Emmy Episodes: Succession

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Succession: Season 1, Episode 10 “Nobody Is Ever Missing” (B)

This is the season finale, the last of the six episodes submitted for Best Drama Series and also an individual nominee for writing. It’s staggering to me that the actual ceremony and marriage pronouncement weren’t featured after all the buildup, but that’s because it just wasn’t the centerpiece of this whole affair. In an hour of memorable moments, I think the best one was Tom reacting to Shiv telling him about her affair with Nate by telling him to leave and then insisting that he pour what was left in his wine glass back into the bottle since his parents had paid for part of it. Connor threatening to punch Tom after Shiv said Willa being in the family photo would be a PR problem was amusing, though he has bigger things to worry about after Willa responded to his sudden desire to run for president, spurred on by his meeting Gil, by wondering why he couldn’t find money to fund her play. Most of the Roys react angrily and loudly, which made Roman emotionlessly watching the rocket blow up and then just going back to his business all the more unsettling. He’s only concerned with whether he’s culpable, which feels much more like a Roy thing to do. This episode turned into something completely unrecognizable that I didn’t think I liked when Kendall drove the car into a lake and apparently killed the waiter that his father had to pay off earlier in the episode after chewing him out for daring to refill his drink. But then the final scene showed Logan ready to play his hand, and Kendall responding by crying and hugging him shows just how warped the reality is that every member of the Roy family inhabits is. I still wouldn’t vote for this show as my favorite drama of the year, but there is something worthwhile about it. None of the cast is Emmy-nominated, but I think that Sarah Snook (Shiv) is actually most deserving, with Jeremy Strong (Kendall) and Matthew Macfadyen (Tom) as my next choices. Let’s see if it makes any Emmy noise this year – I’m okay with checking into season two if that ends up being nominated next year.