Sabrina Akhtar, 16, Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Houston
Sabrina Akhtar, 16, writes that the final season of the TV show “Succession” “conjured two emotions: absolute horror and entranced amusement.”Credit...HBO
Words are everything. Well, sort of.
In the hit HBO show, “Succession,” words can mean everything … but also nothing. A too-tight hug can be a strategic move to secure a vote. Pleasantries with Dad mean you want to steal his company from beneath him. A borderline neo-Nazi presidential candidate who won the election goes back on everything he promised you for your help. And according to Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFayden), even your wife telling you she’s pregnant must be some type of play. Sounds exhausting, right?
Imagine being the Roys.
For avid “Succession” viewers like me, the final season conjured two emotions: absolute horror and entranced amusement. From patriarch Logan’s (Brian Cox) unexpected death in “Connor’s Wedding” (an ironic name that suggests the shock was certainly purposeful) to Shiv’s (Sarah Snook) divorce-complicating pregnancy in “Honeymoon States,” to the tension-filled, hyper-realistic “America Decides,” the season covered much-needed ground; the previous had gone stagnant in terms of the endgame.
That is not to say the show has lost its spark. Thanks to producers like Will Ferrell, the humor lives on lavishly. Tom and his personal punching bag, Greg (Nicholas Braun), continue to make for a dynamic that warrants its own spinoff (pro tip: never mix Wasabi and La Croix, and if you do, most certainly do not carry them in a “ludicrously capacious” bag). However, the best performances were those absent of words. Shiv’s glare at Kendall in the finale foretold everything. Even Greg had his moment, his stare down in “America Decides” a pleasant change from his nervous stuttering.
This season has upheld the show’s quality. The score, produced by Nicholas Brittell, is a masterpiece; no scene would be the same without its corresponding track. However, the season’s biggest differentiation was its move to imitating real life. In a show where everything seems so ridiculous and foreign, Jesse Armstrong brings it down to earth by reminding viewers that yes, people like the Roys exist in real life, and yes, their petty sibling rivalries can have serious consequences for us “normal” people.
As we depart from our favorite dysfunctional nepo baby family, we can rest knowing that none of them won; perhaps that was a prize in itself. Armstrong has outdone himself and wrapped up a show that, if greedy enough, HBO would’ve dragged out for far too long. Some may be unhappy with the staggering ending, but to me, it’s perfect. The Roys aren’t equipped to have a happy ending. The feeling itself is foreign to them. Besides, what would the Roys have to do, if not preoccupied with wallowing in their misery up in the clouds of their untouchable wealth, eternally fighting for what they truly wanted: their father’s approval?
