Oh man, it was a very antsy waiting period, but now that I’ve experienced the highly anticipated third season of Succession, I can confirm that it was totally worth the discomfort. Speaking of discomfort, the Roy family didn’t let up on any of their ruthless antics this season, and the level of betrayal is at an all time high. Let’s review, shall we? Also, SPOILER warning so you’re prepared.
In case you’ve forgotten how last season ended, it was with Logan picking Kendall as the sacrificial lamb for the misdeeds of Waystar Royco’s cruise lines. Kendall looks to be accepting his fate calmly, but then holds a huge press conference airing even more of the company’s dirty laundry and throwing Logan onto the tracks of an oncoming train. Also interesting, was seeing Greg holding his blackmail folder right beside Kendall. Look at Greg the Egg trying to prioritize himself!
Anyway, now that your memory is refreshed we can get into the nitty gritty of this season. It picks up right after that scathing press conference with Logan and his cohorts taking private jets to a bunch of different locations that have no extradition treaties with the US. For most of the season it seems like Roman and Shiv are trying to stay in Logan’s good graces in hopes that he’ll pick one of them as the next permanent CEO. In the meantime, he’s picked Gerri as the interim CEO, which I think should be a clear sign to his children that they will never cede their father. He doesn’t believe in them. They might all have a piece of Logan’s savvy and personality, but he doesn’t think a single one of them has the whole package.
Trying to harness the momentum he has, Kendall gets his own team put together to beef up the claims made against his father and the company. What cracks me up the most about Kendall’s second attempt at a coup, is that he thinks his got a shot at getting rid of his father and then just sweep in to take the CEO role. If he had any brain in his head, he has to know that would never happen. Kendall also spends a good amount of time this season trying and failing to recruit his other siblings to his cause, as well as Tom. They all smartly say no, although Roman and Shiv do waiver. Tom said it best, though: “I’ve seen you get f***** a lot, and I’ve never seen Logan get f***** once.” Not long after that, Kendall lost Greg as an ally, too. To be fair, Greg is just floundering to get himself the best outcome, something the Roy family has evidently taught him quite well.
With Kendall somewhat out of the picture, that means Waystar needs a new scapegoat, and Tom steps up. After many episodes trying to pick the best prison and get used to what his time inside might be like, he finds out he’s likely not going to get jailtime after all. I loved the scene immediately after that revelation where Logan grabs Tom’s wrist and only says, “I’ll remember.” Logan owes him one and that’s a great place to be if your Tom. Especially as it becomes more and more evident that not only does Shiv not really love him, she clearly doesn’t give a shit about him either. Greg is the only constant in Tom’s life and it works out well for both of them in the end.
After some super fun guest stars this season, it all comes down to Alexander Skarsgard’s Lukas Matsson, who owns some pretty involved streaming platform, Gojo. The last several episodes of the season focus on whether or not Waystar can buy Gojo or if it’s going to be the other way around. Logan’s still got all his kids fooled for most of their mother’s Italian wedding celebrations, but then they finally catch on that if Logan sells, they are royally screwed. This is what finally gets them to jump over to team Kendall, and as endearing as it is too see them join forces, it’s too late. Tom ends up being the final nail in the sibling’s coffins, and he managed to secure ahis and Greg’s spots “at the bottom of the top.”
I felt like the whole season was alluding to something big happening with Tom, and what a juicy turn of events it turned out to be! Looks like Shiv should have been paying a lot more attention. With all that I revealed happening this season, there is still plenty more ridiculously awesome nonsense that went down, but you’ll just have to watch to enjoy it all and get the full picture. I will say some standout moments for me this season included all of the Tom/Greg content (check out a Nero and Sporous clip online), the annual shareholders meeting episode, and a dick pic getting sent to the wrong person. Even though this is a drama, those moments had me rolling with laughter. Even though we had to wait a long time for it, this third season of Succession continues to prove why it’s top tier television. Go watch!