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
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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 Summary: The Roys prepare for Investor Day where they plan to launch Living+, a project their father was working on. Matsson tells Shiv to scrap the idea and tells her about the negotiation with Roman and Kendall. Shiv confronts her brothers when they claim the opposite and figures out they are trying to tank the GoJo deal. Roman meets with Joy, the head of Waystar studios, and impulsively fires her after she pisses him off. Gerri chastises him for this and he angrily fires her too but regrets it after. Kendall becomes obsessive with the Living+ announcement and forces everyone to abide by extremely optimistic projections that he will announce. Tom and Shiv start to reconnect. Roman backs out of the Living+ announcement after Shiv tries to get him to stop Kendall. Kendall goes up alone after being threatened by Karl and his speech is ultimately successful, but Matsson posts negative comments online.
The Good: The follow-up from last episode is great, and I'm enjoying the emotional journey that this season is taking me on. After "Honeymoon States", I was fully behind the siblings to step up and take Waystar in a good direction. After "Kill List", my feelings completely reversed and I'm convinced that these three goons are going to run the company into the ground. "Living+" confirms my feelings from "Kill List" in an engaging way, showing us each character's dysfunction in unique ways while still being thoroughly entertaining. The sibling dynamic is already fraying at the seams, and nothing demonstrates this better than Shiv confronting her brothers about cutting her out. Naturally Roman and Kendall hide behind the assertion that they were "protecting" her (total bullshit), and Shiv clearly doesn't buy it. The brothers are quick to apologize and hug it out, but it rings hollow and you can tell that Shiv isn't satisfied by this. It's clear to her that her brothers are shrugging off her involvement completely and have no intention of working with her, and it's in this moment that Kendall and Roman lose Shiv to Matsson. They've lost her trust and now Shiv has every reason to keep working with the charismatic Matsson who continues to show so much interest in her. Following this, Shiv's story throughout the episode surprisingly centers around getting back together with Tom. It felt like their relationship has been burned but they just can't seem to escape each other. After Shiv's 20 minute booked crying session is interrupted, she reconnects with Tom in a surprising way. Tom appears to have given up on the relationship being loving and is behaving with so much more aggression and straight-forwardness. Based on Shiv's reactions, it seems that she prefers him this way. I can't imagine these two ever playing "Bitey" in an earlier season, yet they do it here and have a blast. Tom's newfound clarity in this relationship has extended it in a compelling and realistic way, and it's fascinating to see Shiv respond to this other side of Tom, and to see Tom finally openly admit his obsession with wealth and that his love for Shiv is built on the foundation of his love for money. These are sides to this relationship that we could have only guessed at before, but now we get to see what makes these two tick deep down. Tom is selfishly motivated, and whenever Shiv is reminded of the toughness of her husband, she grows closer to him. Roman and Kendall's stories are equally compelling as they continue to flail around in their new position. Roman especially looks completely in over his head. Season 3 showed Roman maturing into a genuine leader, but Logan's death has completely stunted his development, and I think this episode does a magnificent job exploring his inner turmoil. The fantastic outburst against Matsson in "Kill List" suggested that Roman was not alright deep down, and this episode confirms it. Roman goes into professional meetings with Joy and Gerri, and every time he throws a temper tantrum and fires them both for basically no reason. His need to be like his father has re-emerged and when both Joy and Gerri fail to work with his inferiority complex when compared to Logan, he fires them out of frustration. This is behaviour of a loose cannon and it's far more pathetic than anything we've seen from Roman before this. He failed to process his father's death despite his assertions that he is okay, and he's paying for it in his day-to-day actions. The end of the episode makes it all the more sad as we hear Roman replaying the edited voice of Logan chastising him, desperately seeking some comfort from the abuser that he dearly misses and feels afloat without. This is a compelling and sad story, and it's impressive that I feel something for Roman despite him making some of the worst decisions ever in this episode. Meanwhile Kendall is back on his manic high. It's like the poor guy is trapped in a cycle he can't escape from, and it's all his own fault. It was distressing seeing Kendall going all in on Living+ despite there being numerous concerns that he chooses to ignore. Numbers aren't good? Let's increase them unrealistically. Production isn't that impressive? Well then let's make it impressive. Logan's final words aren't lining up? Let's poorly edit them to make him say what we want him to say. Kendall makes bad decisions at every turn, and it's both painful and hilarious to see him do this in the set up for what's sure to be a disastrous presentation. The presentation more than lived up to the hype. Kendall's awkwardness is hysterical and it's baffling to see him make every mistake imaginable while his siblings chastise him from behind the scenes. The Living+ presentation was thoroughly entertaining and it felt like a classic Kendall moment seeing him up there. A few other talking points in the episode: It was nice to see Logan back briefly, and he was his usual vicious self in the recordings. Hearing him trash on his useless kids from beyond the grave is hilariously fitting, and I appreciate that it was included. Karl has been on fire this season, and he gets a terrific scene where he threatens Kendall into cooperating. Greg is mostly in the background in this episode, but he still provides some really good lines and laughs. The Bad: After all the build-up to the Living+ presentation being a disaster and seeing Kendall make mistake after mistake, it was jarring to hear everyone call the presentation a resounding success. This was tonally confusing and it made me question the story of the episode because this did not feel like the conclusion we were building up to. The transition from laughing stock to success was way too jarring, and this prevented me from engaging with the emotions of the final few scenes where we're supposed to believe that Kendall actually succeeded. The Unknown: Is Shiv going to hook up with Tom again? I feel like they aren't going to get past their many, many problems, but it's surprising to see them getting into each other again. Was Kendall's Living+ presentation actually a success? Will he face any consequences for what he said up there? Will Matsson's comments have any bearing on this or on the GoJo deal? Is Gerri actually fired? Is Roman going through with it or will he be forced to back off? Interesting opening scene. It sounds to me like Shiv is pregnant. Why isn't she telling anyone? When will she tell Tom? How will pregnancy affect Shiv's career? As much as I would love to say it won't, you get the sense that the scumbags around Shiv will most certainly use her pregnancy against her. Best Moment: Shiv confronting Kendall and Roman about trying to destroy the deal behind her back. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: This episode had great stories for all three siblings and was easy to enjoy all the way through. Some confused tones towards the end do detract from the episode, but overall this was another success in what has been another consistent season. Score: 68 Summary: The Roys head to Norway to meet with Matsson. The entire team is brought along as Matsson wishes to assess everybody. He meets with Kendall and Roman and gives them an extremely generous deal of $187 per share (the minimum they were looking for is $144) but this also includes Matsson buying ATN. Kendall and Roman handle negotiations poorly and are uncertain about giving away Logan's legacy. Later, Kendall and Roman try to get more money onto the deal but it doesn't work. Tom and Greg try to gain favour with the GoJo team but it goes poorly. Kendall and Roman decide that they will try to tank the deal. Matsson meets privately with Shiv and opens up about a potential public scandal that could emerge with ex-girlfriend Ebba who he sent litres of his own blood to as a joke. Matsson connects with Shiv and they form an alliance of sorts. The next day, Kendall and Roman meet with Matsson who realizes that they are trying to blow up the deal. He threatens to go around them to the board and Roman lashes out at his viciously. On the flight back, Frank gets a call from Matsson saying that he is offering $192 per share. They then learn that much of Wayster's team is going to be let go. Shiv reconnects with Tom and tasks him with firing Cyd.
The Good: 5 episodes into the final season and finally "Succession" unleashes Matsson into the main story. I've been anticipating his return the entire season, and the show has done very well to hold him back for so long to make his eventual arrival feel so much more exciting and interesting. As such, this episode was immediately engaging and I was interested to see how the Roys handled Matsson. Alexander Skarsgard delivered throughout the episode. Matsson was every bit as impressive, unpredictable, friendly, and aggressive as you would expect someone like him to be. He commanded every scene he was in and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him interact with everybody. I like that this episode forced the Roys to come to Norway, providing yet another gorgeous and unique setting for negotiations. The beauty in the setting is probably one of the most understated yet important aspects of "Succession" that make it such a great show. And the answer was that they handled him so very badly. Kendall and Roman felt the hype around themselves early in the episode; their arrival at Waystar and the applause Kendall got is telling enough of how big this is and how powerful they feel. And immediately, they get in their own heads and completely screw up negotiations with Matsson when this should have been the moment for them to rise up and prove their worth. All their lives, Kendall and Roman have played second fiddle, negotiating with Logan or preparing their opposition to meet Logan. But now that they are the big fish, they look utterly clueless in how to handle themselves. All they have learned to do is spitball with numbers, and they look foolish, awkward, and unprepared as Matsson tries to socialize with them. They take forever to get what he's saying, and they don't know how to respond when they figure it out; they're amateurs in every sense of the word. The most striking thing is how they have failed to learn anything across the last 4 seasons and are every bit as woeful as we remember from "Lifeboats" when they were last in charge. They prepare for one specific possibility and are lost puppies the second the conversation goes elsewhere. They are too busy getting in their heads that they need to emulate Logan's no-nonsense approach to the point that they lose any strengths that they have as individuals. And they continue to ignore advice from their senior execs at every turn, so it's no surprise that they get completely screwed over. These two were amateurish and incompetent, and Matsson preys on them at literally every turn. He controls the conversation, he takes the high ground, and he is the one who can make fun of the Roys for the dumb things they say. The episode's resolution is perfect in how it encapsulates all that happened. Kendall and Roman make the braindead decision to screw Matsson over, not even thinking about how a genius businessman like him would immediately catch on to their ploy. Kendall and Roman aren't even allowed to get off the ground floor in their plan as Matsson exposes them and insults them immediately, making it clear that he's a step above them and that they are embarrassing for how they handled this meet. The worst part is that after all we've seen, Matsson is absolutely right. Going into this episode, I was eager to see how Kendall and Roman had grown and to see them prove their mettle at a difficult negotiation. But they were utterly disappointing and I had to accept that even though I was rooting for them, Kendall and Roman deserve the worst because of how poorly they performed here. The most we got was a brilliant cathartic moment as Roman lashed out at Matsson, the most decisive and impressive he was all episode (see: Best Moment), but even that backfired on them at the end. The episode's conclusion is wonderfully ironic as Kendall and Roman are praised for getting such a great deal, when the reality was that the one time they succeeded was because they were trying to fail. That pretty much sums up these Roy children in a nutshell, doesn't it? Shiv surprisingly had the best episode out of all the Roys. It quickly became clear that Shiv was screwed over with the deal in the previous episode as she is already being left out of the loop. Roman always advocates for her involvement, but Kendall seems to not care about her at any moment, and by the end of the episode he has convinced Roman to ignore Shiv with the degrading line "do you think Pinky can dance?". Well as this episode has shown, she can certainly dance better than these two dopes! It's nice to see Shiv get a chance to shine after being left in the dust for much of season 3. As someone with a background in politics, Shiv is excellent at handling individuals like Matsson and she excels in these personal conversations where Kendall and Roman failed. Shiv's scene with Matsson is fantastic and very nearly the highlight scene of the episode. She understood that to handle Matsson, she would have to meet with him at his level, doing the same kind of jokes and talking frankly without ever playing games. She plays it perfectly to endear herself to him and to form a strong alliance. Plus we get an amazingly funny story about Matsson sending frozen bricks of his blood to his ex-girlfriend, with Shiv giving the most frank and most hilarious advice to Matsson ("step one: might be hard for you, but stop sending people your blood" and "deniability might be difficult when she has so much of your blood"). By the end of the episode, it looks like Shiv has placed herself well with a new ally as she laughs with Matsson by sending pics of her dejected brothers to him. I'm excited to see where this alliance goes and what kind of drama we'll get when Kendall and Roman realize that Shiv has sided with Matsson. Tom and Greg have a solid episode. Poor Tom spends much of the episode in silence, listening to everyone talk about him and what they are doing. Tom is completely adrift at this point and seems to have nobody on his side. He tries to make a play to join in with Matsson and make some new friends, but it goes absolutely terribly. Leave it to Greg to make him look less awful as Greg's arrival and attempt to convince everyone that he reads "The Economist" goes hilariously poorly. Everyone talking about him in Swedish is hilarious, especially if you listen closely and pick up the words "incest" and "Hapsburg" which tells you all you need to know about what was said. Tom and Shiv had a surprisingly good scene at the end of the episode. Tensions remain between them, but it's clear that Shiv did feel bad for him as he tried to get close with Mattson, and it appears that she may have talked with Matsson to save his career (see: The Unknown). I'm curious to see where their relationship goes this season. Frank and Karl wearing compression socks after what happened to Logan was really funny. Hugo had some lovely moments throughout the episode as well. The Bad: I know the Roys are quite incompetent and bad at what they do. But in this meeting with Matsson, they are almost comically bad, as if they have lost all semblance of what skills they displayed in previous seasons. Roman especially falls victim to this, and he seems to have lost all of the guile and intelligence that he displayed last season. The episode does eventually make it clear that this is because of Roman's struggle to process his dad's death, but it does feel awkward in the early phases of the episode when Roman is incapable of matching with Matsson's energy while Shiv is somehow able to do it way better than he does. On rewatch, I'm sure that this will work better as Roman's character inconsistency is explained, but on my first watch it was a bit confusing and I was concerned that the Roys were being written as caricatures of themselves, being incompetent at literally everything. The Unknown: Will the board take Matsson's extremely generous deal? Are the Roys going to allow this to happen? Has Shiv thrown in her lot with Matsson? How long will it be until Kendall and Roman find out? What consequences will she face for her decision? How bad is the Ebba situation? Could this stuff coming to light bring down Matsson? Will Shiv help him keep it under wraps? Or could she maybe manipulate him and bring it to light? Are Hugo, Frank, Karl, and the others on the kill list going to lose their jobs? How was this kill list decided? Did Shiv play a role in this? It's very suspicious that Tom was allowed to stay on, and I suspect that this was Shiv's involvement. Best Moment: Roman lashing out at Matsson was a terrific scene, wonderfully realized by Kieran Culkin. It's clear that Roman has taken Logan's death the hardest, and after all of his grief denial, his emotions finally pour out in this tremendous moment as he spits venom at Matsson. The moment feels great as Roman gets to speak out about every annoying thing Matsson has done, but it's a tremendous blunder for the Roys as it gives Matsson the ultimate motivation to have this deal go down: to ruin the best laid plans of these spoiled assholes and win. This scene is acted brilliantly and the satisfying feel of the scene combined with the business blunder makes this a unique and excellent watch. We know Roman is making a mistake but can't help but egg him on as he does it. Character of the Episode: Matsson. Conclusion: Another excellent episode. Negotiations with Matsson were tremendously fun and had a lot of excellent character exploration. Then add on the great setting, some terrific jokes, and a masterful moment between Roman and Matsson. In the end, this episode is a definite winner that will only get better with every watch. Score: 72 Summary: Shiv learns she is pregnant. The Roys attend Logan's wake and band together. Tom tries to suck up to everyone to secure his future, but has no success. Roman is called by Matsson and the siblings don't pick up, discuss, and call back. They reach his assistant Oskar who tells them they have to fly to Norway to meet him in the next day. The board discuss who to name as interim CEO. Frank finds an undated piece of paper naming Kendall as CEO with it being unclear if Kendall's name was underlined or crossed out. Kendall wants to take over but his siblings aren't happy about it. Stewy arrives and Kendall is able to get his support. Kerry also appears but Marcia kicks her out. Kendall talks with Roman and Shiv and they agree that Kendall and Roman take over together, but they will keep Shiv in the loop. The board discuss things and ultimately agree with this. Hugo proposes spreading news that Logan's health was failing and many of his later decisions were overseen by Kendall and Roman. The siblings are appalled and refuse, but Kendall later blackmails Hugo into secretly doing this. Marcia sells Logan's house to Connor and Willa.
The Good: Finally, after almost four seasons, we finally arrive at a legitimate succession issue. With Logan finally dead, it's time to name his successor and the episode does a good job of showing this decisions. The negotiations between the board are a lot of fun, and it's amusing to see them all be so much more free to say what they want without Logan around. It's like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders, and I delighted in seeing them all make their plays. Karl had to be the most enjoyable, especially as he trashes Tom and suggests that the problematic "piece of paper" gets flushed down the toilet. I enjoyed seeing this changed dynamic and I think the episode handled it well. What was also handled well is how the board still failed to take enough power and were bested by the Roy kids. The Roys have learned how to handle these people over the course of the show, and so they are well prepared to not get walked over. Kendall, Roman, and Shiv have a pretty significant victory here as they prevent one of the board members from taking over and are able to latch onto the piece of paper to secure their own ascents. This storyline is fun and has some very good moments. It was nice to see Stewy return and get to play a role in the story for a change. His presence adds to the negotiations and I really have missed seeing his dynamic with Kendall. Even Greg gets involved for a pretty funny scene where he tries to sneak in to being second-in-command, even making Frank of all people laugh. But of course the big talking point is that conspicuous underline/strikethrough that Logan added to Kendall's name. This was such a brilliant idea because it powerfully shows us that even in his grave Logan is still going to drive Kendall mad with the question of if he loved him or not. Kendall was clearly happy to imagine it as an underline to cement his position and confirm his father's affections, but a jealous Shiv immediately questions it, and just like that Kendall's illusion shatters. You can hear him repeating that it was an underline throughout the episode, but a beautiful alone moment as he examines the paper reveals to us that Kendall will likely be tortured by this for the rest of his life. This was a brilliant piece of storytelling, and a fantastic idea to explore. The sibling negotiations were enjoyable to watch in this episode. After their alliance was going so well, you can see that there is a lot of discomfort when Roman and Shiv realize that Kendall is still willing to be CEO for Waystar. But for once, Kendall is actually able to reach them and secure a deal that leaves everyone (mostly) happy. Roman and Shiv had various reasons to be upset, and Kendall appeals to them effectively. Roman is upset because he was the closest with Logan when he died, and yet he has received nothing in the aftermath of Logan's death to reward him for this. But luckily he is able to secure himself a co-CEO position, and so he is temporarily pacified. Meanwhile Shiv is upset with how Logan has left nothing for her and never given her a chance, and she is still left as a lone fighter pushing for her own talents. She doesn't taste as much success, but promises from her two brothers allows her to feel comfortable enough to allow them to take over. But Shiv is not happy about this. Her following anger against Mencken and her dramatic slip and fall in the main room highlight how uncomfortable she is with all of this. She knows her brothers promised, but you get the sense that they are going to cut her off at the first available chance, and poor Shiv knows it. She got the worst out of this deal, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see her making some moves soon. I like how this episode handles Tom. He is stuck in limbo without Logan anymore and he's desperately trying to cling on to whatever person he can. It's sad to see him going from person to person saying "I'm here to serve" only to get absolutely nothing. At the start of the episode we see him choosing the board over the Roy siblings, but after Karl rips him apart, it's clear that there is no security for him here. Then he goes to each Roy sibling, one after the other, and each attempt is a failure. Kendall hits him with his usual passive-aggressive "I like you", Roman sees through his attempts with ease, and even Shiv throws his love back in his face right when it seems like Tom may have genuinely reconnected with her. It's sad to see Tom in this state, and it makes me wonder about his future. Is he going to go downhill, or can he pull himself back up like he did in season 3? This will be an exciting question to explore for the rest of the season. There are some other nice moments in the episode. Hugo's scheme with selling shares is hilarious and I continue to really enjoy this character. Marcia had a good episode as she spreads lies to justify her appearance at the funeral and her inheritance of the house and more. She had a very good scene with Kerry as she goes full-on stonehearted by refusing to let her stay and grieve. Greg is also very funny as he offers completely unnecessary commentary. The Bad: I can't say that there's anything outright wrong with this episode, but it does feel a bit too safe for the show. Because of this, I don't love this episode like many other well-written and focused episodes. Nothing in this episode surprised me and I felt that Kendall being placed as interim CEO was the obvious answer and it did not surprise me much. Due to this, and the pushing back of the extremely interesting Matsson storyline, "Honeymoon States" didn't engage me as much as the very best "Succession" episodes did. The Unknown: So Shiv is pregnant! That was a surprising reveal early in the episode. Is she going to keep the baby? Why? Does she have some sort of plan? Why hasn't she told anyone? Will Hugo face consequences for his market escapades? I remain disappointed with how small of a role Marcia ended up having in the show, but I wonder if she will have a larger role here. Is she only going to be involved with selling the house, or will she have more to offer to the story? Will the Roys agree to meet with Matsson? Who will they send? Will Matsson blow up the deal if things don't go well? How will Kendall and Roman do as co-CEOs? Will they actually keep Shiv in the loop or is that just something they said to pacify her? Did Logan cross out Kendall's name, or underline it? My heart tells me that he crossed it out. I don't see any reason why he would bother with underlining. Why did Logan scribble Greg's name on the paper? Was he considering giving everything to Greg at some point in the story? Is Tom going to survive the fallout of Logan's death? Will he get a protective connection somewhere, or will he be let go? Best Moment: Shiv and Tom's scene suggesting their backstory was fascinating, and I really like that Shiv didn't fall for Tom's blatant attempt at reconnection. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: A clever, funny, and entertaining episode that dives straight into the aftermath of Logan's death. Most of this episode played the aftermath safe with only the brilliant dual meanings of Logan's paper standing out as special. But even still it was another well-written and entertaining hour that sets up the rest of the season effectively. Score: 68 Summary: Roman is told by Logan that he is not going to make it to Connor's wedding and he tells Roman to fire Gerri. Roman tells Gerri and she is angered. Roman calls Logan back and leaves an angry voicemail. Shiv goes to tell Connor that Logan isn't coming. Tom calls Roman and tells him that Logan is unwell. After a panicked conversation, Kendall and Roman learn that Logan is receiving CPR. After saying potential final words to him, Kendall goes to get Shiv and tells her what happened. Roman tells them that Logan's heart has stopped and he isn't breathing and the siblings begin to grieve. Eventually they tell Connor what happened. Tom calls Greg to tell him what happened. Karolina begins to work on a statement following Logan's death, but the siblings call in and decide to do it themselves. Connor talks to Willa and they decide to get married in front of a small crowd. Logan is taken off the plane and the siblings share a hug.
The Good: Well of all the things that could have happened during Connor's wedding, this was not at all what I was expecting. Logan dying was always an inevitability in a TV show called "Succession", and the question was always when and how he would die instead of if. Because of this, Logan's death shouldn't have any right to be surprising, shocking, and completely out of left field. And yet I was completely stunned and caught off guard when we learned that Logan was dying, and full credit must go to the amazing team behind this show for coming up with such a creative, impactful, and memorable way to remove Logan from the show. There is no grand final moment for Logan, no last words, no intense final scene, and no emotional goodbye. All we get is a sudden phone call at a time when Logan is supposed to be fulfilling an extremely important story role by meeting Matsson. A genius decision to make this feel so much more realistic. This brilliantly encapsulated the shock, confusion, and horror of learning that a loved one has suddenly passed away, and the episode's ability to also shock us with this death went a long way towards making us connect with the Roy children as they are thrust out of their lives to learn what happened. There are very few episodes I have seen that have disarmed me and emotionally drained me in the way that this one did. I'll say it again, well done to everyone working on this episode because it was executed perfectly. Anyone who has suddenly lost someone can connect to what the Roy children are going through in this episode, and I have to say that "Succession" nailed everything about these scenes. The confusion, contrasting reactions, the shock, and the raw emotion is done incredibly well. The episode went from 0 to 100 once Tom calls Roman, and it's hard to process what even happened. The directing is sublime as we don't get confirmation that Logan is indeed unconscious for what feels like an eternity, making you doubt if Tom's phone call is even real or just a sick manipulation, connecting us to the emotions that Roman and Kendall are feeling as they listen to him. Once we realize what is actually happening, things take an impactful turn and we suddenly get to see all of the Roy children express their grief in painfully different ways. Every actor delivers a mesmerizing performance in this episode, bringing the emotions of the characters to life in a brutally realistic way. I love that every character shows their grief in different ways, all painfully realistic. Kendall, who feels a responsibility as the eldest sibling, has to try to keep his cool and do what's right, but you can see that this affects him. He doesn't forgive Logan, but clearly still loved him and is devastated by his death. It's Kendall who puts in the work to learn from Frank if Logan is really gone. He's the first to accept, and he takes responsibility to try to move past his grief and look at reality, understanding that he and the other kids have a responsibility to handle this situation effectively or their public images will forever be ruined. On the other hand, Shiv and Roman are not at all thinking about this and struggle much more with their grief than Kendall does. Roman is in pure denial and can't seem to accept that his father is really gone. Kieran Culkin is probably the stand-out performer of the episode (stiff competition, to be sure), and it's sad to see his constant assertions that they don't really know if Logan's dead despite all of the evidence pointing towards it. Having him get angry and upset with Shiv for suggesting Logan's death because it upsets him was a powerful and realistic scene, and I love that they included it. It's also fitting that Roman, the one in denial, is the only one who has to go see his father's body just to confirm that he really is gone. Sad stuff. Then there's Shiv, who is also struggling to process what has happened and just wants to stall and give herself more time to accept reality. She's constantly trying to stop things from happening so that she doesn't have to address this pain, and goes as far as to suggest that they keep Logan's dead body in the air until their ready. This aversion to tragedy has been a defining feature of Shiv, who always tends to leave when things get bad, and I found it to be a heartbreakingly real reaction from her. Then we have Connor who has such a brutal and detached reaction to his father's death, saying "he never even liked me". Connor's reaction is so painfully sad and what you would expect from a neglected child who is mostly just pained at the fact that he will now never have a chance to ever impress his father. Connor is also so loving towards his siblings, and I really appreciated that he immediately changed the tune of his grief to blend in with the others when he realized how his words were upsetting his siblings. Brilliant writing. All four of these characters offer different explorations into grief without ever sacrificing the immersive reality of the characters or the situation. The success of all of this is indicative of how well written this show has been and how rich the characters are. Events on the plane are enticing to watch as well. Tom is impressive on the phone as he manages to keep his cool in such a difficult situation, showing us his maturity. As ever, he calls Greg when he needs to let out his emotions, and seeing Tom go from making horrific jokes to sobbing was a phenomenal piece of acting that fits such a weird guy like Tom. Everyone else was fittingly sad. Frank is simply processing the loss of a close friend in silence, Karolina is keeping herself busy by doing what's next, Karl is being as hilariously awkward as ever, and Kerry is in a darkly hilarious shock after witnessing Logan's death. These moments were all superb and added a lot to the episode. With all of the chaos that happened after Tom's phone call, it's easy to forget that there was some good stuff at the start of the episode too. Tom and Greg have some fun interactions with Tom getting his "Greglets", Connor's loony cake is a sad yet funny concept that I really enjoyed, and poor Roman had a really good story as he was forced to fire Gerri. You can tell Roman did not want to do it and tried to put it off. But Gerri being as smart as she is immediately saw through him and realized what was going on, which was terrific. This hurt Roman badly, and I was honestly proud to see him finally lash out as his father for his mistreatment over that voicemail. It's the first time we've ever seen Roman stand up to his father for abuse, and Kieran Culkin beautifully portrays the nerves he would feel doing it. It's a damn tragedy that right when Roman finally stands up for himself, his father dies. Another painful reality for Roman to deal with. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: What happens now that Logan died? Will the GoJo deal still happen? How will Matsson react? What is next for the show? Who is going to succeed Logan? How are things going to be decided at the board meeting? How will they choose the successor? Will Gerri and Cyd still be fired even after Logan died? Will they manage to stay in the company since nothing was finalized? Best Moment: The pure shock from that phone call, slowly realizing what has happened, and seeing the devastating reactions from all of the children was easily one of the most powerful sequences of television I've ever seen. It's a bit cheap to call it a single "moment" since it's something like 10 minutes of the episode, but the entire sequence had me glued to the screen in stunned silence for that entire time. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: I would be surprised if "Succession" can top this episode. This was a shocker that came right out of nowhere, giving us the most powerful and evocative demonstration of familial grief that I have ever seen on television. This will go down as one of the all-time great episodes. Score: 87 Summary: Logan visits the ATN newsroom and delivers a speech indicating that he intends to reimagine the network. Kerry becomes an ATN anchor but is embarrassingly bad at it. Logan sees others laughing at her and has Tom take her off TV. Shiv learns that Tom met with all of New York's good divorce attorneys so she can't use them. She, Roman, and Kendall leave to attend Connor's wedding rehearsal. When they arrive, Willa has left after panicking and Connor is dejected. Shiv tries to convince the others to join in on Stewy's plan to veto the GoJo deal to bleed more money from Matsson but they don't listen. After Matsson calls Kendall threatening to disperse the deal if they push for more money, Kendall joins in too. Logan learns of what happened from Connor and goes to meet his children. They have a nasty meeting at a karaoke bar and harsh words are exchanged. Roman goes to visit Logan afterwards and Logan asks for his help.
The Good: The episode started slow, but the main plot gradually became more and more interesting as it went on, and it was engaging to feel myself get pulled into the episode more and more like this. The episode takes place mostly at Connor's wedding rehearsal, but the main story revolves around Stewy and Sandy trying to convince the Roys to bomb the Matsson deal to squeeze him for more money. Naturally, Kendall and Roman don't care for this because it's just a little more money and they are already set up for the Pierce deal. But Shiv is the one who wants to join forces with them, and at first it's hard to see why. But then you gradually realize that it's just because she wants to spite Logan further by inconveniencing him with this deal. The episode gets really good when it begins to explore how messed up this way of thinking is, and also when the same thinking spreads to Kendall. Shiv's motives being revealed make her seem villainous, and it's disgusting to see that she values vengeance against her father over the Pierce deal (when Roman brings up that Matsson will tank the deal, she discredits him and ignores the risk). To make matters worse, Kendall actually ends up agreeing with her after calling Matsson, and he only agrees when Matsson confirms that he will blow up the deal. It seems like Kendall is also after blowing up the deal specifically to piss off Logan, and while he is abusive and awful, it's disgusting that he and Shiv are solely motivated by lashing out against him. It disgusts Roman too, and it's clear that he is disturbed with the way his siblings are handling the situation, and with the way they gang up on him and dismiss his business instincts - not too far off from what Logan at his worst would tell him, is it? Unlike his siblings, Roman doesn't hate his father to the same degree, and it's fascinating to see him be the one more focused on securing their own future while his siblings deride him for not despising Logan like they do. This made for a really interesting sibling dynamic throughout the episode, culminating in a great twist as Roman leaves his siblings and seemingly decides to throw in his lot with Logan again (see: The Unknown). After seeing the extent of their hatred and having them gang up on him, it's totally understandable that Roman would return to his father seeing that he hasn't yet had as many bad memories with him as they have. Everything comes to a head in that magnificent karaoke bar scene, one of those rare terrific scenes that puts the entire family together and lets the tensions between everyone create a dramatic spectacle. This scene is incredible and does a magnificent job of highlighting the dynamic between Logan and his kids. Shiv and Kendall have clearly decided that they won't believe a word that Logan says once he enters that room, and it's brutally amusing seeing them quip and insult at every turn while Logan tries to turn on his usual manipulation to get them to stop interfering with the Matsson deal. I don't deny that Logan does miss them to a degree, but he is not here because he wants them back, he's only here to stop them from interfering with him. And Shiv and Kendall know that, and are all about throwing it in his face that they know, making for a brutal sequence of insults and barbs. Then you have Roman and Connor on the sidelines who stay fairly quiet. Clearly these two just want the dust to settle so they can all stay together, and they are the ones trying to mediate the arguments so that the family can continue. It's heartbreaking to see them fail. Connor is resigned, knowing that he doesn't matter much to them, but Roman tries his best to mend fences only for it to fail completely. In the end, Logan gives in to his frustration and storms out of the room delivering perhaps the most accurate assessment of his kids that we've ever seen from him: "you're not serious people". This was a magnificent scene that more than earns being the centerpiece of this episode. Despite all of this great character work and drama, I actually think that Connor was the episode's standout, and this was the best we've ever seen from him. In this episode, Connor has to contend with the idea of Willa possibly having left him on the eve of their wedding, he has to contend with the awful "comfort" he gets from his siblings, and he has to handle yet another large-scale family argument that he is powerless to put an end to. This episode paints Connor's tragedy beautifully, and Alan Ruck is given plenty of moments to shine as he contends with how marginalized he always is, never being the focal point at any point in the episode despite being the one who desperately needs some comfort after Willa leaves. It's sad, and I've never felt more for Connor than I did in this episode. His speech at the end, regardless of if it's true or not, is so powerful because this is how Connor has to cope with having a family that doesn't care about him. He says he doesn't need love to survive because he knows after all these years that he is never going to get it from his family. Regardless of if this is what he really feels, he has to tell himself that he does not need love or else he will likely fall into intense depression. This moment was powerful and the significance it had for the character of Connor made it even better. The episode has a fun side story at ATN, and I enjoyed this quite a bit. Logan's inspiring speech was a nice surprise because we've never seen this side of him before, and he was fierce and motivational in all the right ways. I liked that a lot. Even better was Kerry's stint as news anchor. She was laughably bad, and I loved seeing the various characters poking fun at her bad performances. Hugo having to hide what he was doing when Logan walks in was easily the comedic highlight, and that moment made me laugh a lot. I also enjoyed Tom's interactions with Logan as he is clearly more comfortable with him (he made an awkward joke like he usually does with Greg!), but he still has to toe the line of giving him what he wants. The conversations regarding Kerry where Logan indirectly tells Tom what to do about her is hilarious and I really liked seeing Tom struggle to figure out what it is that Logan wants. Lastly, I got a real laugh out of poor Greg having to "fire" Kerry because of the "focus group", another comedic highlight in an episode that had a lot of good jokes. The Bad: I'm sad about how this show handled the Stewy/Sandy story and their characters. Back in seasons 1 and 2, these two were pretty much the main antagonists of the show and they posed an enormous threat to Waystar. But now? They don't even matter at all. Stewy has hardly appeared since season 2 despite being a really fun character to have around, and he is showing none of the clever resourcefulness that made him a player in the earlier seasons. Once upon a time, he was motivated to take the entire company for himself and cleverly manipulated characters to make this happen; now he just begs people to help him get a little bit more money out of a deal. The difference is enormous, and highlights how Stewy has been wasted by the show. His entire subplot faded into nothingness following "Retired Janitors of Idaho" and I wish that it had been handled better. The Unknown: Is Tom going to try to prevent a divorce, or was his move to secure the divorce lawyers just to help him get a better deal out of the divorce? Will the GoJo deal blow up because of Shiv and Kendall's actions? Will this ruin the Pierce deal since the Roy kids won't be able to get enough money? Will they care if they are still part of Waystar? Is Roman going to join forces with Logan again? He seems very alienated from his siblings after their mean-spirited actions against their father. Why did Kendall change his mind after Matsson's call? What motivated him? Is it because he still wants to be CEO deep down? Or is it just because he saw a chance to screw over Logan and wanted to take it, just like Shiv? Is Willa going to stay put at the wedding? Can she go through with marrying Connor? Best Moment: You know it's going to be an excellent scene when we get to see the Roy family dynamics in action. The karaoke bar scene with all of the kids and Logan together was superbly written and acted, and it was easily the highlight of the episode. Character of the Episode: Connor. Conclusion: Season 4 is already getting into its groove. This episode was a slow starter, but it built up into something excellent, delivering a phenomenal family scene in the climax. Score: 72 Summary: Kendall, Shiv, and Roman are starting a new media brand called "The Hundred". Tom calls Shiv about a meeting he had with Naomi and they realize that Logan is trying to buy Pierce, so they decide they will make a bid for Pierce as well. Logan is celebrating his birthday but feels lonely. The Roy kids go to meet with Nan and she eventually agrees to see them. They make a deal while Logan has Tom call in and negotiate from their end. Logan is frustrated when he finds out that his kids are the rival bidders. The Roys decide to make a conversation-ending bid of 10 bil and it works. Logan is frustrated. Shiv returns home to Tom after they had been separated for a while and tells him that they should get a divorce.
The Good: It's good to have "Succession" back for this fourth season. Things have changed after "All the Bells Say", and season 4 isn't afraid to show that. The Roy siblings have finally allied with each other, and it's nice to see that they are still working together even without the common goal of taking down their father. The interactions are as fun as ever, filled with hilarious one-liners, a total lack of sympathy for other people, loads of ego, and distrust between one another. It's a joy seeing them work together, and it's clear that each character has changed now that they are free from their father. Kendall looks like he has a weight off of his shoulders. He still does drugs, but he no longer seems like he is destroying himself from the inside now that he is surrounded by family that loves him and he has addressed what he did to Andrew Dodds. Kendall's in a happier place, and while going up against his father still excites him like always, he carries himself in a more laid back way this time. Roman seems to have matured the most without Logan around. He's still snarky, mean-spirited, and dismissive. But now he has fully developed that mature side of him since he no longer has to worry about being excessively disgusting to impress his abusive father. It's no surprise to see Roman take the most excitement in the Roy siblings doing their own thing, and he takes the most responsibility in making it happen as well. Then there's Shiv, who has actually changed the least. She is helping her siblings in their new venture, but just like with Logan, she still has one foot out the door looking for other options in case things don't work out. Where Kendall and Roman are so different from before, Shiv is interesting because of how similar she behaves, which is perhaps indicative of her unique style of coping with her family. The main plot of the episode sees the Roys join in on a bidding war to acquire Pierce to screw over Logan. Even though they tried to move on and do something new, they can't help themselves from getting involved with their dad again, and this time they're looking for petty revenge with this buyout. And remarkably, the plan actually works! These three put their minds together and are able to handle themselves with enough composure to completely screw over Logan and take Pierce for themselves, the first time we have ever seen Logan lose to his children in the entire show. This is pretty monumental, and could indicate a change in tone heading into this fourth season. It looks like Logan isn't the main threat anymore and the Roy kids may have to worry about their powerful alliance falling apart from within. I do like how this episode portrayed Logan. Now that his children (and Marcia too) are all gone, he feels genuinely lonely. His birthday is a quieter affair than Kendall's back in "Too Much Birthday", but it carries that same lonely atmosphere. Without his kids to beat down at every turn, it looks like Logan is unable to connect with anyone else and is feeling isolated by the world around him, calling all of these people "Munsters". He even takes Colin (seriously, COLIN) out for dinner and tries to connect with him a little bit. Even Colin is thrown for a loop, and seeing him struggle to have a genuine conversation is quite funny. But this shows us that Logan is starved for a connection with people, and he likely feels a bit adrift after losing his kids. The final scene of the episode perfectly shows Logan's pain as he sits alone watching and criticizing the news at night with nobody to share his displeasure with. He absolutely deserves it, but it's still sad. Shiv and Tom's relationship gets a lot of time in this episode. I'm pleased to see that Tom's actions in "All the Bells Say" had immediate consequences on this relationship, and already we are seeing those consequences play out. The phone calls between them are devastating because of the obvious tension and the buried feelings of betrayal that both characters are unable or unwilling to share with each other. It's like a pressure cooker that never explodes, and every scene carries the weight of what's gone on between them without ever going off. Even the final scene where Shiv asks for a divorce and both characters face the end of their relationship (see: Best Moment) keeps these emotions in check as Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen act out what the characters feel without them ever communicating it to each other. This relationship continues to be beautifully written and acted, and it's as compelling as ever even in its denouement. The Bad: Greg is as funny as ever in this episode, but his story again feels like background filler, which has been a trend in recent episodes. I wish that "Succession" could get more utility out of Greg by giving him a more important role, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen, even in this final season. I hope I'm wrong and that Greg has a huge role to play in the plot of this final season, but I suspect that he'll be relegated to the background in the same way that he has been in the past couple of seasons. The Unknown: Will the Roy kids be able to pay the 10 bil for Pierce? Will Logan be petty enough to screw them over by tanking the GoJo deal? Will The Hundred amount to anything? Is this truly the end for Shiv and Tom? Could this be a problem for Tom since he's not technically family anymore? Will Connor be able to keep his one percent? Will his relationship with Willa last? Best Moment: Shiv and Tom's fantastic conversation at the end of the episode. This scene portrays their emotions beautifully, especially seeing that both characters are unable to express them to each other. From Shiv's sad facial expressions when she looks away, to Tom's general deflated demeanour, everything is nailed in this scene to make this divorce feel meaningful and devastating while still being logical and inevitable. Character of the Episode: Shiv. Conclusion: This show has become extremely dependable for good television. Nothing in this season premiere blew me away, but the storytelling and performances were superb and I was captivated by the character beats we were given to start off season 4. Score: 67 Summary: In 1969, Nida is a sales assistant who is frustrated by the racist, awful people around her. When she is forced to eat lunch in the basement one day, she accidentally releases a demon named Gaap. Gaap tells Nida that she has three days to make three sacrifices or the world will end. Nida is initially terrified and thinks she is insane but Gaap talks sense into her. After trying to run away, she ends up in a back alley with an abusive man walking his dog and she kills him with a brick for the first sacrifice. Nida goes to kill Keith, a known murderer, the next day. She follows him home and murders him, but his brother suddenly returns and notices her. Nida is forced to kill him too, distraught that he was a good man. Gaap is happy that the sacrifices are done, but learns that they don't count if the individual is a murderer, so Keith did not count. Nida decides to kill her xenophobic co-worker Vicky, but changes her mind and targets Michael upon realizing that he will become Prime Minister and instill a totalitarian regime. Nida chases him down and tries to kill him, but she's apprehended by cops before she can. Nida explains the reasoning behind her killings but she is thought to be insane. The time limit is reached and the world enters nuclear war. Gaap is going to be sent to oblivion for failing and invites Nida to go with him, and she agrees.
The Good: Anjana Vasan's portrayal of Nida practically carries this episode. The character is relatable and endearing, and seeing her embrace her darker side fostered by all the xenophobia she endures is compelling stuff. I enjoyed seeing Nida get darker and darker throughout the episode as she becomes obsessed with the idea of killing the worst possible people to save the world. Her dynamic with Gaap is also a lot of fun. I have to commend the idea behind Gaap. I like that despite him being a demon, he's actually kind of charming and likeable in a dark sort of way. He bounces off of Nida pretty well, and his antics are consistently amusing. I thought that the setting was very good in this episode. Considering that racism was a huge aspect of this episode, it made sense to set the episode in the 60s when this infuriating behaviour was much more normal and typically went unpunished. Plus, the episode visually looked great and unique because of the time period, and it helped the episode stand out compared to everything else. The Bad: Again, did this need to be so long? The ideas tackled in this episode are fairly simple and I feel like they could have been addressed in half the time with a much more streamlined narrative. Nida having to deal with her conscience while trying to kill, and her bond with Gaap are decent ideas, but not explored in a particularly emotional or impactful way. I feel like we could have accomplished the same thing in half the time. The story itself somewhat disappointed me. Even more than any other episode this season, "Demon 79" didn't have any connection with technology. It's a strange choice to take away one of the best aspects of "Black Mirror" (its commentary on technology), and it's even stranger because the episode didn't offer anything to replace the commentary on technology. Without that, this felt like a pretty simplistic horror/thriller with no real reason for me to analyze the episode or think about what I had watched. The experience felt shallow and I wish that there had been more substance to the story outside of basic entertainment. The detective storyline was an afterthought and I was bored any time we switched to them. The entertaining aspect of the episode is the dynamic between Nida and Gaap, so any time spent away from them is bland and uninteresting. I wish that this side story had been cut out entirely. The Unknown: What happened to Nida's mother? Did she die of natural causes or is there more to that story? What is oblivion, and how will Gaap and Nida tolerate eternity together? Best Moment: Nida and Gaap bonding over how lonely they feel after the murders of Keith and his brother. Character of the Episode: Nida. Conclusion: A fittingly weird and atypical episode of "Black Mirror" to end season 6. Not all of this worked, in fact a lot didn't, but it was an enjoyable enough experience for what it was. Season 6 was ultimately quite disappointing and it did not succeed in changing my mind that Charlie Brooker has run out of ideas and is not able to hit the same quality that he had in earlier "Black Mirror" seasons. Season 6 took more risks and there are plenty of episodes that don't feel like typical "Black Mirror" episodes, suggesting that the show is taking risks and heading in new directions to address the idea drought. However it hasn't worked yet. Risky episodes like "Mazey Day" and "Demon 79" weren't particularly successful, and it's clear that the writing in this show needs to get much better if we are to get a season that is as good as the first three. I'm not sure how long it will be until we get a season 7, but I will be watching. The one nice thing about this show is that every season is short and every episode unique, making it tremendously easy to watch even if it is sometimes disappointing. Score: 56 Summary: Bo is a paparazzi and takes a photo of an actor having a gay affair, and he later kills himself. Bo feels guilty and quits her job, but struggles to make a living. After famous actress Mazey Day flees the country following a hit and run unknown to the public, Bo returns to her job to collect an enormous $50,000 reward for photos. She and fellow photographer Hector track down Mazey to a rehab center and they are followed by other photographers. They break in to get their pictures but find that Mazey has become a werewolf that starts killing everyone. Bo and Hector escape to a nearby diner where the werewolf kills everyone, but Bo is able to defeat her with a gun. Reverted to her human form, Mazey takes the gun and kills herself as Bo takes a picture.
The Good: Paparazzi is a good concept to tackle, especially with how willing these people are to invade people's privacy to expose online. This fits perfectly with the themes of "Black Mirror", and I was excited to see what the show's take on paparazzi would be. The Bad: Except the message of this episode is completely confused, and the story is pretty awful. The idea of paparazzi is wasted because I'm left confused if "Black Mirror" is condemning or supporting paparazzi. Sometimes I feel like this episode is about how awful paparazzi are, like with Bo feeling guilty about indirectly causing a suicide, and the other photographers getting killed by Mazey because they stuck around to take pictures. But then at other points it seems like paparazzi are justified, especially since Mazey Day actually is hiding a deadly secret that needs to be exposed to the world. The end of the episode suggests that it's so valuable that werewolves have been exposed to the world, justifying paparazzi. So ultimately, I'm confused what the episode's message is. It's jumbled and confused between the pros and cons, leading to a less satisfying and clear story overall. Furthermore, Bo is one of the weirdest main characters we have had because she doesn't have any clear arc in this episode, and her conclusion offers no emotional closure or any interesting conflict. The writing is all so strangely unclear and messy. The werewolf twist is one of the worst things I've seen from "Black Mirror". Sure, it subverted my expectations, but to what end? What benefits did the werewolf twist provide this episode? Absolutely nothing. The idea is given the most shallow exploration, and it shifted the attention away from the main idea about paparazzi, diluting the episode's main message and making the whole experience more convoluted. I have very little to say about this episode, because it feels like there's hardly anything to talk about. This went from an interesting story to a random horror/thriller for no real reason, and the climactic sequence as Bo is chased by Mazey's werewolf form feels entirely out of place compared to the rest of the episode. I found the episode's setting to be pretty bad. This season played around with time a lot, and this episode is set in the early 2000s. The problem is that this is hardly noticed by the story and it doesn't create as unique of a setting compared to episodes like "Demon 79" and "Beyond the Sea" which are set much more significantly in the past. The early 2000s setting doesn't have much to offer the episode, and is another wasted idea. The Unknown: What happens when the werewolves get exposed? Is there a backlash? Is it explained away somehow? How prevalent are these werewolves? Why is this such a big secret? Best Moment: The opening scene of Bo taking pictures of the celebrity is the most interesting because this is when it still felt like "Black Mirror" was going to explore an interesting idea. Character of the Episode: Bo. Conclusion: What a weird, confused, ridiculous episode. I didn't see much of a point to this episode and didn't get much out of it. A dull, overly ambitious episode that doesn't have much that's worth your time. Score: 43 Summary: Cliff and David are two astronauts working in space while robotic replicas live their lives down on Earth. Cliff stays in the country with his wife Lana while David is more sociable with his family in public. A cult attacks David at night, murdering his family and destroying his replica before turning themselves in. David is deeply depressed and Cliff offers to let him use his replica. David does and finds some peace in doing this, and continues to use the replica occasionally to paint a picture for Cliff to keep in his house. As he does this, David becomes obsessed with Lana and makes a pass at her. Lana tells Cliff and doesn't want David to come back, while Cliff is suspicious that they had an affair. Cliff refuses to let David use his replica again so David fakes an emergency and goes back to murder Cliff's family. Cliff goes back and sees what happened before returning horrified to David.
The Good: This episode does a lot of things right, and it has its heart in the right place emotionally. David's story is genuinely disturbing and upsetting. We establish a great, sociable family, and seeing them get slaughtered ruthlessly by a cult group is absolutely horrifying. David's grief is realistically portrayed and it's tough not to feel for him as he suffers alone in space. Him finding some peace in using Cliff's replica makes sense, and the story told between them is good as David goes from grateful to entitled and dependent on Cliff's life. Aaron Paul is the glue that makes this work. He does a tremendous job playing two different characters, and the quality of his performance sells the story being told magnificently. What we get is a pretty standard domestic conflict for much of the episode (with a technology twist of course), but the strength of the performance makes it much better. The Bad: This episode has no business being 80 minutes long. The story is enough for a 40-50 minute episode, but the pacing is screwed up when the story is extended to be almost twice that length. Scenes go longer than they should, there are scenes that should have been significantly trimmed or cut out entirely, and the episode doesn't have an additional layer of complex storytelling to justify being so long. I'm usually not too bothered by methodical pacing, but this story drags and bores me at times because it is needlessly slow, and it doesn't even capitalize on any of the strengths that come from slow-paced storytelling. One of the biggest strengths of slow storytelling is that you can dive deep into character. Yet as slow as the episode is, somehow it still failed to emotionally sell me on the choices the characters made at various points in the story. We had so many scenes of David using Cliff's replica, and yet I still couldn't buy into his decision to advance on her and try to hook up, which seemingly came out of nowhere. The show failed to effectively convey David's over-dependence and entitlement to the degree where I could buy into him hitting on Lana. This is unforgivable when the episode is so slow-paced. I also was baffled by David's decision to kill Cliff's family. Was he really so far gone that he felt like he had to do this? I couldn't believe that David was so willing to blow up Cliff's life, especially considering that David was technically living a significant part of his life as well. These are key emotional moments in David's character arc, and I felt like they were unearned and difficult to connect with. The premise of this episode is marred by one enormous plot hole. If repairs on the space shuttle are only required once in a while, why wouldn't the replicas be sent to space instead of the humans? Surely it would be much cheaper and more feasible to send robots to space and let the humans remain back with their families. I can't find any answer to explain this plot hole, and it unfortunately destroys the entire premise because this situation is no longer feasible. The Unknown: What's next for David and Cliff? Will they attack each other or will they somehow keep things civil? It's hard to see a world where they get through their job together, but you never know. Best Moment: David crying out in the woods was incredibly well acted by Aaron Paul and devastating. Character of the Episode: David. Conclusion: This episode was the most emotionally heavy and horrific of this season, but unfortunately it is too slow paced, inconsistently written, and it has an enormous plot hole. The result is a disappointing episode that should have been much better. Score: 57 Summary: Davis and Pia are dating and making a film together. They visit Davis' hometown Loch Henry and from Davis' friend Stuart, Pia learns about Davis' troubled past involving a kidnapper and killer Iain Adair who turned Loch Henry from a tourist hub into a ghost town and indirectly killed his father Kenneth. Pia convinces David to make their movie about this story. Davis and Pia explore around and make their film. While driving home at night, Davis gets into an accident and stays at the hospital. Pia stays with Janet, Davis' mom, and finds on one of her VCR tapes that she and Kenneth participated in the kidnappings with Iain. At the same time, Stuart's father tells Davis the truth. Pia is terrified of Janet and runs away, but dies in the wilderness. Janet thinks her secret is out and commits suicide. Much later, Davis' film is a smashing success and tourism returns to Loch Henry, but Davis is still traumatized by the entire ordeal.
The Good: I've seen a lot of people dismiss this episode as "not true Black Mirror" because it does not focus on technology. I don't believe that this is true. This episode does focus on the impacts of technology in our lives, and what's special about it this episode is that it focuses on what is happening right now in the world instead of focusing on what may happen in the future. This episode focuses on real-life stories being somewhat fetishized by the entertainment industry through the creation of documentaries and other media products for entertainment purposes. I think that the episode explores this idea beautifully and perfectly highlights how this fetishization affects the victims of these incidents. Davis was a compelling character because we got to see how his personal life was destroyed by his movie-making endeavour. The episode drew emotional impact in seeing what happened to him, and it led to this being one of the most emotionally impactful episodes in the season. This episode had a far more realistic tone than "Joan is Awful", and that resulted in a more engaging and grounded atmosphere to tell this story. The pacing is fairly slow, but it's helped along with imaginative filmmaking, a beautiful and unique setting in Scotland, realistic characters, and brilliant utilization of suspense to keep uneventful scenes interesting by making us constantly think that something is going to happen. So many little things were done right. Side characters were kept mysterious to get us interested in learning the truth, Iain Adair's story is told beautifully to create an interesting horror piece, and the eerie and empty setting of Loch Henry gives the episode a spooky and unsettling tone. I also connected with the characters because they all had simple and clearly defined drives. Pia represents the entertainment industry perfectly because she seems to stop at nothing in order to get the best possible film. This sets her up perfectly to be the one to die as punishment for her ambitious nature. Davis is compelling because he is clearly traumatized and reluctant to dive into his history, and his actions reflect this at every turn, making it even more brutal when he uncovers the truth. Stuart is a lot of fun and brings in a lot of comedy, but even he is consistently written as someone who yearns for Loch Henry to be a tourist hub once more, with his every move being done in the hopes of achieving this goal. The story being told was really good and had a good twist at the end revealing the truth about what happened. The mystery aspect of discovering the truth of what happened with Iain Adair had me interested the entire episode, and the incorporation of horror/thriller aspects made for a uniquely entertaining experience. The twist caught me off guard and it worked well in terms of explaining some of the weirdness in Davis' past, providing a satisfying climax and conclusion to the story. The Bad: Pia makes so many poor decisions upon leaning the truth about Janet. I do get that she would be terrified and her judgement would be compromised, but the way she consistently makes the worst possible decision at every turn until she literally gets herself killed is almost unbelievable, and it's a level of incompetence that takes me out of the story being told. To be clear, I do like that she died by going into the wilderness alone (this was foreshadowed and set up earlier in the episode), but I found the choices that she made to get into that situation to be baffling. Pia immediately panicking about Janet, not taking any evidence when she left, acting incredibly suspicious, running away alone in the night, and staying on the road knowing that Janet would come after her was incredibly stupid. The Unknown: Was Richard involved in the crime too? He was so perturbed by Davis' investigation, and it makes me wonder if he was also in on the crimes alongside Davis' parents. It would make sense that he scapegoated Davis' parents to mask his own involvement in the case. Best Moment: Davis sitting in silence after everything that happened, emphasizing the episode's message on the damage that these kinds of documentaries can have on the victims directly involved. Though Davis was successful and achieved everything he could have wanted with his film, it doesn't help him handle the grief and pain of what happened. Character of the Episode: Davis. Conclusion: Not everything about this worked, but overall this was a very well told and engaging story with a powerful message and plenty of suspense. Score: 67 Summary: Joan lays off one of her employees with no spine and goes to therapy where she confides in being disappointed in her relationship with her fiance Krish. She is texted by Mac, her ex, and agrees to meet with him where they kiss before she returns home. At home, she watches Streamberry with Krish and watch a new show "Joan is Awful", but the show is actually just showing Joan's daily life acted by Salma Hayek. Joan is horrified and Krish leaves her after seeing what happened with Mac. Joan tries to take legal action but realizes that it's impossible. Joan then defecates in a church in protest. Salma learns that a digital version of her is doing this and is upset, but is also unable to take legal action. She teams up with Joan and they decide to destroy Streamberry's quantum computer or quamputer that gathers data and creates these TV shows. Joan and Salma break into Streamberry and Joan is about to break it, but she learns that she's not even the original Joan she's one of the AIs produced within the quamputer. She realizes original Joan did it anyways and breaks the computer. The original Joan is placed under house arrest but has more control in her life.
The Good: The title of this episode is definitely accurate because Joan is awful and it's amusing to watch her stumble from situation to situation making everything worse and worse. There is some good comedy throughout the episode that elevates this, and while the lighthearted tone fails to create a realistic atmosphere (see: The Bad), it does provide some quality comedy that I enjoyed. Joan and Salma Hayek are fun to watch and their jokes are elevated by some spirited performances. I like the ideas being explored here. This episode is reminiscent of "Inception" with there being layers of AI within other AI, creating a complex and difficult to comprehend realm of existences all within a computer. This episode is essentially taking the idea of us all living in a simulation and running several miles with the concept. I found this to be interesting and compelling. I also liked the exploration of the control a streaming service can have over the world, and this is a clever idea for a "Black Mirror" episode. The Bad: I can't stand the lightheartedness that "Black Mirror" has used in this episode and the previous episode in season 5. This show tackles serious ideas and disturbs viewers because of how realistic its characters and world feels in each episode. When we see characters behaving like comic book characters with no realistic aspects at all. The actors get lots of comedy out of it, but they never feel like real people with real problems, and I spent the entirety of the episode being unable to take the ideas seriously because of the strange tone. By far the most immersion-breaking aspect of this episode is how nobody ever seems concerned by how the "Joan is Awful" TV show is a total disruption of personal privacy and what it could mean about corporations surveilling people's personal lives. The existence of this show should result in total paranoia, distrust, fear, and genuine anger towards people in power for allowing this to happen. Instead, the characters only care about how other people perceive them in the TV show, which is entirely unrealistic and it makes these characters feel fake at every turn. Nothing feels real because nobody acts like a real person would. I deeply dislike the terms and conditions idea. Instead of exploring realistic consequences of terms and conditions allowing for unfair surveillance of everyone living in the world, the idea is treated like a gimmick. It's implied that all legal power would be moot because of a single signature, which is laughably unrealistic, and it's a cop-out from genuinely exploring the impact that terms and conditions has on our daily lives. Most of the time "Black Mirror" handles exaggerations of real life fairly well because the concept feels like a natural extension of what currently exists in our world. The terms and conditions idea fails at this because corporations creating a TV show targeted towards individuals feels like an idea that would never even be considered, never mind implemented. The Unknown: What happened to all of the AI? Did they all just die, or were they recovered somehow? Did Joan actually stop Streamberry, or would they simply build a new quamputer? What allows Streamberry to take such control through terms and conditions? What happened in this world to make this the norm and to make this level of surveillance legal? Best Moment: I'll go with the sheer comic shock of Joan pooping in the church. Character of the Episode: Joan. Conclusion: This was a disappointing episode. It had good ideas, but the writing and execution was terrible and ruined the episode. Score: 47 Summary: Kendall is recovering from almost drowning. Logan and Roman meet with Matsson, who proposes an alteration of the deal where GoJo buys Waystar. Logan refuses but tells Roman to head back and stays to negotiate. Roman tells the others of the news. Connor is furious and has an outburst and leaves. Willa decides to commit to marrying him. Shiv and Roman begin to notice suspicious activity from Gerri, Frank, and others. Roman tells Shiv about Matsson's proposal and they tell Kendall, concerned that Logan will give the company to Matsson. Kendall is overwhelmed and confesses about killing the waiter. The three decide to confront Logan and use the clause from Logan and Caroline's divorce that gives them a vote in a change in company control to stop Logan from giving up the company. Shiv informs Tom of her plans but hasn't considered a place for him. Tom meets with Greg and convinces him to join him in making a big move. The Roys confront Logan with their plan but Logan shuts them down and reveals that he has already called Caroline and altered the terms of the divorce, having been warned prior. The Roy children lose and Logan leaves. Tom arrives and Shiv realizes that he was the one who sold them out.
The Good: "Succession" has always been a somewhat static show. The situations in the plot have typically remained the same throughout its run, but what keeps it fresh are the constantly changing character dynamics. Now, after three seasons of storytelling, "Succession" finally decides to shake things up, and finally seeing a huge change in plot dynamics is enormously effective because of how patient the show has been. By holding back such a pivotal change for three seasons, the show succeeds in making the buyout of Waystar a massive moment that we know will have significant consequences on the story. This is why "All the Bells Say" is such a successful season finale. This is the first time we have ever seen the table get completely flipped over, and that makes the deal Logan strikes with Matsson a more-than-worthy event to center a season finale around. Logan's meeting with Matsson early in the episode was gripping and fantastic. It was amusing to see him diss Roman (you stay here and play with your d*ck), only to immediately ask him to come when the other option is to take transparent, self-absorbed Shiv with him instead. The meeting with Matsson is beautifully done, and it does a terrific job to raise suspense when Logan doesn't react as viciously as we expect him to. After Roman is asked to leave, and we see that strange smile from Logan, you can't help but wonder if he's actually going to let Matsson buy his company. But surely Logan of all people wouldn't do that... right? The way that this is handled creates an exciting mystery with enormous stakes, and that makes this episode feel like a huge deal. Seeing Roman and Shiv slowly suspect that something is going on behind their backs only fuels the paranoia and the excitement, and this created one of the most thrilling and engaging premises that I have seen in a "Succession" episode. But leave it to "Succession" to continuously swerve into unexpected territory. From a fairly fast-paced and exciting storyline, we are suddenly sent sideways into one of the show's most powerful and emotional scenes yet. Kendall's confession came practically out of nowhere and floored me, especially Jeremy Strong's unbelievably good performance, conveying all of Kendall's guilt, regret, loneliness, and pain outstandingly well. The reactions from the siblings were also terrific. Shiv is caught off guard and takes the first opportunity to escape an uncomfortably intimate moment, while Roman continues to joke around and downplay things in an attempt to make Kendall feel better without making himself emotionally available. This scene brilliantly encapsulates the toxicity of the relationship between these siblings. They absolutely love each other, and they want to help each other when they need to. But because of the way they were raised and the family they were a part of, they are entirely unable to emotionally help one another and the defence mechanisms that have been developed throughout their lives are all that appear when it's time to comfort Kendall. This was fantastic stuff, and one of the very best moments in this finale. Following this, we finally get to see what I wanted to see from the very start of this show: the kids all team up to take down their monstrous father. This felt triumphant and satisfying, and I absolutely loved the way they confidently marched to Logan's room, a cathartic pay-off after these three have spent three seasons battling each other. But tragically, they were too late in banding together. If they wanted kill Logan, they needed to align with each other back in "Mass in Time of War". By this point, Logan holds all the cards and their alliance has come far too late for it to be impactful. The confrontation with Logan is thrilling. Shiv is the one who finds it the most easy to attack Logan and fight against him, Kendall is mostly observing in the background but firm with his beliefs, and Roman is absolutely shit-scared when faced against the wrath of his father. All four actors do a magnificent job here, but it's Kieran Culkin who steals the show in this scene as his voice constantly shakes and quivers as he struggles to mask his fear underneath his typical snarky exterior. Unfortunately for the Roys, Logan totally eats them up. It's disturbing to think that Logan fully knew why they had come, yet he still manipulates them and acts like a soft, caring father at the start as he tries to ease them into the deal. It's only once Logan forces them to play their hand that he unleashes that signature viciousness, smugly shouting at them as he revels in his victory. The call to Caroline was unnecessary and purely prideful, but it is still unnervingly effective. There's something so heartbreaking about seeing two parents conspire to screw over all of their children due to purely selfish motives. Caroline has thrown her kids to the dogs to please her new husband in a sick and twisted deal, and this is shattering enough as is. But it's Logan who is the real villain here. He hides behind the idea that he has earned selling this company and that his kids have to "make your own pile", which could be a fair parenting decision in some scenarios. But in this scenario, it's not at all about parenting. This is about Logan being an abusive, manipulative, terrible parent. If he really wanted them to make their own pile, he would let Shiv go on with her career, and he would let Kendall cash out of the company. What's really happening is that Logan sickly enjoys taking everything away from his children, and he delights in taking away things that they don't deserve, even though he is the one responsible for them being in this situation to begin with. Logan creates the toxic environment for his kids and delights in abusing them within it. It's clear as day in this episode that even though his kids have grown up, Logan has never let their relationship evolve past his poor treatment of them that has gone on since childhood. And if this wasn't already enough, the episode ends with a terrific twist as Tom finally turns on Shiv in the single most significant moment. I had expected that Tom would turn away from her eventually, but I never expected it to happen in such an epic betrayal that totally annihilates any chance of the Roys becoming CEO. And holy hell, is this satisfying. While I do feel bad for the Roy siblings for the abuse they have suffered, they are still fundamentally terrible people, and none of them deserve the CEO position. Tom has seen this for a long time, and he's consistently been thrown under the bus, ignored, abused, and manipulated for the last three seasons. He was a mess in the first half of this season and it looked like there was nowhere for him to go but down. But finally, Tom has taken his own self-interest into his own hands. If nobody else was going to fight for him, he was going to do it himself. The reveal that he betrayed the Roy siblings at the end of the episode is phenomenal, and Sarah Snook sells Shiv's reaction perfectly. I could totally buy into Tom doing this, especially with how Logan was the only one who seemed to appreciate the sacrifice that Tom was willing to make by going to prison. This is a great move by Tom, and it looks like he has aligned himself to be one of the best options to take over Logan's position once he retires/dies. The scene with Greg sets up this twist wonderfully, and it becomes clear what Tom is talking about on rewatch. I liked the callback to "Sporus" from "Lion in the Meadow", and it's satisfying to see these two, the best friendship in the show, end the season on top for a change. Even Connor got a fantastic moment in this episode that paid off of the story being told with him throughout the whole series. Connor has long been snubbed and overlooked by his family, and finally he breaks when he hears Kendall call himself the "eldest son". It's tough to blame Connor too, especially after learning how Connor stepped up in childhood for his siblings to create nice memories for them when their father couldn't be bothered. All that love, and this is how his siblings repay him? I felt gutted for Connor, and his outburst was a terrific moment of catharsis for the character. Though, Connor is too kind and forgiving at heart. All it takes is one piece of good news from Willa and Connor is back on top of the world and excited to invite everyone to his wedding. Connor's emotions are valid, but I suspect that it's his inability to consistently maintain anger at his poor treatment that has led to him becoming a doormat for the rest of his family. The Bad: I have to admit that Greg has started to feel a bit like filler over the past few episodes, as he becomes less interesting as he gets more and more distant with interacting with the other main characters. I didn't get much enjoyment out of his attempted flirtation with the contessa outside of the usual fun Greg moments, which are not as funny as they were before. The Unknown: Is Willa actually going to marry Connor? Surely this isn't going to go well. Is Logan actually trying to make another baby, or is this just hearsay? Could this line just be referring to the symbolic value of Logan's "new baby" being Matsson? Is Waystar going to be sold? I don't see any way that the Roy children can stop Logan now. What will become of them after this happens? Will they be able to find any significant positions in the new version of the company? I imagine that Logan would be petty enough to smash them back into the ground after their failed coup. Tom's huge betrayal was stunning, and I'm excited to see the consequences. How will this affect his relationship with Shiv? Will Logan reward him for his continued loyalty? Best Moment: The final five minutes were some of the most intense, dramatic, and fascinating minutes of television I have ever seen. What a superb, game-changing ending. Character of the Episode: It could go to anybody, but I'll give it to Kendall for the fantastic confession scene. Conclusion: This was an incredible finale to an incredible season. Every scene here was done to perfection, making this a highly satisfying climax that finally delivered on the unwritten promises of change that this season had carried within it. I'm going to struggle to find more praise for season 3 than what I've already said. I thought that this season was superb, with every episode being a winner, and there being so many phenomenal aspects of storytelling throughout. I've seen some complaints calling this season repetitive, but I strongly disagree. While the plot didn't evolve as much as expected following the season 2 finale, that was the point of the season. Kendall has a chance to change everything, but couldn't overcome his character flaws, and fell flat on his face once again. The same happened to his siblings (Roman blew his chance after finally becoming experienced enough, Shiv continues to be snubbed because Logan is misogynistic). Furthermore, to say that nothing changed is entirely untrue. The situations the characters find themselves in are similar, but what is constantly evolving in each episode is the relationships between these characters, and season 3 was the best season by far when it came to exploring the complexity within these characters and their relationships with one another. This season utilized the fact that we are familiar with these characters to put them through some terrific storylines. Tom's fear of prison, Roman finally being recognized by Logan, Shiv being constantly snubbed and ignored, and Kendall isolating himself through manic behaviour are all fantastic storylines with enormous emotional value. Add on this brilliant, game-changing finale on top of all that, and season 3 looks like a damn good season. Score: 85 Summary: Sandi and Stewy are informed of the plan to acquire GoJo and they accept the idea. The Roys go to Italy for Caroline's wedding. Connor proposes to Willa, who is uncertain if she wants to accept. Kendall demands to meet with Logan that night. Kendall wants to cash out because he's not evil like Logan, but Logan does not accept it and reminds Kendall of what happened to the waiter. Caroline talks with Shiv about her regrets being a mother. Out of spite, Shiv tells Tom that she wants to conceive. Shiv says she doesn't love Tom during foreplay, and Tom is unhappy about what she said. Matsson sends out tweets that he is receiving financing, which endangers the deal. Roman goes to meet with him and learns that Matsson is looking for a merger of equals. Roman expects that he will be destroyed by Logan, but Logan is willing to consider. To celebrate, Roman tries to send a dick pic to Gerri but accidentally sends it to Logan instead. Logan is baffled and contemplates firing Gerri, but Roman says not to. Shiv approaches Gerri to file a sexual harassment case against Roman. A drunk Kendall puts his face underwater while on a floaty.
The Good: This was Roman's episode, and nothing could have prepared me for the way he orchestrated his own fall to follow Kendall and Shiv in losing the backing of his father. After how awful Roman has been the past few episodes, I was truly hoping that the Matsson deal would fall through and screw him over, and that was exactly what happened. It was so satisfying to hear Roman constantly assuring that things were fine as it became increasingly evident that Matsson was screwing them over, and Roman going to meet with Matsson felt like it would be the moment where everything came crashing apart for Roman. Roman's talk with Matsson was great, revealing Matsson to be far more cunning than initially anticipated. He knows that he's powerful, and like Logan, he wants to make a play for further power. As such, he befriends Roman and subtly tells him what he's after without being disrespectful in any way. Poor Roman was ill-prepared for this and it's clear that he's thrown off by Matsson not submitting to what Waystar wants. Still, Roman reports back to Logan and I thought for sure that we would see Roman go down in flames in this scene. But we didn't, and instead Roman again reminds us of how skilled he is. He reports Matsson's motives accurately and provides a compelling case for Logan to work with him, resulting in an all-out success. I may not like Roman, but I recognize his strengths, and it was nice to see a Roy get a success for a change. And then it happened. Roman is such a doofus, and watching him go from this state of ecstasy to sheer embarrassment by accidentally sending his dad a dick pic was simultaneously horrifying and absolutely hilarious. This was perhaps the hardest I've laughed in the whole show, and it fits Roman that he nails down the business aspects of his career only to be brought down by his creepy relationship with Gerri via sending a dick pic to his dad. It's fitting, it's hilarious, and it's the most unexpected climax imaginable to an episode that was very heavy and depressing. I love this sequence so much, and I think that Roman screwing himself over in this fashion was the perfect conclusion to his story. I also got a chuckle out of Shiv immediately trying to take Roman's place at Logan's side, but being absolutely transparent in her motives. Kendall and Logan's meeting is another terrific scene between these two powerhouse actors. I was surprised that Kendall decided he wanted to cash out, but seeing how miserable he was in the previous episode, I understand his choice completely. What came out of left field was Logan denying his request, passing off the cash out letter as a joke. This was brutal and it highlighted how toxic Logan's relationship is with his children. He will belittle them, scrutinize them and shame them for not being good enough. And yet, when they decide to pursue something else for a change, Logan doesn't let them and wants them to come back. He did the same thing with Shiv when he pulled her away from her established career. Logan wants his children to be better but never gives them the opportunity to fluorish and make their own lives. No matter what excuse he makes, his real desire is, as his ex-wife put it, to kick his kids over and over and then see if they come back to him. He wants to beat Kendall down and have him come crawling back, so he will use every card up his sleeve to make it so Kendall comes crawling back to him. And in a cruel twist, this includes using the waiter incident to try to convince Kendall that he's not a good person and that he belongs with his evil family. Logan's methods here are torrid and indicative of how he is a different level of evil than all of his children, and his manipulative denial of his own evil is disgusting. Also disgusting is Logan using Iverson to taste his food to prevent a poisoning attempt by Kendall, which is so laughably paranoid and cruel. Kendall was clearly affected by this meeting with his father, and this leads to a curious ending scene that may have serious repercussions (see: The Unknown). Shiv is still an awful person on every level, but her conversation with her mother helps us better understand why this is the case. Caroline gets worse every time we see her, and now we can see her as the judgemental, vindictive, inadequate parent that she has always been. The last thing you want to hear from your parent is that they regret having you and that's exactly what Caroline tells Shiv. She also holds a grudge against her for choosing Logan when she was a kid, she tells Shiv that she isn't meant to be a parent, and she even tells Shiv that she was unable to have dogs because she knew Logan would abuse them; yet she still decided to have kids, who became the dogs that Logan abused. This is disgusting, depressing, and perfectly indicative of why Shiv grew up to be an awful human being. The conversation between Shiv and Caroline is short, but there is so much context given to their relationship in a short few minutes, and it is captivating. Reeling from this conversation, Shiv goes to her go-to stress relief: abusing her relationship with Tom. She now wants a baby out of spite, and manages to say just about every awful thing she could to Tom. Tom is suitably upset by her foreplay, and why wouldn't he be? She could have done somethign sexy, and instead she preys on what she knows to be Tom's insecurities in their relationship. And then Shiv gaslights him for wanting to talk about it the next day, and says horrific things like "I don't love you, but I love you you know?". Oh my god, poor Tom to have to deal with all of this. Their relationship has always been toxic, but this is on a whole other level and it is brutally affecting to watch as Shiv mistreats Tom so egregiously. Greg and Connor have smaller roles in this episode, but they are still fun. Greg is a delight as he gets it in his head from Shiv and Tom that he can shoot higher than Comfry just because he is associated with her. Hilariously, Greg goes full scumbag mode and starts hitting on literal royalty (and his methods are again hilarious). This will obviously backfire, and I can't wait for that to happen. Meanwhile Connor is absolutely ridiculous as he proposes to Willa and totally puts her on the spot in one of the most cringeworthy moments of the episode (the most cringeworthy moment is, well, you know what it is). It's amusing how Connor practically forces her into saying yes with not-so-subtle underhanded tactics, and it provided a good laugh. The Bad: I was disappointed that Marcia was written out last season, and now she has come back only to be totally underutilized. She is present at this wedding but she hardly does anything and plays no role in the story. This is bitterly disappointing, and I wish that more was done with her. Similarly disappointing are Stewy and Sandi, who have had zero role in the show since becoming board members. This is especially disappointing because of how significant "Retired Janitors of Idaho" was, and ultimately the episode seems to have had no lasting consequences on the show, which is disappointing. Stewy has been hugely underutilized since season 1, and it's disappointing that the show has had next to nothing for the character to do lately. Stewy and Sandi briefly pop up in the opening scene, but they have minimal impact on the episode and do not show up again. It's a shame that Stewy's role has been minimized so significantly. I think that Shiv goes too far into being awful in this episode. Before she was realistically manipulative and you could still see why Tom was with her. But now? She is almost cartoonishly evil and so unsubtle about it that I find it impossible to believe that she can get away with being this terrible to Tom. Subtlety has always been a strong point of this show, and it has notable effects when you take that subtlety away. The Unknown: Will Gerri be fired for the dick pic debacle? What happens to Roman now? Will Gerri turn on him like Shiv suggested? Will Matsson agree to the merger? Will Logan attempt to strong-arm him once they share the company? How will Logan handle this moving forwards? Are Shiv and Tom actually going to have a baby? It sounds like that would be an absolute disaster. What happened to Kendall in that final scene? Was he checking to see what it was like for the waiter to hold his breath underwater? Or has he actually passed out? Could he drown and die in such a sudden way? Best Moment: Roman sending a dick pic to Logan is just the funniest possible scenario. I applaud the episode for setting this up in a realistic way with Roman setting his dad as the recipient through a phone technicality that is easy to miss. Some people may not catch the recipient change and may be in for a horrific surprise when they see Logan's phone ring, but I saw the recipient change and was horrified and laughing watching the entire travesty unfold. Kieran Culkin sells the moment with his acting, and the way Roman looked like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin was absolutely hilarious and made the scene as legendary as it was. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: This was another great episode. I feel like I say it every episode, but this was another strong story that embodies everything that "Succession" does well. Season 3 has been remarkably consistent, and it has done so much right as it develops the story and its characters. Let's hope that the season finale ends the season on a high note. Score: 73 Summary: Kendall prepares for his birthday party. Gerri learns that the DOJ investigation will settle for a number and nobody is going to prison. Tom is elated by this and celebrates. Logan has a meeting with Matsson for the GoJo deal, but Matsson cancels to attend Kendall's birthday. Roman and Shiv go to the party to meet Matsson. Kendall is happy to see them. Roman gives Kendall a gift from him and Logan: an offer to buy out his shares. Kendall is upset and learns that Shiv and Roman are here for Matsson, so he keeps Matsson away from them. Kendall meets Rava and learns he got a present from his kids but can't find it. Feeling frustrated and lonely, he lashes out at Naomi who comforts him, and he decides he wants to leave. Roman meets with Matsson and sells Waystar's offer to him. Matsson seems like he may be interested. On the way out, Kendall runs into Roman arguing with Shiv and they all have a nasty spat. Kendall goes back to his apartment.
The Good: This episode is all about Kendall. He's been hyping up his birthday party for several episodes now, and it's finally here in all of its over-the-top glory. This party describes Kendall to a tee. The very first scene indicates all that is wrong with him as we see him deliver a surprisingly good performance of "Honesty" by Billy Joel, and then he reveals that he's doing some dumb over-the-top Jesus stunt that will completely ruin it. This is everything that's wrong with Kendall. He has all of the pieces and has moments where he has put it all together, but then he overthinks and plays to his ego and makes a complete fool of himself every time. This birthday party fell into the same trappings. For as large-scale and glamorous as it was, Kendall had a horrible time at his own party. Despite inviting everyone and receiving so many gifts, Kendall had no personal connection to this party. Outside of his family, not one person wished him happy birthday, and we can see as the party goes on how this tragically makes him feel even more alone. Nothing exemplifies this better than Kendall's reaction to losing the present from his kids. It's never going to be something good, but because it was hand-made just for him, this present becomes the only one that matters. The pile of generic, bland presents means nothing to Kendall, and deep down he yearns for that personal connection with people. The present from his kids represents that, hence why he's devastated when he can't find it, and is disappointed when Naomi gets him a gift that's just like anything else from a random stranger. Kendall's breakdown in this scene is devastating, and his final line saying "I wish I was home" is crushingly sad because we know that his apartment is not the home he's talking about. He wishes to be surrounded by people who love him again instead of being surrounded by strangers who don't know who he is and don't care. Perhaps he's even dreaming of that low-key party he described to Rava, a personal night with her and his kids. But poor Kendall has burned the bridge with Rava. He clearly still wants to be with her, but can't stand her moving past him so he lashes out. Ultimately, his desire to get out leads to him ending his birthday night in stark contrast to how it started. The episode starts with Kendall shouting outside his balcony about how it's his birthday. It ends with a somber look over the edge (suicidal thoughts perhaps?) and Kendall crying in Naomi's laugh, a powerful contrast to how it began. Overall, this episode is magnificent in its exploration of Kendall, and the layers of loneliness that encapsulate him. Kendall is far from the only fascinating element of this episode. Shiv and Roman play a key role as they come to Kendall's party to meet with Matsson. The result is a horrifically brutal spat between the three siblings, which was perhaps the most devastating and tragic scene of the series. I've enjoyed seeing Roman's rise over the past few seasons from bumbling idiot to someone who actually has some business sense. What made him so compelling was that he clearly did have a level of morality that we didn't see in any of the other siblings. But that's changed now. Now that Roman is successful and has his dad's favour, we see how this brings out the worst in him. I don't think any of the Roy siblings have been as ruthless and cruel as Roman in these past few episodes. Kendall once stepped in to stop his father when he hit Roman, and now this episode sees Roman viciously insulting Kendall, goading him into hitting him, a line he knows Kendall can't cross, and then shoving him to the ground in such a humiliating and awful way that shows such little regard for his older brother. It's sad, it's disgusting, and it's so against what the Roman earlier in the season would do. Roman has lost himself in his newfound position and power and it's terrible to behold. He's in need of getting knocked down a few pegs, and I wonder if that will happen with this Matsson deal. Matsson is a fun presence in this episode, and Roman tries to enchant him the same way he did with Mencken in the last episode. Whether or not it actually works remains to be seen (see: The Unknown), but I do hope that Roman gets humbled because his behaviour has become irrational and irritating. Shiv has another rough episode. She came to Kendall's birthday party expecting to help secure the Matsson deal, but she finds that she's been cut out more than ever before despite actually working for Waystar now. Roman and Logan discuss and do everything, and Shiv is treated as barely any more significant than Kendall. It's sad to see her frustrations boil over, and it's made worse by Roman's gloating and needless insults. Roman even makes things personal by attacking her relationship with Tom which, while not necessarily untrue, is needless to discuss in this situation. The spat between Roman and Shiv before Kendall arrives is brutal but very well written. You have two characters feeling contrasting negative emotions lashing out at each other. One feels jealousy and spite in her defeat, the other feels prideful and snobbish in his victory. Then you add a broken Kendall into the mix and the scene becomes one of the show's very best. Brutal stuff. Tom finally returned to his old self at the episode's beginning and I couldn't be happier! The news that nobody was going to prison is suitably great, and Tom immediately going to Greg's office and annihilating it in his raw relief was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see Tom back to normal and interacting with Greg like he used to. But it's tragically short-lived. You would think that Tom should be celebrating this with Shiv, but brutally it's Shiv who tells Tom to be less happy, and she can't seem to care less that he husband isn't going to prison. This leads to a terrific scene later in the episode where Greg comes to see Tom who is clearly still unhappy. Even poor Tom is confused by it all and can't understand why he still feels so miserable despite all the good news. But we realize that even though Tom is not going to prison, he's stuck in a different prison being married to Shiv and connected with the Roys. Matthew Macfadyen's portrayal of Tom's emotional confusion and his inability to process his sadness is phenomenal, and the broad relatability of these feelings makes the performance connect with you. Greg has plenty of great humour to offer, as always. He has some tremendous scenes throughout the episode. His comedy with Tom is golden as always. The office scene is terrific, and I really laughed at the "prove it" line, and Greg and Tom's contrasting reactions to the compliment tunnel. Greg asking out Comfry is a fun side plot, and his horrific first attempt where he keeps calling her a maiden was hilarious. On the other hand, Greg's conversation with Kendall is dramatic and sad. These two were on such good terms, but now Kendall has turned on him brutally. There's a huge degree of hypocrisy in Kendall calling Greg a leech to his own family, but the insult definitely hits for Greg. But since it's Greg, of course his immediate response is to punch the image of Kendall in the balls over and over again. Brilliant. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Logan told Tom that he will remember that he was ready to sacrifice. Does this give Tom some leverage to work with? Have Roman and Tabitha broken up? We haven't seen Tabitha all season. How did Tom get Shiv? We heard before that he helped her when she was a mess, but what exactly happened between them? Will we ever find out? Will Kendall buy out from Waystar? He definitely should, but I don't know if he's going to. How will Greg and Comfry's date go? Is there actually something there, or is Comfry just dating him out of spite for Kendall? I suspect it's the latter. Is Matsson going to take the deal? I suspect that he may have other plans in mind. What present did Kendall's kids get him? Will Kendall ever find it? They used rabbit wrapping paper, does this mean the rabbit survived the bagel incident? Roman does constantly seem to be making comments about having sex with his parents, and he also mentions being uncomfortable peeing around other men. Does this suggest something about his childhood? Was there some sort of sexual abuse done to Roman? Best Moment: The sibling argument near the end of the episode was brutal and horrifying. The sheer venom spat out by all of the siblings, especially Roman, is heartbreaking to watch and it makes you grateful for the loved ones in your life, loved ones that the Roys can never even dream of having. Sad. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: A masterful episode, the best I've seen from "Succession" yet. This had all of the staples of the show so far, excellent acting/writing/dialogue, an engaging event that furthers the main plot, fascinating new character dynamics, a compelling exploration of wealth, and some great comedy. But what sent this over the top was how much emotion was packed into this episode. It becomes extremely impactful when a TV show that rarely outwardly shows us the emotions of its characters decides to linger on emotion for an extended period of time. The emotion took an already great episode and allowed it to reach a further height. Score: 81 Summary: The Roys attend Future Freedom Summit to essentially choose the next President. Logan initially leans towards picking Boyer. However, Roman gets close with Mencken and likes him, while Shiv prefers the democrat Salgado who offers to secure her future as the next CEO. Connor prefers himself obviously. The Roys all gather and discuss their options. Tom slips out to meet Kendall, who continues to spiral and has fired Lisa after she pointed out his shortcomings in the case. Tom refuses Kendall's offer and returns. Logan decides to go with Mencken to Shiv's dismay. Tom agrees to take some of Greg's crimes on to spare him some prison time.
The Good: I enjoy the concept of this episode a lot, as I often do with "Succession" episodes. Politics are central to this show and it's nice to see them take center stage as the Roys essentially get to choose the next President of the United States. This show always does a great job of illustrating how much the Roys take their power for granted and are out of touch with the real world, and this "President choosing party" is another fine example of that. I enjoyed seeing Roman and Shiv pick their favoured candidates. Roman genuinely seemed to hit it off with Mencken, which was amusing and very smart to build loyalty, while Shiv is, as always, self-motivated as she decides to back whichever candidate gives her the best potential future, and that happens to be Salgado. It's entertaining to see Shiv and Roman spar in the debate room on who to select. This neatly continued the trend of the season which sees Shiv falling out of favour with Logan as Roman gains trust from Logan. Shiv says almost everything wrong in this episode and everything she tries ends up failing. Logan doesn't take her seriously, she says stupid stuff like "my opinion does matter more", and she's petty about everything, especially with how she views Mencken as a personal affront just because he reminds her of other guys she has worked with. Meanwhile Roman is sneaky and clever, and he plays up to Logan perfectly at every turn. Shiv tries to use the knowledge of Caroline's remarriage as a weapon, but Roman, confidently as ever, just uses it as a chance to amuse Logan further, and Roman wins. Perhaps the best moment that encapsulates this episode's sibling dynamic is Shiv and Roman debating on whether Logan is having sex with Kerry or not. Shiv is so confident that she's right, but completely misses the mark on how her father behaves, while Roman understands him and his motives to a tee. This is great writing, and it's always entertaining to see how the relationship between Logan and his children changes with every episode. Kendall and Tom are the other stars of the episode, and I love everything that went on with them. Kendall has a rough episode. He was in a bad place going into this one, and things continue to spiral for him. The worst part is that this is entirely his fault. Lisa does her best to prepare Kendall for questioning, yet Kendall treats all preparation as a joke and winds up doing a horrific job, and after Lisa tells him the brutal truth, he fires her too. It's all going down for Kendall, and once more it's all his own doing. This show is so good at creating complex emotions because seeing Kendall so broken in season 2 made me root for his success, making me forget how utterly incompetent and disappointing the real Kendall is. Now that I'm seeing who he really is once more, I'm reminded by how baffling his decision-making is. The meeting with Tom is a highlight of the episode (see: Best Moment), and it's Kendall's last genuine shot to salvage an ally. I thought for sure that Tom would join him considering how everyone else is not on his side. Shiv continues to downplay him going to prison and mistreat him, while Logan is happy to throw him under the bus without second thought, and Greg continues to rise, even in the wake of Tom's impending trip to prison. Tom's been in a horrible place this season, and Matthew Macfadyen's performance captures the nuance of the situation fantastically. It's so sad that Tom is clearly just looking for someone to listen to his problems and acknowledge them. He can't get that from his wife, nor his friend Greg, so he gives Kendall a shot to be there and understand. At first, Kendall does well by sympathizing and understanding his emotions. But Tom has changed, and his mantra of "having no hope" does make him more cautious and careful. Despite liking what Kendall is saying, Tom has to question whether Kendall can actually win, and so Kendall reveals his true colours and Tom can safely leave him behind as a non-option. Kendall blew it again, and poor Tom is back to square one when it comes to looking for an escape. It's sad that nobody seemed to notice that Tom left for a long time to meet with Kendall, but such is how little anyone in the Roy family values Tom. Poor guy. I can't help but feel for Connor as well. Sure, he's delusional and has no right to even be in contention to become President. But it's still absolutely crushing to see nobody backing him at all. Nobody wants to support his dreams or what he wants, and perhaps more painfully, nobody gives him enough attention to find another hobby or another purpose for his life. They're all perfectly content to let Connor live in his own corner of the world, but when Connor tries to join theirs, that's when the problem arises and nobody has the stones to say it straight to his face. The sham sequence when Logan tries to get Roman and Shiv to express their opinions on Connor as President is painful, and indicative of the dysfunction between the family members. Then you have Greg who throws in his support for Connor, and you can see Connor's elation in this moment. But it's all taken away as Greg hilariously finally decides to make a concrete statement: he doesn't support Connor. When Greg, the one guy who's famously indecisive, isn't backing you, then you know there's a problem. I feel bad for Connor, and despite his delusions, he may be the single most unfairly treated family member in an already toxic family. The Bad: Nothing bad. The Unknown: Are Logan and Kerry having sex? How does Marcia feel about this? Why does Logan continue to snub her like this? Is Kendall screwed? Firing Lisa is obviously a boneheaded move, and it's hard to see him coming back from this. Will Tom join Kendall? It seems unlikely, especially since Kendall looks to be well on his way to another failure, and Tom knows it. Is Kendall going to burn Greg out of desperation? Is Tom going to take the fall for Greg? Will Greg actually keep suing Greenpeace? It's amusing to me that he's actually going through with it. Apparently Caroline is getting remarried. Will we get another episode in England for this wedding? Who is the best pick for President? Logan is backing Mencken now, but is he the right choice? Who is actually going to win? Best Moment: Tom and Kendall in the parking lot. Again, Kendall makes the same mistakes by offering absolutely nothing to the people he wants loyalty from other than "I like you". Tom, surprisingly, isn't rolled over by this despite having every reason to leave Logan's side. Instead, he fights back, and he hits Kendall with a totally valid line, suggesting that he's failed countless times and Logan never has, so why should Tom join him. Kendall naturally has no answer outside of a sloppy blackmail attempt, allowing Tom one last barb to get his frustrations out, reminding Kendall of how insignificant he has become that he is being excluded from conversations on who the next President is going to be. This scene was terrifically acted by Jeremy Strong and Matthew Macfadyen, and a brilliant indicator of Kendall's fall and also of a change in Tom's attitude as we see a more ruthless edge to him. Character of the Episode: Tom. Conclusion: Another excellent episode. This one was another hour of gripping character dealings and development, and I enjoyed seeing the storylines progress with more great acting, great dialogue, and great comedy. In its third season, "Succession" has understood what makes it great, and the season has brilliantly played to its strength to create compelling television so far. Score: 71 Summary: It's the day of the shareholder meeting. Stewy has called and agrees to talk about a deal so Logan meets with them to discuss. As the deal is negotiated, Frank stalls the shareholders. They end up at an impasse when Sandy wants veto power over the next Roy CEO. Sandi later calls with an alternate deal to forego private jets but Logan does not agree. However, Logan has fallen ill with a UTI and is delirious. Everyone is unsure of what to do. Shiv meets with Sandi and negotiates the deal while also giving them a fourth board seat. The President calls for Logan and Roman takes the call. He learns that the President will not be running again, upsetting everyone but Connor. The deal is successful and Karl announces it to everyone. Kendall arrives to make a statement but it doesn't go over well and his mic is cut off. Logan cuts off Kendall completely. He's upset at Shiv for the deal even though it did work. Greg meets with Ewan who officially cuts him out of his inheritance and intends to give the money to Greenpeace. Greg decides that he will sue Greenpeace for the money.
The Good: The one aspect of this show that bothers me the most is how it began. So much of this show hinges on the family dynamics between Logan and his children, so I have always found it an odd choice that Logan was taken out of the equation for the show's first real story arc, and we were stuck watching the kids attempt and fail to keep things together without him. It was a fine enough story, but I had no investment in the characters yet and much of the drama and intensity was lost because of that. Now, after over 20 episodes of brilliant character work, we finally revisit this idea and this time "Succession" totally nails it. I am now invested in this family and I've seen the Roy siblings enough to completely understand how they function. As such, it's so much more fun to watch them try to hold the fort with their father out of commission, and struggle so much to keep things together. I'm very glad that the show gave this idea another shot because it's further made clear that even after all we've seen from Kendall, Shiv, and Roman, it's still going to be an absolute disaster if one of them have to take over control from Logan. The shareholder meeting has been built up for a couple of season now, so it's an enormous deal now that it's finally here. The fate of the company hangs in the balance, so it's gripping to see the negotiations between Sandy, Stewy, and Sandi and the Roys. It's episodes like these where the show's strong acting and writing reaps reward because the desperation of the situation is conveyed remarkably well. Logan's failing health, the time pressure, the fear of losing the company, it's all come together to make a perfect storm at this shareholder meeting, and none of the intensity is wasted throughout what was a highly suspenseful episode. Logan's failing health is primarily what makes this so intense. Every episode up until now since "Lifeboats" has had Logan at the helm to make these hard decisions, but with him out of commission at the most crucial junction, it's hard to imagine any of the other characters making a correct decision on instinct like he does. The nerves on show by everyone in the room are stellar and it leads to a number of great, panicky scenes, such as my favourite moment of the episode (see: Best Moment). The three Roy siblings are all given moments to shine here and they all have their ups and downs throughout the episode. Shiv is the most successful as she is the one who secures the deal with Sandi and saves the company. It's great to see Shiv prey on Sandi's personal desires to secure the deal, and she even goes a step further to play to her own desires, getting herself a seat on the board. It's a decent deal, but unfortunately for her, Logan can see through her and understands that she made a selfish play, and he's not happy about that. Logan scolding her at the episode's end was intense, and it's sad to see that Logan dressed Shiv down the same way that he did with Kendall back in "Lifeboats". Roman was relegated to the background for much of the episode, and he seemed to be the one most unnerved and scared by his father's failing health. But he ended up really shining when asked to speak with the President. At first he is hilariously awkward, but by the end he's able to convey the message effectively to Logan, and seems to have entered Logan's good graces following Shiv's perceived failure. Then we have Kendall, who is spiraling rapidly. As always, Kendall is listening to nobody and running ahead on his high with disastrous results. Sure, he plays a role in securing the deal with Sandy, but he doesn't get much for his efforts. He tries to cash in at the episode's end by appearing at the shareholder meeting, but comes off as awkward and crazy and has a negative effect on his PR. Then, in a power move, Kendall is ghosted by Logan who blocks his number, officially ostracizing Kendall from the family and leaving him sadly alone by the episode's end. He isn't done yet, but it has been a steady fall since the highs of the season 3 premiere for Kendall. The side characters have an excellent episode all things considered. Greg has officially been cut out by Ewan, and it's sad to see him fall into such a vulnerable position because he's trying to keep everyone happy but is indecisive on which side to stay with. Ewan nails Greg down by saying that he has to take himself seriously to truly advance, perhaps the kindest advice that Ewan has ever offered Greg. But I'm sure it went over Greg's head like everything else, especially as Greg hilariously tries to sue Ewan "in a way that says I love you", and ultimately settles on suing Greenpeace, a hilariously stupid idea. Meanwhile Tom continues to panic under the pressure of prison and tries to get Shiv pregnant to give him some motivation to get through it. Shiv is suitably upset by this, though it's revealing of her narcissism that she expects Tom to just take going to prison, yet has double standards when it comes to her being "imprisoned" by pregnancy. These two continue to have a fascinating relationship and it's sad to see their moment of genuine elation ruined by the tension between them. Lastly, I'll highlight the supporting cast of Gerri, Frank, Karl, and Hugo who are all fantastic in this episode and I think they add a welcome amount of depth to the proceedings. Each character offers unique input and has their own degree of comedy, like poor Frank being stuck stalling for so long, Karl being a weasel who sneaks out of bad situations and sneaks into good ones, and Hugo going from sheer loyalty to saying some of the most hilariously outrageous things. I enjoy these characters, and they added a lot to this episode. The Bad: The ending moments with Kendall feel a bit strange and I wasn't able to connect with them like I probably should have. I'm confused by how the episode seems to treat this as a failure for Kendall, which really isn't the case. Stewy, Sandy, and Sandi failing to acquire the company is what Kendall wanted and this ultimately has no bearing on his war with his father, so I was confused by the tone of the show suggesting that this was a defeat for Kendall. I'm also confused by Logan's decision to ghost and block Kendall. I absolutely believe him to be petty like that, but why wait until this point, and why is it such a big deal to Kendall that it happened? I was a bit confused by this note in the story and I could have used some more context for the emotions of the characters. The Unknown: Did that poor rabbit die? I should have expected that it would meet an unfortunate fate under Kendall's care. Jess's reaction to Kendall getting the news was absolute gold though. What disease does Sandy have? Who is going to be the next President? Don't tell me that Connor actually has a shot. Will Logan recover from his UTI? Best Moment: The brief scene when Kendall arrives to scold everyone for not accepting the deal. There's so much happening in this one brief minute and I love it. We have Kendall's pretentious anger, Roman's frustration and concern for his father, and the hilarious visual of Colin removing an imaginary dead cat. This was a chaotic minute that made me laugh at the humour, recoil at Roman's harsh words for Kendall, and scoff at Kendall's self-absorbed speech. Character of the Episode: Shiv. Conclusion: Another terrific episode, one that highlights everything that "Succession" does well. The shareholder meeting is an intense blast, every character is utilized effectively, and the themes at play are some of the most exciting and interesting in the show. I enjoyed this greatly. Score: 75 Summary: One of Waystar's shareholders Josh is threatening to join Sandy and Stewy so he invites Kendall and Logan to his island to talk things through. Kendall initially refuses but ultimately agrees to go. There are tensions between Kendall and Logan but they discuss with Josh. Josh is unconvinced by their relationship and decides to join Sandy and Stewy. Greg meets with Logan who offers him an excellent deal to leave Kendall. Roman looks into a tattoo man who he and Kendall convinced to tattoo Kendall's initials on his forehead. Shiv is tasked with making ATN more critical of the President and she tries to get Tom to do her bidding. Tom is able to talk to Greg and secure him on Logan's side, but can't get ATN to do Logan's bidding. Shiv meets with Mark herself and convinces him, but her approach upsets Karl and Frank.
The Good: The main story is a lot of fun. The idea of Logan and Kendall interacting with all the tension between them has been exciting for the first few episodes in this season, and "Lion in the Meadow" finally allows them an excuse to be together to explore how their dynamic has changed. What we got was splendid. Seeing these two tested by Josh was gripping, and their dynamic never failed to shine in this scenes. Logan saying nice things about Kendall when under pressure before letting him know that it was all a load of crap was sad and powerful. As was Kendall attempting to befriend Josh and seemingly hitting it off only for Josh to show much more interest and energy around Logan instead of him. I love the way this show handles its characters and this was no exception. Josh was a formidable foe for these two, and he preyed on their weaknesses. Logan and Kendall thought they just had to reassure Josh and act tough, but Josh was looking for so much more. Seeing Josh turn the tables on them in their discussion was fantastic, and Josh forced Logan to play to his tune, which is something we don't always see from the Roys. The Roys are so arrogant that they very rarely place value on other key members of their company, and that showed in this episode. Furthermore, I love that Josh did not decide to stick with them. He seems far more cunning than he initially let on. I'm sure his daughter was never sick, and I suspect that he took Logan out on such a long walk to test how much Kendall cares for his father. When Kendall failed to intervene on his behalf, that was likely when Josh decided not to side with them. It's terrific writing because we know that Kendall actually does care for his father, but he's too terrified to step in on his own to help Logan for fear of his wrath; a childhood fear manifested in adulthood. And this weakness ends up being the reason that the Roys lose Josh's support. Brilliant writing. I am enjoying Tom's storyline a lot this season because of how different he feels. So many shows keep their characters static throughout every season, and it would be easy to do the same with Tom, who is such a funny and well-received character. But this show is better than that and we are getting a long-term storyline with Tom. I'm not sure if this is an act anymore as I predicted last episode, and it looks like Tom is genuinely afraid of prison and he realizes too late that he has nobody in his corner to protect him. He thought he had Shiv, but now that he can see her narcissism in full effect, he realizes that Shiv doesn't give a damn about what happens to him. Tom's conversation with Shiv is so sad because you can see Tom understand this, and hearing Shiv neglect to give any thought or time to his worries is so sad. Add on a terrific scene with Greg where Tom realizes that lowly Greg is likely to end up in a better position than him is sad, especially as Tom tries to wrestle him, likely in a confused effort to make some sort of connection with someone around him. This is sad stuff buried under the mask of comedy, and it's great to watch. Roman, Shiv, and Greg have solid side stories in this episode. Shiv finally has her job and she's trying to slip into it but doesn't realize that she needs to establish herself before she does all the "badass" things she wants to do. As a result, she quickly alienates her own people and is only successful when it comes to Tom and threatening other people with Logan's name. Compare this to Roman who has adjusted over time by this point. Roman doesn't just do what Logan has ordered him to do, and he actively pursues the tattoo man, his own project to get some extra leverage over Kendall. It's great to see how Roman has matured over the last few seasons, and his interactions with tattoo man are quite funny, a further reminder of the complete disregard the Roys have for lower-class people. Greg's rise continues to be fun to watch. Kendall tries to assure Greg's loyalty at the start of the episode, but when Logan gives Greg a fantastic offer that could have him go to any department he would like, of course Greg caves in. Kendall has provided no reason for Greg to remain loyal, so naturally Greg ditches him as soon as he gets a good reason to. The Greg/Logan conversation was superb, and Greg does a lot of fun things as always, like chugging his rum and coke in front of Logan. The Bad: This episode does feel a bit slow and inconsequential ultimately. The way "Succession" structures its episodes by introducing a unique conflict to be solved in each episode usually prevents there from being transition or set-up episodes. But in rare exceptions like this episode and last season's "Vaulter", some episodes do feel like they are just stalling time or filling in the gaps before more significant events happen. This episode feels like an extra plot before the shareholder meeting, and as such it does not provide as engaging, intense, funny, or emotional of an experience as the episodes that have come before it. This episode doesn't do anything outwardly wrong, it's just that the type of episode it is prevents it from scoring highly. The Unknown: Greg didn't sign any paperwork with Logan, so is he confirmed to be leaving Kendall? Or is he still weighing his options? How does Ewan factor in with all of this? What will be the consequences of Josh siding with Sandy and Stewy? Is this going to screw over the Roys? Or will they still be able to win at the shareholder meeting somehow? Shiv's attempts to sway Mark appear to have worked. What does this mean for Logan's relationship with the President? Will the President be able to help him out now? Will Roman ever make the tattoo man story public? I suspect that Tom may leave Waystar and join up with Kendall. Will this happen? Best Moment: Logan assuring Kendall that what he said to Josh was bullshit. Another reminder to Kendall that his dad is a manipulative ass and that he made the right choice in cutting him off. Both Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong performed wonderfully in this scene and gave it some real weight. Character of the Episode: Tom. Conclusion: A solid episode of storytelling that never aspired to be more than that. This did what it wanted to do effectively, but this is the type of episode that you enjoy and quickly forget about in the long run. Score: 65 Summary: Kendall becomes infatuated with his social media presence and gives several interviews. Logan refuses to cooperate with the DOJ and plans for future events. Kendall and Shiv attend the same conference and Shiv tries to convince Kendall not to come in to Waystar. Kendall watches a segment from a TV show called "The Disruption" and decides that he wants to appear. Tom tells Shiv that he thinks he might end up in prison and that it might be worth sacrificing himself. She agrees, and Logan does too when he brings it up to him. Tom then hires another lawyer. Kendall impulsively decides to come into Waystar and sends everyone in a panic. Shiv makes an announcement, but Kendall ruins it by playing loud music. In retaliation, Shiv releases a letter condemning Kendall, bringing up issues like his addiction, mental illness, and being an absentee father. Upon learning about this, Kendall walks away from his interview on "The Disruption". Logan tries to make a deal at ATN with the President, but the DOJ find out and the FBI raids the Waystar building.
The Good: Kendall is again the star of the show here. After a couple episodes of feeling himself again, Kendall's mania has reached a new level here. He's living it up in every scene and making increasingly ridiculous and cringeworthy statements at every turn like talking to a worker at Waystar, shouting "f*** the patriarchy!" for no reason, and allowing himself to be slandered on TV, calling it "good PR". The good tweet/bad tweet game is another example that's amusing to watch, and this episode feels like it's 90% Kendall making increasingly bad decisions while in a state of total enjoyment. It does make me wonder if he is bipolar as he flips between manic and depressed so frequently sometimes. In any case, this behaviour is an effective reminder that Kendall is not the good guy in this story even though it might feel that way. He's no hero, and he's every bit as flawed as the rest of his family. Kendall makes so many unnecessary moves in this episode. He doesn't need to appear for the media, but he does anyways because, despite his denial, he is obsessed with the idea of how he comes across to other people, not realizing that in trying to be "cool", he's actually looking like an idiot. Even stupider is his decision to visit Waystar Royco unnecessarily. Lisa advised against it, but he ignores his genuine legal help and decides to make an appearance just to make his family sweat. And what do you know, it all blows up in his face. By antagonizing Shiv (more on this in a sec), he stirs up dissent and ends up having his name slandered by a volatile letter that completely destroys all of his energy and good vibes. The scene where Kendall returns back to being a shell is fantastic (see: Best Moment), and it's great pay-off for all of Kendall's stupid moves in the past few episodes. A conflict that surprised me in this episode is between Kendall and Shiv. Things went extremely badly with the both of them, and they ended up firing the most deadly shots on each other in this Roy civil war. Their brief conversation at the journal conference suggested some more fascinating differences in how the two operated, but I did not expect things to get so personal so fast with both of them. Kendall's arrival at Waystar was intense and I didn't know what to expect from his presence. What we ended up getting was so petty, mean-spirited, and humiliating, and I was quite shocked by it. Shiv's speech was likely a moment she had dreamed of for a long time: a moment where she finally got to announce her presence and begin her dream to be in control of the company. However, the moment is ruined by Kendall who blasts Nirvana's "Rape Me" all over speakers, and the result is Shiv completely losing her composure and leaving the stage in tears. I was caught off guard by her emotional release, and that really sold how needless, humiliating, and cold Kendall's actions were. Sadly for him, Shiv is not weak and doesn't take hits without punching back. She embraces her inner Logan, just like Kendall did last episode, and releases a brutal letter that condemns Kendall's image permanently and airs all of his dirty laundry for the world to see. The battle between the siblings has gotten nasty, ruthless, and public, and it looks like the Roys are in more danger of destroying each other than anything else. Roman appears to be caught in the middle of all of this. While his siblings get rotten with each other, Roman is the lone wolf trying to better himself and become a good fit for CEO. But it's clear that Roman is also the one who is most in need of some sort of affection or connection, especially from his father, but he gets nothing. This episode makes Roman do an interview recounting past memories of his father and how much he loves him. With such little good memories to share, Roman doesn't have much to say, but tragically he still has to lie and pass off a moment with Connor as something he did with Logan. Even still, poor Roman's only reward for his troubles is to be berated by his father and get called a faggot. It's brutally depressing, and it's clear that poor Roman has been belittled all his life, when all he has needed is just a little bit of love and support. This family really is tragic. Logan spends much of the episode continuing his insane decision-making. He's so stubborn that he refuses to cooperate with the DOJ and pays dearly for it when he tries to go behind their back to secure protection from the President. By the end of the episode, he pays the consequences by getting the Waystar building raided by the FBI. With Waystar's image getting thrown in the mud, the family entering a public blood feud, and the shareholder meeting coming up shortly, "Succession" looks like it is setting up a perfect storm for the Roys, and I'm enjoying it. Tom has a very different atmosphere this season, and I really like it. Where in seasons 1 and 2 he felt like a purely comedic character, he's now carrying a degree of disappointment and pent up fury in every scene he's in. Instead of being an awkward fool, he has had enough of this family and of the way Shiv treats him, and it looks like he's trying to make a play himself. His scenes with Shiv and Logan were fascinating because it looks like he is testing their loyalty to him, rather than exercising his own loyalty. From the look of things, he may be planning to make a move soon, and I'm excited to see what's going to happen and how it affects his relationship with Shiv. Meanwhile Greg continues to be fun. I have some questions about what he's currently up to (see: The Unknown), but his relationship with Tom continues to provide the laughs, and his situation with the watch in this episode is a good bit of comic relief even if it is a bit superfluous. The Bad: My biggest issue with this episode is the storyline with Logan trying to use ATN to connect with the President. The most entertaining parts of this show involve the family dynamics, so having a simple plot that allows the fmaily dynamics to shine is where "Succession" is at its strongest. The problem with all of this ATN/President/DOJ plot is that it doesn't capitalize on the family dynamics and it instead becomes an unnecessarily convoluted plot, especially for those who aren't familiar with how all of these government organizations operate and what their significance is. These scenes ended up taking away from the episode, and I was much less interested in them. The writing and performances are still good, but that fascinating storytelling that I get out of the other scenes and storylines was missing. The Unknown: Was Tom testing Logan and Shiv with his offer to take the fall? Why was he testing them? Why did he call for a private lawyer? Is he thinking of joining Kendall? Why is Greg working at Waystar again? How did he get to return? Does Kendall know about this? Was this Ewan's idea? Is Greg content to work for him for now? There's a great scene where the fixer from last season, Colin, comes to see Kendall and threatens him. Is there any weight to this? Will Kendall's secret be spilled in this season? Logan refused to do it in the previous episode because of blowback, but could that change at some point? Is Kendall going to fail again? If he continues to ignore the advice given by everyone around him, I can't see him succeeding. Will Lisa and the others give up on him if he continues to be so aberrant? What is going to happen following the FBI raid? How does this change things? Best Moment: Kendall leaving the talk show to hide in the control room was a spectacular moment. I really have to praise the score because it elevates the scene significantly, but the score isn't the only thing genius about this sequence. Jeremy Strong is absolutely phenomenal here, and it's amazing to see the joy get slowly wiped off of his face and replaced by the broken depression from season 2 that we are all too familiar with. The scene is so somber and powerful, and it makes Kendall's fall from his manic state feel powerful and impactful. This show has a lot of talking usually, so when a scene goes so long without any dialogue, it immediately feels important and captures a unique emotional feeling that many other scenes in the show cannot. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: Another terrific episode. There is more great character conflict, more heartbreak, more intrigue, and more comedy. The story gets deeper and more exciting with every passing episode, and season 3 has been an absolute blast so far. Score: 70 Summary: Logan grows paranoid as he is unable to get in touch with Shiv and Roman. They both arrive at Kendall's place and Kendall tries to convince them to join him. Kendall meets with Sandy and Stewy and offers a deal to avoid a shareholder vote. Kendall again tries to convince his siblings, but after Shiv discusses with Tom and Roman discusses with Gerri, they decide not to side with Kendall. Logan reaches out to Marcia who returns, but gives steep conditions to Hugo for her amicable return. Logan returns to New York and reunites with his children. Logan offers Shiv a new position in the company. Greg confides to Kendall that he is uncertain and Kendall decides to set him up with a lawyer. Greg is unsure of what to do and is further confused when Gerri sends him a lawyer. Greg goes to Ewan who sets him up with his lawyer.
The Good: The concept of this episode is terrific. Roughly half of the length of this episode is spent in Rava's home as Kendall negotiates with Roman and Shiv in an effort to coerce them to join him. Connor is there too, but as usual the poor guy is treated like a side-thought. Still, the dialogue between them all is gripping and there is so much enjoyment and fascination to be had from the character dynamics. Kendall continues to thrive on this manic high, and he has complete confidence that he can convince his siblings to join him. However, he gets a bit lost in this high and overlooks details in an effort to sell to the siblings he wants on his side. Shiv and Roman really want to join Kendall, but they have affirmed their loyalties to Logan and are concerned that joining Kendall is not a smart move. The episode is so fascinating because the idea of the Roy children teaming up on their father feels like it should be central to the main story, but the characters all have individual flaws and quirks that prevent them from wanting to join up with each other. Mostly, it's because their selfish desires get in the way. Shiv wants to join Kendall, but upon realizing that Kendall doesn't see her as a leader, just like her father, she doesn't hesitate to walk out on him, even as he rages at her. Roman is also tempted to join. He and Shiv may emphasize that they are sticking with Logan, but they stick around with Kendall because they are contemplating whether to join him or not. For Roman, things are less personal than with Shiv. But with Gerri in charge, a fear of his father's wrath, and the concern that Kendall may not succeed, Roman makes his own logical choice and opts to stay with Logan. But both Roman and Shiv didn't have the courage or commitment to leave Kendall on their own. Connor had to go first. Connor, who has more reason than anyone else to betray his father, opts to stand by him and he suddenly goes from irrelevant to a catalyst that causes everything to crumble for Kendall (see: Best Moment). These character dynamics and the thought process that leads them all to the decisions that they make is why this episode is so effective. These characters feel so real and so understandable because of this show's terrific writing and acting. Seeing these beautifully realized characters going through such engaging conflicts for an entire episode is exactly what I want from a TV show, and "Succession" did not disappoint with this one. On top of this, there are so many delightful details that keep the episode fun. Roman, Shiv, and Kendall are constantly throwing clever and original barbs at each other throughout the episode. The show maintains a sense of reality since many of these barbs are often funny because of how poorly thought out they are, so the dialogue never feels phony. It feels crushingly real that these three siblings are never able to share a sweet moment together and are constantly at odds in even the most docile discussions. I also have to highlight Connor's presence in these scenes. Connor is always treated like an afterthought and his presence feels exactly like that. People appeal to him so that he feels included, but ultimately it is clear that nobody really cares about his presence, and that's quite sad. It adds another dimension to these scenes when you remember Connor's presence. Lastly, I loved the donuts moment. This is such a small thing, but it's hilarious how a single box of donuts completely changes the dynamic of the conversation, and the suggestion that Logan may have poisoned them is really funny. Logan continues to be a fascinating character. This episode sees him giving into his own paranoia and he constantly panics about all of the events happening that are out of his control, especially Shiv going rogue and ignoring everyone's calls. Seeing Logan so desperate also allowed us a look at his manipulative side. If it wasn't clear before, this episode makes Logan's manipulations completely transparent. He only ever embraces the "caring father" personality when he wants something, and it was disgusting to hear him use that same "number one boy" line with Connor that he used on Kendall back in "Nobody is Ever Missing". It's never been more clear that Logan is full of garbage and doesn't seem to have a caring bone in his body. Marcia returns in this episode and her presence is welcome. I was upset when it seemed like her story was written out of the show unsatisfyingly last season, but it appears that is not the case. She has returned and is hellbent on getting what she wants this time, and it's great to see. Greg is terrific in this episode and offers laugh after laugh in his scenes as he realizes he's completely in over his head. His phone call with Tom is comedy gold ("Tom? This isn't the Tom number", "I know, aren't I clever"), but it also sends Greg into a heightened paranoia, making him afraid of everything. It's so funny watching Greg stumble through every conversation as he tries to make sure that he gets a lawyer on his side. Everyone knows his nature and are trying to prey on him, and even Ewan ends up doing the same with his big confusing sentences (it's an eternal joy to hear Greg awkwardly nod along to Ewan). Greg ending up with an anti-capitalist lawyer is a hilarious development and I'm excited to see where this all goes. The Bad: Where are Kendall's kids? He uses them as an excuse to leave, but we're given no indication of where they actually are. Hell, the meeting between Kendall and his siblings takes place in one of his kids' rooms, so it's strange that we are never updated on where they have gone. I get that this may be done to further show us how irresponsible Kendall is as a father, but I felt myself getting distracted by this question during moments where I should have been getting sucked into the drama. The Unknown: Will Shiv and Roman continue to stick by Logan, or are they just looking for the first opportunity to betray him too? Shiv's new position sounds like another farce and I'm sure she knows it. Is she going to look for another opportunity to take over? Will Stewy and Sandy back Kendall, or are they going to turn on him? What is Connor's next move? It seems like he has been alienated by everyone, so what's next for him? Is Greg going to be doing Ewan's bidding with his new lawyer? Will Greg realize what's going on, or is he now going to be Ewan's puppet? Will Marcia continue to follow her agenda and secure a future for Amir? Will Logan allow this? How long will Marcia be around for? Who sent the donuts? Was it Logan? If so, how did he find out where everyone was? Was he just paranoid, or is someone informing on Kendall? Best Moment: Kendall's rage as each of his siblings turned him down was a terrific scene beautifully realized by Jeremy Strong. After a whole episode of trying to convince them to join him, failure is going to hurt a lot. You can see Kendall fall from his manic state as the rejections kept coming at him, and it was fantastic to see the frustrations boil over. Kendall feels so much like Logan in this moment as he personally dresses down his siblings and unleashes an angry rant very similar to Logan's at the end of "Argestes". It seems like this manic personality quirk has been passed down to him, and Kendall's anger flare-up highlights that he might not be any better than Logan. Great writing. Character of the Episode: Greg. I could give it to a lot of characters, but Greg had one of his funniest episodes yet. Conclusion: I loved so much about this episode. This was an hour of tense negotiations with gripping character dynamics, fantastic acting and writing, and some brilliant moments of comedy. "Succession" at its best. Score: 74 Summary: Kendall leaves with Greg and goes to Rava's since he can no longer get into Waystar. Logan calls Kendall to give him a chance to back down but he does not. Logan convenes on what to do and listens to Roman who wants to go to war against Kendall. Roman, Gerri, and Shiv are sent to New York and everyone else goes to Sarajevo. Logan plans to step back as CEO but is unsure of who to pick. Kendall phones everyone in an attempt to gain allies. Roman and Shiv find out about the CEO selection. Roman calls Logan to give input and disqualifies himself. Logan eventually settles on Shiv who he sends to recruit Lisa Arthur to represent them. However, Kendall has already secured her, and with Shiv's failure, Logan picks Gerri instead to be CEO. Shiv is disappointed and changes plans. Kendall meets with Lisa successfully and invites Naomi over for support. Logan hires a different lawyer and prepares for war.
The Good: It was every bit as captivating to watch the fallout from the season 2 finale as I had hoped. There were no explosive twists, betrayals, humiliations, or character fights in the entire episode but there did not need to be any this early in the season. Instead, the episode opted to focus on the characters and what they decide to do in the wake of such a pivotal moment. I don't think that we've ever seen an episode of "Succession" follow up on a key event directly like this (usually we get a large gap in time between episodes), so this was a uniquely effective way to explore the consequences of Kendall's press conference. The show did not disappoint in the character dynamics. Kendall starts off the episode looking frightened and terrified, but after letting that fear out, he spends the rest of the episode in a manic, excited state and it is glorious. Kendall spent an entire season inhibiting himself, and now that he's free, he feels on top of the world. I don't think he is currently using, but he maintains the same type of confidence that he only had when he was on drugs in season 2. It's so satisfying to see him call everyone to see if he can sway them to join him, like Frank and Shiv. And his mannerisms around Rava, Lisa, Greg, and Naomi are an absolute delight. Meanwhile Logan is as furious and ever and ready for a war. You got the sense that he was impressed in the previous episode, but after a phone call revealed Kendall to be the same bumbling fool (what the hell was that beanstalk line), Logan went back to his usual self, putting everything on the line to go for the kill. I liked Roman once again showing how he's developed by astutely describing why trying to overpower Kendall is the best move in the scenario, and I liked seeing all of the background characters deal with the chaos. Frank recounting Logan's vapid decision-making is hilarious, Hugo gets some great lines in (especially to Tom), and poor Karl is hilarious as he clearly has one foot out the door. The CEO debate is a lot of fun. Karl and Frank throwing their own names in is quite funny, but the actual debate is gripping. I was amused seeing all three candidates immediately find out about the discussion through various means (Frank and Tom), and Roman and Shiv keeping secrets from each other is pretty funny. Logan nicely frames all three candidates by including three categories and having each person check off two of them. The discussion is signature "Succession" with great dialogue, comedy, and an unpredictable result. Roman disqualifying himself by calling Logan was spectacular (see: Best Moment), and Shiv gets to rise as a result. But her success is short-lived as a failure to acquire Lisa Arthur sees her fall back to the bottom with Gerri being preferred over her. Shiv tries the same strategy with Lisa that she used back in "DC", but it's clear that her manipulations are far more effective on people who are not already in the game. When Shiv is dealing with people on a similar level to her, it is suddenly apparent that she's not as smart as she thinks she is. Seeing her fall once again was sad, and I'm curious to see what's next for her. Tom and Greg are a lot of fun in their supporting roles. Greg does a whole lot and accomplishes nothing throughout the entire episode, and he's an absolute blast. Nicholas Braun plays him so well, and Greg was a constant source for laughs. Tom played a more dramatic role for much of this episode and I continued to enjoy him. Shiv is trying to get their relationship back on track, but Tom's misgivings are still carrying on, giving them a unique dynamic in this episode with some nice imagery highlighting the distance between them. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. The Unknown: Who is going to side with Logan, and who is going to side with Kendall? Karl looked to have one foot out the door, so can he be swayed? Will Frank turn to Kendall once again? Will Shiv after being snubbed by Logan? How will Gerri do as CEO? Will Roman play a role in her new position? How long will it last? What will Kendall's next move be? Will he continue to raise the stakes against Logan? Where do Stewy and Sandy factor in with all of this? How do they feel about the Roy civil war? Will they pick a side? Will Kendall get allied with them again? Best Moment: Roman's call to Logan was so delightfully awkward, and Logan immediately removing him from contention following it was the perfect follow-up. Roman thought he did something good, when in reality he totally destroyed his own chances in spectacular fashion. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: This was a strong and energetic start to season 3. I wasn't blown away by anything, but the fallout from Kendall's press conference was gripping and the episode maintained a level of intensity and drama that kept me invested for the entire hour. Score: 69 Summary: Greg stumbles through his testimony. An important shareholder suggests to Logan that he takes the fall for cruises. The Roys go on a holiday on their yacht. Willa's play is reviewed terribly and she is upset. Connor looks for financial support from Logan, but Logan only wants to help if he withdraws from the election. Kendall brings Naomi on the yacht but Logan tells him to send her away and he does. Shiv is planning a threesome for Tom, but Tom is uncomfortable with it. Roman, Laird, and Karl return. Laird praises his performance in securing the deal, but Roman admits that the deal is likely a sham. The next day, everyone discusses who should take the fall for cruises, which ultimately becomes heated. Tom's name is brought up and he's upset. Later, he opens up to Shiv about how unhappy he is, and Shiv speaks with Logan, insisting that he doesn't pick Tom. Kendall and Logan visit Stewy to make a deal but Stewy doesn't agree to it. Logan meets with Kendall and asks him to be the sacrifice. Kendall asks if he was ever going to get the CEO job and if he deserves what happens to him; Logan tells him he's not a killer and that the Andrew situation was NRPI. Kendall and Greg fly back to New York the next day. Kendall appears on TV but decides to blame Logan for everything, using Greg's documents as evidence of his involvement.
The Good: I enjoyed this a ton. It was a perfect choice to have this season finale be personally focused on the Roys as they enjoy a vacation together. There could have been more action and higher stakes here since it's a finale, but Jesse Armstrong exercised restraint and allowed the strength of the characters and their relationships to dictate this finale, and it was stronger as a result. I loved the yacht setting as it gave the dynamics of this episode an isolated feel. The conflicts involved felt less like a high-stakes and intense ordeal, but more of an intimate family ordeal which is easier to emotionally invest in. The problem of needing to select a blood sacrifice was enthralling and it led to so much meaningful conflict throughout the episode. The character dynamics were outstanding throughout. The best scene to showcase this was the breakfast where everyone got to discuss their thoughts on the blood sacrifice. So much was at play under the surface and I was vastly impressed at how deep this was while still being thoroughly entertaining. On the surface, the scene is a fantastic piece of comedy/drama as the characters politely threw each other under the bus in increasingly escalating circumstances. It's a joy to watch and well performed by everybody. But underneath this, there are so many beautiful story beats. Kendall is never once brought up, emphasizing how he was thought to be untouchable but clearly Logan doesn't think so. Logan starts the conversation by offering himself to be the sacrifice, which is what should happen. But this is clearly Logan finding an excuse to hide behind because if he genuinely did want to sacrifice himself, there is nobody in the room who would be able to stop him (just look at how he enforced their attempt to acquire Pierce). This brilliantly reveals the extent of Logan's manipulations as he looks for who to sacrifice. Tom and Shiv have a fantastic story in this episode (more on this later), and this breakfast scene is a perfect scenario for Tom's emotions to explode. He can't stand that Shiv is not standing by him at all, but we later find out that Shiv was trying to erase suspicion since she and Logan were already planning to sacrifice Kendall. Tom has every right to be furious about this, while Shiv's thought-process behind not backing Tom is understandable. The character consistency in this show can be remarkable at times like this. Even Connor gets a good involvement in this sequence as he offers to sacrifice himself for some money, which is hilariously implausible. Add on some other fun moments like Roman stepping up to prevent Gerri from being sacrificed, and Greg's strange fixation on being viewed as "Greg sprinkles", and this scene is wildly entertaining with so much impactful character development. The crux of this episode rests on Kendall and Logan's relationship. Kendall's been meek and subdued all season, and finally it's now his time to shine as he regains his agency and culminates a high satisfying character arc. The scenes with Logan and Kendall are terrific and say so much about their relationship. I fully believe that Kendall would have willingly taken the fall for cruises if Logan hadn't said two key things that made his manipulation starkly apparent to Kendall. The first is of course the "you're not a killer" line. Logan tries to play it off like it's no big deal, but Kendall understands that this is the reason that Logan has undervalued him at every turn. This is the reason that Logan wants to keep Kendall as his right hand, because he never believed that Kendall had the strength to be anything more. So to prove Logan wrong about this, Kendall decides to fire a killer blow at the press conference by destroying Logan's reputation. The press conference itself is a fantastic scene, and Kendall saying "but" and launching into a tirade against Logan is immensely satisfying. Even Logan can appreciate and respect Kendall's fight in this scene, and that final shot of his semi-smile is a phenomenal piece of acting by Brian Cox. Furthermore, this scene is made even more satisfying as it finally pays off Greg's forged documents, which have been a Chekhov's gun all season. Learning that they contained Logan's signatures to directly implicate him in cruises was a huge reveal and highly cathartic. This ties into the second thing Logan said to Kendall that made him turn on him: Logan tells Kendall "NRPI", which is the exact term that Mo had used to justify what he did. This moment is an enormous revelation that was enthralling to puzzle out. Hearing Logan say NRPI means that he almost certainly has been aware of the cruises situation this whole time, and it makes perfect sense. Logan has said that Mo was a close personal friend and was shook up about his death, so of course he must have known what Mo did. That he quotes NRPI without any apprehension tells everything to Kendall. Furthermore, this exposes to Kendall that Logan could have easily brushed off what Kendall did because he has done it to Mo dozens of times, if not more. Yet, Logan did not brush it off as a nothing moment in the season 1 finale. Logan blackmailed Kendall and he has used Kendall's guilt to keep him in check all season. For Kendall to find out that Logan doesn't even believe this to be a big deal is a clear indicator that Logan has manipulated him all this time, and it's now time for Kendall to fight back. There's so much more I can discuss regarding the dynamic between these two, but I can't write forever. Overall, this episode explored their relationship in an incredible way and offered so many fascinating human elements for us to dive into and enjoy. Tom and Shiv continue to have one of the most compelling relationships on the show. It's apparent from the very first scene that this threesome arrangement makes Tom deeply uncomfortable, and I got a lot of laughs out of seeing this manifest as the episode went on. Unfortunately, things took a much more serious turn after the awkward breakfast, and after 11 episodes of trying to look the other way, Tom was finally able to let out his emotions to Shiv. His frustrations with their relationship came pouring out in a wholly realistic way, and his description oh how sad he is in their relationship was genuinely heartbreaking. Sarah Snook continues to be quietly magnificent, and her reaction to Tom's words were fantastic. Shiv uses Tom, belittles Tom, and looks down upon Tom, but she genuinely does seem to love him, and hearing about how sad he is makes Shiv feel pained and guilty. Seeing Shiv beg Logan to not pick Tom is a magnificent scene to follow-up on that. Even more magnificent is Tom's scene with Logan. I don't know what I was expecting Tom to do, but eating Logan's chicken and walking away was absolutely not it. What a fantastic, hilarious moment. I imagine that Tom wanted to make a power move to make it clear to Logan that he isn't just going to take the abuse that's always levelled at him, but true to how Tom does things, his attempt just leaves Logan baffled by what happened. I like what this episode did with Roman. Following his important dealings in Turkey in the previous episode, we spend much of the early parts of this episode examining the fallout. It's great to see Roman take up a more serious role and rise to the occasion. Roman has wanted to show what he's capable of for a long time but has failed repeatedly. Those failures have been funny, but they also made this moment feel that much sweeter. While Laird is happy to fill Logan's head with baloney to collect his paycheck, Roman trusts his gut instincts that the deal was a sham, and is able to give Logan good advice. While Roman likely considers his experience to be a failure, we can clearly see that this is a character victory for him because he has finally showed what he is capable of to Logan, which is what he has been after all along. Tragically, he can't even see that he was successful. Connor has been in the background for much of the show so far, but I always enjoy what he has to offer. He provides some good laughs early on as he becomes a meme, and through his reading of the reviews for Willa's play. Willa chucking the tablet into the water with a comical splash was also fantastic. After this, things take more of a serious turn. Connor is in financial trouble and desperate to keep following his dream, but he's now presented an interesting choice from Logan: give up his dream and get some money to stay afloat, or lose his rich status to follow his dream. This is a fun set-up for Connor in season 3, and I enjoyed the scenes between him and Logan in this episode. The Bad: I feel robbed to have not seen more of Greg at the stand. What little we saw was so funny and I would have loved to see more of how he handled himself up there. The Unknown: What will be the fallout of Kendall's bombshell reveal? How will Logan respond? Will Tom and Shiv's relationship survive? They are on pretty thin ice right now. Is Connor going to give up his campaign? Best Moment: Logan asking Kendall to be the blood sacrifice and their entire conversation afterwards was splendid. You could pick so many scenes to potentially be the best, but this one takes the cake for me. Character of the Episode: Kendall. It's good to have the real Kendall back at last! Conclusion: A terrific season finale to what has been a terrific season. This episode accomplished so much and was an engrossing way to end the season. Season 2 was terrific and took "Succession" to another level. The first season was solid and got better as it went on, but season 2 escalated the quality of the story by diving deep into the characters and their relationships with each other. We learned so much fascinating information, and I looked forward to each episode as an independent character study of the Roys, exploring new facets of them with every episode. Even though I despise these despicable people, I now find them utterly fascinating and I can't wait to see what they do next and what more there is to uncover about them. "Succession" is a damn good character drama, and I hope that it continues to get better from here. Score: 80 Summary: James Weissel reveals all about the cruises situation, and Logan, Kendall, Tom, and Gerri have been called to DC for a hearing. They decide to use Bill as a scapegoat and to feign ignorance of the issue. It starts with Gil questioning Tom, and Tom answers horribly. He returns and panics about being set up as a patsy. Logan and Kendall go up next. Logan deflects to Kendall who delivers an excellent response to minimize damage. Shiv learns that Gil has another witness who is willing to talk. Shiv goes to speak with her and manages to convince her not to testify. Rhea decides to leave the company after being blindsided by this scandal. Logan realizes that they need to make a blood sacrifice. Roman goes to Turkey to secure a deal with Eduard. He pitches well, but suddenly finds himself in a hostage situation.
The Good: The cruises situation has completely gone off the rails in this episode, and the enormity of that threat makes the episode immediately engaging and intense on a level above previous episodes. There is genuine weight to the hearing because if it goes badly, then Waystar Royco could go down in flames. The episode understands this significance, and capitalizes on it from the first scene. Seeing everyone huddled in front of the TV watching the James Weissel interview is both gripping and hilarious. The interview lets us know the scale of the situation, but it also allows for a lot of terrific comedy as the Roys all comment on the interview in an attempt to downplay everything. The hearings make up the majority of the episode, and they are terrific. Up first was Tom and Gerri (I'm disappointed in the lack of Tom and Jerry jokes), and since it's Tom up there, you know how this is going to go. The show does not disappoint with how hysterically disastrous this went. Tom manages to flub each and every question in spectacular fashion, making me laugh more and more at his stupidity. Tom does a spectacularly bad job trying to explain away Mo-Lester's nickname ("I guess he just seemed like he could be one"), he promptly gets nervous and denies knowing who Greg is to a baffled response backstage, and the biggest laugh for me is the exposure of the "you can't make a tomlette without breaking some greggs" email chain that he apparently sent up to 67 times every evening. This entire sequence is a masterpiece in comedy, and I love that "Succession" has the courage to make such a disastrous moment in the story be so unapologetically hilarious. I really have to applaud Matthew Macfayden's acting here because he sells the comedic value of this scene extraordinarily, but then is able to switch gears immediately after and make us feel bad for Tom when he returns backstage. Tom is shaken by the whole thing, and rightfully furious that he was given zero preparation and essentially just told to wing it. Greg's frustration is also understandable, and I found the drama in this short scene after Tom's hearing to be extremely affecting. Kendall and Logan walked out to their hearing with much more pressure on them now that Tom has already failed. This made it all the more satisfying when Kendall stepped up and turned things around on Gil. With Logan being nervous and deflecting, everything relies on Kendall, who hasn't exactly been the best in situations like these in the past. So when Kendall speaks up, I expected him to mess up and say something horribly wrong, but instead he commands the hearing and handles himself superbly. I was vastly impressed, and found myself cheering that Kendall helped pull the company out of a disaster. Connor's dumb little fistbump in the background was the cherry on top. In fact, this wasn't only a good episode for Kendall. All of the Roy siblings stepped up to save their family business in this episode. While everyone else was at DC, Roman went to Turkey to secure a deal with Eduard and did an excellent job. He's still a total dork sometimes (that soccer speech was pure gold), but he's likeable and he performed a good pitch (though I'm disappointed that we didn't see it all on-screen). Getting caught in a hostage situation was not what I expected, but Roman handled himself well. Meanwhile Karl surprisingly provided the best laughs with his panic attack ("you look the same"), and that glorious pan to Karl with his hand raised when Roman asks whether he should raise his hand or not. Shiv manipulating Kira was a dark and fantastically acted scene. Shiv pulled out the most ruthless part of her as she connected with Kira, told her the "truth" and lied to her face about what she thinks about the cruise situation to convince her to not ruin her life by going public with this. This is really dark stuff, and further cements how cold, callous, and self-absorbed the Roys are at heart. Shiv stepped up to remove Kira from the witness list, and I enjoyed this very much. The Bad: I'm disappointed with how the show handled Marcia and Rhea. It looked like Marcia's conflict with Logan was heating up to go somewhere interesting, but now she's just gone. If that's all that the show had in mind for her, I'm extremely disappointed. Marcia had so much more that she could offer the story, and the show spent lots of time building up that she had her own agenda. Now, it's all had no pay-off. It looks like Rhea has had a similarly underwhelming ending. The last two episodes have built up Rhea as a threat in such an enticing way. But now the character has been written out of the story in such an anticlimactic way, with Rhea's conclusion feeling like a footnote in a busy episode. I feel like Rhea's story was expanded beyond Pierce due to Jesse Armstrong wanting to get the most out of Holly Hunter, but the conclusion had to be rushed to make way for the cruises scandal to take central focus in these final episodes. I'm not too pleased with Gil and Nate telling Shiv that they have another witness. I get that they wanted to gloat, but it felt a little bit too easy for Shiv to get this information from them. The Unknown: Who is going to take the fall for cruises? Tom? Kendall? Greg? Someone else? Is Marcia gone already? Will she come back, or is she gone for good? What exactly happened in Turkey? Why did Roman get called in by the government? Is he going to have to pitch to them, or do they have something else in mind for him? Will Shiv actually fight from the inside with Kira? I highly doubt it. Will she need to find a way to keep her in line? Best Moment: Tom's disastrous panel was maybe the hardest I've laughed all season. Character of the Episode: Tom. Conclusion: "DC" raised up the stakes significantly in season 2, and the result was a thrilling and hilarious episode that continued to mark "Succession" season 2 as essential television. Some aspects like Rhea and Marcia's underwhelming exit were disappointing, but the fantastic scenes like Tom's hearing, Shiv manipulating Kira, and Kendall turning things around on Gil made this episode easily overcome its weaknesses. Bring on the season finale. Score: 73 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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