REVIEW: Succession – Season One [2018]

Rating: TV-MA | Episodes: 10 | Runtime: 60 minutes
Release Date: June 3rd, 2018 (USA)
Studio: Home Box Office (HBO)
Creator(s): Jesse Armstrong

That was your best shot. You lost.

No matter how entertained I was during the entirety of the first season of Jesse Armstrong’s “Succession”, I can’t shake just how disappointing the finale proves. The whole trajectory is setting up a showdown between father (Brian Cox’s Murdoch-esque billionaire Logan Roy) and son (Jeremy Strong’s kicked puppy of a new wave CEO Kendall Roy) only to derail everything at the eleventh hour with a dramatic development fit for daytime soaps. These are great characters with true intrigue in the contrast of their leadership styles—culturally and generationally—that flirt with all-out war three separate times only for Lucy to pull the football again. And while we initially believe Kendall is Charlie Brown, we eventually discover it’s actually us.

That’s not to say the whole thing fails. I had a blast watching and look forward to continuing in the hopes Armstrong and company won’t just keep laughing at us while we laugh at the nightmarish capitalist monsters he’s created. Because their insecurities and faulty confidence are an absolute joy to experience. All it takes is one look from Logan for Kendall, Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Connor (Alan Ruck) to suddenly lower their eyes and clam up into the little children they are beneath his massive shadow. They love to band together and single out the eldest for being an eccentric living in a fantasy world with zero self-awareness, but, while that’s exactly what Connor is, none of them are much better. The others may even be worse because of it.

Shiv’s subplot as the fixer for a democratic hopeful for President is great because it helps make Logan look even more villainous than he does on his own while also exposing the truth of her motivations to be just like him in a venue that puts her in direct opposition (Snook is fantastic, her steely indignant demeanor given its payoff with a moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability in the finale). Roman’s thread is much less meaty since his flaky nepo baby is superficiality incarnate, but Culkin has his moments whenever given the opportunity to whine for praise and prove how afraid he is. Kendall is the focal point: the heir apparent who’s thwarted every time it seems his moment has arisen. Strong steals the show as a result, both the “good guy” saddled with the Roy reputation and just as ruthless. He’s therefore just as unsympathetic as the rest, yet we want him to win.

At least we do until the end. Before the script cuts off his legs and renders his tenuous control of his own fate nonexistent. I get that this endgame builds from a long con that starts with fake news stories about his drug addiction, but always making him fall prey to the noise feels narratively lazy even if his actions make the familial dynamic pop. That’s the tricky balance. It’s a character piece held together by a messy battlefield of in-fighting, jealousies, and betrayals that captivate enough without constantly adding more drama via ham-fisted and over-the-top tragedies. The show is at its best when these monsters are in a room together calling out each other’s bullshit. Undercutting that with rich-kids-needing-to-be-bailed-out-by-their-powerful-father blackmail gets boring fast. Don’t tease a teeth-bared, claws-out war and say, “Gotcha!” Because it isn’t delayed here. It’s cancelled.

All that said, “Austerlitz” is an all-timer. “Which Side Are You On?” and “Prague” aren’t far behind. The main cast is impeccable and the supporting players may even be better since they still get to hold some cards. Matthew Macfadyen as Shiv’s fiancé Tom might be the most fascinating character of all (doesn’t come from money, is seen as soft and genial by the family, can be cutthroat when pushed and in a position to whip someone else like the Roys whip him). Nicholas Braun’s Cousin Greg is always watching in the background, accruing capital by way of loyalty and blackmail fodder despite his goofball demeanor. And Hiam Abbass is an absolute enigma as Logan’s current wife and devil on his shoulder. I can’t wait to see what happens with her Marcia as things progress.

Special mention to Rob Yang and Natalie Gold’s agents too. I think he’s in less than half the episodes for barely five to ten minutes each and she’s in more than half for the same, but they’ve got their names in the opening credits. Both are great, but I don’t understand how they get top billing over J. Smith-Cameron whose chief counsel earns more time and contextual weight than both.