Buckle up fuckleheads we’re excited for the Succession finale

[CultureAlienationBoredomandDespair]

Continuing our discussion here 😊

Roman’s comment about Kendall’s kids was fucking brutal as well. Aargh, so good, I’m going to miss it so much!

I don't think Shiv has influence over Tom anymore. He's the CEO. She's out. He didn't HAVE to accept her back. He could have just as easily left her. I know I must be the only person thinking this but I think she wanted him back because she actually likes/loves him. Every time they broke up she was actually very hurt by it and she never truly wanted him to get fired even when she thought she had the upper hand and they were fighting/divorcing. Plus, she is having his baby.

I thought that too re:Ebba, and that she was feeding the sibs info at Matsson’s request. He admitted he was using Shiv initially for political influence

I see it 😂

Yes! At the time I was thinking “he’s going to pop those stitches”, it was almost like Kendal was trying to drown Roman.

I’ve only after watching clocked that Kendall deliberately opened Roman’s cut eyebrow - DH said “fucking hell, that was dark” but I didn’t understand what he was talking about at the time!

It was awful, @slamfightbrightlight . Roman was already distraught from seeing Gerri and couldn't get away. He didn't realise what Kendall was doing when he shifted Roman's forehead over to his shoulder, so he could press it against bone and do the most damage. Think we can guess where he learnt that power play. Just grim.

I agree Xela, I think she was telling the truth when she said to him about having no secrets given they’ve already said the worst possible things to each other, and she’s never had an honest relationship before (albeit a very messed up one).

For Tom I think he knows he’s a puppet and his time at the top is potentially limited - maintaining a Roy connection despite the fact the family are no longer at the helm would be of some advantage to him further down the line.

Yes, I see it as Tom using Shiv rather than the other way around. He was going to very easily betray her (not for the first time) but she actually didn't want to betray him.

Roman's speech to Kendall about them actually all being bullshit and nothing was very apt. And he was so happy that Kendal didn't win 😀He was really delighted that Shiv changed her mind. He didn't want to be CEO but he didn't want it yo be Kendal

I don’t think Shiv hated Kendall I think she knew he wasn’t up to the job.

Agree with your summary @tribpot - the part where Kendall deliberately presses Romans forehead into his shoulder was very dark. 'The poison drips through...'

In the end, although I've hated him in parts of the show, Roman is the one who got the most I feel. He knows it's all bullshit. And him fighting Kendall to protect Shiv....I'm glad Kendall didn't win. But that business is a snake pit. I think Shiv got in with Tom as a way to hold on to at least a bit of power.

And Caroline, manipulating getting them all together for a 'clear the air' session so peters friend could sell them on his business idea? With no food in the fridge (except Peters cheese....) - wonderful!!

I thought Roman wanted him to do it. I'm not sure why, but seemed to be obsessing that his injuries didn't look too bad. I felt that he needed to look more wounded in order to face the boardroom and Gerri. Kendall was hurting him but kissed his head and told him he would be ok. It was a very confusing scene.

Re: Shiv/Tom- I think part of it is because he has changed into Logan, and the crueller and more powerful he is the more she wants him. She couldn’t get her dad’s approval so maybe now she can get his!

Agree with this. He saw Gerri and unravelled, and worried he would look weak for stepping down from fighting for the crown as his injuries looked “too good”.

He is used to abuse from loved ones so I think Kendall was giving him that partly to make the wounds worse, partly to give him comfort in the abuse he is used to, and partly to assert dominance. A very dark, very difficult to watch scene.

Honestly Peter's cheese was the high point of the episode. And I think also the final scene they shot - this is a lovely video of Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook shaving Jeremy Strong's hair off (in a consensual, non-Kendall-like manner) still in those same costumes.

No-one will be at all surprised to discover that Jeremy Strong really drank that awful mixture they made for him, even though it made him vomit. He seemed almost surprised when the podcast host asked him if he had. I can't help but think of Sir Laurence Oliver getting pissed off with the extreme lengths Dustin Hoffman was going to with the method: "My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?"

Just so many brilliant aspects to the finale, lots of which you have all mentioned.

I thought the very, very final (but one, possibly) frame was outstanding. We are behind Kendall as he is looking out over the water. For me that echoed the final frame of the title sequence where Logan is sitting with his board in front of him. Kendall however has nothing but water in front of him, and that water symbolises the drowned waiter and the start of his ultimate downfall.

I think might watch it all from the start!

Oh, and I think Roman was glad to be out of it all in the end. The little smile as he drinks his cocktail...

He is used to abuse from loved ones so I think Kendall was giving him that partly to make the wounds worse, partly to give him comfort in the abuse he is used to, and partly to assert dominance. A very dark, very difficult to watch scene.

Exactly that, @greennotepad . I think Roman did want it on some level, in the same way he can only get aroused when Gerri is verbally abusing him. And the same way he got those injuries in the first place - throwing himself into the mob, wanting them to beat him down, to punish himself for the humiliation at the funeral.

Excellent

Loved it. Wasn’t sure which way it would go but happy with the ending

I think I need to rewatch! There was just SO much in that wasn't there?
I really think Shiv will just go with whoever has power...jumped to Mattson, agreed to back Kendall, then when she knew it would be Tom she moved to him.
Loved them all coming off the plane all power suits and making calls...but it did have an air of them playing at it. Not serious people!

I may be the only person in the world who felt sad for Kendall. He really ended up with nothing. Jeremy Strong's acting just broke me.

But the finale was perfect in its symmetry. I am glad it was true to the characters and story line.

Shiv ends up powerless like Caroline before her, her only value as a wife and mother..Not the girl boss she thought she would be
Kendall ends up becoming Logan Junior but without even his family
Roman drinks Gerri's signature drink as she comes back after being fired twice
Tom gets his revenge after 4 seasons of humiliation because he was the only one who did any work
Gerri and Karolina, the most competent and sensible women in the show, come out on top.

The scene with the 3 siblings making the disgusting drink was so lovely and moving. That camaraderie couldn't last.

Shiv ends up powerless like Caroline before her, her only value as a wife and mother..
But in fact Shiv has cast herself in that role - presumably because it's all she's ever known. Caroline couldn't/wouldn't leave Logan because he had the money and would take the children from her (unclear if that would really bother Caroline but she did accuse Shiv of abandoning her when the divorce happened). Shiv is surely one of the richest women in the world at this point. You think she'd have a few options.

Kendall is a pitiful figure by the end (and most of the time during the show, one way or another). Destroyed by this ambition, he has lost everything.

What an incredible finale! For me the most poignant scene was during the 'grabathon' where the video was playing. We saw a playful and relaxed Logan with what he considered his true family - Gerri, Karl, Frank, Kerry & Connor. Sibs not present, Logan kept them at arm's length. Wonder who was filming that? Logan's bodyguard maybe?

I thought Willa filmed it on her phone?

Tom gets his revenge after 4 seasons of humiliation because he was the only one who did any work

He took so much. Stuck it out

I loved his walk to the boardroom. Calm at last. Focussed on him not so much Mattson