Summary: Tom is in charge of ATN for election day. Greg tells him about Shiv's alliance with Matsson. Tom does some cocaine so he can better handle the stresses of the day. Roman is backing Mencken and Shiv is backing Jimenez. After hearing of Sophie being bullied, Kendall wants to back Jimenez, but needs certainty that the GoJo deal will be blocked by him. A fire in Milwaukee destroys many votes and Roman wants ATN to call it for Mencken despite the likelihood of the state going to Jimenez if the votes weren't burned. Shiv tells Tom she's pregnant but he doesn't believe her, and she threatens Greg to be silent about her alliance with Matsson. Tom ultimately greenlights making a "pending" call for Mencken. Connor pulls out of the race, conceding to Mencken to get an ambassadorship. Roman continues to strongly back Mencken out of self-interest, so Roman talks to Shiv about concerns about the type of country Mencken would make for his children. Shiv capitalizes and makes a fake phone call to Nate announcing that Jimenez may consider stopping the GoJo deal. Shiv goes against Roman with this and Kendall calls Jimenez himself. After learning the call was faked and after Greg sells Shiv out, Kendall reveals her alliance with Matsson and sides with Roman. Tom gives Greg the order to announce for Mencken, and ATN announces Mencken as the winner of the election.
The Good: This feels like a spiritual successor to "What it Takes" from season 3, focusing heavily on politics for the entire episode and exploring how the rich affect key political events like elections. The episode does this very well, highlighting some interesting ideas without ever letting the political themes take away from the engaging story that's being told. The result in another compelling episode that feels unique due to covering themes that aren't addressed much in other episodes. Much of this episode is spent with Tom and Greg as they run ATN on election day, and the chaos that unfolds is marvelous to watch. We get plenty of great Tom and Greg interactions, including a hilarious scene of Tom forcing Greg to do some coke to ease their stress, and a memorable quote likening information to a bottle of wine ("you wait for a special occassion and then you smash someone's f*cking face in with it"). Both Tom and Greg have strong episodes and are utilized well. Tom is consistently stepping up to make decisions while in charge of ATN, and he is the one who ultimately decides to make the call for Mencken, an enormous decision that is given the weight that it deserves. The episode also finally has Shiv reveal her pregnancy to Tom in an outstanding moment where Tom doesn't even believe it's true, anticipating that it's likely a move by Shiv, who desperately will do anything to make Jimenez win. The whole episode is littered with great moments like this, utilizing every character perfectly. It's refreshing to see Greg given a significant role, using the character to his fullest potential. Greg has a lot of funny scenes throughout the episode, the highlight certainly being the lemon water debacle with Darwin, a fantastic joke at the most unexpected time. But Greg has always been used as a comic relief, so his funny scenes are not the more significant role I'm talking about. That is his knowledge of Shiv's alliance with Matsson, which he found out after spending a lot of time with Matsson in the previous episode. Seeing Greg sitting on this information all episode is intense, and it leads to a couple of terrific moments. The first is when Shiv tries to threaten Greg into silence. The scene is fantastic as Shiv tries to intimidate Greg like Logan did, but she just doesn't have the authority or the power to make the same impact. She should have offered something for Greg's silence, and she pays for her mistake dearly when Greg reveals everything to Kendall, sending Shiv off with a nonchalant shrug and a brief sinister smile. Greg took Tom's advice about information to heart, and seeing him crumble Shiv's entire plan was magnificent. I also quite liked the brief scene between him and Jess, which is indicative of how even ordinary people like them can wield so much power and yet be ultimately powerless to change the outcome in their favour. That was a surprisingly thought-provoking moment. The rest of the episode is primarily focused on the conflict between Roman and Shiv, with Kendall caught in the middle. All three characters are utilized fantastically with easily understood motivations that made it clear what each character was after. Roman is the simplest to understand because he's operating in pure self-interest, the way that Logan taught him to. Roman wants the GoJo deal blocked, and he is unmoving from the stance that Mencken will block the deal, so he's the right choice. Of course Mencken is his man, and so getting him in power puts Roman in a very favourable position as well, but Mencken is also the option that gets Kendall what he wants, and Roman is unafraid to use the idea of Kendall's best interests to promote Mencken. Meanwhile Shiv take a moral stance in rejecting Mencken. Of course Jimenez is her man and allows the GoJo deal to go through which she secretly wants, but Shiv hides behind morality in picking the actual good candidate instead of the fascist. Ultimately it's a case of morality vs self-interest with Shiv vs Roman, and it's Kendall who has to decide which he prefers, and he has good reason for both. Yes, he wants to be CEO at Waystar, and for that to happen, he has to block the GoJo deal and is tempted by Mencken. But with reports of his kids being bullied at school, and the idea of making an unsafe world for his children with Mencken in charge, Kendall is strongly considering the morality aspect. He wants to vote for Jimenez more than anything else, but it's just not the right business move for him. Kendall's conflict is very interesting to follow, especially considering that it's his decision that is going to result in a victory for either Roman or Shiv. And in true "Succession" fashion, the conflict is not resolved through Kendall choosing what his heart wants, or what he thinks is most important. Nope. Instead it's simple pettiness that sways Kendall's hand. He learns that Shiv betrayed them, so to get back at her he picks Mencken. Of course Kendall does the rash, short-sighted move instead of making a genuine decision, because we are still watching "Succession" after all. The execution of this reveal was fantastic (see: Best Moment), and it's very effective seeing Shiv make a critical error by trying to manipulate Kendall into thinking that Jimenez may also go for the GoJo deal. The fake phone call is a terrific plot point, and it's the mistake that leads to everything blowing up in Shiv's face. The ensuing argument between the siblings is as good as any scene between them, and it serves as an explosive and decisive resolution to the conflict that has permeated the episode, resulting in a Mencken victory. Naturally, he gives the most fascist speech imaginable after being elected that makes you really question if it was worth selecting him. In an episode all about democracy and elections, ultimately the decision was made through a spat between three siblings, and the episode is careful to remind you of the lunacy of this by the end, reflecting its political themes through the conflict between Shiv, Roman, and Kendall that we have been watching all episode. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: What can Shiv do now? She lost the election significantly, her brothers know she betrayed them, and Matsson will be displeased by how things turned out. What can she do now? It's hard to see her coming back from this. Is the GoJo deal screwed now? Will Matsson find away around Mencken blocking the deal from happening? Is Connor going to get his ambassador position, or is Mencken going to ignore him? I suspect that the latter might end up happing, poor Connor. Will Mencken becoming the President be allowed to stand? Considering how shifty the election was, I imagine that there would be an investigation of some sort. Could that lead to Mencken's downfall? Best Moment: The moment Kendall finds out about Shiv's betrayal, specifically when he's outside of the room. The acting here is phenomenal as Shiv continues her meaningless squabble with Roman while her hilariously nervous face reveals her fear as Kendall starts putting the pieces together outside the room. This was fantastic visual storytelling, and I especially love the blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Greg smiling as he walks away after telling Kendall the truth. Kendall and Roman cornering Shiv for what she did is every bit as perfect as you would expect, but it's the brief bit of visual storytelling that sets up this scene that takes the cake for me, being such a unique and awesome moment. Character of the Episode: Shiv, but everybody shines in this episode. Conclusion: A magnificent, chaotic episode that pays off the political storyline through what the show does best: conflict between the three Roy siblings. This is signature "Succession" with painful betrayals, stellar character moments, hilarious jokes, and such a disgusting view of humanity as a whole. I loved this episode, and I can't wait to see how all this wraps up in the final two episodes. Score: 78
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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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