Top Line Thoughts: Throughout the entirety of watching this season of Succession, I’ve been worried about how I’m going to talk about it and wrap up my thoughts after it ends. TV is much harder for me to write about than movies. Especially a show like Succession where technically there is an overarching plot throughout the whole season and show, but it doesn’t feel like a 10 hour movie. Every episode is distinct in it’s specific story and tone. And when the episodes come out weekly, my thoughts change week to week in response to the latest addition. The other thing about Succession is that every moment is so intentional, if you really wanted to deep dive, you could spend 30 minutes just on why these two characters gave each other a look in episode 5. There is so much unsaid, so much on the characters faces and in the body language, so much about their relationships and interactions that change from moment to moment that I wouldn’t even know where to start to dissect it all. 

I’m really at a loss for what exactly I want to say about this show so I will start with this: I think Succession is the best show on television. It’s one of the only shows I can remember watching that, while I was watching it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it was. I watched every episode just blown away by the talent of everyone who worked to make the show: the writers, the actors, the directors, all of it is as good as it could possibly get. 

I love this show so much. I think it is so smart and funny and shocking and moving and impressive. Particularly this fourth and final season, every episode had moments of laugh out loud comedy and moments of human drama that gave me chills, all contained in a single episode with the same characters in the same story. I think what this final season, and particularly the ending of the series, really drove home for me was how much this show was reflective of real life. 

So much is made of endings and “landing the plane” with a television finale and, to me, Succession did it best. The finale felt just like every other episode of the show. Why mess with a good formula? Sure, it ended with a consequential decision, but so have other episodes, and this one deliberately did not feel definitive. It is the kind of ending where you know the story will go on. Something will happen in the next hour or the next day, but we just won’t be there to see it. If you were expecting a huge plot twist or giant battle to end all battles, this is not that kind of show. It never was. The drama had stakes, of course, but it was rarely ever life or death. It mostly hinged on the emotional well-being of a handful of fragile and chaotic characters. 

Succession would not be Succession without its characters. The cast has always been good, but this season felt like everyone was at the absolute peak of their powers. I will personally be running the Emmy campaign for Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook who were unbelievable throughout the season. Almost every actor had to run the gamut of emotions every single episode and say so much with just their faces. Every character is playing their own chess game and rarely ever explaining their game plan. Intentions are always murky and no one is forthcoming about their real feelings. It is mostly for us as the audience to read and analyze. I love when the online community gets involved in a show like this and I can go on Twitter after an episode or listen to a podcast and see how different people viewed the same moment in different ways. 

This season left a lot up to interpretation. I think that’s one of the things the show does best and why it works so well is that it feels so real. These are real human people making stupid decisions and acting impulsively and emotionally and not always doing or saying the exact right thing at the exact right time. They probably all have more flaws than strengths but that makes them human. And these characters are so fully formed and clear cut that the audience feels like we can confidently assign reason to the decisions they make because we understand who they are.

Who they are is not good people. We are reminded of that time and time again. But the show really plays with our perception of them, particularly this season, by making them empathetic ans having us cry with and for them and then the next episode reminding us of the monsters they really are and then turning around again and revealing how and why they ended up this way. Is it their fault? Were they doomed from the start? Does it matter either way? 

A common issue critics of the show have brought up is that there is no one to root for because the characters are all bad people. But why do we have to root for someone to enjoy it? Isn’t it entertaining enough to watch bad people do bad things? The majority of the humor in the show comes from all of the disgustingly out of touch moments, absurd displays of wealth, and frankly the stupidity of people in such positions of power. The show parodies American capitalism, politics, and media in a way that is almost too real to be funny, but we laugh because, if we didn’t, we might cry for how sad and scary it all is.

But another response to having no one to root for is one that was a central focus of season 4, knowing that it would be the final season. What are we even rooting for with these people and what does winning look like in this world? Do we want characters we like that may still have a shred of humanity to end up running the show? Or would winning mean breaking the cycle and getting out altogether? You can choose who and what you root for. You can interpret everyone’s actions as completely narcissistic and cynical or as subtly caring and compassionate. There is so much that is in between the lines on this show that not only make it so fascinating to watch in the moment but will also keep it talked about and analyzed for a long time to come.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this show to everyone. For some, it might be an acquired taste, but I really think it’s worth it for everything this show provides. Take it at face value or jump deep down into the rabbit hole of analysis; either way, Succession has so many smart and interesting things to say in a package of wealthy, corporate aesthetic, painfully funny quips, and characters you love to hate.

Spoiler Section: I don’t have too many new things to add here but I just wanted to specifically call out a few choices from this season.

I couldn’t write this without dedicating some time to episode 3, titled “Connor’s Wedding” but more commonly known as the episode where Logan dies. I went into this season pretty confident that Logan would die. I didn’t see a world in which he let anyone else take over for him while he was still alive. But I thought it would happen in episode 9 or 10 as a dramatic end to the season. To make such a shocking choice like killing him off so early in the season was so bold and impressive. I know I wasn’t the only person watching who didn’t believe it was really happening until much later in the episode. We’re all so ingrained in the mind games of the show that it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that this was just some kind of play from Logan or Tom. But what finally confirmed the reality of it was the kids’ reactions. It suddenly became an entirely different show. Each one of them had a different emotional response to the tragedy and each one was more heartbreaking to watch play out than the next. Some trying to control an uncontrollable situation, some reverting into childlike selves. In this moment, the structure of the show that positions the audience as feeling physically in the action felt almost invasive,  like we were watching a private moment we shouldn’t be privy to. The acting, directing, writing, every choice in this episode was just stunning in every way. It is an absolute gut punch of an episode that reminds us that these people really are just human and all the power and money in the world can’t save you from mortality and emotions.

To me, “Connor’s Wedding” stands in direct contrast to the election episode. We have just been even more endeared to these characters after watching them experience a devastating moment and have cried with them. And now, we have to watch them put their own personal interests before millions of human lives as they attempt to call the presidential election for a neo-Nazi. The show loves to explore the contradictory natures of human beings and how people can be so sympathetic and fragile and then turn around and cause mass destruction with no remorse. And we, as an audience, have to reconcile how to feel about them. Just when you’re thinking one thing about the characters, the show will remind you about another important facet of their personality that changes your mind. 

The election episode is also just notable for the severe PTSD it gave most viewers about dealing with many elections of the past few years but, most notably, the 2016 presidential election in which Donald Trump won. Truly, watching this episode made me sick to my stomach for how real it felt and how scary that is. The only thing that made it a bearable watch was the few moments of humor provided by Tom and Greg sprinkled throughout (always thankful for those two and their wasabi and cocaine humor). 

Lastly, I just wanted to mention Tom and Shiv and their relationship as it applies to the ending of the show. While their relationship has always been interesting in the context of the show, it has never been as much at the forefront of the action as it was this season. This was in large part due to the shocking twist in the finale of the previous season where it was revealed that Tom sold out the kids to ingratiate himself to Logan. If you thought this would be the final blow in their relationship, you don’t know Tom and Shiv. They were up and down throughout the whole season, providing us with some of the best, most powerful, most painful scenes. It is hard to pick out something more impactful than their balcony fight on election eve. These two people who (theoretically) at one point loved each other now saying the worst things they could possibly think of just to hurt each other. But their discussions about making decisions based on love or money were shockingly honest in a way that no one on this show has ever been before. So Tom being the “winner” at the end of the day makes perfect sense. He’s somehow both the most upfront and honest person on the show about who he is but at the same time has become ruthless in his pursuits of power and will say whatever and be whoever to get what he wants. Proximity to the Roy family and learning about their cutthroat ways firsthand made him into their perfect enemy. 

Shiv’s decision to back him is much more complicated. There are many theories floating around about why she made the choice she did in the final episode, but I think it’s twofold: she did not want to see Kendall win and she felt like she could control Tom as CEO better than she could control Kendall, especially now that she is having Tom’s child. She went for the option that put her in the best position and gave her the most power. The shot of Tom and Shiv “holding hands” in the car after all is said and done says everything we need to know about what their future looks like.

As much as I’m going to miss this show, I think it ended at the perfect time. This was the first season where I started to feel hints of repetition with the storylines and who was on top. It didn’t bother me so much now but I could tell that, if they dragged the show out for more seasons, we might all get sick of the circuitous plot. They say quit while you’re ahead and I agree. I love these characters and I will really miss spending time with them so, now that’s all over, time to rewatch from the beginning!

2023 Count: 8 seasons, 28 movies, 1 special