Brian Earl Spilner said:
Definitely feels like that decision is gonna be the downfall of everyone. The episode itself was good, but I'm not sure I'm all that thrilled about an election this series has barely mentioned other than a couple episodes, ends up being the unraveling of the whole thing.
Politics have been baked into the DNA of show since day one...
- Basically Shiv's whole identity as we first get to know her is that she works for a Democratic candidate, pitting her in stark contrast to her Republican family.
- Shiv then has a season-long affair with a prominent staffer working for said candidate, a staffer who now works with the *new* Democratic candidate, one the Roys need in their corner.
- A major subplot of season three is the Roys trying to convince the Republican president (the "California Raisin," whom, as heavily hinted, the Roys helped elect) to drop the charges against them, showing just how valuable it is to have installed politicians who share their same interests. This ultimately paves the way for/motivates Kendall's and Roman's actions tonight.
- An entire episode last season is devoted to Logan crowning Mencken as the next Republican candidate, not to mention Mencken has been name-dropped in every single episode so far this season.
- Above all, one of the main characters (Tom) is the head of ATN, ATN is the crown jewel of the Roy family business, and election night is the Super Bowl of ATN/cable news.
To me, setting tonight's events against the backdrop of the election was as perfect a culmination as this show could possibly have, underlining exactly and thematically how much of a game *everything* is to the Roys, including the manipulation of democracy itself - the bedrock of our country - for their own self-interests.
I'm honestly stunned at how brilliantly executed it all was.