Summary: Kendall is recovering from almost drowning. Logan and Roman meet with Matsson, who proposes an alteration of the deal where GoJo buys Waystar. Logan refuses but tells Roman to head back and stays to negotiate. Roman tells the others of the news. Connor is furious and has an outburst and leaves. Willa decides to commit to marrying him. Shiv and Roman begin to notice suspicious activity from Gerri, Frank, and others. Roman tells Shiv about Matsson's proposal and they tell Kendall, concerned that Logan will give the company to Matsson. Kendall is overwhelmed and confesses about killing the waiter. The three decide to confront Logan and use the clause from Logan and Caroline's divorce that gives them a vote in a change in company control to stop Logan from giving up the company. Shiv informs Tom of her plans but hasn't considered a place for him. Tom meets with Greg and convinces him to join him in making a big move. The Roys confront Logan with their plan but Logan shuts them down and reveals that he has already called Caroline and altered the terms of the divorce, having been warned prior. The Roy children lose and Logan leaves. Tom arrives and Shiv realizes that he was the one who sold them out.
The Good: "Succession" has always been a somewhat static show. The situations in the plot have typically remained the same throughout its run, but what keeps it fresh are the constantly changing character dynamics. Now, after three seasons of storytelling, "Succession" finally decides to shake things up, and finally seeing a huge change in plot dynamics is enormously effective because of how patient the show has been. By holding back such a pivotal change for three seasons, the show succeeds in making the buyout of Waystar a massive moment that we know will have significant consequences on the story. This is why "All the Bells Say" is such a successful season finale. This is the first time we have ever seen the table get completely flipped over, and that makes the deal Logan strikes with Matsson a more-than-worthy event to center a season finale around. Logan's meeting with Matsson early in the episode was gripping and fantastic. It was amusing to see him diss Roman (you stay here and play with your d*ck), only to immediately ask him to come when the other option is to take transparent, self-absorbed Shiv with him instead. The meeting with Matsson is beautifully done, and it does a terrific job to raise suspense when Logan doesn't react as viciously as we expect him to. After Roman is asked to leave, and we see that strange smile from Logan, you can't help but wonder if he's actually going to let Matsson buy his company. But surely Logan of all people wouldn't do that... right? The way that this is handled creates an exciting mystery with enormous stakes, and that makes this episode feel like a huge deal. Seeing Roman and Shiv slowly suspect that something is going on behind their backs only fuels the paranoia and the excitement, and this created one of the most thrilling and engaging premises that I have seen in a "Succession" episode. But leave it to "Succession" to continuously swerve into unexpected territory. From a fairly fast-paced and exciting storyline, we are suddenly sent sideways into one of the show's most powerful and emotional scenes yet. Kendall's confession came practically out of nowhere and floored me, especially Jeremy Strong's unbelievably good performance, conveying all of Kendall's guilt, regret, loneliness, and pain outstandingly well. The reactions from the siblings were also terrific. Shiv is caught off guard and takes the first opportunity to escape an uncomfortably intimate moment, while Roman continues to joke around and downplay things in an attempt to make Kendall feel better without making himself emotionally available. This scene brilliantly encapsulates the toxicity of the relationship between these siblings. They absolutely love each other, and they want to help each other when they need to. But because of the way they were raised and the family they were a part of, they are entirely unable to emotionally help one another and the defence mechanisms that have been developed throughout their lives are all that appear when it's time to comfort Kendall. This was fantastic stuff, and one of the very best moments in this finale. Following this, we finally get to see what I wanted to see from the very start of this show: the kids all team up to take down their monstrous father. This felt triumphant and satisfying, and I absolutely loved the way they confidently marched to Logan's room, a cathartic pay-off after these three have spent three seasons battling each other. But tragically, they were too late in banding together. If they wanted kill Logan, they needed to align with each other back in "Mass in Time of War". By this point, Logan holds all the cards and their alliance has come far too late for it to be impactful. The confrontation with Logan is thrilling. Shiv is the one who finds it the most easy to attack Logan and fight against him, Kendall is mostly observing in the background but firm with his beliefs, and Roman is absolutely shit-scared when faced against the wrath of his father. All four actors do a magnificent job here, but it's Kieran Culkin who steals the show in this scene as his voice constantly shakes and quivers as he struggles to mask his fear underneath his typical snarky exterior. Unfortunately for the Roys, Logan totally eats them up. It's disturbing to think that Logan fully knew why they had come, yet he still manipulates them and acts like a soft, caring father at the start as he tries to ease them into the deal. It's only once Logan forces them to play their hand that he unleashes that signature viciousness, smugly shouting at them as he revels in his victory. The call to Caroline was unnecessary and purely prideful, but it is still unnervingly effective. There's something so heartbreaking about seeing two parents conspire to screw over all of their children due to purely selfish motives. Caroline has thrown her kids to the dogs to please her new husband in a sick and twisted deal, and this is shattering enough as is. But it's Logan who is the real villain here. He hides behind the idea that he has earned selling this company and that his kids have to "make your own pile", which could be a fair parenting decision in some scenarios. But in this scenario, it's not at all about parenting. This is about Logan being an abusive, manipulative, terrible parent. If he really wanted them to make their own pile, he would let Shiv go on with her career, and he would let Kendall cash out of the company. What's really happening is that Logan sickly enjoys taking everything away from his children, and he delights in taking away things that they don't deserve, even though he is the one responsible for them being in this situation to begin with. Logan creates the toxic environment for his kids and delights in abusing them within it. It's clear as day in this episode that even though his kids have grown up, Logan has never let their relationship evolve past his poor treatment of them that has gone on since childhood. And if this wasn't already enough, the episode ends with a terrific twist as Tom finally turns on Shiv in the single most significant moment. I had expected that Tom would turn away from her eventually, but I never expected it to happen in such an epic betrayal that totally annihilates any chance of the Roys becoming CEO. And holy hell, is this satisfying. While I do feel bad for the Roy siblings for the abuse they have suffered, they are still fundamentally terrible people, and none of them deserve the CEO position. Tom has seen this for a long time, and he's consistently been thrown under the bus, ignored, abused, and manipulated for the last three seasons. He was a mess in the first half of this season and it looked like there was nowhere for him to go but down. But finally, Tom has taken his own self-interest into his own hands. If nobody else was going to fight for him, he was going to do it himself. The reveal that he betrayed the Roy siblings at the end of the episode is phenomenal, and Sarah Snook sells Shiv's reaction perfectly. I could totally buy into Tom doing this, especially with how Logan was the only one who seemed to appreciate the sacrifice that Tom was willing to make by going to prison. This is a great move by Tom, and it looks like he has aligned himself to be one of the best options to take over Logan's position once he retires/dies. The scene with Greg sets up this twist wonderfully, and it becomes clear what Tom is talking about on rewatch. I liked the callback to "Sporus" from "Lion in the Meadow", and it's satisfying to see these two, the best friendship in the show, end the season on top for a change. Even Connor got a fantastic moment in this episode that paid off of the story being told with him throughout the whole series. Connor has long been snubbed and overlooked by his family, and finally he breaks when he hears Kendall call himself the "eldest son". It's tough to blame Connor too, especially after learning how Connor stepped up in childhood for his siblings to create nice memories for them when their father couldn't be bothered. All that love, and this is how his siblings repay him? I felt gutted for Connor, and his outburst was a terrific moment of catharsis for the character. Though, Connor is too kind and forgiving at heart. All it takes is one piece of good news from Willa and Connor is back on top of the world and excited to invite everyone to his wedding. Connor's emotions are valid, but I suspect that it's his inability to consistently maintain anger at his poor treatment that has led to him becoming a doormat for the rest of his family. The Bad: I have to admit that Greg has started to feel a bit like filler over the past few episodes, as he becomes less interesting as he gets more and more distant with interacting with the other main characters. I didn't get much enjoyment out of his attempted flirtation with the contessa outside of the usual fun Greg moments, which are not as funny as they were before. The Unknown: Is Willa actually going to marry Connor? Surely this isn't going to go well. Is Logan actually trying to make another baby, or is this just hearsay? Could this line just be referring to the symbolic value of Logan's "new baby" being Matsson? Is Waystar going to be sold? I don't see any way that the Roy children can stop Logan now. What will become of them after this happens? Will they be able to find any significant positions in the new version of the company? I imagine that Logan would be petty enough to smash them back into the ground after their failed coup. Tom's huge betrayal was stunning, and I'm excited to see the consequences. How will this affect his relationship with Shiv? Will Logan reward him for his continued loyalty? Best Moment: The final five minutes were some of the most intense, dramatic, and fascinating minutes of television I have ever seen. What a superb, game-changing ending. Character of the Episode: It could go to anybody, but I'll give it to Kendall for the fantastic confession scene. Conclusion: This was an incredible finale to an incredible season. Every scene here was done to perfection, making this a highly satisfying climax that finally delivered on the unwritten promises of change that this season had carried within it. I'm going to struggle to find more praise for season 3 than what I've already said. I thought that this season was superb, with every episode being a winner, and there being so many phenomenal aspects of storytelling throughout. I've seen some complaints calling this season repetitive, but I strongly disagree. While the plot didn't evolve as much as expected following the season 2 finale, that was the point of the season. Kendall has a chance to change everything, but couldn't overcome his character flaws, and fell flat on his face once again. The same happened to his siblings (Roman blew his chance after finally becoming experienced enough, Shiv continues to be snubbed because Logan is misogynistic). Furthermore, to say that nothing changed is entirely untrue. The situations the characters find themselves in are similar, but what is constantly evolving in each episode is the relationships between these characters, and season 3 was the best season by far when it came to exploring the complexity within these characters and their relationships with one another. This season utilized the fact that we are familiar with these characters to put them through some terrific storylines. Tom's fear of prison, Roman finally being recognized by Logan, Shiv being constantly snubbed and ignored, and Kendall isolating himself through manic behaviour are all fantastic storylines with enormous emotional value. Add on this brilliant, game-changing finale on top of all that, and season 3 looks like a damn good season. Score: 85
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
|