Why are all the good shows ending?! Yes, like many fans, I too am upset that this is the end of Succession, but I appreciate the fact that the showrunners know when to end a story before ruining it.
And yes, probably like many of you, I too think there certainly could be many more seasons with how it ended, but it was also a natural closing point without creating at least four more seasons. So anyways, it’s been almost a month since this diabolical show has wrapped up, which means there will be some spoilers. Read with caution. I can just say up front that I was pleased with how this show ended and there was evidently one girl on the internet who figured out the whole thing ahead of time solely based on a name! Crazy.
The first spoiler that I read about before watching it (because I don’t care about spoilers) is that the patriarch of the entire series DIES in the third episode! I was shook to read that. Shook. But, that is the catalyst that the show needed in order to truly find the ‘successor’ to the media empire thrown. Of course, Logan didn’t make it easy for anyone. The only person I ever felt that was truly out of the running was Shiv. Sure, she can lie to herself all she wants, but her morals, skewed as they are, just weren’t in line with the awfulness of her family. On the other side of that, even with how detestable Roman could be at times, he too, was not bred to lead the charge. In my mind, it was only ever Kendell, regardless of how delusional he is. He’s the only one that ever tried to go toe-to-toe with Logan and won, briefly, at times.
At the beginning of this season though, we see the core three Roy siblings completely cut off from their vile father, and trying to start their own media network while keeping there feet in the door of the board to tank the deal that Matsson and Gojo have offered. Unsurprisingly, they all over-leverage themselves and Roman weakens and starts very slowly getting back into his dad’s good graces. Logan tries to moves things along by promising the company to him when the time comes, but when that time actually comes, an undated will is found with Kenedall named at succeeding CEO. Shiv’s name never even bubbles to the surface once. It’s a gut punch, but doesn’t stop her from sinking her claws in and not letting go for what she thinks she deserves for being a ‘good’ person.
As much as other cast members have been featured in the past, I felt that this final season spent a lot more time with the Roy children, Tom, and of course, Greg. They are really the only ones that have any familial stake in things, as long as Tom stays married to Shiv and Greg can mooch off someone in a position of power. Ever the one jumping sides. All of the other secondary characters you’ve grown to know over the course of the show’s run make an appearance a time or two in this final go, and that makes it all the more fun. I still don’t buy that Alexander Skarsgaard fits into this world, but I always love seeing him on screen, so I was fine with it.
Like I said, all in all, I was pleased with where everything ended up. I think it was the most logical place for it to land and they did so pretty neatly. I think it’s up to the viewer to think about how things could end up going moving forward, and that’s kind of fun! Some standout episodes this season, strangely, were not necessarily the finale, but instead the third episode in, where Logan dies. There are some powerhouse performances in that episode and you better prepare yourself with some tissues! Another one that was quite tense was the election episode. Some brutal parallels with what happened seven years ago were a reminder I don’t know that I needed to relive, but riveting all the same. I also found the funeral scene in the penultimate episode to be quite powerful.
Don’t take my word for it. Just watch it if you haven’t already!