HBO's Succession - Season 2 and Beyond

Tom “fits easily into whatever pattern is successful”. I think the ending suggests permanence but who knows, he’s shown enough desperation to push through that the siblings just didn’t have because of their inability to put their own shit aside for even five minutes.

Kendall becoming unkempt right at the death and staring out at the water with its suggestion of submerging and never returning is GREAT.

Some other things I liked:

- -Jerk dungeon and he’s been pity-spanked
- Shiv basically calling Tom an inanimate carbon rod lmao (I mean she isn’t wrong but that’s why Matsson chose him, he’s a tool and he knows it)
- Czechoslovakia it
- “You don’t like to fail a test do you Siobhan” basically all the Tom/Shiv moments in this are great
- Roman wanting Shiv but not Kendall to come to him, later on Kendall hugs Roman and literally reopens his wound while doing so, I love how they are written, what a clown car of fuckups
- 200k Greg
- The Hundred reference!
- Creamy margins & the Living + pitch, somehow this managed to only be the second funniest scene in Caroline’s place
- Roman imitating Kendall after an unsuccessful murder attempt was incredible, and yet only the second best Roy impression this episode
- Meal fit for a king
- Freeze the knobbies
- The scent of the siblings in the kitchen is great. Easily one of my favourite scenes in the whole show ever. They go from serious and contemplative in the ocean to larking around like kids and it wasn’t enough because they lost that bond between them in pursuit of fuckery. I laughed so much when Caroline came down to tell them to be quiet and when Roman was licking the cheese, it reminded me very much of me and all my own siblings when we are all in the same place at the same time and revert to kid stuff. It was one of the realest scenes in the whole show and I’m so happy we got to see it.
- Willa’s cowprint couch
- SILENCE IN THE COURTYARD - is this something kids say in America? This is a school type chant that you’d say as a child, as I learned it, we did it as:

Silence in the courtyard, silence in the street
The biggest fool in Ireland is just about to speak
Speak, fool, speak
Speak after me

Tom in control of Shiv at the end. This reminded me of the repeated hints we’ve got this season that Tom targeted Shiv in her weakest moments, even when they first got together, and that he is happiest when she’s pliable. It was ice-cold.

I will be thinking about this ending for a while. Felt narratively satisfying.

Oh and eephus you deserve a shoutout for correctly flagging exactly how the election plotline would play out. After a few episodes of the biggest picture, the show zoomed right back in again and showed us everyone’s pores and wrinkles in the highest definition. It was classic.

The misogyny towards Shiv was real in this episode.

Matsson is bothered by the puppet cartoon.
He tells Tom straight up he wants to fuck Shiv, and we already know he’s compromised himself by shitting where he eats at least once.
Kind of crazy that she ends up extremely rich but the show tells us explicitly she is subordinate to her husband, who is a guy in a suit who could be (and lbr, will be) fired at any time.

I think I wrote before I didn’t care for the whole pregnancy subplot but it made perhaps somewhat sense that she would be drawn back towards Tom because of it.

Also, Roman just casually bludgeoning Kendall with Logan’s comments about his children was incredibly cold. And I think it touched a nerve with him, because we’ve never really seen Kendall give a fuck about his children, even when their wellbeing is threatened by his own actions. Bleak!

Final shot of Roman, at a bar in a nice place with a great looking martini, bruised and bloody but still breathing. Made me think about some earlier line of Tom’s about how the Roy kids would always be ok, and that’s it.

I was only sorry Greg wasn't totally fucked, but that is, as I have pointed out before, my animosity towards the actor. Obviously it's in keeping for Greg to remain as Tom's pain sponge and so it's pain sponges all the way down.

I think he seemed pretty fucked, basically as you say

the disgusting brothers are the one true family

Good ending. The most objectively plausible of the possible outcomes. Loved Peter and his pal trying to pitch the kids on their scheme. More substantively, I liked Shiv’s complex motives for changing her vote (again) — yes, jealousy, and bound up with stuff with their dad, but also fundamentally she just knows Ken’s a lightweight try-hard who is always ultimately gonna mess up. And she also thinks Tom is actually competent.

Mostly I think she did everyone a favor, probably including Ken. They all just walk away rich.

Plus she has to reckon she can exert some influence over Tom, even if it's only on small things. So she still has some voice at the company.

Loved Peter and his pal trying to pitch the kids on their scheme.

I love how their mother is so awful that she would set up that whole trip just so her husband's rubbish friend could pitch her kids, and when Roman shows up in bits, she sees this as her way to get the other two to agree to come. She is the absolute worst.

He lives in Monaco, he has to be careful about his days!!!

Meanwhile poor Colin, reduced to trailing around after the failson. Maybe we can imagine a future blackmail scheme where he threatens to out Kendall over the dead waiter.

Kendall with his feet on Logan's desk, cosplaying daddy, pushed Shiv over the edge.

i did not take shiv’s decision as having much, if anything to do with tom. she decided she preferred everyone losing over kendall winning.

Shiv made the choice that benefited her, sure she’s personally unhappy but she’s near to the centre of power now, so.

not seeing a real great future for their relationship with the power dynamic permanently flipped but yes she can tell herself for now that she didn’t lose

shivs motivations are pretty murky, seems like she had a strong i cant do this moment in the board room, mightve not been strategic or thought out at all, maybe just didnt feel right, so shes like i need a moment to gather my thoughts, and kendall follows her and totally validates what her gut was telling her

What do y'all think peter's friend's pitch was?

not seeing a real great future for their relationship with the power dynamic permanently flipped but yes she can tell herself for now that she didn’t lose

Siobhan, do you remember when we first, uh, knew one another? The first time in France when I flew to you? And it was that very difficult time for you. And I'd sent you... all those handwritten notes. And then the first time that you were wearing that very... fine silk shirt. And I put my arm around you. I said, I kept asking, "Do you like this? Do you like this?" And you said, eventually, "I like it all."

tom genuine feeling towards expensive things, a fine silk shirt, is such a good lil detail

kendall down by the river thinking about how if shiv was first to vote maybe he wins

What do y'all think peter's friend's pitch was?

from what i could tell it was something about care homes of not-great quality?

We snuck off on the middle of the afternoon to watch this. fantastic ending, so glad we got a bit of time with Caroline "hearty fare, small rations" or whatever it was. Don't think Shiv ever anticipated having the deciding vote - it was delicious to see. Kendall absolutely screwing it for himself with her, he's fundamentally awful and deluded to the end.

Half worried we'd see either Ken get food poisoning with that concoction, or see his body falling past the boardroom at that final signing. Glad it didn't go there.

hadn't really thought about it before but Rome being a dick highlighted it - Shiv's baby/ies will be the only blood succession line to Logan.

would've loved more Gerri tho

Caroline having barely any food in the fridge and keeping the frozen end pieces of the bread was prime aristo behaviour

I AM THE ELDEST BOY

Caroline waving at the departing SUV and just saying, "go away!"

Face eggs

Glad they acknowledged Greg being the highest paid assistant in human history.

So much empty middle management bullshit speak in Tom's pitch for himself lol

did tom bring the stickers just to put one on greg, must have, so thoughtful

You guys think Greg will become CEO

If that stands for Cleaning Executive Orifices, sure

Face eggs

yes thank you

also their mother struck me as not nearly as awful as she had in the past in this episode, like their total animosity toward her seems misplaced.

idk she did guilt trip them about business talk only to spring her husbands pitch on them lol

well yeah I didn't say she's great but generally speaking she was right. like, just fucking sell the place and take the money and do something else, what is wrong with all of them

shell never understand how hungry one can be for media companies

the whole theory about tom's name Wambsgans foreshadowing that he would knock out all 3 kids to win the throne would (obv) have to mean that the writers knew that was the narrative arc from the beginning. has armstrong commented? interviews with mcfadden from earlier seasons suggest the writers didn't really know where they were going with tom's character. maybe they were just setting his character up as one possilbe victor. it makes sense they knew none of the kids would ultimately succeed.

Jeremy Strong never looks creepier than when he smiles

Are the kids now still legally on the hook to buy Pierce together? Feel like that could be awkward

lol Pierce i think u can safely let thst narrative thread go now

*that

they were just setting his character up as one possilbe victor

"Victor" seems the wrong word here, I think a big part of what's going on as the show wraps up is the bright light shined on the difference between "getting the thing you wanted" and "victory"

farewell to a wonderful show

I will miss whenever stuff starts to go Kendall's way and he just shifts into cocky CEO mode. Just interrupting everyone, shouting buzzwords, barely finishing conversations. Funniest shit in the world to me

— rain (actual speed) enjoyer (@notnotnuanced) May 29, 2023

"Victor" seems the wrong word here,

I think it's the right word in terms of the outcome for the company, but there's no winner of the show, because everyone remains dreadful and incapable of enjoying anything or being content for more than ten minutes.

"Victor" seems the wrong word here

in the world of the show "victor" is probably right word (tom is the successor). but, as you point, out the show makes it abundantly clear the costs for the winner and the also-rans are terribly steep. And yet, unfortunately for the rest of us, it's a bargain all too many people are willing to make.

Can we move on past this basic talking point please, it’s been a thing for like three seasons

Glad they acknowledged Greg being the highest paid assistant in human history.

_ What do y'all think peter's friend's pitch was?_

from what i could tell it was something about care homes of not-great quality?

surprised he only makes 200k honestly

Does he still live rent-free at Kendall's place?

Kendall’s implied infertility is kinda sad.

Also that all of their relationships are now so utterly broken. the brief moments of genuine togetherness in the kitchen and in front of the dinner video are over, it could be decades until they speak again

new jess