince Capital, which means opening up the vaulted "Prince List" to new investors. Again, Prince says that he wants to do things "the right way" and bring in new money that lines up with his values.

With that in mind, Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon) gets a visit from old friend/flame Lauren (Jade Eshete). Lauren represents Leon, an ex-NFL player who's built an at-home workout empire that also happens to support social justice causes. Prince doesn't hesitate in bringing him on board. At the same time, when he learns the union is working against him with Chuck, Prince secures a deal with them too, bringing in their pension fund money for management.

Prince isn't done there though. He desperately wants to secure the portfolio of his alma mater, Indiana A&M. He knows that would be a huge PR boon, so he makes his pitch to the Board of Endowment. In other words, everything is looking great for Prince… until it isn't.

First, Leon threatens to pull his money when he learns about the union making the Prince List, a union that also includes the NYPD. Then, he gets blindsided by Chuck and Dave, as they manage to prove that his subway donation is, in fact, illegal because the company building the trains, even though it operates within America, is actually a Chinese-owned business. But Prince has made promises to Sweeney and the city of New York, so he's cornered into making a $2 billion donation to the MTA, straight up, without getting any favors in return.

That hurts, but at the end of the episode, Prince still feels like he's won because the Board of Endowment at Indiana A&M has agreed to invest their money in Mike Prince Capital. It's a huge win for Prince because it not only gives him a lot of money, but he also gets the stamp of approval from his alma mater. Prince is a man who loves signs and full-circle moments and karma, so the idea that his alma mater would trust him with their money is a big deal to him personally.

Alas, his rosy vision will be ruined soon enough. A quick flashback shows us that Chuck got to the Board of Endowment first, asking pointed questions about how the school was spending government funding. All that's to say that Chuck seems to have Stuart, the head of the board, on his side — and now that man is aligned with Mike Prince Capital and able to feed information to Chuck. We'll see how long it takes for Prince to realize he has a fox in his hen house.

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