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
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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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