Mike Prince’s Vision of Pax Romana Will Be the Plot of Billions S7

Mike Prince brought down Chuck Rhoades in Episode 9, and Episode 10 seemed like a prologue to the next season. A good part of the season finale showcased Mike Prince’s true mindset.

Mike Prince has been giving out lessons as a mentor and a preacher throughout the season, and it all seemed quite pretentious. As an audience, I didn’t buy any of it, and to me, he just seemed like another version of Axelrod or any other power-hungry billionaire.

When Wendy asked Mike Prince what he wanted, he mentioned how the Olympics wasn’t his only goal. It was just a tiny part of it. He used the words, Pax Romana, to describe his vision.

So what does Pax Romana mean?

Pax Romana translates to Roman Peace. It was a 200-year period when there was peace, prosperity, stability, and security in the Roman Empire. Mike Prince might want to establish the same in New York or want something much bigger.

When Wendy tries to understand Mike Prince and why he decided to watch the complete court proceedings of Chuck Rhoades, she makes Mike Prince realize something. She shows that he is just like anyone else—a power-hungry elite man who wants to conquer the world and stand on top of it.

Mike Prince also tells her that he wants to be better than people like Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades. He has defeated both of them and the latter on more than one occasion. He mentions how he wants to be the better Caesar.

As the conversation moves forward, he tells Wendy that the Olympics is just a tiny figment of his monumental vision. He uses the phrase, Pax Romana, to maybe imply that he is looking at creating prosperity, stability, and peace, monopolized by Mike Prince Capital. 

The Pax Romana period had five emperors, and the period began with Augustus Caesar. He was the nephew of Julius Caesar and ascended to the throne after his assassination. In many ways, he began the good era of the Roman empire and thus is the better Caesar.

Mike Prince is probably looking to become that monarch of the modern world. He would either want to rule over New York, or perhaps his vision exceeds the city, and he’s eyeing something much bigger.

Season 7 would shed more light on what Mike Prince meant by Pax Romana. It would also mark the next chapter for Mike Prince Capital, where Mike Prince seems to have accepted who he truly is, making him even more calculative, shrewd, and ambitious.

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.