Succession - Season 4

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It seems obvious that Matsson offered the $$ to f*ck with Kendall and Roman. That’s why he asked Shiv to send him the photo of them. But does that mean Shiv understands that Kendall and Roman are trying to tank the deal? I wasn’t sure what to make of her take on the situation, besides trying to maximize it for herself.

My read on Shiv right now is that she is just looking for opportunities to stay relevant and leverage power. She feels shut out with Kendall and Roman as interim CEOs (and IS shut out, that's clear). During this episode, we saw her variously cozying up to the old folks (acting chummy with Frank when the email from Matsson came in, recommending Gerri to Matsson to help with his Ebba issues), getting closer to Matsson, and even maybe protecting/allying with Tom somewhat. We did not see her interacting with or allying with her brothers much, nor did we see her utter a single negative thing about either of them either. She's not scheming against them directly, she's shoring up her support elsewhere and looking for opportunities.

Contrast this with Kendall, who is throwing his weight around at the Waystar offices, getting very aggressive with Matsson, trying to freeze out the old guard, scheming even behind Roman's back (with Hugo, who is now on Matsson's kill list, which is relevant here), trying to torpedo this deal and using Greg and Jess as pawns to do so.

Shiv is quietly making friends, Kendall is loudly making enemies. Roman is acting emotionally, going along with Kendall's schemes, its he go-between with Connor regarding the funeral -- in a very in-between place.

If you did a power ranking of Roy siblings by week, last week it would have gone 1-Kendall, 2-Roman, 3-Shiv, 4-Connor. This week, it's 1-Kendall, 2-Shiv, 3-Roman, 4-Connor. Shiv's on the rise, Roman's on the decline, Kendall's lead is on thin ice and he might not realize how thin.

I would already put Shiv about Kendall after her convo with Matsson, and her brothers meeting with him on the mountain top.

And, the fact that so many women were kept around---Gerri, Carolina, Ebba--Shiv...the women are gaining ground.

He’s admitted to sexually harassing an employee and is now insulating himself. “Gaining ground” lmao

Incredibly stupid to admit that to an adversary. I love that Shiv is keeping that nugget to herself.

But doesn't Shiv herself admit that that's the sort of material event that Matsson might need to report to his BOD -- and doesn't that mean that she is now obligated to report it to Royco's BOD (and she's not)? Seems like she was notified of Matsson's misconduct but Matsson hasn't been notified of ACN's misconduct with the presidential candidate?

I mean, the duty to the board is all relative, right? Kendall and Roman are technically running afoul of their board in trying to tank the deal without the board's input. Matsson should disclose this potential liability not only to his board but to Waystar.

I'm not actually clear on what Shiv's official role is at Waystar at the moment. Kendall's reasoning for making him and Roman co-CEOs was that they were previously both COOs, so the move simply elevates them into the next highest role in the hierarchy. Also the arguments made for Gerri (General Counsel) and Karl (CFO). But does Shiv have an actual title? Does she draw a salary from Waystar? Have an office? Report to anyone? She wasn't even on the email from Matsson and had to get it forwarded from Frank.

Shiv might be uniquely positioned to NOT be implicated by any blowback on these events, if she's essentially freelancing. That would give her significantly more leeway than the boys or Matsson in terms of collecting info and using it as leverage, instead of being beholden to any official duties.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is the reason why Matsson needs to get the deal done quickly tied into how his own stock is going to drop shortly because of his harassment? Does that leave Shiv liable for not reporting something important about Matsson to ACN's own BOD?

Same PP again -- but if he was this vulnerable to the harassment story, why would he have told Shiv about it in the first place when he already had signs that the boys at least weren't eager for the deal he wanted? Did the fact that she left the boys on their own show Matsson she wasn't with them, and would potentially work in favor of the deal?

Why is Matsson on this speedy timeline, other than perhaps just to wreak havoc with the kids right after their father has died? While that might be a driver, there might be something other ticking time bomb for Matsson that's driving the deal speed and making him drive the price higher when by all accounts given the stock drop he should have been able to come in at a lower price. Maybe something is up with GoJo or he sees that there is something really valuable at RoyCo that the kids are missing.

I agree this could be it. I also think there might be something going on with GoJo that is driving his interest in ACN all of a sudden. This was a theory floated on the Vanity Fair Still Watching podcast today and I think it makes sense. Matsson is a more interesting character if his actions are driven by actual reasons and not just "look at this guy! he's a crazy billionaire!" It am hoping the show really lays clear his motivations at some point instead of making him just a general foil for the kids to replace Logan.

Yeah, and his timeline should really have the boys thinking and wondering why he's in such a rush besides just assuming that Matsson wants to torment them. I thought Roman was absolutely right in tearing in to Matsson on this but maybe it's actually blinding him to something else that he's being too emotional to pick up on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI Lukas's name is spelled: Matsson

Thank god you're here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI Lukas's name is spelled: Matsson

Thank god you're here

Also, it's ATN, not ACN. God had blessed you twice today, people of DCUM.

[Anonymous]

To the one poster: I like reading your commentary but can you please stop calling it ACN?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the one poster: I like reading your commentary but can you please stop calling it ACN?

I cannot help it. ATN doesn't feel like a network to me, ACN does. I also can never remember the name of the network on The Morning Show. I really struggle with fake acronyms.

[Anonymous]

Shiv is going to abort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shiv is going to abort.

Frankly it would be a kindness to her potential child. The Roys are not cut out to be parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the one poster: I like reading your commentary but can you please stop calling it ACN?

I cannot help it. ATN doesn't feel like a network to me, ACN does. I also can never remember the name of the network on The Morning Show. I really struggle with fake acronyms.

I'm doing it too! Do they like you or me ha?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shiv is going to abort.

Even this show would not have a main character get a second trimester abortion. Not happening. A miscarriage could happen but not that. Also, people speculating that the father is someone other than Tom - also not happening. They’re not introducing a heretofore unknown additional love interest with so few episodes left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the one poster: I like reading your commentary but can you please stop calling it ACN?

I cannot help it. ATN doesn't feel like a network to me, ACN does. I also can never remember the name of the network on The Morning Show. I really struggle with fake acronyms.

ACN was the fake network on The Newsroom. 😀

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great episode - I actually laughed out loud several times. The blood discussion was hilarious. And the scenery - breathtaking. One reason I love this show!

I think the brothers really were trying to tank the deal, but Mattson’s big bump was too much to refuse. They weren’t expecting that.

Greg - cringeworthy!! “The Quad Squad.”

I also loved the scenery but it also reminded me how much I hate most of these people. They were all so annoyed to be there and totally unimpressed and complaining about their cabins being small when obviously it was just an amazing place that few people get to see. It's one thing when they are blasé about private planes and fancy NYC apartments or whatever. I can see how that stuff would get old after a while and how if you are used to just having really nice stuff and really good service constantly, you'd stop caring. But when you see rich people just not caring about something like being able to take a gondola to the top of a mountain in Norway and see for a zillion miles in one of the most stunning places on earth... it makes me hate them.

I have some friends from college who are this kind of rich and they are kind of like this when they travel. They've lost the ability to be wowed by pretty much anything. I feel sorry for them and I also think their wealth and access is wasted on them. It seems like a lot of ungodly rich people are very unhappy because nothing impresses or delights them anymore, they never feel lucky or honored, they are just kind of over it. Really sad.

Yes... but that's the point. They are so wealthy that nothing impresses them anymore. They're not supposed to be likable characters. I thought it was funny when Kendall was complaining about how small the cabin was. He couldn't even appreciate the sheer beauty outside his window.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I gotta say this season is really falling flat for me. The only good scene last night was Shiv and Mattson. The writing for Tom and Greg, who are usually my favorite characters, is so bad this season. I’m bored. I enjoyed the scenery. I laughed when they first showed the gondola. Other than that I’m not into it.

Ugh I agree. Logan’s death episode was so good and gripping and last night was a bit boring.

DP. I thought last night's episode was riveting! Interesting how we can all have such different takeaways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I gotta say this season is really falling flat for me. The only good scene last night was Shiv and Mattson. The writing for Tom and Greg, who are usually my favorite characters, is so bad this season. I’m bored. I enjoyed the scenery. I laughed when they first showed the gondola. Other than that I’m not into it.

You were bored by the Shiv/Tom interaction over Tom's sneakers? You were bored by Roman telling Matsson he hated him?

Sure, okay. You should watch something else then. This show is not for you.

I love this show. I’m doing a rewatch and I guess some of it feels a bit played out. Shiv asserting her dominance. Roman spewing nonsense that sort of sticks.

DP. This was the first time I've ever seen Roman look and act serious - when he told Matsson exactly what he thought of him. I like this Roman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone notice that Kendall was back on his old BS on the ride in with the rap playing, same as he was doing when he was running things for his dad (and screwing things up)?

Him wanting to tank such a pretty great deal to retain control over everything seems like terrible business instincts. Seems like they really should get out while they can or the other parts of the company will lose value. But he wants to run it to prove he can.

That scene was a direct correlation to the very first scene of Season 1 - when he's riding in to the company, assuming he'll be taking over. It was an interesting tie-in.