Succession's end is finally within our grasp and the suspense is killing us. After four seasons, the HBO hit show still has everything up in the air for its series finale, and in the best way possible: we just can't guess what's going to happen. We're talking about what's probably the most eagerly awaited series finale since Game of Thrones, and even that had a big chunk of its plot settled by the end (much to the audience's chagrin). This week's episode, "Church and State," was as dramatic as it was heartbreaking, and it did prepare the board for the final part of the game of chess between the Roy kids for Logan's (Brian Cox) legacy, but there are absolutely no obvious clues as to what may happen.
Who Is in the Running to Take Over Waystar Royco?
Outside the series, we've been mourning Logan Roy for more than a month before his funeral and burial finally took place in "Church and State." In the world of the show, however, the Roy kids regrouped, went to Norway, came back, then went to Los Angeles, decided a presidential election and, of course, did a lot of plotting and scheming against each other — all in a matter of days. When we met Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) at the beginning of the episode, everyone expected things to be tense, but they were rather light and smooth. Still, they know they'll have to face one another very soon.
While the board is set for what everybody expects to be a showdown between the siblings, "Church and State" actually all but ruled one of them off. It was a particularly difficult episode for Roman, the troublemaker going into a self-destructive spiral after facing his dead father's coffin for the first time. Stability has never been his thing, granted, but given that the old man has finally let go of the Waystar Royco throne, one would think Roman would maybe focus at least a little. But he'd been in denial this whole time, despite his claims of having "pre-grieved" Logan.
Be that as it may, with the Gojo-Waystar acquisition deal about to be analyzed by the government authorities, Roman was crowned co-CEO with Kendall, who had his name underlined by Logan on his will. No one has grown as much as Kendall since Logan's death. Leaving his father's shadow was what he needed, as he's finally becoming the killer Logan always criticized him for not being. While he played nice in front of everyone, he immediately started plotting to take over Waystar by himself, blackmailing Hugo (Fisher Stevens) to undermine Roman and even taking Shiv's betrayal in stride. Some of that he even did in front of Logan's coffin and burial chamber, as if it were a passing-of-the-torch of sorts. He is the new Logan, and he's watching the throne.
In his way, though, there's Shiv. She was crowned the American CEO of the Gojo-Waystar acquisition resulting company by Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), the actual owner. Shiv moved to partner with him after her brothers became co-CEOs, but immediately started sidelining her in the decisions about the company. Not one to be left behind, she quickly caught on with them but fumbled when it came to keeping her secret. The only secret she did manage to reveal on her own terms is her pregnancy, which may end up undermining her efforts. But she doesn't care, and neither does Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), the child's father, by the way, as the couple can't seem to be apart even after deciding on it.
What’s Happening in the Rest of the Country?
One of the main arcs of Succession Season 4 is the presidential election. In earlier seasons, we saw how influential Logan really was in American politics, going so far as basically picking Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) himself for the conservative slot in the elections. Given his radical discourse, no one really expected him to win against liberal candidate Daniel Jimenez (Elliot Villar), but, well, he won, and reminded us all of our own election nightmare a few years ago.
As a reflex of how Mencken's victory took place, with votes getting lost and fires breaking out across the USA, the whole country currently finds itself like a boiling cauldron waiting to blow. All that started when Kendall agreed with Roman to call the election victory in favor of Mencken, selling his soul to a radical politician who promised to stop Matsson's acquisition of Waystar, only now he seems rather bored with the whole thing. Their agreement may still go through, of course, but things are not looking good for the CE-Bros. Mencken is currently in talks with Matsson and Shiv, who put aside their ideological differences with the president-elect for the sake of power (Logan would be so proud), so Kendall may have elected Mencken for nothing, endangering even his own family for the sake of his dream of taking over the family business.
Things are so turbulent that, for all we know, Mencken could even end up turning on ATN, and the Roy clan can still lose it all and "be made an example of" by a political demagogue. The only person who seems aware of the danger the country is facing right now is Kendall's ex-wife, Rava (Natalie Gold), but no one takes her seriously, unfortunately.
What Can We Expect From Jesse Armstrong?
Succession is not unlike the other series and movies written by its creator, Jesse Armstrong. As a general pattern, Armstrong likes to ponder existential questions while distilling sharp and witty dialogue by means of the despicable characters he creates. That's a trait everything he's ever written shares, from Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb) in Peep Show to Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) in The Thick of It, and one we'll definitely miss with the Roy kids' foul-mouthed ways leaving our Sunday nights for good.
Despite the existential turns his shows may take every so often (apart from Peep Show, that's very existential), Armstrong has never been the type of storyteller to reach for the predictable for morality's sake, which explains why we're less than a week away from Succession's series finale and still have no idea which way things may go. The Roys are all despicable, so whoever wins, it will still be a loss for every person who's doomed to live in that universe.
What we can expect for sure is the drama. While Succession is part a satire of our own current way of life (and an excellent one at that), it's mainly a family drama with lots of Shakespearean influence. A powerful but decadent king whose kingdom his children are vying to take control of? A son who's destined to become his tyrannical father? Those are the sorts of plots that have been present forever, and that the Roys are the perfect embodiment of. So, while we may not know what to expect in terms of outcome, we can surely expect a finale that's more akin to a Shakespearean tragedy than to a cautionary tale.
The series finale of Succession premieres this Sunday on HBO and Max.