Succession (Season 3)

Succession's third season continues the show's strong level of quality, even if it doesn't quite address some of the series' issues either. 

Season 3 of Succession continues from where the previous season left off, as Kendall turns against Logan and pins the cruise scandal on them. What ensues is a season that feels like a civil war between Kendall and the rest of the family, which takes the entertainment factor of watching the family fight and ratchets it all up to eleven. I can definitely see why Succession is such a big hit, seeing which side is "winning" episode-by-episode is really addicting. It also leads to a season where it feels like the stakes are higher than ever. Not only is the company in a great amount of danger, especially when it faces a DOJ investigation, but the family dynamics are incredibly strained. Nearly every episode has some sort of massive fight and argument within the Roys, and you can really tell that everyone is at the end of their ropes. The highlight of Season 3 is definitely Shiv, who really shows just how brutal she can be in multiple cases this season. It all builds up to yet another fantastic final few episodes that dramatically change the status quo and pays off many of the plot threads and storylines from the rest of the season. The dialogue and writing remains sharp, the acting is still great, Season 3 is as good a season of Succession as the last two.

However, all of my complaints about the last season not doing too well on the character work front feel even worse in Season 3. Even with Kendall's actions at the end of Season 2 putting more strain on the Roy family than ever before, it really doesn't feel like much has changed for a large portion of the season. I think the most notable source of repetition here is Logan switching out the family members' job positions pretty much every single episode of the season. But there's also many of the characters (especially Shiv, Logan, and Kendall) feeling static, and plot points like the shareholder meeting and FBI raid not leading to much. The repetition makes these plot points feel like they don't matter all that much, because the show isn't capable of permanent change, and as much as I loved the finale, I'm skeptical of how much of an impact it will really have. Not to say all this makes a show bad. This season of Succession still has great individual episodes, and I adore The Sopranos in spite of its own static characters and liberal use of anticlimax. But Succession needs to do a better job of, at the very least, hiding its repetition.

Still, as mentioned above, there are plenty of great individual episodes in Season 3, especially near the end:

Chiantishire: While most of this episode was pretty great, especially Roman finally getting in trouble for his sexual jokes and "relationship" with Gerri, but come on, we all know why it's here. That dinner scene between Logan and Kendall was fantastic. I love how uncharacteristically calm it is, and that mozzarella part terrified me.  

All The Bells Say: If Season 2's ending wasn't good enough, All The Bells Say finally has the Roy children get over their issues and ally against Logan, something I'm sure most people wanted to see for a very long time. Roman and Shiv's support of Kendall when he reveals what happened with the waiter is heartwarming, and it was great to see them together. Of course, their attempt failed and Logan had the upper hand, but the reveal that Tom tipped him off was a great twist to end the season on. 

Overall, in its third season, Succession is still a good show. The war between Kendall and his family is an interesting storyline, the writing and acting is still top-notch, and the finale is once again fantastic. But the season also suffered from a feeling of repetition and wheel-spinning that could negatively impact the show if left unchecked.

4/5 Stars