Summary: Kendall prepares for his birthday party. Gerri learns that the DOJ investigation will settle for a number and nobody is going to prison. Tom is elated by this and celebrates. Logan has a meeting with Matsson for the GoJo deal, but Matsson cancels to attend Kendall's birthday. Roman and Shiv go to the party to meet Matsson. Kendall is happy to see them. Roman gives Kendall a gift from him and Logan: an offer to buy out his shares. Kendall is upset and learns that Shiv and Roman are here for Matsson, so he keeps Matsson away from them. Kendall meets Rava and learns he got a present from his kids but can't find it. Feeling frustrated and lonely, he lashes out at Naomi who comforts him, and he decides he wants to leave. Roman meets with Matsson and sells Waystar's offer to him. Matsson seems like he may be interested. On the way out, Kendall runs into Roman arguing with Shiv and they all have a nasty spat. Kendall goes back to his apartment.
The Good: This episode is all about Kendall. He's been hyping up his birthday party for several episodes now, and it's finally here in all of its over-the-top glory. This party describes Kendall to a tee. The very first scene indicates all that is wrong with him as we see him deliver a surprisingly good performance of "Honesty" by Billy Joel, and then he reveals that he's doing some dumb over-the-top Jesus stunt that will completely ruin it. This is everything that's wrong with Kendall. He has all of the pieces and has moments where he has put it all together, but then he overthinks and plays to his ego and makes a complete fool of himself every time. This birthday party fell into the same trappings. For as large-scale and glamorous as it was, Kendall had a horrible time at his own party. Despite inviting everyone and receiving so many gifts, Kendall had no personal connection to this party. Outside of his family, not one person wished him happy birthday, and we can see as the party goes on how this tragically makes him feel even more alone. Nothing exemplifies this better than Kendall's reaction to losing the present from his kids. It's never going to be something good, but because it was hand-made just for him, this present becomes the only one that matters. The pile of generic, bland presents means nothing to Kendall, and deep down he yearns for that personal connection with people. The present from his kids represents that, hence why he's devastated when he can't find it, and is disappointed when Naomi gets him a gift that's just like anything else from a random stranger. Kendall's breakdown in this scene is devastating, and his final line saying "I wish I was home" is crushingly sad because we know that his apartment is not the home he's talking about. He wishes to be surrounded by people who love him again instead of being surrounded by strangers who don't know who he is and don't care. Perhaps he's even dreaming of that low-key party he described to Rava, a personal night with her and his kids. But poor Kendall has burned the bridge with Rava. He clearly still wants to be with her, but can't stand her moving past him so he lashes out. Ultimately, his desire to get out leads to him ending his birthday night in stark contrast to how it started. The episode starts with Kendall shouting outside his balcony about how it's his birthday. It ends with a somber look over the edge (suicidal thoughts perhaps?) and Kendall crying in Naomi's laugh, a powerful contrast to how it began. Overall, this episode is magnificent in its exploration of Kendall, and the layers of loneliness that encapsulate him. Kendall is far from the only fascinating element of this episode. Shiv and Roman play a key role as they come to Kendall's party to meet with Matsson. The result is a horrifically brutal spat between the three siblings, which was perhaps the most devastating and tragic scene of the series. I've enjoyed seeing Roman's rise over the past few seasons from bumbling idiot to someone who actually has some business sense. What made him so compelling was that he clearly did have a level of morality that we didn't see in any of the other siblings. But that's changed now. Now that Roman is successful and has his dad's favour, we see how this brings out the worst in him. I don't think any of the Roy siblings have been as ruthless and cruel as Roman in these past few episodes. Kendall once stepped in to stop his father when he hit Roman, and now this episode sees Roman viciously insulting Kendall, goading him into hitting him, a line he knows Kendall can't cross, and then shoving him to the ground in such a humiliating and awful way that shows such little regard for his older brother. It's sad, it's disgusting, and it's so against what the Roman earlier in the season would do. Roman has lost himself in his newfound position and power and it's terrible to behold. He's in need of getting knocked down a few pegs, and I wonder if that will happen with this Matsson deal. Matsson is a fun presence in this episode, and Roman tries to enchant him the same way he did with Mencken in the last episode. Whether or not it actually works remains to be seen (see: The Unknown), but I do hope that Roman gets humbled because his behaviour has become irrational and irritating. Shiv has another rough episode. She came to Kendall's birthday party expecting to help secure the Matsson deal, but she finds that she's been cut out more than ever before despite actually working for Waystar now. Roman and Logan discuss and do everything, and Shiv is treated as barely any more significant than Kendall. It's sad to see her frustrations boil over, and it's made worse by Roman's gloating and needless insults. Roman even makes things personal by attacking her relationship with Tom which, while not necessarily untrue, is needless to discuss in this situation. The spat between Roman and Shiv before Kendall arrives is brutal but very well written. You have two characters feeling contrasting negative emotions lashing out at each other. One feels jealousy and spite in her defeat, the other feels prideful and snobbish in his victory. Then you add a broken Kendall into the mix and the scene becomes one of the show's very best. Brutal stuff. Tom finally returned to his old self at the episode's beginning and I couldn't be happier! The news that nobody was going to prison is suitably great, and Tom immediately going to Greg's office and annihilating it in his raw relief was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see Tom back to normal and interacting with Greg like he used to. But it's tragically short-lived. You would think that Tom should be celebrating this with Shiv, but brutally it's Shiv who tells Tom to be less happy, and she can't seem to care less that he husband isn't going to prison. This leads to a terrific scene later in the episode where Greg comes to see Tom who is clearly still unhappy. Even poor Tom is confused by it all and can't understand why he still feels so miserable despite all the good news. But we realize that even though Tom is not going to prison, he's stuck in a different prison being married to Shiv and connected with the Roys. Matthew Macfadyen's portrayal of Tom's emotional confusion and his inability to process his sadness is phenomenal, and the broad relatability of these feelings makes the performance connect with you. Greg has plenty of great humour to offer, as always. He has some tremendous scenes throughout the episode. His comedy with Tom is golden as always. The office scene is terrific, and I really laughed at the "prove it" line, and Greg and Tom's contrasting reactions to the compliment tunnel. Greg asking out Comfry is a fun side plot, and his horrific first attempt where he keeps calling her a maiden was hilarious. On the other hand, Greg's conversation with Kendall is dramatic and sad. These two were on such good terms, but now Kendall has turned on him brutally. There's a huge degree of hypocrisy in Kendall calling Greg a leech to his own family, but the insult definitely hits for Greg. But since it's Greg, of course his immediate response is to punch the image of Kendall in the balls over and over again. Brilliant. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Logan told Tom that he will remember that he was ready to sacrifice. Does this give Tom some leverage to work with? Have Roman and Tabitha broken up? We haven't seen Tabitha all season. How did Tom get Shiv? We heard before that he helped her when she was a mess, but what exactly happened between them? Will we ever find out? Will Kendall buy out from Waystar? He definitely should, but I don't know if he's going to. How will Greg and Comfry's date go? Is there actually something there, or is Comfry just dating him out of spite for Kendall? I suspect it's the latter. Is Matsson going to take the deal? I suspect that he may have other plans in mind. What present did Kendall's kids get him? Will Kendall ever find it? They used rabbit wrapping paper, does this mean the rabbit survived the bagel incident? Roman does constantly seem to be making comments about having sex with his parents, and he also mentions being uncomfortable peeing around other men. Does this suggest something about his childhood? Was there some sort of sexual abuse done to Roman? Best Moment: The sibling argument near the end of the episode was brutal and horrifying. The sheer venom spat out by all of the siblings, especially Roman, is heartbreaking to watch and it makes you grateful for the loved ones in your life, loved ones that the Roys can never even dream of having. Sad. Character of the Episode: Kendall. Conclusion: A masterful episode, the best I've seen from "Succession" yet. This had all of the staples of the show so far, excellent acting/writing/dialogue, an engaging event that furthers the main plot, fascinating new character dynamics, a compelling exploration of wealth, and some great comedy. But what sent this over the top was how much emotion was packed into this episode. It becomes extremely impactful when a TV show that rarely outwardly shows us the emotions of its characters decides to linger on emotion for an extended period of time. The emotion took an already great episode and allowed it to reach a further height. Score: 81
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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