This episode feels anti-climactic. Mundane even. The one thing of note was Roman's meltdown. Something that was expected since he claimed he'd pre-greieved. But that is only a single moment out of the whole episode.
Obviously, you can write your TV show however you like. Yet, here Succession goes against an established unspoken rule of our current era of prestige TV; the finale is not the finale. The penultimate episode is usually the real finale. This is were things happen and are definitive, characters come to heads with each other, plot thread culminates and conflicts are resolved. It's were poop goes down. Here no such thing happens, the plot feels timid, stale. It presents events that are almost slice of life, if they weren't for the fact that you bury your father only once. Usually then the actual final episode is left for a wrap-up, a smooth-landing recap. An after action report. A coda of sorts that helps you make sense of what you've just witnessed and eventually setting up franchises spin-off or subsequent seasons.
This episode squarely confronts us with pretty much of the same it has shown until now. I'm having a hard time finding anything novel. We've seen all this. We've seen all this before on Succession. We've already seen uncle Ewan being openly critical of his brother, the only one who's not beholden to him and frank enough to speak truth to power. We've already seen Kendall rising up to the challenge and being a very confident and cogent speaker unprompted; we've seen him being a capable natural heir. We've also already seen Kendall corralling effortlessly Logan's various subordinates and people he would need as allies. We've already seen Shiv's awkward attempt at being suave and playing puppetmaster with the finesse of a sledgehammer. Yet I fail to see how it does not contradict with her whole arc from last episode. In true Succession fashion, she always has the most arcane out-the-blue powerplays. But she has never been on the winning side of any argument vis-à-vis the family. The only one she was able to ever boss around was Tom. And even that backfired.
Roman implodes at the sight of his father's remains. In the world of Succession, emotions are a weakness, and that means he will not take on the mantle. That is probably for the best, he was written from the start as the spoiled rich brat and his recent transformation into a cunning nihilistic cynic - with a repressed sensitive side - felt unnatural and forced.
Overall, what has been the meaning so far? A caricature of the Murdochs? No, that is an aesthetic coincidence. A satire of the one percent? Also no, it is unintersted in the mechanics of wealth and power. As such, the only thing it can pretend to be is a family drama where the silences are more powerful than the dialogue. A glorified sitcom with a better budget. Maybe the real Succession was the friends we made along the way?
Obviously, you can write your TV show however you like. Yet, here Succession goes against an established unspoken rule of our current era of prestige TV; the finale is not the finale. The penultimate episode is usually the real finale. This is were things happen and are definitive, characters come to heads with each other, plot thread culminates and conflicts are resolved. It's were poop goes down. Here no such thing happens, the plot feels timid, stale. It presents events that are almost slice of life, if they weren't for the fact that you bury your father only once. Usually then the actual final episode is left for a wrap-up, a smooth-landing recap. An after action report. A coda of sorts that helps you make sense of what you've just witnessed and eventually setting up franchises spin-off or subsequent seasons.
This episode squarely confronts us with pretty much of the same it has shown until now. I'm having a hard time finding anything novel. We've seen all this. We've seen all this before on Succession. We've already seen uncle Ewan being openly critical of his brother, the only one who's not beholden to him and frank enough to speak truth to power. We've already seen Kendall rising up to the challenge and being a very confident and cogent speaker unprompted; we've seen him being a capable natural heir. We've also already seen Kendall corralling effortlessly Logan's various subordinates and people he would need as allies. We've already seen Shiv's awkward attempt at being suave and playing puppetmaster with the finesse of a sledgehammer. Yet I fail to see how it does not contradict with her whole arc from last episode. In true Succession fashion, she always has the most arcane out-the-blue powerplays. But she has never been on the winning side of any argument vis-à-vis the family. The only one she was able to ever boss around was Tom. And even that backfired.
Roman implodes at the sight of his father's remains. In the world of Succession, emotions are a weakness, and that means he will not take on the mantle. That is probably for the best, he was written from the start as the spoiled rich brat and his recent transformation into a cunning nihilistic cynic - with a repressed sensitive side - felt unnatural and forced.
Overall, what has been the meaning so far? A caricature of the Murdochs? No, that is an aesthetic coincidence. A satire of the one percent? Also no, it is unintersted in the mechanics of wealth and power. As such, the only thing it can pretend to be is a family drama where the silences are more powerful than the dialogue. A glorified sitcom with a better budget. Maybe the real Succession was the friends we made along the way?