Words to Live By: Succession’s Best Moments

Image Courtesy: HBO

Every few months, I’ll watch a series (one that is already wildly popular), develop an obsession, and add it to my ever-growing list of “favorite” TV shows. It seems as though that cycle has begun once again.

Let’s skip the semantics and get straight to the point. Succession. HBO, once again, has successfully created a drama series that leaves viewers on the edges of their seats. Here, we follow the Roy family as they grapple with loyalty, family ties, and, of course, the future of their company, Waystar Royco. Headed by their father, Logan, we watch his three children, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv, engage in a never-ending power struggle as they pursue personal agendas. Of course, who could forget Logan’s eldest son Connor Roy? Honestly, when all of the cards are laid on the table, Connor can’t stand conflict and prefers to stay out of it.

I won’t bore you any longer. Without further ado, I present to you my favorite moments from Succession (trust me, it was difficult to narrow this down).

“Sorry about the cloak and dagger.”

Image Courtesy: Spin

The story of Kendall and Lawrence’s ultimate feud finally comes full circle in the second episode of the second season, Vaulter. After exchanging a series of wise remarks and doing plenty of ego-stroking to last a decade, we finally see the pair go toe-to-toe once again. Despite Kendall’s belief that Lawrence’s company has potential, the incoherent data records and looming unionization say otherwise. After following his father’s orders like a true working-line breed, he makes the journey to Vaulter’s headquarters.

Here, Kendall adopts the “good cop” persona, meeting with Lawrence to discuss restructuring the foundation of his company. Our favorite heir-turned-lyrical-rap-genius takes the situation further by convincing Vaulter employees that he’s a cool, corporate dude. His promises are entirely empty; however, not a single person is able to tell (honestly, not even me).

The following day, we witness the Kendall stride into Vaulter’s HQ with one mission in mind: gut the company. As he stands before the same employees, yesterday’s atmosphere is utterly deflated. He informs them that they have fifteen days to collect their belongings and that they would be fired effective immediately. Blindsided, Lawrence confronts Kendall. Unfortunately, he’s met with the same blank stare as everyone else, as Kendall shrugs it off, stating “Sorry for the cloak and dagger”.

“Greg, you’re a criminal mastermind. What polyglot genius could ever hope to crack your impenetrable code?”

Image Courtesy: Polygon

One of my personal favorites, Tom Wambsgans, is far more than just Shiv’s husband. Even though he usually gets the short end of the stick, this guy sure knows how to make us laugh. Allow me to set the scene. Season one. It was just another day at the office when Tom convinced good-old cousin Greg to become a conspirator to commit fraud. Tom’s struck of bad luck has left him to take over the cruises clean-up job, despite never having done anything immoral. He sticks Greg with the manual labor; he shreds and transports dozens of incriminating documents on Thanksgiving to a group of shady characters in hopes of burying the past.

To make a long story short, Greg makes copies of quite a few documents and eventually decides to blackmail Tom into giving him a better office. Now, Tom is usually all fun and games, but this situation left him in quite the pickle. Nevertheless, he convinces Greg to hand over the sensitive paperwork, and the dynamic duo makes their way to the Waystar office after Greg reveals that he’s hidden the documents at work.

Despite rising tensions, Tom manages to crack a joke as Greg hands over a folder labeled “secret”. Within his confidential envelope, Greg took things a step further, labeling the papers as “receipts”. What a smart guy. In true Wambsgans fashion, Tom shoots Greg a degrading look, stating, “Greg, you’re a criminal mastermind! What polyglot genius could ever hope to crack your impenetrable code?”

“It has been suggested I would be a suitable figure to absorb the anger and concern. But…”

Image Courtesy: Vulture

I suppose I’ve saved the best for last here. The last twenty minutes of the season two finale left me crying at first; however, Kendall unexpectedly turned the tables, playing the hand of the decade against his father. Needless to say, my jaw was literally on the floor.

The episode, titled This is Not for Tears, showed the viper’s nest that is Waystar Royco. Logan needed a “meaningful skull to wave” in order to appease shareholders and delay any further cruise-related damage, and nobody was safe. After throwing one another under the bus for the majority of the episode, Shiv meets with her father to debrief.

The pair agree that Kendall, who was not involved in the horrific cruise coverup, was the blood sacrifice the company needed. Shortly thereafter, Logan summoned his son into his room, lectured him about his (sh***y) reasoning, told him that he could never run the company because he wasn’t a ‘killer’, and sent him on his way to the slaughterhouse.

Greg went along for the ride, telling Kendall that he strongly disagreed with Logan’s decision but left it at that. In a hold-your-breath, I-can’t-look situation, we watch as Kendall steps onto the podium, preparing to jump on the knife to save his father’s skin. However, he deviates from the pre-made statement, revealing that he had acquired evidence of the cruise cover-up with signatures that incriminate his father. He tears apart the pre-written speech and tosses it aside like celebratory confetti. It was his ultimate mic-drop moment.

It goes without saying that the characters in this dark drama deliver the best one-liners like it’s their nine-to-five. To be honest with you, I find it extremely difficult to narrow down the show’s best moments because, frankly, they’re all spectacular. From Tom taking a bite of Logan’s lunch in an act of defiance to Connor losing an iPad to showbiz to the beautiful email headline, “You Can’t Make a Tomelette Without Breaking Some Greggs”, the writer’s room for Succession serves satire on a silver platter (with the forks properly aligned, as per Connor’s request).

Although I am only partially done with the show’s third season, I highly recommend you give Succession a chance. HBO never misses, we know that by now.

Strike Out,

Writer: Lexi Fernandez

Florida State University