Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.
- Chuck finally gets a well-executed slam-dunk victory over Judge Wilcox, who has been building a private fortune by funnelling minority kids into prison and taking kickbacks from white guys he's let walk. Chuck swears he'll let the judge go out graciously, resigning immediately and not prosecuting him. When Lonnie and the FBI walk into Wilcox's retirement party to cuff him, Chuck has this response:Wilcox: You're a fucking liar!Chuck: I said the Southern District wouldn't prosecute. I can't speak for Eastern.
- In "The Deal", "Dollar" Bill Stern shows off why he's got the balls to be lead investor at Axe Capital - leaking photos and a confession of his second family to his wife, so that Chuck can't use her as leverage:
- Wendy's response to Bobby accusing her of lying to him and giving Chuck access to her session notes:Wendy: I did not sell you out. Polygraph me, motherfucker.
- The final scene and showdown of Season 1
. Axe tears his place apart after having been fed false information about a bug in his offices. Chuck shows up to goad him and an intense face off follows. A real tour de force between Lewis and Giamatti where Both Sides Have a Point.Axe: When I pull a deal off the table, I leave Nagasaki behind.
Chuck: You know. the only enemy more dangerous than a man with unlimited resources ...is one with nothing to lose. And that is what you are looking at right here. - The Machiavellian gambit of Chuck at the end of Season 2 is nothing short of amazing, and he tops it with a Badass Boast when he confronts Axe face to face:Axe: Yeah, I might go down behind all of this, but one thing is for sure, you are gonna be right there next to me.
Chuck: Like I said before, Bob... Worth It. - Ira's response to Chuck when he finds out exactly what Chuck did and that Chuck expects him to accept the fact he's now broke and cannot reveal Chuck's involvement.Chuck: You will protect me and my role. It is to your benefit to have me as governor. You should act out of rationality, not emotion.
Ira: Why? You didn't. [leaves the room] - Wendy calling Chuck and Bobby out for the mess their feud has created and forcing them to team up so the three of them will be able to escape facing prison time. She also manages to subvert both of their expectations of her, remarking "So, who's going to be our patsy?" after a lengthy discussion where the men believe she's going to be more emotional and need to be protected from varying unpleasant shady dealings.
- Then in the next episode the team of Bobby, Chuck, and Wendy proves to be a highly effective one as they manage to completely blow up Connerty's prosecution before the case even gets to trial with only Dr. Gilbert suffering any consequences.
- Rhoades Senior and Black Jack Foley make the beeeeeg mistake of showing up at Chuck and Wendy's sex dungeon as a power play. Wendy makes Chuck realize that the only reason he wants to become governor is because Senior and Foley have been pushing him in that direction for their own ends, leading Chuck to pull the rug from under them by declaring that he won't be running and will endorse Bob Sweeney to run in his place. Chuck also blackmails Foley while Wendy deploys Hall against Senior and drops a Badass Boast on the latter, for good measure.
- It's pretty sweet to see Chuck get completely Out-Gambitted by Jock Jeffcoat and his coalition of allies - Alvin Epstein, Oliver Dake, Kate Sacker, and Bryan Connerty. It's even sweeter with the following Ironic Echo:Bryan Connerty: Collect your things, leave your ID card on the desk, and get the fuck out of here.
- Three big ones in "Overton Window":
- Axe, Wags, and Bill, the only three old-time traders at Axe Cap, spend the day frantically trading over the phone after Grigor cripples their IT infrastructure, as all the young pups on the trading floor look on in awe.
- Chuck, after a dying Foley threatens him with the exposure of all his masochistic tendencies decides to bite the bullet and be completely open about his predilections. Discarding his prepared withdrawal speech, he instead improvises a magnificent public coming-out, and gets what may be the first time his father and Axe have ever looked at him with completely undivided admiration. He also wins the election, although at the cost of major damage to his and Wendy's relationship.
- Axe after supporting Chuck in becoming Attorney General, gets him to freeze Andolov's assets and throw him out of the country and then goes to meet him on the tarmac. His final face-off with the only man we've ever seen him truly afraid of has him openly admitting that he can be scared, but not stopped, and is fully willing to fight as viciously as Andolov if he feels threatened. The exchange ends respectfully enough, with both agreeing to leave the other alone as long as they remain on opposite sides of the world, but all bets are off if they ever come into each other's sphere of influence again.
- Mafee (of all people) gets one in "Infinite Game" after Wendy manipulates and betrays both him and Taylor in a deeply personal and extremely vicious manner. He storms up to her and gives her a richly-deserved calling out for her cruelty and hypocrisy in front of all her colleagues, and when they all leap to her defence (including the infamously Hot-Blooded Dollar Bill being ready to throw down right there) he has to be dragged out by security rather than backing down an inch.
- Taylor deduces Rudy is up to no good because he was singing "Nessun Dorma"But you were singing "Nessun Dorma" before, which is about somebody hiding something. Which makes me wonder why that particular aria was in your mouth. So it's a no for now.
- The Rhoadeses' elaborate Batman Gambit against Connerty.
- In a Season 5 epsiode of Billions, Chuck humiliates an obnoxious asshole named Ronald Chestnut with a speech about how a humble server is more of an American citizen than he is. When the jerk is tempted to throw a punch at Chuck, Chuck points out that if he does hit him, his parole will end and that he'll go back to prison for 4 years. When Ronald leaves to avoid more humiliation, everyone at the bar clapped for Chuck. Even his old man thought what he did was awesome.
Chuck Rhodes Sr.:"Was a thing of beauty, my boy."
