What I’m Watching: Succession

Succession: Season 3, Episode 5 “Retired Janitors of Idaho” (B+)

It’s absolutely baffling to see the pure improvisation that those in leadership employed in this episode when they went out in front of the shareholders without any idea what they were going to say. Frank in particular got left out there for what seemed like forever, and he finally roped Gerri into taking over for him, though she didn’t last long before she pushed play on the video. The fact that Kendall was able to just wander out onto the stage and take over after Karl was delivering what amounted to a victory speech was also crazy, and it’s hard to understand what joint success he’s shooting for at this point without being directly excommunicated. Logan being incapacitated and not with it was a huge game-changer, one that left everyone scrambling, and seeing Shiv’s reaction to him mistaking her for Marcia was particularly jarring. Tom knew something was up when Logan thanked him and called him son, and guessing what he would have done in that moment didn’t turn out to be too helpful since he surely wouldn’t have been in a remotely negotiating mood. Shiv did manage to carve out a workable solution with Sandi, but Logan continues to reward her efforts with a complete lack of appreciation. Roman taking the brunt of the president’s fury when he couldn’t get Logan on the phone was entertaining, and he actually stepped up and did pretty well given the circumstances. I like that Greg is now considering suing Greenpeace after his grandfather vindictively disinherited him, a move that Tom encouraged because of its sheer ruthlessness, which isn’t exactly how I would describe anything Greg does.