Emmy Catch-Up: Succession

Every year, I watch the six submitted episodes of every series I don’t regularly watch that’s up for one of the Emmy series prizes. This year, I’m getting a jump start to check out the entire season of some of most high-profile shows I didn’t watch when they originally aired.

Succession: Season 2, Episode 2 “Vaulter” (B)

I can understand why people find this show interesting, but it’s so hard to find any of the characters even remotely endearing. Greg is probably the purest one at this point, and he’s far too embedded in the Roy family to remain good for long, even if he just wants to sleep in his new free bed while Kendall is determined to party. At least Kendall waited until after he put in the hours he had to at work before letting loose, while Roman was content to get some employees drunk so he could figure out just how valueless the company really was. Kendall was rather blunt and harsh in how he executed his father’s orders to close the company, and he’s not making any friends aside from his proud father who only praised him after he took Roman took a peg. Shiv was accurate in her assessment that Kendall hasn’t found a happy medium between worshipping and trying to kill his father. After Logan spelled out the three-year process that he had in mind for Shiv’s ascent, I would have presumed that she’d take Gil’s chief of staff offer instead of brutally sabotaging that career just to let some of her anger out. That Purell scene has an added relevance now given the pandemic we’re facing, though Gil’s point about being human and not looking down on “common people” still stands. Tom was far too eager to trim the fat from ATN to ensure a victory, and I was surprised that he actually stood up for himself and lashed out at Shiv when she and Roman were mocking his attire. His reaction to Shiv’s news made sense in some ways but also demonstrated his failure to even consider his wife’s potential.