Television Succession

Agent Red

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I liked it. But I need time to process whether I think that it's a masterpiece or just below that.

The ending made perfect sense and I like how it played out.
I agree on time to process. I don’t think I’ll ever think it was a masterpiece because I think I would have felt more watching it at the time, but I do think it was a fitting ending and generally well written. I think I was starting to get a bit ground down by the circular nature of a lot of the conversations and relationships, but then I think that’s basically the entire point of the show and probably quite realistic.
 

wr8_utd

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HBO will have a tough time replacing Barry and Succession for their Sunday nights. Absolutely top tier television.
 

Massive Spanner

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I like how it showed that when they can actually put their differences aside that they are just siblings who laugh and joke and have fun together, but the moment they go back into that boardroom their squabble over the billion dollar company takes over again and they turn into assholes.
 

100

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fecking BBC had a semi-spoiler headline on their front page about the brutal ending or something to that effect, so I knew what way it was heading midway through the episode

But it was a great and fitting ending.
 

SalfordRed18

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HBO will have a tough time replacing Barry and Succession for their Sunday nights. Absolutely top tier television.
Any idea what it is? Ive had NOWTV for hbo since late last year and my Sunday nights/Monday TV viewing has been lit ever since.
 

Shane88

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"I'm the eldest boy!"

"No, you're not."


It's so funny that Connor means so little to him that he doesn't even recognise him as an older brother.
 

Red Shorts

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I dunno, people calling Shiv a cnut (which she is), I mean, she was right, she was the only one who copped that none of them were really capable of the CEO role. Then Roman knew she was right too.

Ultimately the 3 of them bickering in the board room and then literally fighting like children showed that none of them are up to it. Tom is an arse licker but he's been shown to be a competent business man, too.

It was a mess of a season in all honesty, just a bit all over the shop. Great TV but when you put it all together it was very messy. For all the hype about the show, season two was the only truly great season.
Did you honestly take away from this show that Tom was a competent businessman? :lol:
 

Bilbo

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Oh Kendall, why did you have to put your feet up on Logans desk? You were so close....

Wonderful finale to a quite brilliant show
 

Solius

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"I'm the eldest boy!"

"No, you're not."


It's so funny that Connor means so little to him that he doesn't even recognise him as an older brother.
The spit that flew out of his mouth :lol:
 

Massive Spanner

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Did you honestly take away from this show that Tom was a competent businessman? :lol:
I'm not sure what's so funny about that. it's been said multiple times throughout season four that ATN has been doing really well with him as the boss. He's cut costs and made them more profitable.

He's a dope and a yes man in order to get where he wants but he's also clearly far more competent at his job than any of the kids.
 

TheGame

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Shiv proves to be a right cnut. You knew there was something coming in the boardroom as it was going too smoothly. Shiv continues her sham marriage even though she has been fecked by Tom and Mattson (noted there was not a strong holding of hands at the end). Kendall begging for the company realising its the only thing he has. Roman's fragilities have all come out this season and Greg is well and truly Tom's bitch now.

Most other people would just take the money and start something new (ironically something they were planning on doing at the beginning of the season).
 

Ayoba

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OMG I've waited so long for S4 to end...I can finally start my binge now :drool:
 

Spark

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Has there ever been such a consistently good studio as HBO?

Succession, Sopranos, Band of Brothers... Literally all 10/10 shows.

Their takeover by Discovery is potentially devastating.
 

Solius

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Has there ever been such a consistently good studio as HBO?

Succession, Sopranos, Band of Brothers... Literally all 10/10 shows.

Their takeover by Discovery is potentially devastating.
Don't forget The Wire.
 

Scandi Red

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Has there ever been such a consistently good studio as HBO?

Succession, Sopranos, Band of Brothers...
The Wire, Chernobyl, The Pacific, Curb Your Enthusiasm, True Detective (first season), Game of Thrones (up until a certain point)...

Yes, HBO is the best studio.

The Last Of Us is pretty good too..
 

Berbaclass

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I’m going to really miss hearing that theme music kick in :(

They also saved the best version of it for last. The version in the finale was amazing :drool:

Nicholas Britell is a genius
 

BusbyMalone

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Watched it last night. I thought it was a good episode, but not necessarily a great finale. I thought it was fine, but not up there in the pantheon of great TV finales.

The fact that nobody "won" (apart from Mattson) is very consistent with the show, as it was never about that anyway. But I really can't escape the feeling that the ending felt slightly contrived. The second Shiv started to hesitate, disappointment started to set in for me. Not because I give a shit about who has the title of CEO, but it just seemed a bit forced, I guess.

I know the argument can be made that this is entirely within character for Shiv (and the other two siblings) and that she would absolutely cut off her nose to spite her face if it meant screwing Ken over because her ego simply can't take it. It's not completely out of the ordinary, I get all that. I'm just not sure at the moment whether she would be willing to completely toss away the family business like that after all this time. I guess I'm not completely buying the motive.

Still, a very good episode. I'll sit with it for a bit, and my opinion will no doubt change.
 

Solius

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Watched it last night. I thought it was a good episode, but not necessarily a great finale. I thought it was fine, but not up there in the pantheon of great TV finales.

The fact that nobody "won" (apart from Mattson) is very consistent with the show, as it was never about that anyway. But I really can't escape the feeling that the ending felt slightly contrived. The second Shiv started to hesitate, disappointment started to set in for me. Not because I give a shit about who has the title of CEO, but it just seemed a bit forced, I guess.

I know the argument can be made that this is entirely within character for Shiv (and the other two siblings) and that she would absolutely cut off her nose to spite her face if it meant screwing Ken over because her ego simply can't take it. It's not completely out of the ordinary, I get all that. I'm just not sure at the moment whether she would be willing to completely toss away the family business like that after all this time. I guess I'm not completely buying the motive.

Still, a very good episode. I'll sit with it for a bit, and my opinion will no doubt change.
I think two things changed it for Shiv. Ken putting his feet up on the desk and then when he said “do it for my dad”. Both things rubbed her up the wrong way I think and it’s because Kendall basically celebrated too early.
 

BusbyMalone

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I think two things changed it for Shiv. Ken putting his feet up on the desk and then when he said “do it for my dad”. Both things rubbed her up the wrong way I think and it’s because Kendall basically celebrated too early.
Yeah, him putting his feet up and the way he was talking and acting with Stewy absolutely rubbed her up the wrong way. The thing is, we know that she doesn't want Ken in that position, so there's no secret there. I guess I don't completely buy that as a motive. Or at least, not a strong enough motive to absolutely torpedo the deal, feck the family business and make sure they all lose. Because she sure as shit hasn't "won"

I mean, it's all very much a Shakespearean tragedy, I guess. So perhaps it fits. I just can't help but feel a little disappointed with it. Still an incredible show.

EDIT: Also, Ken lying about the boy! What the feck dude? :lol:
 

Massive Spanner

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I think two things changed it for Shiv. Ken putting his feet up on the desk and then when he said “do it for my dad”. Both things rubbed her up the wrong way I think and it’s because Kendall basically celebrated too early.
I think she looked at Kendell at that moment and knew he'd be fecking terrible at the job, and the lesser evil was letting Tom take over and sticking by his side, which also meant she could get him back on her side to raise the baby with her.
 

Scandi Red

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The thing is, we know that she doesn't want Ken in that position, so there's no secret there. I guess I don't completely buy that as a motive. Or at least, not a strong enough motive to absolutely torpedo the deal, feck the family business and make sure they all lose. Because she sure as shit hasn't "won"
Shiv was put in an impossible situation. Both options were awful for her. I think it was fine margins that made her change her mind last minute.

In a way I think Shiv feels worse about losing to her brothers than losing to an external force. She was even willing to sell the company to a complete cnut as long as it meant her "beating" her brothers.
 

lsd

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"I'm the eldest boy!"

"No, you're not."


It's so funny that Connor means so little to him that he doesn't even recognise him as an older brother.

To be honest he said it with such meaning I was like wow he's older than Connor
 

BusbyMalone

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Shiv was put in an impossible situation. Both options were awful for her. I think it was fine margins that made her change her mind last minute.

In a way I think Shiv feels worse about losing to her brothers than losing to an external force. She was even willing to sell the company to a complete cnut as long as it meant her "beating" her brothers.
Right, but in this scenario, she was getting something out of it. Now as the audience, we knew that it was bullshit, but she thought she was getting the big job. She was going to have power. Again, we knew that it was bullshit, and obviously, she learned that in the end, but she didn't know it at the time. So her thirst for power drove her to make those decisions (i.e., selling to Mattson in order to get the CEO job), but in this scenario, she fecked it for everyone, Including herself.

With Ken in charge, she still had an in. Now Im not naive enough to think that things would be happy families, but the company would still be theirs. It would still be the family business. I guess the argument could be made that this show was never going to have a happy ending, but I don't see that scenario as a happy ending, either.

As I said, with this show basically being a tragedy, you can make the argument that it makes sense. And it kind of does, I guess. But I'm not quite buying it at the moment. Perhaps that will change in time. Still a great episode though.
 

Scandi Red

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Right, but in this scenario, she was getting something out of it. Now as the audience, we knew that it was bullshit, but she thought she was getting the big job. She was going to have power. Again, we knew that it was bullshit, and obviously, she learned that in the end, but she didn't know it at the time. So her thirst for power drove her to make those decisions (i.e., selling to Mattson in order to get the CEO job), but in this scenario, she fecked it for everyone, Including herself.
I think we must look at the full picture. She still gets 2 billion (?) and she doesn't have to watch Kendall ascend the throne. We are lead to believe that Mattson's deal is incredible and that Waystar (on its own) may never truly recover, even with a great CEO. It does make sense to cash in and be done with the family feud for good. It's a rational choice. Kendall could very well freeze her out of all operations and bring the company to the ground. What good would her name and shares do her then?

Kendall wanted control over the company because he was primed for it since he was a kid. It was the whole purpose of his life. Roman only wanted his dad's love and approval. With Logan gone he has no purpose. He only needed closure, which he kind of got in the end. Shiv is more complicated. She's been sidelined and wanted to prove herself from the beginning. And the only way to do so would be to become CEO of Waystar. Kendall took this role for granted and Roman never really wanted to compete with his siblings. The only one truly competing internally, is Shiv. That is why she is so conflicted and could turn on a dime. She absolutely don't want to concede any power, but losing to Kendall cuts her to the very core.