Summary: The Roy family all gather at the hospital where Logan is being treated. They all don't want to talk about the succession issue, but all end up doing it anyways. Kendall wants to be acting CEO, but Roman and Shiv try to stop him. Greg is sent to get Logan's slippers from his house, but gets contrasting requests from Roman and Shiv to retrieve and not retrieve the contracts for the trust. Roman wants everyone to sign it and Shiv does not. Roman approaches Gerri for the CEO position but she refuses it. Kendall approaches Frank for the COO position but he refuses it. In the end, Kendall will go on as CEO and Roman as COO. Greg finally returns and doesn't bring the papers. Logan wakes up at the end of the episode.
The Good: After a very serious first episode, "Succession" completely changes the tone by treating us to what sometimes felt like an extended comedy episode. Logan has been hospitalized, and this is a very serious situation, but "Succession" is all about making fun of how awful Logan's family is during the time that he is hospitalized. With the exception of Marcia, literally every character expresses sorrow about what happened but immediately shifts into politics, looking to secure their own ends. This is such a funny idea, and the episode is an unlikely source for laughs at every turn. So many character interactions left me laughing, and I love a lot of the storytelling ideas in this episode. Roman and Shiv's "alliance" against Kendall is fun to watch, especially since they oppose each other on signing off on the trust. Seeing them physically fight near the start of the episode was quite funny, and this is a good way for us to learn more about who they are. Roman's moment where he tries to small talk Gerri is absolutely hilarious, and I continue to enjoy Kieran Culkin's portrayal of this complete asshole/total moron character. Kendall trying to step up in this situation is also quite amusing. He is still trying his best but falls painfully short at nearly every turn, and even when he's finally successful, he realizes that he's been screwed over by debt. There's a really great scene in there where Kendall calls Lawrence and tries to threaten him out of publishing an article. But Kendall is so non-threatening and annoying that he instead causes Lawrence to go out of his way to publish something. Greg's side trip to the apartment that takes an eternity is fantastic. It's so funny to watch Greg get into trouble, and if the rest of the episode hadn't been so funny already, I would call him a comic relief character. Greg taking forever to complete a mundane task is amusing, I enjoy him bickering with his unhelpful mother, his amusing attempts to get the $14 cab fare paid, and how he savours his time in the apartment, eating a sandwich on the bed. Then we have Tom, who is kind of sweet with how badly he wants to propose to Shiv, but is also hilariously tone-deaf as he continually badgers Marcia and then proposes to Shiv at the absolute worst time. The Bad: This episode is basically all bickering. I understand that this is the point of the episode, but it isn't very interesting to watch and gets old rather quickly. We hope from scene to scene of people plotting and scheming without anything to break up the pacing and it gets tiring, especially when this goes on for literally the entire hour of the episode. It's too much, and the episode lost me in the second half because of how long it spent doing this. There are a few reasons that the constant plotting does not work at all. First, and most importantly, I do not know who I am rooting for. I don't feel like I have a connection with any of these characters, and everybody has been thoroughly unlikeable so far. Thus, I have limited emotional investment in what happens. This type of situation where everybody is awful can work in a comedy for 20 minutes (like in "Seinfeld"), and it can also work in a TV show where I am already invested in the concept and the world, and there's enough variety to break up the monotony of the scheming (like in "House of the Dragon"). But "Succession" does not offer either of these solutions. I don't know these people, I don't know this world, and I don't yet know the story that is being told. Because of this, being subjected to a full hour of scheming and people being horrible human beings is not very entertaining to watch. This episode also has the problem of introducing too many people. We meet Gerri, and many other side characters in Logan's operation, and they all seem to play a somewhat important role. What's the problem? I hardly know them, and they are introduced in such a rapid-fire manner that I never get the chance to feel like I am learning about them. It's tedious to introduce new characters in this way without allowing any of them to make an impression on me. The Unknown: Who is leaking information about the Roy family? How do so many people know what is going on behind the scenes? How will Kendall and Roman handle the debt problem? This seems like a nearly impossible situation to escape from. Did Logan wake up at the episode's end? How will this change things? Will Kendall and Roman go back to their previous roles immediately? Will Kendall's dynamic with Logan change now that he is aware of the debt? Will we see an alliance between Greg and Shiv? Where is this relationship going to go? Best Moment: Roman approaching Gerri and completely screwing up the small talk by failing to remember the existence of her dead husband was my hardest laugh of the episode. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: This episode is well-written and funny, but it is too much, and it tested my patience for much of its runtime. Score: 60
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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