HBO’s dark comedy-drama television show, Succession is finally over and so is the story of the Roy family. The 85-minute-long series finale, created by Jesse Armstrong, titled ‘With open eyes’ aired on Sunday night (GMT), finally answered two key questions: who will succeed Logan Roy (Brian Cox) as the head of Waystar Royco and will the GoJo deal come through? *Spoilers ahead* But wait, a quick recap first. Succession is the story of the billionaire Roy family that runs a massive business empire – cruise lines, theme parks, movie studio, news channels. the works – led by the patriarch Logan Roy who is yet to announce his successor from among his children (Kendall, Shioban and Roman), before he dies in the third episode of season 4. While the plot sounds like a show with siblings scheming against each other to get to the top seat, Succession is much more than that. “I love you, but I cannot ******** stomach you”. This line towards the end of the finale episode by Shioban/Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) sharply and cruelly summarized what it is about these ultra-rich, privileged, entitled people that makes their stories worth following and obsessing over. Written by series creator Jesse Armstrong, the fourth season was sort of an encapsulation of everything that makes the show so compelling, filled as it is with tragic drama, backstabbing, hungry-for-power attitude, and a scarily real relationship between the media and today’s politics in the United States of America. After Logan’s death in the third episode titled ‘Connor’s wedding’, the show focuses on Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv and Roman (Kieran Culkin) who have an interest in leading Waystar Royco, which was about to be sold to tech giant GoJo. For the three seasons, each one of them worked hard to earn validation from Logan, including trying to oust him (the plan which ultimately failed!). Only when you see them react to Logan’s death, do you feel that maybe they can also have genuine feelings without an ulterior motive. But, not for long. A week after Logan’s funeral, Kendall and Roman are pushing hard to kill the GoJo deal, with an aim to run the company themselves and not let an “outsider” take over. Meanwhile, GoJo founder Lukas Mattsson has the support of Shiv, who backstabs her brothers for a short while, in return for Mattsson promising the role of an American CEO to her. So, what finally happens and who ends up on top? As the three Roy siblings get busy with their old feuds, there’s an important boardroom vote to approve the GoJo deal. Kendall and Shiv rally their sides to gather votes. They both need to know which way Roman votes, and he’s currently recuperating at his mother’s estate after he was punched by a protester while trying to deliver a eulogy for Logan. Mattsson then does a switcheroo, promising the role to Tom Wambsgans, Shiv’s on-and-off husband—a nice double-knife manoeuvre. If there’s one thing that the audience has learnt from four seasons of this show, it is that anytime a character seems like they’re winning (or seem okay about a particular decision), they are most likely to do a 360 degree turn and go down. Shiv reunites with her brothers once again and they decide to let Kendall lead the company once the deal falls through but, this “Succession” would be too easy. Before the vote, Roman, who in the previous episode broke down for the first time in the show while delivering his father’s eulogy, asks why he can’t be CEO. In a moment of abuse-as-love, just like how Logan did to his kids, Kendall hugs Roman so tightly that he pops his stitches. Though Kendall tells Roman it’s okay, he believes Roman can’t be CEO because he was “weak”, especially after breaking down in public. Right before the vote, Shiv backs out and tells Kendall, “I don’t think you’d be good at this..you can’t be CEO, you killed someone”. (A reference to Season 1’s ending where Kendall was responsible for a young caterer’s death). And there it is once again: Though they say they love each other; the three siblings take advantage of each other’s vulnerabilities to show their power over another. Blood is what ties the Roy clan together, but also tears them apart. "You don't have it." Steam every episode of Succession on Max. #TheOneToWatch @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/27sa0mhf37 — Succession (@succession) May 29, 2023 The only winner apart from Tom in this show was Gregory Hirsch (Nicholas Braun), Logan’s nephew, a naive outsider to the Roys' world, who climbed the ladder in the company. Through the show, Greg seemed to be mirroring the path of Tom. Despite backstabbing him, Tom, who was an outsider himself, decided to keep him close, makes us feel happy for what they were able to achieve. Succession in today’s political climate Succession is also a truthful snapshot of capitalism at its cruellest. It’s no secret that HBO’s story of a dominating father, and his kids draw inspiration from Rupert Murdoch’s family, his media empire, especially Fox News. Succession was written in a way where the four seasons were building up to a major presidential election. Given how wealthy the Roys are, politics has always been something they speak about, and often flip sides to suit their own personal needs without worrying about the effects on the rest of the country. Set the night before the election, ‘Taligate Party’ showed us how close the election was with Daniel Jimenez ahead of Jeryd Mencken by only four points. ATN, the media channel owned by the Roys, called the shots in favour of the probable loser—Mencken—with the hope that he kills the GoJo deal. Part of the storyline mirrors the turmoil of American elections in the recent past. The show drew curtains on how democracy can be stifled, and how a national election can be swayed by a few people who hold enormous power and wealth. Even the name of the penultimate episode of the last season title ‘Church and State’ plays on the fact that there is no separation and there never was. Despite the show not being relatable to common man, there is one thing that hits close to home—the treatment of Shiv Roy. Over the last four seasons, we have seen a number of gender stereotypes that Shiv is trying to fight to reach the top. Though she is as flawed as her brothers, her character reflects the ongoing battles against gendered biases in family dynamics as a whole. Sadly, there was, in the end, no joy for the Roy siblings. The backstabbing siblings exited Succession just like how they entered it four seasons ago: Entitled broken brats, consumed by daddy issues. Succession is not the first show to explore the lives of the rich in a satirical manner, but it’s most realistic of the genre. It is a social commentary on the lives of the Roys, their claustrophobic bubble and toxic family dynamic, the inequality and trauma, and America.
