 Well, it's over, it's all over. And I come to you today now as a broken man, an empty vessel of a hust out individual who at once had things going for him. And those things were episodes of succession. Four brilliant seasons, now wrapped up. I'm gonna be talking about it today. There's gonna be spoilers, so if you haven't seen it, just go ahead and subscribe to the channel. Go finish out the finale, come back and listen to me rant and rave for a little bit. All right, let's talk about succession. The easiest way I can summarize this show for people that aren't familiar is to say, it is the business equivalent, the white collar worker equivalent of Game of Thrones. You have a bunch of broken, terrible, disgusting selfish nepo babies under one house crest, trying to make their father both proud, jealous, angry and every other emotion at the same time. These are broken, miserable people, scratching and clawing their way for power. They will throw their friends to the wolves if that means getting ahead. They will toss each other under the bus if that means getting a promotion. There is nothing they won't do. A couple things that will turn people off as succession. One, there's no heroes here. There's no good people to root for. They're all crap. There's different layers, there's different levels of it for sure, but not a single one of these people sets out on a path to do good. It's all about their internal struggles, often about the presentation and the window dressing and how best to step on people to get ahead and advance their own careers. Sure, they might act holier than thou, but it's all bullshit. And that's exactly what Roman Roy says in the final episode. We're all bullshit. We're all nothing. None of this matters at the end of the day. He actually knew this since the first episode, but it takes four solid seasons for him to get back to the place where he knew he belonged all along, which was a drift. Outside of the family, hanging out at bars, just live in life as a playboy philanthropist. Brian Cox brilliantly plays Logan Roy. He's basically Robert Murdock. The Murdock's own Fox News and a bunch of different corporations under that umbrella. The Roy family owns Waystar, that's the name of their company. Under that umbrella, you have the news channels, the networks, you have a cruise line. There's lots of different cogs and lots of different key players involved in each one of those. Much like Game of Thrones, or I guess more appropriately, House of Dragon, this show follows several characters, but they're all under one house crest and that's the Roy crest. We're gonna be following his three kids. There are four, but Connor just kind of comes and goes. He's not as intricate to the plot. He's more of a comic relief type character. And he's played by the always delightful Alan Ruck. The big focus is on Kendall, who's often considered the oldest brother because he's playing the game with the others. Then there's Roman and Shiv. Kieran gets to flex a lot of acting muscle with this character because there is a lot of depth to him. He both doesn't give a shit about anything going on, but he also is a frail, weak little man who definitely cares about everything going on. Then there's Sarah Snook as Shiv, also a powerhouse actress here. This woman so desperately wants her father's approval and she is the most like him. She's ruthless, she's cunning, but she doesn't know how to play the game like the boys because she's not a man. And that's really always what it comes down to at the end of the day. Let's circle back to Kendall. He's played by Jeremy Strong. I love this guy. He becomes a total pathetic stick in the mud in around season two or three. It's hard to watch him. He really does become a lame duck. But season one and season four, he is fantastic. He's psyching himself up, listening to rap music, trying to act like the big dog, but he's not. None of these guys ever could be. And the big dog is of course Logan Roy. It all boils down to this. All of the kids of Logan Roy want what he has, power. Those around them worshiping at their feet because they already have billions of dollars. They can get any woman or man they want. They can buy all that. But you can't buy the type of power, influence and commanding presence that Logan Roy has. And unfortunately, Logan Roy is a douche and he raised his children with a false sense of worth. He wants them to compete for his love, for his affection, for power. It's all part of his game. It's all part of his plan. And he desperately wants a kid to step up and be him. But he knows deep down, none of these people are. They're all a disappointment in his eyes. Logan Roy's not doing well when we open up the first episode. He's got some definite issues going on health-wise. And this is going to lead the family to not only band together and be there for their dad, but also to step on each other and break each other's backs in a madcap dash to get the power, the CEO of the company. There's double crosses, triple crosses, constant backdoor deals going on. But ultimately it all leads to the final conclusion we all knew was gonna happen. These kids suck. They're not worthy to take up the mantle that Logan Roy had planted. There are a couple of solid supporting characters. Greg Hirsch being one of them. He kind of reminds me of Jimmy from South Park. He doesn't have a speech impediment, but he has a hard time getting his shit out. It takes him forever to complete a sentence sometimes because he's such a bumbling dumbass. He's definitely the kindest and the most well-intentioned out of all of them. But by the end of this, he's just as trash as the rest. When push comes to shove, he will absolutely do what's best for him. Bullying him through every season is Tom. Shib's husband. I do air quotes because they are married, but it's rocky, it's rocky at best. In fact, these two pretty much hate each other. And by the time the finale rolls around, it's just a loveless marriage that's completely for show. And I think it kind of always was. They might've had well-intentioned at one point. There might've been a small part of them that yearns for love and companionship, but it will always be steamrolled by their ambitions to climb, to reach higher up the corporate ladder. The big twist in season four is that Logan Roy is killed unceremoniously in the third or fourth episode. Out of 10 episodes, we have a lot of time where Brian Cox is no longer in the show. That hurt. That stung. It was incredibly out of nowhere, but it was real world. It wasn't some over-the-top extravagant death. He's killed off camera on a plane. And we spent an entire episode of the kid's morning has lost. Going through every single step of the emotion, grief, loss, acceptance, anger, all that stuff. And this is really where these actors get to stretch their muscles. Sometimes maybe a bit too over the top. If I did have one criticism about the show, it's that sometimes it felt like the characters maybe weren't themselves anymore, but they were actually the actors putting themselves in those positions instead of playing the character. At times the tears go a little long. It feels like they're really looking for that Oscar. But small hang up beside, some of those episodes are really rich. You have the whole episode on the cruise ship where they're just reeling from everything that's going on. Their world is crumbling around them. And then we have a full funeral episode where we get to see Logan Roy his many different fiance's over the years, all of his trophy wives. And it's through these episodes that we see just how complicated their relationships are with each other and with their dad, whom they truly do love, but also despise at the same time. I think every kid deep down wants to love their parents and feel rewarded by them and feel noticed by them. Even if your dad is complete trash, there's still that part of you that yearns for their affection and for their congratulations, for their notice. And Logan was so good at not giving them an inch. And when he did, it was usually all bullshit. It was usually for some bigger purpose. Whether it's covering up an accidental murder for his son Kendall, so that Kendall will basically be the reek of the show. Do whatever he says like a robot. Or on the drop of the hat, he'll fire Jerry for Roman because Roman's sending her dick pics. He doesn't go after his son really. Sure, he scolds him, calls him a weirdo. But at the end of the day, he's gonna protect his most important assets, which are his kids. And whether that's out of love or for the appearance purposes, it's hard to know what this guy. I do think when all is said and done, there was a compassionate side to the character. They do showcase this in the final episode when the kids all sit down and watch a home movie where he's singing a song around the dinner table, incredibly well done. Another one of the many amazing moments of the show where we see these kids react and get the softer side of their dad for once. In the final season, everything crashes together. We have Luke Mattson, played by Alexander Skarsgard, who's this tech genius billionaire. He's like an Elon Musk type. He might be full of shit. He might have fake numbers, but it doesn't matter. He wants to acquire Waystar. And the kids are at a crossroads. Do they sell, cash out, make even more money? Or do they run the company the way that their dad would want them to? Shiv is on the fence. She becomes a turncoat, starts working for Mattson because the brothers keep screwing her over. They become co-CEOs, Jim Helpert style on the office. And she is left on the side of the road, left out of the big conversations. So what other choice does she have? Either become a lapdog for her brothers who she deems unworthy of the positions or she gets hers. Team up with the competition, take over the company and become a key figure. Signing a nice little sweetheart deal ahead of time for a cushy position. She will find out in the final episode, Mattson never intended on putting her as CEO or CFO or whatever the hell it is. I don't even remember the exact position. She's fucked. The Roy siblings are gonna take Mattson down. And to do so, they have to have enough people on the board that poo poo this whole offer and put them as the new kings. And when we finally get to that moment, it is as awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassing as one would expect from this family. As not Roman, but Chiv backs out in the final moment. It is a tie vote six to six. She can break it. They can get everything they want. She falters. She leaves the room. Kendall follows followed by Roman. This leads to a five minute sequence, a confrontation that is just so hard to watch. Because right in the other room, the board can see them all fighting with each other. At one point, Kendall puts Roman in a choke hold. It's just brutal. Kendall has nothing else in his life. He's abandoned his wife and his child. He has burned every bridge all for this power because his dad promised him when he was seven years old that he would one day have the company. Of course, Logan Roy promised each of the kids this at different points in life. And they will latch onto this because their daddy said so. It's just sad and pathetic. And it makes you feel kind of good that you're just a middle class dude that doesn't have to worry about all the politics and shenanigans up top. You're just more poor and dealing with more small scale things. These people though, as Roman says, are nothing at the end of the day. It's all bullshit. Now I saw online some people arguing about Chiv's choice not to do this because she cared for her brother Kendall. She knew he wouldn't be a good CEO and that it would end up destroying him. That is not the takeaway I got. Not saying they're wrong, but they're wrong. Chiv doesn't think either of her brothers are capable or worthy. She thinks she's the one that should have had it. Her dad promised her only a year or so back. It was her turn to shine. It wasn't about whether Kendall would be okay in the role. She doesn't fucking care about that. It's all about them at the end of the day. So she looked at the landscape. She knew that Tom was gonna be the new guy in charge if the deal went through. And she decided to be a trophy wife. She has the ear of Tom. She already knows she can bend this guy, break him because he does love her way more than she loves him. And that will be the way that she clings to power. With Kendall and Roman, they're idiots. They're buffoons. They're broken. They will make mistakes. They will slip up. Tom is consistent. Tom is a yes man. He's by the book and he lives and breathes this shit. Kendall could fall back into alcohol. Roman could go off the deep end as well. They are wild card individuals. And Shiv is a practical, functioning, responsible adult with a kid on the way. She needs stability in her life so she does what's best for her. And this absolutely would kill Kendall way more not getting it than it would getting it. So we leave this show in an almost handmade tale scenario where she's just sitting there broken but she has what she needs to thrive and to grow with Tom by her side. Roman is back where he started. He's reverted. He's back at the bar drinking a martini. This was just a bump in his road, a small little side story adventure. Now it's maybe more clear sailing for him. Out of anyone, he's probably the most well-adjusted going forward. Kendall, however, this will always haunt him forever. This will be the one thing that slipped away. He might start another business. He might, it doesn't really matter what he does. He will be haunted for as long as he lives. This will kill him. This will eat at his soul that he did not achieve what his father did. All the money in the world doesn't matter to these people. They've always had it. They've always had it. They can do whatever they want whenever they want. So what do people want that have everything? They want more. And for Kendall, there's no way to get it. And that kills more than actual death. If I didn't make it clear, I loved succession. I loved everything about the finale. I thought it was so well-executed. Not a fairy tale ending, but these people don't deserve one. I think it's kind of also like Veep. If you didn't watch Veep on HBO Max, which is now just stupidly called Max, definitely check that one out. That's, I mean, that's 100% comedy though. So freaking funny. But it's another show that follows a bunch of broken, awful people that just want power and it's hilarious. There are my glowing thoughts on succession. A brilliant show that you absolutely should watch if it's your style. It's not like action packed. There's no exciting, amazing moments. It's really just a bunch of people backstabbing each other and a lot of great little stuff that adds up to a very, very smart show. Let me know in the comments your thoughts. Like the video if you had a good time and please subscribe if you haven't. I post tons of movie and TV show content each and every week. I'd love to have more people stick around. Take care.