SPOILERS for the finale of Succession.
The entire raison d’être of Succession was in the name of the show. Succession creator Jesse Armstrong gave fans something unique in the third episode of the last season: the death of Logan Roy. Then we got to see the messy, chaotic fight for who would win the game of thrones, which sibling could wrest control of the sprawling company, Waystar Royco, in the wake of Logan’s death. It was clear that none of the kids should have it, that they were all incompetent idiots, although one could make the case that Kendall was arguably the best candidate. I worried that the finale would be Kendall getting everything he thought he wanted and realizing too late that he couldn’t do it, or that he only wanted it because he wanted to screw over his siblings. I’m so glad that wasn’t the case.
Kendall did come close though. He came within one board vote. It all came down to Shiv and… wow. I didn’t expect it to go down the way it did, with Kendall, Shiv and Roman literally brawling in the office. That scene… Roman repeating what his father said about Ken’s children, Roman motioning to Shiv and telling Ken, “she’s the bloodline.” Kendall’s argument of “I am the eldest boy” which… he’s not. Ken grabbing Roman by the face, Shiv marching back into the boardroom to vote for the GoJo deal (off-camera!!). It was all perfect.
The scene between Alexander Skarsgard’s Lukas and Matthew Macfayden’s Tom Wambsgans was perfect too, an excellent payoff for the weird sexual energy between Shiv and Lukas. Ultimately, Lukas doesn’t make business decisions with his d–k. He didn’t want to install an American CEO he wanted to sleep with. Lukas wanted someone morally neutral, compliant and yet somewhat connected to the family. Tom was truly the perfect candidate. Tom won the game of thrones and… he was the right choice. The scene in the car between Tom and Shiv was amazing too. And the scene on the phone, earlier in the episode, where Shiv basically asks Tom if they could possibly stay together but for real.
Anyway, I loved the characters brought back for the finale. It was great to see so much of Caroline, for Stewy to have some scenes, for Roman to freak out when he saw Gerri. I loved everything at Caroline’s house although we could sense that those sibling good-vibes wouldn’t last. They did not last an entire 24 hours. I’m not sure they lasted 12 hours? It shows that those good vibes are not their natural state. Their natural state is “at each other’s throats.”
Also: Kendall sitting alone on a bench, staring out on the water… big Michael Corleone vibes. Except that Shiv freed them all.
Photos courtesy of HBO/Succession, Cover Images.
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- HBO’s ‘Succession’ season 3 red carpet premiere. Featuring: Alan Ruck, Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong Where: NYC, New York , United States When: 12 Oct 2021 Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/INSTARimages/Cover Images
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- -NYC, NY – 6/13/22 HBO “ Succession†Season 3 Emmy FYC screening and Panel PICTURED: Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong , Brian Cox and Sarah Snook -PHOTO by: Dave Allocca / StarPix -Location: The Asia Society Featuring: Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Brian Cox and Sarah Snook Where: NYC, New York, United States When: 13 Jun 2022 Credit: Dave Allocca / StarPix
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- HBO’s ‘Succession’ Season 4 Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 20, 2023 in New York City. Featuring: Sarah Snook, Alan Ruck, Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin Where: New York, New York, United States When: 20 Mar 2023 Credit: Marion Curtis/StarPix for HBO Originals/Startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
My prediction had been “It’ll be Tom. He’ll keep Greg. Everything else will be left vague.” I have a time stamped text message with those words. I’m feeling pretty high on myself right now.
Same here. I loved how Tom claimed Greg by placing the sticker on the forehead, where he had kissed him. In some twisted way, they were the most functional relationship of the series.
Me too, although I kind of wanted Tom to demote him back to mascot or something so low that Greg might decline and be forced to earn a job for himself. I guess he gets to be Tom’s whipping boy and stay on to help with the firings.
I figured it would be Tom because I rewatched the first episode and expected that they would book-end certain things about the series. When Kendall makes the crucial misstep in the pilot of leaving work during deal negotiations to come to Logan’s birthday party, he lost the chance to take over. Logan feels Kendall can’t cut it, he isn’t serious enough to prioritize business matters. Kendall always had false confidence and Shiv grew up knowing her brothers were completely full of shit. She finally gained the upper hand for a moment and had to take their toy away. When Tom was the only high-level employee to skip Logan’s funeral in order to keep things going at the office, I felt that karmically that earned him the prize. Like Tom passed Logan’s test. For Matsson, Tom was evil enough to do the dirty work, and submissive enough to puppet.
This is so insightful, about Tom passing Logan’s test. It does feel karmically right to give him the prize.
I knew the Roy siblings weren’t going to win back the company, they’ve finally reached the glass ceiling for failing upward, but I wasn’t sure who was going to be Mattson’s top lackey in the end.
I have such mixed feelings about Logan. I mean, he lived through hell as a child and persevered to build the fifth largest media conglomerate in the world. I know from my own family history that a childhood spent in war, displacement, and emotional neglect shapes a personality and the trauma is passed down through generations. But Logan hated his children for being privileged and not having to struggle. I’m not saying a billionaire shouldn’t pamper his own children, but he never let them in, either. His children didn’t really know the details of his childhood or who he was. If he wanted to mold them in his own image, he could have shared more with them, and maybe pushed them to be better humanitarians. He raised them in a gilded cage, neglected them emotionally, and then despised them for being exactly who he raised them to be.
So what happened with the $10 billion acquisition of PGM?
Yep! They’ll still be at each other throats there, trying to be the boss… Or the deal won’t go through as none of their deal ever gone through
That’s what I wondered. That and why weren’t Marsha and Caroline voting. They are both board members. In the fist or second episode of season 1, Logan was even trying to get the kids to sign off on Marsha getting a second vote in the instance of Logan’s demise.
Why am I emotionally wrecked?!! I hate every single one of these people! I have never ever been able to predict the twists and turns because I truly do not understand these people (Shiv is still a complete mystery to me) so I did not predict this but loved it.
I suspected the sibling truce would be short lived, but I truly LOVED them banding together for both s3 and s4 endings. But that poor doomed baby lol.
I think Tom will be an attentive loving father. I despise Tom, but he’s very close to his mother and I think he’ll be a good dad. I mean, the kid will mostly be raised by nannies and boarding school but they’ll be more loved than the Roy children.
Zazzoo, yes for sure. Although Shiv will try to poison their child against him.
Shiv was such a disappointment. I was in her corner, at first, but her facade fell away fast the minute Logan started treating her more like a “son” (his words: “Roman is my daughter. My *only* daughter”) From then on, she was just as drunk on the promise of power as the rest of them. No way can she play second fiddle to Tom, and it won’t take long for the excitement of squashing Ken to fade, when it ultimately means being Tom’s sidekick. Realistically, all of the Roy children have the money and connections to do whatever they want, but Connor is the only one who’s actually doing whatever TF he feels like. Roman seems to have had a tiny breakthrough there at the very end with his brief smile. Ken will probably hit rehab a few more times, while Shiv & Tom are gonna have a Drumpf/Ivanka level media divorce.
Alex Skarsgard was a great addition to the cast. The way Lukas played Shiv was heartbreaking but well executed.
Shiv always thinking she’s the smartest person in the room set herself up to be played. Lukas never wanted her for anything other than a conduit into the Roys. She believed she was better than Tom but now she’s his bitch. Just desserts.
The narcissism of the Roy kids prohibits them from seeing narcissism of Lukas. The scene with Lukas and Tom was enlightening. Shiv was right about releasing the India numbers and offering a U.S. CEO to appease Mencken. Lukas held that against her because he needs to be the brilliant one, even though he’s a mess too.
Lukas told Tom straight to his face that he wants to have sex with his wife, and Tom will just roll with it. Tom will roll with everything to stay at the top.
Even at the end Shiv still insisted Lukas had faith in her or saw something in her and had to be reminded by Roman that she was played.
The bust up between the siblings in full view of the board was spectacular. I thought I’d be sad this morning that it’s done, but I’m on a high from the roller coaster of what went down. It was good to see so many familiar faces (sans Marcia) in the last scenes. I loved every minute I spent with this messy terrible conniving back-stabbing group of people.
For me it was an irresistible tortured love hate ride that I’ll miss terribly.
It’s Waystar Royco
And funny how the only real, redemptive love was between Tom and Greg the Egg
As someone who couldn’t stomach it but would like to understand the obsession, does someone have a summary of this crazy show?
It’s a show about a rich narcissistic family, where no one can leave because then they won’t have access to money or power anymore. So they just sit around being terrible to each other, hoping to be picked /validated by their awful dad. He dies and they realize they are the new monsters, rich but less powerful. Everyone sucks.
The glimpses of tenderness sliced between the meanness and selfishness often was beautiful.
It’s about complicated family dynamics and how people cope or don’t cope.
It’s also quite funny at times,
It’s a well written drama of power, money and messed up love. In this version of King Lear, a Rupert Murdoch-like billionaire needs to pick a successor/heir to the throne as it’s clear he won’t live forever. While the oldest is a political dilettante who largely stays out of it, the three remaining siblings all want the crown and each have had their moments where the stone cold father seemed to choose them, at least to their mind. Like Murdoch’s realm, the kingdom includes a Fox News look alike and a presidential election to be swayed.
A tall thin Scandinavian appears, wanting to buy the entire kingdom for a pretty penny and the king favors the deal, then all mayhem breaks out.
Imagine Arrested Development meets Game of Thrones.
In a dark way, both of the brothers are free without realizing it. Shiv is trapped, one way or another, tied to it by her choice to have the baby. Even if she and Tom don’t ultimately work out, they’re linked by a child. Roman I’m not sure will ever grow up enough to change, but Kendall…hmm, there’s potential there. Maybe. He can either let this define his life, or he can grow from it.
Last night, I wanted Jesse Armstrong’s head on a platter for that ending. Now though, I feel like Kendall and Roman are the ones who truly won, because they are FREE. Shiv screwed them over and will now wallow (I hope) in a hell of her own making.
I don’t think Shiv screwed them over so much as she chose her husband and child over her brothers.
I mean at the end Kendal is being followed by a bodyguard so he didn’t commit suicide so…I don’t know that he’ll be okay for a while…
That was his driver following him. He was Logan’s former driver. The man Logan said he could only trust.
Can’t remember the character’s name-Carl?
Glad it was Tom in the end. The kids are better off, but Kendall won’t ever realize it.
So many little things, I may have to watch it again. When Kendall called his assistant “the new Jess” I nearly swallowed my tongue.
The ultimate winner: JERRI!
She gets to stay right where she wants to be; she has power and the respect of everyone; she no longer has to tolerate Roman and his dick pics.
Runners-up: Willa & her giant cow hide couch and Carolina, who gets to keep her job & position of power too while getting rid of Hugo.
I went into last night not having a clue how it would end. And I loved every last decision. Just perfect. Give Jesse Armstrong all the Emmys and a future writing producing deal of the century because he is who deserves it. At the end he says his idea of the future Roman will continue to be an immature but with funny jokes playboy, Shiv and Tom have been too hurtful to each other to easily carry on as a couple and Kendall will maybe go on to start his own company but will not be nearly as successful as his father and that will continue to mark him.
I am glad we didn’t get “Soprano’d”, another great show without any good people.
It was a tremendous ending and watching Jesse land that plane was a thing of beauty. Some favorite moments include Greg figuring out the deal by using Google Translate—I howled! Tom slapping Greg and later reclaiming him with that hilarious sticker. They had agreed to stick together when they made their ‘deal with the devil,’ so Tom is making good on that promise. I also recall when Logan told Tom on 2 occasions that he would never forget Tom’s willingness to go to jail for the family. I think maybe Tom getting the big job could be Logan’s way of being good on his word.
The ending was exactly right but I was heartbroken. Jeremy Strong and the other actors who played the Roy kids made me want good things for them despite my better judgment. They made rich entitled underqualified monsters into real people for me. I spent last night so sad I will never see those horrible losers ever again lol.
I watched S1-2 and it was very well acted, pulled me in.
Then I needed to stop bc the Real World is getting worse constantly and this drama of a vipers nest family, who are all about power was really depressing me.
The actors have all made career progress with their parts = good for them.
Let it end. If they wrapped up the story, don’t try any reboots or sequels.
Too many shows are running extra seasons when the well has run dry, as a money grab.
Yellowstone and the 5 spinoffs is a great example.
Y S1-3 were good, beautiful scenery, etc.
Now? TS has run it all into the ground. I hope by the time the Writers strike ends all his shows are dead in the water.
See also Netflix and The Witcher. Years in between seasons = over it.
Last night was chef’s kiss.
I would love to see a movie set 5 years in the future, ala Downton Abbey. Must have original producers, writers and cast on board. Or eight years in the future and Conner is elected president.
Your comments here and on theHBOMax rebranding disaster and how many just wanted to watch Succession made me interested in this show. I mean if you guys are interested, it must be good.
I’m gonna watch and come back to read your comments when I’m done. Should be fun.
Just commenting before the comments close up.
I mean, it was clear from the first episode that none of the kids would take over for Logan. Time and again they get close but none of them can follow all the way through and land it. Logan was scrappy and pulled himself up from nothing and couldn’t stomach the idea of the kids who were on 3rd base through no work would take it. That’s why he was selling.