You just witnessed history, pal. No one cares that you know nothing about businesses or running a media empire. If you missed Succession, then that is on you. On May 28, HBO and the world said goodbye to what is, in my opinion, the best television show of the decade. Rather than reviewing the entire series I am reviewing the finale.
Coming in at about 90 minutes, the long winding road to the final moments of Succession are emotionally charged and worth the wait. Here now is my review of the series finale of Jesse Armstrong’s smash-terpiece, Succession. Since this is the finale, spoilers are ahead, obviously.
Succession’s Winding Road
It has all come to this, the question on everyone’s minds finally achieves the most dreaded or the most satisfying answers. Let us rewind the clocks back to episode one of season four. Everything is as Succession-y as Succession can be. Expletives fly, business deals are set, and people are screamed at- the usual. It is all coming together for a clear answer.
Fast forward a bit to episode three. Logan Roy suddenly dies. The time for a successor to the Waystar/ Royco empire has never been more important than the remaining episodes. Fast forward again to Logan’s funeral, episode nine. At this point it could be anyone’s game. The stakes within everyone’s futures are important to say the least.
Fast forward one last time to this episode- the finale. Shiv allies with Mattson. Roman is AWOL after jumping into the protestors crowd and prompting his own assault. Kendall is accumulating his people for his own takeover of the company. Everyone is in their scattered corner. Over the next ninety minutes, every possible scenario that could have been, turned into a tease. It was all nothing but a dream for the characters and for the fans.
Jeremy Strong (Left) as Kendall Roy, Sarah Snook (Center) as Shiv Roy, and Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy (Right) in the HBO series Succession. Image provided courtesy of HBO Studios.
I have had my predictions for who would end up on top since season two, but I will get to that in a bit. All I will say for now is that I wish I considered the monkey’s paw type of situation I created for myself. Let us look more at the episode structure before we talk about the plot.
How to Successfully Control the Narrative’s Finale
Finales are tough entities to tackle. The way I have always preferred my finales and my shows altogether are with a focus on the story. Tell me the story that is happening. Do not appeal to me to make me happy and satisfied, because then I feel cheated.
Succession is not a show that has ever felt like it wants to make me happy. It wants to entertain me and enthrall me, sure. At no point throughout the series did it ever seem like the story that is happening was happening for me to clap at it. If this was the case then Kendall would have taken over in season two. Let’s face it: if this show was centered on fan appeal then there would be more victories.
Succession has this weird formula that works almost every single time. Every episode, including the finale, starts off building momentum up after the events of the previous. For me, I always feel like I am not going to be interested this time, but then something will happen a third of the way through and keep me in tight. By the end of each episode, it requires a team to roll my jaw back onto my face.
Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy in the HBO series Succession. Image provided courtesy of HBO Studios.
All of that was just to say that season four episode ten of Succession started off like any other. I was excited, but not immediately gripped. The story took a small turn twenty minutes in, and everything changed. By the end, I felt a level of satisfaction and yearning I do not think any piece of media has ever left me with.
End of the Bloodline
Like I said in the beginning, it does not matter that you know nothing about businesses or media conglomerates. What made Succession so great was the focus on the people and what they meant for the story. Pettiness and destructive sneaking behind people’s backs constantly set everything up to be a raging wildfire after the dust settles.
The time we spent with these characters was not only to get interested in them, but also to see who could be next for the throne. When I tell you every cell in my body was screaming during the entire final shareholders meeting I am not exaggerating.
Quite frankly, predicting the final moments of the show was like predicting Russian Roulette. Sure, the answers are there in front of me, but what don’t I know about the information? What are the possibilities of this outcome? It would also not be incorrect to ask “What is going on” about any of this.
Matthew Macfayden as Tom Wambsgans and Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy in the HBO series Succession. Image provided courtesy of HBO Studios.
The shareholders meetings are terrifying in this show. Nothing good ever happens. Watching the three siblings, who were just smiling and laughing with each other moments beforehand, in a venomous screaming match is gut wrenching. The moment Shiv left the room was the moment I knew two of my predictions were going to come true.
I predicted no one would obtain the company in the end and that it would go to Shiv’s slimy snake of a husband, Tom Wambsgans.
Tom Wambsgans, Successor to Logan Roy
I tend to gravitate towards characters that are silly little guys. Tom Wambsgans is a very silly little guy. The first thing Tom ever does in this series is worry the gift he is getting Logan will be enough. This should have been an indicator, but we had literally no way of knowing this at that point. Throughout the series, I have, jokingly, said that Tom will be on top in the end. As things progressed, the jokes slowly turned into an honest answer.
In the fallout of the verbal and physical violence between the siblings, at no point did it occur to me that Tom is finally on top. The snake has finally been given the kingdom at long last. When the series finished and all was said and done I needed some time to sleep on what just happened. At the time I really liked it and was very satisfied. Currently I think it may be the greatest decision ever made in television history.
Nicholas Braun (Left) as Greg Hirsch and Matthew Macfayden (Right) as Tom Wambsgans in the HBO series Succession.
In a show all about usurping the way to the throne why not pick the biggest usurper to take all the glory? Everything about this decision to put Tom over makes so much sense. Promise the world to your heart but give it to your mind.
Do You Want to Call Your Dad? (An Emotional Finale)
The finale was a rollercoaster. When the dust settled, the screaming was silent, and the ink dried, Succession was over. Despite all of the sadness in my heart and the angst in my stomach, everything that Jesse Armstrong needed to say was said.
While I would not be opposed to some more episodes or another season, I think this should be the end. If there is anything that we all should have learned from this show is that there will never be a satisfying ending. Not only in terms of a narrative perspective but also for these characters.
Everyone has come a long way from where they were in season one. However, everyone is also right back in the same position they started in. Full circle storytelling is a wonderful technique. Personally, I am incredibly satisfied with the way this series ended. I think every moment was worth the build to this.
Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy in the HBO series Succession. Image provided courtesy of HBO studios.
While most series finales try to find a point that wraps everything up, Succession knows its characters. This is not to say other series don’t know themselves, but that is not what I mean. Succession knows that there will never be an end point. I love that. This cast, these characters, and the episodes are generationally defining entities.
Ignore what it means for the show to go on longer than it needs, these characters have already proven everything. There is nothing that anyone can say that will change my mind about how perfect this ending is.
Succession Created by Jesse Armstrong
There are so many ways to approach talking about the end of the greatest show of the modern era. My brain is scattered, and the thoughts cannot be condensed down to single ideas about this episode. I really love Succession and I really love this finale. There is not enough begging I can do to get you to watch this show if you have not already. If it is not your thing, then I respect it and that is cool. If you get into it and love it like I do, I sincerely hope you enjoy never leaving this cult. The Succession series finale is a 10/10.
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