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
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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 Summary: The Roys head to Scotland to celebrate Waystar's 50th anniversary. Gerri learns that James Weissel is threatening to be a whistleblower on the entire cruises situation. Shiv doesn't trust Rhea and tries to get Roman and Kendall to join her in fighting Rhea. After pettily exposing her in front of Logan, Rhea speaks with Roman and Kendall and manages to get them to not fight her. Rhea organizes a surprise party for Logan. At the party, Logan shows doubt to Shiv about picking Rhea as the next CEO and asks for her advice. Shiv learns that the whistleblower is being backed by someone and that the next CEO will be screwed over by the cruises situation coming to light, and she encourages Logan to announce Rhea, which he does. Kendall hooks up with Jennifer but immediately dumps her after Logan doesn't like her. Ewan threatens to cut Greg out of his will unless he leaves Waystar, but Logan convinces Greg to stay.
The Good: The Rhea storyline is a lot of fun. Shiv was personally defeated by her, so she has an extreme motivation to take her out as a form of petty revenge. Unfortunately for her, her brothers don't share that same motivation. Sure, Kendall is happy to get Rhea to name-drop Rose and embarrass herself, but he has no huge grudge against her, and the same goes for Roman. As such, they are both susceptible to being swayed by the simplest, most obvious flattery, and it's amusing to see Rhea's desperate attempts to reach them actually work. In that great scene between the siblings (fantastic dialogue and so many good laughs), I was thoroughly amused that Kendall and Roman were both unwilling to help Shiv, and Shiv's frustration was totally understandable. The story came to a compelling end as Shiv reconnects with her father and has to choose between her selfish motives and genuinely helping him out. But then an answer comes right to her where she can do both: she can support Logan emotionally and also screw over Rhea in one fell swoop. The stars aligned for Shiv, and she most certainly will feel like a genius for what was ultimately just dumb luck. It remains to be seen what happens to Rhea next (see: The Unknown), but I'm invested to see how this Rhea/Shiv/Logan situation resolves itself. This episode did a good job of exploring Logan's background. We never get more than mere glimpses of the past in this show, but I find that to be very effective. In a way it connects us more with Logan who never spends time reminiscing about the past anyways because "there is too much of it". So seeing these little specks of history revealed to us endears us to his mindset while also revealing information in a very engaging way, relying on us to connect dots with what little information we are given. I also quite liked Ewan's presence in this episode. It was sad to see the two brothers reflect on their childhood in a brief scene only to go right back to each other's throats immediately after. Poor Greg gets caught in the middle with Ewan abusing his wealth to get Greg to leave Waystar, while Logan emotionally manipulates Greg into staying specifically to get back to Ewan. You can't tell me that Logan actually cares about Greg, he most certainly only said what he did just to spite Ewan. The complexity of the relationship between Logan and Ewan continues to be enjoyable, and I am curious to see what more will be done with these characters. This episode has some excellent comedy throughout, and is one of the funnier episodes of the season. Kendall's rap steals the show (see: Best Moment), but his interactions with Jennifer are a blast, and it's especially funny when he tries to shoo away Connor who begs to get Jennifer back to work. Shiv recruiting Tom to flirt with Rhea further reminds us how horrible their relationship is, but it also gives us an excuse to see Tom flirt, which is every bit as funny as you would expect. Greg delights as always with his "Gregisms", the highlight of the episode being him "negotiating a Grexit" with Logan. I also got a laugh out of how fitting it is that Logan ignores all of the well-wishes from his children and instead focuses on discussing things with others while his kids talk about how much they love him. Roman buying a football team for his dad but buying the wrong team was fantastically funny, and a signature Roman moment. There are some nice character moments that I enjoyed. Marcia subtly threatening Rhea by asking her if she's been tested for STDs is quite funny. I also really like that Marcia allowed Rhea to go through with her surprise party, knowing full well that Logan hates them (from back in "Celebration"). Kendall breaking up with Jennifer immediately because Logan disapproved of her is quite heart-breaking. He was absolutely giddy about her, but the moment Logan didn't like her, all of that affection just vanished. Add on Jennifer commenting on how much Kendall talks about Logan and this becomes a sad exploration of how Logan controls just about every aspect of Kendall's life. Poor Connor is always given the short end of the stick. It's quite sad to see how much he tries to get some sort of support and connection with his father, only to be ignored and dismissed at every turn. The Bad: Kendall hooking up with Jennifer was an odd storyline. He was just seen with Naomi in the previous episode, yet now he's hooking up with someone else without even a mention of Naomi? If Kendall was always open to having multiple relationships, I would have accepted this. But he's never been shown to have this quality, especially with how fixated he was on Rava back in season 1. So I'm left confused as to why he started this relationship to begin with, and just what is going on with Naomi. It would be even more perplexing if this is Jennifer's only appearance and if the Naomi storyline just continues like nothing else happened, which I suspect may be the case. I still feel like Marcia's story has been underdeveloped. I wish that we had spent more time getting to know her in the first season because this divide between her and Logan comes right out of nowhere. It's a shame because Hiam Abbass does a magnificent job in the role, but Marcia has never felt important outside of the first few episodes of the show that suggest she is manipulating Logan. I hope the show has more for her to do outside of getting frustrated with Logan in every episode. The Unknown: Who is backing Weissel? How is his reveal going to affect Waystar and the Roys? Will they be able to handle and survive the leak of such devastating information? Will Jennifer return later? Did Kendall really just break up with her because Logan didn't approve of her? What happened with Kendall's relationship with Naomi? Why did he hook up with Jennifer if he was already pursuing Naomi, as we saw in "Return"? Will anyone back Rhea in her new job? Will she be able to survive cruises, or is this going to destroy her? Is Marcia's relationship with Logan in danger? Can Logan repair the damage he has done? Can Ewan do anything else to get back at Greg if he continues to work at Waystar? What happened with Rose? Why does Logan blame himself for her death? Roman suggested that Logan's first wife (Connor's mother) was in a psychiatric hospital. What happened with her? Is there a history between her and Logan that we haven't learned about yet? Best Moment: The "L to the OG" song was absolutely hilarious, and I loved every second of it. Jeremy Strong goes all out for this performance, and the scene is made better by the reactions of all the characters. Logan looks embarrassed, Shiv is laughing intensely, Roman seems jealous, and Greg is just genuinely enjoying himself. The richness of the characters is what makes this work so well and makes it incredibly funny. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: This was more good stuff. "Dundee" moved forward in the Rhea storyline and had some nice moments that highlighted Logan's past. It's not the most exciting or intense episode and it does have a few writing flaws, but it's entertaining and does a good job of setting up the season's endgame. Score: 66 Summary: Logan struggles to keep his shareholders in line. Even Caroline is not siding with him. Shiv is kept out of the loop, and Logan decides to fly to UK with Kendall and Roman to meet with her. Shiv is trying to meet with Logan and goes to UK as well. Rhea also arrives to talk strategy with Logan and they end up hooking up. When Sandy and Stewy raise up allegation that Logan was responsible for Andrew's death, Logan decides to bring Kendall and make an apology to the family. Roman and Shiv meet with their mother and make a deal with her. The apology goes well, but Kendall is uncomfortable and leaves the family some money. Kendall meets with his mother and wants to open up to her, but she panics and leaves in the morning. Shiv meets with Rhea who gives her an offer from Pierce that she considers. Shiv finally meets with Logan who chews her out for considering the offer. Realizing that Rhea is stirring the pot, Shiv calls Kendall to warn him. Tom is being investigated for cruises and gets uncomfortable. He forces Greg to reveal his secret documents and they burn them, but Greg is able to secretly save a few of them and tapes Tom admitting his role in the situation.
The Good: This episode functions as both a transition episode to the next big storyline and as an exploration of character to deepen the relationships that we already know. As a transition episode, this works brilliantly. In the wake of the Pierce deal falling apart, we need a new storyline to create some forward momentum, and Rhea trying to break Logan's relationships with his children provides that. We're never too sure what Rhea's motivations are throughout the episode, and it's strange that she's spending so much time getting close to Logan. Initially I thought it was because she desperately needed a job after being fired, but by the end of the episode I realized that she's far more ambitious and cunning than she seemed. Rhea stayed close to Logan and earned his trust, and now she is able to trap his children and damage their relationships, starting with Shiv. The Pierce offer being a fake and a trap is terrific storytelling, and it led to an excellent scene where Shiv finally got told off by Logan, whose frustrations with her had grown more and more with each episode. The end of the episode brilliantly sets up an exciting cliff-hanger as Shiv warns Kendall of this new threat and now they will have to band together to take Rhea down. I can't wait to see how this goes down. Outside of set-up, this episode deepens characters in very meaningful ways. Kendall in particular has a great episode. Early in the episode we see Kendall questioning his father's decision. It's not anything openly against Logan, and Kendall is very clearly just raising concerns in a harmless way. But tragically, Logan seems to take this as Kendall acting out from being his puppet, and takes measures to get Kendall back under his thumb. I may be wrong about this, but it seems like Logan decides to visit Andrew's family with Kendall to maintain his control over Kendall. This is absolutely horrific, and forcibly subjecting Kendall to be near the family of the man he accidentally got killed is brutal parenting and one of the most exploitative things we have seen Logan do. To further add to how trapped Kendall is, he visits his mother later in the episode only to be greeted with emotional unavailability. It's quite sad to see Kendall opening up to her right as she jokes about how he used to complain about her emotional deficiencies, and Kendall is proven correct as Caroline deflects his issues and disappears by the morning. Kendall's reaction in the morning is heartbreaking, and it speaks a lot about her relationship with her kids that she makes a deal to see them every Christmas, and yet is unwilling to help her son through difficult times. This is genuinely tragic stuff. I am enjoying Roman a lot more in this season. The car ride with Logan is genuinely uncomfortable and sad. The show doesn't need to tell you that this kind of stuff has happened before in the family, but the way both characters react tells us all we need to know. Logan is in denial, playing down what he did and spinning a story of how it was an unfortunate accident that maybe didn't even make contact. And poor Roman, down a tooth, just nods along with everything trying his hardest to avoid the situation. But the pain doesn't last long for Roman. While talking about Caroline, Roman, Logan, and Kendall all show the positive side of their relationship where they can laugh together, enjoy each other's company, and plan their next move. I love the inclusion of scenes like this because they add to the tragedy that is this family. Roman was disillusioned with Logan earlier, but after he laughs at Roman's joke, you can see genuine joy on Roman's face for being given some positive affirmation for once. This is a destructive relationship made worse by the glimpses of a caring family that we see throughout the show. Tom and Greg pipe in with another great side story. Tom's interview with the investigation team is massively funny as he comes in expecting it to be harmless, but is so easily unnerved by what were quite basic questions for him to deflect. Tom is so suspicious at every turn, and I loved it. His paranoia leads him to Greg, and the two continue to have an excellent dynamic. Tom intimidates Greg into burning the documents, but true to form with Greg, he takes measures to make sure that he still has some insurance. He sneaks away some of the documents by stuffing them in his pants, and it seems likely that he also taped Tom to get something to protect him. The scene in the bathroom where Greg calms his nerves and practices talking to calm is quite funny, and I love Nicholas Braun's nervy performance. The Bad: I understand that this show likes to spend each episode focusing on a specific event, and I think that this is one of the show's big strengths. However, it sometimes leads to some confusion when we have to learn about events that happened in between episodes. In this episode, Shiv made a memo and had some sort of other meeting that she talks with Tom about, but it feels jarring because we never saw it happen. I don't like it when TV feels disconnected like this, and I wish that off-screen events could have been handled better. The Unknown: Is Rhea only trying to become CEO of Waystar Royco? Was that always her goal? Is she manipulating Logan? Will Shiv, Roman, and Kendall come together to take out the threat of Rhea? How will they handle her? What can they do to take her out without pissing off Logan? Did Logan only take Kendall in order to get back control over him? If so, that is absolutely sickening. Is Greg going to set up Tom to take the fall for cruises? Best Moment: Logan dressing down Shiv for her betrayal is a superb scene that wonderfully pays off all of Shiv's mistakes throughout the season. Now it has all culminated in the complete loss of her CEO-track and the addition of a new competitor in Rhea. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: An important episode that deepens the story in a lot of interesting ways. Score: 68 Summary: The Roys go to Argestes, hoping that the Pierce deal will be finalized. Shiv stays behind and she and Frank learn that information about cruises is going to leak. The Roys discuss how to handle it and Logan decides to strong-arm the publishers, while also calling Shiv to come to Argestes. Shiv is hesitant but agrees. Tom is hosting a panel but is in a panic when Greg tells him he has to change the ATN tagline. Nan and Rhea arrive to meet with Logan and Kendall, but the cruises piece is posted during the meeting. The Roys all isolate and discuss a strategy. It is decided that Roman and Kendall will do a panel for the Roys as Shiv takes herself out of the equation. Shiv ends up meeting with Rhea who says that the Pierces may still agree to the deal and that Shiv should do the panel. Last-minute, all three of the Roys go to the panel. It goes well but Shiv mentions a "dinosaur cull" which upsets Logan and others. Logan gets frustrated and ends up hitting Roman. The conference ends with a roast and Nan walks out after the Roys are roasted. Logan and Rhea try to stop her but fail. Nan refuses the deal and fires Rhea, who she learns was hustling her.
The Good: I love the idea to explore how a company scandal gets handled from within. The cruises situation is a horrible look for Waystar Royco, and it's a lot of fun watching the characters navigate the chaos. True to form with these things, the concern is never on the victims, their families, and the wrong that has been done. The focus is always on damage control, and the main concern is how the leak of this information endangers the Pierce deal. It's funny to see this accurate take on how little the rich care about the morality of their actions, they are simply blindsided by their own desires. This episode felt very important because the cruises storyline has been building since early in season 1, and to finally see it pay off is enormously satisfying. We understand how big of a deal this leak could be, and that is could be disastrous for the Pierce deal. After spending a whole episode where the Roys acquired the Pierce deal, there is an enormous sense of consequences if things end up falling through. The significance of all of this ensures that I'm emotionally engaged in what's going on, and every scene is elevated as a result. I'm enthralled when everyone is discussing whether they should delay or if they should try to intimidate the publishers. I'm at the edge of my seat when Logan meets with Nan with Kendall constantly refreshing his phone to see if the story has dropped yet. The moment when it appears ratchets up the tension significantly, and I absolutely loved it. The story then comes to an excellent climax with the Roy panel. This sequence is terrific as Shiv and Kendall practically play a tug of war with their approaches about the cruises issue, while Roman comes off as juvenile and thoughtless in his brief interjections. The whole scene is excellent and had me fully engaged, awaiting to see when and how things would go wrong. Surprisingly, the panel goes pretty well but it's the bold jabs of a comedian that kill the deal for Nan. Logan's final effort to keep things together is gripping to watch as he falls into a full-on meltdown trying to get Nan to stay, a culmination of how his health had troubled him the entire time at Argestes. It's so satisfying to see a despicable man like Logan fail, but it's also sad to see this deal go up in flames after so much work went into it, creating a complex web of emotions at the episode's end. I continue to have a blast watching the Roy children all spar with each other and struggle. Shiv had a big episode here as she got called in last second to rectify this situation. At the start of the season I thought that Shiv had a good shot at doing this job better than the others, but these last two episodes make it clear that she has plenty of issues that need to be sorted out. At first I thought that her not wanting to go for the panel was because she was afraid of making a fool of herself again, but it's actually way worse than that: she doesn't think that she should clean up someone else's mess. That is such a conceited and entitled thought, and it caught me entirely off-guard. Add on Shiv screwing up with her "dinosaur cull" comment, and we quickly realize that Shiv is nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is, and that she's too spoiled to do the hard yards required of this job. Meanwhile Kendall is still not much more than Logan's instrument. Seeing him chew people out for his father in the opening scene felt so weird because we got to see Logan's words come out of the mouth of Kendall, which felt wrong in a delightfully well-written way. It's not until Logan physically abuses Roman that we see some sort of independence from Kendall in what was an excellent scene (see: Best Moment). I really am starting to feel bad for Roman since he is constantly belittled and looked down upon. Gerri advocates for him in this episode, and to his credit, Roman does well to secure a deal with Eduardo. But nobody else supports him. Logan has to be convinced to give Roman a job, Roman is the first person that Logan wants off of the panel, and when Logan's frustrations towards Shiv break out, it is Roman who has to deal with it. It's so sad to see Roman shrugging off losing his tooth, and now I can see that Roman has always been the punching bag of this family, and his pointed barbs and jokes are just a way for him to deal with being put down all the time. This is sad, but it is excellent character depth for a character who is starting to become more fascinating. Tom and Greg's side story is hilarious, and I'm glad that the show found some space to include it. These two add so much comedy to every episode, and that remains true here. Tom's "we're listening" catchphrase is good, but it has a pretty funny red flag associated with it, and Tom's exasperation over the situation because "we're actually listening" is quite funny. Tom and Greg's brains combine to come up with "we hear for you", a hilariously awful catchphrase that just got funnier as the episode went on. These two are still my favourite characters in the show, and these comedic B-stories get good value out of them. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Will the fallout from the cruises situation get worse? Will other stories come out? How will this affect Waystar Royco's future? Will Nan reconsider, or is this the end of the Pierce storyline? What happens now that Logan's plan to acquire Pierce has failed? Rhea just got fired. Will we see her again, or is this it for her? Will Eduardo and his rich father play a bigger role in the story? How significant will Roman's deal with him turn out to be? Best Moment: Logan hitting Roman in his frustration came right out of nowhere, and perfectly highlighted the dysfunctional dynamic of this family. Kendall immediately jumping to Roman's defense suggests a childhood trauma of this abusive behaviour, and Tom's shocked face while watching this brilliantly highlights how jarring this kind of stuff must be for him when he has come from a far kinder family. Character of the Episode: Logan. Conclusion: Another terrific episode, and I think I'm starting to love this show. Every episode is now offering up engaging storylines and fascinating character dynamics, while having tremendous directing, acting, editing, soundtrack, and production at the same time. I'm excited to see where this all goes. Score: 75 Summary: The Roys prepare to meet the Pierces at their estate, Tern Haven and Logan prepares everyone with roles and target individuals to speak with. The family arrives at the Estate and are welcomed. Connor has friction with Maxim who has differing political views, and Shiv accidentally offends Mark with a joke. Logan is unhappy and scolds everyone, upsetting Marcia as well. The two families have dinner and tensions arrive through political issues, specifically regarding ATN. Shiv panics when she is unable to handle the conversation and she leaves briefly with Tom as they both air out their concerns. The discussion shifts to Logan's successor and Shiv ends up blurting out that it will be her, stunning the table. Dinner ends quickly after that. Shiv panics with Tom. Roman tries to have sex with Tabitha and ends up going to Gerri's place instead. Kendall connects with Naomi over their addiction and he manages to sell her on taking their offer due to the freedom that escaping from the business can offer. The next day, Nan meets with Logan, Shiv, Kendall, and Gerri and agrees to the deal if Shiv is made the successor. Logan is unwilling to negotiate and leaves, but is frustrated when the family doesn't call to change their minds. Upon landing in Manhattan, Logan hears that they accepted the deal and everyone celebrates.
The Good: The premise of this episode is brilliant, and is a big part of why this is so intense and captivating. We have been building up to this Pierce deal for a long time, so there is an air of importance to secure this deal, and we understand the consequences if the Roys fail to secure it. Because these basics in storytelling were addressed, the episode is put in a position to succeed, and with the masterful writing and production of this episode, it succeeds in a big way. The visit to Tern Haven is fresh and exciting as we get to see the Roys interact with another rich family who are entirely different to them in an attempt to win over their trust. Every character has to mask who they really are and attempt to sell what they are doing, and it is so compelling to watch everyone attempt (and fail at) this. It's an engaging charade to watch, and it ultimately devolves into simple brass tacks by the end of the episode, providing a compelling climax. Every character is so much fun to watch as they attempt to win over the Pierces. Seeing such a compassionate and friendly Logan is amusing, and it's even funnier seeing the shocked reactions of other characters as they openly express how strange it is to see this version of him. While Logan is a master of putting on a guise, his children are far worse at it. It's hilarious to see Connor, Shiv, and Roman make mistake after mistake during the stay, alienating and offending the Pierces at every turn. Connor's rivalry with Maxim is really funny because of how volatile Connor is, and it ends in hilarious fashion with them somehow making peace and Maxim landing a new job. Shiv's barb about Mark's PhD is quite funny, especially because of how clearly rude it is even if Shiv didn't mean it that way. Shiv pretty much makes a fool of herself throughout the visit, especially at dinner, and it's both hard to watch and hilarious seeing her say just about everything wrong as she tries to sell to Nan. Then there's Roman who has the episode's funniest moment with his discussion about "The Electric Circus". He totally dug a hole for himself with that one, and I laughed at Shiv quizzing him further since apparently teasing Roman is more important to her than maintaining appearances. The lengthy dinner scene is the episode's major setpiece and it is phenomenal. The dialogue is written delightfully well, and we see so many great conversations that provide laughs, raise the suspense, and lead to exciting moments of conflict. What started out as simple veiled negotiations turn disastrous due to the incompetent Roys all failing to provide adequate answers and making fools out of themselves at every turn. Whether it's Roman talking about "The Electric Circus", Marcia antagonizing Logan out of frustration, Shiv being woefully awkward, or Tom failing to defend ATN, a company he doesn't even like, the Roys handle every situation poorly and the dinner is disastrous as a result. But of course, nothing goes worse than the successor announcement, as Shiv forces her father's hand and drops the bombshell at a terrible time, stunning everybody at the table in a terrific scene. This entire sequence was a brilliant piece of suspense/comedy and I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The night after had some good storylines occurring as well. Shiv's regret and anxiety after what happened is exactly what you would expect her to feel, and Sarah Snook plays it really well. Roman's sexual escapades are funny to watch, and we are getting a better idea of what it is that he needs. It's a shame that he can't express his desires effectively to Tabitha, but it seems like he's found someone who understands it in Gerri. Kendall and Naomi's night is a blast to watch and is the most compelling part of the episode. Kendall has been so subdued and sad, so it's surprisingly endearing to see him smile and connect with someone even if it's only through the influence of drugs. Of course we are still concerned for him, and when he and Naomi got into the helicopter I was terrified that Kendall was about to make yet another fatal mistake, which was a great misdirection to lead into their emotional conversation. Kendall is trying to convince Naomi to take the deal, but it's clear that what he says comes from the heart as what he truly wants. More than anything, Kendall wants to escape from the political world he lives in, and he truthfully tells Naomi how he feels about sacrificing it all for money: it's a relief, it's freedom, and it's a burden off of his back. This moment was terrific and nicely got into what Kendall has been feeling all season and how desperately he needs to get out of this family business. Furthermore, it looks like Kendall's little bit of honestly and humanity managed to undo the damage caused by the rest of the family at dinner and gave the Roys a shot to make this deal happen. Despite being so broken, when Kendall is able to be his real self he is genuinely capable of doing great things; it's just when he puts on a mask and has to play the part of the family, he loses sight of his own strengths. The episode's conclusion works wonderfully. After the Roys did practically everything wrong, somehow (mostly thanks to Kendall) they have ended up in a position where they can secure the deal. The hard negotiations were engaging to watch, especially because of how Logan drops the charade and is his usual ruthless self when dealing with the Pierces. He's cocky, arrogant, aggressive, and commands the room throughout the scene. He emphasizes the importance of money and he firmly holds his ground of not naming a successor, and impressively, it works. Watching Logan walk out of the meeting after working so hard all weekend was quite a shock, and it's not until his outburst on the helicopter that we understand that it was a tactic. Ultimately, the tactic works and Logan's celebration after landing in Manhattan is a fantastic moment, filmed beautifully to feel triumphant and powerful. As despicable as Logan is, I managed to sympathize with the emotional feeling of achievement, and that made this moment highly effective. What a perfect way to end an intense, funny, and unpredictable episode. The Bad: Marcia's conflict with Logan feels like it has come out of nowhere and is something that needed much more build-up than what we had got. She was steadfast at his side last season, but inexplicably Logan has slightly cut her off and now there is tension between them. I struggle to connect much with this conflict because we know so little about Marcia and her relationship with Logan, and I'm unclear why this conflict has arisen now and never before. Marcia as a character has been underwhelming thus far because I don't have a good understanding of who she is and what she wants, and the show hasn't given her enough screentime to truly flourish as a character. The Unknown: Why is Marcia so upset with Logan? Is it because he's not keeping her in the loop anymore? Or is there something else at play? Has Shiv destroyed her future with her awful performance in this episode? I can't imagine that Logan will be too happy to commit to her after this. Did Logan even intend to make Shiv his successor? It's strange that he's so hesitant to name anyone, and that suggests that he was not committed to Shiv succeeding him and he may have only promised it to her to get her to leave Gil's political team. Is Tom going to get fired? Did Logan know this and willingly sacrifice his position? Greg has some newfound confidence. What happened while everyone else was away? Will Tabitha break up with Roman? The failed sex scene seems like it will spell the end of their relationship. Best Moment: The entire dinner scene is a masterclass in uncomfortable tension and manages to combine suspense and humour in such a compelling way. If I had to zero in on a more specific moment, I have to go with Shiv saying "just tell them it's gonna be me", a moment that left everyone at the table, as well as everyone watching the episode, absolutely stunned. Character of the Episode: Logan. Conclusion: An excellent episode that showcases the absolute best of "Succession". Engaging character dynamics, some delightfully awkward scenes, and a compelling negotiation plot that is a blast to watch unfold. Season 2 continues to deliver compelling and interesting television. Score: 77 Summary: Kendall calls Rhea before the upcoming meeting. Tom and Shiv head to Waystar Royco for Shiv's first day. A board meeting is held and Tom is tasked with checking the background of Ravenhead, who is suspected to be involved with Nazism. Logan, Kendall, and Frank keep the meeting with Rhea secret but Shiv suspects something. Rhea arrives and she doesn't accept any offer. Before she leaves, a gunshot rings out and the building goes into a panic. Tom and Greg end up together in a safe room, but it's the wrong safe room. Greg asks Tom to be transferred elsewhere, and Tom is enraged. Afterwards, they make up and Tom agrees to let him go after being impressed by Greg "blackmailing" him with the cruise documents. Logan, Kendall, and Shiv end up together and negotiate with Rhea. They get through with their proposal and convince Rhea, who will tell the family. Shiv meets with Kendall after and Kendall admits he isn't a competitor and has a vulnerable moment with her. Roman goes to management training and works with Brian, who he becomes friends with. Later, Roman is unable to have phone sex with Tabitha, but pleasures himself when Gerri belittles him. Connor attends Mo's funeral, and Willa rewrites his script to save face when Pantsil arrives at the funeral.
The Good: The main plot was very engaging. The meeting with Rhea was a huge deal that was built up suitably well, with some extra tension added from Shiv not knowing about the meeting, but quickly figuring out that something was going on. Initially the meeting doesn't go well, but after the episode is spiced up by a shooter threat, we get to see the meeting for real. Conveniently, Logan, Kendall, Shiv, and Rhea all end up together in a safe room to do the negotiations, and this time it works out wonderfully. It makes me question how much of this was planned (see: The Unknown) and how much was accidental. I don't imagine that Logan, Kendall, and Shiv thought through their plan together, but what's compelling is that when they all worked together like this, the result was magnificent. Rhea went from not even considering the option to being sold due to the combined teamwork of Kendall, Shiv, and Logan. It's a sad reflection of how much better this family would be if they actually worked with each other instead of going at each other's throats constantly. It was magnificent to see Shiv's negotiating skills, Kendall's straight-to-the-point strategy, and Logan's reputation all come together to create the perfectly crafted argument. I really loved this sequence. Even better yet was how the episode ended. After an episode full of political manoeuvring, we had a surprisingly emotional sequence highlighting the extent of Kendall's depression (see: Best Moment). Tom and Greg have a great episode with lots of strong scenes. There is tension between them due to the idea of Greg moving elsewhere to get a different job, and the start of the episode establishes that well as Greg is talking to Cyd about other opportunities and Tom gets him to go get a latte that he doesn't even need (and Greg hilariously turns up with it to the board meeting). This tension comes to a head after the shooter situation when Greg decides to talk to Tom about moving since they have plenty of time together now. But Greg innocuously ends up saying the worst possible thing by describing a "business open relationship". Tom flips out, and it's clear from the onset that he's letting out his frustrations with Shiv on poor Greg, who has basically been a punching bag this entire time. The water bottle barrage is both sad (because of how little control Tom has over his life) and hilarious (the image of Greg being pelted by water bottles is inherently funny), a great climax to the episode. But true to form with these two, they are able to get along just fine afterwards. Tom gets some enjoyment out of seeing Greg having the balls to blackmail him, and I really like the decision to have Tom love this. Tom has been a loose cannon a lot of the time, but he seems to genuinely care about Greg, so why wouldn't he be happy and impressed that Greg made some moves for himself? This is great character writing, and I continue to enjoy the dynamic that these two have. Plus, these two are just so funny in every scene. Several other moments throughout the episode made me laugh like Tom's interview with Ravenhead and Greg's paranoia about the safe room leading to him fearing an "attack child" coming in to get them. This show has no business being as funny as it is. The side stories with Roman and Connor add a lot of great comedy. It's a blast to see Roman doing management training with the "normos" and he continues to be a total prick to absolutely everyone around him for basically no reason. His interactions with Brian are pretty amusing, and it was nice to see Roman actually take a liking to him and instruct Gerri to make him rise within the company. The phone scene with Gerri was certainly unexpected and curious (see: The Unknown). Roman's sexuality has been a weird topic in the show since the start, but it looks like we're finally uncovering what exactly his problem is, and it looks like affirmation of Roman's own insecurity through degrading comments is the awkward thing that gets him off. Meanwhile, Connor's presidential campaign continues to be great. Mo's funeral is chock full of great comedy from the reveal of the nickname's origin (Mo-Lester) to Connor's hilariously wooden eulogy written by Willa (who was amusingly proud of her terrible writing). I'm enjoying this storyline, and it will be fun to see Willa help Connor get out of making the terrible decisions that I expect from him. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. The Unknown: How much of the shooter incident was staged? Did Logan and Kendall just get lucky, or did they arrange for this tragedy to happen somehow? Logan seemed concerned at times, so I doubt it was staged, but this incident benefited Logan too much for it to not be staged. It's tough to tell. If it was staged, did Logan sacrifice an employee for this meeting? That would be very dark. Furthermore, it's strange that Tom, Greg, and several others were sent to an incorrect safe room. Does this mean that Logan had already reserved his safe room for the meeting with Rhea and wanted to remove anyone who may get in the way? Did Logan intend for Shiv to help him and Kendall seal the proposal with Rhea? Is that why he invited her? Or was it all a happy accident? Either way, it's still a good story to tell. Will Pierce accept the proposal? Is Kendall's shoplifting going to get him in trouble? Where will Greg be relocated to? So does Roman get off on his insecurities being preyed upon? That's very strange, and I have to wonder about the significance of this. Why was it necessary to make this such a core aspect of Roman's character? What else can we understand from this weird fetish he has? Is he into Gerri specifically? Will we see Brian again? If not, I hope Roman's influence gave him a great career. Pantsil is back again. Is she going to continue to investigate the Roys for the rest of the season? Will she uncover any big information about them? Considering secrets like the cruise ship documents, and Kendall's accident, there is potential for her to find something bad. Best Moment: The moments with Kendall at the episode's end were fantastic. After an engaging episode of comedy and stone-cold negotiations, it felt like a total shock to see the extent of Kendall's pain coming out as he talked with Shiv. Sarah Snook was phenomenal here as she conveyed Shiv transitioning from playing "the game" to realizing that her brother was in a lot of pain. Poor Kendall just needs some direction for himself, and it's heartbreaking to hear him ask Shiv to take care of him because he doesn't know "what I would be for". Then add on a brilliant final image as Kendall goes onto the roof once more and we get a subtle, quiet reveal that Kendall was likely spending time up here because he found comfort in the idea that he could always jump as a way out. But after a suicide, the glass walls have been doubled in height and Kendall's comfort has just vanished. The final image of a depressed Kendall resting his face on these glass walls is heart-breaking, and an unexpectedly somber end to an otherwise exciting and entertaining episode. It's the unexpected addition of genuine emotion that makes this sequence so brilliant, possibly the best 5 minutes of the entire show. Character of the Episode: Tom. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode. Every storyline was thoroughly engaging. There was engaging plot development, compelling character interactions, and plenty of laughs to keep things entertaining. Then we concluded with a surprisingly emotional sequence to add the cherry on top of the best episode of "Succession" so far. Season 2 feels like it's well and truly in action now. Score: 74 Summary: Greg meets with Pantsil who is writing a biography on Logan, and leaves upon realizing what it is, but he has given some information. Logan is obsessed with the idea of buying out Pierce, a news network, and forces the idea upon everyone who remain skeptical. Logan rehires Frank, who was well liked by Pierce. Shiv hears about this and tells Tom that she wants him to rebel against Logan's decision when they go to a retreat in Hungary. At the retreat, Logan is upset when he learns someone talked to Pantsil for the biography, people are opposed to his Pierce acquisition plan, and Pierce has heard of the plan and are resistant. At dinner, Logan lashes out at everyone and plays a made-up game "boar on the floor" where he humiliates Tom, Greg, and Karl. Kendall exposes that Roman was the one who called Pierce as Roman intended to use a connection with Tabitha to secure the deal. Logan calls him a moron and declares he will go through with things anyways. Shiv goes to see Connor who is recording an awful anti-tax campaign video but she can't stop it. She has sex with a man she meets at a bar. After the retreat, Tom is upset with Shiv for getting him to do something he didn't want to do, and is further upset when she tells him she had sex with someone else. Roman meets with Gerri who advises him to get management training. Frank tells Logan that Pierce's CEO wants to meet. Logan calls Shiv and says he wants to bring her into the company.
The Good: I really liked most of this, particularly in how the story was executed. The Pierce problem is much more engaging than last episode's central problem of what to do with Vaulter. This decision to acquire Pierce feels like a big deal because we are told that if this goes wrong, it could potentially burn down the entire company, giving us an incentive to invest in the decision-making process. Furthermore, the process is so much more fun to watch in this episode because of how many players are in action trying to sway things to go their way. Just about everybody has some stake in this, and it's hugely fun seeing how they approach the problem. For example, Tom is put in an impossible situation where he wants to side with Logan, but Shiv and several others are pushing him to be a leader in a rebellion that would never work. Meanwhile Roman and Kendall both want to acquisition to happen, but they end up butting heads due to tensions between them. Kendall is basically Logan's lapdog scouting for weaknesses, while Roman is just trying to impress his father but he continues to fail spectacularly. Add on some other interesting dynamics with Karl opposing Logan in secret, Greg trying to hide that he met with Pantsil, and a few other story threads, and this is a very fun episode to explore. Then we get to the boar on the floor scene. Wow. Talk about massively over-the-top. This sequence is all about showing us Logan's psyche and how it is that he dominates everyone around him to get what he wants. Logan came to Hungary to relax, but upon being pressured by "traitors" through the biography meeting, the opposition to the Pierce acquisition, and then a leak to Pierce, Logan snapped in rage just like he did back in "Which Side Are You On?". Despite practically nobody in the room actually supporting his beliefs, Logan abuses his power to bully everyone into accepting him. He humiliates Tom, Greg, and Karl using only his status and power in such a childish and barbaric way that it is shocking. Logan's relentlessly cruel here, and Brian Cox sells his fury perfectly. If only Logan actually took the advice of the people around him, maybe he would have a better standing within the company and within his family. I want to highlight Tom in particular in this episode. The poor guy had an absolute nightmare of a trip and spent the entire episode being bullied and pushed around against his will. Tom's not a great guy, but it's easy to empathize with him when he is put under so much pressure. He just wants a cushy job and the affections of his wife, but right now that is impossible for him. He spends his weekend away getting verbally and physically abused by Logan, despite the fact that he was one of the only people in the room that genuinely supported Logan's decision to acquire Pierce. All that because Tom was voluntold to represent the people who were against the acquisition, making the situation feel entirely unfair. Impressively, through all of this carnage, Tom valued his friendship with Greg as he refused to reveal the damning information that he knew, information that may have spared him from this entire situation. And how is Tom rewarded for a tough weekend where he kept his morals? With Shiv revealing to him that she has already started to take advantage of their open relationship, messing around with some random guy while he suffered trying to enforce her ideals; ideals that Shiv selfishly placed onto Tom. Tom got walked all over in this episode, and regardless of the type of person he is, I feel bad for him because he is being screwed over by worse people. More on Tom. Poor guy had the worst time this episode and the retreat was a nightmare trip. Pressured by his wife and even Gerri and Karl, sides with Logan ultimately yet he still finds himself embarrassed and humiliated. He even stood by Greg and didn't reveal his secret, the one leverage he had, which was honorable. Sweet to see them eating together later. Then at home it gets worse as he expresses his frustration with Shiv only to learn that she fucked someone else, I just feel bad for the guy. He did nothing wrong in this episode but just got screwed. Connor's presidential video is hysterical and brought me a lot of laughs. I can't believe he actually posted it online. The anti-tax stance is an absurdity, and I'm amused by Willa helping him because he is her financial source. This is sure to be an exciting presidential campaign, and I expect to laugh lots. The Bad: This episode is brutally uncomfortable and it doesn't make you feel good. The writing and storytelling rules, but emotionally this feels like too much. Especially for a comedy/drama this is bleak to a whole other degree. I feel awful and uncomfortable watching Logan rule his power over everyone else in the room, and those emotions have nowhere to go since there is such a limited amount of empathy that I feel for all of the characters being bullied. It is fascinating and emotionally affecting, but considering that I don't really care about anyone in this show, it doesn't feel like it is worth putting myself through the wringer in this scene for awful people. This is a complicated feeling to describe. I've enjoyed plenty of TV episodes that make you feel bad, but this one makes me feel bad in a different way that significantly diminishes my enjoyment of the episode. The Unknown: What will become of the biography? Will it still be written? Will Greg's secret be kept? Will anyone else find out what he did? Is Frank going to stick around now? Will he be firmly behind Logan? He indicates that his return is like a "moth to a flame", which is kind of sad. Is this genuine? Greg admits that Ewan has been giving him orders. What has Ewan told him? Has Greg listened? So Connor has kicked off his campaign (god help us all). How is it going to go? How will Connor's actions reflect on the rest of the story? Tensions are heating up rapidly between Shiv and Tom. Will Tom reach a breaking point soon? What happens then? Is Roman going to do management training? Best Moment: The boar on the floor game is intense, uncomfortable, and brilliantly acted. Even with my reservations, I can't deny that it's an excellent scene. Character of the Episode: Logan. Conclusion: This is a very strange episode for me, and one that is hard to score. I recognize the brilliance of the storytelling, and I enjoyed much of what we got in the episode. It's just that the "boar on the floor" sequence is so brutally uncomfortable and awkward that it becomes a bit too unpleasant for me to enjoy. This is one of those episodes where I understand why people love it and I recognize how well-executed it is, but it's just not for me. Score: 65 Summary: Logan meets with the Roys when Stewy does an interview against Waystar Royco. Logan agrees with Shiv's suggestion to immediately fight back. Later, Logan meets with Roman and Kendall to get them to look into Vaulter, who have been underperforming. After doing some research, Kendall wants to invest in improvement while Roman wants to shut them down. Logan agrees to shut them down and sends Kendall to gut them. Kendall initially tries to give them a shot to improve and stop them from unionizing, but it fails. In response, Kendall shuts down Vaulter. Tom gets to his new job at ATN and brings Greg with him. Shiv gets offered a promotion by Gil. Shiv meets with Logan who wants a three-year track for her, but Shiv wants it to be sooner. Shiv tells Tom about Logan's offer and says it's a deviation from him taking control, but Tom is concerned by the development. Later, Shiv talks out against Gil and quits while he fires her at the same time.
The Good: I enjoy the character dynamics on show through the Vaulter problem. Kendall really feels like a shell in these latest episodes. Vaulter was his investment, and we expect that Kendall would put in a big fight to keep it running. For a bit, it seems like he's going to ignore his father's wishes and keep vying for Vaulter, but the end of the episode puts in a nice twist when we learn that Kendall was simply extracting whatever final value he could from Vaulter. He guts them heartlessly, reminding us that he's purely his father's pawn now, and the scene is brilliant. The follow-up with Kendall is great. A beautiful image of Kendall sitting in his father's office shows how subservient he has become, and a brief scene where he steals some batteries from a convenience store illustrates how desperate Kendall is for some agency, but he's too terrified to take control anywhere near where his father can see. Lawrence getting soundly beaten was also quite satisfying because of how much of a prick he has been. Lawrence jerks around Kendall at every turn, and that was an awful move because Kendall was the only one that genuinely believed in him. As a result, Lawrence had no friends to hide behind, and he had alienated the one person who was backing him. I feel like he deserved this. Roman's competition with Kendall when it comes to evaluating Vaulter is a lot of fun. Roman is happy to have bested Kendall when Logan goes with his plan, but he hilariously doubts his own decision later in the episode, showing once again how weak he is when it comes to leadership. It's hilarious to see him thinking that he's the best choice to be named successor when I'm certain that he's currently Logan's last option. Shivs political story looks like it has come to an end, and that's likely for the better. She's forced to choose between her father's proposal and her ongoing commitment with Gil, and she makes her decision rapidly. To be fair, it's an easy decision for her. Keep working with her ex, or do the job that she's been dreaming about for years? Shiv opts for the CEO job, and continues to be an awful person by quitting her job by insulting Gil and letting out all the frustrations that she had towards him. Even more troubling is how Shiv is hiding her true feelings from Tom. Tom is under the impression that he's supposed to be the one getting everything, but now Shiv has sneaked in and taken the position instead, and lies to him about her intentions. This is horrific communication, and Shiv is setting up this relationship for failure yet again. Shiv knows she's lying to him, and Tom knows that she is likely lying to him. How hard is it for there to be some honesty in this relationship? Apparently it's nearly impossible. It should be fun to see how this conflict boils throughout the season. We've already seen Tom's tempers flare up at dinner with Roman, so I wonder what more we're going to see. Greg continues to be a lot of fun to watch. His hunt for a house is amusing, and it has a surprisingly sweet conclusion when Kendall gives him a free place to live. Greg's skepticism is hilarious after being so consistently teased by Tom, but his celebration is sweet and nice to see. Of course Kendall has his own agenda and just wants a party to do drugs, but it's still a nice moment. Poor Greg has also been dragged to ATN alongside Tom, which is pretty amusing. I'm glad that I get to see more of their dynamic since they are so funny together. The Bad: The biggest issue with this is that the main plot isn't interesting. Vaulter is a familiar company for us, but you can't convince me that Vaulter's fate, whether they stay or go, will be an important plot point for the future. They haven't amounted to anything important in 11 episodes up until now, so I had no reason to believe that this company's fate will be important to the show. The plot allows for good character exploration, but in terms of plot, it feels almost like filler. The Unknown: How did Shiv respond to Stewy's interview? Will we see Lawrence again now that Vaulter has been gutted? Marcia did not seem to be happy that Logan and Shiv had a secret that she wasn't allowed to listen in on. Will she try to find out what it is? How important is it to her to know these things? Will there be consequences for Shiv for leaving Gil's campaign under such negative circumstances? Why is Kendall stealing from shops? Is this his only way to keep some form of agency in his life? How will Tom's plan to digitize ATN go? How will Tom handle Shiv's change in their plan? Does this mean that Shiv will try to take it all for herself and leave Tom in the dust? Best Moment: Kendall gutting Vaulter was cold, and Jeremy Strong played it perfectly showing us that the Kendall we knew before is gone and right now Kendall is just an instrument of his dad's will and nothing more. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: Another solid episode of character exploration, though a relatively uninteresting plot brings this episode down a bit. Score: 65 Summary: Kendall is taken out of rehab to make a media statement on why he sided with his father again, and he does a good job. However, this doesn't change things for Logan. Logan meets with Laird, his banker, and is given advice to sell. He sets up a meeting with all of his children to discuss. Roman makes a pitch, but Logan is unimpressed by it. Shiv is skeptical, but Logan wants her to be CEO. After some negotiating, she agrees and they decide to tell nobody. Logan decides not to sell. Logan takes Kendall with him to meet with Stewy and Sandy. Logan doesn't go in and instead Kendall goes in to tell them that there will be no deal and that Logan will fight with everything he's got.
The Good: After all that happened last season, Kendall is exactly where he should be: struggling to recover and return to who he was before. Saddled with the knowledge of wat he's done and being forced to keep this secret forever, Kendall is suitably jumpy. Jeremy Strong portrays him so well, showing him scared and nervous in absolutely every situation, the anxiety of never knowing if this will come back to haunt him eating away at him from the inside. This is gripping to see, and Kendall is terrific in every scene. His shellshocked media appearance is pretty bad, but he keeps his calm and says exactly what needs to be said (to Logan's hilarious comment of "that's the first fucking thing he's done right in his life"). After that, Kendall goes back to being a husk, and it's amusing to see him sticking to the fake media story to hide the truth from everyone he interacts with ("Dad's plan was better"). I'm curious to see what more there is for Kendall this season, and if there is a way for him to get some agency back. It's fun to catch up with the other Roys, and their disdain for Kendall is what you would expect to see. They don't forgive the betrayal easily at all, and are infuriated by the fact that Logan doesn't seem to be punishing Kendall, blissfully unaware of the horrors he is going through. I enjoy the central role that Shiv and Roman play in this episode, and seeing them each going to talk to Logan about his decision to sell is engaging. It becomes clear in retrospect that Logan never intended to sell and looked to weigh his options with Shiv and Roman, but during the episode there is some genuine suspense and intrigue for what comes next. Logan's meeting with Roman is first, and it's another glorious reminder of how dumb he is. Roman comes up with some ideas, but always misses the bigger picture, and Logan's disappointment is made clear through him appointing Kendall as co-COO to prevent Roman from doing anything else stupid like blowing up another rocket. Logan's conversation with Shiv forms the centerpiece of this episode. Throughout the series Shiv has been completely disillusioned. She sees through Logan's plans, and we can tell from her conversation here that it's because she learned that Logan never had any real plans for her, and got disappointed by expecting more. But this time, it's different. Logan breaks through her many layers of skepticism, dismissal, and nihilism to get to the heart of what she wants. Shiv has wanted the CEO position more than anything, and her resentment for Logan has been because he cut her off from this position. But when faced with the possibility of her father actually opening his arms for her, she breaks down just like Kendall in the final scene of "Nobody is Ever Missing". It's clear that the desire to be recognized by her father has plagued Shiv for many, many years, and now we get to see Logan using this weakness to get what he wants from Shiv so that he can name her as his successor. This scene is layered and brilliantly acted by Brian Cox and Sarah Snook, who are both so good at feigned emotion and real emotion in their characters respectively. In all of this, there is still a fun background story as the Roys find three dead raccoons stuffed in the chimney (a nice metaphor for the 3 Roy kids fighting to climb the ranks?), and we get reminded of the disillusionment of the wealthy. Logan underpaid the catering service already, and now after getting suitably poor service, he underpays them further. We don't need a reminder that Logan is awful, but of course that's not going to stop him from doing terrible things to lower class people regardless. The Bad: Nothing bad. The Unknown: Will Kendall's secret get out? Will people find out from a loose end somewhere, or is he going to confide in somebody when he really shouldn't? What is Logan's long-term plan for Kendall? Does he intend to keep using him for his own gain, or will he cut him off eventually? How are Stewy and Sandy going to respond to Logan essentially declaring war on them? What's their next move? How did Logan's conversation with Roman end off? I can't imagine Logan had any big plans for Roman. Is Logan's deal for Shiv real? Does he intend to go through with it? Or is this another twisted scheme that he is manipulating her for? Will Shiv cooperate with him? Will she tell Tom what happened? Did Shiv actually get Tom a promotion, or was that a lie? Best Moment: Logan and Shiv's negotiations definitely stole the show. Such brilliant acting, and such fascinating layers underneath this relationship. Character of the Episode: Shiv. Conclusion: This was a rock solid premier for season 2, introducing interesting new storylines and being consistently entertaining throughout. Score: 66 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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