TV: Succession (HBO)

[Say Hey Kid]

I'm not sure if my vague post is actually a spoiler, but...

Spoiler

When I saw the end, I knew what would happen to me if my son was an HF poster.

 

[McOilers97]

Am I crazy, or is Ken actor's acting lacking a little, especially compared to the rest of the cast?

Meanwhile, Stewie's acting (Ken's friend turned nemesis) I cannot get enough of.

Kendall is meant to just be "off" in general - he's a drug addict, he speaks like an overconfident frat boy despite being like 40 years old, and Logan has totally wrecked him (both as a child, and what we've seen in the show - which probably has a lot to do with his drug addiction and attitude). The performance is meant to be very internalized most of the time, I think, because Kendall has a hard time just getting by in day-to-day life.

I love the performance from Jeremy Strong, it's my favorite of all the main cast.

 

[member 51464]

I enjoyed season 2 overall. I was glad to see Tom try to confront Shiv being Shiv a bit. Season 3 will be interesting.

 

[Hivemind]

I watched all of season 2 and was relatively entertained, but any critical thought of this show comes up rather hollow.

This show just randomly drops so many plotlines without real resolution in favor of cramming some new plot. Almost nothing from season 1 seemed to carry over into season 2, and half of what did was quickly tied up in a single scene or two. Roman blowing up a rocket? Quick press conference and then never mentioned again. No consequences or fallout. Shiv working for the family's political arch nemesis? Completely forced and awkward conversation in a car, and then it's basically gone for the rest of the season minus one quick guest appearance. Also knotted off her infidelity line with her campaign coworker at the same time. Kendall's ex-wife? Completely gone. And his daughter was only included for a 5 second cameo at a theme park. Logan's mental deterioration? A central element in season 1, but completely absent in season 2 save a quick mention by broken Kendall while being interrogated about what he said during the bearhug attempt. Even among season 2 plots, so many of them happen for an episode and then are suddenly gone again with no consequence on the plot. Roman being held hostage in Turkey in one episode and then he's suddenly on a yacht in the finale with the only resolution being done by some random exposition scenes. Hell, we had ten episodes this season to get any forward momentum on the bearhug, and then didn't even make it to the board meeting. The very central plot from the climax of the previous season basically just sat on the backburner the entire effing season.

Even when they do return to prior plot elements, it feels forced in there and awkward. Like Kendall's Ted Kennedy incident. It was basically not mentioned for half the season, and then suddenly brought up again when they forced him to go to England. Presumably they haven't given any real closure so it can still be used again in the future, but this is a show that's moved passed Chekhov's Guns to Chekhov's Arsenal. So many dangling plot lines they're trying to juggle, each of which have opportunities to crop up again and they only tease them along a little bit. Kendall's accident, Kendall's substance abuse, Greg's documents, Logan's mental health, etc.

I really don't know why I kept watching this show. The acting is fine, but all the characters are loathesome. I guess it's just hate porn.

Am I crazy, or is Ken actor's acting lacking a little, especially compared to the rest of the cast?

Meanwhile, Stewie's acting (Ken's friend turned nemesis) I cannot get enough of.

I can't tell how much of it is acting and how much of it is just a lacking story arc. He seemingly went from being a broken shell to fully functional again in a blink between episodes. I get the transformation we were supposed to see happen, but we didn't really see it happen. We just saw the broken version and then suddenly he was fixed again as soon as he met Naomi. Heck, there was even that episode where he was screwing the actress instead of Naomi, with no explanation as to what happened between him and Noami. Then he and Naomi were suddenly back together for the finale. It felt like they left half of his development on the cutting room floor.

 

[Carlzner]

Just finished the first season.

It is absolutely criminal that Jeremy Strong wasn’t even nominated for an Emmy.

 

[McOilers97]

Just finished the first season.

It is absolutely criminal that Jeremy Strong wasn’t even nominated for an Emmy.

I think he will be for S2 at Sept 2020 Emmys.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

I like how the grandnephew plays stupid, he will probably end up running the company in the end.

 

[Carlzner]

I think he will be for S2 at Sept 2020 Emmys.

Hope he does get nominated, but I think his performance in Season 1 was much better. Either way, he’s fantastic in this show.

 

[Peasy]

Just finished the first season and all I have to say is wow.

What an exceptional show. So many great acting performances by a number of people. The show really took off and hit its stride at the half way mark. I loved getting to know each character more in detail and seeing their complexities that make up their personality. Also the do a great job throwing a bit of background information here and there that help you understand why these people are the way that they are.

Logan gives me some serious Tywin Lanister vibes.

 

[NyQuil]

I actually liked the second season more than the first season.

I felt almost as if the first season was the "prologue" because it introduces and sets up all of the characters for the bloodsport in season two.

And while Roman and Kendall get a lot of attention, my favourite character, surprisingly enough, ended up being Tom Wambsgans.

Kendall has to do a lot with little, in terms of his silences, monotone dialogue and subtle facial expressions, while Roman has to do a lot with a lot, in terms of his over-exuberance and intentionally repellent affectations.

But Tom manages to straddle the delicate tightrope between buffoon and bully and between satire and sympathy so well. His interview with the anchor on his Nazi enthusiasms might be the funniest scene of the second season. "Safe Room" really was a riot.

Despite his apparent Midwestern background and cringe-worthy dialogue at times, he's no fool, and also manages to sneak in some of the most astute and profound witticisms on the show.

Of course, looking up the actor, Matthew MacFayden, he is of course British.

I read an article that called him the "dark horse" of the second season and I think it's spot-on analysis.

I still think Shiv could have been used a bit better.

Spoiler

She surprisingly buckles on two occasions, when Logan asks her point-blank on who the sacrificial lamb should be, and when she begs him to save Tom. Her obvious guilt was apparent during her discussion with Tom in the cove, but it's not as if it's something she wouldn't have thought about before going to see Logan.

 

[NyQuil]

This show just randomly drops so many plotlines without real resolution in favor of cramming some new plot.

It does jump around a fair bit. Any number of plotlines could have been explored in more detail (e.g. Roman's executive training, Conn's presidential bid), but I think they are really just there to expose certain personality characteristics or flaws, and once they've gotten what they wanted out of them, they move on.

It does make for a bit of a jarring season compared with the first, but at the same time, I never really felt like there was filler of any kind either.

 

[KlausJopling]

Season 3 picked up the moment season 2 ends and it doesn't miss a beat.

 

[Mrgnwllm]

Yeah, what an excellent first episode . Leaves the viewer pondering a few questions for next week.

 

[Peasy]

I'm honestly struggling to think of a season finale I liked more than this seasons finale. Wow what a finish. Did not see that coming.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Great finale, everything that happened this episode there was a build-up to, but the ending was still unpredictable.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

We tried giving this show a shot and watched the first couple episodes....no thanks. While I do like Brian Cox as an actor, the rest of the cast was just unwatchable & cringeworthy, at best.

 

[NyQuil]

We tried giving this show a shot and watched the first couple episodes....no thanks. While I do like Brian Cox as an actor, the rest of the cast was just unwatchable & cringeworthy, at best.

The whole point of the show is that it's cringeworthy. But I can see if it's not your cup of tea.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I think it's pretty funny what a non-issue the entire debate about last week's final scene ended up being.

Great season finale. Reminded me of the Mad Men season finale where they formed a new firm (one of the best episodes in that series).

 

[Peasy]

We tried giving this show a shot and watched the first couple episodes....no thanks. While I do like Brian Cox as an actor, the rest of the cast was just unwatchable & cringeworthy, at best.

I find the series starts off a bit slow until it really finds its footing in season 2 and 3. That's kinda when you start realizing what this show is really about. I'd recommend trying to stick through the first season and see how you feel after that.

Season 3 finale currently sitting at a 9.9/10 on IMDb. Seasons 2 finale has remained at 9.8.

 

[KlausJopling]

I can see how Succession is not for everyone. It's a show where every character is terrible, the main characters the worst of them. Cringey (delusional, self centered) is part of it. Its an entitled family that is so rich their wealth invisible to them. The side characters all varying level degrees of terrible human beings. Kendall's arc each season has pretty much being going into a mental breakdown and then snapping out of it at the end. Each season has been about Logan stringing one of his children along. Now we have been through all three (sorry Conor), all of them against him seems like a logical next step.

As a Tom/Greg fan I'm happy with how the season ended.

 

[Bounces R Way]

I can see how Succession is not for everyone. It's a show where every character is terrible, the main characters the worst of them. Cringey (delusional, self centered) is part of it. Its an entitled family that is so rich their wealth invisible to them. The side characters all varying level degrees of terrible human beings. Kendall's arc each season has pretty much being going into a mental breakdown and then snapping out of it at the end. Each season has been about Logan stringing one of his children along. Now we have been through all three (sorry Conor), all of them against him seems like a logical next step.

As a Tom/Greg fan I'm happy with how the season ended.

Yeah the GF hates it for that reason. Says she has no one to cheer for. Which I think is why I like it lol, always find myself more engaged following antiheros than heroes. Thought the finale was great, the season overall was a little too much of the same, but I did enjoy the commitment to Kendall going off the deep end. Should setup for a quality season 4, not sure if that will be the last one but it definitely feels like it should be.

Also has one of my favourite show openings ever, the piano and strings

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

I had to wait three quarters of an hour for a gin and tonic at your wedding. So I'm just saying, who's the real victim here?

 

[Laser Rayzor]

Pretty good season overall. I'm still peeved that they pretty much dropped the deteriorating Logan story line. His health issues are still part of the story but in pretty minor and inconsequential ways. The beginning of the series was a good setup to have Logan battle his quickly eroding vitality while also battling his family for control. Instead they minimized that to focus more on the family struggle, which I get but I think it would have made for a better story if they had kept it central.

Also, I was arguing with family about who the main character is on the show. Would like to hear your opinions.

My take is that Greg is the main character. He's pretty unimportant to the major storyline but he gets a ton of screen time despite that. I think the audience is supposed to experience the story through Greg. He's an outsider to the family drama and appears to be a pretty normal guy so we get to see what it would be like to be in that world. I guess it depends on how you view the show. I see it more as a window into the elite world where the succession storyline is just a vehicle to show how people operate in that world. Greg is kinda like Dante walking through hell, and even though there is a war going on in hell, his story is still the main one IMHO.

Also has one of my favourite show openings ever, the piano and strings

1000%, I love that track. I use the 10 hour version as background when I'm working/reading and never get tired of it haha. The whole score for the show is phenomenal IMO

 

[NyQuil]

I had to learn it on the piano just for the lulz.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Pretty good season overall. I'm still peeved that they pretty much dropped the deteriorating Logan story line. His health issues are still part of the story but in pretty minor and inconsequential ways. The beginning of the series was a good setup to have Logan battle his quickly eroding vitality while also battling his family for control. Instead they minimized that to focus more on the family struggle, which I get but I think it would have made for a better story if they had kept it central.

Also, I was arguing with family about who the main character is on the show. Would like to hear your opinions.

My take is that Greg is the main character. He's pretty unimportant to the major storyline but he gets a ton of screen time despite that. I think the audience is supposed to experience the story through Greg. He's an outsider to the family drama and appears to be a pretty normal guy so we get to see what it would be like to be in that world. I guess it depends on how you view the show. I see it more as a window into the elite world where the succession storyline is just a vehicle to show how people operate in that world. Greg is kinda like Dante walking through hell, and even though there is a war going on in hell, his story is still the main one IMHO.



1000%, I love that track. I use the 10 hour version as background when I'm working/reading and never get tired of it haha. The whole score for the show is phenomenal IMO

It always felt like Kendall was the main character but I think it's now clear that you can't hone in on one person. I think you're on the right track with Greg, in the sense that he's a fly on the wall which the viewer is supposed to resonate with. I found an interesting take on YouTube about the use of the camera as an ambient character: