Guys. Guys. Succession is freaking crazy.
I’ll be honest and say I had the Season 3 ending spoiled for me when I did the guide for Season 4 – it’s normal being spoiled on the shows you love when there is just so much television and you can’t watch everything all at once. Succession just had to take a backseat for a bit.
But, man, I caught up with it, all of Season 3 and all the way up to Season 4, the final one and I want to scream at how ridiculously good it has gotten. It's taken turns that I never saw coming, brought in characters that I truly have loved to watch, and has slowly cemented itself as one of HBO's best shows over the course of these episodes. And today, I am going to talk about it.
Major spoilers down below for those who have not caught up on Succession!!!
So, Yeah, Did Not See Episode Three Of Season Four Coming
I don’t know what it is with HBO and weddings. They always tend to lead to a crazy episode, whether it be The Red Wedding with Game of Thrones (which actually just turned ten years old), or something else. But “Connor’s Wedding,” in Season 4 of Succession, blew my freaking mind.
Logan freaking Roy died. Out of nowhere. Somehow, after processing it for a few days, it makes so much sense. In every sense of the word, Logan was really emotionally unavailable for his family most of the time. He said that he loved them, but we never really see him as a “father figure” at all during the series, just as a businessman who is doing everything for his family but lacks that special empathy.
So, it would make sense that his death scene happens far away from his family, and really doesn’t have as much of an emotional gut-punch as you would expect. At first, I thought this was a manipulation tactic from Logan, genuinely. I did not think he was going to go out like that, but when I realized it was real, I was blown away and wondered how the heck is this show going to end?
I remember when the episode aired, there was tons of discourse online about it, and I struggled very hard not to learn what it was about so I wouldn’t be spoiled. I only knew that it took place during Connor’s wedding, but holy hell. This show, man. It still shocked me.
All The Awards For Every Single Cast Member In This Show – Especially Sarah Snook
There are some show casts that truly do deserve every single Primetime Emmy award wins that they get. The Breaking Bad cast is one that comes to mind, same with the Game of Thrones cast, and now, I need every single actor on the Succession cast to get a Primetime Emmy this year.
In both Season 3 and Season 4, I have seen some acting that has truly blown it out of the water in all ways, from Jeremy Strong to Kieran Culkin and, obviously, Brian Cox. But I have to talk about Sarah Snook – she made me love Shiv even more during these last two seasons.
Snook is by far the most memorable performer from this show in Seasons 3 and 4. We are really given a front-row seat into Shiv's mental state and how this affects her life, not only with her husband, Tom, but with her family – and we see this even more after the death of her father, and how she proceeds with that strange partnership with Matsson in the fourth season.
Phenomenal acting, all around, but Snook is the best in my eyes.
They Did A Really Good Job Accurately Portraying Grief Despite A Messy Family Situation
When Logan died, the first thought in my mind was, “How are they going to portray grief with this family? It’s so messed up.” The show pulled through, however, and created some incredible scenes with these characters.
Kendall is pretty much entirely business-focused, really putting all of his grief to the side and working on Waystar in order to be an adequate successor. Shiv is also very focused, but we see that the loss of her father is affecting her deeply and she literally schedules out time to cry regarding her personal and professional life every day.
Roman is just numb to it, even though he knows deep down he is sad, and Connor is just – well, Connor. He's trying to think of his deceased dad, but his mind is split between the family and his election, something he has been working towards since the first season.
There are so many other things I could talk about with grief here, but they went at it in an overall great way.
This Show Takes Away Anything Redeemable About These Characters In Seconds, And I Love That
Succession is one of those shows where when it gives you something redeemable, just a little bit about a character, it’ll take that away in ten seconds flat and make you hate them again, and I think that’s why I love it. All of these characters are so complex.
As much as I love Shiv, there’s plenty that she has done that makes me want to not like her, such as working with Matsson behind her brothers’ back, or how much she is supposedly drinking during her pregnancy, which, understandably, I'm not a huge fan of.
Tom has his moments of genuine character development, but he cares about his career so much that he’s willing to betray his wife in the Season 3 finale – which leads to their inevitable separation. And don’t even get me started on Roman – I could do a whole article on him alone.
Alexander Skarsgård Was A Welcomed Main Character For Season 4 – I Wish He Was Introduced Sooner
I’ve seen Alexander Skarsgård in many TV shows and movies before, like True Blood, but I really think that Succession puts his acting skills to the test, because I truly do like him as Matsson.
The CEO of GoJo is a surprisingly charismatic man, but at the same time, he’s cocky, and he’s not afraid to play dirty to get what he wants, which we see a ton of in Season 4, especially after Logan passes away.
To be honest, I really wish that he was included a lot more in Season 3, because this entire deal that they have going on has added so much more drama, and I am loving every second of it. I especially loved that scene with Matsson and Roman – expert acting there.
I Could Never Imagine The Amount Of Stress These People Are Going Through
I could not, and will never, be a business person. I get stressed out just over the fact that my cookies might not look exactly the same as the ones I saw in one of those baking shows on TV. Handling a whole company – I think I would just about pass away.
That’s what makes these characters so interesting to follow – while the business aspect of the show can be a little confusing at times for people who don’t know about acquisitions or bear hugs or any of that business jargon, it’s the idea that these people are going through this incredibly stressful time at work, while also dealing with serious personal issues.
That’s a lot to handle – something most of us probably don’t have the stomach for, so that’s why I love watching them.
I'm Curious And Excited To See How This All Ends
I have to say, I am really enjoying this show – and I’m going to be upset when it ends, but it makes total sense to end it where it is right now. I really don’t know who in this family deserves happiness after everything that has happened, but I know I will be watching and excited to see how it all shakes out.
The finale can’t come soon enough, and I’ll be at home, watching live, and finally able to comment on all the drama as it comes out. Succession is truly one of HBO’s best shows, and I can’t wait to see how this all comes to an end.
