I'm Not Saying Everything I Wrote About Succession Was Wrong, But Last Night's Episode Sure Made Me Think Otherwise

 

 

Warning: This reviews contains a massive spoiler for last night’s episode of Succession. I imagine by now the entire world knows what it is, but I am going to honor the tradition of all my fellow critics and tell them that if you haven’t seen it yet, you will get a massive revelation.

 

A TV critics hardest job is admitting he made a mistake. Let’s not kid ourselves, that’s tough for anybody but its even harder for critics as I’ve made clear multiple times in this column. And I have been far from immune from these blunders.

I was unable to understand for much of The Sopranos run what David Chase was trying to tell us and became disenchanted with it over time. I initially rejected Breaking Bad because I could not get into the pilot and over three years I viewed the Emmys Bryan Cranston ending up winning as an act of the awards shows laziness than any credit to Cranston and the show. In the latter case I finally watched the series and then I realize, like all of you, what a masterpiece it was.

I have spent a similar amount of time calling certain series overrated because of unpleasant characters doing unpleasant things with no consequences. However, in a few cases, the final episodes of the series did much to resolve my issues with the overarching problems with the show. I still think Scandal was a hot mess from beginning to end, but the two part series finale where Olivia and most of the regulars at least acknowledged how broken the system was and the part they’d played in breaking to the world, did resolve some of my issues with it. I spent the entire run of Ray Donovan watching it with the fascination of a trainwreck in action, wondering what all these good actors were doing in this miserable a series. When the TV movie was announced after the series was unexpectedly cancelled, I couldn’t understand what they hoped to accomplish. Then I saw the movie, and not only did I think it was one of the most brilliant TV movies of 2022 (it should have won the Emmy in that category) seeing it made me rethink the entire show and realize what the writers had been trying to say all along. I think the series was messy, but I admit it may have been due to my lack of comprehension.

This brings me, naturally, to Succession. I have railed against this series for more than two years, utterly incapable of understanding why so many people liked it. I’ve written perhaps more pieces on it than any series I considered overrated over the years and I was fundamentally glad that Season 4 was going to be the last one more because I wanted the series to stop being another overblown Emmy disrupter.

A week ago, however, I had an interesting in exchange with Nikki Stafford, one of the best TV critics working today, and along with Roger Ebert and Marvin Kitman, one of my greatest influences. She wrote a column urging everyone to watch Succession. I wrote was for me a measured response explaining my frustration, mainly because I respect her opinion more than most, I wanted to hear her explanation, and by this point, I thought she might actually answer me.

She did. She said that King Lear was her favorite Shakespeare play, and that she considered all the characters within insufferable as the Roy family. She acknowledged my criticisms were valid, and that she has dealt with similar series that have characters that are detestable. She thought it in this sense a modern day King Lear. I told her that I acknowledged her criticism and that I thought an ending might change my opinion. I didn’t believe it for a minute. I thought at the end of the day everything I hated about the show – the insufferable characters who didn’t deserve to run Waystar Royco would end up being disappointing, that nothing would fundamentally change at the end of the series just as nothing had for three straight seasons.

Then came ‘Conor’s Wedding.’ I was wrong. (That’s an in-joke Nikki will appreciate if she gets it in this context.)

Now to be clear, I still think many of my fundamental critiques about Succession are still valid. I still think all of these people are insufferable and none of them deserve to control Waystar. I think that Succession had aired on any other network than HBO it wouldn’t be the award darling it is. And I’m still not certain that the argument I made in last week’s article about the subtle racism that the Emmys have towards dramas and HBO series didn’t influence it become the successor to Game of Thrones as the HBO Emmy powerhouse.

 But the thing is, after last night’s episode, not even I can pretend that Jesse Armstrong and his fellow writers haven’t answers some of the biggest problems that so many people (and even fans are not alone in this) haven’t been address in a major way. I can’t pretend that last night’s episode wasn’t one of the biggest shockers in the history of television, certainly in this decade. And what I find the most remarkable about what happened is that both Armstrong and Cox in the interviews leading up to the final season and much of the writing in the first two episodes of Season 4 have essentially been telling us exactly what was going to happen – and everybody, not just me, basically dismissed it as red herrings.

We’ve been hearing in interviews and theories that everyone was pretty sure that Logan Roy (Brian Cox) was going to die in Season 4. Armstrong admitted that he’d thought of killing him off as early as the first season and Cox had discussed the idea quite a bit in the interviews leading up to the show. But because so much of the series has been built on the idea that Logan Roy is invincible, I think the fanbase and the critics thought it wasn’t going to happen and if it did, it would happen in the series finale.

Then came the series premiere. Logan is at his birthday party and none of his children except Connor (I’m going to get to him specifically a lot in this review) were there. He looked miserable. He went on a walk with his bodyguard, who at one point he said was basically the only friend he had. For Logan, that was something perilously close to self-awareness. Then he asked him about the afterlife. Logan said basically he thought this was all we got. Pretty big hint, in hindsight, but I’m pretty sure everybody shrugged it off.

Then came last week’s episode and the worst bachelor party and rehearsal which ended with Conor basically arranging it so that Logan would end up in the same room as Kendall, Shiv and Roman. In his ham-handed way, he tried to apologize without apologizing. His children, particularly Shiv and Kendall, absolutely exploded at him. I can’t say for sure, but I think this is the first time in the entire series that they finally acknowledged just how horrible a father he’s been and how messed up he’s made their lives. Logan basically took this in, and then said: “I love you all, but you are not serious people.” Then the three of them basically gave variations on telling him to burn in hell.

Conor then unloaded on his siblings. He was completely hammered but he was more honest with them in his whole life. He told them that everything they’ve been doing their whole lives has basically been a perverted version of trying to win ‘Daddy’s love.’ Because he’s Conor and because their not capable of it, they ignored him.

Now let’s be clear: any other show, the viewer’s alarm bells would have gone off. We’ve watched enough TV even in the Peak era, to know that this is the kind of revelatory moment that generally follows something massive happening, usually the death of a major character. Remember, everybody had just revealed a lifetime’s worth of baggage and abuse to the man who made their lives miserable. But because this is Succession, the viewer shrugged it off. I know for damn sure all the critics did last week. Most reviews focused on the fact that Logan was essentially gaslighting Roman, and that Roman was now a threat to anything Shiv and Kendall had planned.

TV history note. In June of 2013 Game of Thrones aired one of its most famous episodes: “The Rains of Castamere.” Even I, who was never a fan of the show, had been hearing rumors of an event so famous that to even write the initials of it anywhere would come as a major spoiler to anyone who’d read the books. Then in the penultimate episode of Season 3, that episode aired – and we all attending the most infamous wedding in TV history. Let’s not pretend that Armstrong did not have that in mind when he titled last night’s episode: ‘Conor’s Wedding.” Though let’s be fair, this time the wedding actually happened, but just as in the Game of Thrones episodes, that’s not what anyone in the world remember that day for, certainly not anyone at Waystar Royco.

I think I should now admit that while I find every character on the series loathsome and without any redeeming qualities, I have always managed to find a certain degree of sympathy for Conor. Part of is because I have admired Alan Ruck, and he has had a way of making even this repellent character more pathetically amusing than anything else.

I also think that everyone who has dismissed Conor as a worthy successor to Waystar may be suffering from the same major bias as the rest of the Roy family. Because unlike every other character on these series, he has some awareness of just how horrible his life is and how little respect anyone will ever give him. Maybe that’s the real reason he ran for President in the first place: he thought that if he got into the White House, his siblings would at least have to pretend that he was important or at the very least not easily dismiss him.

One of the most painful memories I have of the Season 3 finale is when Shiv and Kendall try to engage in an ‘intervention’ for Kendall. Shiv begins it by saying: “You’re the oldest son.” Conor immediately interjected: “I’M the oldest son!” and storms off. None of the other three children even think of talking to him for the rest of the episode, and its very telling that Shiv confides in Tom rather than Conor about what’s happening at Waystar and what they plan to do. Conor doesn’t even make an appearance in the rest of the finale, and I imagine it never even occurred to any of his fellow children to tell them what happened until weeks after the fact. I really think that the only reason they attended the wedding at all was because they were certain A) Logan would not be there, and B) they saw this as a chance to network their own opportunities. Conor may be the oldest son but he’s still an afterthought. Such was certainly proven to be the case here.

And it’s not just that Armstrong killed off Logan Roy, it’s the way that it was done. I don’t think there’s been a death this genuinely shocking on TV since Will Gardener was killed of in Season 5 of The Good Wife. In both case, there was a similar absolute media silence on this, but the fact that it happened after a decade in social media advances is a credit to everyone connected with the show.

Logan Roy, the most imposing character on the series, who was basically immortal, was killed off-screen and basically died alone. Full credit to all the actors involved in their reactions to this. Matthew MacFayden, whose trying to measure both a balance of sadness and just how utterly screwed he is, while telling that the most important person in their lives has died to a family that’s basically rejected him. Jeremy Strong, trying to find the right words, and still not able to let in one quiet dig at his father before it ends. Kieran Culkin, who has been the most abused by Logan and still the one who clearly loves him the most, in utter denial. And Sarah Snook, broken at first, and truly miserable.

These people are broken so badly they can’t even grieve properly to each other or even go through the proper channels of comforting each other. And then they prove that, at the end of the day, they are Logan’s children because they then go about their business taking the death of their father as if he were just another corporate problem to deal with. They can’t mourn, they have to move on to their next opportunity.

Perhaps in a sense the winner of this whole mess is Conor. As he marries his bride in front of an almost deserted crowd,  he has been yet again upstaged by his family and his father has destroyed his life again. But it’s worth noting that for everything he has put Wendy through, he’s still the only sibling – maybe the only Roy in generations – who has something remotely resembling a healthy relationship (at least by the very low standards of his family) I really hope Ruck gets some Emmy nomination for his work here for that last moment. I saw an expression on his face of pure happiness – something that Succession never lets happen.

Now to be clear, none of the Roy children deserve to run Waystar any more than they did before last night’s episode. What’s changed is now for the first time in their lives, they don’t have the power they’ve had because they’re Logan Roy’s children. It’s pretty clear throughout the series that everybody the Roy family interacted with only tolerates them because they are related to Logan Roy and because they all think he’s invincible. Now he’s dead. And the company no longer belongs to a Roy.

I think we all know that before the funeral baked meats get cold, there’s going to be a major shift against anyone who even had Roy blood in them getting anywhere near running Waystar. I can very well see all of the people who have spent their lives toiling around the horrible Roy clan  - particularly the ultra-competent never appreciated Geri (J. Smith Cameron) negotiating a way so that they only have to deal with Roy children in public functions. Its been very clear in their half-hearted attempts to ‘break free’ in the first two episodes as to just how incompetent the Roy siblings were as a unified force. None of them have ever had a vision for Waystar beyond running it themselves, and I’m pretty sure that something everybody who worked for them knew but was afraid to say because they were terrified of upsetting Logan. He’s gone. They don’t have to pretend to be civil any more (not that they were doing that good a job to begin with.)

The Roys have spent the better part of three seasons trying to negotiate better positions for themselves at the company, and as we all know, for their father’s approval. Even when they wanted to hurt Dad, they thought it would impress them. Now all of their problems have been revealed at the worst possible time for them. Succession might very well end with the Roys out on their asses of Waystar or Waystar completely collapsing. That may have seemed a possibility throughout the series, but as long as Logan was there, nobody thought it a realistic one. Now it very much is.

My opinion on the series hasn’t completely changed, for the record, but I’m not going to pretend that what happened last night hasn’t radically shifted my opinions on what Armstrong and the writers have been trying to do for seasons. And when it inevitably leads the way in Emmy nominations this year as has been predicted ever since, it’s going to be hard even for me to pretend it doesn’t deserve them. I’ll admit part of me will be happier that Brian Cox is pretty much out of the running for Best Actor in a Drama, making the field a lot clearer for Bob Odenkirk. I still want Rhea Seehorn to win Best Supporting Actress but I can’t pretend that Sarah Snook won’t be a worthy adversary. And while part of me still hopes that Giancarlo Esposito or Jonathan Banks can be a winner in Supporting Actor, I can’t exactly pretend that Kieran Culkin isn’t just as deserving. (Yes, I know, there will be other series than Better Call Saul contending, can we at least acknowledge that show still deserves to win more?)

Hell, I may even have to rethink my entire opinion towards Succession. I’m not going to pour over the final season live like all of you fans (I still think Yellowjackets is at least as good as Succession and will be just as dominant at the Emmys this year). But maybe sometime in the near future, I’ll watch the entire show from the beginning. See if I can see what everyone else saw in it now that I have a greater understanding of the whole. I have little doubt I’ll still have my issues with the characters and I have a problem with the lack of forward movement throughout the series. But now that I understand Armstrong did have a plan and was going somewhere, maybe I can be more patient. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to completely reverse my stance on certain shows: I’m not going to mourn the departure of Westworld and I’ll never watch of Game of Thrones. But at this point, when they talk about Succession in the terms of the most daring and greatest shows in history, I can’t give a categorical denial any more. I’ve always admired shows that swing for the fences even if they fail. ‘Conor’s Wedding’ showed that Succession was more willing to swing and it connected.