HBO's Succession - Season 2 and Beyond

v disappointed in Kendall on this one. that letter was a gift if he'd swung instead of ducking.

I really liked this third episode, triggered kendoll, back in da house, shiv's political ambitions thwarted, Roman being between a rock and hard place, oh! Gerri, sidelined by the trapped big bull logan, tom trying hard to heroically fall on the sword, for the family he wanted to be born into, so badly. Greg used really well here, I like him dropped into background conversations....about his thin wrists, lol

as an awkward, lanky man with thin wrists I related when he was really happy at being told his wrists were normal.

I can't handle Kendall's face for much longer. I mean, it's excellent, but it makes me want to cry myself.

incredible depiction of a weird rich loser

i once tried to stage an intervention for my parents when i was a teenager: this show is the only thing i hqve willingly participated in that has made feel the same levels of anxiety, discomfort, terror & unpleasantness

i have to engage my whole core not to leave the room 25 times per episode

i love it so much

i really love this episode!
but i always like the insane pendulum swings w kendall
his full embarrassing hubris high after fucking up shiv’s town hall, barging in & bro-ing with the show writer 15 minutes before the show cut to
hiding in fetal position in the server room, like a little boy hiding from punishment

but also like Logan & Shiv in this ep, as much as Kendall, the whole family have such terrible kneejerk instincts to hurt each other personally, but everything vengeful thing they do to each other takes another jenga piece of the whole structure down.
steeples fingers: it’s truly ~fascinating~

I didn't totally understand whether it was somehow kendall or whether it was disgruntled employees who set up the speakers at the town hall

also i kind of loved how the host of "disruption" kind of sucked and was basically the resistance version of ATN

kendall sent his assistant the “shopping list” to buy the speakers, the empty speaker boxes were in his office
i dunno that he could get any employees onside in such a short window of time to help w that
it was totally kendalls own crew

and yeah the disruption was as earnest & weighted w meaning as kendall himself which made it stupid & lame & funny rather than the cultural overthrow he was aiming for lol

am surprised he didnt unfurl kendall-as-che banners from the ceiling

All I was thinking is server rooms are very loud and hot and that is probably not a comfortable environment in that corduroy bomber jacket.

I liked the good tweet, bad tweet game in the back of the limo, Kendall does slapped arse face so well, seeing him yo-yo between privileged mania and cold hard realisations that rock him into some past pain is powerful, I liked this episode way more than the first two, the characters felt more like themselves from previous seasons. That's said, Roman in mega awkward mode is more pronounced than ever, barely able to stop contorting himself, I loved the scene where he just walks out on a conversation, like he done that a million times where he's too insulated from the ennui of real interaction to ever have to stay put and deal with any conflict or uncomfortableness. His uncomfortableness around Logan and family drama being the only context he can't just flip the bird to or walk away from the responsibility, hence the agonising

The actor who plays Kendall is so good that just the way he walks communicates the entirety of the character

I can't think of an actor who is so good at making simple bodily movements so expressive, and yet remaining entirely naturalistic throughout

That long corridor walk was a great piece of acting, no dialogue, just Kendall, deep in his head, the palpable inner dialogue of him coaching himself into the Kendell he wants to be versus the Kendell he actually is....insecure, unsure and barely holding thing together, it is a really good performance. Liked the Shiv and Logan talk as well, again, Shiv, wild behind the eyes with her own machinations and inner dialogue, seeing her own ambitions crumbling into the inescapable, immovable void, her stone cold father.a

It's Mondale I feel sorriest for.

also i kind of loved how the host of "disruption" kind of sucked and was basically the resistance version of ATN

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, November 1, 2021 11:32 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I got a Full Frontal with Samantha Bee vibe from it, and Ziwe basically confirmed that:

How did they rewrite Sophie to better fit you?

Initially it was more a Sam Bee-type, I think. They adjusted the character to be Sophie Iwobi. That’s a Nigerian name, so it was adjusted for my personality, but I really had nothing to do with the writing. I got the script, I memorized it, showed up the day of. I improvised things, but I haven’t even seen the episode, so I can’t even tell you what made it.

kendall sent his assistant the “shopping list” to buy the speakers, the empty speaker boxes were in his office

Thanks, I totally missed all this

That scene actually did make me think "I wonder what the vibe is with just general mid-level employees at Waystar/Royco" but probably I would not actually enjoy it if the show went more this way.

that scene w Roman & Logan is so good. Culkins subtle movements are so tellin the way he lowers his head slightly, and without really doing much just somehow pulls himself ~inward~ ….but even with his gaze lowered, he’s constantly watching Logan like he’s on high alert waiting for a stray backhand

Roman’s deal will never been completely explicated but it feels less like a “who hurt you?” situation — obviously, the answer is that everyone in his family is just constantly trying to wear each other down — but “who never paid attention to you as a human, with needs” which is also everyone

the fact he repurposed a fishing story to give a dad anecdote, and it was fishing with Connor of all people, jesus christ

All I was thinking is server rooms are very loud and hot and that is probably not a comfortable environment in that corduroy bomber jacket.

Yeah, that bugged me too.

So glad I stuck it out with S1. Bachelor party in the club episode was great television . And what an epic closing to the season

:D

the greg/logan private meeting went exactly as I’d guessed it would. amazing to just spring that on us, as everything in life seems to just spring up at greg

“what do you want?”
“what can i get?”
logan, somehow not contorting in frustration:
“that is not how this works”

S2 e1 starts too fast
Ken doll decompressing in the infinity pool for less than two days ?

christ this episode

i keep thinking about the poor chef/caterer and all the wasted food for that fuckin cliff-top summit.

Kendall and Logan hugging #Succession #Successionhbo pic.twitter.com/NYycu88hrJ

— tommy1211 (@wehaveagronk) November 8, 2021

i keep thinking about the poor chef/caterer and all the wasted food for that fuckin cliff-top summit.

This! But also, Adrien Brody was perfectly cast for the type of rich dbag that would expect that. "We're not lost... YOU'RE LOST!"

I like the way there was just this whole unspoken thing of the Roys obviously not believing the kid was really sick and Aaronson knowing they didn't believe him but also knowing and enjoying that they couldn't say they didn't believe him

and rubbing it in their faces by going into the city right after

Also, as they got further and further from the house, Kendall and Logan each not being sure if they had been set up by the other.

I loved this episode for showing both Kendall AND Logan getting played for absolute fools at the same time. Obviously Logan knew it going in, so he was going to play along, no matter what - it's part of the territory for him. Watching it slowly dawn on Kendall was great tho.

the weighted silences in this episode were even more intense than normal, its wild to watch logan & kendall, and the brody character too, all gaming what they *think* should be said but no one really coming out and saying anything real for fear it will hurt their standing, power etc

even logan saying what he says about kendall, which while likely somewhat genuine is also the sharpest knife possible given all that kendall is giving up to hold his current position. saying THAT now, that is like the emotional soap in the sock beating and you can see in the moment how much he does AND doesnt want to acknowledge it without saying a word about it

seems like were headed for tom turning government witness

yeah it would seem thats coming

naw, he's going to jail and converting to Judaism

or that

Matthew Macfadyen is just light-years ahead of all the other actors in this show

i do v much want him to go to jail, primarily for reasons involving the production and imbibing of toilet wine

xpost but there are literally no bad actors in the main cast

i really felt it when he was talking about how good the cold wine is

xpost but there are literally no bad actors in the main cast

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, November 8, 2021 2:41 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

That's the thing about this show, there are a million thinkpieces about "what makes it so compelling" and "do people like or hate these characters" or whatever but I think it is extremely simple, we are watching a bunch of actors who are extremely good at acting and that is inherently enjoyable.

hard disagree!

The funny part (which I hope continues to evolve) is that Tom is so anxious in a masochistic way to play his role and sacrifice himself, but no one around him really cares or wants to fit this desire into the family's strategies.

lol yeah theyre all in denial about the investigation, totally focused on their power struggle

Yeah, agree that the whole investigation is treated as a minor issue/collateral damage, something for the wage slave mortals to deal with, the godly Roy's are busy throwing thunderbolts at each other, from remote islands and helicopters in the sky. I think the acting has always been the draw here as the characters are often unpleasant, but weirdly fun. I wince at and yet adore the nastiness on show, in this corperate backstabathon...as mentioned Tom's unloved masochism, Connor's sneering conservatism, Roman vicious childish tongue, Shiv's cold, transactional demands, Kendell's vacant social media greasiness....it's 6d chess with the divil himself, Logan. I like that they revisited Logan's infirmness and ill health again, it's a key driver in the succession story, the clocks always ticking and the pieces are having to move accordingly

Greg meeting Logan was almost unwatchable, like I can't fathom them being in the same universe let alone Greg trying to casually have a drink with his uncle. It was sublime, obviously.

so good

i rewatched this ep at lunchtime & noticed the weird dynamic between kendall & logan when logan is clearly having difficulty but keeps refusing help and kendall keeps letting it go & making excuses -
but it’s not to put him under.
i think it’s instinctive, like he’s weirdly protecting his dad from any appearance of weakness. in their family the “caring” thing to do is to help keep up the charade

like brody takes all of that to mean the family dynamic is broken and as an outsider he’s right, but in the fucked up, upside down world of the Roys, if anything it shows that kendall still cares? lol. its so crazy.