Succession

[memoryland]

Yeah, the finale is fantastic. I don’t think she had any clear rationale at all, and went by her gut feeling (at first she just wanted to think alone). Ken’s justifiably furious reaction, and then his denial (“WHICH?” I gasped!!!), just further pushed her, and reactivated Roman’s nihilism as well.

They’ve been punished, but somehow they are also free now?
So satisfying.

 

[ADM]

The way Shiv fucked herself and sold Tom by basically telling Mr GoJo that Tom can do everything she promised she would

 

[LTG]

The way Shiv fucked herself and sold Tom by basically telling Mr GoJo that Tom can do everything she promised she would

Mattson would have found a puppet no matter what, after Shiv suggested she’d pretend to be his puppet.

 

[spaceship]

 

[Sam de Jour]

The kitchen scene was so heartwarming. Yes at Greg slapping Tom back. Shiv taking her one last chance at pulling the strings and switching was actually so on brand for her.

I’m gonna miss this show with its fucked up characters but I’m excited to live a stress free life.

 

[garax]

Perhaps the bit about Shiv’s behaviour I find strangest is she was going to be given ATN so she could ‘save the world’ or whatever. For someone that was playing in the political world when this show started and was so horrified by the rightwing its madness she’d give that up -even if her trying to change policy there would have screwed their viewing figures and profits.

 

[LTG]

Perhaps the bit about Shiv’s behaviour I find strangest is she was going to be given ATN so she could ‘save the world’ or whatever. For someone that was playing in the political world when this show started and was so horrified by the rightwing its madness she’d give that up -even if her trying to change policy there would have screwed their viewing figures and profits.

Kendall and Roman went back on their promise to include her in everything within minutes of becoming co-CEOs. I don’t think she could trust in Ken’s promises.

 

[Solenciennes]

That was such a spectacular ending, I laughed, I gasped, it was everything I hoped it would be. They managed to give a satisfying end to the characters while throwing in lots of believable twists, I've been so anxious it would fall flat like Game of Thrones with such high stakes political scheming to tie together but they did it! They're all such unreliable fuck ups in their own ways, of course Tom earned the puppet CEO job, only there to deliver scrapping-for-parts bad news with Greg there to do his bidding. It made the most sense.

You can see Kendall losing his battle with his sobriety, Shiv trying to find a purpose on the fringe of whatever power structure she next flits into, Connor being useless and ingratiating while falling upwards, but I don't know that I can visualise an ending for Roman, what do you all think?

 

[cleggar]

I think on some level she did it to save her brothers. Break the cycle.

That’s what I thought! I felt like she only turned after seeing Roman an absolute mess, and thought “I need to stop this”.

 

[Solenciennes]

I thought it was just classic Shiv, giving herself a sense of misplaced moral superiority when actually she's just getting in her own way and being played. No true sense of conviction to make decisions that benefit her, just doomed to be second fiddle to somebody else no matter how she manoeuvres. A pyrrhic victory for her that her husband gets to be CEO after all the degrading ways she's minimised him throughout their marriage and he wields more power than her in her father's company, and yet has no power at all, Matsson is stripping the place for parts. So, so good.

 

[johnoclock]

I read an interview by Matthew Macfadyen (Tom) in Variety and he said Shiv made a gut decision because she just can't stand Kendall. I think strategically it would be better for her to support him, fickle as he may be and still be in control of the company but she just can't stomach making him CEO.

The fact that I'm still thinking about it though is a testament to how well written this show is.

 

[Someboy]

Yes, the genius lies in coming to an ending where Shiv, who started the show on the outside of the company, having to decide between two very bad choices inside. Neither outcome was a victory for her, but as I said last week, she's actually quite good and comfortable in being next to the most powerful person in the room, and with Tom she would be closer to power than with Kendall. Ken's pleading, lies, his ego and ultimately aggression in their final scene together proved her point.

That was the only thing I was right about though. I could not have been more wrong about Kendall winning (although I did say he would end up alone!), and it was tragic to watch it unfold, seeing Shiv and Roman realize that they're father was right, that they're not serious people, but Kendall still clinging to denial and entitlement. His final walk by the water, the recurring Ken motif, it was beautifully directed and acted.

Roman's ending, compared to his siblings, was strangely optimistic, if you're willing to see a parallel between freedom and optimism. He was never a company man, he never wanted to be a company man. Now he's just a billionaire incel edgelord who doesn't have to pretend, because it's what his father expects of him.

A few strays...
- Hated Greg all season but that slap was amazing
- Stewy's "Team Ken, baby" was perfect
- Gerri and Karolina besting Frank, Karl, and Hugo... finally Ebba will have some allies
- Willa, redecorating and a new play! Go girl! Like Tom, an outsider played the game better than everyone else.

 

[The Rural Juror]

Just watched the final the two episodes and the whiplash you get from all the twist and turns you incur from this show...

Kendall is insufferable (the arrogance and entitlement during the "presentation" vote) but did make me laugh with the exclaims of:
- "he promised it to me when I was seven",
-"I'M THE ELDEST SON!!''
-"WHICH???" (Murder).

The juxtaposition of the comradery displayed during "meal fit for king" and the ruthlessness during the vote is quite extraordinary.

Great to see that Roman accepted that they are all just bullshit in the end.

 

[Hudvar]

I’m gonna miss this show with its fucked up characters but I’m excited to live a stress free life.

This is so it. I've had such conflicting responses to it since the second season, like I actively don't enjoy watching, but at the same time I can't look away.

 

[dvno]

They sticked the landing beautifully; the contrast between the intimacy of the kitchen scene with the open violence of the board scene is incredible.

I also love that Roman, in the end, was the most clear headed of them all. He finally understood what they were (nothing, or as his father said just before dying, not serious people) and made peace with it (and had a martini, Gerri's favorite drink, as a sendoff).
Ken's desperation, disappointment and delusion are so heartbreaking (and so earned - he didn't have a single ounce of moral, respect or humanity left in him). Shiv's ultimate stab to her family in order to clench to power is a perfect picture of late-stage capitalism (and honestly, she did made the best choice: Tom will be a better CEO vs. Ken, who would've burn the company down to the ground).

Incredible series with one of the best writing, acting and directing ever.

 

[Duppe]

The ending was exceptional, it gave me everything that I needed and then some. This will surely go down as one of the all time great TV shows.

 

[scottdisick94]

Never really thought about it but it's so true - every episode was its own little story. Seems so basic that we should be heralding a TV show for this when it's literally the point of the form, but so many shows these days have indeed forgotten the point of the form.

 

[jtm]

I loved the characters, the acting, all the scenes and sets and I think the writing of every scene and individual episode has been extremely tight and fantastic. But I have been conflicted about the overall story since season 3.. by the end it feels like it was treading water. The board votes that are only difficult when the story demands it, the back and forth on certain storylines (cruises / investigation, the lawyer) and characters switching loyalties or going from competent to moronic a little too often. It‘s still a great series but I would have wanted a bit more of a clear direction storywise if that makes sense.

 

[Andrew]

So I'm on episode 7, and it's going great, I believe in Shiv supremecy, but the one think I don't understand about it all, is

What the hell does Greg do in the company? And why do they let him?

 

[garax]

He’s the other side of the family, and given Ewan has a large stake (much as he tries to play the moral high ground) Greg kind of has as much ‘right’ to be there as any of them.