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Succession
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Succession is a satirical black comedy-drama series that aired on HBO for four seasons from 2018 to 2023. Created by writer Jesse Armstrong of Peep Show fame, the show focuses on aging media baron Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his family's struggle to divide his massive conglomerate, Waystar-Royco, among themselves.In the running are: Logan's four dysfunctional children — feckless libertine Connor (Alan Ruck), power-hungry Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Sad Clown Roman (Kieran Culkin) and headstrong daughter Siobhan, a.k.a. "Shiv" (Sarah Snook) — as well as his third wife Marcia (Hiam Abbass), sycophantic son-in-law Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and bumbling grandnephew Greg (Nicholas Braun).Further complicating the Succession Crisis is the fact that the Roy family's massive wealth has made them all self-absorbed and divorced from reality, which inevitably poisons their relationships with each other and the world around them. Growing up spoiled and wanting for nothing has left each of the Roy children lacking any real work ethic. Logan's efforts to raise them to be just as ruthless as he is have also massively backfired, as they have just ended up with zero loyalty and a willingness to stab anyone in the back, including their own father.Not to be confused with the novels in The Succession Duology, sometimes marketed as Succession. | |
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| Succession / int_10cdfe4b | type |
Fall Guy | |
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Fall Guy: In the season 2 finale, Logan has to decide who will take the public fall for the cruises scandal. He is told by the company board that it cannot be just one of the senior executives, but it needs to be a member of the Roy family, even Logan himself. He chooses Kendall, who turns around and throws his father under the bus. In season 3, Kendall very casually tells Greg that he may need to "burn" him. In season 3, Tom volunteers to take full responsibility for any legal heat incurred at the company because there's a good chance he'll be going to prison anyway. People start calling him the "Christmas tree" because they can hang their crimes on him. Even Greg asks if Tom can take the fall for him. | |
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Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other | |
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Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: The Roys are all horrible, but they do love each other, even if a mangled way: In “Austerlitz�, Shiv calls Logan out on the hit-pieces that say Kendall is using again, as soon as Roman finds out his brother is doing meth he prioritises rescuing him over doing what his dad says, Kendall repays the favor by snarking at Logan for never giving Roman any credit and for calling Shiv a coward until she cries, and Connor hugs Shiv after all the drama, hoping she at least had some fun. In “Pre-Nuptial�, Connor offers to fulfil the father role when Logan doesn’t bother showing up, and the golden trio share a sweet giggly hug before the wedding itself, in the “old place� where they viewed as a comfort away from parents before. The siblings stand up for Roman when Logan smacks him. Everywhere in “This Is Not For Tears�, from Shiv and Kendall making sure that Roman is okay after he tells them not to make jokes about the Hostage Situation, Shiv’s guilty conflict over her brother vs her husband, Roman and Shiv sincerely saying Kendall did a good job, Roman defending Gerri, Stewy not taking the deal if it means his ex-friend loses a board seat, even Logan loving Kendall so much that he makes the comparison of sacrificing him will make the sun rise again. When Matsson starts grilling Roman on how many years Logan has left to live, Roman pointedly tells him that his father's death is not a subject he welcomes. When Kendall seems to attempt suicide, his siblings stage an intervention and tell him that they'd rather he not try to kill himself again. Later, when Kendall has a breakdown about the wedding waiter, Shiv and Roman awkwardly but sincerely provide shoulders to cry on. Kendall repays the favour, playing the support to confront their father and comforting Roman when he cries. Stewy and Kendall fuck each other over multiple times, but Kendall calls Stewy his Only Friend (that’s not Roman or Shiv), Stewy tries to make up for bailing on the vote of no confidence, and practically begs him to just cash out and run, which Kendall finally tries to do but isn’t allowed. | |
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Arc Symbol | |
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Arc Symbol: Kendall and water, after the death of the waiter in season one (who died after Kendall drove the car into water). “Washing our hands for absolution�, complaining that Logan is drowning prosecutors in compliance bullshit, the rain when he miserably tries to shove money in the letterbox of the waiter’s family, trying to commit suicide in the pool, and the panic attack in the bathtub. His actor, Jeremy Strong, only adds on, saying that a lot of the time, Kendall will think he’s waving when in reality he’s drowning. Dogs. Caroline says that she wanted dogs, but Logan would have kicked them as he never saw anything he loved that he didn’t want to kick to see if it would come back, Logan calls Kendall a Labrador when blackmailing him and complains about his doggy evils in “All The Bells Say�, Roman is called a slime puppy and sick puppy, has painful memories of a dog cage that everyone says he enjoyed, calls Waystar like a cage for him and got sent to military school because dad saw him and Kendall as attack dogs. Going along with the dog motif, cages. Roman calls Waystar a cage, Logan puts up a shield all around Waystar because he knows Kendall is going to the roof and thinking about suicide, and Caroline had a big cage in her kitchen even though she wasn’t allowed dogs. | |
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| Succession / int_1206dd74 | type |
Victory Is Boring | |
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Victory Is Boring: Matsson talks about how bored he is with simply making money, saying, "Success is boring. Analysis plus capital plus execution. Anyone can do it!" | |
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One Last Field Trip | |
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One Last Field Trip: Before Shiv’s wedding, and before Kendall thinks he’s going to destroy everyone with the bear hug, the trio (they forgot Connor) meet up in the old place and share a joint like old times. Of course, everyone only gets more enmeshed with each other after, but the sentiment is the same. | |
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No Celebrities Were Harmed | |
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No Celebrities Were Harmed: The Roy family are broadly based on Rupert Murdoch and his children. Like Murdoch, Logan Roy is a foreign-born-and-raised (more specifically Commonwealth-born-and-raised and of Scottish ancestrynote Murdoch is Australian, born in Melbourne; Roy was born in Scotland and raised in Canada. Interestingly, Murdoch's family is Scottish in the paternal line—his paternal grandfather was a Free Church of Scotland preacher who moved to Melbourne in the 19th century.) media magnate whose holdings push a conservative narrative, and most of his children have joined the family business. Kendall's love of rap music and rocky relationship with his father also seem to be nods to James Murdoch. Likewise, the Pierces are broadly based on the Sulzbergers, the longtime owners of The New York Times. Gil Eavis, who Shiv is supporting for president, is pretty clearly based on Bernie Sanders as a vaguely Jewish liberal senator who focuses on wealth inequality. Mark Ravenhead is said to be inspired by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, with both having devoted fanbases on their conservative networks as well as alleged connections to the alt-right. Matsson is clearly based on Elon Musk, being presented as a foreign-born, tech-savvy billionaire who is increasingly suggested to be unreliable. Like Musk, he had a reputation for being a coder but is revealed to have simply invested in existing technology. Both men also have a habit of making ill-advised meme tweets that spark controversy and both men buy a platform with the intent of making it an all-purpose platform. Actor Alexander Skarsgard effectively confirmed it by saying the character is "not just" a Musk analog. | |
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Phoney Call | |
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Phoney Call: Shiv pretends to call Jiménez's team on election night, then claims they are willing to block the GoJo deal just like Mencken in an effort to talk Kendall down from calling the election prematurely for Mencken. | |
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Calling Your Bathroom Breaks | |
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Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: Logan in "Retired Janitors of Idaho", an early sign that he is suffering from a U.T.I. and losing his mental faculties. | |
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Instantly Proven Wrong | |
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Instantly Proven Wrong: In the pilot, Kendall feels humiliated when Lawrence calls him a daddy’s boy and when Frank and company ask him if he wants to call his dad. Five seconds later his dad calls. | |
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Does This Remind You of Anything? | |
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Does This Remind You of Anything?: Kendall's car incident is clearly based on the infamous Chappaquiddick incident. This extends to Logan, while already having more than enough to attack his son with, asking if he fucked the waiter, because Dodds is based on Mary Jo Kopechne, the passenger in Kennedy’s accident and rumored to be his lover. If it isn’t obvious that Logan choosing his successor and “protecting them� is like a parent or sexual abuser grooming their child, then Roman is here to say it out loud, making jokes about Logan using Kendall as he’s the golden boy, being sweet on Shiv or himself (finally the favourite for about a week) being the child their dad loves to fuck. Business deals are also played like sexual humiliation, Shiv outright saying in the season three finale that they’ve walked in on their parents fucking them. Logan is often compared to God, who sees everything, and Kendall is his ruined sacrifice (either being the Fall Guy for cruises, or becoming CEO who would then find out about all the debt, abuse and failing company) who both of his siblings call a plastic Jesus. The emotional incest between the two just makes the whole thing worse. Logan blackmailing and controlling Kendall in season two doesn’t quite come to sexual abuse, but the allegory is there, with Kendall isolated and unable to tell anyone, often filmed like he’s part of the scenery, his siblings angry because they think he’s being coddled, and him feeling like he deserves anything after the Accidental Murder. Before it hurriedly zooms out, the number one boy scene has a shot where Kendall’s head has been bent low enough to be out of frame, and it looks like they’re doing… something else other than hugging. As Waystar-Royco reckons with a history of workplace sexual abuse and harassment in Cruises, Tom (who once headed the division, and may be going to prison over the scandal) closes the door on Greg's office to tell him about two male lovers in antiquity, informs Greg he'd "castrate and marry [him] in a heartbeat," and then backs him into a corner while demanding they playfight. Greg protests, but Tom only leaves when he yells, "I don't want to!" And Tom still makes sure to retaliate against the refusal by angrily knocking over Greg's coatrack. | |
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Big, Screwed-Up Family | |
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The Pierces are contrasted with the Roys. Both are a Big, Screwed-Up Family who have a family board of media and newspapers, but the Pierces have liberal values, and the Roys are very conservative. The Pierces prize art, culture, and are generally very pretentious, while the Roys are very conspicuous and, despite their investments, don't care for or understand culture. Nan is the non-evil foil of Logan, while Kendall has a Distaff Counterpart in Naomi as recovering addicts with wild early years. | |
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Tempting Fate | |
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Tempting Fate: Kendall’s ridiculously homoerotic Badass Boast to Lawrence in the pilot (“I’m gonna lock you in a silver cage, fuck you with a silver dildo and pay you so much money you sing whatever song I want.�) ends up being what happens to him in season two, Logan putting up plexiglass around Waystar so he doesn’t kill himself, Roman and Shiv thinking dad is fucking him, and brings Professional Butt-Kisser to a whole new level. Tom, Roman and Kendall are convinced that the vote of no confidence will go off without a hitch, and of course it ends up spectacularly bombing. Even before the takeover bid, Kendall tells Roman that doing his own thing is better than being carried about in Logan’s pockets. It comes as no surprise then that he’s dragged back in (though his own failure and Logan seeing the opportunity) at the end of the season. In “Pre-Nuptial�, Kendall and Logan have a tense talk where Logan wants Kendall back in the fold. He’ll get his way in the next episode, but in the worst possible way for Kendall. At the start of his 40th birthday party (an over stimulating nightmare even if you don’t have a neurological disorder), Kendall gets all little boy excited about how it’s going to be the best birthday ever and he can prove to everyone he’s not fragile. He ends up looking over his balcony and thinking about suicide. While Tom’s already thinking about it, Kendall puts one of the nails in Shiv’s coffin when he tells Tom that betrayal will help her respect him more. Cue the finale where he, Shiv and Roman are betrayed and she especially is angry and crying. | |
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Secret Test | |
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Secret Test: Shiv realizes Logan asking for advice on whether or not to sell Waystar at the start of Season 2 is a secret test. | |
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Manly Men Can Hunt | |
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Manly Men Can Hunt: Subverted in “Hunting�, where the men would love to believe they’re manly, but get their hunting made easy by staff. Tom lampshades it, saying they’re all such shitty hunters that they’re shooting piggies in a barrel. | |
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Bilingual Backfire | |
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Bilingual Backfire: Matsson spends season four annoying the Roys by condescendingly exchanging witticisms with his cronies in Swedish right in front of them. In the final episode, he starts doing it again right in front of Greg, and Greg simply uses Google Translate to eavesdrop on them, uncovering their secret betrayal of Shiv. | |
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Staging an Intervention | |
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Staging an Intervention: Spearheaded by Shiv, she, Roman and Connor have one for Kendall after his Bungled Suicide. They mean well (and get through to him later when he has a breakdown), but their brother can’t compute kindness without an agenda, and Connor ends up ranting he’s the eldest son, and while he loves the golden trio, they treat him like crap. | |
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"Well Done, Son" Guy | |
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"Well Done, Son" Guy: All the Roy children. Roman openly is desperate for any kind of attention or approval from Logan, Kendall desires respect from him even when he's working against him, and even Connor in his own way doesn't like to go against Logan. Shiv becomes more of this in the second season, when she becomes desperate to be Logan's successor. | |
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All There in the Manual | |
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All There in the Manual: Sometimes the original scripts will have details deemed too obvious for onscreen, like Kendall turning to drugs originally because he wanted to feel weaker than he already was, or explaining Roman’s hate of Frank by having Frank yell at him, being on Logan's side. | |
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Hypocritical Heartwarming | |
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Hypocritical Heartwarming: Roman and Kendall will lash out at each other for Logan’s approval, especially when they’re feeling targeted and can get heat off them, but Kendall will come to life again to protect Roman after Logan hits him, and as big talk Roman is about Lack of Empathy, really doesn’t want to see Kendall destroyed at all. While Logan is piss-mad, he mistakes Kendall for Frank, and asks why Frank is so angry. When Tom tells Logan that "Frank" is angry because someone was nasty to him, Logan demands to know who it was and says he himself is the only one who is allowed to be nasty to Frank. | |
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Never Trust a Trailer | |
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Never Trust a Trailer: The marketing for “Too Much Birthday� leaned heavily on the Cringe Comedy, that it would be worse than "L To The OG" and that Kendall was being himself. The last one was a bit of misdirection, as after a season of blustering in public, he has a crying breakdown, so very much being himself. | |
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A Lighter Shade of Black | |
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A Lighter Shade of Black: The Roy kids aren’t good people in the slightest, nor is Logan a complete monster, but the season three finale is the best example of how they’re able to show that they love each other in ways that actually help each other, versus how angry he is that Roman is “only� offering him love. | |
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Daddy's Girl | |
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Episode two has Kendall dismiss Shiv as a Daddy's Girl scared of Logan, when he and Roman are just as bad as she is. | |
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Conditioned to Accept Horror | |
| Succession / int_1b465242 | comment |
One of the themes of the show is that if the siblings actually come together, like at the end of “Austerlitz�, or the hug in “Pre-Nuptial�, or “All the Bells Say�, they have a chance to prove they haven’t been completely ruined by both their father always pitting them against each other and their own moral-rotting wealth. They’re also the only ones who (despite arguments and being Conditioned to Accept Horror) know what they’ve been through and can only really offer love/comfort to each other, even if it’s still awkward and mangled. | |
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The Glomp | |
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The Glomp: Played for Drama at the end of “Nobody Is Ever Missing� as Logan takes Kendall into his arms (an almost… bear hug if you will) before his son can really comprehend what’s going on. | |
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Absurdism | |
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Absurdism: Abuse and trauma and corruption are taken seriously, but a mother can tell her daughter she wishes she never had children, and there's absurdist humour in how she didn't want dogs to be subjected to Logan's kicking, but kids are fine. | |
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Masochist's Meal | |
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Masochist's Meal: Roman and Shiv force Kendall to drink a disgusting smoothie of leftover ingredients from their mother's fridge in the Grand Finale. | |
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Poor Communication Kills | |
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Poor Communication Kills: Harriet Walter confirmed that Caroline thinks of her children as mini-Logans, is afraid of them, and the fact that Kendall (who was going to confess, not complain about her being abusive) or Shiv might really need their mother for once isn’t considered. | |
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The Stoic | |
| Succession / int_1c5002bc | comment |
Shiv is The Stoic and extremely cool and unemotional even by those standards, which makes it even more jarring and serious when she breaks down and begs Logan not to make Tom take the fall for the cruise ship scandal in Season 2. | |
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Dropped in the Toilet | |
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Dropped in the Toilet: Tom tells Greg that Logan died fishing his phone out of a clogged toilet. | |
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Those Two Guys | |
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Those Two Guys: Greg and Tom. Veers into a villainous example at times: they christen themselves "the Disgusting Brothers" after their Mistreatment-Induced Betrayals to Logan. | |
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| Succession / int_1dab76ed | type |
Cosy Catastrophe | |
| Succession / int_1dab76ed | comment |
Cosy Catastrophe: It becomes clear by Season 4 that the events of the series verge on being a Bad Future. The cosiness comes from the super-wealth of the protagonists, which insulates them from any consequences, but there are mentions of fires, riots all over America, and people potentially being kidnapped. | |
| Succession / int_1dab76ed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1dab76ed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1dab76ed | |
| Succession / int_1dfd19f9 | type |
Papa Wolf | |
| Succession / int_1dfd19f9 | comment |
Logan hitting Roman is a lot like when he hit Iverson, getting the same Papa Wolf reaction from Kendall and excusing himself with “I barely made contact�. | |
| Succession / int_1dfd19f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1dfd19f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1dfd19f9 | |
| Succession / int_1e1aa82a | type |
Diabolus ex Machina | |
| Succession / int_1e1aa82a | comment |
Diabolus ex Machina: Kendall had Logan dead to rights twice in the first season, and both times Logan has a gift drop in his lap that lets him squirm out. Kendall got his ducks in a row for the no confidence vote, only for a terrorist emergency to prevent his chopper from bringing him in time to the meeting. That buys Logan enough time to intimidate Roman against providing the vote that Kendall needs, and Stewy keeps himself on the sidelines without Kendall to back him. It's too late once Kendall finally makes his way to the boardroom. Kendall already had his forced buyout prepared. But then he drives off the bridge while intoxicated with the waiter, who dies in the car. Logan's people find out about it, and Logan doesn't skip a beat in blackmailing Kendall into backing out of the buyout. | |
| Succession / int_1e1aa82a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1e1aa82a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1e1aa82a | |
| Succession / int_1e2af48 | type |
Trapped in Villainy | |
| Succession / int_1e2af48 | comment |
Trapped in Villainy: Once learning about the company's dark secrets, one of Tom's first instincts is to come clean about the situation as a way of producing reform while saving the company's reputation. He is stopped, however, once it becomes clear to him that elements within the Roys' inner circle aim to shut down the possibility, and the second season has him frantically scrubbing any trace of evidence about it while actively helping the cover-up. | |
| Succession / int_1e2af48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1e2af48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1e2af48 | |
| Succession / int_1e6eb73 | type |
Birthday Party Goes Wrong | |
| Succession / int_1e6eb73 | comment |
Birthday Party Goes Wrong: Kendall’s 40th was doomed from the start (even says himself he’s planning a massive nervous breakdown), a tribute to his childhood that he doesn’t want to admit was horribly abusive, everyone so crowded into the space that Stewy is there and not even seen, he can’t find a gift from his kids, a “cash out and fuck off� card from Logan makes him spiral, and he, Shiv and Roman all drink too much with differing levels of breakdown. | |
| Succession / int_1e6eb73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1e6eb73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1e6eb73 | |
| Succession / int_1ed73929 | type |
The Friends Who Never Hang | |
| Succession / int_1ed73929 | comment |
The Friends Who Never Hang: Beyond replaced as eldest son angst, Kendall and Connor interact the least out of the siblings. Sets up some Dramatic Irony in the season three finale, as he assumes Kendall’s issues are just due to him being a spoiled brat. | |
| Succession / int_1ed73929 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1ed73929 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1ed73929 | |
| Succession / int_1f6983f7 | type |
Ambiguous Situation | |
| Succession / int_1f6983f7 | comment |
Ambiguous Situation: The dog pound in "Prague". Roman insists that it was abuse, that he was so badly traumatized by it that Logan sent him to military school to avoid dealing with it, and is genuinely furious when Connor and Kendall contradict this. For their part, the brothers insist that it was just regular brotherly rough-housing, that he enjoyed it and wasn't treated as poorly as he says (saying that the dog food he says he had to eat was actually cake), and that he went to military school because he asked to. Connor also claimed that Logan was aware of it and had encouraged it. Kieran Culkin is of the mind that it did happen, but there are so many more worse memories Roman doesn’t want to think about, and the big brother who was abused too and otherwise protected him is just a safer target. Did Logan mean to underline Kendall's name or cross it out in his will? Kendall stares at the ambiguous text, obviously haunted by the mystery of whether his father approved of him. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1f6983f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1f6983f7 | |
| Succession / int_1fc8335e | type |
Deal with the Devil | |
| Succession / int_1fc8335e | comment |
Deal with the Devil: As Sarah Snook has said, Logan’s real favourite child is the company, and the four of them know that, so fighting for that place means you have both the kingdom and the love you crave, but you have to do terrible things to get it. At the end of season 3, Tom name-drops the trope when asking if Greg wants to make a deal with him. Greg smiles and says he wasn't making any good use of his soul anyway. | |
| Succession / int_1fc8335e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_1fc8335e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_1fc8335e | |
| Succession / int_20d2c649 | type |
Spiteful Suicide | |
| Succession / int_20d2c649 | comment |
Spiteful Suicide: Two of Kendall’s suicide attempts are on some level to disappoint his dad, wanting to jump off the Waystar building and, after hearing that Logan got Greg to babysit him, plans to snort so much coke his heart explodes. | |
| Succession / int_20d2c649 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_20d2c649 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_20d2c649 | |
| Succession / int_21d47bb7 | type |
Nouveau Riche | |
| Succession / int_21d47bb7 | comment |
Nouveau Riche: Tom thinks that Conspicuous Consumption is how you "be rich" and is marrying into his money. Since Logan is a Self-Made Man, the Roys are new money as a family. The old-money Pierces regard them as crass. | |
| Succession / int_21d47bb7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_21d47bb7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_21d47bb7 | |
| Succession / int_222dc873 | type |
Black Comedy | |
| Succession / int_222dc873 | comment |
As Black Comedy as the show is, with everyone being horrible, the Roy kids' fear of their dad has been praised for effectively showing trauma responses. | |
| Succession / int_222dc873 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_222dc873 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_222dc873 | |
| Succession / int_225d4412 | type |
PlayedStraight | |
| Succession / int_225d4412 | comment |
Played Straight in "Lifeboats" in a scene where Logan seemingly absentmindedly guides Shiv's hand toward his crotch while still recuperating from his stroke. | |
| Succession / int_225d4412 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_225d4412 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_225d4412 | |
| Succession / int_2260cfe3 | type |
Like Father, Like Son | |
| Succession / int_2260cfe3 | comment |
Like Father, Like Son: Kendall's adolescent son still likes to be read children's picture books. A disapproving Logan clearly sees him as a future Manchild just like Kendall. | |
| Succession / int_2260cfe3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2260cfe3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2260cfe3 | |
| Succession / int_22a60f6a | type |
Nepotism | |
| Succession / int_22a60f6a | comment |
Nepotism: Most of the Roy clan works in the family business, whether or not they're qualified. Tom and Greg also earn positions simply for their connection to the family. Even Marcia's son by another marriage gets to head the European animation division. In season three Logan prepares to sell the company, and all the siblings realize that they'll never be allowed to maintain their positions without Logan as the boss. | |
| Succession / int_22a60f6a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_22a60f6a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_22a60f6a | |
| Succession / int_233d181 | type |
Misaimed Fandom | |
| Succession / int_233d181 | comment |
Misaimed Fandom: In-universe. Kendall’s very first scene is listening to a song about needing to come together as a community… while being driven around in his fancy limo. He also compares himself to The Great Gatsby while looking for Sex for Solace with anyone, and is a fan of Bojack Horseman for how funny it is. Not for nothing does he end an episode face down in water like both of them. | |
| Succession / int_233d181 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_233d181 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_233d181 | |
| Succession / int_234fa9ba | type |
May–December Romance | |
| Succession / int_234fa9ba | comment |
May–December Romance: The other siblings jab at Connor for "dating" a call girl who appears to be about half his age. When they actually do get married in season four, Connor expresses hesitation and notes that she's so much younger than him. Roman has a weird, sexualized obsession with Gerri, who is nearly twice his age. People who find out about it are confused and disgusted. The siblings all gossip about the romantic relationship that their father is probably carrying out with his significantly younger assistant. | |
| Succession / int_234fa9ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_234fa9ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_234fa9ba | |
| Succession / int_237404cc | type |
Ironic Echo | |
| Succession / int_237404cc | comment |
Ironic Echo: The season two premiere where Kendall enters Waystar echoes the pilot, but instead of striding in (and embarrassing himself) like he owns the place, he has to hold the door for everyone and gets ignored. Shiv (nearly in tears) telling Kiera that being The Rape Victim is all she’ll ever be has a direct line to Logan telling Kendall that if the car crash comes out “you’ll never be anything else�. Logan manipulates and gaslights Shiv into feeling guilty she’s not out there saying nice things about him, using “my daughter, my only daughter� the way he called a crying Kendall “my boy, my number one boy� to break him down even harder. | |
| Succession / int_237404cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_237404cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_237404cc | |
| Succession / int_23a79ebf | type |
Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer | |
| Succession / int_23a79ebf | comment |
Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Kendall was completely absent in the trailer for “All the Bells Say�, both because of the Driven to Suicide Cliffhanger of “Chiantishire�, and because any of his scenes before the Internal Reveal have him as a ghostly Empty Shell. | |
| Succession / int_23a79ebf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_23a79ebf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_23a79ebf | |
| Succession / int_23f1384a | type |
Babies Make Everything Better | |
| Succession / int_23f1384a | comment |
Babies Make Everything Better: As part of his fears of going to prison, Tom starts tracking Shiv’s periods in the mistaken hope that if he goes to jail, her being pregnant will keep their marriage alive. She’s… unhappy, to say the least. | |
| Succession / int_23f1384a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_23f1384a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_23f1384a | |
| Succession / int_2484396e | type |
Know-Nothing Know-It-All | |
| Succession / int_2484396e | comment |
Know-Nothing Know-It-All: All of the working Roy children have an inflated sense of competency in their fields, which often results in them getting outmaneuvered and embarrassed. Even Shiv, who seems to be the most competent of the bunch, is implied to only be as successful as she is because her job (getting Democrats elected in New York City) is hard to fail. | |
| Succession / int_2484396e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2484396e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2484396e | |
| Succession / int_24b88e85 | type |
Unwanted Assistance | |
| Succession / int_24b88e85 | comment |
Unwanted Assistance: In Season 2, when Tom finagles high-end promotions for himself and Greg to the company's Fox News-styled network. While it's obvious that Tom brought Greg along mainly to continue to have him as his "gofer," he also believes he is doing the best for both of them. Greg, for his own part, states he would have been happier back in the Parks division, as the politics of the network conflict with his morals. | |
| Succession / int_24b88e85 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_24b88e85 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_24b88e85 | |
| Succession / int_24cf8a0e | type |
Speech-Centric Work | |
| Succession / int_24cf8a0e | comment |
Speech-Centric Work: This is a very dialogue-heavy show and the ratio of speech to action leans more towards speech than action. There isn't a silent scene that often, at least in Season 1. | |
| Succession / int_24cf8a0e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_24cf8a0e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_24cf8a0e | |
| Succession / int_267ce120 | type |
Dirty Old Man | |
| Succession / int_267ce120 | comment |
Dirty Old Man: Karl is past middle age and is said to frequent brothels whenever he goes on business trips. He protests that his wife understands that he's a "libertine." | |
| Succession / int_267ce120 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_267ce120 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_267ce120 | |
| Succession / int_26e0156d | type |
Unnervingly Heartwarming | |
| Succession / int_26e0156d | comment |
Unnervingly Heartwarming: On the surface, the number one boy scene is Logan comforting Kendall while he cries. But it’s how Logan carries out the slow build-up of knowing his son’s involvement in the death, and only being tender (moving him around like he’s a doll) now that he’s broken Kendall down and can do what he wants with him. It was going to be even worse originally, having “My Heart Belongs To Daddy� play. | |
| Succession / int_26e0156d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_26e0156d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_26e0156d | |
| Succession / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
| Succession / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: Mencken's percentage to win is listed as the error output "NaN%" during ATN's coverage of the election, with Jimenez at 128.2%. Another example of how shoddy ATN's coverage of election night was. | |
| Succession / int_26eb6287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_26eb6287 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_26eb6287 | |
| Succession / int_272abb98 | type |
Shoot the Shaggy Dog | |
| Succession / int_272abb98 | comment |
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Kendall's vote of no confidence. He works tirelessly, feeling a great deal of guilt, to organize against Logan. He then worries about one vote which isn't supposed to show up...and his anxious phone call ends up alerting the (very ill) board member that he's trying to keep her out of the meeting. This results in the numbers tipping against Kendall and he tries to fly out to see her. Due to a terrorist threat, he can't make it, but gets extremely late for his own meeting, having previously been very early. He ends up calling the vote via cell phone and running across New York to get there in time. This means that some of the people who would've voted for him lose their confidence in him, and enables Logan to bully his way into staying at the vote. Even Roman and Gerri opt not to support Kendall due to his absence. Kendall gets there a minute too late, he loses the vote, and the board voter who he feared would vote against him? She voted in his favor anyway. Kendall listens to the story of Connor trying to get a dog with cancer to go to someone else, paying a guy three grand to give it a good life, but getting it shot anyway. It seems to be the final straw for Kendall to get Off the Wagon and try to become a methhead. | |
| Succession / int_272abb98 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_272abb98 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_272abb98 | |
| Succession / int_2764d432 | type |
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing | |
| Succession / int_2764d432 | comment |
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Everyone who at first seems to be a decent person ultimately reveals an ugly side. Roman is sarcastic and snarky, but at first seems to be the most down-to-earth Roy sibling in the first episode, until he offers $1 million to a lower-class Little League player (with his parents watching) if he hits a home run, then tears the check up in his face when he fails, likely traumatizing him in the process. And he does it because he's bored. Shiv is a political consultant for a liberal populist presidential candidate and tries to come across as a Granola Girl, but she's just as near-sociopathic as the rest of her family, cheating on her fiancé Tom and ultimately using him to further her career at his expense. Tom himself seems like an awkward Nice Guy around the Roys, but he reveals a very nasty side whenever he has someone under him to push around. He starts creepily bullying Greg the moment they cross paths and continues once Greg becomes his subordinate. He feels wronged at Shiv constantly cheating on him and wanting threesomes and an open marriage, but he also puts up with it because he's a grasping Social Climber who married her mainly for her family's money and power. He's also extremely rude to his wedding planner. Connor likes to assert himself as a relaxed intellectual who stands above all the family infighting, but he's not. He completely goes berserk at the slightest bit of difficulty when hosting a charity event. Greg, the newest member of the Roys' inner circle, comes off as a regular person who is out of his depth, but is clearly trying to milk the Roys for money and isn't afraid to use blackmail and deceit to advance his position. | |
| Succession / int_2764d432 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2764d432 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2764d432 | |
| Succession / int_27690f66 | type |
Literary Allusion Title | |
| Succession / int_27690f66 | comment |
Literary Allusion Title: All four season finales, "Nobody is Ever Missing", "This Is Not For Tears", "All the Bells Say", and "With Open Eyes" are phrases from the poem "Dream Song 29" by John Berryman. | |
| Succession / int_27690f66 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_27690f66 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_27690f66 | |
| Succession / int_28a5213a | type |
Small Name, Big Ego | |
| Succession / int_28a5213a | comment |
Small Name, Big Ego: Connor thinks he's a respected scholar and political titan, to the point that he convinces himself he has a shot at the presidency. In reality, he's never taken seriously as a politician or a candidate, only snagging a fraction of the vote in a few states in spite of a massively expensive campaign. | |
| Succession / int_28a5213a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_28a5213a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_28a5213a | |
| Succession / int_2a6bf668 | type |
Inadequate Inheritor | |
| Succession / int_2a6bf668 | comment |
Inadequate Inheritor: The plot is kicked off by Logan planning to retire but then deciding that none of his children are suited to run his empire, so he decides to postpone his retirement. Kendall, who was supposed to become the new head of Waystar-Royco, takes it extremely badly. The second season hammers home how the desire to be Logan's successor negatively affects anyone pursuing the position, not just Kendall. Shiv, who was consistently coolly competent during the first season, begins to fall apart and embarrass herself in her pursuit to be the inheritor in the second season, ending in a humiliating outburst in "Tern Haven." Special mention goes to Connor, Logan's eldest son, who takes no part in the family business and is never once considered to be useful by his father. Kendall is clearly seen to have supplanted his position, to the point that Gerri refers to Kendall as Logan's "eldest son" before quickly correcting herself to say "second-eldest" when Connor scowls. Ewan Roy disinherits his whole family, including Greg, for failing to live up to his values. | |
| Succession / int_2a6bf668 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2a6bf668 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2a6bf668 | |
| Succession / int_2b2abf36 | type |
Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense | |
| Succession / int_2b2abf36 | comment |
Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: The curse of the Roy children, who have grown up pampered and unloved, so that they feel inadequate compared to the success of their father and seek his approval but have been given none of the tools to actually achieve anything and earn that respect. | |
| Succession / int_2b2abf36 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2b2abf36 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2b2abf36 | |
| Succession / int_2b374ed1 | type |
It's Not You, It's Me | |
| Succession / int_2b374ed1 | comment |
It's Not You, It's Me: After Kendall is denied the CEO job, he confronts Logan with “you fucked me�, Logan starts with the line and then proceeds to list the reasons why it was all his son’s fault (was in the nuthouse three years ago, bent over for Lawrence, chose family over business). | |
| Succession / int_2b374ed1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2b374ed1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2b374ed1 | |
| Succession / int_2b5ea43c | type |
Bland-Name Product | |
| Succession / int_2b5ea43c | comment |
Bland-Name Product: With the Roys being a No Celebrities Were Harmed version of the Murdochs, their news channel ATN is obviously supposed to stand for Fox News, another news channel that is frequently accused of being a right-wing mouthpiece. Likewise, the liberal PGM news network, ATN's biggest rival, seems to be a blend of the liberal MSNBC, and CNN, Fox News' biggest rival. The Pierce media family also resembles the Sulzbergers, the family that owns The New York Times. Edgy digital media outlet Vaulter is a mix between VICE, Buzzfeed, and Gawker. The office is eerily similar to VICE's, the inane headlines are in the style of VICE and Buzzfeed, and the Vaulter plotline in the show mirrors Gawker's real-life trajectory. | |
| Succession / int_2b5ea43c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2b5ea43c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2b5ea43c | |
| Succession / int_2b9affed | type |
Dirty Business | |
| Succession / int_2b9affed | comment |
Dirty Business: Kendall doesn't want to gut Vaulter — the acquisition was his idea, and he thinks the site can be saved. But when his dad orders him to, he does it, and he does so in a particularly brutal and cold-hearted fashion. It's clear he doesn't enjoy doing it, but he doesn't flinch either. | |
| Succession / int_2b9affed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2b9affed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2b9affed | |
| Succession / int_2bc0fc4d | type |
Ice-Cream Koan | |
| Succession / int_2bc0fc4d | comment |
Kendall provides a lot of this whenever he tries to sound knowledgable and impressive in front of executives and Waystar Royco associates. Also, when he tries to intimidate them and is surprised that people don't automatically respect him just because he's Logan's son, such as when he tries telling an associate on the phone to "Fuck off" and finds his dad's Catchphrase just offends them and makes them hang up. | |
| Succession / int_2bc0fc4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2bc0fc4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2bc0fc4d | |
| Succession / int_2bfb1856 | type |
Beard of Evil | |
| Succession / int_2bfb1856 | comment |
Also early in Season 1, Connor is shown cleanly shaven, rather than having his signature Beard of Evil that he would be associated with later in the series. | |
| Succession / int_2bfb1856 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2bfb1856 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2bfb1856 | |
| Succession / int_2d768e2d | type |
Succession Crisis | |
| Succession / int_2d768e2d | comment |
Succession Crisis: It's even alluded to by the title. Logan postpones his retirement because he considers none of his four children as suitable heirs to his vast media empire, and the children repeatedly demonstrate this with their squabbling over who gets what and their dickish behavior in general. It's also invoked in that Logan loves to dangle the possibility of being his successor in their faces. | |
| Succession / int_2d768e2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2d768e2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2d768e2d | |
| Succession / int_2dae4381 | type |
My Master, Right or Wrong | |
| Succession / int_2dae4381 | comment |
My Master, Right or Wrong: Kendall, Roman and Shiv all have this instinct when it comes to their dad, Kendall more than once in the past been the hollowed out Empty Shell he is in season two, Roman needing to believe that his father is in the right and anyone opposing him is wrong, and Shiv this close to escaping but still desperately craving his attention and protection anyway. | |
| Succession / int_2dae4381 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2dae4381 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2dae4381 | |
| Succession / int_2dc0d2bf | type |
Hidden Depths | |
| Succession / int_2dc0d2bf | comment |
Hidden Depths: The first season establishes how messed up the Roy siblings are. Later seasons show that they have positive qualities and can grow as humans. Kendall slowly grows a backbone and realizes that he cannot ignore the guilt he is feeling. Roman takes a more serious approach to his work, negotiates an important deal and then has enough business savvy to realize that the deal is too good to be true. Shiv shows how ruthless she can be. Even Connor seems to have slightly more awareness about his relationship with his Gold Digger wife by season four. | |
| Succession / int_2dc0d2bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2dc0d2bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2dc0d2bf | |
| Succession / int_2dddd99d | type |
False Flag Operation | |
| Succession / int_2dddd99d | comment |
False Flag Operation: Roman claims any bad behavior from Mencken supporters on election day is just the other side doing a false flag. | |
| Succession / int_2dddd99d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2dddd99d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2dddd99d | |
| Succession / int_2e154495 | type |
Shower of Angst | |
| Succession / int_2e154495 | comment |
Shower of Angst: After accidentally killing the waiter, Kendall washes his clothes and tries to make himself look like he didn’t almost just drown. It’s a bathtub but the sentiment is the same. | |
| Succession / int_2e154495 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2e154495 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2e154495 | |
| Succession / int_2e77c628 | type |
The Baby of the Bunch | |
| Succession / int_2e77c628 | comment |
Being The Baby of the Bunch, Greg has no clue who Gore Vidal is. | |
| Succession / int_2e77c628 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2e77c628 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2e77c628 | |
| Succession / int_2f62653b | type |
Borrowed Catchphrase | |
| Succession / int_2f62653b | comment |
Borrowed Catchphrase: Both Kendall and Shiv borrow Roman’s fawning habit of kneeling down by their father, Shiv especially egregious because she’s doing it in her fancy dress and heels. | |
| Succession / int_2f62653b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_2f62653b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_2f62653b | |
| Succession / int_315b877e | type |
Resolved Noodle Incident | |
| Succession / int_315b877e | comment |
Resolved Noodle Incident: Logan had a sister named Rose who died; the audience doesn't know how, but it's hinted that Logan blames himself and her death serves as his Trauma Button. In the penultimate episode of the series, it is revealed that she contracted polio when Logan fled boarding school to return home, and he believed he brought the polio home with him. | |
| Succession / int_315b877e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_315b877e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_315b877e | |
| Succession / int_317629db | type |
Embarrassing Nickname | |
| Succession / int_317629db | comment |
Embarrassing Nickname: The Roys refer to the President as "The Raisin". In fact, the audience never learns his real name over the course of the series. Greg was said to look like an egg when he was born, hence "Greg the Egg." Logan occasionally refers to Shiv by her childhood nickname of "Pinkie," usually when he's trying to put her in her place. Presumably using a name which sounds cutesy and girly is intended to humiliate the headstrong, independent, trouser suit-wearing adult that Pinkie grew up to be. A deceased employee Lester had the nickname "Uncle Mo" as in "Uncle Mo-Lester" also acting as a Meaningful Nickname owing to his status as a key figure in Waystar's long history of sexual abuse and cover-ups. In season 3 Tom earns the nickname "Christmas Tree", because he serves to have Waystar employees hang blame for their misdeeds on him "like ornaments on a tree". | |
| Succession / int_317629db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_317629db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_317629db | |
| Succession / int_318fc454 | type |
Meal Ticket | |
| Succession / int_318fc454 | comment |
Meal Ticket: Connor pays a woman to be his girlfriend. His family has to repeatedly remind him that she's a prostitute, but he's deluding himself to believing that she'll eventually fall in love with him. She clearly doesn't like him and is uncomfortable with how much he loves her, but can't leave him because she relies on his money to finance her theatrical writing. She ultimately decides to actually marry him, having apparently become accustomed to his foibles enough to make the sacrifice for a life of wealth. Tom does seem to love Shiv a lot, but it's also obvious that part of the reason he's with her is because she's rich, and her family has given him a powerful job that he doesn't seem qualified for. Logan's current wife had a hard life in Beirut before marrying him and clearly endures his defects of character because of his money. | |
| Succession / int_318fc454 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_318fc454 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_318fc454 | |
| Succession / int_319e4a2f | type |
Even Evil Has Standards | |
| Succession / int_319e4a2f | comment |
In season 3, the Roys start endorsing aspiring presidential candidate and white nationalist Jeryd Mencken. While Roman finds him relatable because of their shared edgelord demeanor, Shiv is disgusted. By season four, no one on the family seems to deny that he's a terrible person who would make a horrible president for the country but a profitable one for their company. | |
| Succession / int_319e4a2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_319e4a2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_319e4a2f | |
| Succession / int_32da91b8 | type |
Out of Focus | |
| Succession / int_32da91b8 | comment |
Out of Focus: Although prominent in the first season, Marcia's role in the story diminishes to almost nothing in subsequent seasons as their marriage deteriorates and Logan once again sets his sights on younger fare. | |
| Succession / int_32da91b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_32da91b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_32da91b8 | |
| Succession / int_3324d1c8 | type |
Gift-Giving Gaffe | |
| Succession / int_3324d1c8 | comment |
Gift-Giving Gaffe: Roman buys his father the one thing he remembers fondly from his childhood, his favorite soccer team, only to be informed upon presenting it that he got the wrong one. Tom gives Shiv a fossilized scorpion when they start hooking up again in Season 4, because he loves her but she's killing him. It goes over poorly. | |
| Succession / int_3324d1c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3324d1c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3324d1c8 | |
| Succession / int_33c2b1e2 | type |
Best Served Cold | |
| Succession / int_33c2b1e2 | comment |
Logan's impetus for his extremely risky and potentially catastrophic (if not outright illegal) obsession with acquiring PGM? They spent a few inches of print mocking him, decades ago. | |
| Succession / int_33c2b1e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_33c2b1e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_33c2b1e2 | |
| Succession / int_33f1c576 | type |
Not Helping Your Case | |
| Succession / int_33f1c576 | comment |
Not Helping Your Case: After Kendall doesn’t do what he’s told (dropping the lawsuit), Logan plants stories of Kendall back on drugs and raving before the vote of no confidence. And as Rava said, angrily ranting that he’s not actually on drugs is what he used to say when he was using, so Ken can’t win and unsurprisingly falls right off the wagon. | |
| Succession / int_33f1c576 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_33f1c576 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_33f1c576 | |
| Succession / int_340575a7 | type |
Girl on Girl Is Hot | |
| Succession / int_340575a7 | comment |
Girl on Girl Is Hot: Subverted, as Tabitha having sex with Naomi is seen as disgusting to Roman. Played straight by Logan, who leers at them when they hug in “Tern Haven�. | |
| Succession / int_340575a7 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_340575a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_340575a7 | |
| Succession / int_34dcfc96 | type |
Kick the Dog | |
| Succession / int_34dcfc96 | comment |
Kick the Dog: Roman offering a million-dollar check to a working-class child playing baseball if the kid scores a home run, then tearing the check up and giving the kid a piece of it when he fails. | |
| Succession / int_34dcfc96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_34dcfc96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_34dcfc96 | |
| Succession / int_34e1ef45 | type |
Unnamed Parent | |
| Succession / int_34e1ef45 | comment |
Unnamed Parent: Connor's mother. | |
| Succession / int_34e1ef45 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_34e1ef45 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_34e1ef45 | |
| Succession / int_355c52da | type |
Privilege Makes You Evil | |
| Succession / int_355c52da | comment |
Privilege Makes You Evil: Played with before being played straight. While the Roy kids haven't had an easy time of it (Logan is a horrible person who relentlessly criticizes, abuses, and scorns them) and we are encouraged to sympathize with them, it becomes clear that their massive wealth have given them all an outsized sense of importance and a means of avoiding consequences that lead to them perpetrating evil. For instance, Kendall is a very sympathetic character a lot of the time, but he still let a man die out of self-absorption and used his family's resources to cover it up. | |
| Succession / int_355c52da | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_355c52da | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_355c52da | |
| Succession / int_35db4433 | type |
French Cuisine Is Haughty | |
| Succession / int_35db4433 | comment |
French Cuisine Is Haughty: Tom goads Greg into eating Ortolan, a controversial French dish comprising mainly of a tiny whole songbird, with him. Tom describes the flavor as "gamy." | |
| Succession / int_35db4433 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_35db4433 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_35db4433 | |
| Succession / int_363f94c9 | type |
Awful Truth | |
| Succession / int_363f94c9 | comment |
Kendall’s not so ambiguous disorder (at least not the main one) is bipolar, and the drugs this man takes react with bipolar in… interesting ways, both in show and in real life. In “Prague�, when he’s depressed and with suicide so on his mind he’s wearing a shirt about it, he’s adamant about getting ket (decreases suicidal leanings in bipolar patients, although in small doses, and Kendall isn’t the best at harm reduction). But when he gets two awful truths in one, that dog pound was real and enjoyed, and he’s still seen as a Roy, he aims to do so much coke his heart explodes and he’s full of hypomanic posturing until it wears off next episode and he’s back to panicky little nothing. | |
| Succession / int_363f94c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_363f94c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_363f94c9 | |
| Succession / int_36ae9f5d | type |
Traumatic Haircut | |
| Succession / int_36ae9f5d | comment |
Traumatic Haircut: While the actual cut itself doesn’t bother him, Kendall shaves his head after his birthday breakdown, and his mother (usually not one for emotional concerns) comments that he looks so tired. | |
| Succession / int_36ae9f5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_36ae9f5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_36ae9f5d | |
| Succession / int_38d02d44 | type |
Batman Gambit | |
| Succession / int_38d02d44 | comment |
Early in the series, Kendall thinks that some negative press about the situation at Waystar would help his case to be appointed acting CEO, but he can't be the source for such a story. He gets around this by calling Lawrence Yee to demand that Lawrence run no stories about Waystar, gratuitously insulting Lawrence in the process. This, of course, gets Kendall both the story he wants and an excuse if he's asked about it later. | |
| Succession / int_38d02d44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_38d02d44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_38d02d44 | |
| Succession / int_3abe36c6 | type |
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy | |
| Succession / int_3abe36c6 | comment |
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: Kendall, Roman, Connor and Tom are all deeply pathetic men, and especially the former three are seen as failures by Logan because he doesn’t see them as macho enough, but if any of the four see an opportunity to use their gendered privilege against Shiv then they’ll grab it with both hands. | |
| Succession / int_3abe36c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3abe36c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3abe36c6 | |
| Succession / int_3abfffa4 | type |
DavidVsGoliath | |
| Succession / int_3abfffa4 | comment |
David vs. Goliath: Kendall vs Logan in Season 3. Kendall takes on his entire family and Waystar high command from his ex-wife's apartment, riding the momentum (and invoking the romanticism) of revolution. | |
| Succession / int_3abfffa4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3abfffa4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3abfffa4 | |
| Succession / int_3ad27180 | type |
The Chain of Harm | |
| Succession / int_3ad27180 | comment |
The Chain of Harm: This could be the entire idea of the show, and of Waystar-Royco themselves. Every single person needs someone to punch down at: Logan tries to keep his children close so he can belittle them; Roman cruelly mocks everyone he perceives to be underneath him, even children; Shiv marries Tom at least in part because she knows he's so far out of his depth that he'll put up with her treating him badly (though he finally snaps back at her in Season 2); this is even why Tom helps Greg get his job, so he's no longer on the lowest rung of the family ladder. | |
| Succession / int_3ad27180 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3ad27180 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3ad27180 | |
| Succession / int_3b113b7 | type |
Character Development | |
| Succession / int_3b113b7 | comment |
Character Development: The Roys and their surrogates are constantly making progress in their character arcs and then backsliding when the pressure mounts. The only person who seems to take permanent steps in character development is Greg, who gradually becomes more confident within the trappings of high society. In the third season, he decides to "make a deal with the devil" and join the upper echelons of the company to become the attack dog of Tom, who promises an army of "Gregs" of his own. | |
| Succession / int_3b113b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3b113b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3b113b7 | |
| Succession / int_3cb1d38d | type |
Bad Boss | |
| Succession / int_3cb1d38d | comment |
Bad Boss: The whole cast gets various chances to show that they are terrible bosses who don't deserve their positions of authority. Some specific examples include: Kendall makes unrealistic demands from his underlings and simply expects them to magically deliver. Roman flippantly fires people on a whim and quickly finds himself regretting it. Tom mercilessly bullies Greg, venting his own frustrations about being the Roys' whipping boy. Greg himself is used as a hatchetman for mass firings. He displays no empathy whatsoever and later volunteers to perform more firings, saying his doesn't mind it at all. He also displays the Roys' typical modus operandi of making unrealistic demands and refusing to hear any feedback. Even Connor proves to be a terrible boss when he gets the slightest degree of authority, usually over party planners. When putting on a gala, he loses his mind over butter that is "too hard." At his wedding, he flips out at the event coordinator over the wedding cake being chocolate. | |
| Succession / int_3cb1d38d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3cb1d38d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3cb1d38d | |
| Succession / int_3d0e614c | type |
Gay Cruising | |
| Succession / int_3d0e614c | comment |
Gay Cruising: Logan insinuates that Kendall was out looking to get fucked when the waiter incident happened. | |
| Succession / int_3d0e614c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3d0e614c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3d0e614c | |
| Succession / int_3dbdb0d5 | type |
Rudely Hanging Up | |
| Succession / int_3dbdb0d5 | comment |
Rudely Hanging Up: What Logan does to any board member who phoned in to vote against him during the vote of no confidence. | |
| Succession / int_3dbdb0d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3dbdb0d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3dbdb0d5 | |
| Succession / int_3e87fc1f | type |
Psychological Projection | |
| Succession / int_3e87fc1f | comment |
Psychological Projection: It’s a good rule of thumb that whenever the siblings insult each other for whatever, they’ll have a point, but it’s also what they’re feeling themselves, like Kendall calling Shiv a Daddy's Girl, or Roman mocking others of being no use to dad, or Shiv complaining that the boys have no spine against him. | |
| Succession / int_3e87fc1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3e87fc1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3e87fc1f | |
| Succession / int_3ec18c6f | type |
Sherlock Scan | |
| Succession / int_3ec18c6f | comment |
Sherlock Scan: Shiv has a fun one towards Gerri, figuring out that because her dad is in a secret meeting, she’s being distracted, and Karolina, Jess and Colin are all involved, her brother is in trouble. | |
| Succession / int_3ec18c6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3ec18c6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3ec18c6f | |
| Succession / int_3ec27f76 | type |
Costume Porn | |
| Succession / int_3ec27f76 | comment |
Costume Porn: Shiv, after she starts trying for the crown. To the untrained eye, she is merely wearing smart business clothes. To the trained eye, she is wearing "stealth wealth" labels like Loro Piana (knitwear), Brunello Cucinelli (coats), Max Mara and Gabriela Hearst (general tailoring). Each outfit costs about $13,000, and that's before shoes, jewellery and handbag (Hermès Birkin, another $10,000). | |
| Succession / int_3ec27f76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3ec27f76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3ec27f76 | |
| Succession / int_3f89452c | type |
Sad Clown | |
| Succession / int_3f89452c | comment |
Sad Clown: Kendall steers hard into this behavior in season 3, trying to reinvent himself as a hip, enlightened whistleblower and champion of the people. He continuously keeps an upbeat, casual, and jokey persona, trying desperately to laugh with the world rather than be laughed at. His facade ultimately cracks when the pressure becomes too much, and he sinks back into his underlying depression. | |
| Succession / int_3f89452c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_3f89452c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_3f89452c | |
| Succession / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
| Succession / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
Blatant Lies: After Greg is fired for being high at work, he claims that he got a contact high from a hitchhiker. Logan claims that he doesn't think he even made contact with Roman after backhanding him so hard that Roman has to check the status of his teeth. When Tom is being grilled by the Senate subcommittee, he claims, among other things, that he doesn't know who Greg is, his personal assistant. He quickly backtracks, claiming he didn't understand the question, which causes the subcommittee to further grill him on how he could possibly misunderstand them. Logan spouts multiple times that he loves his children and does everything he can for them, usually after a scene where he's destroyed one of them emotionally again. | |
| Succession / int_40bb59d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_40bb59d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_40bb59d0 | |
| Succession / int_40cc0c7e | type |
Bittersweet Ending | |
| Succession / int_40cc0c7e | comment |
Bittersweet Ending: Whether it's a bittersweet or downer ending depends on whether the viewer has any sympathy for the main characters. The Roy children's alliance against Matsson's buyout crumples when Shiv changes her mind and votes for the buyout, creating a rift in the family and forcing them to relinquish its hold on the company that defined their entire existence. Tom is set up as Matsson's stooge CEO, and he grants mercy on Greg, allowing him to continue being Tom's highly paid gofer and whipping boy. Ultimately, Shiv returns to Tom's arms with the power balance now shifted, neither of them certain they actually want the marriage. Roman pronounces that everyone in the family is worthless, then gets a drink and gives an ambiguous smile, perhaps relieved to be free of the burden of his birthright. Kendall wanders dumbstruck through the city in utter despair until he stops to stare forlornly out into the ocean, hinting at another possible suicide attempt in his future. Connor's marriage is implied to already be growing distant, and the sinecure he's been counting on is less than certain. The showrunner Jesse Armstrong gives more context: Roman will revert back to what he was at the beginning of the series: a drunken, wisecracking millionaire playboy who will remember the events of the show's four seasons as a "detour". Shiv will remain in the game, but will have an emotionally empty life, as she has neither won nor lost, and her relationship with Tom is unlikely to improve after all the horrible things they've said and done over the course of the series. Finally, Kendall will start a company alone and succeed, but he will never achieve the same power as his father and will always regret losing Waystar. Additionally, after seeing the extensive abuse, bullying, rape, and lies that are deeply embedded in the foundations of Waystar-Royco over the course of the series, [[spoilers: it calls into question if their father's legacy is one really worth inheriting.]] | |
| Succession / int_40cc0c7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_40cc0c7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_40cc0c7e | |
| Succession / int_415b3315 | type |
Stylistic Suck | |
| Succession / int_415b3315 | comment |
Stylistic Suck: Jeremy Strong himself is a good singer, but Kendall’s full version of Honesty is so painfully earnest and apropos to his own situation (no matter how much he wants to tell himself he’s just doing it as a joke), that getting every line sounds like a strain. | |
| Succession / int_415b3315 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_415b3315 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_415b3315 | |
| Succession / int_41a3e267 | type |
Hidden in Plain Sight | |
| Succession / int_41a3e267 | comment |
Hidden in Plain Sight: When giving her False Reassurance on cruises, Logan tells Shiv “There’s not one single piece of paper that will make you ashamed of me.� A couple of episodes later, when Kendall is being a little shit, Logan wants to have him cut down, but Gerri hushes with “it’d be like shredding a human document�. | |
| Succession / int_41a3e267 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_41a3e267 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_41a3e267 | |
| Succession / int_4217402f | type |
Power Dynamics Kink | |
| Succession / int_4217402f | comment |
Power Dynamics Kink: Roman is treated as Ambiguously Gay in Season 1, as he never sleeps with either of his girlfriends, but he has a lot of sexual tension with his (male) trainer, whose job it is to push him physically. Season 2 confirms that Roman has little interest in sex; he jerks off multiple times to Gerri humiliating him and verbally attacking him for being a loser and a dumbass, and he can only try to have sex with his girlfriend when she's pretending to be dead. | |
| Succession / int_4217402f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4217402f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4217402f | |
| Succession / int_43dc74d0 | type |
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man | |
| Succession / int_43dc74d0 | comment |
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Kendall and Roman are definitely not good guys, but Logan will yell at them for any slight feeling or affection, calling them every single gay slur he can think of, mocking Kendall for being Prone to Tears and stuttering, while shouting at Roman for saying he and his siblings still love their father. | |
| Succession / int_43dc74d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_43dc74d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_43dc74d0 | |
| Succession / int_44989f6f | type |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot | |
| Succession / int_44989f6f | comment |
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: While jury’s out on whether they would have used it as leverage or not, Roman and Shiv try to find out several times what the hell is wrong with Kendall, are obviously both worried and tearing him to shreds for acting the martyr. As he finally tells them and they really don’t care, telling him he’s not evil and supporting him, the three at least want to believe they’d be saved a lot of mess if he’d just told them straight off. | |
| Succession / int_44989f6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_44989f6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_44989f6f | |
| Succession / int_44bed14c | type |
Hostage Situation | |
| Succession / int_44bed14c | comment |
In the season two finale, exhausted by his Hostage Situation, Roman asks if they’ll get through this and talk about their feelings like normal people. The other two have been burned too much and make fun, but after a lot of mess and Kendall’s first public suicide attempt, they manage it. | |
| Succession / int_44bed14c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_44bed14c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_44bed14c | |
| Succession / int_457655dd | type |
Human Popsicle | |
| Succession / int_457655dd | comment |
Human Popsicle: Connor's suggestion when Logan suffers a stroke is to cryogenically freeze him. | |
| Succession / int_457655dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_457655dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_457655dd | |
| Succession / int_4583a262 | type |
Shirtless Scene | |
| Succession / int_4583a262 | comment |
Shirtless Scene: Kendall gets the most, and Roman gets a few, but Roman is body checking himself out of Weight Woe and Kendall is just covered in shame 24/7. | |
| Succession / int_4583a262 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4583a262 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4583a262 | |
| Succession / int_4623b3bb | type |
Why Couldn't You Be Different? | |
| Succession / int_4623b3bb | comment |
Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Logan makes no bones about showing that he feels this way about all his kids. | |
| Succession / int_4623b3bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4623b3bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4623b3bb | |
| Succession / int_46d3f869 | type |
Family Business | |
| Succession / int_46d3f869 | comment |
Shiv's fiancee (later husband) Tom is in a difficult position in the Family Business because, no matter how often he proves his loyalty to Waystar, Logan doesn't regard him as "one of them" (and even Shiv gets a few moments of suggesting that). He's even suggested to rank below Greg, since Greg is at least Logan's biological nephew. During the cruises scandal, Logan shows some inclination to protect all his kids, but Tom is his first choice to be thrown to the wolves. Season 3 marks a solidifying of Tom and Logan's relationship when Tom spurns the coup attempt of Logan's kids to stay loyal to Logan. Tom's newfound favor rapidly crumbles, however, after Shiv separates from him. When Tom nervously tries to assess his future at the company should he be ejected from the family, Logan pointedly does not commit to a response. | |
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1.0 | |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_46d3f869 | |
| Succession / int_4756a7f | type |
Bourgeois Bohemian | |
| Succession / int_4756a7f | comment |
Bourgeois Bohemian: The Pierce family is almost as rich as the Roys, but they maintain liberal principles and are disgusted by the conservative-slanted ATN. They have a Pretentious Latin Motto inscribed on their doorway and quote Shakespeare instead of saying grace. | |
| Succession / int_4756a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4756a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4756a7f | |
| Succession / int_47fea76b | type |
Butt-Monkey | |
| Succession / int_47fea76b | comment |
Gerri and Frank. Both are extremely close to Logan and Waystar-Royco, and have worked with them for decades, knowing all the kids since they were little. Frank is fired in the first episode (although he never really leaves) for relatively petty reasons, but is also shown to have a close bond with Kendall in work and a concern for his welfare. He's also a savvy businessman who seems to have the Roys' best interests at heart. Gerri is probably even savvier, because while Frank has Butt-Monkey status, Gerri excels at Playing Both Sides but has managed to escape detection by Logan, actually being praised as his most loyal board member. Gerri also develops a close (although sexual and Oedipal) relationship with Roman. | |
| Succession / int_47fea76b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_47fea76b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_47fea76b | |
| Succession / int_4814d132 | type |
Big Fancy House | |
| Succession / int_4814d132 | comment |
Big Fancy House: All of the Roys have very expensive homes, though they live in New York City, so they're not very big. Connor's hacienda in the desert counts, however, and the biggest example is the castle where Tom and Shiv's wedding takes place, which is Caroline's familial estate. The first episode of the second season, titled "Summer Palace", is named after the Roys' massive Hamptons summer home featured in it. | |
| Succession / int_4814d132 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4814d132 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4814d132 | |
| Succession / int_48f2d61d | type |
Turning Into Your Parent | |
| Succession / int_48f2d61d | comment |
Turning Into Your Parent: The Roy children all want to emulate their father's business success and reputation, while breaking the cycle of his familial abuse. In practice, the opposite tends to happen: the cycle of abuse is perpetuated, but they fail to live up to Logan's impossibly impactful career. In the series finale, Shiv turns into her mother instead, stuck in an Awful Wedded Life with Waystar's CEO and with a child the couple is uninterested in raising on the way. | |
| Succession / int_48f2d61d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_48f2d61d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_48f2d61d | |
| Succession / int_49d18492 | type |
Scenery Gorn | |
| Succession / int_49d18492 | comment |
Scenery Gorn: In terms of the show, as most of it is filmed in glorious houses or gorgeous scenery that the characters never notice. But Kendall admits what he did with the waiter, and his siblings comfort him, in a glaring, dusty spot by some bins. This was intentional on Mylod’s part, as there’s nowhere to hide. | |
| Succession / int_49d18492 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_49d18492 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_49d18492 | |
| Succession / int_49d59be9 | type |
Scenery Porn | |
| Succession / int_49d59be9 | comment |
Scenery Porn: Not that the characters notice, far too wrapped up in their own wealth and misery, but there’s always gorgeous shots of wherever they’re going this time. | |
| Succession / int_49d59be9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_49d59be9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_49d59be9 | |
| Succession / int_49fb5ccb | type |
Combat Pragmatist | |
| Succession / int_49fb5ccb | comment |
Combat Pragmatist: In the season 4 finale, Roman has a long cut on his forehead which has been closed with stitches. When he taunts Kendall over his alleged infertility, Kendall gets violent and tries to pry Roman's stitches apart. | |
| Succession / int_49fb5ccb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_49fb5ccb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_49fb5ccb | |
| Succession / int_4a0821b4 | type |
Archnemesis Dad | |
| Succession / int_4a0821b4 | comment |
Archnemesis Dad: Logan to Kendall, and also to Shiv and Roman to a lesser extent. | |
| Succession / int_4a0821b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4a0821b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
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Succession / int_4a0821b4 | |
| Succession / int_4a3e547f | type |
Leaning on the Fourth Wall | |
| Succession / int_4a3e547f | comment |
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Naomi and Stewy both are amused with watching the Roy family be a complete freak show and implode. With the addition that they also end up caring more than they want to, it’s a reflection of the audience watching the actual series. | |
| Succession / int_4a3e547f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4a3e547f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4a3e547f | |
| Succession / int_4a6e9fd9 | type |
Obnoxious In-Laws | |
| Succession / int_4a6e9fd9 | comment |
Obnoxious In-Laws: The Roys to anyone who marries or partners into the family. Tom is treated as a Butt-Monkey by the other siblings and Logan both before and after he marries Shiv, Willa has to put up with constant slights and insults from the family for dating and then marrying Connor, and Rava seems to try to avoid spending time around her estranged husband's clan whenever possible, partly to protect her own kids from Logan's abuse. "Your family is so fucked," she comments to Kendall in the second episode after hearing that his siblings won't back him as CEO. | |
| Succession / int_4a6e9fd9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4a6e9fd9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4a6e9fd9 | |
| Succession / int_4b1afa0d | type |
Spiteful Spit | |
| Succession / int_4b1afa0d | comment |
Spiteful Spit: After acting like he’s going to save the company but backstabbing them all cos daddy told him to, a Vaulter employee spits at Kendall. As he’s running on Empty Shell mode, he doesn’t really care. | |
| Succession / int_4b1afa0d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4b1afa0d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4b1afa0d | |
| Succession / int_4c733c0c | type |
You Leave Him Alone! | |
| Succession / int_4c733c0c | comment |
You Leave Him Alone!: In a season of pathetic lapdoggery that he goes right back to afterwards, Kendall shouts at Logan "don't you fucking touch him" when Roman is backhanded. | |
| Succession / int_4c733c0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4c733c0c | |
| Succession / int_4c961994 | type |
Acquired Situational Narcissism | |
| Succession / int_4c961994 | comment |
Acquired Situational Narcissism: Kendall in Season 3. | |
| Succession / int_4c961994 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4c961994 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4c961994 | |
| Succession / int_4d8e488b | type |
Dreaded Kids' Party Entertainer Job | |
| Succession / int_4d8e488b | comment |
Dreaded Kids' Party Entertainer Job: Both Greg and Roman wind up temporarily working as Brightstar theme park mascots as part of the Waystar management training program. | |
| Succession / int_4d8e488b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4d8e488b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4d8e488b | |
| Succession / int_4e3d253b | type |
Downer Ending | |
| Succession / int_4e3d253b | comment |
The first season finale zig-zags and starts with Kendall having Logan backed into a corner despite a series of misfires, making it seem that, after being humiliatingly fired from the board after the failed takeover, he finally has one over his father... Then, in a search for more drugs, he gets behind the wheel of a car with an innocent young caterer and gets into an accident. After a failed rescue he leaves the kid to die, hides from a passing car rather than flagging it down for help, covers up his tracks and establishes an alibi. No one seems the wiser and the caterer dies, leaving his tracks covered... Until Logan reveals that he has damning evidence against them and is willing to help Kendall with the potentially life-ending cover-up, so long as he comes under Logan's control again. | |
| Succession / int_4e3d253b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4e3d253b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4e3d253b | |
| Succession / int_4e7c4536 | type |
Wham Line | |
| Succession / int_4e7c4536 | comment |
Wham Line Logan telling Kendall that his keycard was found near the scene of the accident where the young caterer was killed, and one of his assistants spotted Kendall with a compromising appearance. Not only does it mean Logan knew about the accident, which Kendall had thought he had gotten away with, but Logan is also fully prepared to weaponize it as blackmail. Kendall's winning strategy with Sandy has to fall through and he's left completely at the mercy of Logan, knowing that if the truth got out it would ruin him forever. In the second season premiere Kendall learns from security that the waiter he was involved with in the accident was alive and conscious at the time of the crash and had tried to free himself, so when Kendall hid from a passing car and built an alibi instead of getting help, he really did kill him. In "Tern Haven" Shiv's "Oh for fuck's sake, Dad, just tell them it's gonna be me." In the second season finale, Kendall seems to be preparing to take the fall for the cruises scandal, until he adds a "But..." and then dives into exposing Logan's involvement in the cover-up on live TV. In "Connor's Wedding", it seems like a run-of-the-mill episode, even one of the more lighthearted ones, and then Roman receives a call from Tom: "Your dad is sick. He's very, very sick." In "With Open Eyes", the series finale, the bottom completely falls out of Kendall's plans to win the vote: | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4e7c4536 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4e7c4536 | |
| Succession / int_4e7f703c | type |
Wham Shot | |
| Succession / int_4e7f703c | comment |
Wham Shot: The final minute of the third season finale. Logan's just foiled the Roy siblings' seemingly bulletproof plan to block the GoJo takeover; somebody warned him in advance, giving him time to reopen his divorce agreement and get rid of their power to block a supermajority. The siblings have no idea who could have possibly sold them out... And then Tom walks in, and Logan pats him on the back. While Shiv is on the phone to Logan in the third episode of the fourth season, Logan is shown on the floor of his plane, unconscious and receiving CPR. It had been kept pretty ambiguous until that point as to whether Logan was actually dying or if it was another of his manipulations to punish the kids, but with this shot, there was no denying that it was really happening. | |
| Succession / int_4e7f703c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4e7f703c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4e7f703c | |
| Succession / int_4eaa9b84 | type |
Author Tract | |
| Succession / int_4eaa9b84 | comment |
Author Tract: The show is, in large part, a Take That! at a No Celebrities Were Harmed version of the Murdoch family, famous for their control of a conservative-leaning media empire. The creators wear their left-leaning perspective on their sleeves, portraying Logan Roy's conservative political bent as uniformly negative while portraying Shiv's Democratic Party work, frivolous as it is, much more sympathetically. In the fourth season, none of the Roy kids dispute that the Republican Party candidate for president, Mencken, will be bad for the country, freely describing him as a "fascist." Those who support him do so purely for selfish reasons. When Mencken snags the election aided by the Roys' election night coverage, Roman and Kendall display varying levels of unease when they see what they've done. | |
| Succession / int_4eaa9b84 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4eaa9b84 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4eaa9b84 | |
| Succession / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
| Succession / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: In the pilot, Roman seems to wear a wedding ring, and his partner is credited as "Grace Roy." However, the idea of Roman having a wife was clearly ditched after the pilot, and Grace gets retconned as a girlfriend. Roman is affectionate enough to her daughter Isla that they could be related, but the writers have her disappear along with Grace, making it apparent that she wasn't his daughter. Also early in Season 1, Connor is shown cleanly shaven, rather than having his signature Beard of Evil that he would be associated with later in the series. | |
| Succession / int_4f4372e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4f4372e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4f4372e9 | |
| Succession / int_4fb23aa8 | type |
I Have This Friend | |
| Succession / int_4fb23aa8 | comment |
I Have This Friend: How Tom consulted with lawyers while trying to determine if he would face prison time in Season 3. | |
| Succession / int_4fb23aa8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4fb23aa8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4fb23aa8 | |
| Succession / int_4fdd0d29 | type |
Place Worse Than Death | |
| Succession / int_4fdd0d29 | comment |
Place Worse Than Death: Kendall was Reassigned to Antarctica in the form of having to go to Shanghai for a year. It’s never made explicit why he finds it so traumatizing (beyond having to be away from his family and a father he worships), but he’d do anything to not go back there. | |
| Succession / int_4fdd0d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4fdd0d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4fdd0d29 | |
| Succession / int_4ff6f484 | type |
Trash the Set | |
| Succession / int_4ff6f484 | comment |
Trash the Set: Tom destroys Greg's office to celebrate the news that the D.O.J. will not be pursuing charges against them. | |
| Succession / int_4ff6f484 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_4ff6f484 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_4ff6f484 | |
| Succession / int_50b05d30 | type |
Disproportionate Retribution | |
| Succession / int_50b05d30 | comment |
Disproportionate Retribution: While Kendall deserves to suffer for accidentally killing the waiter, Logan punishing him is more about keeping his child controlled and broken (Kendall gets two days of rehab before he has to go back to work, and isn’t allowed any downtime) than teaching him about consequences. Jesse Armstrong also has the viewpoint that all of season two, including the sacrifice, is Logan punishing Kendall for the (very failed mind you) vote of no confidence. | |
| Succession / int_50b05d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_50b05d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_50b05d30 | |
| Succession / int_51a3ba7 | type |
We Used to Be Friends | |
| Succession / int_51a3ba7 | comment |
We Used to Be Friends: After Logan forces Kendall to screw over Stewy in the second season, their old friendship falls apart and Stewy spends the season trying to ruin Waystar-Royco wherever possible. | |
| Succession / int_51a3ba7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_51a3ba7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_51a3ba7 | |
| Succession / int_52350162 | type |
Father, I Want to Marry My Brother | |
| Succession / int_52350162 | comment |
Father, I Want to Marry My Brother: Confirmed by Strong, Kendall embodies “love often wears the face of violence� when it comes to Logan, often paralleled with being his romantic partner (and tired lashing out mother to his siblings) rather than his son. Roman and Shiv have similar issues, Shiv on the outside feeling she has to chase dad like a girl with a crush and Roman brimming with sex problems, and best language he can come up with finally being dad’s favorite child is “he’s fucking me not you�. | |
| Succession / int_52350162 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_52350162 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_52350162 | |
| Succession / int_52488c54 | type |
Drowning My Sorrows | |
| Succession / int_52488c54 | comment |
Drowning My Sorrows: Kendall falls off the wagon after his vote of no confidence fails. Shiv comes home to find Tom drunk after the lawyers he consulted informed him that he would likely be facing prison time. | |
| Succession / int_52488c54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_52488c54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_52488c54 | |
| Succession / int_524f94d3 | type |
Rape as Backstory | |
| Succession / int_524f94d3 | comment |
Kendall playing “Rape Me� at Shiv’s press conference has layers to it, it’s a way to humiliate his sister and embarrass her in public (especially when “I’m not the only one� plays, as she’s had a lot of hints that she suffers Rape as Backstory too), it’s a trolling immature way to remind everyone of what Waystar has covered up, and it also applies to his mental state, thinking he can take (and deserves) any kind of abuse and still traumatised from being Logan’s number one boy. | |
| Succession / int_524f94d3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_524f94d3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_524f94d3 | |
| Succession / int_5313c266 | type |
Bookends | |
| Succession / int_5313c266 | comment |
Book Ends: The Season 1 premiere and Season 1 finale each feature scenes of the Roys paying off characters to keep quiet about certain indiscretions. The Season 2 premiere opens with a still drugged-up Kendall giving an interview where he shoulders all the blame for the attempted hostile takeover, as he's at Logan's mercy since he let the waiter die. The Season 2 finale ends with him giving another interview where he's promised Logan that he'll take the fall, only, this time, to stab Logan in the back and say he and he alone was ultimately responsible for the cruise sex abuse coverup scandal. Season 1 ended with Tom declaring his love for Shiv at their wedding, letting her into the secret about the cruise ship scandal so she'll have leverage against Logan, and reluctantly agreeing to an open marriage. Season 2 ends with Logan seeming to break his promise to Shiv that Tom will stay out of the scandal, only to backtrack when she begs him, and Tom snapping back at Shiv, telling her he's not sure he can stay with her, and threatening to get a divorce. Episode 1 starts with Kendall being denied his expected promotion to CEO of Waystar; In the finale, Shiv votes Tom to become CEO over him. | |
| Succession / int_5313c266 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5313c266 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5313c266 | |
| Succession / int_53c3fa83 | type |
Granola Girl | |
| Succession / int_53c3fa83 | comment |
Shiv is a political consultant for a liberal populist presidential candidate and tries to come across as a Granola Girl, but she's just as near-sociopathic as the rest of her family, cheating on her fiancé Tom and ultimately using him to further her career at his expense. | |
| Succession / int_53c3fa83 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_53c3fa83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_53c3fa83 | |
| Succession / int_541e7371 | type |
But I Read a Book About It | |
| Succession / int_541e7371 | comment |
But I Read a Book About It: When Kendall makes a business decision, Logan scornfully asks if he'd learned that from one of his books, implying that Kendall has the theory of business but lacks the knowledge and experience of the self-made Logan. | |
| Succession / int_541e7371 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_541e7371 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_541e7371 | |
| Succession / int_56240281 | type |
Country Matters | |
| Succession / int_56240281 | comment |
Country Matters: A lone protestor attempts to sour Logan's visit to Dundee by holding up a sign that reads "Roy Cunt". Kendall directs the word at Shiv in the series finale. | |
| Succession / int_56240281 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_56240281 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_56240281 | |
| Succession / int_565106b3 | type |
Women Are Wiser | |
| Succession / int_565106b3 | comment |
Women Are Wiser: Seemingly played straight before being subverted. Shiv likes to appear above it all while her brothers argue, Marcia is in general a coolheaded conspirator for Logan, and Gerri is a highly respected board member who manages to end up on the winning side all the time. However, Shiv proves that she's no wiser than her brothers by leaving her own career to fall in with Logan's mind games, and then loses Logan's respect, just like her brothers, by asking him to spare Tom from the cruise ship scandal, Gerri manages to be successful due to canny exploitation of her circumstances (such as her evasion of betraying Logan despite promising Kendall she would during the no-confidence vote)), and Logan rewards Marcia for her loyalty by gradually pushing her out of his inner circle in Season 2 and replacing her with a new mistress entirely in Season 3. | |
| Succession / int_565106b3 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_565106b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_565106b3 | |
| Succession / int_5798bfbf | type |
Reassigned to Antarctica | |
| Succession / int_5798bfbf | comment |
Reassigned to Antarctica: “I Went to Market� implies heavily that Logan sending Kendall to do a year in Shanghai was a punishment, most likely to try and toughen him up but just made him feel even more miserable. | |
| Succession / int_5798bfbf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5798bfbf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5798bfbf | |
| Succession / int_58030b25 | type |
Visual Innuendo | |
| Succession / int_58030b25 | comment |
Visual Innuendo: Right in the pilot, Kendall shoves a burrito in his mouth while teasing that he’ll throw in a blowjob while buying Vaulter. He quickly swallows it when he realises his dad has heard all that. | |
| Succession / int_58030b25 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_58030b25 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_58030b25 | |
| Succession / int_582564f5 | type |
The Gadfly | |
| Succession / int_582564f5 | comment |
In "Argestes" Logan is offended at Shiv describing him as a "dinosaur" but absolutely loses it when Roman commends her with "You tortured the old dinosaur. You barbecued him live, hmm?". Logan slaps Roman so hard he actually knocks out a tooth. | |
| Succession / int_582564f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_582564f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_582564f5 | |
| Succession / int_5860c090 | type |
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis | |
| Succession / int_5860c090 | comment |
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Cyd to Tom once Tom transfers to ATN. Roman also treats Frank like one, though the rivalry is completely one-sided. | |
| Succession / int_5860c090 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5860c090 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5860c090 | |
| Succession / int_5901c295 | type |
24-Hour Party People | |
| Succession / int_5901c295 | comment |
24-Hour Party People: Most obviously at Shiv’s wedding, when she has five bridesmaids who are never seen again, and like the rest of her family, she has very few friends. | |
| Succession / int_5901c295 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5901c295 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5901c295 | |
| Succession / int_591a2fc5 | type |
The Grovel | |
| Succession / int_591a2fc5 | comment |
The Grovel: Kendall going on Icelandic Live TV is essentially to tell everyone that he’s a flake and his dad is indestructible. Logan calls it the first thing his son has ever done right in his life. In the pilot, Logan baits Greg with “I’d do anything for my brother", but adds on “if he asks�, knowing Ewan would hate doing anything of the sort. | |
| Succession / int_591a2fc5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_591a2fc5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_591a2fc5 | |
| Succession / int_5932d12b | type |
Cerebus Call-Back | |
| Succession / int_5932d12b | comment |
Cerebus Callback: In “Shit Show at the Fuck Factory�, Gerri tells Kendall not to jump when he hears the news of the debt problem, which comes off as a joke, but then fast forward to “Safe Room�, where he’s Being Watched as he thinks about jumping off his father’s building, and Gerri’s comment makes it look like everyone knows Kendall has suicidal leanings. In "Safe Room", Greg asks Tom if he can be transferred out of ATN because he's disturbed by the company culture, with one example he cites being "human furniture". In the series finale, after offering to keep Greg on despite Greg's attempt to sabotage the Waystar-GoJo deal, Tom places a furniture sticker on Greg's forehead, making Greg a symbolic type of "human furniture". | |
| Succession / int_5932d12b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5932d12b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5932d12b | |
| Succession / int_5a22609e | type |
Creator Thumbprint | |
| Succession / int_5a22609e | comment |
Creator Thumbprint: Much like Jesse Armstrong's previous shows — The Thick of It, which he wrote for, and Peep Show, which he co-created — Succession is a pitch-black comedy where terrible things happen to terrible people. In addition, both Succession and The Thick of It are about wildly unqualified people in positions of power. | |
| Succession / int_5a22609e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5a22609e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5a22609e | |
| Succession / int_5ad80bf8 | type |
It's All My Fault | |
| Succession / int_5ad80bf8 | comment |
It's All My Fault: Shiv and Roman deny dad’s offers in the pilot just before his hemorrhage, and end up feeling guilty, which in turn makes (especially Roman) them more anxious about standing up to him. Logan blames his return from school for the death of his sister, believing he brought home the polio that eventually killed her. | |
| Succession / int_5ad80bf8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5ad80bf8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5ad80bf8 | |
| Succession / int_5b1a2f4e | type |
Ain't Too Proud to Beg | |
| Succession / int_5b1a2f4e | comment |
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The downside of being around Logan Roy is that you’re eventually reduced to begging; Kendall crying that he’s sorry in “No One Is Missing� (and asking to be let go in “Chiantishire�), Shiv letting herself be vulnerable and asking Tom to be protected in “This Is No Time For Tears�, Roman stunned that their parents would screw them over so hard in “All The Bells Say�, even his employees and extended family are terrified of “Boar On The Floor�. | |
| Succession / int_5b1a2f4e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5b1a2f4e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5b1a2f4e | |
| Succession / int_5b565147 | type |
Meaningful Background Event | |
| Succession / int_5b565147 | comment |
Meaningful Background Event: When Logan is putting his hand on Tom’s shoulder as thanks, Shiv can be seen doing the same to Roman in comfort as he sinks to the floor. | |
| Succession / int_5b565147 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5b565147 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5b565147 | |
| Succession / int_5b92d2f | type |
Virgin-Shaming | |
| Succession / int_5b92d2f | comment |
Virgin-Shaming: Downplayed, as Roman isn’t a virgin, but he’ll get mocked by everyone for not wanting to have sex, and when he’s angry about one comment too many, his siblings bar Connor assume he’s just overreacting. | |
| Succession / int_5b92d2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5b92d2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5b92d2f | |
| Succession / int_5ce7dbb9 | type |
Central Theme | |
| Succession / int_5ce7dbb9 | comment |
Central Theme: On its face, the show is about a Dysfunctional Family of wealthy media moguls featuring an abusive patriarch and his emotionally stunted and frequently incompetent adult children who he raised (to varying degrees of "success") to be as ruthlessly shrewd in business as he is. Everyone is self-interested and willing to sell each other downriver for a chance to grab more power or at least hang on to the power they have. Thus, there are two mutually reinforcing themes that run through the entire series: Wealth and privilege are no replacement for genuine love and human connection, and in fact, often erodes both. The Chain of Harm created by a legacy of abuse and trauma infects and destroys everything around those trapped in it. | |
| Succession / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5ce7dbb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5ce7dbb9 | |
| Succession / int_5f207a1a | type |
Courtroom Episode | |
| Succession / int_5f207a1a | comment |
Courtroom Episode: "DC" has the majority of the cast testifying before the Senate. | |
| Succession / int_5f207a1a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5f207a1a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5f207a1a | |
| Succession / int_5f861d0f | type |
Only Friend | |
| Succession / int_5f861d0f | comment |
Stewy and Kendall fuck each other over multiple times, but Kendall calls Stewy his Only Friend (that’s not Roman or Shiv), Stewy tries to make up for bailing on the vote of no confidence, and practically begs him to just cash out and run, which Kendall finally tries to do but isn’t allowed. | |
| Succession / int_5f861d0f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_5f861d0f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_5f861d0f | |
| Succession / int_603e1654 | type |
Patched Together from the Headlines | |
| Succession / int_603e1654 | comment |
Patched Together from the Headlines: The Roy family are a No Celebrities Were Harmed version of the Murdochs, but they also run theme parks and cruises that are heavily reminiscent of Disney Theme Parks and several high-profile controversies and speculations, such as the possibilities of cover-ups occurring within, especially in Season 2 when similar controversies become a major plot point. They also bear some striking resemblance to the Kennedys and then there's the fatal car crash. | |
| Succession / int_603e1654 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_603e1654 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_603e1654 | |
| Succession / int_6056f853 | type |
Homoerotic Subtext | |
| Succession / int_6056f853 | comment |
Homoerotic Subtext: Tom has a lot of this. He has many rather touchy-feely interactions with Greg. Tom almost bullies Greg into a kiss when the two first meet, takes Greg out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate the latter's first paycheck, is visibly hurt (to the point of tears) when Greg attempts to "break up" with him, and acts very jealous when Greg starts hanging out with Kendall more. In "Too Much Birthday," after Tom finds out he won't be going to prison, he celebrates by caressing Greg's face and kissing his forehead. Then at Kendall's party, Tom brags about being well hung and fucking "like a bullet train," and Greg challenges him to "prove it." Later, Tom gets extremely petulant right after Greg tells him that he scored a date with Comfry. Tom repeatedly compares the two of them to Nero and Sporusnote a young male slave who Nero castrated and married after Nero killed his wife, the empress Poppaea Sabina. In "Lion in the Meadow," he tells Greg the story of Nero and Sporus and follows it up with, "I'd castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat." He follows this up by trying to start a "cockfight" for dominance, getting uncomfortably close as Greg tries to resist and ultimately yells that he doesn't want to. This pisses off Tom so much that he knocks over Greg's coatrack as he leaves the office. In "All the Bells Say," he metaphorically pushes Shiv down the stairs by betraying her to Logan, then calls Greg "Sporus" as he offers to get Greg a top position on par with his own within the company, essentially subtextually proposing marriage. When Logan gets up on a platform to make a speech, putting him and Tom on a similar level, Tom leans in and whispers that he could kiss Logan at that height, prompting a confused grimace from Logan. The show is big on business deals as fucking, so everyone - including family members, the motif is introduced through Kendall saying to Logan “you fucked me� when his dad betrays him after all - ends up having some sort of sexual vibe with each other. | |
| Succession / int_6056f853 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6056f853 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6056f853 | |
| Succession / int_606244c2 | type |
Parental Incest | |
| Succession / int_606244c2 | comment |
Parental Incest: Shiv visits Logan when he's doped up on morphine and confused, and when he takes her hand, he tries to pull it towards his crotch. She's appropriately squicked out and leaves. There’s also questions to be had with just how many sexualising jokes Roman makes about her when he’s trying to be bootleg Logan, and she fires back with how much he must want to fuck their mother. Logan is fond of insinuations that Kendall will bend over and let himself get fucked, or that he’ll spread on the first date. Roman, as is his way, calls Kendall a Sex Bot for their dad to use. In “Safe Room�, on Shiv’s first day at Waystar, Tom does an unfortunate analogy that ends up with Shiv having sex with her dad. And then there’s Roman, whose fawning sucking up to dad gets him comments like how he must want to give his dad a blowjob and he taunts how Shiv is just angry because he’s now the one having sex with dad. After Logan's death, Roman repeatedly listens to edited audio that makes it sound like his father is saying Roman has a micro-penis that was intended as a joke. Given Roman's fetish for verbal degradation, it raises questions. | |
| Succession / int_606244c2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_606244c2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_606244c2 | |
| Succession / int_61066d95 | type |
Fictional Counterpart | |
| Succession / int_61066d95 | comment |
Fictional Counterpart: ATN stands in for Fox News. | |
| Succession / int_61066d95 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_61066d95 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_61066d95 | |
| Succession / int_61313315 | type |
Off the Wagon | |
| Succession / int_61313315 | comment |
Kendall listens to the story of Connor trying to get a dog with cancer to go to someone else, paying a guy three grand to give it a good life, but getting it shot anyway. It seems to be the final straw for Kendall to get Off the Wagon and try to become a methhead. | |
| Succession / int_61313315 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_61313315 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_61313315 | |
| Succession / int_62663d88 | type |
Men Don't Cry | |
| Succession / int_62663d88 | comment |
Men Don't Cry: Logan routinely mocks Kendall for crying a lot, while refusing to admit responsibility for such being a big reason why he’s like that, and calls Roman a “faggot� for a company-mandated interview about how much he loves his father. | |
| Succession / int_62663d88 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_62663d88 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_62663d88 | |
| Succession / int_62719eed | type |
I Want to Be a Real Man | |
| Succession / int_62719eed | comment |
I Want to Be a Real Man: Due to their father having loud and toxic ideas of masculinity, both Kendall and Roman feel inadequate (Kendall having mental illness problems heightened by his addiction, Roman having sexual/sexuality issues that make him feel like there’s something wrong with him), and the only way they know how to be ‘alpha’ is imitating Logan. | |
| Succession / int_62719eed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_62719eed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_62719eed | |
| Succession / int_62f9d08e | type |
Freeze-Frame Bonus | |
| Succession / int_62f9d08e | comment |
Freeze-Frame Bonus: All of Shiv/Roman/Connor fake press articles in "Too Much Birthday" are tailored to all their insecurities, Slut-Shaming Shiv while making fun of her mental health and being Tom’s accessory, Connor being mocked for something that happened while he was doing dad activities with his brothers and Roman including his dog motif and sex pestering/repulsion. Compared to the later confrontation, they’re messed up enough to take/mean all this in stride. | |
| Succession / int_62f9d08e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_62f9d08e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_62f9d08e | |
| Succession / int_630e5e56 | type |
My New Gift Is Lame | |
| Succession / int_630e5e56 | comment |
My New Gift Is Lame: The Roy kids gripe about how it's impossible to give Logan anything he'll like. He already has everything he wants, and whenever something new comes out that he might like, he'll always get a dozen of them. Logan gives away the watch Tom gave him almost immediately. When Connor tries to go unconventional and give him some starter dough to make old-fashioned sourdough, Logan condescendingly thanks him for the "old bread." In the midst of a depressive episode, Kendall's girlfriend gives him a watch for his birthday, and he hates it intensely. After muttering, "I already have a watch," he announces that he needs time to think about why she would give that to him, and he storms off. | |
| Succession / int_630e5e56 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_630e5e56 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_630e5e56 | |
| Succession / int_641cf81d | type |
Viewers Are Geniuses | |
| Succession / int_641cf81d | comment |
Viewers Are Geniuses: There’s whole seasons worth of deleted scenes and alternate versions of takes that were cut because Jesse Armstrong wants everything to be obvious but not explicitly stated in text. | |
| Succession / int_641cf81d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_641cf81d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_641cf81d | |
| Succession / int_64713b04 | type |
Pedophile Priest | |
| Succession / int_64713b04 | comment |
Pedophile Priest: Logan complains to Kendall about Shiv/Tom’s service not being Catholic, joking “fucking all those kids really hurt the brand� and making it clear he doesn’t give a shit. | |
| Succession / int_64713b04 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_64713b04 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_64713b04 | |
| Succession / int_652bf890 | type |
Drone of Dread | |
| Succession / int_652bf890 | comment |
Drone of Dread: An eerie one note plays as Kendall claws his way out of the sunken car, tries multiple times to get Doddy and has a mini breakdown of curling up and crying on the riverbank. | |
| Succession / int_652bf890 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_652bf890 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_652bf890 | |
| Succession / int_657d1ef | type |
Psychotic Love Triangle | |
| Succession / int_657d1ef | comment |
Psychotic Love Triangle: Tom makes jokes about Shiv finally sleeping with her father and ultimately wants Logan’s love and attention more than from his wife. | |
| Succession / int_657d1ef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_657d1ef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_657d1ef | |
| Succession / int_6581611a | type |
I've Heard of That — What Is It? | |
| Succession / int_6581611a | comment |
I've Heard of That — What Is It?: Greg all the time, especially when speaking with Ewan. | |
| Succession / int_6581611a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6581611a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6581611a | |
| Succession / int_658f7193 | type |
Lack of Empathy | |
| Succession / int_658f7193 | comment |
Roman and Kendall will lash out at each other for Logan’s approval, especially when they’re feeling targeted and can get heat off them, but Kendall will come to life again to protect Roman after Logan hits him, and as big talk Roman is about Lack of Empathy, really doesn’t want to see Kendall destroyed at all. | |
| Succession / int_658f7193 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_658f7193 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_658f7193 | |
| Succession / int_65bc92fc | type |
Four-Temperament Ensemble | |
| Succession / int_65bc92fc | comment |
Four-Temperament Ensemble: "Emotional stability" is very relative on this show, but the four Roy siblings broadly fit into this, with Shiv being choleric, Roman sanguine, Kendall melancholic and Connor phlegmatic. | |
| Succession / int_65bc92fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_65bc92fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_65bc92fc | |
| Succession / int_6752f60d | type |
Signature Shot | |
| Succession / int_6752f60d | comment |
Signature Shot: Mostly surrounding the golden trio, the show will often have the camera zoom out so they’re filmed from far away, making them look impossibly small in the space they’re in. | |
| Succession / int_6752f60d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6752f60d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6752f60d | |
| Succession / int_685d06d | type |
Plot Parallel | |
| Succession / int_685d06d | comment |
Plot Parallel: The cruises with the abuse that goes on with the Roy family. Nobody wants to know about the abuse victims or the extorted dancers, and Logan tries to tell the world that he’s a great father who encourages his children. Roman makes a lot of references to sexual abuse in the past, Shiv tells a rape victim that she understands because her father strung her along, and Kendall uses the cruise victims as a shield to hate his father for making him so fragile. | |
| Succession / int_685d06d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_685d06d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_685d06d | |
| Succession / int_688238d6 | type |
Wimp Fight | |
| Succession / int_688238d6 | comment |
Wimp Fight: Roman and Shiv get into a slap fight in "Shit Show at the Fuck Factory", and so do Tom and Greg in the Grand Finale. | |
| Succession / int_688238d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_688238d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_688238d6 | |
| Succession / int_68e501cd | type |
Gay Bravado | |
| Succession / int_68e501cd | comment |
Gay Bravado: Tom's favoured tactic for bullying Greg: | |
| Succession / int_68e501cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_68e501cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_68e501cd | |
| Succession / int_697b5232 | type |
Those Wacky Nazis | |
| Succession / int_697b5232 | comment |
Those Wacky Nazis: Being the heads of a conservative media empire, the Roy family tolerates and occasionally allies themselves with far-right figures if it serves the company. In season 2, ATN is protested over anchor Mark Ravenhead's Nazi ties. In a discussion with Tom, he keeps digging himself deeper, revealing he named his dog after Hitler's dog, read Mein Kampf several times and even implies Holocaust denial. He is later let go as a peace offering to the liberal-leaning Pierce family. In season 3, the Roys start endorsing aspiring presidential candidate and white nationalist Jeryd Mencken. While Roman finds him relatable because of their shared edgelord demeanor, Shiv is disgusted. By season four, no one on the family seems to deny that he's a terrible person who would make a horrible president for the country but a profitable one for their company. | |
| Succession / int_697b5232 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_697b5232 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_697b5232 | |
| Succession / int_6a937b9f | type |
Kinky Role-Playing | |
| Succession / int_6a937b9f | comment |
Kinky Role-Playing: Confronted by his girlfriend Tabitha over their lack of a sex life, Roman gets her to pretend to be a corpse while they have sex. He's turned off because she's too active and not convincingly dead enough. | |
| Succession / int_6a937b9f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6a937b9f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6a937b9f | |
| Succession / int_6a9cfb8c | type |
Karaoke Bonding Scene | |
| Succession / int_6a9cfb8c | comment |
Karaoke Bonding Scene: Connor requests one with his siblings before his wedding, but the three of them really bond over screwing over Logan in the karaoke booth while leaving Connor out of the loop per usual. | |
| Succession / int_6a9cfb8c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6a9cfb8c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6a9cfb8c | |
| Succession / int_6b05b601 | type |
Jerkass Has a Point | |
| Succession / int_6b05b601 | comment |
Jerkass Has a Point: While Waystar (and Logan in particular, considering his son’s mental illness has a lot to do with him)’s main tactic against Kendall in season three is using his bipolar against him, they’re not exactly wrong that he’s having a particularly bad manic episode and doing it because of personal issues with his dad. | |
| Succession / int_6b05b601 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6b05b601 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6b05b601 | |
| Succession / int_6b35bdff | type |
Serious Business | |
| Succession / int_6b35bdff | comment |
Serious Business: Connor flips out because the butter is too hard at his charity event, "firing" his event manager and all of the staff during a tantrum. He then personally apologizes to various tables for the butter. In fact, when Logan asks why he's apologizing, Marcia replies with disdain that "the butter is frozen," showing that Connor's concern is probably well-founded. His guests really are that particular. | |
| Succession / int_6b35bdff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6b35bdff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6b35bdff | |
| Succession / int_6b7e3069 | type |
Birth-Death Juxtaposition | |
| Succession / int_6b7e3069 | comment |
Birth-Death Juxtaposition: In the third episode of season 4, without much foreshadowing, Logan suddenly dies on an airplane traveling to meet with the head of GoJo right before the closure of Waystar acquiring the company. The entire episode provides a play-by-play of the event, ending with Logan being announced dead on arrival when the plane finally lands, and his body being wheeled away in a body bag. At the beginning of the very next episode, it's revealed that Shiv, who is currently estranged and in the process of divorcing Tom, is pregnant. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6b7e3069 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6b7e3069 | |
| Succession / int_6bd689ca | type |
Meaningful Echo | |
| Succession / int_6bd689ca | comment |
Meaningful Echo: In cruises, a victim went overboard and nobody did anything because they thought it was a stowaway. The wording gets repeated twice, with Kendall being told he’ll be thrown out of the window once he’s all used up, and Roman complaining Gerri is throwing him overboard when she fucks him over. In “Hunting�, Logan loudly targets everyone except Kendall, putting his hands on his shoulders as a sign of protection and owning him, giving new context to when he does it to child Kendall (who also bows his head and looks uneasy) in the credits. Logan draped his hands on Kendall’s shoulders as a sign of power and control. In the season three finale, Kendall needs comfort and Roman puts his hands on his shoulders as support (which unleashes a cathartic curl up in on himself and cry), while Kendall does the same with Roman when he needs him later. Logan hitting Roman is a lot like when he hit Iverson, getting the same Papa Wolf reaction from Kendall and excusing himself with “I barely made contact�. Logan told Shiv that she’s marrying a man beneath her, and Sarah Snook talked about how Shiv thinks Tom is as far away from her abusive father as possible. But, like how her dad possessively put his hand on her shoulder in the credits, Tom does it in “All the Bells Say� after betraying her, but pretending to be nice. When Logan is trying to separate Roman from Kendall and Shiv, he tries to pull him closer and move him around like he did with Kendall in the season one finale. It fails this time, but only because Roman’s siblings are there to protect him. In “Chiantishire�, Roman (drunk on being his dad’s fave) stands between Kendall and Logan like Kendall doing his dad’s bidding in “Hunting� to gang up on Roman, both of them their dad’s attack dogs. | |
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1.0 | |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6bd689ca | |
| Succession / int_6bd9e644 | type |
Meaningful Look | |
| Succession / int_6bd9e644 | comment |
Meaningful Look: Shiv and Roman communicate in a lot of these, especially if their father is barrelling around and there’s no space to actually talk. | |
| Succession / int_6bd9e644 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Succession / int_6bd9e644 | |
| Succession / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
| Succession / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: The show is about a modern-day dynasty going by the name "Roy," meaning "king." A "shiv" is a slang term for a switchblade or improvised weapon. Rhea, with whom Logan has an affair in season 2, shares a name with the wife and sister of Cronos. Cronos is notable in mythology for eating his own children to prevent any of them taking his place. Romulus – Logan's nickname for Roman – killed his own brother. "Kendall" is a near homophone for "Ken doll," a suitably emasculated reference point for Ken's role in the family. The killed waiter’s nickname is Doddy, one letter away from daddy, and he plays an important role in forcing Kendall to be daddy’s boy again. | |
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1.0 | |
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Succession / int_6bda9a30 | |
| Succession / int_6ce0245d | type |
Promoted to Scapegoat | |
| Succession / int_6ce0245d | comment |
Promoted to Scapegoat: When Shiv learns the cruise scandal is about to be exposed, she goads her father into selecting Rhea as the next CEO knowing this will become Rhea's fate. | |
| Succession / int_6ce0245d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6ce0245d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6ce0245d | |
| Succession / int_6d0b942 | type |
Unexplained Accent | |
| Succession / int_6d0b942 | comment |
Unexplained Accent: Willa Ferreyra (portrayed by Justine Lupe) has a Coloradan accent which is a bit like a Midwestern or Texan accent depending on where you're from in the state even though she's stated to be from New Mexico. Similarly, Tabitha has a Maine accent despite canonically being a New Yorker, and it's never stated In-Universe that she's a Mainer. Although this is down to the actresses' backgrounds. The In-Universe explanation for the discrepancy hasn't been noted. | |
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1.0 | |
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Succession / int_6d0b942 | |
| Succession / int_6dbd3711 | type |
Affectionate Gesture to the Head | |
| Succession / int_6dbd3711 | comment |
Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Played with in the last episode of season one, as after completely reducing Kendall to crying and begging that he's sorry, Logan kisses him on the forehead and pets his hair, but even gets quickly sick of that. Both Shiv and Roman affectionately scritch Kendall’s shaven head in the third season finale when they’re comforting him and trying to cheer him up. | |
| Succession / int_6dbd3711 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6dbd3711 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6dbd3711 | |
| Succession / int_6dd49338 | type |
Invisible President | |
| Succession / int_6dd49338 | comment |
Invisible President: "The Raisin", who is never seen, never heard, and unlike Veep the Running Gag of No Name Given is never Running Gagged. | |
| Succession / int_6dd49338 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_6dd49338 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6dd49338 | |
| Succession / int_6f5c80fc | type |
Worst Wedding Ever | |
| Succession / int_6f5c80fc | comment |
Worst Wedding Ever: Shiv and Tom's wedding goes ahead, but she tells him she wants an open marriage because Love Is a Weakness, Kendall has to deliver the bearhug letter early which means his whole family hates him, Roman’s earlier than planned rocket bombs, Shiv discovers her dad was involved in the cruise horror show, and Kendall accidentally kills a waiter, making him Logan’s glorified hostage. Connor's wedding to Willa is arguably even worse since not only is Connor's relationship with Willa not exactly an ideal one for either of them, but the entire event ends up being completely overshadowed by Logan's sudden death while on a plane on the way to Sweden (since he was headed to a business meeting rather than attend the wedding of his eldest son), the other Roy kids skip the wedding to attend to the inevitable business-related fallout of it all, and Connor and Willa briefly consider cancelling the wedding altogether before it ultimately goes ahead with roughly only 8 guests as opposed to the dozens they had initially prepared for. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_6f5c80fc | |
| Succession / int_712d19c7 | type |
Trophy Child | |
| Succession / int_712d19c7 | comment |
Trophy Child: Kendall, Shiv and Roman are all used by Caroline and Logan as tools to hurt the other parent, both as children and as adults. | |
| Succession / int_712d19c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_712d19c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
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Succession / int_712d19c7 | |
| Succession / int_71e8a5c5 | type |
Trauma Conga Line | |
| Succession / int_71e8a5c5 | comment |
Trauma Conga Line Kendall in the second season, due to being completely under Logan's control. He's made to give an embarrassingly inadequate explanation for backing out of his plot on live TV, forced to completely destroy his pet project, repeatedly falls off the wagon and generally has to act as nothing more than a defeated puppet and spy for his father. When confronted about one of his actions, he can only summon a miserable, pathetic, "My Dad told me to." Roman, over the course of the third and fourth episodes of the second season. His attempts at impressing Logan by going behind his back to try to work out a deal with the Pierce family backfires horribly and nearly ruins his father's plans, and Kendall spies on him for Logan to find out that he was considering talking to the biographer. This leaves him a pathetic, sniveling mess begging for his father's approval, who dismissively calls him an out-of-touch moron. Following Gerri's advice, Roman enters a management training program, which turns out to be a hokey ground-floor operation that puts him in one of the Waystar-Royco theme parks as a mascot — ironically, the same character he had raged against in the first season. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_71e8a5c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_71e8a5c5 | |
| Succession / int_723be11b | type |
Villain Has a Point | |
| Succession / int_723be11b | comment |
Villain Has a Point: Logan makes it clear to Kendall that he finds him incompetent as well as untrustworthy due to his history as an addict. Kendall falls off the wagon (albeit due to his plot to oust Logan failing and Logan firing him) and makes some of his worst mistakes while using again, including accidentally getting someone killed. | |
| Succession / int_723be11b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_723be11b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_723be11b | |
| Succession / int_729c69f3 | type |
Politically Incorrect Villain | |
| Succession / int_729c69f3 | comment |
Politically Incorrect Villain: Logan Roy is an abusive father at the helm of a business empire that Roman describes as specializing in "hate speech and rollercoasters". He casually uses racist and homophobic slurs throughout the series, and it's mentioned that in previous decades he ran his company with a "no Blacks, no Jews, no women above the fourth floor" policy. | |
| Succession / int_729c69f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_729c69f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_729c69f3 | |
| Succession / int_7332c94f | type |
Suicide by Sea | |
| Succession / int_7332c94f | comment |
Suicide by Sea: Going with his long motif of water, Kendall attempts to kill himself by putting his face in the pool and breathing in. Judging by his losing his grip on the beer bottle, he gets far enough to pass out. | |
| Succession / int_7332c94f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7332c94f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7332c94f | |
| Succession / int_7390323c | type |
Sticky Fingers | |
| Succession / int_7390323c | comment |
Sticky Fingers: During his self-loathing spiral throughout Season 2, Kendall begins shoplifting vape batteries. | |
| Succession / int_7390323c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7390323c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7390323c | |
| Succession / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
| Succession / int_7464705c | comment |
As well as the Arc Words “is this real�, no real person involved. The Roy family aren’t really “real�, with all their wealth shielding them from the outside world, but it’s also Kendall/Shiv/Roman’s status as abused trophy children that parallels them with the migrant workers and sexual abuse victims of the cruises. Season Two Kendall is a dead-eyed broken Empty Shell, and he projects that Roman isn’t a real person either when he has a later breakdown at his party, hitting Roman’s Trauma Button. | |
| Succession / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7464705c | |
| Succession / int_758c3034 | type |
Prison Rape | |
| Succession / int_758c3034 | comment |
Greg has a mock interrogation in a public bathroom mirror about his destruction of incriminating documents, where he threatens himself with Prison Rape. | |
| Succession / int_758c3034 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_758c3034 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_758c3034 | |
| Succession / int_75979171 | type |
The Cuckoolander Was Right | |
| Succession / int_75979171 | comment |
The Cuckoolander Was Right: Most of the characters mock Connor for fixating on maintaining his pathetically low one percent polling numbers, but Connor claims that his one percent gets him in the conversation. Come the night before the election, Mencken needs that one percent so desperately that he's willing to offer Connor an ambassadorship if he agrees to drop out of the race. | |
| Succession / int_75979171 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_75979171 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_75979171 | |
| Succession / int_7630e4d | type |
Mirror Monologue | |
| Succession / int_7630e4d | comment |
Mirror Monologue: Greg has a mock interrogation in a public bathroom mirror about his destruction of incriminating documents, where he threatens himself with Prison Rape. Roman readies himself to deliver his father's eulogy by speaking to himself in the mirror about how he hopefully reminds people of Logan. | |
| Succession / int_7630e4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7630e4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7630e4d | |
| Succession / int_76df59f1 | type |
Thicker Than Water | |
| Succession / int_76df59f1 | comment |
Thicker Than Water: Ewan Roy will tell everyone within earshot that Waystar-Royco is a force for evil in the world, yet he retains his seat on the family company's board of directors and refuses to ever vote against his family's interests. Greg is pretty much a stranger to Logan and his family, but he is Ewan's grandson, so he is given a job where he has access to Waystar-Royco's top executives and is used for sensitive tasks. Tom regards him as trustworthy because he's family, but also expendable, because he's only distant family. One of the themes of the show is that if the siblings actually come together, like at the end of “Austerlitz�, or the hug in “Pre-Nuptial�, or “All the Bells Say�, they have a chance to prove they haven’t been completely ruined by both their father always pitting them against each other and their own moral-rotting wealth. They’re also the only ones who (despite arguments and being Conditioned to Accept Horror) know what they’ve been through and can only really offer love/comfort to each other, even if it’s still awkward and mangled. | |
| Succession / int_76df59f1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_76df59f1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_76df59f1 | |
| Succession / int_771f6307 | type |
Brother–Sister Incest | |
| Succession / int_771f6307 | comment |
Brother–Sister Incest: Crossing over with Incest Subtext. None of the siblings are blameless for making gross jokes about each other, but Roman’s Sad Clown jokes about Kendall being good with his mouth, Roman jokingly accusing Connor of molesting him during family therapy, or Shiv being a Sexy Secretary, get to a point where they (especially Shiv) want to know what the hell is wrong with him. Connor’s not free from this either, making blowjob jokes in "The Disruption" about his own sister. | |
| Succession / int_771f6307 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Succession / int_771f6307 | |
| Succession / int_777bc79b | type |
Last Resort Takeout | |
| Succession / int_777bc79b | comment |
Last Resort Takeout: Logan orders a bunch of pizzas after the family's dinner at the Summer Palace is ruined because it sat in a house stinking of raccoon corpses. | |
| Succession / int_777bc79b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_777bc79b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
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Succession / int_777bc79b | |
| Succession / int_77ed6b7d | type |
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior | |
| Succession / int_77ed6b7d | comment |
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: According to Connor, traumatic events of Roman being asked to be put in a cage/Kendall shoving him in there were encouraged by Logan, thinking of them as two attack dogs and punishing the weaker one. | |
| Succession / int_77ed6b7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_77ed6b7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_77ed6b7d | |
| Succession / int_77fb9fbe | type |
Cathartic Crying | |
| Succession / int_77fb9fbe | comment |
Cathartic Crying: Jeremy Strong improvised Kendall’s crying at the end of “Nobody Is Ever Missing�, calling it a culmination of everything he’s gone through and just wanting comfort in his dad’s arms. | |
| Succession / int_77fb9fbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_77fb9fbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_77fb9fbe | |
| Succession / int_786bf97f | type |
Real Life Writes the Plot | |
| Succession / int_786bf97f | comment |
Real Life Writes the Plot: Comfry was initially supposed to be Jess getting a bigger part to play, but Juliana Canfield was busy with other filming. | |
| Succession / int_786bf97f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_786bf97f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_786bf97f | |
| Succession / int_788130a2 | type |
Emotional Regression | |
| Succession / int_788130a2 | comment |
Emotional Regression: Kendall, Connor, Shiv, and Roman are all in their late thirties and forties (Kendall turns 40 in a party that seems designed to make himself feel worse and has a crying fit, wishing he was home) but everyone refers to them as kids, because they’re all so emotionally stunted, entitled, petty and their father has trained them to be dependent on him. | |
| Succession / int_788130a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_788130a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_788130a2 | |
| Succession / int_793e580c | type |
Good Capitalism, Evil Capitalism | |
| Succession / int_793e580c | comment |
Good Capitalism, Evil Capitalism: Played with. The Pierces are shown to be far more ethically-minded and politically left than the Roys with their right-wing media empire. However, it becomes clear that their Nice to the Waiter appearances are superficial at best and totally false at worst, and they're still willing to sell out their left-wing empire just for money. The Roys are also wrong, though, that the Pierces are totally motivated by money. Despite their interest, when it comes out that they tried to hush up an endemic sexual abuse scandal in their cruises division, Nan seems genuinely appalled and calls off the deal. That said, it's ambiguous how much the issue is moral principle, versus her anger at Logan and Rhea for colluding to get her to sign off on the deal before the scandal broke. | |
| Succession / int_793e580c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_793e580c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_793e580c | |
| Succession / int_79d5224d | type |
Wicked Stepmother | |
| Succession / int_79d5224d | comment |
Wicked Step Mother: The Roy kids all distrust Marcia, their father's current wife. They suspect that she's manipulating him to get more power and wealth for herself. One of the precipitating incidents of the show is Logan trying to install her as an additional trustee. When Logan falls ill, the Roys are suspicious when she doesn't let anyone see him, and they discuss how they know almost nothing about her. | |
| Succession / int_79d5224d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_79d5224d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_79d5224d | |
| Succession / int_7a2d9301 | type |
Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure | |
| Succession / int_7a2d9301 | comment |
Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Being The Baby of the Bunch, Greg has no clue who Gore Vidal is. Subverted when Shiv assumes that Connor hasn’t seen Indecent Proposal (a film where a billionaire essentially just sexually extorts a couple), but Wila has to tell her that it’s one of his favorite films. | |
| Succession / int_7a2d9301 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_7a2d9301 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7a2d9301 | |
| Succession / int_7b454a57 | type |
White Sheep | |
| Succession / int_7b454a57 | comment |
Proving he’s very much not the White Sheep he thinks he is, and Like Father, Like Son, Kendall gets humiliated by Dust and ruins them by putting out the word that they’re junkie sluts who inject seed capital into their arms. | |
| Succession / int_7b454a57 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7b454a57 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7b454a57 | |
| Succession / int_7b666ad | type |
Filching Food for Fun | |
| Succession / int_7b666ad | comment |
Filching Food for Fun: In the season 4 finale Caroline orders her three children not to eat Peter Munion's "special cheese". As soon as she leaves the kitchen, Roman naturally unwraps the cheese and liberally licks every square inch of it. | |
| Succession / int_7b666ad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7b666ad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7b666ad | |
| Succession / int_7c9dcc1 | type |
THeUnfavorite | |
| Succession / int_7c9dcc1 | comment |
This is also one of Logan's favorite methods of "parenting" the kids that work with him. He promises Kendall the top job but mobilizes Roman and the board as best he could against him when it poses a threat to him. He then promises Shiv his job but loses interest. He even briefly promises Greg advancement to get an advantage over his brother Ewan. Shiv then tries to reassert herself by telling the Pierces she would be the successor, which drives Logan against her and compels him to name his usual least favorite, Roman, as his successor after Kendall appeared to take the fall for the cruise ship scandals. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7c9dcc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7c9dcc1 | |
| Succession / int_7d4a47d1 | type |
Let Us Never Speak of This Again | |
| Succession / int_7d4a47d1 | comment |
Let Us Never Speak of This Again: The subtext of the morning after “Boar on the Floor�, with Tom awkwardly agreeing with some Waystar guys that he had too much to drink and can’t remember anything. | |
| Succession / int_7d4a47d1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7d4a47d1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7d4a47d1 | |
| Succession / int_7d791b62 | type |
Rewind, Replay, Repeat | |
| Succession / int_7d791b62 | comment |
Rewind, Replay, Repeat: Roman listens to clipped-together audio that sounds like Logan telling him he has a micro-penis over and over. | |
| Succession / int_7d791b62 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7d791b62 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7d791b62 | |
| Succession / int_7d7c8e54 | type |
Being Watched | |
| Succession / int_7d7c8e54 | comment |
In “Shit Show at the Fuck Factory�, Gerri tells Kendall not to jump when he hears the news of the debt problem, which comes off as a joke, but then fast forward to “Safe Room�, where he’s Being Watched as he thinks about jumping off his father’s building, and Gerri’s comment makes it look like everyone knows Kendall has suicidal leanings. | |
| Succession / int_7d7c8e54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7d7c8e54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7d7c8e54 | |
| Succession / int_7d89315b | type |
"The Reason You Suck" Speech | |
| Succession / int_7d89315b | comment |
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Marcia gives one to Shiv in the penultimate episode of the first season, calling her out for being spoiled and entitled as she actively works against the one man who gave her the privilege to do so. | |
| Succession / int_7d89315b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7d89315b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7d89315b | |
| Succession / int_7e0cf34c | type |
Misdirected Outburst | |
| Succession / int_7e0cf34c | comment |
Misdirected Outburst: When Greg tries to "break up" with Tom as his assistant, suggesting they have a "business open relationship," Tom freaks out at him, but in some sense, he's really freaking out at Shiv. Here, Tom actually says (shouts) all that he can't say to his wife about their open relationship. He almost seems to be triggered most by the fact that Greg is genuinely sensitive to his feelings and takes back the whole idea, whereas Shiv essentially demanded an open relationship, and never really cared how Tom felt about it. | |
| Succession / int_7e0cf34c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7e0cf34c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7e0cf34c | |
| Succession / int_7f298d3d | type |
Lame Comeback | |
| Succession / int_7f298d3d | comment |
Lame Comeback: When Logan threatens to grind Kendall's bones to make his bread, Kendall retorts that he's going to "run up off the fucking beanstalk", much to Logan's amusement. | |
| Succession / int_7f298d3d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7f298d3d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7f298d3d | |
| Succession / int_7febc23b | type |
Establishing Character Moment | |
| Succession / int_7febc23b | comment |
Establishing Character Moment: Kendall arrives by limo to a very important business meeting and immediately starts using inappropriately casual lingo, showing how unfit he is for the world of business. The businessman he's meeting balks at being called "dude". Greg gets fired from his job as an amusement park character due to a bad reaction to pot, then tries to lamely blame it on a hitchhiker when calling his mom for help. He's a total loser. Connor's first lines are explaining to a child how he's developing a parcel of land and wants to hoard the water on it for himself when the world starts to run out. This touches on Connor's lack of interaction in the family business (he's interested in land instead), his mild personality in most situations (talking to a child) and his underlying weird political views. One of Shiv's earliest scenes establishes her political job and alludes to the fact that getting Democrats elected in New York isn't particularly difficult. | |
| Succession / int_7febc23b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_7febc23b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_7febc23b | |
| Succession / int_803e411 | type |
Betrayal Insurance | |
| Succession / int_803e411 | comment |
Betrayal Insurance: When Tom forces Greg to destroy all evidence of the Cruises scandal, Greg secretly makes photocopies of the documents he's supposed to be shredding, to be used as leverage for an immunity deal should the scandal ever come to light. This pays off at the end of season 2 when Greg gives the documents to Kendall, who uses them to force Logan to take the fall for Cruises on live TV - cementing an alliance between Greg and Kendall in the process. | |
| Succession / int_803e411 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_803e411 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_803e411 | |
| Succession / int_80b5924 | type |
Left Hanging | |
| Succession / int_80b5924 | comment |
Left Hanging: There is much hand-wringing in the final season about whether Mencken's election will be certified. By the end of the series, it's still unresolved. | |
| Succession / int_80b5924 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_80b5924 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_80b5924 | |
| Succession / int_81bdc398 | type |
He's Back! | |
| Succession / int_81bdc398 | comment |
He's Back!: Kendall has been broken down for over two seasons, falling Off the Wagon, under his dad’s control, manically trying to be saviour and just outright trying to kill himself. Telling his siblings what he did, and as Armstrong said, knowing they still love him, means he finally at least gets some relief and can be the big brother Roman and Shiv need, not even expecting anything from Logan but being there for them. | |
| Succession / int_81bdc398 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_81bdc398 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_81bdc398 | |
| Succession / int_83a8d697 | type |
Oblivious Guilt Slinging | |
| Succession / int_83a8d697 | comment |
Oblivious Guilt Slinging: During Mencken's acceptance speech, he talks about how his election was derived by the pure will of the people rather than elites calculating profits. Watching this speech with conflicted expressions are the Roy family, who engineered his election for the purpose of profit. During a fight with Shiv, Tom tells her that he doesn't think she would be a good person to have children with. He doesn't know that she just found out she's pregnant. | |
| Succession / int_83a8d697 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_83a8d697 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_83a8d697 | |
| Succession / int_83cef301 | type |
Right for the Wrong Reasons | |
| Succession / int_83cef301 | comment |
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Kendall trying to take Logan down for the cruises. In a lot of ways, Logan deserves it, especially as Kendall was broken over and over in the last season, it’s heavily suggested he took part in the abuse and even Shiv implies she has to watch out in the company. But the problem is, Kendall is on a sanctimony high and doesn’t want to admit his own wrongdoing, panicking in private and still defending daddy to Shiv. He acts like a mini-Logan until it all falls apart. | |
| Succession / int_83cef301 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_83cef301 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_83cef301 | |
| Succession / int_83fb6177 | type |
First-Episode Twist | |
| Succession / int_83fb6177 | comment |
First-Episode Twist: It's fairly difficult to describe the events of the first season without revealing that Logan suddenly has a stroke at the end of the first episode. | |
| Succession / int_83fb6177 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_83fb6177 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_83fb6177 | |
| Succession / int_8437cb10 | type |
Made a Slave | |
| Succession / int_8437cb10 | comment |
Made a Slave: The subtext of Logan controlling Kendall in season two, Ken can’t complain or say no (partly because he feels like he deserves it), has to do whatever his dad says including the banal just making him coffee and both Shiv and Roman make cracks about him being Logan’s new fuckdoll. He can’t even attempt suicide without Being Watched. It’s only when Logan makes the “no real person involved� text explicit, about both him and Andrew the waiter, that he grows a spine, though is manically still traumatized by the whole thing and wanting his dad’s attention. | |
| Succession / int_8437cb10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8437cb10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8437cb10 | |
| Succession / int_84bc0fef | type |
Love Is a Weakness | |
| Succession / int_84bc0fef | comment |
Shiv and Tom's wedding goes ahead, but she tells him she wants an open marriage because Love Is a Weakness, Kendall has to deliver the bearhug letter early which means his whole family hates him, Roman’s earlier than planned rocket bombs, Shiv discovers her dad was involved in the cruise horror show, and Kendall accidentally kills a waiter, making him Logan’s glorified hostage. | |
| Succession / int_84bc0fef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_84bc0fef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_84bc0fef | |
| Succession / int_85e7c12f | type |
Puppy-Dog Eyes | |
| Succession / int_85e7c12f | comment |
Dogs. Caroline says that she wanted dogs, but Logan would have kicked them as he never saw anything he loved that he didn’t want to kick to see if it would come back, Logan calls Kendall a Labrador when blackmailing him and complains about his doggy evils in “All The Bells Say�, Roman is called a slime puppy and sick puppy, has painful memories of a dog cage that everyone says he enjoyed, calls Waystar like a cage for him and got sent to military school because dad saw him and Kendall as attack dogs. | |
| Succession / int_85e7c12f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_85e7c12f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_85e7c12f | |
| Succession / int_86b21114 | type |
Badass Boast | |
| Succession / int_86b21114 | comment |
Kendall’s ridiculously homoerotic Badass Boast to Lawrence in the pilot (“I’m gonna lock you in a silver cage, fuck you with a silver dildo and pay you so much money you sing whatever song I want.�) ends up being what happens to him in season two, Logan putting up plexiglass around Waystar so he doesn’t kill himself, Roman and Shiv thinking dad is fucking him, and brings Professional Butt-Kisser to a whole new level. | |
| Succession / int_86b21114 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_86b21114 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_86b21114 | |
| Succession / int_86ca5631 | type |
Lethal Eatery | |
| Succession / int_86ca5631 | comment |
Lethal Eatery: Facing prison time, Tom begins frequenting poorly-reviewed diners so he can accustom himself to terrible prison food. | |
| Succession / int_86ca5631 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_86ca5631 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_86ca5631 | |
| Succession / int_870bbf64 | type |
Show, Don't Tell | |
| Succession / int_870bbf64 | comment |
Show, Don't Tell: Jesse Armstrong had a quote about everything in the show, from speech to what the docu-style camera focuses on to jokes, is there for a reason, and they’ll cut out anything that makes their point too obvious. | |
| Succession / int_870bbf64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_870bbf64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_870bbf64 | |
| Succession / int_8797239c | type |
Bait-and-Switch | |
| Succession / int_8797239c | comment |
Bait-and-Switch: In the first episode, although he displays harsh and callous behaviour to his children, Logan gets a few redeeming moments as well. He's praised and called a friend in a sincere speech from Frank, who appears to be a decent and intelligent person, he's affectionate with Marcia, and he's kind to the working-class boy that Roman humiliates. There's almost enough Pet the Dog moments to make the audience wonder if he has Hidden Depths, and may be a complex character but deep down a good guy who's frustrated with his entitled children - and then, in one scene, he remorselessly fires his longtime friend and employee for seemingly no reason. The audience at this moment realises how much of Jerkass this guy really is - he respects no one but himself. | |
| Succession / int_8797239c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8797239c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8797239c | |
| Succession / int_8858e515 | type |
Fetishes Are Weird | |
| Succession / int_8858e515 | comment |
Fetishes Are Weird: Roman has a lot of power/control fetishes; he doesn't seem able to perform during "normal" penetrative sex, so he enjoys being jerked off (or masturbating) and being humiliated. He's also an inappropriate Slimeball of a character. | |
| Succession / int_8858e515 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8858e515 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8858e515 | |
| Succession / int_890d4ef2 | type |
Humiliation Conga | |
| Succession / int_890d4ef2 | comment |
Shiv begging her dad to not let Tom be the sacrifice. He never finds out about it and their relationship gets worse while he cosies up to her father still, Logan thinks less of her and ramps up her Humiliation Conga, and she gets to feel guilty that she broke her promise to look after Kendall, which at the dinner he seems more than aware of. | |
| Succession / int_890d4ef2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_890d4ef2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_890d4ef2 | |
| Succession / int_898ff050 | type |
Villain Protagonist | |
| Succession / int_898ff050 | comment |
Villain Protagonist: Logan Roy is essentially the villain of the series, with all of his awful family as the antiheroes who have been ruined by a life in his influence. | |
| Succession / int_898ff050 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_898ff050 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_898ff050 | |
| Succession / int_89cf0914 | type |
Parental Sexuality Squick | |
| Succession / int_89cf0914 | comment |
Parental Sexuality Squick: Thrown out the window, with Parental Incest jokes flying everywhere, and Logan coming off predatory to his own children, complaining at Roman for “not liking pussy� and telling him to get straightened out, and Kendall getting fucked is a common theme with his insults. Played Straight in "Lifeboats" in a scene where Logan seemingly absentmindedly guides Shiv's hand toward his crotch while still recuperating from his stroke. Played with during the children's discussions of Logan's potential affair with Rhea. After Roman observes that the two are physically mismatched, a disturbed Kendall accuses him of "talking [himself] hard." Later the kids are hesitant to check on him in the morning for fear they might see Rhea in his bed. | |
| Succession / int_89cf0914 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_89cf0914 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_89cf0914 | |
| Succession / int_89e55922 | type |
Friendlessness Insult | |
| Succession / int_89e55922 | comment |
Friendlessness Insult: Kendall's siblings deliver several when they arrive at his extravagant 40th birthday party. | |
| Succession / int_89e55922 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_89e55922 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_89e55922 | |
| Succession / int_8aa0f76 | type |
Deconstructed Trope | |
| Succession / int_8aa0f76 | comment |
Deconstructed Trope: Of Parental Favouritism. Kendall being the golden child has fucked him up completely (to the point of being treated more like a partner than a son), and no matter how many times he betrays Logan, Logan will always welcome him back with open arms to ground him into the broken version that he enjoys. Even he ends up thinking that Shiv is the best treated when most of her abuse is insidious behind closed doors, and Roman is so resentful of both of them because he craves any kind of attention from Logan, placing Kendall as the enemy of his childhood because he can’t deal with the fact that Logan was abusive, and knifing Shiv if there’s an opportunity to get out of the cold. | |
| Succession / int_8aa0f76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8aa0f76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8aa0f76 | |
| Succession / int_8aa92e8d | type |
Minor Flaw, Major Breakup | |
| Succession / int_8aa92e8d | comment |
Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: Though they had problems before, Roman ultimately breaks up with Grace when she admits she likes a children's movie he had tried to kill, for no other reason than he thinks it makes no logical sense. Kendall falls instantly in love with the lead actress of Willa's play, Jennifer. He persuades her to abandon the play to come out to Scotland with him, only to ghost her (and asks an employee to break up with her for him) because she said "awesome" too much when she was speaking to Logan. Although it's implied the real reason is just as petty: that she casually pointed out he talks about his dad a lot. | |
| Succession / int_8aa92e8d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8aa92e8d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8aa92e8d | |
| Succession / int_8ab096bd | type |
Dehumanization | |
| Succession / int_8ab096bd | comment |
Dehumanization: The core of the phrase "no real person involved", which refers to lower-class people, usually who work for Waystar Royco (but sex workers are also included) and were abused (usually sexually) or actually murdered on their cruises. Shiv, Roman and Kendall (Connor too, but especially those three) are deemed not real people by their parents or anyone really around them, they’re compared with slaves and property, Kendall especially is often filmed in season two like he’s just part of the scenery, being mocked as acting like a Sex Bot to his father. Roman’s told he’s not a real person and lashes out right back, while Shiv is so afraid that she’s seen as another Disposable Woman that she’ll do anything after the promise of protection. Logan will only ever accept their relationships if he thinks the other person will a) defer to him and b) hold their leashes for him. | |
| Succession / int_8ab096bd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8ab096bd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8ab096bd | |
| Succession / int_8bd16732 | type |
The Law of Conservation of Detail | |
| Succession / int_8bd16732 | comment |
The Law of Conservation of Detail: To paraphrase Jesse Armstrong, everything is important (even jokes) and not ambiguous but not explicitly said, like when the camera pans to the staff while Nan Pierce is offering up food like it’s her own, or in the season one finale where Logan is calling Kendall a hothouse flower, and everyone looks vaguely unwell like this has happened many times before. | |
| Succession / int_8bd16732 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8bd16732 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8bd16732 | |
| Succession / int_8e20979 | type |
Wham Episode | |
| Succession / int_8e20979 | comment |
Wham Episode: "Which Side Are You On?" Kendall's motion for a vote of no confidence finally happens and it fails when traffic forces him to arrive late and Logan refuses to leave the room, pressuring Roman into abstaining and then refusing his attempt to vote. Logan stays on as chairman and fires half the board that voted to remove him, including Kendall, who's left shell-shocked on a busy street in New York. The first season finale, where an innocent minor character dies as a result of one of the leads, and Logan regains power and control in the end. The third season finale, where Logan, with some underhanded help from Caroline and Tom, sells Waystar to Matsson and shuts Kendall, Roman and Shiv out of the company. "Connor's Wedding". In two words: Logan dies. In a greater number of words: Logan dying completely upsets all of the power dynamics happening at the company, especially as there is no real heir apparent to run the company and there are an abundance of challenges facing each of the major characters. | |
| Succession / int_8e20979 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8e20979 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8e20979 | |
| Succession / int_8eb0370f | type |
Corporate Conspiracy | |
| Succession / int_8eb0370f | comment |
Corporate Conspiracy: Succession takes the unusual step of having the people perpetuating the conspiracy (the board of Waystar Royco) as the main characters. They've sent their cruise ships out under a non-American flag to save money and avoid legal trouble, which has fostered a culture of institutionalized rape and sexual harassment, and their attempts to thwart investigations into it are a huge part of the conflict. | |
| Succession / int_8eb0370f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8eb0370f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8eb0370f | |
| Succession / int_8eb654e4 | type |
Firing Day | |
| Succession / int_8eb654e4 | comment |
Firing Day: Greg fires hundreds of ATN employees the day before the election over a virtual meeting. He looks like he cares, but he doesn't, which according to H.R. makes him the perfect man for the job. | |
| Succession / int_8eb654e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8eb654e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8eb654e4 | |
| Succession / int_8f1f3f3e | type |
Soccer-Hating Americans | |
| Succession / int_8f1f3f3e | comment |
Soccer-Hating Americans: Roman listens in on in total confusion to a European business contact's plan for a soccer team: | |
| Succession / int_8f1f3f3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8f1f3f3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8f1f3f3e | |
| Succession / int_8fd7af48 | type |
Sir Swears-a-Lot | |
| Succession / int_8fd7af48 | comment |
Sir Swears-a-Lot: It Runs in the Family for the Roys, but Logan takes it the furthest of the bunch. | |
| Succession / int_8fd7af48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8fd7af48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8fd7af48 | |
| Succession / int_8fdd68fc | type |
Self-Serving Memory | |
| Succession / int_8fdd68fc | comment |
Self-Serving Memory: Comes up when the guys all attend a bachelor party. Roman yells at Kendall over how, as a kid, Kendall would lock Roman in a cage and feed him dog food in a bowl, which made him "go weird" and eventually pushed Logan to send Roman to military school. Kendall claims it was a game and that Roman enjoyed it. When Roman snaps about it to Connor, Connor confirms that the cage was indeed a game they played together, and tells him that, as he remembers, the "dog food" was actually chocolate cake and the reason Logan sent him to military school was because Roman asked to go. Logan criticizes Ewan for writing a begging letter for the farm he now owns. Ewan claims this wasn't the case and Logan seems to have no interest in the farm anyway. | |
| Succession / int_8fdd68fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8fdd68fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8fdd68fc | |
| Succession / int_8ff8d545 | type |
Kissing Cousins | |
| Succession / int_8ff8d545 | comment |
Kissing Cousins: Joked about by a jealous Tom, who teases Greg that he’s spending a lot of time with Kendall, “a girl could start to wonder�. Shiv attempts to intimidate Greg by accusing him of being sexually attracted to her. | |
| Succession / int_8ff8d545 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_8ff8d545 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_8ff8d545 | |
| Succession / int_905438eb | type |
Recycled IN SPACE! | |
| Succession / int_905438eb | comment |
Recycled In Space: The show borrows its premise from King Lear, with three children vying for the affections of their aging father and control of his empire. | |
| Succession / int_905438eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_905438eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_905438eb | |
| Succession / int_927b2f11 | type |
The Bus Came Back | |
| Succession / int_927b2f11 | comment |
The Bus Came Back: Subverted in the series finale. Lawrence Yee of Vaulter gets teased as Matsson's alternative CEO. A reappearance would make bookends of the show, since Yee screws over a deal with Kendall in the series pilot. However, Yee was just a ruse, and he never makes a reappearance. | |
| Succession / int_927b2f11 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_927b2f11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_927b2f11 | |
| Succession / int_928ca2cc | type |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness | |
| Succession / int_928ca2cc | comment |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In "The Summer Palace", Roman and Shiv warn Kendall that Logan will use him and throw him away when he’s all dried out. "Safe Room" has him know this full well, admitting if dad didn’t need him, he doesn’t know what he would be for, and by the end of the season he’s the sacrifice, Logan digging his own grave by inadvertently admitting he doesn’t count either his son or the waiter as a real person. | |
| Succession / int_928ca2cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_928ca2cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_928ca2cc | |
| Succession / int_93399c3c | type |
Patricide | |
| Succession / int_93399c3c | comment |
Patricide: Kendall makes a lot of references of killing or being able to kill/replace Logan, but ultimately, he doesn’t want him dead, panicking when it’s time to actually deliver the “let’s fuck dad together� bear hug and admitting “I’ll be broken when you die�, despite the fact that being around his dad has made him think about killing himself multiple times. It’s also implied that the vote of no confidence is the first time he’s really tried to kill his dad (Roman telling him he’ll only be respected that way), but he’s tried to squirm away before, fucked it up and brought back under heel. | |
| Succession / int_93399c3c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_93399c3c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_93399c3c | |
| Succession / int_94e4b975 | type |
Vomit Indiscretion Shot | |
| Succession / int_94e4b975 | comment |
Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Greg vomits through the eyeholes of the Doderick mascot uniform after getting high during management training. | |
| Succession / int_94e4b975 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_94e4b975 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_94e4b975 | |
| Succession / int_963c6133 | type |
Promiscuity After Rape | |
| Succession / int_963c6133 | comment |
Promiscuity After Rape: Heavily implied to be the case with Shiv, dealing with Rape as Backstory very badly by going hypersexual. | |
| Succession / int_963c6133 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_963c6133 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_963c6133 | |
| Succession / int_96d2ce42 | type |
In Vino Veritas | |
| Succession / int_96d2ce42 | comment |
In Vino Veritas: Kendall is so tightly wound and afraid most of the time that he only can say how he really feels if he’s utterly wasted. Roman takes several Vaulter employees out drinking so they will get drunk and spill their guts about the company. When he learns they plan to unionize, it's the final nail in the coffin for Vaulter. Trying to sniff out who betrayed him in “Hunting�, Logan encourages everyone to drink more and stay in the room, as that might get tongues loosened. | |
| Succession / int_96d2ce42 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_96d2ce42 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_96d2ce42 | |
| Succession / int_96fbeaf | type |
There Are No Therapists | |
| Succession / int_96fbeaf | comment |
There Are No Therapists: Subverted. While it doesn’t actually do much good, Roman, Shiv and Kendall all have therapists who sound exhausted with the Roy family hellhole. According to word of God, Ken’s therapist isn’t even that good, and mostly just tells him to forgive his parents. | |
| Succession / int_96fbeaf | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_96fbeaf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_96fbeaf | |
| Succession / int_97926168 | type |
Rewatch Bonus | |
| Succession / int_97926168 | comment |
Rewatch Bonus: Everyone is clearly afraid of Logan in the pilot, but he himself acts like a fairly gruff old man until Kendall is mad that he’s planning to stay on as CEO, then he proves why everyone is so afraid of him, degrading his son in any way he can think of. Everything being set up in season three, that Kendall is still having a breakdown just a manic version, that Shiv is realising she’ll never be allowed in the boy’s club, that Tom is throwing his hand in with Logan and Roman is flying too close to the sun before crashing, isn’t entirely evident until the last few episodes when it all explodes. | |
| Succession / int_97926168 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_97926168 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_97926168 | |
| Succession / int_985e118a | type |
Odd Couple | |
| Succession / int_985e118a | comment |
Odd Couple: Tom and Greg are both outsiders to the Roys and often find themselves dealing with each other as a result. Tom quickly latches onto Greg, at first offering mocking camaraderie and bullying. Although this lessens up as the season goes on, which shows them exchanging moments of bonding in the finale. | |
| Succession / int_985e118a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_985e118a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_985e118a | |
| Succession / int_986c3163 | type |
Mouth of Sauron | |
| Succession / int_986c3163 | comment |
Mouth of Sauron: Shiv at the hospital and Kendall in the second episode of the third season lay into each other, her calling him a weak willed idiot and him calling her a Granola Girl (just more insulting), with the weak excuse that it’s what dad and the market think respectively. Roman lampshades it both times. | |
| Succession / int_986c3163 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_986c3163 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_986c3163 | |
| Succession / int_98a150f3 | type |
Excrement Statement | |
| Succession / int_98a150f3 | comment |
Excrement Statement: A bystander throws a jar of his own piss at Logan at the start of "Austerlitz." Logan himself pees on the carpet in Kendall's office as a show of disrespect. When faced with the bear hug, Logan shoves the letter in the toilet to show how little he takes it seriously. | |
| Succession / int_98a150f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_98a150f3 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_98a150f3 | |
| Succession / int_98aaf983 | type |
Comically Small Bribe | |
| Succession / int_98aaf983 | comment |
Comically Small Bribe: Played for Drama, as even if Logan had no idea of the vote of no confidence, Kendall having a rare safe night with him eating burgers and watching football makes him want to call the whole thing off, as he’s so abused and desperate for affection that any kindness from Logan is enough. | |
| Succession / int_98aaf983 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_98aaf983 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_98aaf983 | |
| Succession / int_99ddfcec | type |
Unwitting Instigator of Doom | |
| Succession / int_99ddfcec | comment |
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Greg is prepared to stay loyal to Logan, losing hundreds of millions in inheritance from his grandfather in the process, but Tom and Connor mock the idea of his consolation $5 million being any kind of decent money. This is partly what makes Greg decide to turn around and help Kendall to expose Logan. | |
| Succession / int_99ddfcec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_99ddfcec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_99ddfcec | |
| Succession / int_99dfd4fc | type |
Nothing Is the Same Anymore | |
| Succession / int_99dfd4fc | comment |
Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The series centered around the Roy siblings as they each jockeyed for their father's favor and, with it, future control of Waystar-Royco. A third of the way into season 4, Logan suddenly dies.. | |
| Succession / int_99dfd4fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_99dfd4fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_99dfd4fc | |
| Succession / int_9aaad071 | type |
HA HA HA—No | |
| Succession / int_9aaad071 | comment |
HA HA HA—No: When Kendall tries to give him a bear hug letter, Logan knows how to break his bragged about confidence, and laughs humorlessly before giving him a Blunt "No". | |
| Succession / int_9aaad071 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9aaad071 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9aaad071 | |
| Succession / int_9ab3da1a | type |
Evil Mentor | |
| Succession / int_9ab3da1a | comment |
Evil Mentor: Tom to Greg when he decides to teach him how to be rich. | |
| Succession / int_9ab3da1a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9ab3da1a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9ab3da1a | |
| Succession / int_9b5a308c | type |
Crocodile Tears | |
| Succession / int_9b5a308c | comment |
Crocodile Tears: In keeping with the mocking and Men Don't Cry attitude, Logan assumes that Kendall is just crying to manipulate. Even his big suicide attempt seems to be dismissed as attention seeking when all the others are worried about him, as only Logan knows he’s tried before. | |
| Succession / int_9b5a308c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9b5a308c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9b5a308c | |
| Succession / int_9c45b5a2 | type |
What Measure Is a Non-Human? | |
| Succession / int_9c45b5a2 | comment |
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: A non-sci-fi example. During the cruises scandal, crimes involving dead migrant and sex workers were callously filed under "NRPI" — "no real person involved." Logan also refers to the dead waiter from the first season as "NRPI" which also motivates the still-guilty Kendall to take his very public stand against him. | |
| Succession / int_9c45b5a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9c45b5a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9c45b5a2 | |
| Succession / int_9ce377f1 | type |
Cure Your Gays | |
| Succession / int_9ce377f1 | comment |
Cure Your Gays: Logan, who likes to poke at Roman by questioning his sexuality, tells him to get “straightened out." | |
| Succession / int_9ce377f1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9ce377f1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9ce377f1 | |
| Succession / int_9d0cfdb9 | type |
Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny | |
| Succession / int_9d0cfdb9 | comment |
Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: Everyone uses degrading sexual metaphors for business and there’s maybe one not-miserable sex scene in the show. Connor and Roman are on the side of dealing by being anti-sex, while Shiv and Kendall cope by really getting around. | |
| Succession / int_9d0cfdb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9d0cfdb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9d0cfdb9 | |
| Succession / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
| Succession / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: In Roman’s very first scene, he calls Waystar a cage for him, seven episodes before it’s revealed that the dog pound was a traumatic game starting when he was four. In “Shit Show at the Fuck Factory�, Shiv refuses to call Caroline because she’ll make it all about herself. When the woman shows up, it turns out it’s not an unfair assessment. In “Lifeboats�, when Kendall gets up early to be CEO, the camera focuses on waiters taking out the trash, something that will repeat after he kills a waiter, and triggers his breakdown/confession in “All the Bells Say�. Pissed off about having to deliver the bear hug letter and ruin his sister’s wedding, Kendall shouts if Stewy and Sandy want this to be a wedding and four fucking funerals. Maybe not four, but someone does die, and Kendall’s life is over for a couple of seasons. After a misstep by a young waiter at Shiv's wedding, Logan goes on a tirade and complains that he never wants to see him again, ever. The waiter ends up dying. Wish granted! All through season one, there's jokes about how Kendall has no clue how to function in the real world, barely knowing how to make coffee on his own, which ends up very badly when he isn't used to driving (and is high on ketamine) and accidentally kills a waiter. In the season two finale, exhausted by his Hostage Situation, Roman asks if they’ll get through this and talk about their feelings like normal people. The other two have been burned too much and make fun, but after a lot of mess and Kendall’s first public suicide attempt, they manage it. In the season 3 premiere Roman more or less predicts exactly what will happen with the investigation into the cruise scandal, except for the reelection of "The Raisin". In the season 3 episode "Lion in the Meadow", Tom recounts the story of Nero and Sporus - Nero once pushed his wife down the stairs, then castrated his favorite slave boy Sporus and married him instead. He then tells Greg that he'd "castrate and marry [him] in a heartbeat". This parallels the season 3 finale, where Tom betrays his wife Shiv (by telling Logan about her plan to block the GoJo acquisition, thus forcing her out of the company) and protects Greg (by securing him a major promotion at the new GoJo-owned Waystar). While trying to convince Greg to go along with the betrayal, Tom asks him: "Do you want to come with me, Sporus?". Tom telling Kendall that he’s been around, and his hunch is that Kendall is going to get fucked, and he’s never seen Logan get fucked once, works for both how Kendall is going to lose like he’s always lost, but also how Tom has seen Shiv get yelled at and humiliated by her father multiple times, and still puts his lot in with him. In "Chiantishire", Caroline shows twice that she'll either choose herself or Logan's approval over her children, telling Shiv she should have had dogs and tells Kendall Logan doesn't want him at the wedding, Roman also worrying that her new husband will screw them over. They're still all heartbroken when she betrays them next episode. Sarah Snook confirmed that there was a clue in the season 4 poster that hinted at a crucial event. It's the plane reflected on the skyscraper, which is where Logan finally dies from a heart attack. There is also an indicator who will ultimately become Logan's successor: Tom Wambsgans, with Logan displaying the watch Tom gifted him front and center on the poster. | |
| Succession / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9d12bbc1 | |
| Succession / int_9dd2cbc2 | type |
CloudCuckooLander | |
| Succession / int_9dd2cbc2 | comment |
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: All of the Roy siblings are delusional to some degree or another. The worst offender ultimately proves to be Connor, who reveals that he seriously believes he could become President of the United States after a lifetime of doing nothing. | |
| Succession / int_9dd2cbc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9dd2cbc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9dd2cbc2 | |
| Succession / int_9e0d0926 | type |
Sex Is Violence | |
| Succession / int_9e0d0926 | comment |
Sex Is Violence: Most of Logan’s language is mixing sex, violence and degrading anyway, but he apologises to Frank for the boar on the floor night as “things got a little fruity�. Frank goes along with it, and Kendall looks like he wants to be dead. | |
| Succession / int_9e0d0926 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9e0d0926 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9e0d0926 | |
| Succession / int_9e447c8c | type |
Suspiciously Apropos Music | |
| Succession / int_9e447c8c | comment |
Suspiciously Apropos Music: On the drive to get cocaine, Kendall and the waiter listen to “The Isle of Arran� by Lyle Carner, with the last line before the swerve being “my dad didn’t want me�. Kendall playing “Rape Me� at Shiv’s press conference has layers to it, it’s a way to humiliate his sister and embarrass her in public (especially when “I’m not the only one� plays, as she’s had a lot of hints that she suffers Rape as Backstory too), it’s a trolling immature way to remind everyone of what Waystar has covered up, and it also applies to his mental state, thinking he can take (and deserves) any kind of abuse and still traumatised from being Logan’s number one boy. | |
| Succession / int_9e447c8c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9e447c8c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9e447c8c | |
| Succession / int_9fa2cfd1 | type |
Sliding Scale of Plot Versus Characters | |
| Succession / int_9fa2cfd1 | comment |
Sliding Scale of Plot Versus Characters: The plot can stay the same for many episodes, with the focus being on how the characters are twisting themselves to either be on Logan’s good side, or moving against him, or having their own breakdowns. | |
| Succession / int_9fa2cfd1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_9fa2cfd1 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_9fa2cfd1 | |
| Succession / int_a036d3df | type |
Sarcastic Confession | |
| Succession / int_a036d3df | comment |
Sarcastic Confession: After Logan offers her the company, Shiv tells Roman immediately, but frames it as just playing with him, so he thinks she’s bullshitting. Roman tells everyone he masturbated in Gerri's bathroom the morning after he did just that. He knows that everyone will just assume it's a dirty joke, and even Gerri plays along. Greg compares the excitement of the Season 3 premiere to the O.J. Simpsons trial, except if he didn't kill anyone. Kendall jokes "who says I never killed anyone?" - of course, he secretly still holds himself responsible for the death of Andrew Dodds. | |
| Succession / int_a036d3df | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a036d3df | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a036d3df | |
| Succession / int_a2b38d3b | type |
Eye Scream | |
| Succession / int_a2b38d3b | comment |
Eye Scream: Played for Laughs when ATN's poll analyst gets wasabi in his eye and Greg tries to wash it out with lemon-flavored LaCroix. Played completely straight in the Grand Finale when Kendall and Roman begin physically fighting and Kendall appears to try to gouge out his brother's eyes. | |
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1.0 | |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a2b38d3b | |
| Succession / int_a46eb25d | type |
Election Day Episode | |
| Succession / int_a46eb25d | comment |
Election Day Episode: "America Decides". | |
| Succession / int_a46eb25d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a46eb25d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a46eb25d | |
| Succession / int_a4955574 | type |
Fisticuff-Provoking Comment | |
| Succession / int_a4955574 | comment |
Fisticuff-Provoking Comment: In "Argestes" Logan is offended at Shiv describing him as a "dinosaur" but absolutely loses it when Roman commends her with "You tortured the old dinosaur. You barbecued him live, hmm?". Logan slaps Roman so hard he actually knocks out a tooth. In the Grand Finale Roman, Shiv and Kendall are having a heated argument about the GoJo vote. It escalates to a physical fight when Roman cruelly reminds Kendall that he is not the biological father of his two children and taunts that they don't really count as heirs. | |
| Succession / int_a4955574 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a4955574 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a4955574 | |
| Succession / int_a4c37cbe | type |
Mood Whiplash | |
| Succession / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash: The season one finale has a genuinely cute conversation between Kendall and the waiter joking about how the latter should hold the former hostage because he's rich, and then they swerve into the water. | |
| Succession / int_a4c37cbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a4c37cbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a4c37cbe | |
| Succession / int_a5f998ea | type |
Stockholm Syndrome | |
| Succession / int_a5f998ea | comment |
Stockholm Syndrome: Only one line makes sense in Kendall’s “L to the OG� and that’s “I’ve been through hell, but since I stan dad, I’m alive and well�, during a time when he’s Logan’s submissive little doll. | |
| Succession / int_a5f998ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a5f998ea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a5f998ea | |
| Succession / int_a62e50b8 | type |
Scandalgate | |
| Succession / int_a62e50b8 | comment |
Scandalgate: Shiv refers to the incident at a public panel where she calls her father a "dinosaur" as "dinosaur-gate". | |
| Succession / int_a62e50b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a62e50b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a62e50b8 | |
| Succession / int_a6e6d5ac | type |
Past Victim Showcase | |
| Succession / int_a6e6d5ac | comment |
Past Victim Showcase: Done by the camera at the end of “Hunting�, as Shiv is happy to be finally bought in, but Kendall is in the background of Logan’s study, silent and part of the scenery, showing how her being bought in is going to end up. | |
| Succession / int_a6e6d5ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a6e6d5ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a6e6d5ac | |
| Succession / int_a6e8221e | type |
Status Quo Is God | |
| Succession / int_a6e8221e | comment |
Status Quo Is God: Deconstructed, as even when characters want consequences, the only punishment you get tends to be what Logan wants. You can't die, you can't go to prison, there's no real person involved, all that happens in the much talked about shareholder's meeting is that Shiv gets humiliated by her father. | |
| Succession / int_a6e8221e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a6e8221e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a6e8221e | |
| Succession / int_a70223 | type |
Karma Houdini | |
| Succession / int_a70223 | comment |
Karma Houdini: Matsson is a sleazy billionaire no better than the Roys who has confessed to being a Stalker with a Crush to one of his own employees, and strings Shiv along throughout the final season promising her the CEO chair with no intent to deliver. In the Grand Finale he successfully acquires Waystar Royco and faces no comeuppance for any of his sinister actions. | |
| Succession / int_a70223 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a70223 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a70223 | |
| Succession / int_a8dcb1d7 | type |
Love at First Sight | |
| Succession / int_a8dcb1d7 | comment |
Kendall falls instantly in love with the lead actress of Willa's play, Jennifer. He persuades her to abandon the play to come out to Scotland with him, only to ghost her (and asks an employee to break up with her for him) because she said "awesome" too much when she was speaking to Logan. Although it's implied the real reason is just as petty: that she casually pointed out he talks about his dad a lot. | |
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1.0 | |
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Succession / int_a8dcb1d7 | |
| Succession / int_a9de87d2 | type |
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass | |
| Succession / int_a9de87d2 | comment |
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Greg and Tom come across as morons, but they're actually pretty good at scheming when their back is against the wall. | |
| Succession / int_a9de87d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_a9de87d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_a9de87d2 | |
| Succession / int_aa5b4f2c | type |
Wedding Episode | |
| Succession / int_aa5b4f2c | comment |
Wedding Episode: "Nobody Is Ever Missing", "Chiantishire" and "Connor's Wedding". | |
| Succession / int_aa5b4f2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_aa5b4f2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_aa5b4f2c | |
| Succession / int_ab5eea65 | type |
Dramatic Irony | |
| Succession / int_ab5eea65 | comment |
Dramatic Irony: While they’re also worried about him and know something is wrong when he lies down and takes even more abuse, because they’ve been raised to fight and Logan is manipulating them too, Shiv and Roman let themselves get angry that Kendall is supposedly the favourite even after the bear hug, not realising he’s actually a broken-down slave for his dad. Continues into season three where it’s one of the reasons why he wants to kill his dad and deem him a monster, but still can’t actually admit that (or that he’s still desperate for Logan’s approval), leaving everyone to think it’s just pure ego and not a mix of that and other things. For three seasons, Shiv has thought of Tom as an Extreme Doormat she can control and who is the exact opposite to her father. What she doesn’t see is how he treats Greg, which can be very Logan-like at times. Roman and Kendall have a conversation in “Sad Sad Wasp Trap� about how supposedly Kendall isn’t fucking anyone and Roman’s face is swimming in pussy. The second season explicitly shows that Roman's prowess is considerably weaker than he implied. For all the public humiliations of his kids, Logan gives a lot of abuse behind closed doors, and so each child thinks the other should be grateful (and they often are on some level) for the amount of attention they get, which he uses to his advantage. | |
| Succession / int_ab5eea65 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ab5eea65 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ab5eea65 | |
| Succession / int_ac4ac8e5 | type |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming | |
| Succession / int_ac4ac8e5 | comment |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The season finales ("Nobody Is Ever Missing", "This Is Not For Tears", "All the Bells Say", "With Open Eyes") have all been named after lines from the poem "Dream Song 29" by John Berryman. Armstrong confirmed that the children’s book titles of season three were to push the fact that the Roy kids are ultimately still… children, both in the way they act and the way they’re treated. | |
| Succession / int_ac4ac8e5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ac4ac8e5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ac4ac8e5 | |
| Succession / int_aca32000 | type |
Armor-Piercing Response | |
| Succession / int_aca32000 | comment |
Armor-Piercing Response: All Roman can really do is go quiet and look at her pleadingly when Tabitha asks if proposing marriage is a way to get people to stay. | |
| Succession / int_aca32000 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_aca32000 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_aca32000 | |
| Succession / int_ad1ab367 | type |
The Masochism Tango | |
| Succession / int_ad1ab367 | comment |
The Masochism Tango: Tom and Shiv. They love each other, but she refuses to be vulnerable around him and treats him like an emotional punching bag, while he hides his darker side from her and uses Logan’s abuse of her as a way to climb higher professionally. With all the gross subtext implied, Kendall and Logan. Strong even said that Kendall in the s2 finale was showing love in the violent way that it was taught. The bear hug is charmingly described as trying to fuck dad to death, what Logan does with Kendall in season two gets paralleled over and over to sexual abuse, Logan being kind about his son to Josh gets dismissed as “you’ll say anything to get fucked on a first date�, and according to Kendall they’ve been doing this shit forever. (but after all that, a rejection from Logan can still make Kendall suicidal.) | |
| Succession / int_ad1ab367 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ad1ab367 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ad1ab367 | |
| Succession / int_ad786c6b | type |
Hookers and Blow | |
| Succession / int_ad786c6b | comment |
Hookers and Blow: When asked what everyday people like, Roman has no clue and says he likes snorting sertraline off women who don’t know they’re sex workers yet. | |
| Succession / int_ad786c6b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ad786c6b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ad786c6b | |
| Succession / int_add9abb3 | type |
The Missus and the Ex | |
| Succession / int_add9abb3 | comment |
The Missus and the Ex: Womanchild Naomi and Only Sane Man Rava in the same house in “Secession�. Instead of seeing how annoyed Rava is about the whole thing, Kendall just sees it as being surrounded by hot women and “he’s doing something right�. | |
| Succession / int_add9abb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_add9abb3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_add9abb3 | |
| Succession / int_aec43c5f | type |
Thanksgiving Episode | |
| Succession / int_aec43c5f | comment |
Thanksgiving Episode: "I Went to Market". | |
| Succession / int_aec43c5f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_aec43c5f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_aec43c5f | |
| Succession / int_aed65980 | type |
All for Nothing | |
| Succession / int_aed65980 | comment |
All for Nothing: Shiv begging her dad to not let Tom be the sacrifice. He never finds out about it and their relationship gets worse while he cosies up to her father still, Logan thinks less of her and ramps up her Humiliation Conga, and she gets to feel guilty that she broke her promise to look after Kendall, which at the dinner he seems more than aware of. What the efforts of the Roy siblings to earn Logan's approval and take over Waystar end up amounting to. First, Logan suddenly dies before the succession issue can be resolved. Then, the siblings as a unit completely implode while the outsider of the group, Tom, is selected to run Waystar instead. | |
| Succession / int_aed65980 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Succession / int_aed65980 | |
| Succession / int_afc6df04 | type |
What You Are in the Dark | |
| Succession / int_afc6df04 | comment |
What You Are in the Dark: Zigzagged by Kendall's accident. When trapped in a sinking car, Kendall manages to escape and surface, but immediately dives down again and makes several efforts to save the car's driver before relenting due to exhaustion. There was no one to witness what happened, so he could have worried only about himself. However, once on land, Kendall immediately begins to cover his tracks to avoid responsibility for the accident. | |
| Succession / int_afc6df04 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_afc6df04 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_afc6df04 | |
| Succession / int_b06bbf4b | type |
Be Careful What You Wish For | |
| Succession / int_b06bbf4b | comment |
Be Careful What You Wish For: One of the main themes of the show. Kendall is desperate to become CEO, to the point of ignoring multiple warnings that indicate not everything is well. The minute he gets it, Gerri tells him that the company is seriously in debt and may actually be about to go under at any moment. Shiv is delighted at the end of “Hunting� to finally be bought in, but for one Logan treats it as him asking her out and she just gets more enmeshed, and for another he still keeps her at arm's length and most of what she gets to do is what he deems woman-jobs. Tom and Greg are both desperate to get higher, and better, positions in the company, Tom especially. The minute both get it, they learn about the assault cases on the cruise ships, and Tom instantly realizes that unless they do something immediately, they're co-conspirators. And they don't. In "This Is Not For Tears," Logan dismisses the idea that Kendall would have made a good CEO on the basis that he's not a "killer." Then Kendall eviscerates him on live television. And Logan's smirk at his words seems to suggest that he actually respects Kendall for it. | |
| Succession / int_b06bbf4b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b06bbf4b | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b06bbf4b | |
| Succession / int_b09c818 | type |
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word | |
| Succession / int_b09c818 | comment |
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: After trying to break up with Tom and getting vehemently refused, Greg brings up that he has leverage in the form of keeping the papers on cruises, and as much as he says he doesn’t want to blackmail, he’s still happy about getting more money. | |
| Succession / int_b09c818 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b09c818 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b09c818 | |
| Succession / int_b0a529cb | type |
Extreme Doormat | |
| Succession / int_b0a529cb | comment |
Extreme Doormat: Tom was this, responding to the bullying of the Roys (and even Shiv, his actual fiancée - and later wife) with nothing but mild chagrin at best. Tom's parents, at least when they're around the Roys. They note how "fun" it was to sit at the airport for hours waiting to be picked up. His mother then gets embarrassed when his father asks for a beverage on her behalf. Greg allows himself to be walked over by everyone and only stands up for himself in a passive-aggressive way. | |
| Succession / int_b0a529cb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b0a529cb | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b0a529cb | |
| Succession / int_b11ac9f5 | type |
Abusive Parents | |
| Succession / int_b11ac9f5 | comment |
Abusive Parents: Logan's presence was scarce when his children were growing up, and he was not the most pleasant or supportive figure when he was around. It was this and them being spoiled by too much money that made the Roy children such narcissistic JerkAsses as adults. He's also implied to have a history of physical abuse. On one occasion he hits his grandson, Shiv jokingly mentions how he beat Roman with a slipper until cried because Roman ordered an expensive lobster at a restaurant. Roman also jokes about being hit by Logan in the very first episode of the series. In the second season, he backhands Roman in a fit of rage, knocking out his tooth. When we meet the younger siblings' mother in the final episodes of the first season, it becomes clear that they received no reprieve on that front either. Caroline Collingwood displays a deeply passive-aggressive and acerbic tone toward those around her, and reactions from her children show that this is something they've come to expect to turn toward them as well. In the first season, she slips in a few cutting digs at her daughter during her wedding reception toast. In the second season, she tactfully postpones a heart-to-heart conversation with Kendall and then slips out early the next day to avoid him. Logan himself was raised in part by "Evil Uncle Noah", whom he claims to his children was an even more abusive and controlling uncle than they might think of him. Indeed, when we see shots of Logan half-dressed there are many scars across his back similar to those given by belt or cane beatings. The only time he actually seems ashamed of his abusive behavior toward his own children is after he backhands Roman. This provokes an unprecedented but still half-hearted apology the next day. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b11ac9f5 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b11ac9f5 | |
| Succession / int_b3b162c8 | type |
Honesty Is the Best Policy | |
| Succession / int_b3b162c8 | comment |
Honesty Is the Best Policy: Subverted in “Hunting�, when Gerri expresses doubts and is let go, Greg thinks he can do the same because Logan just praised her honesty. Logan tells him there are no rules. | |
| Succession / int_b3b162c8 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_b3b162c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b3b162c8 | |
| Succession / int_b3de39a6 | type |
SexBot | |
| Succession / int_b3de39a6 | comment |
Logan is fond of insinuations that Kendall will bend over and let himself get fucked, or that he’ll spread on the first date. Roman, as is his way, calls Kendall a Sex Bot for their dad to use. | |
| Succession / int_b3de39a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b3de39a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b3de39a6 | |
| Succession / int_b4a6ae4c | type |
Everyone Has Standards | |
| Succession / int_b4a6ae4c | comment |
Everyone Has Standards: While the Roys have no problem in-fighting and plotting against each other, they are joined in feeling embarrassment and shame that Connor continually brings his escort to important family events, and makes a fool of himself continuously. When the Roys are positioned to take over PGM and likely turn it into another one of their mouthpieces, Shiv has a guilt attack while wondering how the world will function without someone doing real journalism. The entire family has varying degrees of doubts about engineering the presidential election of the "fascist" Mencken to aid in their business goals, with Shiv being categorically opposed and even the scheme's primary champion Roman showing some conflicted expressions after all is said and done. Rhea manipulates her way into Logan's good graces and positions herself as the perfect alternative for CEO. However, she then discovers just how corrupt the company is and realizes what kind of nasty things she would have to do in order to run it. She walks away and tells Logan to find someone else to succeed him. In spite of constant infighting among the Roy siblings, they all immediately leap to Roman's defense when Logan backhands him. Even Logan is moved to an uncharacteristic, if half-hearted, apology the next day. Logan sends donuts to the siblings to show that he knows they're plotting behind his back. Connor questions whether the donuts are poisoned, but Kendall snaps that the idea of Logan sending poison to the home of his grandchildren is absurd. Later, when Logan and Kendall are having a dinner to make amends, Logan questions whether Kendall poisoned his pasta. An insulted Kendall tells Logan that he'd never try to harm him, and he'll be devastated when he dies. | |
| Succession / int_b4a6ae4c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b4a6ae4c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b4a6ae4c | |
| Succession / int_b4eff8a8 | type |
Epic Fail | |
| Succession / int_b4eff8a8 | comment |
Epic Fail: The Vote of No Confidence is a disaster that everyone thought was going to be easy. Kendall panics and goes to Long Island to try and sway Ilona, then can’t fly back to Manhattan due to a terrorist threat and gets stuck in traffic. He's forced to run out of the car to get a phone signal, and then can’t find his way to Waystar, so Gerri is asked to stall, and meanwhile, Logan cottons on, starts yelling, and refuses to leave the room. Stewy then abstains because Kendall’s not there, Roman gets browbeaten into siding with Logan, Ewan votes with his brother out of sentiment, and Lawrence makes good on his earlier promise to eat Kendall. Logan then fires all who voted against him, screams at his two sons, and has Kendall escorted out in public view. | |
| Succession / int_b4eff8a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b4eff8a8 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b4eff8a8 | |
| Succession / int_b51128fa | type |
Gilded Cage | |
| Succession / int_b51128fa | comment |
Gilded Cage: Connor spells it out, that yes, they’re all horribly damaged and abused, but they count as “somebodies� thanks to all their money and fame. Roman calls Waystar a cage that he once got out from but goes right back in, and knowing that his son is suicidal, Logan makes it a literal cage for Kendall via plexiglass. | |
| Succession / int_b51128fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b51128fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b51128fa | |
| Succession / int_b53077b3 | type |
Take That! | |
| Succession / int_b53077b3 | comment |
Take That!: ATN, a Bland-Name Product stand-in for Fox News, is repeatedly described as a right-wing propaganda platform rather than a genuine source for journalism. When the Roys are positioned to take over PGN, the stand-in for CNN, Shiv has an uncharacteristic crisis of guilt when she wonders how much damage it will cause to society if nobody is delivering real journalism on television. | |
| Succession / int_b53077b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b53077b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b53077b3 | |
| Succession / int_b545453b | type |
Internal Homage | |
| Succession / int_b545453b | comment |
Internal Homage: In “Safe Room�, Shiv watches Kendall and Logan be (assumedly) close with a look of disappointment on her face the same way Roman did in “Pre-Nuptial�. “All the Bells Say� has Shiv and Roman repeat a conversation they had in episode two, only instead of “it’s not going to be you as CEO because… you know�, it’s “dad won’t pick you because he thinks there’s something wrong with you� honesty. In “Chiantishire�, Kendall asking to be let go and Logan wanting to keep him in the mailroom calls back to two scenes, “Lifeboats�, in which Rava doesn’t want to stay and Kendall is Entitled to Have You, and “Safe Room�, in which Greg wants to be “professionally open� and Tom demands he stay. Caroline’s wedding is a nod to Shiv’s wedding at the end of season one, as they’re both marrying men who are more interested in getting Logan’s approval than them, and Shiv gives a speech full of stealth insults like Caroline did with her. The image of Roman and Shiv curled protectively around Kendall while he cries in the third season finale is similar to their hug in “Pre-Nuptial�. | |
| Succession / int_b545453b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b545453b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b545453b | |
| Succession / int_b5e63cc4 | type |
Shadow Archetype | |
| Succession / int_b5e63cc4 | comment |
Shadow Archetype: The Old Guard (Frank, Gerri and Karl) represent who Logan wants his children to be like; Kendall to be like Frank a doormat who always comes back, Shiv to be like Gerri putting everything else on hold for Waystar, and Roman to be like Karl, sexual deviant,but loyal and willing to beg. Logan even mistakes Kendall for Frank while he is piss-mad in "Retired Janitors of Idaho". | |
| Succession / int_b5e63cc4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b5e63cc4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b5e63cc4 | |
| Succession / int_b6cebad3 | type |
Double Standard | |
| Succession / int_b6cebad3 | comment |
Double Standard: Logan Roy is very much a misogynist, and tells Shiv to her face that her gender is a weakness, and she’s far more likely to be labelled a Hysterical Woman if she shows any emotion. | |
| Succession / int_b6cebad3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b6cebad3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b6cebad3 | |
| Succession / int_b707726f | type |
Hypocritical Humor | |
| Succession / int_b707726f | comment |
Hypocritical Humor: Not that Connor isn’t crazy talking about cryogenics, but Kendall dismisses him as insane, and Con side-eyes like it’s the bipolar pot calling the ADHD kettle black. When Greg starts his job at Waystar, he watches a corporate onboarding video at his desk discussing how the company is devoted to keeping diversity in its workforce. He then spots a large group of executives walking by, all of whom are white men. When Shiv hates Rhea and wants to kill her, Kendall calls her too emotional about this. Big talk, given how he’s probably the most emotional character in the show. Episode two has Kendall dismiss Shiv as a Daddy's Girl scared of Logan, when he and Roman are just as bad as she is. Seconds after they just had to act like pigs, Greg and Karl look embarrassed by Kendall and Roman’s squabbling. In “All the Bells Say�, not wanting to admit anything yet, Kendall complains that Shiv, Roman and Connor can’t do an intervention on him because they all have something wrong with them too. They point out that a suicide attempt (and this is the only one they know about!) crosses the line. | |
| Succession / int_b707726f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b707726f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b707726f | |
| Succession / int_b9561236 | type |
A Good Name for a Rock Band | |
| Succession / int_b9561236 | comment |
A Good Name for a Rock Band: Roman suggests "Rotten Cabal" after Kendall uses the term as part of his pitch to overthrow their father. | |
| Succession / int_b9561236 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b9561236 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b9561236 | |
| Succession / int_b96fdd94 | type |
Extra-Long Episode | |
| Succession / int_b96fdd94 | comment |
Extra-Long Episode: Most episodes run an hour or less, with the season finales going a few minutes over. The Grand Finale comes in at nearly an hour and a half. | |
| Succession / int_b96fdd94 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b96fdd94 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b96fdd94 | |
| Succession / int_b9955dad | type |
Wanting Is Better Than Having | |
| Succession / int_b9955dad | comment |
He chooses a favorite (in Season 2, it's Rhea; Gerri is a past example) who can do no wrong before inevitably casting them aside when he gets bored with them — or even just when he gets them, as Shiv learns when he flatters her into joining Waystar-Royco before losing interest in her. Marcia is smart enough to call him out on this and his infatuation with Rhea — which is over before the end of the season because she doesn't drink — is what pushes her to leave him. | |
| Succession / int_b9955dad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_b9955dad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_b9955dad | |
| Succession / int_ba907fe2 | type |
Entitled to Have You | |
| Succession / int_ba907fe2 | comment |
In “Chiantishire�, Kendall asking to be let go and Logan wanting to keep him in the mailroom calls back to two scenes, “Lifeboats�, in which Rava doesn’t want to stay and Kendall is Entitled to Have You, and “Safe Room�, in which Greg wants to be “professionally open� and Tom demands he stay. | |
| Succession / int_ba907fe2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ba907fe2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ba907fe2 | |
| Succession / int_bbdf5f31 | type |
Everyone Is Related | |
| Succession / int_bbdf5f31 | comment |
Everyone Is Related: In the first season, all but three characters in the main cast (Waystar board members Frank Vernon and Lawrence Yee along with general counsel Gerri Kellman) are members of the Roy family. And Frank is Kendall's Honorary Uncle, while Gerri is Shiv's godmother. In season four, Matsson makes a condescending joke about everyone at Waystar-Royco being related, implying nepotism. | |
| Succession / int_bbdf5f31 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bbdf5f31 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bbdf5f31 | |
| Succession / int_bce728ca | type |
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal | |
| Succession / int_bce728ca | comment |
The final minute of the third season finale. Logan's just foiled the Roy siblings' seemingly bulletproof plan to block the GoJo takeover; somebody warned him in advance, giving him time to reopen his divorce agreement and get rid of their power to block a supermajority. The siblings have no idea who could have possibly sold them out... And then Tom walks in, and Logan pats him on the back. | |
| Succession / int_bce728ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bce728ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bce728ca | |
| Succession / int_bce904b2 | type |
Desperately Craves Affection | |
| Succession / int_bce904b2 | comment |
Desperately Craves Affection: All four of the Roy kids associate becoming CEO with getting their dad’s love. | |
| Succession / int_bce904b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bce904b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bce904b2 | |
| Succession / int_bd80925e | type |
Forced Perspective | |
| Succession / int_bd80925e | comment |
Forced Perspective: Often used when Kendall is made to feel small, as at 5’10 Jeremy Strong isn’t even the smallest cast member, but the camera will angle in a way to make it look like this forty-year-old man is a child. | |
| Succession / int_bd80925e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bd80925e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bd80925e | |
| Succession / int_bdc453a0 | type |
Incest Subtext | |
| Succession / int_bdc453a0 | comment |
Incest Subtext: The Roys are deeply screwed up, so there's plenty of jokes about fucking each other. Jeremy Strong once said, in the HBO podcast, that Kendall and his dad are in a sort of horribly poisonous love story. In addition to Kendall, Shiv also has a notable amount of this kind of subtext with Logan, such as when she rushes away from her husband at the end of "Hunting" to take a weirdly flirty call from her dad. | |
| Succession / int_bdc453a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bdc453a0 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bdc453a0 | |
| Succession / int_bdf2a460 | type |
Tragic Dream | |
| Succession / int_bdf2a460 | comment |
Tragic Dream: Executive producer Lucy Prebble has talked about how if Kendall, Roman and Shiv could come together they could run a successful company, tragedy of it being they can’t for long, as family dynamics were always them being pitted against each other. The core failing of Tom and Shiv is that she wants out of her family and hates herself for being manipulated by her father and ambition, while he wants in the family no matter how much the company horrifies him, and neither of them actually talk about this. | |
| Succession / int_bdf2a460 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bdf2a460 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bdf2a460 | |
| Succession / int_be30e493 | type |
Undignified Death | |
| Succession / int_be30e493 | comment |
Undignified Death: According to Tom, Logan died of a pulmonary embolism while fishing his phone out of a toilet that Karl clogged. | |
| Succession / int_be30e493 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_be30e493 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_be30e493 | |
| Succession / int_bf110089 | type |
Break Them by Talking | |
| Succession / int_bf110089 | comment |
Not that Kendall’s ever been in a great place in his life, but the manic episode that’s been fizzling out all season three finally breaks when he can’t find a sincere present from his kids, and crashes completely after another Break Them by Talking conversation with Logan, making him try to kill himself in the pool, and implying heavily to Shiv and Roman that he couldn’t see any other way out. | |
| Succession / int_bf110089 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_bf110089 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_bf110089 | |
| Succession / int_c02f148d | type |
Both Sides Have a Point | |
| Succession / int_c02f148d | comment |
Both Sides Have a Point: Rava did manipulate Kendall by sleeping with him and suggesting the divorce might not happen, but she is similarly shown to have a very good reason for not wanting him back, as he spent literal years on drugs. The dog pound is one of the biggest examples of how Logan has pitted his children against each other and abuse has clouded their childhoods, with Kendall wanting to believe that it was no big deal, but having a point that Roman would rather blame him for “turning weird� than worse examples of their father (and Kendall also protected him a lot of the time), and Roman having the point that even if it was a game, he was four when it started and he can still find it traumatic, just he just would rather act like his bad childhood was Ken’s fault. The "Rape Me" stunt during Shiv's speech in season 3 episode 3. Shiv is transparently pretending at feminism while selling real women out because their claims threaten her family's company, but Kendall's choice of how to demonstrate that is grossly misogynistic, especially toward his own sister. And as critical news coverage has pointed out, he's hardly a bastion of feminism himself. Logan and Marcia are right in that his children are scheming to get rid of him while enjoying the wealth he has, but Roman, Shiv and Kendall (also Connor) are right in that he's a terrible person who has traumatised them all. | |
| Succession / int_c02f148d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c02f148d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c02f148d | |
| Succession / int_c0961831 | type |
Interrupted Suicide | |
| Succession / int_c0961831 | comment |
Interrupted Suicide: In “Safe Room�, it’s offscreen but Kendall gets fetched by Colin when he’s very close to jumping off the roof, and it’s safe to say that Logan was told about it afterwards. | |
| Succession / int_c0961831 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c0961831 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c0961831 | |
| Succession / int_c335b9ec | type |
Irony | |
| Succession / int_c335b9ec | comment |
Irony: Getting Stewy’s equity money is probably the only sensible thing Kendall did as temporary CEO, but it’s what Logan is most mad at him for, as it’s a sign of what he assumes as “insidious influence� Stewy’s hold on the son he’s most programmed to follow orders. The show's entire concept hinges mostly on the question of which Roy child will succeed Logan. The answer, ultimately, is none of them. | |
| Succession / int_c335b9ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c335b9ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c335b9ec | |
| Succession / int_c33ba0a8 | type |
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome | |
| Succession / int_c33ba0a8 | comment |
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: In the first half of season 1, Roman has a daughter. | |
| Succession / int_c33ba0a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c33ba0a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c33ba0a8 | |
| Succession / int_c3b51bb3 | type |
You Are Better Than You Think You Are | |
| Succession / int_c3b51bb3 | comment |
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: While they mock him plenty, and none of them are good people, Shiv and Roman are uncomfortable with Kendall calling himself bad and a killer, telling him he’s fine. They also assume in season two that Kendall is blackmailing Logan who did something bad, the thought that the reverse is true; that Kendall did something terrible, never crosses their mind. | |
| Succession / int_c3b51bb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c3b51bb3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c3b51bb3 | |
| Succession / int_c3c18143 | type |
Hope Spot | |
| Succession / int_c3c18143 | comment |
Hope Spot: In “Lifeboats�, Kendall thinks he’s done good by getting the debt sorted out thanks to an investment from Stewy. Then he hears his dad wants to see him, gets called a fucking idiot, and walks out like the beaten down dog he is. Connor is pleasantly shocked that his father is finally trying therapy, but his face falls when he realises this is a PR stunt. The first season finale zig-zags and starts with Kendall having Logan backed into a corner despite a series of misfires, making it seem that, after being humiliatingly fired from the board after the failed takeover, he finally has one over his father... Then, in a search for more drugs, he gets behind the wheel of a car with an innocent young caterer and gets into an accident. After a failed rescue he leaves the kid to die, hides from a passing car rather than flagging it down for help, covers up his tracks and establishes an alibi. No one seems the wiser and the caterer dies, leaving his tracks covered... Until Logan reveals that he has damning evidence against them and is willing to help Kendall with the potentially life-ending cover-up, so long as he comes under Logan's control again. She’s scared to let herself want it, but Shiv can’t help but trust her dad that the offer to give her Waystar was real, only to humiliate herself when he doesn’t want to admit that he picked her. For the first time in (word of Mylod) years the siblings come together in both comfort and plan to run the company truly equally, having fun fighting it out and no squabbling over who gets the biggest piece. They fail in the first step, in equal part because they’ve always been objects to their parents and because they’ve underestimated and treated Tom and Greg badly. In the Grand Finale Kendall, Shiv and Roman all agree to take down the GoJo deal and spend a night playing around together in their mother's home like they're kids again. When Shiv has second thoughts about rejecting the deal, everything falls apart and the siblings have a massive falling out. | |
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1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c3c18143 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c3c18143 | |
| Succession / int_c4db6423 | type |
Yank the Dog's Chain | |
| Succession / int_c4db6423 | comment |
Yank the Dog's Chain: "Chiantishire" has Logan admit that the buy out that made Kendall spiral at his birthday (and what his son is crawling back for) was "a bit of fun", and never actually intend to deliver on it. | |
| Succession / int_c4db6423 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c4db6423 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c4db6423 | |
| Succession / int_c5249b29 | type |
Nice Guy | |
| Succession / int_c5249b29 | comment |
Tom himself seems like an awkward Nice Guy around the Roys, but he reveals a very nasty side whenever he has someone under him to push around. He starts creepily bullying Greg the moment they cross paths and continues once Greg becomes his subordinate. He feels wronged at Shiv constantly cheating on him and wanting threesomes and an open marriage, but he also puts up with it because he's a grasping Social Climber who married her mainly for her family's money and power. He's also extremely rude to his wedding planner. | |
| Succession / int_c5249b29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c5249b29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c5249b29 | |
| Succession / int_c5ef2d50 | type |
Cringe Comedy | |
| Succession / int_c5ef2d50 | comment |
Cringe Comedy: This trope is a Jesse Armstrong speciality, but especially when one of the Roys (particularly Connor or Roman) says something completely inappropriate to the situation apropos of nothing whatsoever. Kendall provides a lot of this whenever he tries to sound knowledgable and impressive in front of executives and Waystar Royco associates. Also, when he tries to intimidate them and is surprised that people don't automatically respect him just because he's Logan's son, such as when he tries telling an associate on the phone to "Fuck off" and finds his dad's Catchphrase just offends them and makes them hang up. Kendall's first appearance has him listening to rap music on headphones and rapping along himself, oblivious to his driver's cringing. It still pales in comparison to Kendall's little tribute to Logan and his 50 years at the top: Greg is frequently put into extremely awkward situations that his Extreme Doormat personality renders him utterly helpless to escape from with any dignity. Roman usually seems to enjoy how uncomfortable his rude and sexual quips make others, but even he can't help but visibly cringe along with the audience when he accidentally texts a photo of his penis to his father during a board meeting, inadvertently exposing his fling with Gerri in the process. | |
| Succession / int_c5ef2d50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c5ef2d50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c5ef2d50 | |
| Succession / int_c660bc15 | type |
Fan Disservice | |
| Succession / int_c660bc15 | comment |
Fan Disservice: Kendall has a nice body, and there’s a scene where he’s naked in bed, but then we learn he shit himself after a bender with Naomi. | |
| Succession / int_c660bc15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c660bc15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c660bc15 | |
| Succession / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
| Succession / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Many references to pop culture, literature, and Jesse Armstrong's previous creations. See the Shout Out page. | |
| Succession / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c75df49a | |
| Succession / int_c76f81b8 | type |
Non-Idle Rich | |
| Succession / int_c76f81b8 | comment |
Non-Idle Rich: Zig-zagged. Most of the Roys are pretty industrious in spite of their wealth. Kendall and Roman occupy high positions at the company (though Roman rejoins the company after a period of unemployment at the beginning of the series). Shiv is a political strategist for the Democratic Party. Connor is the only Roy child who "does nothing," though he denies this description. In the second season, he starts a political campaign to run for president and produces a play. However, as much as they like to deny it, none of them are as talented as they think they are and all have more or less coasted to extremely influential jobs they haven't earned on the Roy name. | |
| Succession / int_c76f81b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c76f81b8 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c76f81b8 | |
| Succession / int_c7d86fbe | type |
Plausible Deniability | |
| Succession / int_c7d86fbe | comment |
Plausible Deniability: Tom discovers that the cruise line division is covering up a wide range of crimes that occur on their ships, from systematic sexual harassment to murder. He is legally required to report this to the authorities, but if he does then it will cost Waystar-Royco millions in lawsuits and lost revenue. He lampshades the fact that by being so diligent he cost himself plausible deniability. If he stopped looking when he realized that something fishy was going on, he could truthfully say that he had no knowledge of any specific wrongdoing. Now, if he is ever forced to testify on the matter, he will be committing perjury if he denies knowledge. Similarly, if Tom tells anyone about what he found, that person will lose plausible deniability and will become part of the conspiracy. Early in the series, Kendall thinks that some negative press about the situation at Waystar would help his case to be appointed acting CEO, but he can't be the source for such a story. He gets around this by calling Lawrence Yee to demand that Lawrence run no stories about Waystar, gratuitously insulting Lawrence in the process. This, of course, gets Kendall both the story he wants and an excuse if he's asked about it later. | |
| Succession / int_c7d86fbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c7d86fbe | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c7d86fbe | |
| Succession / int_c866231c | type |
The Mentally Disturbed | |
| Succession / int_c866231c | comment |
The Mentally Disturbed: While the show itself will treat various eccentricities with care, being mentally ill is a very bad and embarrassing thing to be in the Roy family, whether it’s Roman never getting taken seriously when he wants to actually talk about trauma, Connor having a mentally ill mom who was abandoned by Logan, Kendall being treated by everyone as The Crazy One, even Shiv cathartically dancing is made fun of. | |
| Succession / int_c866231c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c866231c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c866231c | |
| Succession / int_c868a42a | type |
Freudian Excuse | |
| Succession / int_c868a42a | comment |
Logan is a total violent asshole, so even his mumbled apology to Roman after hitting him hard shows an unusual streak of remorse and guilt over physical abuse (probably due to his own abusive past.) | |
| Succession / int_c868a42a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c868a42a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c868a42a | |
| Succession / int_c92a65bd | type |
Bitter Wedding Speech | |
| Succession / int_c92a65bd | comment |
Bitter Wedding Speech: All over the place in Caroline and Shiv’s weddings. Logan’s speech about family is just a Stealth Insult at Kendall, Caroline insults her daughter which Tom thinks is just joking, and Shiv curses her mother to have as great a marriage as hers. | |
| Succession / int_c92a65bd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c92a65bd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c92a65bd | |
| Succession / int_c972d624 | type |
Slut-Shaming | |
| Succession / int_c972d624 | comment |
Slut-Shaming: Proving he’s very much not the White Sheep he thinks he is, and Like Father, Like Son, Kendall gets humiliated by Dust and ruins them by putting out the word that they’re junkie sluts who inject seed capital into their arms. Caroline and Marcia both make cracks about Shiv sleeping around. And while that’s true she does, Marcia decides to call her a spoiled slut after Shiv wants to take down Logan for sexual abuse in cruises. Her brothers also add on, Kendall (who does Sex for Solace just as much as she does) lashing out that she only has any worth for her “teats�, and Roman obsessed with how much sex she has. | |
| Succession / int_c972d624 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c972d624 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c972d624 | |
| Succession / int_c9da2b5 | type |
Cast Full of Rich People | |
| Succession / int_c9da2b5 | comment |
Cast Full of Rich People: All the main characters are obscenely wealthy, as they are a media dynasty. Even the comparatively middle-class Greg is revealed to be in line for a large chunk of a $250 million inheritance. However, the family is very dysfunctional, and the dynamic only worsens as the titular Succession Crisis comes to a head. Instead of enjoying their vast riches, they seem more concerned with keeping the wealth. | |
| Succession / int_c9da2b5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_c9da2b5 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_c9da2b5 | |
| Succession / int_ca720408 | type |
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich | |
| Succession / int_ca720408 | comment |
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Played for drama. The Roys are cavalier about wasting fine food laid out for them, since it's such an infinitesimal amount of their wealth. Logan has a whole banquet tossed because the house is smelly. Food served during business meetings almost always goes untouched. Roman takes a sip of wine at his mother's wedding and then tosses the rest over the railing. When Kendall and Logan meet for "dinner," there's much ballyhoo over whether Kendall poisoned Logan's pasta, and neither of them eat a bite. | |
| Succession / int_ca720408 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ca720408 | |
| Succession / int_ca87e3ec | type |
No Name Given | |
| Succession / int_ca87e3ec | comment |
No Name Given: The President, who only ever goes by the nickname "The Raisin". | |
| Succession / int_ca87e3ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ca87e3ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ca87e3ec | |
| Succession / int_cdd835ce | type |
Dude, Not Funny! | |
| Succession / int_cdd835ce | comment |
Dude, Not Funny!: After she saved Kendall's life when he was drowning in the pool, Roman jokes that he'll give Comfry a hundred dollars if she lets Kendall drown the next time. At Logan's wake, political donor Ron Petkus makes a toast. Tom spends the entire toast making snarky comments about Logan's Undignified Death to Greg, but acts like Greg's joke is in bad taste as soon as Greg tries to join in. | |
| Succession / int_cdd835ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_cdd835ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_cdd835ce | |
| Succession / int_cdfe12c3 | type |
Nothing Is Scarier | |
| Succession / int_cdfe12c3 | comment |
Nothing Is Scarier: Connor, Kendall, Shiv and Roman all find Mo and the Wolf Pack a Trauma Button, and they were Logan’s old crew along with being abusive regarding cruises, but the camera only shows them once at Mo’s funeral, as old men laughing and talking. | |
| Succession / int_cdfe12c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_cdfe12c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_cdfe12c3 | |
| Succession / int_ce0722f8 | type |
Disappointing Older Sibling | |
| Succession / int_ce0722f8 | comment |
Disappointing Older Sibling: Logan manages to have two. Connor has apparently never taken an interest in following his father's footsteps and is constantly dismissed as a nonentity. Kendall even refers to himself as Logan's oldest son in Connor's presence without intending to cause offense. But Kendall is also an example. Even though Logan has groomed him as his heir, he thinks that Kendall is too soft and naive to replace him, which is what gives Kendall his serious inferiority complex and sparks the battle for supremacy between the siblings that drives the show. | |
| Succession / int_ce0722f8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ce0722f8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ce0722f8 | |
| Succession / int_ce0b2b21 | type |
Monochrome Casting | |
| Succession / int_ce0b2b21 | comment |
Monochrome Casting: It’s a show about a stupidly rich Republican family and the company they own, so it’s very white. There are a few characters of colour, such as Jess, Stewy, and Lisa, but they don’t appear much. | |
| Succession / int_ce0b2b21 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ce0b2b21 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ce0b2b21 | |
| Succession / int_ce1d78bc | type |
Foreign Queasine | |
| Succession / int_ce1d78bc | comment |
Foreign Queasine: Tom and Greg splurge for the controversial French delicacy Ortolan (a songbird eaten whole), which Tom describes as "gamy" and Greg also doesn't appreciate. | |
| Succession / int_ce1d78bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ce1d78bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ce1d78bc | |
| Succession / int_ce6487aa | type |
Misery Builds Character | |
| Succession / int_ce6487aa | comment |
Misery Builds Character: Ewan, Marcia and Logan all share the belief that the younger generation are acting like babies and just need to toughen up. It's implied that Logan himself was beaten as a child and still bears the scars on his back. | |
| Succession / int_ce6487aa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ce6487aa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ce6487aa | |
| Succession / int_ceee5c14 | type |
Actually Quite Catchy | |
| Succession / int_ceee5c14 | comment |
Actually Quite Catchy: The reactions to Kendall's rap range from horrified, due to Logan's clear anger about it, to bopping along (if somewhat uncomfortably) with the music. | |
| Succession / int_ceee5c14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ceee5c14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ceee5c14 | |
| Succession / int_cfdb9e17 | type |
Cerebus Syndrome | |
| Succession / int_cfdb9e17 | comment |
Cerebus Syndrome: The cruises and the sexual assaults that were covered up (and how it shows off the ignored rotting abuse in the Roy family) makes the first appearance in “Sad Sack Wasp Factory�, making the show more of a dark tragicomedy than a Black Comedy with sad elements. | |
| Succession / int_cfdb9e17 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_cfdb9e17 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_cfdb9e17 | |
| Succession / int_cff05c2c | type |
Honor Thy Abuser | |
| Succession / int_cff05c2c | comment |
Honor Thy Abuser: Played with. Logan is a vitriolic, narcissistic bully whose only response when Kendall tells him he loves him is to insult him for being stupid, and who was immensely neglectful of his kids. However, Logan also raised them in the height of luxury, as a multi-billionaire, and the show zigzags between criticising his children for hurting their dad when he's in a vulnerable state, especially as it's made clear they'd be nowhere without him and have largely coasted by on his name and reputation, and Logan himself had an awful upbringing, including brutal physical abuse. Nevertheless, he's still shown as a total jerk, and his kids are also presented as deeply hurt by his treatment. | |
| Succession / int_cff05c2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_cff05c2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_cff05c2c | |
| Succession / int_d0a48e7 | type |
Unaccustomed as I Am to Public Speaking... | |
| Succession / int_d0a48e7 | comment |
Unaccustomed as I Am to Public Speaking...: Logan prefaces his introductory speech to the Pierces in "Tern Haven" in this fashion. | |
| Succession / int_d0a48e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d0a48e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d0a48e7 | |
| Succession / int_d34f8215 | type |
Coattail-Riding Relative | |
| Succession / int_d34f8215 | comment |
Coattail-Riding Relative: Greg comes to New York City in the hopes that Logan will set him up with a job at Waystar solely on the qualification that he's a blood relative. | |
| Succession / int_d34f8215 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d34f8215 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d34f8215 | |
| Succession / int_d44ea142 | type |
You Are Not Alone | |
| Succession / int_d44ea142 | comment |
You Are Not Alone: They’re awkward about it, but in sharp contrast to Logan who made sure that Kendall was isolated, Shiv and Roman comfort Kendall when he cries about the waiter, and he in return comes with them to face their parents (and ultimately be disappointed like he’s been over and over), more handmaiden than leading the coup | |
| Succession / int_d44ea142 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d44ea142 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d44ea142 | |
| Succession / int_d52d28b6 | type |
Hypocrite | |
| Succession / int_d52d28b6 | comment |
Hypocrite: When Logan finds out that Roman is sexually obsessed with the significantly older Gerri, Logan is disgusted. Trying to talk some sense into him, Logan points out the attractiveness of his significantly younger assistant (and likely lover), heedless of the hypocrisy of being perfectly fine with a romance where the man is older than the woman. | |
| Succession / int_d52d28b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d52d28b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d52d28b6 | |
| Succession / int_d7a8fdeb | type |
Intimate Telecommunications | |
| Succession / int_d7a8fdeb | comment |
Intimate Telecommunications: A strange variation; Roman tells Gerri he is going to masturbate while on the phone with her. It seems like a Sarcastic Confession, only for Gerri to play along with his fetish for verbal degradation to help him get off. | |
| Succession / int_d7a8fdeb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d7a8fdeb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d7a8fdeb | |
| Succession / int_d7fc9fd0 | type |
Vitriolic Best Buds | |
| Succession / int_d7fc9fd0 | comment |
Vitriolic Best Buds: Kendall and Stewy go way back, and hang out together as friends even though Kendall openly sees Stewy as an untrustworthy parasite. While Connor, Kendall, Roman and Shiv all frequently go too far with each other, they’re also the type to say shitty things and then get together at Thanksgiving. Roman and Shiv have to find excuses to actually go to their brother’s party in the third season, but they’re still happy to give him hugs. | |
| Succession / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d7fc9fd0 | |
| Succession / int_d80e9526 | type |
Sex for Services | |
| Succession / int_d80e9526 | comment |
Sex for Services: Kendall jokes about throwing in a blowjob so he can get Vaulter, only to be horrified when Logan has come in and heard all that. Logan at least thinks Kendall has actually done this, asking if he opened his legs early for Sandy and Stewy in the proxy battle deal. | |
| Succession / int_d80e9526 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d80e9526 | featureConfidence |
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| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d80e9526 | |
| Succession / int_d8573ef9 | type |
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! | |
| Succession / int_d8573ef9 | comment |
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Shiv tries to sink a negative story about her candidate by reminding the station pushing it that her family owns them. | |
| Succession / int_d8573ef9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d8573ef9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d8573ef9 | |
| Succession / int_d939ad92 | type |
Audience Participation Failure | |
| Succession / int_d939ad92 | comment |
Audience Participation Failure: Kendall attempts a call and response during "L To The OG", but the audience is either weakly participating or too embarrassed to join at all. | |
| Succession / int_d939ad92 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d939ad92 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d939ad92 | |
| Succession / int_d99a228f | type |
Unusually Uninteresting Sight | |
| Succession / int_d99a228f | comment |
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Roman and Shiv do worry about how much of a dissociated walking corpse Kendall is acting like in season two, but after a few attempts at trying to talk to him (and jealousy over how much Logan fawns over him), hang back and imply heavily that Kendall self destructing and then being glued to dad is just a common cycle for them, this just being the worst of it. | |
| Succession / int_d99a228f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d99a228f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d99a228f | |
| Succession / int_d9cf40fa | type |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here | |
| Succession / int_d9cf40fa | comment |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Gerri would love to leave in “Hunting� to sort out the Pierce deal (and escape), but Logan is in a worse mood than usual and doesn’t let her. | |
| Succession / int_d9cf40fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d9cf40fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d9cf40fa | |
| Succession / int_d9fe8277 | type |
I'm Standing Right Here | |
| Succession / int_d9fe8277 | comment |
I'm Standing Right Here: In "Celebration", Kendall goes on a tirade against giving board seats to Marcia and accuses her of being a Gold Digger in an extremely vulgar manner, only to realize Marcia was right outside the door on her way to tell them dinner is ready. In “Hunting�, when Logan is insulting Frank about his trophy girlfriend “sucking some waiter’s dick in Palermo�, Kendall twitches. Considering Logan’s later taunting that Kendall fucked the waiter he later killed, he probably knows full well what he’s doing, though Frank asks Kendall what the hell is going on. | |
| Succession / int_d9fe8277 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_d9fe8277 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_d9fe8277 | |
| Succession / int_da1211b4 | type |
Security Cling | |
| Succession / int_da1211b4 | comment |
Security Cling: The Roy siblings in their Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments. Kendall cries on Shiv’s shoulder in season two, she and Roman support him when he cries again in the season three finale, and Roman grips onto Kendall’s hand tight when he has his own breakdown. | |
| Succession / int_da1211b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_da1211b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_da1211b4 | |
| Succession / int_da1e24b7 | type |
Recovered Addict | |
| Succession / int_da1e24b7 | comment |
Recovered Addict: Kendall at the start of the series, though things quickly go From Bad to Worse. | |
| Succession / int_da1e24b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_da1e24b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_da1e24b7 | |
| Succession / int_dc031fde | type |
Inelegant Blubbering | |
| Succession / int_dc031fde | comment |
Inelegant Blubbering: Jeremy Strong has a talent for Broken Tears, which is probably the reason why Kendall cries this way at least once every season. | |
| Succession / int_dc031fde | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dc031fde | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dc031fde | |
| Succession / int_dca97045 | type |
Just Following Orders | |
| Succession / int_dca97045 | comment |
Just Following Orders: Both Shiv and Kendall numbly state, after deals they don’t want to do, that they just do what their dad tells them. | |
| Succession / int_dca97045 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dca97045 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dca97045 | |
| Succession / int_dcb9c541 | type |
Ship Tease | |
| Succession / int_dcb9c541 | comment |
Ship Tease: Between Gerri and Roman. In the second season, the former helps the latter masturbate twice and Roman "proposes marriage" for the two of them to work together to take over Waystar-Royco. | |
| Succession / int_dcb9c541 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dcb9c541 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dcb9c541 | |
| Succession / int_dce6cd15 | type |
Family Versus Career | |
| Succession / int_dce6cd15 | comment |
Family Versus Career: Shiv must choose between loyalty to her family or dedication to her job, which puts her in opposition to her family. This ends in the second season, where she quits in order to pursue the position of Logan's successor. | |
| Succession / int_dce6cd15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dce6cd15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dce6cd15 | |
| Succession / int_dda99fa8 | type |
Despair Event Horizon | |
| Succession / int_dda99fa8 | comment |
Despair Event Horizon: Not that Kendall’s ever been in a great place in his life, but the manic episode that’s been fizzling out all season three finally breaks when he can’t find a sincere present from his kids, and crashes completely after another Break Them by Talking conversation with Logan, making him try to kill himself in the pool, and implying heavily to Shiv and Roman that he couldn’t see any other way out. In season four, Kendall pleads with Shiv that he doesn't know how to do anything else but run Waystar-Royco. When he gets voted out, he stumbles out onto the street, wanders vacantly out to the sea, and stares forlornly out at the ocean with nothing left in his life. | |
| Succession / int_dda99fa8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dda99fa8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dda99fa8 | |
| Succession / int_ddb233c1 | type |
Mid-Season Twist | |
| Succession / int_ddb233c1 | comment |
Mid-Season Twist: In Season 1. The vote of no-confidence that should have been a cakewalk fails, and Kendall falls Off the Wagon. | |
| Succession / int_ddb233c1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ddb233c1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ddb233c1 | |
| Succession / int_dee56696 | type |
Innocuously Important Episode | |
| Succession / int_dee56696 | comment |
Innocuously Important Episode: "Lion in the Meadow" is important for the climactic last few episodes of season three, Kendall foreshadowing the Despair Event Horizon at his birthday, Gerri telling Roman he needs to think professionally 24/7, Shiv starts realizing she’s a No-Respect Guy at work, Tom talking about Nero and Sporus to Greg, and Logan trying to get Kendall to be The Dutiful Son again, with it nearly working. | |
| Succession / int_dee56696 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_dee56696 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_dee56696 | |
| Succession / int_e003c829 | type |
History Repeats | |
| Succession / int_e003c829 | comment |
History Repeats: With no flashbacks, they have to rely on other ways to show that it’s not the first time Roman has been hit by Logan, or that “boar on the floor� isn’t a one-time-only thing, or that Roman is used to picking Kendall up when he’s too high to function. | |
| Succession / int_e003c829 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e003c829 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e003c829 | |
| Succession / int_e11027bb | type |
Sex for Solace | |
| Succession / int_e11027bb | comment |
Caroline and Marcia both make cracks about Shiv sleeping around. And while that’s true she does, Marcia decides to call her a spoiled slut after Shiv wants to take down Logan for sexual abuse in cruises. Her brothers also add on, Kendall (who does Sex for Solace just as much as she does) lashing out that she only has any worth for her “teats�, and Roman obsessed with how much sex she has. | |
| Succession / int_e11027bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e11027bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e11027bb | |
| Succession / int_e3847ee8 | type |
Cigarette of Anxiety | |
| Succession / int_e3847ee8 | comment |
Cigarette of Anxiety: Addict that he is, Kendall will often light up as a socially acceptable way of calming himself down. | |
| Succession / int_e3847ee8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e3847ee8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e3847ee8 | |
| Succession / int_e42e91b4 | type |
Godwin's Law | |
| Succession / int_e42e91b4 | comment |
Godwin's Law: Hearing that Eavis is a socialist, Connor meets him and immediately references Hitler and dead babies. One of the women from Dust doesn’t want to work with Kendall because he’s still a Roy, and to her that’s like working with Hitler. | |
| Succession / int_e42e91b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e42e91b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e42e91b4 | |
| Succession / int_e48f5a7f | type |
Shallow News Site Satire | |
| Succession / int_e48f5a7f | comment |
Shallow News Site Satire: Vaulter is a trendy online media brand recently acquired by media titan Waystar Royco. It seems loosely based on various media companies, such as Vulture (note the name), Vox (for its explanation articles), and Buzzfeed (for its clickbait). A visit to the Vaulter offices in season two shows that it is populated by young writers and has a fun, open-concept type of office. They have headlines like "Wait, Is Every Taylor Swift Lyric Secretly Marxist?" and "5 Reasons Why Drinking Milk on the Toilet Is Kind of a Game-Changer". However, the show portrays their business model as unstable, as they can artificially inflate data and are subject to the whims of the Facebook algorithm; by episode's end, Logan orders Kendall to dismantle it for being hogwash, and so the latter fires everyone and incorporates only their revenue-generating ideas into the greater Waystar portfolio. | |
| Succession / int_e48f5a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e48f5a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e48f5a7f | |
| Succession / int_e4d079c1 | type |
Greek Chorus | |
| Succession / int_e4d079c1 | comment |
Greek Chorus: After Logan dies the three most prominent members of his inner circle, Frank, Karl, and Gerri, act as a trio for the rest of the final season, shaking their heads at the siblings' foolhardy actions and offering insight from the senior/board member perspective. Roman mockingly calls them "emperor penguins" and Matsson "village elders". | |
| Succession / int_e4d079c1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e4d079c1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e4d079c1 | |
| Succession / int_e6b5d22f | type |
Catchphrase | |
| Succession / int_e6b5d22f | comment |
Catchphrase: In the first season, Connor announces that he "doesn't take sides" so many times it's basically a catchphrase. He even says it immediately before telling Shiv that he's on her side. | |
| Succession / int_e6b5d22f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e6b5d22f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e6b5d22f | |
| Succession / int_e70127 | type |
The Mole | |
| Succession / int_e70127 | comment |
The Mole: Shiv is one for Matsson in Season 4. | |
| Succession / int_e70127 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e70127 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e70127 | |
| Succession / int_e7db27c7 | type |
Sympathetic P.O.V. | |
| Succession / int_e7db27c7 | comment |
Sympathetic P.O.V.: Nobody’s a good or even likable person, but even with Logan and Caroline, the monstrousness comes from somewhere. In the case of Tom and Shiv, the show sets up that they love each other but they also clash, Tom feeling used and controlled, and Shiv mostly just wanting a relationship with someone opposite to her father. | |
| Succession / int_e7db27c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e7db27c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e7db27c7 | |
| Succession / int_e83f211c | type |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business | |
| Succession / int_e83f211c | comment |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Guaranteed. Shiv is The Stoic and extremely cool and unemotional even by those standards, which makes it even more jarring and serious when she breaks down and begs Logan not to make Tom take the fall for the cruise ship scandal in Season 2. Logan is a total violent asshole, so even his mumbled apology to Roman after hitting him hard shows an unusual streak of remorse and guilt over physical abuse (probably due to his own abusive past.) Connor is usually quite comfortable as the only sibling with no interest in running the company and leading the family. In season three, however, Kendall says the quiet part out loud and calls himself "the eldest son," prompting Connor to go on an uncharacteristic tirade about the respect he deserves as the real eldest son. | |
| Succession / int_e83f211c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e83f211c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e83f211c | |
| Succession / int_e9e35e8f | type |
Exact Words | |
| Succession / int_e9e35e8f | comment |
Exact Words: The conclusion to Shiv's Bitter Wedding Speech at her mother's wedding: "I hope that your marriage is as rich and happy, rewarding and fulfilling as mine." | |
| Succession / int_e9e35e8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_e9e35e8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_e9e35e8f | |
| Succession / int_eab4826e | type |
Dismissing a Compliment | |
| Succession / int_eab4826e | comment |
Dismissing a Compliment: All across the board for the Roy siblings. They have self-inflated egos, but due to their parents just grinding self esteem into dust, any time they actually compliment each other it’s not trusted. | |
| Succession / int_eab4826e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_eab4826e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_eab4826e | |
| Succession / int_eb24d076 | type |
Freud Was Right | |
| Succession / int_eb24d076 | comment |
Freud Was Right: Business is fucking, if you’re being fucked or sucking dick you’re humiliated (as Tom warns Kendall, he’s seen him get fucked a lot, while he’s never seen Logan get fucked at all), castrated/eunuchry is lowest of the low, and the Roy kids can’t go five minutes without incest references because it’s only the love language they know. | |
| Succession / int_eb24d076 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_eb24d076 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_eb24d076 | |
| Succession / int_eb8e4fa8 | type |
Jerkass | |
| Succession / int_eb8e4fa8 | comment |
Logan's presence was scarce when his children were growing up, and he was not the most pleasant or supportive figure when he was around. It was this and them being spoiled by too much money that made the Roy children such narcissistic JerkAsses as adults. He's also implied to have a history of physical abuse. On one occasion he hits his grandson, Shiv jokingly mentions how he beat Roman with a slipper until cried because Roman ordered an expensive lobster at a restaurant. Roman also jokes about being hit by Logan in the very first episode of the series. In the second season, he backhands Roman in a fit of rage, knocking out his tooth. | |
| Succession / int_eb8e4fa8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_eb8e4fa8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_eb8e4fa8 | |
| Succession / int_ebfdd9ab | type |
Not Blood, Not Family | |
| Succession / int_ebfdd9ab | comment |
Not Blood, Not Family: Played With: Shiv's fiancee (later husband) Tom is in a difficult position in the Family Business because, no matter how often he proves his loyalty to Waystar, Logan doesn't regard him as "one of them" (and even Shiv gets a few moments of suggesting that). He's even suggested to rank below Greg, since Greg is at least Logan's biological nephew. During the cruises scandal, Logan shows some inclination to protect all his kids, but Tom is his first choice to be thrown to the wolves. Season 3 marks a solidifying of Tom and Logan's relationship when Tom spurns the coup attempt of Logan's kids to stay loyal to Logan. Tom's newfound favor rapidly crumbles, however, after Shiv separates from him. When Tom nervously tries to assess his future at the company should he be ejected from the family, Logan pointedly does not commit to a response. In their argument in the Series Finale, Kendall tries to pull rank on his siblings by saying that Logan wanted the company to stay in the family and he is (as of that moment) the only one with heirs so he should inherit Waystar-Royco. Roman plays this trope on him by saying that Sophie is adopted and Iverson is the product of an affair Kendall's ex-wife Rava had with someone else. While Kendall is a deadbeat Disneyland Dad, he also treats them as his real kids. The argument then gets swiftly overshadowed when Shiv reminds Kendall of what happened with the waiter. | |
| Succession / int_ebfdd9ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ebfdd9ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ebfdd9ab | |
| Succession / int_ec16212b | type |
From New York to Nowhere | |
| Succession / int_ec16212b | comment |
From New York to Nowhere: Roman leaves New York City to attend a six-week management training course at the Brightstar Adventure Park in Georgia, much to his chagrin. | |
| Succession / int_ec16212b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ec16212b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ec16212b | |
| Succession / int_ec212e4d | type |
Ensemble Cast | |
| Succession / int_ec212e4d | comment |
Ensemble Cast: While some characters, like Kendall, Shiv and Logan, are more central to the plot, the entire Roy family collectively functions as the show's Villain Protagonists. | |
| Succession / int_ec212e4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ec212e4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ec212e4d | |
| Succession / int_ec36b7f3 | type |
Overly Pre-Prepared Gag | |
| Succession / int_ec36b7f3 | comment |
Overly Preprepared Gag: Roman spends an episode trying to find out whether his exploding satellite caused any deaths that he'll be liable for, possibly incurring prison time. He eventually learns that the injuries were limited mostly to the loss of two thumbs. Later still, a relieved Roman celebrates with a Has Two Thumbs and... gag. | |
| Succession / int_ec36b7f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ec36b7f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ec36b7f3 | |
| Succession / int_ed05cfee | type |
Naïve Newcomer | |
| Succession / int_ed05cfee | comment |
Naïve Newcomer: Greg is Logan's grandnephew, but he grew up in a middle-class setting and had little interaction with Logan's side of the family until his mother sends him to New York. He is now smack in the middle of all the Roy family drama but is not really a player in it yet. He is out of his depth and is quite bewildered by what is happening around him. He seems mostly incapable of any sort of cunning until the end of the first season, where he implies he'll blackmail Kendall with the cruise scandal unless he gets to keep his job, and even Kendall is kind of impressed with him. Tom is effectively treated as this by everyone in the family, which initially leads to some rivalry and conflict with Greg. | |
| Succession / int_ed05cfee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ed05cfee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ed05cfee | |
| Succession / int_ed7dde2c | type |
Popularity Cycle | |
| Succession / int_ed7dde2c | comment |
Popularity Cycle: This is regarded as Logan's MO by all familiar with his methods: He chooses a favorite (in Season 2, it's Rhea; Gerri is a past example) who can do no wrong before inevitably casting them aside when he gets bored with them — or even just when he gets them, as Shiv learns when he flatters her into joining Waystar-Royco before losing interest in her. Marcia is smart enough to call him out on this and his infatuation with Rhea — which is over before the end of the season because she doesn't drink — is what pushes her to leave him. This is also one of Logan's favorite methods of "parenting" the kids that work with him. He promises Kendall the top job but mobilizes Roman and the board as best he could against him when it poses a threat to him. He then promises Shiv his job but loses interest. He even briefly promises Greg advancement to get an advantage over his brother Ewan. Shiv then tries to reassert herself by telling the Pierces she would be the successor, which drives Logan against her and compels him to name his usual least favorite, Roman, as his successor after Kendall appeared to take the fall for the cruise ship scandals. | |
| Succession / int_ed7dde2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ed7dde2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ed7dde2c | |
| Succession / int_ed874c14 | type |
Self-Made Man | |
| Succession / int_ed874c14 | comment |
Since Logan is a Self-Made Man, the Roys are new money as a family. The old-money Pierces regard them as crass. | |
| Succession / int_ed874c14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ed874c14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ed874c14 | |
| Succession / int_ee7a60e9 | type |
One-Steve Limit | |
| Succession / int_ee7a60e9 | comment |
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Kendall, Roman, and Shiv's mother is named Caroline, while the Waystar head of PR is called Karolina. | |
| Succession / int_ee7a60e9 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Succession / int_ee7a60e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_ee7a60e9 | |
| Succession / int_eea09b27 | type |
Political Correctness Is Evil | |
| Succession / int_eea09b27 | comment |
Political Correctness Is Evil: Roman whines a few times in season one about the need for trigger warnings and how Shiv used to be “fun� before she went all liberal. Logan has similar complaints to the ones above about language he's not supposed to use anymore in "Dundee". In “Safe Room�, Cyd complains that if they cave to firing neo-nazi Ravenhead, then who’s next. | |
| Succession / int_eea09b27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_eea09b27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_eea09b27 | |
| Succession / int_f005700f | type |
Conspicuous Consumption | |
| Succession / int_f005700f | comment |
Tom thinks that Conspicuous Consumption is how you "be rich" and is marrying into his money. | |
| Succession / int_f005700f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f005700f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f005700f | |
| Succession / int_f0089082 | type |
Early-Bird Cameo | |
| Succession / int_f0089082 | comment |
Early-Bird Cameo: Andrew Dodds, the waiter that Kendall accidentally kills, first shows up in “Pre-Nuptial�, giving Greg non-answers on whether he should tell Tom about Shiv or not, and they spend the night together. | |
| Succession / int_f0089082 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f0089082 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f0089082 | |
| Succession / int_f06b07ff | type |
Locked Out of the Loop | |
| Succession / int_f06b07ff | comment |
Locked Out of the Loop: A key reason Kendall is not ready to handle taking over the company is because Logan has been keeping so many things close to him. Such as the fact the company is about three billion dollars in debt. | |
| Succession / int_f06b07ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f06b07ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f06b07ff | |
| Succession / int_f12c6fb1 | type |
Surprisingly Sudden Death | |
| Succession / int_f12c6fb1 | comment |
In "Connor's Wedding", it seems like a run-of-the-mill episode, even one of the more lighthearted ones, and then Roman receives a call from Tom: "Your dad is sick. He's very, very sick." | |
| Succession / int_f12c6fb1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f12c6fb1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f12c6fb1 | |
| Succession / int_f1d3f0c9 | type |
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness | |
| Succession / int_f1d3f0c9 | comment |
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: A running gag in season three has Greg's uncle constantly using ornate adjectives like "histrionic" and "intractable" around Greg, who pretends to understand. | |
| Succession / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f1d3f0c9 | |
| Succession / int_f23ad6de | type |
Food Porn | |
| Succession / int_f23ad6de | comment |
Food Porn: Subverted and played straight. The fancy rich people food will be paid far less attention to at best or be ruined at worst, while a five-dollar burrito with ketchup will take center screen, Roman’s eating disorder will have him only appreciate fruit, and Stewy gushes over pastry at Not-Starbucks. | |
| Succession / int_f23ad6de | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Succession / int_f23ad6de | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f23ad6de | |
| Succession / int_f36c4f98 | type |
Easily Forgiven | |
| Succession / int_f36c4f98 | comment |
Easily Forgiven: Connor, Shiv and Roman are all pissed off at what they think is this happening after Kendall staged a takeover, backed out for no reason they can see, and Logan seems to welcome him back with open arms and a "he's taken his medicine". Tom and Matsson let Greg retain his massively inflated nepotism salary in the Grand Finale even as they openly acknowledge that he attempted to destroy the Waystar-GoJo deal mere hours previously. | |
| Succession / int_f36c4f98 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f36c4f98 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f36c4f98 | |
| Succession / int_f438b11b | type |
Who's Laughing Now? | |
| Succession / int_f438b11b | comment |
Who's Laughing Now?: Tom to Shiv's lover at his wedding. After a season of the latter mocking him both behind his back and in front of it, Tom takes no little pleasure in utterly humiliating him at the reception before having him escorted out. | |
| Succession / int_f438b11b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f438b11b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f438b11b | |
| Succession / int_f4f3252e | type |
Law of Inverse Fertility | |
| Succession / int_f4f3252e | comment |
Law of Inverse Fertility: Shiv discovers she is pregnant with Tom's child while they are on a trial separation, and she admits to him that she was initially unsure about continuing this unplanned pregnancy. Meanwhile in the Grand Finale Roman torments Kendall with a painful reminder that he isn't continuing the Roy bloodline- his daughter is adopted and it's implied that his son was conceived with donor sperm. Kendall is enraged at this assault on his masculinity and resentful that Shiv is the one who will be producing a blood heir when she wasn't even trying to. | |
| Succession / int_f4f3252e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f4f3252e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f4f3252e | |
| Succession / int_f52828b0 | type |
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis | |
| Succession / int_f52828b0 | comment |
Tom's hatred for Cyd throughout Season 2. | |
| Succession / int_f52828b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f52828b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f52828b0 | |
| Succession / int_f5e59782 | type |
A Real Man Is a Killer | |
| Succession / int_f5e59782 | comment |
A Real Man Is a Killer: Frequently used metaphorically. Logan feels his children are inadequate successors because they're not "killers" in the boardroom: willing and able to absolutely anything to make a profit. Ironically, Kendall eventually does become responsible for a death. | |
| Succession / int_f5e59782 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Succession / int_f5e59782 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Succession | hasFeature |
Succession / int_f5e59782 | |
| Succession / int_f6b2bfb7 | type |
Gold Digger | |
| Succession / int_f6b2bfb7 | comment |
In "Celebration", Kendall goes on a tirade against giving board seats to Marcia and accuses her of being a Gold Digger in an extremely vulgar manner, only to realize Marcia was right outside the door on her way to tell them dinner is ready. | |
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Just for the Heli of It | |
| Succession / int_f70f6175 | comment |
Just for the Heli of It: The Roys habitually spend more money than most people could even dream of on everything — including, from the first episode on, using helicopters for quite short trips. The shot of a small fleet of helicopters flitting from the center of New York to the outskirts for a family outing set the tone for the series. | |
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| Succession / int_f7da14d | type |
Delusions of Parental Love | |
| Succession / int_f7da14d | comment |
Delusions of Parental Love: The Roy kids, especially Kendall, are desperate to believe their father Logan loves and only wants the best for them, and that if they just do the "right" thing, he'll finally give them the affection and approval they want. While he does occasionally demonstrate the most basic level of concern a father should have for his children, Logan ultimately loves his company far more than he loves any of them, and treats the kids like little more than tools and props. All the kids, particularly Connor, the oldest, have moments where they outright acknowledge their dad doesn't care about them as people that much, but Kendall is the most in denial of the fact. | |
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Sin Eater | |
| Succession / int_f7e2d4f2 | comment |
Sin Eater: In "Sad Sack Wasp Trap", Gerri tries to persuade Tom to cover up evidence regarding several illegal acts committed on the company's cruise lines. As seen in the page quote, Gerri likens this to Tom being a sin eater. | |
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Dude, Where's My Respect? | |
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Dude, Where's My Respect?: Connor usually takes the criticisms slung at him by his siblings of being a waste and non-entity, but in season three, when Kendall calls himself "the eldest son," Connor can't help but react. He goes on an uncharacteristic tirade about the respect he deserves as the real eldest son. | |
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| Succession / int_f8394279 | type |
Happier Home Movie | |
| Succession / int_f8394279 | comment |
Happier Home Movie: Subverted by the opening credits, showing the Roy kids with ponies and privilege and fancy dinners, but Logan is still a looming, distant figure, and the faces of Shiv and other women are barely shown. In the Grand Finale the kids watch a recent home movie of Logan reciting the names of the Presidents, Connor doing an impression of Logan, and Karl singing a song over the dinner table. | |
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| Succession / int_f8e52439 | type |
Birthday Episode | |
| Succession / int_f8e52439 | comment |
Birthday Episode: "Celebration", "Too Much Birthday" and "The Munsters". | |
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| Succession / int_f909b16b | type |
Dark Secret | |
| Succession / int_f909b16b | comment |
Dark Secret: Kendall killing the waiter is for two seasons only known by him, Logan, Marcia and Colin, and ends up in another one, Logan owning him like a child getting prepared for a sacrifice (and the way they talk, Logan wanting the truth told about Kendall but not about him, implies there’s more shit in the past). He admits the first one to Shiv and Roman and breaks down in cathartic tears (as Armstrong said, “you realize it wasn’t unsayable�) when they give him awkward but unflinching support. | |
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| Succession / int_f91d1d4f | type |
Darkest Hour | |
| Succession / int_f91d1d4f | comment |
Darkest Hour: In terms of sibling relationship, the shareholders meeting is when they’re at their most fractured. They have one scene as the three of them and it’s just screaming past each other, everyone focused on Logan’s UTI ruining everything. Even at the party a couple of episodes later when things get bad, they all at least want things to get better. | |
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| Succession / int_f9cf12b2 | type |
Love Cannot Overcome | |
| Succession / int_f9cf12b2 | comment |
Love Cannot Overcome: Kendall sums it up when he pleads to Naomi that his father does love him, it’s just the wrong type of love expression. The show is full of mangled people who try to love each other, sometimes succeeding, sometimes in the wrong way, and sometimes the love is there but it’s just not enough. | |
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| Succession / int_f9f2c33 | type |
Running Gag | |
| Succession / int_f9f2c33 | comment |
Running Gag: Shiv calling Tom a "good guy" when people ask her why she's settling for him. Tom's hatred for Cyd throughout Season 2. "Greg the Egg" (which Caroline calls Greg at the wedding) becomes one in Season 2, too. | |
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| Succession / int_fb3576b2 | type |
The Dog Bites Back | |
| Succession / int_fb3576b2 | comment |
The Dog Bites Back: After Kendall spent the whole season being trampled on, controlled, and humiliated by Logan, and denied even the courtesy of his father telling him he'd make a good CEO, Kendall upends the press conference designed for him taking the fall and instead uses it to very publicly stab Logan in the back, revealing his complicity in the cruises scandal. In the same episode, after a season of simmering tension, Tom finally lashes out at Shiv for all of her grievances in their relationship, from forcing an open marriage to treating him like a slave to the humiliation of agreeing that he should take the fall for the cruises scandal, and hints at the idea of a divorce. It shakes Shiv enough to plead with Logan to not sacrifice him. After Shiv discovers that Greg knows about her secret alliance with Matsson, she tries to browbeat him on Election Night to ensure his silence, threatening violence if Greg ever talks. Unfortunately for Shiv, when Kendall later discovers that she faked her phone call with Nate and asks Greg about her, he immediately and gleefully throws her under the bus, exposing her dealings with Matsson and destroying the short-lived good vibes between the siblings in one fell swoop. For added insult to injury, Greg tells Kendall while the two are outside the boardroom, mere feet from, and in full view of, a rapidly freaking-out Shiv. And to top it all off, Greg gives Shiv a "What're You Gonna Do?" shrug and huge grin as he walks off. Greg might still be a doormat, but he's one who's learning how to become a true opportunist and cover his own ass first. | |
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| Succession / int_fb9e0265 | type |
Team Dad | |
| Succession / int_fb9e0265 | comment |
Team Dad: Shared between Connor and Kendall, the former taking the kids out on camping trips when their actual father couldn’t be bothered, and the latter with a martyr complex who feels like he has to save his younger siblings (while also lashing out at them and desperately needing help of his own). | |
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| Succession / int_fbc5c9fb | type |
Wacky Startup Workplace | |
| Succession / int_fbc5c9fb | comment |
Wacky Startup Workplace: Vaulter, the trendy media brand recently acquired by Waystar Royco. While we see their "renovated warehouse"-look open-concept office, Roman comments they have 'beehives upstairs', implying other trendy amenities we don't see. | |
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| Succession / int_fd497706 | type |
Accidental Murder | |
| Succession / int_fd497706 | comment |
Logan blackmailing and controlling Kendall in season two doesn’t quite come to sexual abuse, but the allegory is there, with Kendall isolated and unable to tell anyone, often filmed like he’s part of the scenery, his siblings angry because they think he’s being coddled, and him feeling like he deserves anything after the Accidental Murder. | |
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| Succession / int_fd94c4ac | type |
Theme Naming | |
| Succession / int_fd94c4ac | comment |
Theme Naming: A subtle example, as Logan, Connor, Roman and Kendall recall Lear, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia from King Lear. | |
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| Succession / int_fe0330fb | type |
Brick Joke | |
| Succession / int_fe0330fb | comment |
Brick Joke: In his first scenes, Greg makes some Blatant Lies about smelling like pot because he picked up a pot-smoking hitchhiker. In the first season finale, Kendall stumbles upon him outside the wedding reception and Greg immediately starts claiming that he smells like pot because there's some other guy smoking pot nearby. In fact, there is some other guy smoking pot nearby. | |
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| Succession / int_fe64d5a1 | type |
Evil Is Petty | |
| Succession / int_fe64d5a1 | comment |
Evil Is Petty: Logan's impetus for his extremely risky and potentially catastrophic (if not outright illegal) obsession with acquiring PGM? They spent a few inches of print mocking him, decades ago. Logan wants the President to fire the Deputy Attorney General, presumably to be replaced with someone more sympathetic to the Roy family, but the thing that really riles him up? The suggestion that her office features a photograph of Logan pinned to a dartboard. Which is also a mere rumour. A rumor ATN started. With everyone except Logan, this is reconstructed. Even the siblings that appear the kindest demonstrate that petty cruelty is one of their favorite pastimes; for instance, Roman might appear to be the most genial Roy in many ways, but he baits the Little Leaguer with a million-dollar cheque in the first episode and then rubs his face in it for no good reason. | |
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| Succession / int_fe91380c | type |
Nobility Marries Money | |
| Succession / int_fe91380c | comment |
Nobility Marries Money: Logan, a middle-class refugee who became a billionaire media baron, married Lady Caroline, the daughter of English aristocrats. | |
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| Succession / int_feaf5424 | type |
You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious | |
| Succession / int_feaf5424 | comment |
You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: When Logan browbeats Roman into abstaining from casting the deciding vote of no-confidence, he calls him "Romulus," which seems to be a childhood nickname; Logan uses it more in the second season, usually when twisting Roman's arm. | |
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| Succession / int_fed93e1b | type |
Dark and Troubled Past | |
| Succession / int_fed93e1b | comment |
Dark and Troubled Past: With both generations of Roys, we only see the effects of massive emotional abuse, but beyond the looming, unsettling credits and references to a lot of horror, we don’t get the full picture. Jesse Armstrong has talked about how a big theme in the show is Generational Trauma, and how much of the character nastiness is their own doing versus how they grew up. | |
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| Succession / int_ff66d4c1 | type |
Not So Similar | |
| Succession / int_ff66d4c1 | comment |
Not So Similar: However, the Pierces also genuinely believe in their own values, as shown when the cruise ship scandal finally gets too big to be ignored and Nan calls off the deal, to Logan's shock. | |
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| Succession / int_ffad4e9f | type |
Shown Their Work | |
| Succession / int_ffad4e9f | comment |
Shown Their Work: As Black Comedy as the show is, with everyone being horrible, the Roy kids' fear of their dad has been praised for effectively showing trauma responses. Pick any interview with Jeremy Strong and he’ll be talking about researching famous (or at least rich) people who have been abused, from Edward St Aubyn to movies like The Celebration, so he can get to just how badly Kendall feels. Kendall’s not so ambiguous disorder (at least not the main one) is bipolar, and the drugs this man takes react with bipolar in… interesting ways, both in show and in real life. In “Prague�, when he’s depressed and with suicide so on his mind he’s wearing a shirt about it, he’s adamant about getting ket (decreases suicidal leanings in bipolar patients, although in small doses, and Kendall isn’t the best at harm reduction). But when he gets two awful truths in one, that dog pound was real and enjoyed, and he’s still seen as a Roy, he aims to do so much coke his heart explodes and he’s full of hypomanic posturing until it wears off next episode and he’s back to panicky little nothing. | |
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