Summary: Sandi and Stewy are informed of the plan to acquire GoJo and they accept the idea. The Roys go to Italy for Caroline's wedding. Connor proposes to Willa, who is uncertain if she wants to accept. Kendall demands to meet with Logan that night. Kendall wants to cash out because he's not evil like Logan, but Logan does not accept it and reminds Kendall of what happened to the waiter. Caroline talks with Shiv about her regrets being a mother. Out of spite, Shiv tells Tom that she wants to conceive. Shiv says she doesn't love Tom during foreplay, and Tom is unhappy about what she said. Matsson sends out tweets that he is receiving financing, which endangers the deal. Roman goes to meet with him and learns that Matsson is looking for a merger of equals. Roman expects that he will be destroyed by Logan, but Logan is willing to consider. To celebrate, Roman tries to send a dick pic to Gerri but accidentally sends it to Logan instead. Logan is baffled and contemplates firing Gerri, but Roman says not to. Shiv approaches Gerri to file a sexual harassment case against Roman. A drunk Kendall puts his face underwater while on a floaty.
The Good: This was Roman's episode, and nothing could have prepared me for the way he orchestrated his own fall to follow Kendall and Shiv in losing the backing of his father. After how awful Roman has been the past few episodes, I was truly hoping that the Matsson deal would fall through and screw him over, and that was exactly what happened. It was so satisfying to hear Roman constantly assuring that things were fine as it became increasingly evident that Matsson was screwing them over, and Roman going to meet with Matsson felt like it would be the moment where everything came crashing apart for Roman. Roman's talk with Matsson was great, revealing Matsson to be far more cunning than initially anticipated. He knows that he's powerful, and like Logan, he wants to make a play for further power. As such, he befriends Roman and subtly tells him what he's after without being disrespectful in any way. Poor Roman was ill-prepared for this and it's clear that he's thrown off by Matsson not submitting to what Waystar wants. Still, Roman reports back to Logan and I thought for sure that we would see Roman go down in flames in this scene. But we didn't, and instead Roman again reminds us of how skilled he is. He reports Matsson's motives accurately and provides a compelling case for Logan to work with him, resulting in an all-out success. I may not like Roman, but I recognize his strengths, and it was nice to see a Roy get a success for a change. And then it happened. Roman is such a doofus, and watching him go from this state of ecstasy to sheer embarrassment by accidentally sending his dad a dick pic was simultaneously horrifying and absolutely hilarious. This was perhaps the hardest I've laughed in the whole show, and it fits Roman that he nails down the business aspects of his career only to be brought down by his creepy relationship with Gerri via sending a dick pic to his dad. It's fitting, it's hilarious, and it's the most unexpected climax imaginable to an episode that was very heavy and depressing. I love this sequence so much, and I think that Roman screwing himself over in this fashion was the perfect conclusion to his story. I also got a chuckle out of Shiv immediately trying to take Roman's place at Logan's side, but being absolutely transparent in her motives. Kendall and Logan's meeting is another terrific scene between these two powerhouse actors. I was surprised that Kendall decided he wanted to cash out, but seeing how miserable he was in the previous episode, I understand his choice completely. What came out of left field was Logan denying his request, passing off the cash out letter as a joke. This was brutal and it highlighted how toxic Logan's relationship is with his children. He will belittle them, scrutinize them and shame them for not being good enough. And yet, when they decide to pursue something else for a change, Logan doesn't let them and wants them to come back. He did the same thing with Shiv when he pulled her away from her established career. Logan wants his children to be better but never gives them the opportunity to fluorish and make their own lives. No matter what excuse he makes, his real desire is, as his ex-wife put it, to kick his kids over and over and then see if they come back to him. He wants to beat Kendall down and have him come crawling back, so he will use every card up his sleeve to make it so Kendall comes crawling back to him. And in a cruel twist, this includes using the waiter incident to try to convince Kendall that he's not a good person and that he belongs with his evil family. Logan's methods here are torrid and indicative of how he is a different level of evil than all of his children, and his manipulative denial of his own evil is disgusting. Also disgusting is Logan using Iverson to taste his food to prevent a poisoning attempt by Kendall, which is so laughably paranoid and cruel. Kendall was clearly affected by this meeting with his father, and this leads to a curious ending scene that may have serious repercussions (see: The Unknown). Shiv is still an awful person on every level, but her conversation with her mother helps us better understand why this is the case. Caroline gets worse every time we see her, and now we can see her as the judgemental, vindictive, inadequate parent that she has always been. The last thing you want to hear from your parent is that they regret having you and that's exactly what Caroline tells Shiv. She also holds a grudge against her for choosing Logan when she was a kid, she tells Shiv that she isn't meant to be a parent, and she even tells Shiv that she was unable to have dogs because she knew Logan would abuse them; yet she still decided to have kids, who became the dogs that Logan abused. This is disgusting, depressing, and perfectly indicative of why Shiv grew up to be an awful human being. The conversation between Shiv and Caroline is short, but there is so much context given to their relationship in a short few minutes, and it is captivating. Reeling from this conversation, Shiv goes to her go-to stress relief: abusing her relationship with Tom. She now wants a baby out of spite, and manages to say just about every awful thing she could to Tom. Tom is suitably upset by her foreplay, and why wouldn't he be? She could have done somethign sexy, and instead she preys on what she knows to be Tom's insecurities in their relationship. And then Shiv gaslights him for wanting to talk about it the next day, and says horrific things like "I don't love you, but I love you you know?". Oh my god, poor Tom to have to deal with all of this. Their relationship has always been toxic, but this is on a whole other level and it is brutally affecting to watch as Shiv mistreats Tom so egregiously. Greg and Connor have smaller roles in this episode, but they are still fun. Greg is a delight as he gets it in his head from Shiv and Tom that he can shoot higher than Comfry just because he is associated with her. Hilariously, Greg goes full scumbag mode and starts hitting on literal royalty (and his methods are again hilarious). This will obviously backfire, and I can't wait for that to happen. Meanwhile Connor is absolutely ridiculous as he proposes to Willa and totally puts her on the spot in one of the most cringeworthy moments of the episode (the most cringeworthy moment is, well, you know what it is). It's amusing how Connor practically forces her into saying yes with not-so-subtle underhanded tactics, and it provided a good laugh. The Bad: I was disappointed that Marcia was written out last season, and now she has come back only to be totally underutilized. She is present at this wedding but she hardly does anything and plays no role in the story. This is bitterly disappointing, and I wish that more was done with her. Similarly disappointing are Stewy and Sandi, who have had zero role in the show since becoming board members. This is especially disappointing because of how significant "Retired Janitors of Idaho" was, and ultimately the episode seems to have had no lasting consequences on the show, which is disappointing. Stewy has been hugely underutilized since season 1, and it's disappointing that the show has had next to nothing for the character to do lately. Stewy and Sandi briefly pop up in the opening scene, but they have minimal impact on the episode and do not show up again. It's a shame that Stewy's role has been minimized so significantly. I think that Shiv goes too far into being awful in this episode. Before she was realistically manipulative and you could still see why Tom was with her. But now? She is almost cartoonishly evil and so unsubtle about it that I find it impossible to believe that she can get away with being this terrible to Tom. Subtlety has always been a strong point of this show, and it has notable effects when you take that subtlety away. The Unknown: Will Gerri be fired for the dick pic debacle? What happens to Roman now? Will Gerri turn on him like Shiv suggested? Will Matsson agree to the merger? Will Logan attempt to strong-arm him once they share the company? How will Logan handle this moving forwards? Are Shiv and Tom actually going to have a baby? It sounds like that would be an absolute disaster. What happened to Kendall in that final scene? Was he checking to see what it was like for the waiter to hold his breath underwater? Or has he actually passed out? Could he drown and die in such a sudden way? Best Moment: Roman sending a dick pic to Logan is just the funniest possible scenario. I applaud the episode for setting this up in a realistic way with Roman setting his dad as the recipient through a phone technicality that is easy to miss. Some people may not catch the recipient change and may be in for a horrific surprise when they see Logan's phone ring, but I saw the recipient change and was horrified and laughing watching the entire travesty unfold. Kieran Culkin sells the moment with his acting, and the way Roman looked like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin was absolutely hilarious and made the scene as legendary as it was. Character of the Episode: Roman. Conclusion: This was another great episode. I feel like I say it every episode, but this was another strong story that embodies everything that "Succession" does well. Season 3 has been remarkably consistent, and it has done so much right as it develops the story and its characters. Let's hope that the season finale ends the season on a high note. Score: 73
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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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