By Arnav Sampigethaya and Sayanth Shajith (Founder of the Breakroom Project)
A well crafted premise and characters upheld by near equally talented actors. Succession progresses at a steady pace and each episode leaves you wanting more. Without the overuse of cliffhangers, instead the meaningful storytelling through a display of family and power dynamics. But in a family that owns and runs one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, are these two things not the same? A dramatic series created with just enough comedic relief for it to qualify as a satirical approach. An aspect of this show that I greatly appreciated is the cinematography. Most of the shots are evidently filmed hand held and they make brilliant use of the angles, and capture the mood of the scene through the nature of filming. Something which I personally have not witnessed previously, at least not in this genre of TV. The show changes your perception from “who’s my favourite character?” to “who do I hate the least?”. From its captivating title sequence and soundtrack to its exploration of family intimacy constantly overshadowed by a motivation of corporate gain, succession is most certainly worth the watch.
The most important thing about Succession is how consistent it is. It is so consistently good at everything it does in its 20 episode (for now) run that you are left spell-bound. I would like to breakdown each aspect of what makes this show so entertaining.
Writing
Usually you can distinguish between a real ‘film buff’ and a ‘film buff’ for social media by their appreciation of writing in visual media. Succession is probably the best writing I’ve seen on a show. Period. Each line by Jesse Armstrong and team is so meticulously crafted. The actors say that the writing team has up to 10 alternate lines for each line in the screenplay to see which ones flow better. The actors are also given incredible improvisational flexibility which makes the whole viewing experience extremely educational as an aspiring screenwriter.
Here is an example from the first episode –
TOM
What can I get him
he'll love?
SIOBHAN
I don't know. My dad
doesn't really like things.
TOM
He doesn't like things?
SIOBHAN
No, not really.
TOM
It needs to say
that "I respect you,
but I'm not awed by you.
And that I--
I like you,
but I need you to like me
before I can love you."
So what says that?
SIOBHAN
Just, look, everything
that you get him
will mean an equal amount
of nothing,
so make sure it looks like
10 to 15 grand's worth
and you're good.
TOM
Will you come in here and help me?
SIOBHAN
Please help me.
Just from this exchange you can understand many things without any of them being explicitly stated.
1. We understand Siobhan and Tom’s relationship.
2. We understand Tom’s character.
3. We understand that Tom is desperate for the approval of this ‘father’ but doesn’t want to show it.
4. We see this father character does not care for materialistic gifts because he has everything.
5. We understand that although he does not care for it, he judges people based on their monetary standing.
6. We understand that Siobhan wants her father to approve of her partner.
Also, notice how each line is crafted almost like a poem, with perfect balance of syllables and a symphony. It’s like a song, where the music is the actor’s intuition.
Direction
The first few episodes of this show are directed by Adam McKay. Adam McKay is the genius behind films like The Big Short and Vice. The remaining episodes are helmed by HBO legend, Mark Mylod who has directed episodes of Game of Thrones, Entourage, Shameless and Once Upon a Time and Andrij Parekh, who won an Emmy for his direction on the show. What the direction achieves so brilliantly is how it plays off the energy of each character through their interactions. While the script can guide you in the right direction, it’s the director that dictates the flow and tempo of the melody.
Acting
The acting on display in this show is absolutely remarkable.
1. Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy
Kendall Roy is probably one of the most nuanced and interesting characters in television right now and the main reason for that is Strong’s staunch performance as this man who is an egotistical power-greedy usurper in the first season to the broken husk of a human being he is in the second season for which he won the Emmy for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The nuances which he manages to portray in his body language is simply phenomenal.
2. Brain Cox as Logan Roy
The head honcho, the king, and the ‘patriarch’ of this dynasty, Logan Roy is one of the most terrifying characters in television because of how reminiscent he is to the dinosaurs of the modern-day. Brian Cox said this kind of role is something you receive ‘once in a lifetime’ and it’s true. To play a character with this much power and manage to pull it off with so much gravitas and power is a feat unto itself.
3. Sarah Snook as Siobhan “Shiv” Roy
Overconfident would be the word I would use to describe Snook’s Siobhan. She thinks she is smarter and more talented than she actually is. She never wears her heart on her sleeve and is very closed about what she really wants which plays to detriment sometimes. This is portrayed quite elegantly by Snook as she plays this morally grey woman character who is turning out to be one of the most interesting and important female characters in television.
4. Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy
Roman Roy is the most flawed and twisted character in the show. You can understand that his upbringing was truly broken. He used to be caged as a child by his own brother and this behaviour was encouraged by his parents. He was shipped off to boarding school at a young age. He is very early in his mental development. We see this with his impotence and insecurity which is so deftly portrayed by Culkin.
5. Matthew Macfayden as Tom Wambsgans
Although initially his character is played for comic relief, he slowly moulds into the one of the more nuanced and emotionally broken characters on the show. His lines in the final episode of Season Two sum up his character arc perfectly,
“I think a lot of the time, if I think about it, I think a lot of the time, I'm really pretty unhappy. I don't know. I love you, I do. I just, uh... I wonder if... I wonder if the sad I'd be... without you would be less than the sad I get from being with you.”
6. Nicholas Braun as Greg
Greg, the Egg was another character created for comic relief who turns out to be one of the most interesting characters on the show. Braun’s performance made him a fan favourite and seeing his character develop from a bumbling idiot to a nuanced, strategic power-hungry shark like the rest of the characters while still maintaining his innocence and values is such an interesting inspection on nepotism and the corruption of character by the inkblot that is wealth.
These are the six most significant characters/performances for me but to be honest, every single character and actor are special and brilliant in their own way.
To say that I highly recommend Succession would be an understatement. I beg that you watch Succession, cause it’s a favour you’re doing to yourself.
It’s the closest thing to Shakespeare since Shakespeare. It’s the closest thing to a perfect television show since Breaking Bad. It’s the closest thing to the best written television screenplay since Sorkin’s work on The West Wing.
This is as close as you get to perfection and I implore that you watch it because if you are left half as spellbound as I was, I will have done my job as a critic.
PS – Even if you don’t plan to watch it, do yourself a favour and listen to the soundtrack. Thank you for your time. Bye!
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