Succession finale: The brutal ending they deserved
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Succession came to an end this week. The conclusion was stunningly brutal but it was absolutely what the characters deserved.
*SPOILERS FOLLOW*
For a few episodes now, I thought that the show would go full circle and Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) would be appointed CEO of Waystar Royco. He’s not a good person but he seemed best suited to the job and the most like Logan (Brian Cox). Shiv (Sarah Snook) is smart and capable but had been playing against the family and Roman (Kieran Culkin) is not a serious person (to quote the show).
Since the epic third episode, in which Logan died, I had honestly been struggling with the show. I don’t understand the business side and struggled to follow all the underhanded tactics, and because it took place over a short period of time, it felt super slow. I was ready for it to end – and what an ending!
At first, the finale seemed like it was heading in the Kendall direction. The siblings came together at their mum’s home in Barbados and they seemed to be in agreement – that they would block the GoJo deal and Kendall would be the CEO. In one of the most heartwarming scenes in the entire show, the trio had a fun time in the kitchen making a dirty smoothie “fit for a king”. I loved it but I was waiting for the shoe to drop because it felt too happy. I know something bad had to happen – and it sure does.
I don’t think I breathed when Shiv changed her mind during the board vote and during the ensuing fight in the meeting room. My mouth was agape in horror! I didn’t see that coming at all. It all goes to s**t in the most spectacularly scrappy, mean and chaotic way at the last minute – and while it was a tough watch, it made perfect sense for all three of them. Of course, it went down that way and they stabbed each other in the back again.
I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘Why would Shiv do that?’ And I’m not the only one, as Google auto-filled ‘Why did Shiv change her mind?’ as soon as I start typing it. I have read so many post-finale interviews and my mind is still processing.
The answer is certainly open to interpretation, but I guess Shiv simply wanted Kendall to be CEO less than her husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), the snakey brown-nosing lapdog. As she said, she couldn’t stomach Kendall in the position. It’s a lose-lose situation for her, but at least now she’s married to the CEO and pregnant with his child instead of being the sister of the CEO.
Even though they’re all awful and “not serious” people, I felt sorry for Kendall because of how much he needed the position and how lost he’ll be without the company. He was a shell of a person at the end! I also feel bad for Shiv being in a loveless marriage to Tom, who is now her superior, but I hope she can get out of that. Roman got away relatively unscathed and will be fine.
I must have been really naive thinking that the GoJo deal would fall through and Waystar would stay in the family and it would all be tied up in a nice little bow. Succession has never been like that and I should’ve known better. Silly me! The brutally tragic ending left me speechless because it’s not what I’d have liked for the characters – but, as I said up top, they got what they deserved after years of scheming, back-stabbing and being nasty people.
All episodes now available to watch on Sky/NowTV