Succession is often referred to as a show about rich people ruining each other's lives, and you know what? That's accurate. Thankfully, it also happens to be pretty entertaining and fascinating.
Succession is about the uber rich Roy family fighting for control of their company, Waystar RoyCo, betraying each other any chance they get. While there's technically a main villain in Logan Roy, the aging patriarch of the family who refuses to release his iron grip on Waystar, I wouldn't quite say there's a single purely good character in this entire show. Pretty much the entire cast is composed of cruel, selfish assholes, and they've all led extremely screwed up lives. I think that's why so many people seem to get attached to the cast of Succession. Sure, they're all awful people, but they're also all incredibly well-defined characters with colorful personalities and at times genuinely sympathetic reasons for being the way they are. Succession is kind of an ugly show, and while I was mixed on most of the characters, I ended off the season mostly feeling one emotion: Pity.
Succession's first season got off to a pretty uneven start. While its pilot episode was great, the first half of the season felt a bit aimless at times, as if the series was just about the characters being shallow and awful without much in the way of long-term goals and motivations. However, once a pretty eventful "vote of no confidence" happens halfway through the season, Succession really starts to find its voice as it explores the cast in a bit more depth. It all builds to a pretty fantastic season finale that left me excited to see how Season 2 would continue. But while the plotting was a bit off at first, the dialogue and comedy was top-notch from start to finish. I was surprised at how much this series made me laugh. The black comedy is witty, sharp, and very effective. I also thought the acting was fantastic and elevated the series even more. Roman is cruel but Kieran Culkin's hammy performance makes him so much fun to watch, Kendall is a bit more sympathetic thanks to Jeremy Strong's puppy dog eyes, and Brian Cox makes Logan a truly terrifying force.
There are some notable highlights this season, particularly in the latter half:
Which Side Are You On?: As mentioned above, this episode was a big turning point in Succession, both plot-wise and quality-wise. I was expecting Kendall's attempt at a vote of no confidence to fail given that it was so early in the show, but I was not expecting Logan to intimidate half the board into abstaining and fire the other half including Kendall. It helps that this was an incredibly tense and well-executed sequence that served as one of the most memorable in the season.
Nobody Is Every Missing: This finale reminds a lot about the Season 2 finale of Breaking Bad, a tragic ending to the season that marks a big shift in tone. Kendall accidentally causing the death of a waiter is the point where the otherwise lighthearted war within the Roy family goes way too far, and it leads to a really bleak final few minutes. There's also Shiv and Tom having a big turning point in their relationship, and the reveal that Greg has been plotting something all season as well.
Overall, Succession's first season gets off to a bit of a slow start, but even its weaker first half is elevated by sharp writing, great performances, and the show's willingness to embrace the gray morality of its characters.
3/5 Stars
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