Succession - The Whole Shebang

Thoughts about a show that people like

Succession is another HBO show I’ve been watching - one about Logan Roy, a media magnate, and his heirs, Kendall, Shiv, Roman…and Connor.

They’re an easy family to hate.

Logan Roy feels, loosely modelled on Rupert Murdoch, ex-chairman of Fox and ex-owner of News Corp. Rupert has succeeded his business to his son, Laughlin.

Also, it feels like Ken and Roman are modelled on the Trump kids, but the less I talk about that, the better.

On to my thoughts on Succession.

Logan Roy is an asshole played by Brian Cox. He’s temperamental, cold-blooded and duplicitous. There isn’t much to like about him, but the writers instill him with a small portion of humanity.

Brian chews a lot of scenery in this role, like a small dog barking because it can.

Succession is about the business, media, legacy and family. It dramatizes business mergers and hostile takeovers. In my research, it was suggested that the show is really about the cycle of abuse and what it does to people, and I thought that was an interesting perspective, given that Logan Roy treats his children with such disdain.

Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong, is the second oldest son of Logan and the antagonist or protagonist, depending on your viewpoint. Every character is morally grey, so it is hard to tell sometimes.

Kendall is a POS who listens to Gangster rap wearing Tom Ford suits while high on cocaine. As all Logan’s children are, he is disconnected from humanity - spoiled and demanding.

Yet, there is something fragile about Kendall; he hasn’t succeeded at anything in his life, and he’s been preparing to take over Waystar (Logan’s media company) since he was eight.

Most of the fragility of this role is brought to it by Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Ken. He finds humanity in a character who is easy to hate. Jeremy makes it so you almost find yourself feeling sorry for him.

Kendall is at odds with his father. One moment, he’s named the CEO, and the next, the title is taken away. He grabs power, attempting to topple his father, and fails. Repeatedly. If there is one thing you can say about Kendall, it is that he doesn’t stay miserable long. He is happiest when at odds with his father.

The first and second seasons highlight Ken and Logan’s rivalry. The denouement of season one was one of the most surprising endings, wherein Ken’s fatal flaw ruins everything for him. As far as twist endings go, it was something else.

As an aside: this is a strong ensemble show, and its strengths lie in that ensemble. Every character gets a great role to showcase themselves, so if you like one of them, wait.

Siobhan, more commonly known as Shiv, Roy, is Logan’s only daughter and is played by Sarah Snook. She’s a political adviser working with the Democrats. Her character is consistently undervalued, overlooked, and utterly aware of that fact. If anything, Shiv is a powerful commentary on patriarchy.

Shiv wants power and the glory of being CEO of Waystar. Her struggle comes from being continually snubbed for that role despite being worthy. Shiv is probably the best candidate for the job: capable, intelligent, and connected.

I don’t think Shiv is a ‘good’ person, but it is difficult to watch her story arc, which ends…miserably.

Shiv is married to Tom, and their relationship is an essential source of tension throughout the series - as it runs very hot and cold throughout. Shiv uses Tom and vice versa.

I'll talk about that later.

Sarah is a pleasure to watch. She cuts a swath through a series dominated by men - which isn’t easy. She faces a barrage of name-calling, sexism and abuse throughout the series and holds her own.

Roman Roy, the youngest brother, is acted by Kieran Culkin. I adore Kieran as an actor (I am a big fan of The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys). His presence convinced me to watch Succession.

Roman is a man-child. That is the simplest way of putting it. He has lived in his father's shadow his entire life and wants to be accepted and acknowledged by him. Logan knows this and uses it to manipulate Roman.

The writers on the show love snappy banter and are always hunting for an amusing turn of phrase or a great insult, and they love Roman.

Kieran is never without a bombastic line.

Somehow, Roman is strangely sympathetic. He’s a fucking asshole, but a sympathetic one.

This show is filled with that: assholes that get under your skin. I applaud the writers and actors for this.

Rounding out the main cast are: Tom, Shiv’s husband; Greg, a cousin of the Roy’s; and the eldest brother, Connor Roy.

As I discussed, Tom is upwardly mobile and will do whatever it takes to advance his career.

Matthew Macfayden might be my favourite actor in the series, and this cast was magnificent.

What Matthew does with a reprehensible character is such a joy to behold. Tom’s character is horrible. He treats his subordinates (Greg) like dirt. He hides Waystar’s secrets to further his career. He grovels and simps to people in power. He uses his father-in-law to further his career.

His relationship with Shiv is complicated. They use one another in different ways. I feel it is the most nuanced part of the show- incredibly captivating. They hate each other but want something from one another. It is a marriage of convenience. I know it’s a cliche, but it is the perfect example of that.

Matthew and Sarah act perfectly with one another.

In every scene Tom is in, he’s scrambling upwards.

I can’t get away from Matthew’s performance here. There are moments when there is so much said in so little, or he says so much with body language. I will follow what he does after this with interest.

Greg Hirsch, played by Nicholas Braun, plays the fool. He is naive, inexperienced and self-serving but, under Tom’s mentorship, grows into a quiet little monster all his own.

Greg is Logan’s nephew, the grandson of Logan’s Democratic brother. He is captivated by the lives of his cousins and does what he can to ingratiate himself into their lives - wanting to be the fourth wheel to their three-wheel vehicle.

I love how the show got away with making his name into a verb: Greg-ing - to be servile. It makes me laugh whenever I think about it.

Finally, Connor Roy is Logan’s eldest, played by Alan Ruck.

Connor is from Logan’s first marriage - and is an outsider. He is spoiled, ridiculously ambitious (he runs for president, spending over one hundred million on his failed campaign), is completely out-of-touch with the everyman, and marries his sex worker to appear more ‘normal.’

Despite that, sometimes he feels the most grounded. I say this because he has completely no ambitions for his father’s seat. In that sense, he might be the sanest one of the group.

Logan uses his media empire to manipulate everything, particularly his family. Each child is promised his position and he reneges on all of them. The show anchors itself on the fallout of this relationship - the hatred, desire, and pathos that spin out from Logan’s decisions.

The first two seasons involve jousting between Logan and Kendall over control of Waystar.

The third finds the children pitted against their father for control of Waystar.

The final season concerns a merger between Waystar and GoJo, a European tech company.

I’m glad they capped it at four seasons - by the third, it was beginning to feel rote - and the fourth season plays with that, leading to a beautiful climax and ending.

Overall, the series was difficult to watch. I hated everyone. They are self-serving, ego-driven maniacs.

But, somehow, I was drawn in and wanted to see what happened. Four seasons was the perfect length for this - the story got to breathe, but it didn’t go beyond what it needed to.

Once again, the ending. Man, I’ll never forgive them for what they did to Shiv, but everyone got what they deserved. To me, this is a cautionary tale about power. After watching it, I want to be the arbiter of my fate, but powerless beyond that.

I’m going to include a couple of videos to end this. They’re behind the scenes videos and filled with spoilers.

They are FILLED WITH SPOILERS, but are some of my favourite things about this series.

The first is the season one finale. It was incredibly fraught and well-acted. This scene was the one that captured me. After this, I couldn’t stop watching.

The following video talks about Kendall’s birthday party in season three. Jeremy exhibits his ability to create a character you hate but somehow have the smallest amount of empathy for.

The next one is a break down of a scene from the third episode of the fourth season. If you haven’t watched the series, don’t watch this. It is a huge spoiler.

If you’ve seen it, it is a fascinating look inside.

The final one that I’ll leave you with is this scene between Tom and Shiv. It is the climax of their relationship - so one again - only watch it if you are okay with spoilers. It is such a great scene.

I originally hated the idea of Succession. I didn’t want to watch it. I remember saying, “Who wants to watch a bunch of rich fucks?”

It is a testament to the actors and all the creatives involved that they created a show that made me want to watch a bunch or rich fucks fucking around.

Well done.

And that final scene - '*chef’s kiss.* Not many series go out with a scene that made me so incredibly happy.

Hope you’re well,

Martin

ps - This is video makes me smile. Jeremy is a method actor and any view into his process is a joy to watch.