Billions S5 E9: Chuck’s Physical Appearance Matches His Mental State

With the second half of Billions Season 5 back, we can’t help but notice that Chuck is beginning to look a lot like his father.

Chuck has had a long, long run trying to take down the likes of Bobby Axelrod but the results are futile. Not only do his adversaries seem to be getting away with things, his own personal life too is in turmoil.

His vendetta has already caused him to lose his wife and kids. And as seen in the latest episode, Chuck Sr suffers a kidney failure and is rushed to the hospital.

Despite the history between the father-son duo, Chuck Jr does his best to get his father on the organ priority list. Having no other option, he even considers harvesting a kidney from an illegal immigrant.

His professional and personal life is taking a toll on him. And while the story itself conveys most of it, Chuck’s new makeover in this second half renders his physical appearance to match his mental state.

Many fans have commented how they did a double-take at seeing his clean-shaven look, mistaking him for his father. The change has aged him quite a bit and adds to the ruggedness that the character feels on an emotional and mental level as well.

Tweet Loading…

It is still unknown if this makeover was the show’s creative decision or simply the actor’s (Paul Giamatti) personal choice. It seems to be leaning on the latter since Giamatti did lose weight during the pandemic.

There are speculations that the actor had to go through changes in physical appearance for other roles he is undertaking. Given Billions’ shooting schedule during the pandemic was unpredictable, Giamatti may have simply not had the time to regrow his beard.

In any case, Chuck’s new look is here to stay and although it may remind us of his father, it also reminds us of his new attempts of sabotaging Bobby.

Now that he has decided to join hands with Taylor Mason and Michael Prince, Chuck considers he might have some chance at taking Bobby down.

Still, there are fans who were rather excited to see Chuck and Bobby join hands (as earlier teased) than butt heads once again.

Tweet Loading…

This would’ve definitely been a newer vision to explore since the show has not tried it out yet. We’ll wait to see how the rest of the episodes play out.

About Billions

Billions is an American drama created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. The series is set in financial centres based in America.

The series follows hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), as he accumulates wealth and power in the world of high finance. The series premiered on Showtime on January 17, 2016.