Yeah Logan is both microevil and macroevil. No one else comes close to him in this series.
I think that Tom has more in common with Logan than any of Logan’s children. Tom wasn’t born rich and he’s proving himself to be ruthlessly ambitious. He’s a killer in a way none of the kids are and Logan respects a killer.
Just got into this over the long weekend since I signed up for HBO but didn’t realize Dune wasn’t showing anymore. Through season 1. Greg is the only character that wouldn’t be the worst person I ever met in real life. I dunno if this show’s for me, checking metacritic it looks like s1 was well reviewed, but s2 and s3 were extremely well reviewed so I’ll keep going.
Cousin Greg may not be the worst person any of us have ever met but he’s suing Greenpeace in an effort to salvage his unearned financial privilege.
Greg is initially likeable, but like any bullied and kicked about person, learns to defend and plot like the rest of them.
There are no truly likable people on the show and no one to root for. All the unlikeable people are truly human and thus the viewer is able to empathize with them.
No truly likable people among the main characters, certainly.
Yeah, although I struggle to think of anyone who is likable at all on the show. Maybe the grandfather, but as someone pointed out on the AV club thread for the show, for all of his moralizing, he is at every gala ball and doesn’t seem to miss out on any chance for a free meal.
For some reason I like Kendall and I struggle to articulate exactly why. Here are some thoughts:
- many of his faults are driven in large part by addiction. It’s not an excuse, but having been through that struggle, I understand that the addiction makes him do things that he doesn’t really want to.
- many of his faults are driven by trying to please his father, who is a monster, but is Ken’s only father.
- his sense of ethics is flawed, like all of them, but he seems to have some internal consistency
- Kendall really does seem to be primarily concerned with the good of the company, though it’s hard to tease that out from what’s good for Kendall.
This is not a full-throated defense of Kendall, I’m just exploring why I think I am rooting for him more than any of the others. Contrast with:
- Shiv who is just a duplicitous power-seeking missile,
- Connor who is just an idiotic shitbird,
- Tom who is a hapless climber,
- Rome who is bumbling, inept, and a bit mean.
- and the remaining cast of dead-eyed opportunistic lackeys.
- purposely ignoring Greg who has no significant arc, he’s like a comic foil/Greek chorus sort of role
Out of all of them I think Kendall is best positioned for some kind of redemption arc that I can get into.
I agree that Kendall, with different parents could be a pretty good guy and I also like him, but he has done some truly horrible things. Mostly, he causes pain through thoughtlessness, rather than malice. I also like Roman, he might have had the most messed up childhood of all of them.
I don’t think this show is about redemptive arcs. I think the oligarchs always win.
It just occurred to me that each of the kids becomes more sympathetic as they lose power, first Kendall, then Roman and soon Shiv?
Weird thing about Shiv is that I find her likeable, and I respect how and why she chooses to use power. I don’t root for her downfall, yet I do not empathize with her at all. I guess because she consciously takes unnecessary risks for her own benefit, knowing the stakes. Contrast with Kendall who I somehow feel constantly has his back to the wall, either from his addiction to substances, or his addiction to growing the business, or the helplessness of being under Logan’s thumb. He’s taking risks for his own benefit, but I don’t see a ton of agency there.
I find those two characters relatable. The rest are just feckless, banal parasites.
I agree with this. It’s a show about bad people playing games.
And it’s awesome! Sometimes, we have to rewind just to hear a great line again.
My favorite is when the grandfather, played by James Cromwell says, “that’ll do, Greg.”
I caught that! Just died laughing.
Ha - I missed that!
Above all, he continues to be a shareholder in a company he regards as irredeemably evil/corrupt/toxic. He tried to strongarm Greg into quitting, but never gave a conscious thought to divesting his wealth from Waystar-Royco. Nice double-standard there, Gramps.
My sister just told me that Brian Cox starred in a revival of The Music Man. Good stuff, and quite un-Loganesque!
Yeah, everyone has an agenda and everyone is posturing. God, I love this show.
Succession season 3 but Logan tries to order Domino's pic.twitter.com/t5Rb38rezb
— 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐡𝐧 (@Buncahn) January 21, 2022
As I’m not caught up, this fits just as well for season 1.