‘Succession’: 5 Questions We Have Heading Into the Finale

With few exceptions, the hit HBO series “Succession” has “SeinfeldThe model of “no hug learning,” as the overprivileged Roy siblings seek to replace their late father, Logan (Logan).Brian Cox), at the top of the Waystar Royco media empire.

For some reason—despite their narcissism, recklessness, and amazing lack of personal development—we really care about what happens to them and their companions anyway. Who will emerge victorious? And at what personal cost?

Now, with the 90-minute series finale airing on Sunday, we look poised to get some kind of answer, as the long corporate death match draws to a close. But before that happens, the show still has a lot of questions to answer.

Can even one big result cover them all? Here are several we’d like to see.

What will America decide?

Hoping to help secure their leadership positions, Kendall and Roman Roy (Jeremy Strong and Karen Culkin) hire Waystar’s right-wing news network ATN to promote far-right presidential candidate Jared Menkin’s (Justin Kirk) victory. directed to demand, which prompted them to squash the GoJo deal. But the burned ballots in Milwaukee mean the election is still being contested, and the Democratic nominee, Daniel Jimenez (Elliot Villar), still has a shot at the White House. How long will the count last? Will we see a resolution?

Whatever the outcome, Waystar brass at the top is vulnerable. If Roys motivations for calling an election for Menkin come to light, the ATN may not survive. (Then again, real-world parallels Can suggest.) Perhaps no one is as vulnerable as Tom, who may be in danger of being scapegoated once again as head of ATN, a fate he barely avoided during the company’s cruise line scandal. had escaped.

The finale may need a significant amount of time to wrap it all up. As for the lasting damage of the attack on American democracy? Analyzing any single TV episode can be difficult.

What will the board decide?

Logan once said that life is a “knife fight in the mud.” If his children want to control whatever company emerges from the Waystar-GoJo negotiations — to take it back from tech mogul Lucas Matson (Alexander Skarsgård) — they need to step up their efforts, fast (and with that knife). need to bring a gun to a fight).

None of the Roy siblings have a secure position or a strong lawyer. Kendall thought that Mencken’s backing would ensure his later help in blocking the sale of GoJo, which would help the Roy children keep the company. But Mencken seems willing to ignore that promise. Nor does Mencken seem to respect either. Co. CE Bros: Roman loses whatever currency he had after melting down at Logan’s funeral. (Mencken calls it a “warm vapor.”) Kendall lost his partisan approach to conversation.

As things stand now, Mencken is considering approving GoJo’s acquisition of Waystar if an American chief executive is attached, and neither brother will make Matsson’s shortlist. His sister, Shev (Sarah Snook), thinks he’s in line, but Mattson disagrees. If all Mattson wants is a useful pawn, he’s looking to Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), who is dedicated to the task and flexible in his loyalties, or Greg (Nicholas Brown), who is easy to manipulate. Will be.

However the deal falls through, there’s no guarantee Mattson and the board will want a member of the Roy family. They have good reason not to. Given all the family squabbles and rushed decision-making, the board may decide to install someone with real experience. Jerry (Jay Smith-Cameron) or Stevie (Arian Moed).

Can Shiva and Tom be saved?

Put another way, is Shivers off? Put still another way, can Shiva have it all – a high-powered carrier And An active family? Whatever she does, she may have to pick some goals and make a commitment. She’s so busy flip-flopping around in her various positions that it’s hard to know where she really stands.

For example, is Shiva really so repulsed by Mencken? Or do his values ​​bend only if they do not interfere with his personal gain? Does Shiv only want the GoJo deal when she allows him to become chief executive, or will she support him in another leadership role? Shiv assures Matson that her impending motherhood is a no-brainer – the way she describes it, she might as well put the baby up for adoption. But does she really want to follow in the footsteps of her neglectful, abusive father?

Shiv needs to make these decisions—about the person and parent she wants to be—before she can even consider reconciling with her estranged husband, Tom. Otherwise their relationship will be doomed by its toxic dynamics, however corporate and political gamesmanship is demonstrated.

Will Kendall’s past catch up with him?

In each The end of the season By now, Kendall has had to come to terms, on some level, with the drowning death of the waiter who helped her sister’s wedding. The news of his involvement is yet to be revealed. If or when that happens, it will be a bummer, although “when” seems more likely than “if” at this point.

His siblings know the truth. She confesses to him at the end of season 3. Cousin Greg also knows some of the details because he was the one who connected Kendall to the waiter. And Marcia (Hayam Abbas) and her son, Amir (Daris Humayun), who were there after the accident, threaten Kendall’s alibi.

And then there’s Logan’s former bodyguard Colin (Scott Nicholson), who helps him hide. Maybe that’s why Kendall was so worried. Episode No. 9 To find out that Colin was in therapy – and felt the need to let her know that he knew. We haven’t heard much lately about the podcast investigating the Roy family curse, but we should remember that whatever confidentiality agreements there may be, secrets There is a way to leak.

where greg

Cousin Greg, a.k.a. the little hateful brother, sold his soul a long time ago, and this has given him a chance to face off with some of the most important people in the world. But do any of them respect him? (We can answer that ourselves: No.)

It may be that their—and our—ignorance of Gregg is part of the point of “Succession”: He praises failure upward. First, his disarming gentleness made him a good audience surrogate, his mediocrity a good source of comic relief. But then he begins to master the skills necessary for this rarefied world of relentless ambition, including blackmail, perjury, and fraud. Now he gets invited to every party, even though no one wants him there.

This season, he took it to the next level by helping facilitate ATN’s pre-election call. If it all blows over, he’s unlikely to go down with Tom, not least because he knows where the bodies are buried when Tom was running the Cruise division.

If Mattson succeeds, he may see the benefit of having an ally in an opinion that isn’t as controversial as Kendall, Roman or Shavu — an opinion he can control. At the very least, Mattson and Gregg make for a great photo op together, both over 6 feet tall. Leadership positions are less decided.