At first it seemed like Roman grinded into Ken, but then Ken kept going. Roman put himself into the position to be harmed more and was upset when Ken acted on it further. He was upset with both Ken and himself, but more upset with Ken because 1) Ken had won and 2) he wanted to inflict pain on himself and not give anyone else the power to do so ...
Yup. It was a perfect explanation at behind the episode thing. Roman entered the show as a rich playboy who didn’t want responsibility for anything, spent a few years trying to fake it, realized he couldn’t, and is going back to being a rich playboy where shit will always work out for him. Not a bad life. the trying phase of his life will just be a blip to him soon enough.
I think the difference is pre events in the show, his entire persona was overcompensating for the low self esteem. Despite not really being cognizant of it. Post show, he’s aware of it. While he’ll likely revert back to that faux care free demeanor, he’ll never be able to escape the realization. He can’t ignore it anymore. It will always be with him. Ignorance was Bliss for Roman. He’s no longer ignorant of his shortcomings. And worse, he’s so self loathing, he’ll just wallow in it for the rest of his life. Will never do anything to change it.
I mean he's richer than ever and has no responsibility again. I think that's actually his happy place. He'll be some Harlan crow type dude.
I hope my read of Roman is correct and that his worst fears about himself and people’s opinions of him were confirmed throughout this series: he was in fact not capable, no one respected him or thought he belonged, and I hope that haunts him. I don’t think he didn’t care. I think he cared a great deal. Always did. He was just massively insecure (and rightfully so) about his abilities. This series was him taking his shots and failing.
Can someone help me with why Kendall got so upset with Roman when he mentioned Rava while talking about the “bloodline”? That went over my head
Sure. Neither kid was Kendall's one was adopted, and the other was either a sperm donor or the product of an affair but it wasn't kens that's why it hurt
Question : during the funeral, Ewan mentioned Logans cruel joke about the "man in the cold". Any ideas what that was about?
Hated Shiv’s decision at the end. Thought she would have used her swing vote as leverage to become the “king” instead of giving up power to Tom and Lukas. I thought that’s the reason she brought up Kendall killing someone. Giving up the crown to two guys who have fucked her doesn’t seem like the right move.
Was in Cleveland all weekend for a wedding. Gonna watch this tonight and have avoided this thread. Please just tell me how it ranks with the rest of the season. Also please tell me it’s not gonna give me any Dexter vibes.
the maneuvering was done at that point. it was Kendall or Tom. also making Shiv CEO would be a wholly unserious ending.
That's kind of the point though. None of them are actually good at this. Even when they have something that can help them they fuck it up.
Another bit of analysis I found online…. The point isn't that any one of these takes is right. The point is that to understand the way this great drama works is to understand that there are a hundred ways to think about Shiv: As a woman boxed in by misogyny; as an operator out of options; as a scheming Lady Macbeth; as an impetuous egocentric who couldn't stand to be beaten; or as a woman who was raised to be a needy love sponge and saw a tiny bit more love coming from her husband than her brothers. None are entirely right, all are a little bit right, it really doesn't matter. The point is that the show's position was secured by the ripeness for analysis. And in this case, it's even more tantalizing, because creator Jesse Armstrong is doing almost no press, likely because of the writers' strike. So whatever postmortems you might get that would suggest that this or that answer is "right," they're not forthcoming. We are left with Shiv Roy — literally "Queen of the Knife" — and the choice she made. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/29/1178715007/succession-recap-finale-shiv-roy-kendall-roman-greg-tom
The deal made her a billionaire several times over she is far from powerless or dependent. I would argue she has far more power than figurehead Tom. Shiv can still do whatever the fuck she wants she is just not going to be running the company. And Tom definitely isn’t either….
This is from his interview on the official hbo pod with kara swisher. It’s worth a listen. I’m pretty sure he answers a few questions basically as Kendall because that’s the only way he thinks about the events of the show. He’s a total nut and I fucking love him.
Maybe. But I don’t think she feels that way. Yea and Tom is suffering through his own specific shit in this too.
I read the Tom and Shiv car scene a little differently then I think some in here have and I could be way off. But, I thought Tom laid his hand out there as a power move. He didn't take her hand, he basically was saying, "You come to me" almost how a mob boss or royalty puts out their hand for the other person to bend the knee. Knowing that was the move, Shiv acquiesces to his request but clearly sends her own message by stopping short of holding his hand but rather setting it down almost begrudgingly. The power struggle continues, but Tom clearly has the upper hand despite her defiance. Also, I'm surprised at people being surprised at Tom winning out. Dude climbed from being a no name nothing of an entity to marrying into the Roy family and making something of himself. You make it that far, you can play the game. Kind of a Littlefinger like character in that because of the station he was born into, he was constantly underestimated to his benefit.
My problem with this read is that nothing Tom did was necessarily cunning. He’s chairman in name only. His greatest attribute is that he’s a malleable survivor.
he’s just a tremendous opportunist and was/is very willing to be an empty suit for the prestige and ability to be “in the room”. The others all were dumb enough to think they were smart/good enough to run it all.
Succession did a great job of convincing people that an especially evil conglomerate like Waystar-RoyCo needed a steward. It doesn’t and it’s good that Mattson is stripping it for parts.
Other than the money, what power does she have? If only the $$$ mattered then they all would have agreed to sell. All three lost the family company and any real influence/power they had. They aren’t serious people, they wield nothing now.