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
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|