Topic: HBO/Sky Atlantic - Succession

[Red Viper]

Surprised some haven't liked this week's episode because I thought it was an instant classic.

Spoiler

Could have been code. I saw the theory on the internet.

[close]

Spoiler

Logan wasn't getting fed dodgy meds though? He went mad because he didn't take his meds to treat the UTI.

[close]

[A-Bomb]

Best TV since GOT for me....started the first series on Monday this week, have just caught up to date with current episode!

Absolutely Boss, just gutted i have to now wait for the next installment.

[bradders1011]

Spoiler

"It's a nice safe space where you don't have to pretend to like Hamilton."

"Well, I like Hamilton."

"Sure, you do. We all do."

[close]

Excellent guest stars this week.

[iamnant]

Quite a different season to the previous ones with it either being a conscious decision to base it all around the one plot point or the pandemic meaning things had to change, but it's slightly becoming long winded for me. Whilst it's still a brilliant show, this season's dragging ever so slightly in my opinion.

Having said that, some of the acting and lines in this proves why it's still one of the best shows around and miles ahead of other dramas.

[afc tukrish]

Quite a different season to the previous ones with it either being a conscious decision to base it all around the one plot point or the pandemic meaning things had to change, but it's slightly becoming long winded for me. Whilst it's still a brilliant show, this season's dragging ever so slightly in my opinion.

Having said that, some of the acting and lines in this proves why it's still one of the best shows around and miles ahead of other dramas.

Inclined to agree with this perspective, but scenes like Kendall and Tom in the diner are a highlight of the positives of the new approach.

The series is sort of done with illustrating in glorious, riotous detail how scummy and entitled all the various characters are. Established.

Now, we're trailing along behind the event(s) that will explode everything with pyrotechnic elan.

Building tension as much as dragging, I think...

[iamnant]

Inclined to agree with this perspective, but scenes like Kendall and Tom in the diner are a highlight of the positives of the new approach.

The series is sort of done with illustrating in glorious, riotous detail how scummy and entitled all the various characters are. Established.

Now, we're trailing along behind the event(s) that will explode everything with pyrotechnic elan.

Building tension as much as dragging, I think...

Yeah can't argue with any of that, especially with it all exploding towards the end. The scene with Tom and Kendall has stayed in my mind today -- Mathew McFayden is an absolutely unbelievable actor.

[kopite321]

I fucking adore this series... brilliant.

[The G in Gerrard]

Throwing cake batter at a brick wall

Roman & Shiv dynamic is funny also.

[Chip Evans]

Roman makes me laugh more than anyone on TV since Malcolm Tucker. He is horrible but hilarious.

Team Tom at the moment - hope he's having his Trading Places moment and they keep pulling that thread. The wine tasting scene was great.

Kendall would make you sick - he is pathetic 'HEY PAPER PEOPLE!'.

[Dench57]

Roman makes me laugh more than anyone on TV since Malcolm Tucker. He is horrible but hilarious.

Team Tom at the moment - hope he's having his Trading Places moment and they keep pulling that thread. The wine tasting scene was great.

Kendall would make you sick - he is pathetic 'HEY PAPER PEOPLE!'.

Spoiler

Yeah, I was Team Kendall but they've made him such a relentless douche this season. Tom's real talk to Ken outside the diner was great. As deluded as Ken is, that has to have cut through. He needs humbling in a big way before he's a character we can root for again. Team Tom all the way now, him really milking the prison stuff is hilarious. I don't think switching sides is in his best interests though, everything that touches Ken turns to shit, prison time for people like him would be very cushy, and you'd think the Roys would take care of him when he got out (his marriage seemed to be over before it began though). Greg, while still extremely funny, was in danger of becoming a bit one-note, so it was nice to see that the idea of President Connor was too far even for him.

[close]

[Chip Evans]

Spoiler

Yeah, I was Team Kendall but they've made him such a relentless douche this season. Tom's real talk to Ken outside the diner was great. As deluded as Ken is, that has to have cut through. He needs humbling in a big way before he's a character we can root for again. Team Tom all the way now, him really milking the prison stuff is hilarious. I don't think switching sides is in his best interests though, everything that touches Ken turns to shit, prison time for people like him would be very cushy, and you'd think the Roys would take care of him when he got out (his marriage seemed to be over before it began though). Greg, while still extremely funny, was in danger of becoming a bit one-note, so it was nice to see that the idea of President Connor was too far even for him.

[close]

Spoiler

He's terrible - gone from manic to desperate without a shred of self awareness. It's a cringe fest whenever he opens his mouth - the scenes where he's talking with his team about his 40th etc. He has nobody left -not sure what climax they are building to with him but it's not gonna be good.

Question: Logan's assistant - how long has she been there? Since the end of the last season or all along? There's something building there too. I have a loose hunch she is playing him but maybe it is just as the future ex-Mrs Roy. 

[close]

[The G in Gerrard]

Roman makes me laugh more than anyone on TV since Malcolm Tucker. He is horrible but hilarious.

Team Tom at the moment - hope he's having his Trading Places moment and they keep pulling that thread. The wine tasting scene was great.

Kendall would make you sick - he is pathetic 'HEY PAPER PEOPLE!'.

Agreed Roman is hilarious. Comfortably my favourite character in show ahead of Tom since first season.

Kendall has messed up losing that lawyer. He's so far gone now that I'm glad Tom told him some home truths.

Lucky Logan with his assistant

[Red Viper]

Late to watch this week's but just another absolute banger of an episode.

[iamnant]

Spoiler

He's terrible - gone from manic to desperate without a shred of self awareness. It's a cringe fest whenever he opens his mouth - the scenes where he's talking with his team about his 40th etc.

[close]

Spoiler

What I've loved about this season -- and even though I posted a few posts ago that I felt it was dragging slightly, that was in relation to the previous two seasons and I still love this show more than any other at the moment -- is that in the shareholders episode for example, the Roy family clearly missed a Kendall to take control whilst Logan was 'incapacitated' and how in the last episode, as you refer to, Kendall is clearly missing his family taking him down a notch or two and keeping him grounded. It proves that no matter how dysfunctional they all are, they rely on each other to keep them who they are and without each other they turn to shit, or at least Roman, Ken and Shiv do.

To write a show where that it the crux of the show and not make it cheesy or obvious or ham fisted is utter genius.

[close]

[Barefoot Doctor]

Never ceases to amaze me the mileage Succession gets out of a simple 'uh huh' - so much variety in delivery, so effective.

[bradders1011]

The wine tasting scene was great.

"Huh, it's a screw top..."

[scatman]

yeah i was team kendall at teh start of this season, Team Tom all the way. When's greg gonna stop being stupid.

[Livbes]

I think this series has been superb. Roman, jeez 

I love it when his dad calls him Romulus.

[Fruity]

Just started watching this. Nearly at the end of season 2. Really good show. Funny, well acted, just great entertainment. Like watching a tv version of Wolf of wall street but a nastier and darker element. Absolutely love Tom - can't believe he played Major ingram in who wants to be a millionaire - thought he was an american actor. Just some really funny lines from him.

[scatman]

Spoiler

Ken has become pathetic once again

[close]

[Dench57]

Spoiler

jesus that was a tough watch. they really are all fucking horrible. greg and PA lady was nice though, and the "compliment tunnel" was very funny

[close]

[S]

Spoiler

Ken has become pathetic once again

[close]

He has been this entire season. Which is part of the reason why, despite still outclassing other shows, it’s been comfortably the worst of the three so far. It hasn’t progressed at all.

[Guz-kop]

Spoiler

I just can't decide on this season. I thought yesterday's episode was brilliant. Kendals break down with the presents, wanting Greg to punch him only to feel sorry for him at the end. The scenes between Greg and Tom as always incredible. Roman plays a dick of a character brilliantly. The shows ability to tell a story about a few characters in a different environment every week is pretty remarkable. It's a bit like sopranos or mad men. But I don't know if it's the fact that I'm so used to binging TV shows now, the flow of the season just seems off. It almost doesn't matter because episodes in isolation have great writing and acting but haven't enjoyed the story arc as much as the first two seasons. Obvious ending is something absolutely terrible happening to Ken but maybe they've got a twist. They've spent like 3 episodes just driving him down

[close]

[Barefoot Doctor]

Spoiler

Kendall Roy was offered $2bn and a blowjob on his birthday and turned down both. There's no coming back from that.

[close]

[BER]

When did the Roy siblings become the most dull part of this show?

[Hedley Lamarr]

Tom is the best character in this now, seems the most human, with genuine feelings.  Greg has become a caricature, the siblings differing shades of shit.

It’s still fantastic to watch because of the dialogue, but it needs to start moving a bit.

[S]

Spoiler

But I don't know if it's the fact that I'm so used to binging TV shows now, the flow of the season just seems off.

[close]

You're not imagining it. Every episode has been more or less the same. Kendall is hyperactive, then pathetic. Shiv and Roman jostle for authority. Tom and Gregg hover awkwardly on the outskirts. It's basically been that seven times over, the only difference is the setting.

Season one had Kendall in charge, then ousted at that frantic shareholders meeting, then shooting up with drug addicts, then seizing control of the company and then having to crawl back after the car crash. Shiv had her political career and was having an affair on the side. Even Greg was more interesting and less a parody of himself as he is now.

I'm being overly harsh only because it has reached such brilliant heights. I just feel like we're going over and over the same ground here.

[Shepnois]

Yes the show is moving pretty slowly not a great deal is happening but damn it's so good, the last few episodes have been incredible. Ep 7 was one of the best they've done for me, hilarious moments and some brutally tragic ones. Two more episodes left this season I'm expecting something explosive.

[Schmidt]

Things are gradually changing, Kendall is on a slide, the ignoring and undermining of Shiv is getting more and more brazen and Roman is going down a bit of a dark path but also doing a brilliant job. Tom also looks like a man with nothing in his life to hold on to. It feels like we're heading for something explosive, and I have no idea what.

[Crimson]

Kendall is so cringe. 

[Chip Evans]

Well that was an excruciating hour of TV. Thank fuck he didn't crucify himself. You can feel the air deflate out of Kendall in that episode - might be for the best. Was nauseous watching it - that bit where he ruined Greg at the bottom of the escalator.

"It's your milk teeth and iTunes voucher"

Good TV - needed an episode like that. Might scatter the board a bit.

[The G in Gerrard]

Think the criticism here is unjust about this season. Thought it was brilliant watching everyone/thing unravel (Kendall in particular). The dysfunctional family are drifting even further apart.

[scatman]

I think the guys above are fine to critique, it's not got the strength of previous season but it is still fantastic television, its just set the standards so high! Covid obviously hasn't helped in the filming.

[Hedley Lamarr]

I do think a lot of people are finding the adjustment to watching this week-by-week difficult, which is sort of understandable but also really not the show’s problem.

Im not, Ive watched it weekly since the beginning.

[Chip Evans]

Spoiler

Think it's been excellent myself - it's been a bit like a play obviously due to the pandemic - so there isn't all the exotic locations, a 12 Angry Men/Billionaires vibe for a lot of it. The final 10 minutes of the episode was fantastic there. Jeremy Strong has been amazing this series, making the confidence of Kendall so artificial and fragile and cringey takes real skill. I almost felt pity for him at the end of the episode, the why doesn't anyone really love me vibe - even after he's been a dick to all and sundry throughout the episode. But he's managed to make him so un-self aware, it's brilliant. Tragic comic gold

Roman has the best lines - but he's a horrible shite. But he's the natural heir. He's the psychopath - the killer his dad wants.

Shiv and Tom is great. They were both looking forward to Tom going to prison so much and getting away from each other - that'll come to a head.     

It's been all about the siblings this series - so reckon Shiv will switch sides myself - and Tom is obviously on a promise from Logan.

The only real complaints I have is Logan. They've made him a bit weak - there's no boar on the floor ferocity - and the dynamic with him and the assistant is a bit weird. It's all a bit under developed. In saying that his mind games with Kendall have been great. The doughnuts, the exit offer to ruin his birthday, the making him sit in the empty room at the shareholders meeting and then leaving him sitting there. 

The upcoming wedding is going to be great though. That has to be where it'll all climax? 

[close]

[Fruity]

I have watched season 1 up to now over the last week.

This season definitely feels like a repetition now and is dragging along so slowly. Don't get me wrong each episode is still entertaining but it hasn't reached the heights of the first two.

Spoiler

In terms of where it's going - shiv maybe swapping sides? Roman getting fucked over by Dad?

Really though it needs a new element for Season 4 or something not obvious kicking in. Kendall should probably leave and start his own business because ultimately the show is about an old man who doesn't want to give up power unless it is forced from him and how many times can we go through the same Kendall vs Dad. Or next Shiv vs Dad or Roman. Eventually one of them has to win or there has to be a slightly different angle. I know it's called succession but that doesn't mean you can drag it out for 70 episodes or however many they may end up making.

[close]

[Redcap]

I have watched season 1 up to now over the last week.

This season definitely feels like a repetition now and is dragging along so slowly. Don't get me wrong each episode is still entertaining but it hasn't reached the heights of the first two.

Spoiler

In terms of where it's going - shiv maybe swapping sides? Roman getting fucked over by Dad?

Really though it needs a new element for Season 4 or something not obvious kicking in. Kendall should probably leave and start his own business because ultimately the show is about an old man who doesn't want to give up power unless it is forced from him and how many times can we go through the same Kendall vs Dad. Or next Shiv vs Dad or Roman. Eventually one of them has to win or there has to be a slightly different angle. I know it's called succession but that doesn't mean you can drag it out for 70 episodes or however many they may end up making.

[close]

Spoiler

I agree with the possibility that Kendall may start his own business. If he's going to succeed, as I think most of us want him to, that's what he'll need to do because the relationship with the family is too far gone.

I don't think it makes sense for him to go head to head - it's better for him to succeed on his own terms. The more I think about it, the more I think that's a decent bet.

It's not outside of the realm of possibility for Shiv to actually do the same. She's been increasingly marginalised over the course of this season and ultimately it'd be a real tragedy for her to continue hanging around. Although, the trailer for the next episode seems to suggest that Roman messed up with the GoJo deal, so she might be a little bit back in.

I don't think this will go on for 70 episodes. I think maybe 2 more seasons is all it has to run.

My bet is by the end of this season Mencken wins the Presidency, Kendall is licking his wounds starting to rebuild, and Shiv is either completely on the outs because it's gone so badly for her - to the extent that she goes back to Democratic politics, or her Stockholm Syndrome makes her double-down. Fast forward to next season and I reckon we'll get a time jump - possibly 2 or 3 years, and we'll see in the family in quite a different situation because Logan will be that much older, and at least one of his children will be that much more independent.

[close]

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Spoiler

I love Kendall - I love the boldness, the vulnerability and the balls. But I feel like it has gone too far now where he isn’t a parody of himself, but I certainly find him less credible and find it harder to see him rise from the the flames and be the power player in all of this. I do feel like there has been a shift for the character this season. He was always vulnerable - the crash, the drugs, his kids… you could always see the human side to him. But he was still switched on and happy to play the game, and put the effort in for the family business. He even had funny, quirky moments - like the rapping. But this Kendall is very far removed. Detached from reality almost. And that might be the whole point and how they want the character to be played out but fuck me… is it not too much? At the end of last season we thought he was going to go toe-to-toe with his Dad, with a good chance of heading up WR. Now he just looks like a boy in a man’s world. A rabbit in the headlights.

I am enjoying this series but Kendall’s journey hasn’t been easy to watch.

[close]

[scatman]

Spoiler

I love Kendall - I love the boldness, the vulnerability and the balls. But I feel like it has gone too far now where he isn’t a parody of himself, but I certainly find him less credible and find it harder to see him rise from the the flames and be the power player in all of this. I do feel like there has been a shift for the character this season. He was always vulnerable - the crash, the drugs, his kids… you could always see the human side to him. But he was still switched on and happy to play the game, and put the effort in for the family business. He even had funny, quirky moments - like the rapping. But this Kendall is very far removed. Detached from reality almost. And that might be the whole point and how they want the character to be played out but fuck me… is it not too much? At the end of last season we thought he was going to go toe-to-toe with his Dad, with a good chance of heading up WR. Now he just looks like a boy in a man’s world. A rabbit in the headlights.

I am enjoying this series but Kendall’s journey hasn’t been easy to watch.

[close]

i agree its been really tough to watch

[Redcap]

Spoiler

I love Kendall - I love the boldness, the vulnerability and the balls. But I feel like it has gone too far now where he isn’t a parody of himself, but I certainly find him less credible and find it harder to see him rise from the the flames and be the power player in all of this. I do feel like there has been a shift for the character this season. He was always vulnerable - the crash, the drugs, his kids… you could always see the human side to him. But he was still switched on and happy to play the game, and put the effort in for the family business. He even had funny, quirky moments - like the rapping. But this Kendall is very far removed. Detached from reality almost. And that might be the whole point and how they want the character to be played out but fuck me… is it not too much? At the end of last season we thought he was going to go toe-to-toe with his Dad, with a good chance of heading up WR. Now he just looks like a boy in a man’s world. A rabbit in the headlights.

I am enjoying this series but Kendall’s journey hasn’t been easy to watch.

[close]

Agree but I think that's where striking out on its own is a potential future storyline maybe with some merit. How much of what we've seen from Kendall is a function of his relationship with Logan? If he does go his own way it'd be really instructive.