Succession Season 4 Episode 8 Recap

Last week, I asked a simple question: What do we even do? want happen in the moment Succession wraps your final episode? Is there any hope left for these super-rich, damaged souls, or do they deserve to have the book thrown at them? There is still a way for your favorite character to “win” (with whatever version of victory a family like Roy’s deems acceptable), but I can’t imagine what that would look like anymore. hboyou have your hands full.

Because this episode, with only two to go, doesn’t have a winner and a loser at the end. It’s election night, a night when someone usually comes out on top, but even that doesn’t happen. The contest is between Democratic leader Daniel Jimenez and far-right conservative challenger Jeryd Mencken. Of course, ATN is putting pressure on Mencken. Still, I’m sure everyone back home wants Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) to be the winner of the dark horse. “Maybe they all voted for me. We don’t know!” he tells Tom early in the evening. “If I do, that’s the story for all time.”

Kendall (jeremy strong), meanwhile, is pushing his family to the limit. He’s having his wife and daughter followed by extra security to “keep them safe,” even though the surveillance is only scaring them more. “I won’t let the world push you around, okay, honey?” he tells her on the phone. He then calls Jimenez, trying to play both sides as the big map USA on ATN prepares to boost Mencken’s numbers. roman (kieran culkin) even pays Mencken a personal visit to make sure the net won’t drag his character through the mud if he loses. He wants a narrative along the lines of: Suntil it exceeded past expectations.

Then… chaos ensues. The great board of ATN, the golden calf of the televised electoral cycle, begins to fail. “Apparently he’s just playing too loud”, Greg (Nicholas Braun) tells Tom (Matthew Macfayden). In some place, steve kornacki is screaming The network is down to its last available touchscreen when big news breaks. A polling place in Wisconsin burned to the ground and ATN has yet to report on it. It’s almost like this is everyone’s first day to do their job. Overwhelmed, Tom goes into demon mode with Shiv (Sarah Snook) after she apologizes for her fight the night before. Tom not only tells Shiv that her actions led in part to her father’s death, but he also questions whether her baby is his. Oh! Shiv tells her siblings that it’s time to finally get rid of him for good. Tom is surely going crazy Succession supports all over the world.

Karl (David Rasche) has the best joke of the episode when he says, “Is Connor running for president?”

As everyone argues about how to handle the votes lost in the Wisconsin fire, Roman sneaks out and tells the ATN host to start defending. More to the right live poison in the air. “I’m not feeling well,” Kendall tells her brother, then adds, “It’s a good idea — all the different people together.” Oh Ken, the loose alliance has never communicated so eloquently. Roman reveals that he has been supporting Mencken not just because of the network, but because the Republican candidate promised that he would be tough on the tech industry and use the Foreign Trade Commission to block the GoJo deal should he become president. It’s not looking good for Roman this week! He will help elect a far-right candidate for president just for selfish business. Worse still, he will cause ATN to call the election in Mencken’s favor too soon. “Nothing matters,” Roman tells Kendall. “Daddy is dead, and the country is just a big fag waiting to be fucked.”

In the midst of all this, Connor arrives to concede the choice to Mencken over the air. He bids farewell to his followers with a simple “Conn-heads, I greet you.” But it’s not a quick goodbye. “America has been warned. Be afraid,” he continues. “The Conn-heads are coming.” It feels like the end for whoever chose Connor to end up on top at the end of Succession. Hell, it may even be Connor’s last scene.

Oh you thought the shit already hit the fan? No. Kendall is starting to feel that choosing the “nightmare” candidate is also better for her business, but she wonders if that makes him a bad person and a shitty parent. (Yes, Kendall, he does.) But the little angel on his shoulder tells Shiv to try calling Jimenez in hopes of reaching a deal with the Democrats as well. Shiv, who has been secretly working on both sides of the GoJo deal this season, intends to make that call. When Kendall finds out, she is shocked. Although, as we all knew back home, Shiv’s betrayals never work. Kendall and Roman confront Shiv, and she snaps. She threatens to go public, but the boys don’t care. He would damn her too.

The Roy brothers are not well.

ATN calls Mencken early and is another sad and depressing night in Succession world. Mencken then appears on television to speak, celebrating his “victory” and denouncing commitments. It almost goes without saying, but I can imagine that Donald Trump doing the same during the 2020 election, which he ended up losing, he was a clear inspiration here. ATN could lose all credibility as a news organization if it flips Jimenez once all the votes are counted, reflecting a very real FOX News that just lost $787 million in a lawsuit for defamation with Dominion Voting Systems. Succession after all, it is based in part on the murdoch family.

So, we’ll probably see more doom and gloom in next week’s penultimate episode, as Kendall mentions that the next day is her father’s funeral. A normal family would probably put aside all business issues and personal grudges to grieve together for just one day. I can’t imagine anyone doing that here. Greg, maybe, but that’s it. What I can say is that the feeling that things escalated to a fever pitch certainly escalated further. Looking Successionthe last season of It wasn’t any easier this week. My heart aches and my stomach is in knots! The Roys essentially just tried to help elect Donald Trump in the Succession universe. Redemption for this family? Out the window tonight.

assistant editor

Josh Rosenberg is an assistant editor at Esquire and maintains a steady diet of one movie a day. Previous work of his can be found on Spin, CBR and on his personal blog at Roseandblog.com.