Succession - Season 4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTH kind of name is "Wambsgans"? Sounds like it was completely made up.

It's German.

I can't for the life of me understand why the writers gave him that name. It literally means, "to waddle when walking."

It's a great name for Tom. It's weird and not a strong name. It's a little effeminate with the mbs etc -- not a lot of hard consonants. And there's the history with the triple play that applies to the end of the last season, imho.

I think they gave him the name Tom Wambsgans because it sounds funny when people say and makes for an easy joke in a show that likes to sneak humor in wherever they can. They also gave him a name that's hard to spell and pronounce, so he'll constantly have to be explaining it to people, undercutting any authority he might have -- that's Tom's brand.

It's also like the opposite of the name Roy -- it's long instead of short, complicated instead of simple, all consonants instead of mostly vowel, etc. It marks him, always, as a family outsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love how Tom has become less of a yokel and a better sexual equal for Shiv. That discussion about how he loves money was amazing. Are these two crazy kids going to make it work after all??

That scene was the first time I personally found him attractive.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote: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?

I thought it was related to the pregnancy.

Ooh, I just had a thought. Shiv had scheduled time in that room and she also received a phone call right as Tom walked in, but she flipped her phone over immediately so he couldn't see. Could she have been about to schedule an abortion?
DP

No

I got the sense she was reviewing bad news. Or watching an ultrasound, or something related to the pregnancy, that made her sad, because her family had fallen apart. The specific thing is less important than the fact that Tom came in and then they seemed to flirt with rekindling things, or newly balancing their relationship.

OMG, stop. She's not getting an abortion.

DP. She was crying, obviously upset, and had a scheduled time in that room. Someone called her, seemingly right on schedule. I think she had set up a time to speak with the doctor re: scheduling an abortion. And Tom walked in right at that moment, which totally threw her off. I would bet anything that's why she was in there.

Shiv isn’t getting an abortion!! And she wouldn’t have to schedule a call with her Ob to schedule the abortion, from LA. She’d just call her OB whenever she wanted once she got back home and get it that day.

She may have definitely been waiting for a medical appointment (I did not see what was on her phone when she flipped it over) but she isn’t getting an abortion.

I disagree - she may not ultimately have an abortion, but I think she was absolutely planning to get one. But now that she and Tom seem to be back together, she's rethought things.

You’re making things up now. “She used to want to but now she doesn’t!” Nothing, literally nothing, in the series has alluded to her wanting an abortion. She got an amino and scheduled a 20 week scan. She refrained from alcohol and cocaine even when drinking and doing coke would have been helpful to the deal (since she was alone with Matson and he was offering). Unless you take brooding looks and crying to mean “oh she is scheduling an abortion and then changed her mind!” ? It could also mean she was planning on adopting a dog and then changed her mind and had a call with the dog rescue to say no, and she was crying over that decision. Because there is as much evidence for that as for her abortion plan.

+1, this is bananas. I have no problem with a storyline about Shiv getting, or contemplating, an abortion. But PP is just inventing one out of thin air. There are million reasons she could have been crying in that scene. Her dad just died, her brothers are being jerks, she's estranged from her husband, and, oh yeah, she's pumped full of pregnancy hormones which are known to make people particularly emotional. I cried 6 billion times during my pregnancy.

You can't just make up plot. If they want to write a story about Shiv getting an abortion, they will just write scenes in which that is clearly what is happening and the actor will play it. They are not going to dramatically sneak it in so you have to figure it out using clues. This is not that kind of show.

DP (well I’m the pp at the very top of this convo but haven’t posted since). Shiv received a call just as Tom entered. Was it Mattson or something else?

[Anonymous]

Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love how Tom has become less of a yokel and a better sexual equal for Shiv. That discussion about how he loves money was amazing. Are these two crazy kids going to make it work after all??

I don't think so. I think this is a brief reprieve before the shit really hits the fan between them.

I’ve always had inklings that Tom was going to eventually hit Shiv. A long time ago when she was belittling him during a dinner date with another couple and he snapped at her- I saw it then- and that, combined with his cruelty to Greg and his smarmy niceness to Shiv most of the time…. And now, when he bit her and she was like “oh you finally made me feel something” …. I could be off base but I really could see him being a closet abuser. And shiv, with her history of trauma and abuse, would probably “love” him more when he did.

I don't get that vibe at all. In fact, I think Tom has steeled himself to take an awful lot. Tom doesn't really lose control.

+1
And he would never hit Shiv. He's actually very chivalrous with her.

His chivalry is what's making him hot.

DP but he hit her in the last episode in the face / ear. Were you snoozing ?

Also anyone else remember when Tom had a random black eye in season 1 and he said it happened during sex with Shiv?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTH kind of name is "Wambsgans"? Sounds like it was completely made up.

It's German.

I can't for the life of me understand why the writers gave him that name. It literally means, "to waddle when walking."

It's a great name for Tom. It's weird and not a strong name. It's a little effeminate with the mbs etc -- not a lot of hard consonants. And there's the history with the triple play that applies to the end of the last season, imho.

I think they gave him the name Tom Wambsgans because it sounds funny when people say and makes for an easy joke in a show that likes to sneak humor in wherever they can. They also gave him a name that's hard to spell and pronounce, so he'll constantly have to be explaining it to people, undercutting any authority he might have -- that's Tom's brand.

It's also like the opposite of the name Roy -- it's long instead of short, complicated instead of simple, all consonants instead of mostly vowel, etc. It marks him, always, as a family outsider.

Nice analysis!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

Karl threatened to go public about the numbers if Kendall fires him. So Karl won't be fired. Roman already fired Gerri and Kendall apparently doesn't care, so it will be interesting to see if Gerri has a way back in. I'm guessing Frank is next, too. Although all of them know the numbers are rotten so maybe they all have leverage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

Karl threatened to go public about the numbers if Kendall fires him. So Karl won't be fired. Roman already fired Gerri and Kendall apparently doesn't care, so it will be interesting to see if Gerri has a way back in. I'm guessing Frank is next, too. Although all of them know the numbers are rotten so maybe they all have leverage.

It's funny though how Roman has technically fired Gerri twice and yet she is still there, and neither time was the board informed of the firing. So it will be interesting to see if the board learns about this one eventually and if a replacement is appointed and what the blowback is -- Gerri no doubt has allies (and enemies) on the board. I don't think an interim CEO firing the company's General Counsel with no warning in the middle of buyout negotiations will go unnoticed.

I think firing Gerri is significantly trickier than firing the studio head, which Roman also screwed up and will almost definitely result in blowback as well.

Another thing to remember is that pretty much everyone involved with Waystar wants this deal to go through because they stand to make a f**kton of money off of it. The offer that Lukas has communicated is a massive valuation and everyone involved has giant dollar signs in their eyes. Except Kendall and Roman. So the idea that they are going to just go rogue and tank the deal and all the people who will lose (on paper) millions of dollars as a result will just accept it? Nope. This is how shareholders lawsuits and SEC investigations are born. And Roman and Kendall haven't even been particularly careful -- Jess and Greg both know what they are doing. Do you really think Greg wouldn't fold under tough questioning in a deposition?

I don't see any way Roman and Kendall get away with their current plan. They will likely get away, generally, with being rich idiots with very few consequences. But I don't see any way they successfully tank the deal, hold onto their CEO roles, and get to run Waystar the way they apparently would like to (note: they have no concrete vision for the company, just a vague attraction to the idea of playacting as Logan). That will not happen. If it does, I'll eat my shoe.

[Anonymous]

Gerri's doing the Larry David thing where you keep showing up after you are fired. Works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

Karl threatened to go public about the numbers if Kendall fires him. So Karl won't be fired. Roman already fired Gerri and Kendall apparently doesn't care, so it will be interesting to see if Gerri has a way back in. I'm guessing Frank is next, too. Although all of them know the numbers are rotten so maybe they all have leverage.

Roman has fired Gerri twice this season... she's still there.

[Anonymous]

I think Kieran Culkin is acting Roman's absolute grief spiral so well. The kids' acting this season with their own grief journeys has been on point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTH kind of name is "Wambsgans"? Sounds like it was completely made up.

It's German.

I can't for the life of me understand why the writers gave him that name. It literally means, "to waddle when walking."

It's a great name for Tom. It's weird and not a strong name. It's a little effeminate with the mbs etc -- not a lot of hard consonants. And there's the history with the triple play that applies to the end of the last season, imho.

I think they gave him the name Tom Wambsgans because it sounds funny when people say and makes for an easy joke in a show that likes to sneak humor in wherever they can. They also gave him a name that's hard to spell and pronounce, so he'll constantly have to be explaining it to people, undercutting any authority he might have -- that's Tom's brand.

It's also like the opposite of the name Roy -- it's long instead of short, complicated instead of simple, all consonants instead of mostly vowel, etc. It marks him, always, as a family outsider.

Great point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

Karl threatened to go public about the numbers if Kendall fires him. So Karl won't be fired. Roman already fired Gerri and Kendall apparently doesn't care, so it will be interesting to see if Gerri has a way back in. I'm guessing Frank is next, too. Although all of them know the numbers are rotten so maybe they all have leverage.

It's funny though how Roman has technically fired Gerri twice and yet she is still there, and neither time was the board informed of the firing. So it will be interesting to see if the board learns about this one eventually and if a replacement is appointed and what the blowback is -- Gerri no doubt has allies (and enemies) on the board. I don't think an interim CEO firing the company's General Counsel with no warning in the middle of buyout negotiations will go unnoticed.

I think firing Gerri is significantly trickier than firing the studio head, which Roman also screwed up and will almost definitely result in blowback as well.

Another thing to remember is that pretty much everyone involved with Waystar wants this deal to go through because they stand to make a f**kton of money off of it. The offer that Lukas has communicated is a massive valuation and everyone involved has giant dollar signs in their eyes. Except Kendall and Roman. So the idea that they are going to just go rogue and tank the deal and all the people who will lose (on paper) millions of dollars as a result will just accept it? Nope. This is how shareholders lawsuits and SEC investigations are born. And Roman and Kendall haven't even been particularly careful -- Jess and Greg both know what they are doing. Do you really think Greg wouldn't fold under tough questioning in a deposition?

I don't see any way Roman and Kendall get away with their current plan. They will likely get away, generally, with being rich idiots with very few consequences. But I don't see any way they successfully tank the deal, hold onto their CEO roles, and get to run Waystar the way they apparently would like to (note: they have no concrete vision for the company, just a vague attraction to the idea of playacting as Logan). That will not happen. If it does, I'll eat my shoe.

Sexual harrassment, ageism and a woman. She has too much for Roman to fire her...she has a gazillion D*ck pics from him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody else think think the way Kendall monkeyed with the financing projections and his dad’s video (double the revenue!) will come back to bite him? A lot of people know the numbers were funny and that he messed with the video. And some of those same people are motivated to do him in.

I think that's quite possible. I also think one of the old guard will be shut out or will leave - probably Gerri, but maybe Frank because Frank seems pretty decent.

Karl threatened to go public about the numbers if Kendall fires him. So Karl won't be fired. Roman already fired Gerri and Kendall apparently doesn't care, so it will be interesting to see if Gerri has a way back in. I'm guessing Frank is next, too. Although all of them know the numbers are rotten so maybe they all have leverage.

It's funny though how Roman has technically fired Gerri twice and yet she is still there, and neither time was the board informed of the firing. So it will be interesting to see if the board learns about this one eventually and if a replacement is appointed and what the blowback is -- Gerri no doubt has allies (and enemies) on the board. I don't think an interim CEO firing the company's General Counsel with no warning in the middle of buyout negotiations will go unnoticed.

I think firing Gerri is significantly trickier than firing the studio head, which Roman also screwed up and will almost definitely result in blowback as well.

Another thing to remember is that pretty much everyone involved with Waystar wants this deal to go through because they stand to make a f**kton of money off of it. The offer that Lukas has communicated is a massive valuation and everyone involved has giant dollar signs in their eyes. Except Kendall and Roman. So the idea that they are going to just go rogue and tank the deal and all the people who will lose (on paper) millions of dollars as a result will just accept it? Nope. This is how shareholders lawsuits and SEC investigations are born. And Roman and Kendall haven't even been particularly careful -- Jess and Greg both know what they are doing. Do you really think Greg wouldn't fold under tough questioning in a deposition?

I don't see any way Roman and Kendall get away with their current plan. They will likely get away, generally, with being rich idiots with very few consequences. But I don't see any way they successfully tank the deal, hold onto their CEO roles, and get to run Waystar the way they apparently would like to (note: they have no concrete vision for the company, just a vague attraction to the idea of playacting as Logan). That will not happen. If it does, I'll eat my shoe.

Sexual harrassment, ageism and a woman. She has too much for Roman to fire her...she has a gazillion D*ck pics from him.

Yep, especially on the pics. And Carl has already told Kendall he'll squeal about the numbers if he's fired. So that's two executive team members who are definitely staying. I'm not sure Frank has similar ammo, but if Karl or Gerri have talked to him at all, then he has that info too.

Also, Shiv seems to be on the fence and she could help tank their deal.