Apparently, Succession is wrapping up. I, however, have just started watching it; I’m in the middle of season 1. It’ll likely take me two months to get through all four seasons (40 episodes) because I don’t binge shows as quickly as other people. I may watch in pretty quick succession, no pun intended, but I typically won’t watch multiple episodes in a single day or a whole season in a few days. I feel like I don’t absorb the show as well when I do that [not that I ever did]. 

I could tell I would be into Succession after the 2nd episode, which is typically how long it takes me to know one way or another. Sometimes I intentionally try to give a show a chance and will watch episode 3 or 4 not really feeling it and seeing if it will grow on me. But if I’m past episode 3 or 4 and still not vibing with the characters or situations, it probably won’t happen. 

Case in point: I recently tried The Last Thing He Told Me on Apple TV. I remained annoyed with it three episodes in, in part because of what I thought to be too many dark scenes where you couldn’t actually see people or backgrounds but just the glint of eyeballs and people talking intensely; in part because I just didn’t feel any intrigue about what was going on. Too much Jennifer Garner and her t.v. daughter (can’t remember names) just not being interesting to me. (I fully acknowledge they probably are to other people!) And the show didn’t redeem itself by being funny or clever. Garner and her T.V. daughter did have some dealings at UT-Austin in episode 3, but even that local appeal didn’t draw me in. 

About Succession. With television fare being what it is these days (I don’t really know what it is these days, honestly, but I figure…mostly woke or identifying the need for wokeness [and I’m down with that for sure]), it’s probably the case that rich, white, conservative business people needed a show that made them look lovable, cool, and human, and Succession does just that. I’m not positive Succession characters are meant to be seen as conservative or center-right, but I think they are? There was at least one exchange that seemed geared this way, but one person may not represent them all. In any case, their lifestyle and aesthetic certainly fit conservatism. Succession started pre-pandemic, but something tells me their attire doesn’t change in the pandemic or post-pandemic seasons: Spending all day in business suits (or silky blouses and tailored dress pants for Shiv) in a time when dress at offices – and certainly at home amid WFH – is more casual and even pajamas-oriented in the case of the latter. 

Kieran Culkin

So…Kieran Culkin. I forgot all about this person for years. I knew Macauley Culkin had a little brother who also broke into the biz, somewhat on Macauley’s coattails (not a shot at Kieran; it’s just reality that among the Culkin siblings, Macauley was the star of the early 90s). I remember seeing pics of the young Kieran and hearing he also was getting into movies but never actually seeing him in anything. My movie viewing was limited, mind you. 

However, there have been plenty of other child actors who, even if I didn’t see their movies & interviews, I would still see periodically in celebrity magazines or on entertainment news shows — how they were doing and the fact that they were growing up and looking progressively older. Like Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, who are about Kieran Culkin’s age! But I have not seen a pic, movie, or interview of Kieran since he was 8, 9, or 10.  

It’s crazy seeing someone when they were in elementary school and then not again til they are in early middle age. He absolutely looks the same!

He is badass on the show – totally a version of Tobey Maguire, both facially and in how he talks, but even better than Maguire because he has more of an edge. That’s probably the character (Roman Roy), not necessarily Culkin himself, but I only know the character, so. Tobey Maguire has played many roles where he’s a sheepish sidekick or passively awkward or a reserved nice guy. (It seems like anyway). I’ve never seen him in a part where he was charismatic, or a “man’s man,” or any variation of either. Culkin as Roman Roy, on the other hand, really works for me as an edgy smartass rich guy; the baby of his family; spoiled, self-indulgent, sharp-tongued, and wry.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Shiv

Shiv’s gorgeous strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes really fit the rich ice-queen look. Yet…she’s not a total bitch, even though Roman calls her one in the episode I’m watching (it’s possible he calls her one in every episode – not sure, haven’t kept count). I like Shiv’s personality; she’s someone I think I could be friends with or at least enjoy being at the same dinner with, which is somewhat surprising considering her station in life. (I think pretty much all these “rich people behaving badly” shows [Big Little Lies, White Lotus, Succession] are presenting deeply flawed rich people whose humanity you can’t help but empathize with). That said, Shiv’s not even what I would call “deeply flawed” (not yet anyway); she seems quite chill and down to earth. 

Since it’s just t.v., I can say…she should sleep with her ex – Nate (Ashley Zukerman) – who also works in political strategy and with whom she’s having a job-related reunion. He’s hotter than Tom!

About Tom…he is a goofball. I find his dynamic with Shiv interesting in that he’s almost what the kids call a simp. Half the time, Shiv is good-naturedly rolling her eyes or cringing at his attempts at humor or his silliness. He is clearly subservient to her wishes. Like when they’re in a limo, and he’s on the phone with his mother promising they’ll see her at Christmas, Shiv shakes her head no. He immediately retracts, “Or not…we’ll see you at New Year’s.” Shiv shakes her head no again, and he says to his mother, “Maybe.” 

What kind of relationship is this where Shiv can just make faces and Tom rules out time with his mother? It’s awful. It’s not that Shiv’s a bitch at all. I like Shiv. But Tom acquiesces to whatever Shiv wants and always seems to be checking for her approval about everything. It’s pretty pathetic, and this is why I think he’s unattractive and her ex is more attractive. The ex might be a bit slimy, but he isn’t nearly as weak or submissive. 

Kendall Roy

My research on Jeremy Strong revealed that he has a B.A. in English from Yale, which is super cool. He reminds me of boys I went to middle and high school with who were super skinny, nerdy, and not particularly popular but who were actually pretty handsome if you looked closely at their faces, and in adulthood they certainly became hotties. 

I like Kendall’s intensity. He doesn’t smile much because he’s always uptight & on edge about what’s gonna happen. I’m only on season 1, but I look forward to an unfolding storyline about his drug addiction since that’s been mentioned a few times. I have no idea what will happen with him and Rava, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the tables turn at some point, where she wants him back but he is tempted by someone else? Who knows!

Connor Roy

Alan Ruck – another actor I haven’t seen since he was a very young man. This is valetudinarian Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – omg!

Connor Roy is relatively mild-mannered and basically dating a child compared to himself. In real life age, Alan Ruck and Justine Lupe are 33 years apart. Connor & Willa’s storyline isn’t very well developed yet, but I wonder if she’ll get more fiery as the series goes on. The first few episodes presented her as an opinion-less model type who left the room when others told her to (because she’s not yet a Roy insider), but there have been flashes of fire in recent episodes, such as when she defends her choice (To Tom) to not marry into the Roy family just yet: “At least I’m only being (bleeped) by one member of this family.”  

Logan Roy

I’d never heard of Brian Cox before but enjoy him as Logan Roy. I found out he is Scottish, which might explain why my first thought about him was that he reminds me of Sean Connery, who was also Scottish. Logan is tough. He tells his kids to fuck off, glowers at them, and tells them they’re stupid. So…this might be toxic boomer behavior, but I don’t watch t.v. for pleasant exchanges between nice people. 

Not sure what I hope or expect to see from his character in the coming seasons. I know he will be a presence, though, from seeing that Brian Cox is in most or all of the 39 episodes. Previously, I knew the premise of Succession but had the idea that the father dies off early on and that most of the series is the adult kids duking it out. But no, Logan will be around. 

I think watching his mental and physical deterioration hits home a bit since I have an aging parent, and friends who do as well. Fortunately, my mother’s not nearly in the same place that Logan is and some of my friends’ parents are. But I become increasingly aware that I need to stay close to and cherish time with her as the years wear on.

Anyway, I’m so glad I finally got around to watching this series. It’s been on my radar for about six months but I put off getting started. I didn’t say anything about Greg, but his bashful naivete is incredibly endearing. I like how he gets excited about finally getting paid and going to eat at California Pizza Kitchen (lol), how sweet he is with his grandpa, and how he clarifies Tom’s M.O.: “So this is what you do? Go to the club but then go to the part that isn’t the club?”