Succession - Season 4

[Anonymous]

When Shiv was crying in the dark room, she was looking at her phone, and this was after the assistant made a deal about "your appointment." She could very well have just scheduled some time to cry, like she told Tom. But could there be something else, too?

[Anonymous]

Great eppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this episode was boring. Anyone else?

I keep seeing comments like this in this thread and I get it because it's how my DH feels. He spends most episodes scrolling his phone and just checks in occasionally and is super bored by the corporate machinations and only mildly interested in the family drama. He likes the jokes, so he enjoys the shenanigans between Greg and Tom, Roman's witticisms, and the occasional cringe moment (usually Kendall).

But I like the show for the relationships between all these broken, immature people. They behave like children, and it's partly because they are petty, entitled freaks, but it's also partly because they carry around these deep psychic wounds from messed up childhoods and family dysfunction. I find it relatable and sad and embarrassing.

So to me this episode was fascinating, especially watching Roman and Kendall just petulantly acting out in their grief with pretty much no self-awareness and no one who is able to tell them to stop. I thought it was interesting to watch Shiv doing a better job of keeping it together, partly because she's scheduling time for her to cry in a dark room, and maybe partly because she's realizing that when she becomes a mother, she can no longer be a child.

But yeah, my DH was bored. It's not for everyone. It's not just amusing entertainment, it's something else, and I think if you don't connect to it on an emotional level, maybe it seems boring.

I love the show but this was not one of the more riveting episodes IMO, but there were some high points -

Shiv and Tom - their whole interaction was fascinating and so layered. Overall, Tom is a prick, but I think he has a genuine tender side for Shiv. The whole scene around, "you're scheduling your grief?!" was really nice. And them sleeping together and Tom being honest with her about money and not wanting to lose his standing and thus betraying her was so good. I've also thought that Tom's push to have a baby was to cement his position in the family.

Roman just going to lunch and firing Annabeth Gish was priceless. He really is like a toddler throwing an extended tantrum. I was dying when he was sparring with Gerri and she's like, "Do I have to believe it or just say it?"

Kendall is just a mess. In over his head in a big way.

I did find the business stuff kind of dry in this, and honestly, I feel like there's one more episode of the Matsson stuff before they have to move on.

And when is Shiv going to announce this pregnancy!!

[Anonymous]

I liked the episode, especially the Shiv/Tom scenes, and how Kendall and Roman are in way over their heads.

But did anybody else find the finance part really shallow? It's like they were spitballing big finance words with no connected train of logic. In one sense that probably just shows how badly Kendall and Roman are in over their heads. But they weren't the only ones tossing around "big finance words" and part of me thinks it was lazy or ignorant writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked the episode, especially the Shiv/Tom scenes, and how Kendall and Roman are in way over their heads.

But did anybody else find the finance part really shallow? It's like they were spitballing big finance words with no connected train of logic. In one sense that probably just shows how badly Kendall and Roman are in over their heads. But they weren't the only ones tossing around "big finance words" and part of me thinks it was lazy or ignorant writing.

Maybe, but I read a recap that compared what Kendall did to how WeWork marketed and valued its company to investors, so maybe it's not too far off.

[Anonymous]

Tom and Shiv sleep together several times and he doesn’t notice she’s 20 - 21 weeks pregnant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tom and Shiv sleep together several times and he doesn’t notice she’s 20 - 21 weeks pregnant?

My thought too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tom and Shiv sleep together several times and he doesn’t notice she’s 20 - 21 weeks pregnant?

There was a very deliberate shot of Tom touching Shiv’s waist, so I’m wondering if he already knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked the episode, especially the Shiv/Tom scenes, and how Kendall and Roman are in way over their heads.

But did anybody else find the finance part really shallow? It's like they were spitballing big finance words with no connected train of logic. In one sense that probably just shows how badly Kendall and Roman are in over their heads. But they weren't the only ones tossing around "big finance words" and part of me thinks it was lazy or ignorant writing.

Yeah, I feel like the closest we got was that Mattson’s craziness has been priced in already. I really like Georgia Pritchett as a writer though and thought this episode was pretty good overall.

My other complaint is how did Tom not notice she was pregnant when they slept together?! She’s nearly 20 weeks.

[Anonymous]

We don’t know what Tom knows right now.

The Shiv scenes are the only ones I care about right now.

The whole thing with Kendall and Roman and living plus or whatever made no sense and was dumb. Sorry. Dumb dumb. Not believable, and dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great eppy.

Eppy? No. That's not happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this episode was boring. Anyone else?

I keep seeing comments like this in this thread and I get it because it's how my DH feels. He spends most episodes scrolling his phone and just checks in occasionally and is super bored by the corporate machinations and only mildly interested in the family drama. He likes the jokes, so he enjoys the shenanigans between Greg and Tom, Roman's witticisms, and the occasional cringe moment (usually Kendall).

But I like the show for the relationships between all these broken, immature people. They behave like children, and it's partly because they are petty, entitled freaks, but it's also partly because they carry around these deep psychic wounds from messed up childhoods and family dysfunction. I find it relatable and sad and embarrassing.

So to me this episode was fascinating, especially watching Roman and Kendall just petulantly acting out in their grief with pretty much no self-awareness and no one who is able to tell them to stop. I thought it was interesting to watch Shiv doing a better job of keeping it together, partly because she's scheduling time for her to cry in a dark room, and maybe partly because she's realizing that when she becomes a mother, she can no longer be a child.

But yeah, my DH was bored. It's not for everyone. It's not just amusing entertainment, it's something else, and I think if you don't connect to it on an emotional level, maybe it seems boring.

I love the show but this was not one of the more riveting episodes IMO, but there were some high points -

Shiv and Tom - their whole interaction was fascinating and so layered. Overall, Tom is a prick, but I think he has a genuine tender side for Shiv. The whole scene around, "you're scheduling your grief?!" was really nice. And them sleeping together and Tom being honest with her about money and not wanting to lose his standing and thus betraying her was so good. I've also thought that Tom's push to have a baby was to cement his position in the family.

Roman just going to lunch and firing Annabeth Gish was priceless. He really is like a toddler throwing an extended tantrum. I was dying when he was sparring with Gerri and she's like, "Do I have to believe it or just say it?"

Kendall is just a mess. In over his head in a big way.

I did find the business stuff kind of dry in this, and honestly, I feel like there's one more episode of the Matsson stuff before they have to move on.

And when is Shiv going to announce this pregnancy!!

I loved that scene where Tom tells Shiv why he betrayed her to her dad. McFadden is such a fantastic actor and really sold that speech, and it also felt really revelatory as one of the very few moments on this show about billionaires where someone very honestly explained that for non-billionaire people, money worry is a daily feeling that follows you around everywhere you go, and getting a taste of a life where it just doesn't exist would make you do some pretty shady things to hold onto that life. It's very honest and relatable and made me "get" the Tom character on a deep level.

Interesting that we got this Tom speech just a couple episodes after Willa says something pretty similar to Connor (about how obviously his money is a major part of his appeal for her), and also interesting that Connor and Shiv seems to be the two Roy siblings handling their father's death a bit better and also feeling more comfortable in their place in the world. Not really sure whether there's more to that, but I found the parallels between those two conversations interesting (because in both cases, Connor and Shiv are actually pretty delighted to hear the other person just admit "yeah, the money matters to me" because it's very real).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked the episode, especially the Shiv/Tom scenes, and how Kendall and Roman are in way over their heads.

But did anybody else find the finance part really shallow? It's like they were spitballing big finance words with no connected train of logic. In one sense that probably just shows how badly Kendall and Roman are in over their heads. But they weren't the only ones tossing around "big finance words" and part of me thinks it was lazy or ignorant writing.

I found some of the finance stuff really hard to follow in a way I usually don't in this episode, but I do think that's partly because the scheme Kendall and Roman are cooking up is suuuuper shady.

I did appreciate that their scheming produced two of the funnier moments in recent episodes:

- Greg pointing out that it's hard to sell houses as new tech since, you know, houses have been around for a while.
- Karl threatening to go nuclear on Ken if he messes with the numbers in a way that exposes Karl (or in any way jeopardizes his Greek island, presumably).

Regarding Karl, there is a big part of me that hopes the gray hairs do turn on the kids at some point, with Karl airing all the dirty money secrets and Geri slapping Roman with a giant wrongful termination/sexual harassment lawsuit (I'm pretty certain she, and others, still have the dick pics to prove it) that absolutely destroys any chance he has of running anything at Waystar. I think it would be fun to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the episode, especially the Shiv/Tom scenes, and how Kendall and Roman are in way over their heads.

But did anybody else find the finance part really shallow? It's like they were spitballing big finance words with no connected train of logic. In one sense that probably just shows how badly Kendall and Roman are in over their heads. But they weren't the only ones tossing around "big finance words" and part of me thinks it was lazy or ignorant writing.

Yeah, I feel like the closest we got was that Mattson’s craziness has been priced in already. I really like Georgia Pritchett as a writer though and thought this episode was pretty good overall.

My other complaint is how did Tom not notice she was pregnant when they slept together?! She’s nearly 20 weeks.

This really bothered me too. I feel like either we are misunderstanding her pregnancy timeline (which would raise some big questions about when/how she got pregnant), or he absolutely did notice but is playing a long game with Shiv and knows enough to let her decide how and when to tell him. That might also account for his general sense of calm in the episode -- if he knows she's pregnant and feels fairly confident the baby is his, that would give him a sense of security in terms of his place in the family moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t know what Tom knows right now.

The Shiv scenes are the only ones I care about right now.

The whole thing with Kendall and Roman and living plus or whatever made no sense and was dumb. Sorry. Dumb dumb. Not believable, and dumb.

It's... an old folks home? But with film directors stopping by to screen movies? And also maybe we'll figure out how to help you live an extra 50 years I don't know how don't ask but we're looking into it?

I was annoyed that it played well in the room and looked like a win for Kendall after his presentation was over. I mean, I guess it's more interesting if Kendall and Roman don't instantly fall flat on their faces and lose to Lukas/Shiv/Geri/Karl/everyone rooting against them, but it still strains credulity. I think IRL a presentation like that would get eviscerated on Twitter and wind up knocking the company's stock price down. But what do I know.