Billions recap: Michael Prince, the new King of New York

Michael Prince's (Corey Stoll) bid to bring the Olympics to New York is in its final stages, and things are looking good. The announcement is only 3 days away, and Prince is liking his chances. The man is feeling good about himself, not only navigating through and deflecting all of Chuck's (Paul Giamatti) attacks on his bid, but also managing to grow closer to his estranged wife, Andy (Piper Perabo), in the process. They're sleeping together again, and it looks like maybe they're on the road to reconciliation.

Prince asks her to stick around for breakfast, not just for her company, but because she can be useful to him. He has a meeting with Colin Drache (Campbell Scott), and Prince wants Andy to stick around because he knows that Drache, who acts as a middleman between the Olympic committee and all the bidders, will be asking for a juicy bribe. Prince, as we know, wants to do things above board, to be the "good billionaire," and he figures if Andy is around there's no way Drache will implicate himself and ask for a payoff.

Instead of a bribe, Prince sweetens the deal for the committee members through legit means, starting a scholarship program that will send deserving kids to prestigious colleges, and the committee member will have some sway in the process. This is Prince's way of circumventing Drache's bribe, his way of trying to change the culture of business which is often driven by corruption.

A lot of this season has been about establishing Prince's idealistic approach to business while also examining if it's at all possible for him to succeed with that outlook within the confines of capitalism. "Napoleon's Hat" pushes Prince to the edge, putting him in a spot where his morals are truly tested as the Olympic announcement approaches. Because as the day gets closer, and the bid is in jeopardy, Prince must ask himself how far he's willing to go to achieve his goals.

Trouble starts when Mayor Johnson shuts down Prince's attempt to bring his subway tech to the New York transit system, an important piece of his bid, saying that they don't want any private investors involved in public goods. On top of that, Chuck is convinced that Prince can't be the leader in the Olympics bid without greasing some wheels along the way, and when he subpoenas the manifests of the IOC's helicopter trip to a U2 concert and sees Wags and Drache on the list, he figures that some sort of illegal bribery is going on between the two of them.

So, Chuck spends the episode chasing down this lead. He's laser focused on Prince, and once again Dave is questioning his approach. Dave says she's here to fight the real criminals, and that they can't find Prince doing anything illegal. Chuck on the other hand simply disagrees with the very idea of billionaires and wealth concentration, and the two have a great back and forth about the American Dream, its flaws and merits, as well as privilege, wealth, and class. It's a sharp scene, and since Dave is a new character this season, it helps to clarify her dynamic with Chuck.

The B-story sees Taylor creating an algorithm that can rate stocks more precisely, using it as a wedge against the MTA when they sell the algo to a bigger company and ask for a favor in downgrading the MTA. That gives Prince some leverage to get his subway tech back in play, all but securing that the Olympics will come to New York.

But there's one final problem. As Chuck and Wendy bond during a snooty fundraising event at their kid's private school, seemingly rekindling some sort of, if not romance, then at least affection for one another, Colin meets with Prince, Wags, and Scooter to tell them that it looks like Prince will end up with the winning bid. Then he says that there's still one more person who might need to be appeased in this deal, hinting at the bribe. Prince tells Wags and Scooter to leave the room, and in a fascinating moment, Wags actually tells Prince that if he goes down this road, he'll wake up tomorrow with all sorts of regrets and he won't be able to go back to the person he was.

Prince says he'll be fine, that he can handle this, but by the end of the episode we're left wondering if Prince has crossed the line, if he's sacrificed his morals in order to satisfy his ego, and if he's left himself open to an attack from Chuck. The episode leaves us hanging in the best way possible. New York gets the 2028 Olympics, Chuck can only watch as Prince revels in the victory, but Prince as a character has never been more complex or compelling. It looks like the rest of this season will keep pushing Prince, keep picking at his sense of self, and I think it's going to make for a great showdown with Chuck by season's end.

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