I’m really torn about this ending, and I’m pretty sure that’s a good thing for this show. Succession series finale was one of the most poignant, heartbreaking, and callous endings one could have possibly of imagined, and it really works for this groundbreaking show.
So, that’s how the Roy family legacy concludes…with thunderous applause.
Succession, against all the odds, predictions, and lofty expectations set up for this all-time great show, managed to successfully close the Roy-family storyline in a mostly great ending. And, even though a lot of people will be disappointed who ended up being named the CEO of Waystar Royco and the successor to Logan Roy, I think the ending makes perfect sense.
Okay, I’ve got to say this now and quickly: SPOILERS AHEAD. MAJOR SPOILERS!
If you don’t want to be spoiled of the ending, then I suggest you open a new tab, sign into MAX, watch the 95+ minutes long episode, and then comeback to hear my take on the ending of one of HBO’s most beloved shows.
And, for those who have already seen the episode or don’t care about spoilers, buckle up as I’ve got a few things to say about the coronation of…Tom as CEO and Lukas Matsson as the de facto ruler of Waystar Royco.
Yes, after five years of runtime, four seasons worth of television, and 39 episodes, the long-awaited answer for who would succeed the legendary Logan Roy ended up being the most abused, hurt, broken, and battered outsider of the Roy family in Tom Wambsgans. A true Emperor Nero if I’ve ever seen one…sort of.
As I said, Lukas Matsson and GoJo’s acquisition of Waystar was successful as even though Shiv was predictably axed out by Matsson in favor of the subservient Tom, the sibling alliance of Kendall, Roman, and Shiv eventually broke down due to their ingrained infighting, jealousy, entitlement, and just downright childness at the last moment to effectively hand over the company to Logan’s adopted business son.
(HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery-Succession-Series Finale Preview)
I’ll get into the sibling infighting in a moment, but a YouTube comment (I can’t remember who the commenter was right now) under the Inside the Episode video really hit the nail on the head for how the foreshadowing of the board vote was going to play out.
Just like in the days of the Roman Empire, the emperor would traditionally adopt a “son”, who normally was an extremely competent, intelligent, and/or great military mind (well, during the best circumstances), to replace them on the throne when they died, even if they had trueborn children of their own. That’s what Logan did.
Matsson and Tom (to a lesser degree) are those adopted sons as Logan was hellbent on selling the company to Matsson due to his own children “not being serious people” before his untimely death, while Tom grew to be the closest to Logan out of the Roy family due to his subservientness and willingness to do anything Logan asked of him.
And, in the end, Matsson’s charm and money was able to win President Menken to his side and end the “regulation concerns”, while Tom’s boot-kissing nature also won him the approval of Menken as the “US CEO” of Waystar. Simply put, these two guys were always the most serious, driven, focused, and capable of rising to the top and winning the executive seat to Logan’s empire.
On the other hand, Shiv, Kendall, and Roman were never (and never will be) heirs apparent to the Waystar throne as they just simply couldn’t get over their own character flaws, personality defects, and unbridled jealousy when one would “win”. And that’s how the show should have ended (and thankfully did).
Yes, Kendall was making strides towards becoming Logan-like, but even those strides were mired in his own entitlement, self-aggrandizing, and narcissistic arrogance as he betrayed the wrong people (Roman, Shiv, Logan to a point, etc.), he alienated people he should have kept close (Menken, Jess, etc.), and he turned into the “entitled golden prince” at the LITERAL WORST MOMENTS IMAGINABLE!
After the Matsson betrayal was made known to the siblings, they had the votes to block the GoJo deal and secure one of themselves as the CEO of Waystar. They only had to be civil and engaging with one another for a few days and not act like some of the worst human beings to have ever walked the face of the earth.
You know, act like how they were at their mother’s house as that might have been one of the most heartwarming, genuine, and kindest moments to ever happen on Succession as each sibling reverted back into their child-like joy and love for one another. Of course, it was soured a little with their mother and Peter only hosting them in an attempt to get them into a dumb business deal, but everything aside from that was really nice to watch.
And then it was all ruined by that board room scene…as one should expect when watching Succession.
I don’t want to get down to the nitty gritty of the scene as I find it’s better to watch for yourself, but I will say that confrontation between the three siblings represented everything that’s wrong about them: Kendall is far too entitled, arrogant, and narcissistic and has morphed too much into his father without going all the way to actually be successful, Shiv is bitterly jealous and would rather set the company on fire than watch one of her brothers run it (which is what happens), and Roman is too soft and emotional to be a ruthless CEO.
(HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery-Succession-Series Finale Preview)
All of that unresolved tension mounted with Kendall viciously berating his siblings after they went cold on him, Shiv ruthlessly voting for Matsson dispute knowing the consequences, and Roman taking Shiv’s side as his emotional nature came the realization none of them had what it took to run Waystar.
So, in the end, Shiv voted with Matsson, despite getting publicly cut out by him, and decided the board vote 7-6 as Kendall slinked out of the company in total disbelief.
The ending shots of Shiv now being subservient to Tom as he told her to wait in the car for him and demanding her hand, Roman sitting happily at a bar as a pathetic billionaire bachelor, and Kendall mindlessly wandering the waterfront of New York City really capped off how I felt about the ending of this show.
All of these kids are broken beyond repair, and it really would have been against the principles of Succession to give the throne to one of them.
Thus, I’m content with how the show ended, and I’m more than happy to give this episode a 9/10, the season a 9.5/10, and the series as a whole a 10/10!
It’s some of the best T.V. and character study we’ll ever see, and I’m glad I was able to watch it during its live run.
PS: The one thing I’m torn about is Greg not getting toasted by Tom and Matsson. He has been such a slim ball all series long that it would have been really fitting to see him fall all the way back to employment after four seasons of rising to the top of New York business life.
Images Source: Featured Image: (HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery) (Series Finale Preview | Succession | Max – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (HBO/Warner Bros. Discover) (Series Finale Preview | Succession | Max – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery) (Series Finale Preview | Succession | Max – YouTube)
