Summary: Kendall is working hard to secure votes for the board meeting, while Shiv does the same for Matsson. Kendall and Shiv track down Roman at their mother's house and try to get him to vote. Matsson doesn't want Shiv as CEO and offers the job to Tom. Tom doesn't inform Greg, who tells Kendall about Matsson looking for a CEO. Kendall tells Shiv, who is upset, and the siblings decide to band together to back Kendall and stop Matsson. They share a fun night together in Caroline's house. Shiv learns that Tom is the CEO and she tells him that they have the votes to turn the board meeting in their favour. Tom gets upset with Greg for leaking information. Roman has second thoughts before the meeting but Kendall uses pain to get him back on track. At the board meeting, Shiv ultimately backs out. Kendall and Roman follow her out to discuss and a huge fight breaks out. Shiv thinks Kendall would be a bad leader and cites his killing od Andrew Dodds, but Kendall claims it never happened, alienating his siblings. Shiv votes against Kendall. Tom ends up as the new CEO of Waystar and opts to protect Greg, keeping him close. Roman, now free from the company, goes to a bar. Shiv and Tom continue their relationship. Kendall sits in a park looking out at the water with Colin watching over him.
The Good: I loved almost everything about this. This 90 minute finale told a complete story with one last battle, one last reunion, and one last betrayal in the Roy family, ending the series with what the show does best. In the end, this was always about the relationship between the three siblings, their dysfunction as a family, and their inability to succeed because of who they are and what they represent. This finale explored these ideas masterfully, and ending with the Roys all falling apart and failing spectacularly was truly the only way that this show could have ended. The build-up to all of this was excellent. Roman's breakdown in the last episode was a huge emotional climax for the character, so I like that the episode started with the big question of where Roman was and how he's taking everything. In true "Succession" fashion, the siblings checking in on him mentally quickly turned to political maneuvering as both Kendall and Shiv fought to get Roman on their side. It's an engaging war between Kendall and Shiv, but the show hits us with a major twist as Shiv falls out of the race when Matsson betrays her and hunts down another candidate for CEO. Shiv's slow realization of this, her denial, her frustration, and her despair is portrayed phenomenally. Naturally, Shiv's total defeat allows for Kendall to do his usual thing. Kendall has always been entitled, and he always grabs onto whatever point he can to make himself look good and support his own goals. Here he latches onto Shiv's loss in an effort to promote himself, practically begging his siblings to band together and let him be CEO. And now that both Shiv and Roman have no other recourse, they both agree. What results is one of the most fascinating scenes of the entire show as we see the three siblings supporting each other and being on the same page to for the first time ever. Kendall is so happy because he has always dreamed of his siblings supporting him like this, while Roman and Shiv look so much more in their own element without the burden of trying to fight from below for the CEO position. It's so brutally tragic because the three of them look so happy, and there are genuinely great laughs like the concoction Kendall is made to drink and Roman having a weird sexual experience with Peter's precious cheese. Of course after what happens next, they will almost certainly never interact like this again. It's fitting that the show concludes with a vote at a board meeting, hearkening back to "Which Side Are You On" all the way back in season 1. Back then, it was Roman who stopped Kendall from taking over, and this time it's Shiv. I thought the build-up to this was exceptional with Kendall showing such disgusting traits that make it clear he will just be another Logan, except worse. When Roman expresses doubt, Kendall hurts him, manipulating him to stay by his side in one of the show's darkest scenes. Instead of helping his brother, Kendall enables him because it will work in his favour. Shiv is not so easily pacified, and true to what we've seen from the character, she's observant enough to notice Kendall's disrespectful, flippant, and careless demeanor in a position of power. Shiv recognizes how disastrous it would be if he has power and behaves like this, and this doubt is what leads to her acting against Kendall in the meeting. This doesn't feel cheap because we are shown in advance why Shiv wouldn't be able to handle Kendall taking over, and it is consistent with the behaviour we have seen her exhibit throughout the whole season. Shiv backing out sets up one of the most painful and stunning scenes in the entire show as Kendall, Shiv, and Roman go to the other room to have an intense personal argument (one that is amusingly overheard by everyone in the board room). This scene is downright stomach-churning to watch, with the characters unleashing some fantastic personal jabs and letting emotions run sky-high. Several moments stood out from me from this phenomenal sequence. Shiv saying she can't stomach Kendall is perfect writing because it neatly encompasses her feelings about him from the start. She loves him for sure, but she has never agreed with the way he has done things, and this line perfectly lets out the frustration she has had with him. Kendall's desperation to win her back is fantastically acted, and it leads to him saying something so horribly wrong, and yet I understood why he did it in the moment: Kendall denies his role in killing Andrew, the waiter. Shiv was completely awful to use this against him, but Kendall is so desperate to win her back that he denies it even happening, completely ignorant to realizing how this destroys their relationship. Kendall opening up to them was one of the best moments of the show because of how it strengthened the bond between the siblings, who struggle so much to be real with one another because of the constant competition between them. Revealing that this one intimate moment was a strategic play, even if this is not true, will permanently damage the relationship between these three forever. When Kendall denies it happening, not only does he lose Shiv but he loses Roman too, a tragic mistake that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Another standout moment is Roman telling Kendal that Logan believed his kids to be illegitimate. Kendall's children not being related to him is something that I suspected in the back of my mind for quite some time (just look at Sophie), but I'm incredibly impressed that the writers held out on using this stunning personal jab until the bitter end. It would have been so easy to use this in any earlier argument, but saving this for one final jab makes it so much more devastating. This almost certainly ends the relationship between Kendall and Roman, especially with how Kendall physically attacks Roman right after this. This entire sequence is deeply upsetting and one of the biggest accomplishments of the entire show. This leads me to the conclusion for the three siblings. After all that they have been through, none of them end up as CEO and the company is completely lost to them forever. Shiv is the closest to the company as she's married to the new CEO and pregnant with his child. But they are trapped in a loveless marriage, and the beautiful final scene as Tom and Shiv "hold hands" in the least intimate way imaginable makes it clear that it will be exceedingly difficult and highly unlikely that these two will be able to work through their problems and get something good out of their marriage. Roman is back where he started the series, cut off from the company, a free spirit doing whatever he pleases. His scene in the bar is great as he relishes in his new freedom, but reflects on all that he lost (he's drinking Gerri's signature drink, a beautiful touch). Then we have Kendall, who suffers the most brilliantly tragic fate. That final scene highlights his isolation, and you get the sense that he may have jumped had Colin not been there to watch over him. Jeremy Strong's acting says it all about how lost he feels, and with suicide not happening, Kendall now has to pave a new way forward, one without any connection to his estranged siblings. I also have to mention how much I love the way water has been used as a recurring motif for Kendall. Water is commonly used as a metaphor to indicate Kendall's connection with Waystar Royco, and countless scenes have indicated this (scenes from "Secession" and "Chiantishire" come to mind as examples"). But now that Kendall is no longer with the company, his final scene sees him longingly staring out at the water, a beautiful metaphorical end to this story. I haven't talked about Tom, Greg, and Matsson at all yet, but they had a significant and well written part of this episode. Tom's meeting with Matsson is terrific, and it was great to see how Tom's willingness to be a beta ironically made him a better candidate to become CEO than the drive and motivation of the siblings. His victory was satisfying to watch, and it led to a number of amusing moments. He has some funny scenes with Greg as always. It's beautifully ironic that Tom doesn't tell Greg the news, only for Greg to find out using a Swedish translator (hilarious), that Shiv is out and Matsson is looking for someone else. Then he unintentionally sabotages himself by reporting the information, leading to a hilarious bathroom brawl between Greg and Tom. Thankfully, in parallel to the fight between the siblings, this one is not relationship-ending, and it highlights the genuine bond that we have seen these two develop. As Tom is crowned at the end of the episode, it brings a smile to my face to see him still looking out for Greg and making sure that he is taken care of. For all the spite between him and Shiv, his relationship with Greg has always been far more positive, and I'm glad that these two had a happy ending. Connor in this episode is perfectly representative of his role in this series: he never gets involved, he's just there in the background offering up comedy and serving as a mirror for the siblings. Connor's presence offers this fantastic scene where the siblings get to watch a video of Connor and the other execs spending some quality time with Logan, revealing a side of him that it's clear the siblings never got to experience. They were all too busy fighting each other trying to earn their father's affections, and because of that, they never got to experience the softer side of Logan as much as they should have. All three of them convey the sadness and regret in this scene perfectly. Fantastic acting and storytelling in this scene. The Bad: I wish that Frank had played more of an active role in this final act. Kendall gave him a key offer a few episodes ago, but we never had any follow-up and Frank is now pro-Matsson without any real explanation of his motives. I wish that Frank had been handled better and given more to do in this finale. Another missed opportunity was Lawrence. They brought him up again in this finale, but he remains one of the strangest characters in this show. I wish that the show did more with him and gave him a more active role. In general, I found that a lot of the side characters that weren't directly involved with Waystar were underutilized, with Stewy and Lawrence being standouts. The Unknown: Will Connor keep Slovenia, or will he fade into obscurity once more? Will his marriage with Wylla last? What's next for all the siblings? What will Kendall do next now that he's lost the company? Does he try to commit suicide? Does he find something else to do? Does he ever repair his relationship with his siblings? What's next for Roman? He's a free spirit again, just like he was back in the pilot. What will he do? Will he be able to find his way in the world? I feel like he would be better off than everyone else. Will Tom and Shiv's relationship last? Where will Shiv go with her career? Back to politics? Is Tom going to be a long-term CEO, or will he be replaced soon by Matsson? Best Moment: The ugly spat between siblings at the board meeting was horrific, personal, and hard to watch. It's like a bomb going off. It's scary and disastrous, but you can't help but admire the sheer majesty of it all. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: This felt like a grand finale. The extended length, methodical pacing, numerous call-backs, and heavily emotional moments turned this into a genuine epic, closing out "Succession" in a perfect way. Score: 82
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Summary: Protests break out after Mencken's election. Rava tells Kendall she won't be attending Logan's funeral with the kids. Kendall also learns that Jess is quitting soon. The Roy children travel together and Shiv reveals she is pregnant. Tom stays at ATN doing damage control after the election. At the funeral, Shiv advises Matsson to come clean about the India numbers and cut a deal with Mencken to keep the GoJo deal with an American CEO. Shiv proposes herself for the position. At the funeral, Ewan goes up unprompted to eulogize Logan. Roman goes up after him but breaks down on the stand. Kendall takes his place and says words with Shiv going briefly after him. Logan is taken to a mausoleum. At the reception, Kendall hires Colin, who has been adrift without Logan. Kendall goes to talk with Mencken, but when Roman, Greg, and Connor all arrive, Mencken leaves with Shiv to talk with Matsson who gives him his proposal. Later, Mencken accepts. Tom arrives late and shares a moment with Shiv before she tells him to get some rest. Kendall proposes that Roman helps him at the board meeting against Shiv, but Roman is out of it. After, Roman goes out into the riot and provokes people into hurting him.
The Good: I love focused episodes of storytelling, and "Church and State" is a perfect example of this, with the episode fixated on sending off Logan Roy while addressing and admiring the complexity of this man and the fascinating, ambiguous nature of the relationships he had with those closest to him. We spend a ton of time at the funeral watching characters attempt to eulogize Logan, capturing him to the best of their own imagination to send him to rest. Yet no character is able to fully encompass all about Logan, and it takes three eulogies from three people closest to him until we are able to get a good grasp of who Logan was and what he meant to the world around him. Listening to these eulogies was a spectacular experience and the writing was phenomenal. If I had the time, I could easily do a line-by-line analysis of all that was great about this funeral, but I'll try to keep it brief and address the fascinating aspects of the story that was being told. Ewan's speech came first, and it was a magnificent exploration of Logan's upbringing, giving us the most details we have ever had about his past and answering some key questions regarding things like his uncle (from "Austerlitz") and what happened to his sister Rose (from "Dundee"). I found it compelling to hear Ewan reminiscing about his past with Logan, and it's beautiful to see that even with their differences, Ewan still fondly remembers his brother before he was corrupted by the life he had, and shares sympathy and pity for his cause. This nicely illuminates with Ewan still had a fierce loyalty towards Logan despite condemning him at every turn. He had his reasons to despise and disagree with Logan (and he wasn't afraid to let everyone know about them), but they are still family, and I like that "Succession" allowed Ewan to convey the mixed feelings about Logan instead of jumping into a rant like we had seen in earlier episodes like "I Went to Market". This eulogy added an impressive amount of depth that recontextualized the relationship between the two brothers, and was a perfect way to kick off the funeral by highlighting the man Logan was before his kids came into the picture. This feeds nicely into Kendall's eulogy which came next (I'll talk more about Roman later, don't worry). Stepping in for his distraught brother, Kendall is forced to improvise a speech about his father to try to fill in the holes that Ewan was unable to. Ewan condemned all of Logan's business moves, and it was up to Kendall to protect his image. This was a defining moment for Kendall, who is forced to step up on a day when he's unprepared, emotional, and struggling with outside problems (Jess quitting, his ex-wife and kids not coming to the funeral). He's been awkward since the beginning of the series, but we've seen him grow better and better at public presentations through the course of the show, with notable highlights in "D.C." and "Living+". He's not perfect in the eulogy (note how Kendall tries to not-so-subtly sell himself numerous times), but he steps up big-time and uses all of his experience to tell a grandiose speech in an effort to capture the massive majesty of what Logan accomplished with his company. Watching Kendall do this is engrossing and we can see the emotion pour out of him as he describes those gargantuan qualities his father possesses that have been a cause for so much internal conflict. Kendall has always wanted to believe that he is the spitting image of his father, and this is a chance for him to showcase why he admired Logan so much and why it is so necessary for him to continue Logan's legacy, the prime driving factor behind the character since the first episode. Not only was this speech about Logan's impact on the world, but it was about Logan's impact on Kendall and shedding more light on how Kendall's relationship with his father made both such fascinating characters to follow. Lastly, we get to Shiv's eulogy, the shortest and most personal accounting of Logan. Where Ewan and Kendall stood opposite of each other to argue Logan's weaknesses and strengths, Shiv chooses to touch on the humanity of Logan, highlighting how Logan was as a father and as a figure in the lives of the children. She's very emotional so she isn't quite able to nail everything about Logan, but she is able to tell a beautiful story about how even as a parent Logan was larger-than-life for the kids, and while this led to some troubles in their upbringing and connection with him, there was always a fascinating love between them, which is something that she will miss. Shiv is perhaps the one who was the harshest on Logan while he was alive, always snapping back at him, demanding things of him, and feeling cheated by him. But now that he's gone, she is able to give him a fond farewell through the emotions she is feeling after his death. The eulogies aren't all that speak about Logan in this episode, and a lot of the most fascinating stuff came from Roman, who was completely unable to speak when the time came. Kieran Culkin shines in an episode full of tremendous performances with how he portrays Roman's challenging emotions at the funeral. He claims to have pre-grieved Logan's death, but it has been clear this season that he has been adrift without his father, a loose cannon that isn't able to put himself back together into the person he had become in the last season. All of the build-up of Roman not being okay paid off massively in this episode when Roman falls apart when he's about to make his speech, destroying his career in the process. Roman is heart-breaking as he cries with his siblings, begging them to take Logan out of the coffin to bring him back. This scene is a fantastic example of how bottling up grief is simply impossible, and it's devastating to see Roman's alliance with Mencken fall apart following his "pathetic" showing. Now Kendall has taken a leading role and Roman has been left behind, feeling truly empty without his abusive father to ground him to reality. Roman's relationship with Logan is an outstanding example of the love that someone can have towards their abuser, and how empty it can feel when that abuser is gone. It was devastating to see Roman, at the end of the episode, charge into a riot desperate to get the abuse that he needs from somewhere else. As beautiful as the eulogies were, this episode's greatest success is how it poignantly illustrates the important of Logan's abuse in Roman's life, and how self-destructive of a character Roman really is. There are plenty of other things I enjoyed in the episode, and it will be impossible for me to list every little thing that I enjoyed. I'll try my best though. Tom skipping Logan's funeral and showing up at the end in tears with Shiv was a lovely background story that perfectly encapsulated Tom's grief as a result of this weird relationship he had with Logan. Caroline getting Marcia and Kerry together for the funeral was oddly sweet, and a nice moment to have all the women in Logan's life come together out of respect for the man. I quite liked how the execs behaved in this episode as they reflected on their long past with Logan while still making moves for the future. There were several nice character moments here like Frank noticing Roman's distress as he goes up to the podium, Kendall raging at Rava for (justifiably) skipping the funeral, Mencken insulting Roman for crying, Connor's insights about the mausoleum, "woof woof", and many more. The Bad: I loved everything that happened at the funeral, but I have to admit that the episode somewhat lost me after the funeral scenes ended ended. This was a brilliant stand-alone piece about the impact of Logan Roy in the lives of those closest to him, and the burial scene felt like a perfect closing point to end the episode. Because of that, it felt jarring when I was reminded that this was the penultimate episode of the series and had an additional duty of setting up the finale. All the scenes at the reception are in service of furthering the main plot, and it felt entirely disconnected from so much of what I had just watched earlier in the episode. Is the content still good? Of course. But the set-up for the finale did not engage me because I was too invested in the Logan's funeral aspect of the episode to care about what's next for the Roys vs Matsson storyline. The funeral scenes feel like they form a complete episode with the set-up at the reception being an additional 15 minutes that were tacked on after the fact. The result is that the episode grew weaker as it went towards its end because I was in no state to invest in the set-up for the finale following the heavy emotional stuff at Logan's funeral. Thankfully, the episode ends on a real high with Roman at the riot, but there was a long while where the episode started to stagnate because it forced itself to set up the series finale. I also have to question the timing of this funeral episode. By design, funeral episodes are slow, contemplative, and emotional, which does not fit at all into a penultimate episode, which by design is typically full of set-up, excitement, and escalating tension for the finale, with some penultimate episodes even containing the climax of an entire season. It's so strange that a funeral was held at a point where the story should be ramping up, and I wish that the events and story of this season were rearranged with the funeral being one or two episodes earlier so that it would fit in more naturally with the narrative. The Unknown: Is Roman's alliance with Mencken dead? It looks like Mencken has went with Matsson, does this mean that he's completely cutting off both Kendall and Roman as allies? How is Kendall planning to stop Shiv? She has a pretty big advantage right now. Will Kendall's alliance with Hugo and Colin work out? How is he planning to get everyone on the board to align with him? Of course, the question everyone has wondered since the very start of the series: who is going to be the CEO of Waystar at the end? Best Moment: Roman's breakdown at the podium. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: The funeral of Logan Roy lived up to all expectations and provided a powerful, memorable close to the character and his relationships with those closest to him. The episode lost its way a bit when it shifted focus towards setting up the finale, but this was still an excellent experience. Bring on the finale, and let's see how this great story wraps up. Score: 74 Summary: Tom is in charge of ATN for election day. Greg tells him about Shiv's alliance with Matsson. Tom does some cocaine so he can better handle the stresses of the day. Roman is backing Mencken and Shiv is backing Jimenez. After hearing of Sophie being bullied, Kendall wants to back Jimenez, but needs certainty that the GoJo deal will be blocked by him. A fire in Milwaukee destroys many votes and Roman wants ATN to call it for Mencken despite the likelihood of the state going to Jimenez if the votes weren't burned. Shiv tells Tom she's pregnant but he doesn't believe her, and she threatens Greg to be silent about her alliance with Matsson. Tom ultimately greenlights making a "pending" call for Mencken. Connor pulls out of the race, conceding to Mencken to get an ambassadorship. Roman continues to strongly back Mencken out of self-interest, so Roman talks to Shiv about concerns about the type of country Mencken would make for his children. Shiv capitalizes and makes a fake phone call to Nate announcing that Jimenez may consider stopping the GoJo deal. Shiv goes against Roman with this and Kendall calls Jimenez himself. After learning the call was faked and after Greg sells Shiv out, Kendall reveals her alliance with Matsson and sides with Roman. Tom gives Greg the order to announce for Mencken, and ATN announces Mencken as the winner of the election.
The Good: This feels like a spiritual successor to "What it Takes" from season 3, focusing heavily on politics for the entire episode and exploring how the rich affect key political events like elections. The episode does this very well, highlighting some interesting ideas without ever letting the political themes take away from the engaging story that's being told. The result in another compelling episode that feels unique due to covering themes that aren't addressed much in other episodes. Much of this episode is spent with Tom and Greg as they run ATN on election day, and the chaos that unfolds is marvelous to watch. We get plenty of great Tom and Greg interactions, including a hilarious scene of Tom forcing Greg to do some coke to ease their stress, and a memorable quote likening information to a bottle of wine ("you wait for a special occassion and then you smash someone's f*cking face in with it"). Both Tom and Greg have strong episodes and are utilized well. Tom is consistently stepping up to make decisions while in charge of ATN, and he is the one who ultimately decides to make the call for Mencken, an enormous decision that is given the weight that it deserves. The episode also finally has Shiv reveal her pregnancy to Tom in an outstanding moment where Tom doesn't even believe it's true, anticipating that it's likely a move by Shiv, who desperately will do anything to make Jimenez win. The whole episode is littered with great moments like this, utilizing every character perfectly. It's refreshing to see Greg given a significant role, using the character to his fullest potential. Greg has a lot of funny scenes throughout the episode, the highlight certainly being the lemon water debacle with Darwin, a fantastic joke at the most unexpected time. But Greg has always been used as a comic relief, so his funny scenes are not the more significant role I'm talking about. That is his knowledge of Shiv's alliance with Matsson, which he found out after spending a lot of time with Matsson in the previous episode. Seeing Greg sitting on this information all episode is intense, and it leads to a couple of terrific moments. The first is when Shiv tries to threaten Greg into silence. The scene is fantastic as Shiv tries to intimidate Greg like Logan did, but she just doesn't have the authority or the power to make the same impact. She should have offered something for Greg's silence, and she pays for her mistake dearly when Greg reveals everything to Kendall, sending Shiv off with a nonchalant shrug and a brief sinister smile. Greg took Tom's advice about information to heart, and seeing him crumble Shiv's entire plan was magnificent. I also quite liked the brief scene between him and Jess, which is indicative of how even ordinary people like them can wield so much power and yet be ultimately powerless to change the outcome in their favour. That was a surprisingly thought-provoking moment. The rest of the episode is primarily focused on the conflict between Roman and Shiv, with Kendall caught in the middle. All three characters are utilized fantastically with easily understood motivations that made it clear what each character was after. Roman is the simplest to understand because he's operating in pure self-interest, the way that Logan taught him to. Roman wants the GoJo deal blocked, and he is unmoving from the stance that Mencken will block the deal, so he's the right choice. Of course Mencken is his man, and so getting him in power puts Roman in a very favourable position as well, but Mencken is also the option that gets Kendall what he wants, and Roman is unafraid to use the idea of Kendall's best interests to promote Mencken. Meanwhile Shiv take a moral stance in rejecting Mencken. Of course Jimenez is her man and allows the GoJo deal to go through which she secretly wants, but Shiv hides behind morality in picking the actual good candidate instead of the fascist. Ultimately it's a case of morality vs self-interest with Shiv vs Roman, and it's Kendall who has to decide which he prefers, and he has good reason for both. Yes, he wants to be CEO at Waystar, and for that to happen, he has to block the GoJo deal and is tempted by Mencken. But with reports of his kids being bullied at school, and the idea of making an unsafe world for his children with Mencken in charge, Kendall is strongly considering the morality aspect. He wants to vote for Jimenez more than anything else, but it's just not the right business move for him. Kendall's conflict is very interesting to follow, especially considering that it's his decision that is going to result in a victory for either Roman or Shiv. And in true "Succession" fashion, the conflict is not resolved through Kendall choosing what his heart wants, or what he thinks is most important. Nope. Instead it's simple pettiness that sways Kendall's hand. He learns that Shiv betrayed them, so to get back at her he picks Mencken. Of course Kendall does the rash, short-sighted move instead of making a genuine decision, because we are still watching "Succession" after all. The execution of this reveal was fantastic (see: Best Moment), and it's very effective seeing Shiv make a critical error by trying to manipulate Kendall into thinking that Jimenez may also go for the GoJo deal. The fake phone call is a terrific plot point, and it's the mistake that leads to everything blowing up in Shiv's face. The ensuing argument between the siblings is as good as any scene between them, and it serves as an explosive and decisive resolution to the conflict that has permeated the episode, resulting in a Mencken victory. Naturally, he gives the most fascist speech imaginable after being elected that makes you really question if it was worth selecting him. In an episode all about democracy and elections, ultimately the decision was made through a spat between three siblings, and the episode is careful to remind you of the lunacy of this by the end, reflecting its political themes through the conflict between Shiv, Roman, and Kendall that we have been watching all episode. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: What can Shiv do now? She lost the election significantly, her brothers know she betrayed them, and Matsson will be displeased by how things turned out. What can she do now? It's hard to see her coming back from this. Is the GoJo deal screwed now? Will Matsson find away around Mencken blocking the deal from happening? Is Connor going to get his ambassador position, or is Mencken going to ignore him? I suspect that the latter might end up happing, poor Connor. Will Mencken becoming the President be allowed to stand? Considering how shifty the election was, I imagine that there would be an investigation of some sort. Could that lead to Mencken's downfall? Best Moment: The moment Kendall finds out about Shiv's betrayal, specifically when he's outside of the room. The acting here is phenomenal as Shiv continues her meaningless squabble with Roman while her hilariously nervous face reveals her fear as Kendall starts putting the pieces together outside the room. This was fantastic visual storytelling, and I especially love the blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Greg smiling as he walks away after telling Kendall the truth. Kendall and Roman cornering Shiv for what she did is every bit as perfect as you would expect, but it's the brief bit of visual storytelling that sets up this scene that takes the cake for me, being such a unique and awesome moment. Character of the Episode: Shiv, but everybody shines in this episode. Conclusion: A magnificent, chaotic episode that pays off the political storyline through what the show does best: conflict between the three Roy siblings. This is signature "Succession" with painful betrayals, stellar character moments, hilarious jokes, and such a disgusting view of humanity as a whole. I loved this episode, and I can't wait to see how all this wraps up in the final two episodes. Score: 78 Summary: Shiv and Tom host the pre-election party at their house. Kendall and Roman plan to go through regulatory to stop Matsson's deal, so Shiv informs Matsson and tells him to be there to stop it. Tom gets Greg to fire over a hundred employees over Zoom before the election. The siblings discuss who will speak at Logan's funeral and Roman ultimately volunteers. At the party, Kendall makes a toast for Logan as Matsson arrives. As Matsson and Shiv talk with others, rumours circulate that Tom may be fired, upsetting him. Roman tries to convince Connor to drop out so that Mencken can win, but he refuses in the end. Kendall tries to cut a deal with Nate, but Nate leaves the party. Roman and Kendall learn from Ebba that Matsson has fishy numbers in India. This leads to Kendall and Matsson having a verbal confrontation. Roman tries to apologize to Gerri but she isn't having it. Shiv and Tom talk on the balcony and get into a heated fight, finally clearing the air between them. Tom ends the party and finds himself unable to sleep.
The Good: Even though this episode is centered around a party with major political players trying to win over others, the most interesting and engaging dynamic is the simple dysfunction between Shiv and Tom. They surprisingly reunited last episode, but it's not like all of their issues are just going to disappear because of that. I like how this episode saw both characters realize this truth and gradually get more and more frustrated until it was time for them to let loose by the end of the episode. "Succession" has always had a good grasp on how humans work and that has made the development of these relationships feel so realistic. Shiv is once again on the political bandwagon and throwing Tom under the bus in ways that she just can't comprehend as betrayal. Her frustrations begin to emerge when Tom continues to remind her how she is a "scorpion" because of her actions, and with Tom continually complaining about how sleepy he is, frustrating her because she believes her problems to be more important than his. So when he prattles on and calls her out for her attempts to go upwards in the world, she fittingly has enough and is ready for a big blow-out. Add on the realization that Shiv may have picked the wrong side by joining Matsson, and she's on the verge of exploding. On the other side, Tom has been working extremely hard with the all-important election coming up, the biggest night of his career. He's exhausted and not thinking straight (Matthew Macfadyen puts in a really unique performance to convey Tom's sleep deprivation), and now he's suddenly hearing everyone talking about how he's going to be fired despite doing nothing wrong, and he again sees that Shiv is spreading these rumours and doing nothing to help him, like she always does. This combination of frustrations pushes Tom to his breaking point at the episode's climax. I found it engaging to follow both characters through the episode because their escalating frustration perfectly sets them up for what is probably the most impressive and painful fight in the entire series. The fight scene between Shiv and Tom is one of those magnificent moments of television. It's almost unbelievable to think that these two have never simply had it out with each other before this episode. They have had conversations and frustrations for sure, but never anything like this. This fight feels so monumental because it is finally paying off on everything we have watched for the last four seasons. Tom and Shiv pull out every frustration between them that we have seen throughout the series from Tom's awkward proposal in season 1 to Shiv trying to send Tom to jail in season 3. Every ugly detail is pulled out with escalating maliciousness and it is both brutal and fascinating to watch. Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen needed to bring their A-game to make this scene work, and they killed it with fantastic performances. They are both ruthless as they spit vitriol at each other, yet devastated when they take time to reflect and listen to what the other is saying. Perhaps the most impactful exchange in the whole scene is Tom telling Shiv that she would not be a good mother, which is written in such a realistic way, making it seem like Tom is going deep into his suppressed thoughts to pull out something that would hurt Shiv as much as possible. And boy does it hurt Shiv. Sarah Snook is terrific here because she doesn't back down from the argument at this point, yet makes it clear that Shiv has been badly hurt by this comment, especially considering that she is pregnant. Her retort of "well that's not a very nice thing to say, it it?" is perfect, an attempt at anger to mask the pain that she feels. The whole fight is filled with brilliant moments like this that can be deeply analyzed for the impact they have on the characters, but I would be here all day if I tried to take it all on. Overall, the scene is masterful and one of the very best in the entire show. The fallout is effective as both Tom and Shiv sleep on their own that night, with the heartbreaking clincher being Tom laying wide awake in his bed; he had wanted to sleep for the entire episode, but after what happened with Shiv, he's now painfully unable to fall asleep. The side stories don't have the same impact in this episode (see: The Bad), but they are still solid and advance the characters and the story nicely. The most significant development is Kendall and Roman's continued battle against the GoJo deal which leads to the discovery that he has exaggerated numbers in India. This was a nice twist, revealing to us that even someone as reputable as Matsson may be another rich fraud who is nowhere near as impressive as he seems. This serves to set up a great avenue for Kendall and Roman to take him down and prevent the GoJo deal from happening, and already we get to see Kendall making moves. His regulatory efforts early in the episode fall flat when Nate refuses to even hear him out, but he seems to reach Frank when he notifies him about the India numbers, and Kendall notably does seem to have more menace and leverage when he subtly spars with Matsson in front of everybody, a good scene to make use of the obvious tensions between them. Matsson's presence makes the party more entertaining in general. His entrance during a moment of silence for Logan is hilariously fitting and sets the tone pretty quickly for his role as a disruptor at this party. I got a good laugh out of his awful interactions with Ebba, and it's very amusing to see Greg ingratiate himself with Matsson by playing along with his toxic behaviour. There's also the aforementioned great confrontation between Kendall and Matsson, and one easy-to-miss joke that really got a laugh out of me when Connor tells Roman that he's going to listen to the one person who has his back and you can see an out-of-focus Matsson point at himself in the background. Matsson's presence added a lot to this party and kept things interesting. Roman spends much of the episode trying to convince Connor to drop out of the running in favour of Mencken. I wish the episode had given Roman more to do, but this storyline is fine and it serves Connor well by diving into the importance of this election to him and the importance he gives to Willa's opinions. Roman does his best to convince Connor and there are some good laughs as they usually are with these two, but eventually things fall through. Roman's most interesting scene is probably the one with Gerri where he tries to conjure up an apology to her only to be slapped in the face with the reality that he dug himself into a large hole. Gerri's ruthlessness is always a treat, and seeing her finally use Roman's dick pics as blackmail against him felt like justice. Greg has a great scene where he fires over 100 people over Zoom, being his usual awkward self. This scene is quite funny, and I like that Greg ended up using this to get Matsson's interest later in the episode. The scene serves another key purpose which is to emphasize how dirty Tom really is. Tom is able to sit back and have someone else fire an enormous number of his employees, but then he gets all pissy when he hears that he may be fired too. Tom's frustration is understandable until you remember that he afforded zero sympathy to any of the people he just had fired, a reminder that he's just as corrupt and hypocritical as the family he's married into, he's just more subtle about it. The Bad: This episode has one of the show's very best scenes in it, but that doesn't always guarantee an all-time great episode. The rest of the episode has to maintain a high quality that is complementary to the Tom/Shiv storyline for the entire episode to be fantastic, and I don't think that it accomplishes this. Typically "Succession" has been very good at making every episode stand out on its own with individual stories, cathartic moments, and fascinating character dynamics that work together to create an isolated emotional experience within each episode. However with "Tailgate Party", I felt like the side stories did not have this quality and were simply a collection of scenes that set up more interesting episodes down the road instead of being their own emotionally satisfying storyline. In the past, "Succession" has done so well to avoid its episodes feeling like transition episodes, but I think that the writers assumed that the strength of the Tom/Shiv story was enough to disguise how much transitional storytelling and how little pay-off is in this episode. Unfortunately the episode is noticeably weighed down by this and that leads to an episode that had a shot at being one of the show's very best ending up nowhere near that mark. Is this episode still good? Of course, I think it's another excellent episode, but I can't help but notice that this episode could have been so much better had there been more interesting and emotional storylines occurring around Tom and Shiv's dynamic. The Unknown: Will Jimenez or Mencken win the election? How will the result affect the plot? Is Connor going to drop out or will he stand by his guns throughout the entire election? How will Kendall and Roman use Matsson's India numbers against him? Is this an opportunity for them to fight back against the deal? Will Shiv plan to stop them? How? Is Shiv staying with Matsson, or will she jump ship to her siblings? How is the Gerri/Roman situation going to evolve? Will Gerri escalate things to ruin his reputation? Is Roman going to be able to handle doing Logan's eulogy? Best Moment: Shiv and Tom's fight scene of course. Magnificent performances from Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen made this feel all the more realistic, and the dialogue brilliantly conveyed the bottled up emotions that these characters were finally releasing. What an amazing pay-off of four seasons of storytelling. Character of the Episode: Tom. Conclusion: Another great episode, this time highlighted by that incredible Shiv/Tom scene at the episode's climax. The rest of the episode is still very good, but pales in comparison to that fantastic scene which easily steals the show. Season 4 has had a lot of great episodes, but outside of "Connor's Wedding", every episode hasn't quite hit its fullest potential despite still being very high quality. I hope that these final few episodes aren't held back by similar issues because this show has a great opportunity to conclude on a high note. Score: 72 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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