*** SUCCESSION *** (Season 4)

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PatAg
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TCTTS said:

Brian Earl Spilner said:

TCTTS said:




Man am I glad I missed this post. Nothing worse than getting hyped up for a shocking twist that never comes.


Shocked was probably the wrong word. "Dreadful," Manic," "Stressfull," or "Depressing" would have been more appropriate. Either way, that was an all-timer for me.
Yea, shocking has a different connotation, but there was a LOT Of past character development brought to head and revealed in thsi episode. Maybe shocking to the characters would be more accurate.
TCTTS
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That's a good way to put it.
J.P. 03
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mazzag said:

That was intense but not shocking.

Fantastic episode, but I agree that the "shocking" part now feels like a massive oversell. After that tweet, I was expecting the coke Greg scored for Tom to have been laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl or something, which actually would have made for amazing television now that I think about it.
Tobias Funke
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

TCTTS said:




Man am I glad I missed this post. Nothing worse than getting hyped up for a shocking twist that never comes.


Yeah like when I saw a fake tweet saying "Wait, Logan is gay?" after the Logan death episode had aired but before I had watched it
BowSowy
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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.
I don't know, I feel like they have been foreshadowing this all season. They've now spent the past two episodes building up why this deal won't happen. India numbers, Mencken as president. I suspect there's yet another curveball coming.
TCTTS
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J.P. 03 said:

mazzag said:

That was intense but not shocking.

Fantastic episode, but I agree that the "shocking" part now feels like a massive oversell. After that tweet, I was expecting the coke Greg scored for Tom to have been laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl or something, which actually would have made for amazing television now that I think about it.


The second Greg asked him, that's exactly what I was expecting.
astros4545
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Loved Shiv getting shivved like that
BowSowy
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TCTTS said:

J.P. 03 said:

mazzag said:

That was intense but not shocking.

Fantastic episode, but I agree that the "shocking" part now feels like a massive oversell. After that tweet, I was expecting the coke Greg scored for Tom to have been laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl or something, which actually would have made for amazing television now that I think about it.


The second Greg asked him, that's exactly what I was expecting.
So glad they didn't go that route. Not because I care about Tom, but because I don't think these last two episodes have the room for that storyline while tying everything else up.
deer corn
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Conner enters
Roman coming down the stairs, "Hey Presidente! Sike!"

So subtle and almost missed, but I laughed so hard and had to pause.

A drinking game with, "yeah?" would kill a person in 30 minutes.

Edit: just rewatched and amended to what Roman actually said.
TCTTS
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Aggie09Derek
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Did anyone else think Kendall was going to come back into the conference room and play along with Shiv's lie?

For a bit I thought Greg was gonna stay silent and Kendall would go against Roman.
TCTTS
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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.
Ghost of Bisbee
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TCTTS said:

Captain Winky said:

What am I missing here? How does a news channel making a call have any bearing whatsoever on an election? It doesn't change anything?


Did you not live through 2020? Granted, it's not quite the same, but Fox calling Arizona for Biden was basically the inciting incident that cracked open the door to a flood of endless stolen election rhetoric going on three years now + Jan 6. That call was almost assuredly direct inspiration for tonight's episode, except with a twist.


Armstrong must know about f16. Had to be an inspiration for them
Ervin Burrell
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Captain Winky said:

What am I missing here? How does a news channel making a call have any bearing whatsoever on an election? It doesn't change anything?


Man I wish I could be this naive. They control half the electorate-planting the seeds that their side "won" will make it harder for Jimenez's team to challenge because the hope is half the country will think Mencken won, no questions asked.
InternetFan02
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I understand why Roman was all in for Mencken
I understand why Shiv was all in for Jimenez

I don't understand why Kendall was torn between the two…not fully buying the emotional stakes. He's really worried about his daughter being bullied? Omg fascism? Mencken is the clear obvious choice for him. They could have done better showing how Kendall would be negatively affected by Mencken. I'll understand the connection to his family and that tracks with early season 1 when he thought he had the CEO job he tried hard to reconcile with the family but I'm not buying the school bullying as this big emotional tipping point.

So I like the concept of Kendall selling his soul and losing his family to become CEO but the mechanism isn't landing for me
boogieman
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Pouring La Croix in the eye was as stupid as Michael Scott driving into a lake because the GPS said so.
Just toooooo stupid to be believable.
Max Power
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boogieman said:

Pouring La Croix in the eye was as stupid as Michael Scott driving into a lake because the GPS said so.
Just toooooo stupid to be believable.

There was only a hint of lemon.

In all honesty I think they drop stuff like that in to remind everyone that this show is comedic. That is not the act of a reasonable person. In an episode as tense as last night they needed to drop in something like that to ease the tension. That scene is a stark contrast to any scene Shiv was in last night.
Proposition Joe
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I think this season we've definitely seen the writing suffer a bit, potentially do to the somewhat abrupt decision to have this be the final season. A lot of storylines that have to quickly be introduced or re-introduced because they are going to be a key to that episode.

Kendall meeting his family at the start of last week's season -- a family we have barely heard from in 2 seasons -- only to have that be what potentially shapes his decision on what he's finally going to do... i don't mind that being his reason, but those seeds hadn't been watered in like 2+ years.

Don't get me wrong, still some of the best writing -- but a lot more cracks showing up this season as they try and quickly move things along and wrap it up.
FancyKetchup14
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I respectfully disagree wholeheartedly...I think the fact none of us have really been able to predict what's going to happen is evidence this season's writing is some of the best, if not the best, of the entire series.

DannyDuberstein
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I think the writing has been excellent. The "Mencken is going to destroy democracy" bit is ridiculous, but there are a lot of nuts like Shiv out there that believe crap like that
Ervin Burrell
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GreasenUSA said:

Brian Earl Spilner said:

TCTTS said:




Man am I glad I missed this post. Nothing worse than getting hyped up for a shocking twist that never comes.
Yeah, I wish I wouldn't have read it. I kept waiting for something.

Another great episode though. Looks like Roman has moved to leader of the pack.


Agree with this. I get Armstrong trying to pump up his own show and maybe he does have a reason to think that was the most shocking episode of the season, but I'm with you…I kept waiting for somebody to die or something and the episode, while great like always, seemed to fall slightly flat.
Four Seasons Landscaping
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Armstrong's tweet was an obvious false flag.
Ervin Burrell
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Four Seasons Landscaping said:

Armstrong's tweet was an obvious false flag.


"You can't just say false flag to everything you don't agree with."

Rings so true in today's political climate. Something doesn't fit my worldview? Fake news/false flag/etc. Oh, you want proof? Eh, **** that…just trust me.
WES2006AG
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Ervin Burrell said:

Four Seasons Landscaping said:

Armstrong's tweet was an obvious false flag.


"You can't just say false flag to everything you don't agree with."
Roman acting like a child was very on brand for him.
Rudyjax
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Quote:

Roman meeting his family at the start of last week's season -- a family we have barely heard from in 2 seasons -- only to have that be what potentially shapes his decision on what he's finally going to do... i don't mind that being his reason, but those seeds hadn't been watered in like 2+ years.

When did Roman get a family?
Robert C. Christian
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Really enjoyed this episode as I thought it was the funniest of this season (or maybe just hit my dumb humor register better).

The intro was a great start "well, I'm feeling pretty good":




This line from Tom got me as well: "Information Greg, it's like a bottle of fine wine, you store it, you hoard it, you save it for a special occasion & then you smash someones f***ing face in with it"

And every time Greg tries to get the kids off the newsroom floor he is giving feedback to to Tom of "I am forcefully asking them to leave" while everyone ignores him.
MrPlow2010
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I laughed when Tom was stressed out and said, " I need you Gregging for me tonight" and made him go back to his old role of assisting with food and coffee.
Ervin Burrell
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MrPlow2010 said:

I laughed when Tom was stressed out and said, " I need you Gregging for me tonight" and made him go back to his old role of assisting with food and coffee.


"We all go back to amoebas. It's a long fight back from the pond all because you didn't get me a double shot." (Paraphrasing as I don't remember the exact quote).
Fairview20
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I think another big reason Kendall was hesitant on backing Mencken was because he realized that Roman is Mencken's connection to the Roy's. If Mencken gets elected, that immediately gives Roman a leg up on Kendall.

I think all of the stuff with his daughter was him trying to justify his reasoning to himself in a less-selfish way.
Proposition Joe
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He more or less said that to Shiv
JYDog90
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I think Kendall is trying to figure out what his dad would do in this instance while Roman is just impulsively doing what his dad would've done.
Proposition Joe
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The difference between Roman and Logan is that Logan actually had to live through hard times and knows that things can get/be bad in the world, so while he was cut-throat he knew what lines not to cross.

Roman is cut-throat, but he doesn't see any lines because he's always lived an insulated life in a more-or-less safe/insulated time period. He believes "nothing really matters" (like who wins an election) because in his world nothing really has mattered all that much. But that doesn't mean nothing will ever matter.

Kendall is the only one with a real anchor to the real world through his kid, but at the same time I still feel like that is suddenly coming in at the eleventh hour. I think we've seen or heard about the kid like 5 times throughout the entire show's run. I think the children/Ravenclaw/whatever storyline is apropos for the day-and-age we're living in, but IMO seemed really forced to be happening on the show this late.
PatAg
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InternetFan02 said:

I understand why Roman was all in for Mencken
I understand why Shiv was all in for Jimenez

I don't understand why Kendall was torn between the two…not fully buying the emotional stakes. He's really worried about his daughter being bullied? Omg fascism? Mencken is the clear obvious choice for him. They could have done better showing how Kendall would be negatively affected by Mencken. I'll understand the connection to his family and that tracks with early season 1 when he thought he had the CEO job he tried hard to reconcile with the family but I'm not buying the school bullying as this big emotional tipping point.

So I like the concept of Kendall selling his soul and losing his family to become CEO but the mechanism isn't landing for me
Kendall at least has some connections to the Jimenez camp, he has no connection to Mencken. and I think he was realizing he doesnt really have the connections the thought he had to Jimenez either.
jackie childs
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this show is so awesome...i can't believe we're almost done with it.

i think any other show would have made a huge scene out of shiv telling tom she's pregnant. but from everything we've seen from shiv, she would 100% use that news to try and 'win' an argument with tom because that's what she does every time something isn't going her way. i loved that rather than fawn all over her and apologize, tom just flat out asks if she's lying about that too.
BowSowy
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Genuinely shocked that Proposition Joe has an opinion that goes counter to the majority.

This is far from the first time this show has pulled a dormant plot and made it somewhat pivotal to the current plot. I prefer it the way they've done it, because sprinkling in scenes with Ken playing dad would feel out of place with the way this story goes. But I don't think it's lazy writing to have his children's safety/well-being play an important role in his internal struggle in this situation.
 
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