Succession Recap: Cat Food Ozymandias
I always think there’s no way that this show can outdo itself and then an episode like Sunday’s comes along. It had everything we love about Succession: drama, tension, emotional turmoil, inappropriately timed business strategizing, etc.
The penultimate episode of one of TV’s all-time great shows will stand as one of the series’ best, thanks in large part to some emotionally-charged performances and, as always, exemplary writing. Let’s go bury Logan:
Episode 9 Recap: Church and State
“I can do fucking anything; my dad just died.”
The big day is upon us and Roman could not be more excited to deliver his speech. (It’s a eulogy. He’s jazzed up to eulogize his dead dad). Pride cometh before the fall with the Roy children, so one can only assume that this cocky Kendall-like facade will eventually melt away when the lights are brightest.
The Roy children are all using the occasion of their father’s funeral, in an appropriately inappropriate way, to make various power plays and alliances to advance their personal positions:
Roman, of course, is planning to frame himself as the obvious heir to Logan in his eulogy. Very much a “the king is dead, long live the king” situation.
Kendall is pulling a personal power play, trying to gain custody of his Greta-Thunberg ass kids from his wife, while also keeping his eye on the CEO seat.
Shiv is taking advantage of the Swede’s presence at the funeral to plant the idea of a US CEO (her) in his head, an arrangement which would surely be looked upon more favorably by the xenophobic president-elect. She also openly drank in front of Tom while carrying his baby, so she’s officially using a fetus as leverage.
So everyone is still self-centered and awful heading into their father’s funeral. Good.
“Do you want me to take his legs out?”
Fast forward to the interior of the church and the game is about to get underway. A sweaty Greg is fresh off a blue bike and ready to assume Tom's place as front right casket wheeler. Not going to lie, even though Logan was being wheeled in, I was rooting for Greg to somehow find a way to drop him.
Whereas he succeeded in keeping Logan’s corpse in the casket, Greg failed at his other task: keeping his grandfather off the stage. Ewan hauled his old hippie ass up to the microphone and delivered what at first appeared to be an uncharacteristically forgiving portrait of his late brother.
By emphasizing Logan’s traumatic upbringing and inadvertent killing of his younger sister, Ewan not only provided an answer to a series-long mystery, but also shed some light on the Logan origin story.
No singular event made Logan who he was ala a supervillain. He didn’t fall into a vat of polio and guilt and emerge as Super Dick. But his guarded exterior can be explained, in part, by his childhood experiences. When he was vulnerable with his family, blaming himself for his sister’s demise, his family fed into that belief rather than dispel it. Can’t blame him for avoiding vulnerability after that.
Ewan portrays Logan as a human, capable of empathy the same as anyone else…then he switches gears.
The remainder of his speech is more in line with what you would expect from Ewan. Logan was a callous fuck who refused to love or be loved. And at some point, he just stopped playing the game for any reason other than personal gain. The man simply gave up on his own humanity.
“Is he in there?”
Following Ewan’s rousing speech, Roman, despite having undergone a lengthy pre-grieving process, was clearly doomed to fail in eulogizing his father.
Not only because it’s in-line with his character, or because it makes sense dramaturgically (fuck you Jeremy Strong), but because his behavior on the day of the funeral is exactly what you would expect of someone who has yet to fully come to terms with their grief.
I recognized it immediately because I am much the same way when when grieving. It’s a delayed fuse. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, then all of a second it hits me like a fucking tidal wave. Granted, I don’t deflect the feelings by hitting on my pregnant blood relatives or getting aroused at the thought of death, but hey different strokes for different folks.
Sidenote: What is with Roman and getting horned up at death? Remember when he was with Tabitha a few seasons back and could only get in the mood if she was still and cold, y’know, like a dead person? Go to therapy dude, fuck.
Roman’s weirdness aside, I think everyone can identify with that confusing emotional sensation that comes with grief. Where you laugh and goof as a nervous coping mechanism, before having to fully face the reality of loss.
And face it he did. Roman’s breakdown was both heartbreaking and a pivotal scene for his character.
Any thoughts from last episode that Roman could actually fill Logan’s shoes were shattered in this moment. He’s not ready to lead anything. He’s an emotionally-damaged man child who doesn’t have anywhere near enough of a grasp on his feelings to handle the pressures of being in charge.
Also doing that in front of the president is TOUGH. You fucked it bro.
“He made life happen.”
With Roman down for the count, it’s Kendall’s turn to step up to the podium. First off, the dude was definitely on coke again cause he rubbed at his nose right before beginning his speech.
But then, to my surprise, he delivered one of the most coherent, poignant and beautiful characterizations of a deeply flawed and complicated man. What was going to be a whitewashing of their father’s many moral shortcomings turned into an honest examination of his father’s life and legacy.
Yes, Logan Roy was a brute. He was ruthless, vindictive, and had no regard for anyone but himself. But you can’t deny his impact. You can’t argue that he had a relentless drive and vigor and energy about him that allowed him to command any room he was in and is so, so rarely found in people. Love him or probably hate him, the man was a force.
Kendall puts it best:
“And now people might want to tend and prune the memory of him. To denigrate that force. That magnificent awful force of him. But my God I hope it’s in me.”
As Kendall leaves the church, he garners looks of respect from the funeral goers as well as the President, whom Kendall has clearly impressed. The pendulum has swung decidedly in Kendall’s favor and it seems as if we FINALLY have a Roy worthy of filling his father’s shoes.
This lasts for about 15 minutes.
“Me, rule the world.”
Of course Logan has a fucking mausoleum. Only fitting way for him to go into eternity — entombed like a Pharaoh.
I’ll keep this section brief as there’s more to get to, but one note on the poem Shiv mentions that is also the partial title of this blog: Ozymandias. No literary reference in this show is without purpose and I found this poem to be particularly interesting in regards to the central theme of Succession. Here is Ozymandias, in its entirety:
It’s the hubris of a powerful leader to assume that they’re somehow the exception to mortality. The poem is a cutting reminder that the power you accumulate in life cannot go with you to the grave. Even someone of Logan’s stature had to, in the end, accept the reality of death and the eventual dissolution of his empire as a natural consequence of time.
I view the poem’s mention in this scene as a warning. You can sacrifice everything to gain power. And hell, you may even achieve it. But was it worth the cost, if at the end, you meet the same fate as every great leader before you?
Unfortunately for the Roys, they fail to heed this warning.
“The Roy Boys vs. Shiv the Shiv”
Kendall’s confidence trip comes to an abrupt end the same day it began, as Mencken all but brushes off his attempts to woo him with his inauthentic, startup drivel-y bullshit.
The Swede meanwhile, though sounding slightly desperate, does seem to intrigue the president-elect with the prospect of an American CEO. But will that CEO actually turn out to be Shiv? I guess we’ll find out.
Either way, the stage seems to be set for the series finale. It’s the Roy Boys vs. Shiv & the Swede with everything on the line.
Winner of the week: Caroline
It was kind of tough to pick a winner this week. Kendall had a major victory at the funeral, but seemed to falter at the reception. The Swede could be argued as a winner, but uncertainty around his acquisition remains. And Shiv could also be viewed as the victor, but something tells me she gets screwed out of the CEO chair.
So without a clear winner, I’m going with a wildcard: Caroline.
The Roy matriarch came across as sharp, funny, and confident in the episode, even though she’s not a player in this game we call Succession.
She called Shiv being pregnant immediately and made it weird with Logan’s various wives and girlfriends just for the sake of pissing him off one last time. I can respect that level of petty.
Loser of the week: Roman
Yeah, you can’t cry in front of the president. Not the way to instill confidence in your leadership ability. Also you got Karl making your wailing into a ringtone. That’s tough.
Top 10 Quotes of the Week
I swear this show has me speaking in Roman-esque quips. The other day my roommate sneezed particularly violently and I shouted, “Should I bless you or read you last rites?” Anyways ten quotes this week cause it was funny as hell:
10. “Daddy’s here.” - Peter
Just a brutal lack of awareness.
9. “He got it on a deal. He was really pleased.” - Connor
I always try to be a little thrifty when it comes to mausoleums.
8. “I was crazy for cryogenics, but yeah I wouldn’t say no to a top bunk.” - Connor
Yeah I don’t think we need to preserve Connor for future generations. Just my two cents.
7. “I think this eulogy is going to leave us open to legal action.” - Shiv
Wish Connor had just given the literal eulogy he gave to Mo Lester.
6.
Kendall: “You’ll be my dog. But the scraps from the table will be millions. Millions. Happy?”
Hugo: “Woof. Woof.”
Hugo is fully willing to debase himself for money and is not ashamed of that fact. That’s honorable in its own way.
5. “What if I said to you Pan-Hapsburg, American-led EU alternative. What would you say to me?” - Connor
Like his brother, Connor always manages to come up with increasingly intricate ways to say absolutely nothing.
4. “I’m intrigued to see how he gets out of this one.” - Shiv
Boy ol' Logan has really gotten himself into a pickle this time.
3. “If he starts like unfurling a banner or singing union songs or whatever, you have license to, y’know, *throat slash*” - Roman
Frankly I’m surprised Ewan didn’t at least plug the upcoming Antifa meeting.
2. “I’m a casket wheelman, I’m front right!” - Tom
Front right is the premier casket wheeling location. Everyone knows that.
1. “That was a good hard take that you gave.” - Greg
Greg’s ability to tailor his ass kissery to each person will never cease to impress me. He might just see some of that Greenpeace money after all!
Going forward
It feels like there’s so much to wrap up, yet we only have one episode left. My sense is every Roy child is going to get shut out of the CEO job. It makes too much sense that none of them end up with the job after all this.
I’ve been an avowed WambsFan from the beginning so I’m pulling for Tom to take it, forsaking any chance of a life with Shiv and their unborn child. It would only be fitting that this show ends with a character choosing power over personal. None of these characters are capable of growth.
Succession thus far this season has done a phenomenal job of finishing the show the right way. Each episode has been better than the last for the most part, and I sincerely hope it builds up to a complete finale that ties off all loose ends. You’re so close to not fumbling the bag. Just finish the job and live the rest of your life in the pantheon of all-time great television shows. See you, for the final time, next week.
