With one hour-and-a-half episode left, "Succession" is firmly on its way to becoming one of the best series of the 21st century so far, and perhaps one of the best of all time.
Heading into the final season, expectations were high, and they have (at least for me) been far exceeded by the incredible nine episodes so far. And going into the final two episodes, there have been many a domino set up, and the chain reaction is now beginning.
Shiv is on a high. After a brutal week last week, being found out by her brothers and finding herself on the losing side of the election and its ramifications, Shiv makes some smart moves and completely swings the Mencken pendulum in the opposite direction. Things look great, but with Mattson's fondness for Greg and smirk during Ken's eulogy, I'm unsure Shiv will ultimately get what she wants here. Still, Sarah Snook has been great all season, and her scenes with Tom and Mattson, on top of her eulogy, add to her great body of work this year.
Roman, on a power kick after falsely crowning a new president, tries to be the man, someone worthy of succeeding his father, by delivering a eulogy to cement his standing. Instead, his "pre-grieved" facade crumbles, and all the emotion he pushed away on the day his father died comes rushing back, and he crumbles. After this show of "weakness," Mencken distances himself from the Roy Boys, effectively getting rid of their leverage. The following scene of Roman emerging into the riotous protests that he caused, looking for a beating, is among the series' most disturbing and unnerving. It is also in line with last episode in taking a step back and looking at the wider social context of the havoc these kids have wrought. Where Ken emerged onto the streets of New York in season one, lost after losing the vote of no confidence, Roman here is lost in a different, more nihilistic way. And just like Ken was ultimately freed by that moment, I fear Roman has also been freed to do something insane. Kieran Culkin has been delivering series-best work all season, and his delivery of his failed eulogy just further cements his portrayal of Roman as one of the most complex and interesting drama characters in years.
And speaking of the most interesting drama characters in years, Kendall is in quite the position this week going into the finale. When Rome messes up, Ken cleans things up and delivers a eulogy that sounds like it's straight out of The Fountainhead and continues to become more and more like Logan by the second. From smaller things like his "bad dad" press strategy in episode four to his continuing "this is all for my kids" nonsense that his father always spouted. He made some good moves this week, hunkering down and getting some scragglers that could go against him (Hugo and Colin) on his side. Jeremy Strong's work as Kendall is gonna go down as one of the most compelling TV protagonists in years, and his performance as Ken's evolution (or devolution?) into becoming his father sets him up for a wild final episode. Will his transformation earn him the crown, at the expense of his humanity? Or will it ultimately spell his end? I have no earthly idea.
And for the supporting cast, this week was a little less eventful, but with a full cast plus some great guest appearances, this felt like a final hurrah for much of the cast. Caroline returns and delivers some great payoffs to her conversation with Shiv last season about motherhood, and her husband Peter delivered the biggest laughs of the episode for me, with "Daddy's here" being a particular highlight. Kerry got a delightful (presumably) final scene with Logan's women, who all sat in the second row, something he would have hated, and shared a moment that was really touching and beautiful. Jess finally managed to leave her job as Ken's assistant, and Ken responded just as Logan would have, by insulting her and being defensive.
But to me, the best guest appearance of the episode was had by James Cromwell, who delivers my favorite eulogy as Logan's brother Ewan. From the moment he gets up there, the viewer knows he is going to tear Logan's corpse a new one, and he does, but before he does, he tells a few small stories about Logan that do a great deal to color him and his past in a way that totally change the character for me. The story about being stranded in the ocean when trying to cross into America was harrowing, but it was the reveal of what really happened with Rose, Logan's deceased sister, that really had an impact on me. Ewan reveals that shortly after Logan returned home from boarding school, Rose caught and died from polio, and Logan blamed himself, as did his uncle and aunt. The way this fleshes out how Logan viewed Shiv, as his favorite and someone he was soft for, as well as how it mirrors the guilt Ken carried for the waiter's death in season one, is just outstanding writing, and it sends off Logan with one last great insight into his character.
This episode. Phenomenal stuff. And going into the finale, I genuinely cannot predict exactly how this is going to go down. But what I do know is that it will probably be phenomenal, and also utterly insane. Seven more days with "Succession."
Heading into the final season, expectations were high, and they have (at least for me) been far exceeded by the incredible nine episodes so far. And going into the final two episodes, there have been many a domino set up, and the chain reaction is now beginning.
Shiv is on a high. After a brutal week last week, being found out by her brothers and finding herself on the losing side of the election and its ramifications, Shiv makes some smart moves and completely swings the Mencken pendulum in the opposite direction. Things look great, but with Mattson's fondness for Greg and smirk during Ken's eulogy, I'm unsure Shiv will ultimately get what she wants here. Still, Sarah Snook has been great all season, and her scenes with Tom and Mattson, on top of her eulogy, add to her great body of work this year.
Roman, on a power kick after falsely crowning a new president, tries to be the man, someone worthy of succeeding his father, by delivering a eulogy to cement his standing. Instead, his "pre-grieved" facade crumbles, and all the emotion he pushed away on the day his father died comes rushing back, and he crumbles. After this show of "weakness," Mencken distances himself from the Roy Boys, effectively getting rid of their leverage. The following scene of Roman emerging into the riotous protests that he caused, looking for a beating, is among the series' most disturbing and unnerving. It is also in line with last episode in taking a step back and looking at the wider social context of the havoc these kids have wrought. Where Ken emerged onto the streets of New York in season one, lost after losing the vote of no confidence, Roman here is lost in a different, more nihilistic way. And just like Ken was ultimately freed by that moment, I fear Roman has also been freed to do something insane. Kieran Culkin has been delivering series-best work all season, and his delivery of his failed eulogy just further cements his portrayal of Roman as one of the most complex and interesting drama characters in years.
And speaking of the most interesting drama characters in years, Kendall is in quite the position this week going into the finale. When Rome messes up, Ken cleans things up and delivers a eulogy that sounds like it's straight out of The Fountainhead and continues to become more and more like Logan by the second. From smaller things like his "bad dad" press strategy in episode four to his continuing "this is all for my kids" nonsense that his father always spouted. He made some good moves this week, hunkering down and getting some scragglers that could go against him (Hugo and Colin) on his side. Jeremy Strong's work as Kendall is gonna go down as one of the most compelling TV protagonists in years, and his performance as Ken's evolution (or devolution?) into becoming his father sets him up for a wild final episode. Will his transformation earn him the crown, at the expense of his humanity? Or will it ultimately spell his end? I have no earthly idea.
And for the supporting cast, this week was a little less eventful, but with a full cast plus some great guest appearances, this felt like a final hurrah for much of the cast. Caroline returns and delivers some great payoffs to her conversation with Shiv last season about motherhood, and her husband Peter delivered the biggest laughs of the episode for me, with "Daddy's here" being a particular highlight. Kerry got a delightful (presumably) final scene with Logan's women, who all sat in the second row, something he would have hated, and shared a moment that was really touching and beautiful. Jess finally managed to leave her job as Ken's assistant, and Ken responded just as Logan would have, by insulting her and being defensive.
But to me, the best guest appearance of the episode was had by James Cromwell, who delivers my favorite eulogy as Logan's brother Ewan. From the moment he gets up there, the viewer knows he is going to tear Logan's corpse a new one, and he does, but before he does, he tells a few small stories about Logan that do a great deal to color him and his past in a way that totally change the character for me. The story about being stranded in the ocean when trying to cross into America was harrowing, but it was the reveal of what really happened with Rose, Logan's deceased sister, that really had an impact on me. Ewan reveals that shortly after Logan returned home from boarding school, Rose caught and died from polio, and Logan blamed himself, as did his uncle and aunt. The way this fleshes out how Logan viewed Shiv, as his favorite and someone he was soft for, as well as how it mirrors the guilt Ken carried for the waiter's death in season one, is just outstanding writing, and it sends off Logan with one last great insight into his character.
This episode. Phenomenal stuff. And going into the finale, I genuinely cannot predict exactly how this is going to go down. But what I do know is that it will probably be phenomenal, and also utterly insane. Seven more days with "Succession."