succession episode 2 roundup

did dad just say a feeling?

I’m back for week 2 of Succession’s final season and excited to analyze this family fuck-fuck. Before we get to the scores, there are several questions for the Roy family this week. Why does everyone ask Logan how he’s feeling? Why has no one ever done karaoke with Connor? Have they ever heard of a Blade? But, perhaps most importantly: Why don’t they use their ever-expanding piles of money to make life easier in really obvious ways… like maybe not transacting their full net worth during their own weddings? Money can’t buy you class, but it can definitely buy you a nearly stress-free wedding. “Nearly,” because we are talking about the Roys here—conflict is their comfort zone and “fuck offs” are doled out as casually as nibbles at events.

Here is our ranking of who deserves the biggest “fuck off” in episode 2.

LOGAN:

(+10) Several moments in this episode highlight why Logan is, as he says, “100 feet tall” compared to the people around him when it comes to business. These are some that stuck out:

• He may be worth billions, but he’s still paying attention to the invisible expenses that he knows his executives won’t. Too much pizza and air conditioning is how you end up with a 40% increase in expenses versus a 15% increase in revenue. Good head for numbers!

• He still watches his brand closely and knows when a font is too small or too ingratiating.

• Logan’s “cheap and cheerful” speech at ATN was riveting from an acting standpoint, though also completely terrifying. Imagine it’s the first day of your internship for a second. “I’m going to be spending a lot more time in here with you, because I love it here. I FUCKING LOVE IT! So I don’t wanna know about 3% week on week, I wanna know that we’re killing the opposition. I wanna be cutting their throats!”

• Logan can also sense when the board members might be slipping and need to be contacted, and that Gerri already has her Viking hat on.

• “Deals have a habit of disappearing”—Like we saw last week, deal prices are delicate and people who know what they’re doing don’t overpay because 10 is even and 9 is odd.

Find out what ‘fuck off’ scores we gave Logan and the rest of the fam (plus Kerry) in our betches.com recap here.

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For all the nuances that our Fuck Off ranking can’t capture, Aleen and I are doing bonus podcast episodes that will be out every Monday afternoon. Listen on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here.

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my favorite Succession content from the internet this week

My interest in the Logan Roy / Rupert Murdoch comparison continues unabated, so I was interested to read that Logan’s speech from atop a stack of printer paper was inspired by an actual Murdoch Moment™. In 2007 he purchased Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion dollars and gave what was reportedly quite a brutish speech to the paper’s newsroom. It’s described in this New York Magazine piece from 2010. There’s also a pic.

Logan is hardly alone in being shaped by right-wing media inspo. The actress who plays Kerry, Zoe Winters, told Variety that she studied Laura Ingraham and Tomi Lahren to prepare for her ATN audition tape.

More on Kerry: I listened to HBO’s official Succession companion podcast and it seems like the writers’ choice to make her a more relevant character is their way of addressing a particular trope of female figure that tends to pop up around wealthy older men. It furthers my prediction that Kerry’s going to end up a really important player by the end of the season.

Speaking of HBO special extras, they posted a video compilation comparing the opening credits of all 4 seasons. Their continued commitment to groundbreaking credit work is exactly why it’s not TV, it’s HBO.

Perhaps Kendall should look to them for brand inspiration. His pitch for the Africa channel idea (“maybe just every day like, what is happening in Africa?”) aged well for me overnight and got even funnier.

As much as I wanted to let myself believe my instinct that the Night of the Long Knives is a Game of Thrones reference, I’ve since learned that the phrase actually refers to a series of political executions by Hitler so he could consolidate power in 1934. Logan would be Hitler in this metaphor, which is an interesting comparison to draw to oneself. To each his own! (in the context of this scripted fictional drama...)

Another big Symbolism for which I didn’t have the proper context: Connor’s choice to sing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ at karaoke. I wasn’t familiar enough with the song beforehand to have my own interpretation but I’ve been reading other people’s opinions on that song choice. Like this one from TV Guide (they still got it) and this breakdown from someone on the Succession Reddit.

Of course you’re wondering where the karaoke bar is. I have the answer. It’s called Maru and it’s in Koreatown.

Last thing on the Connor front before he ties the knot, this Vulture interview with Justine Lupe, the actress who plays Willa, adds a lot of context and background to her character. It’s weird when you realize that she’s going to be a sister/daughter-in-law to these psychos.

And finally, I’m excited to see the Roy children go through another simultaneous wedding/divorce cycle next week. At the last sibling wedding (Shiv’s), Kendall was working through his divorce. Even their mother couldn’t get remarried without basically re-doing her last divorce. Everything everywhere is always moving forever. Get used to it.

See you next week! I’ll actually be on vacation but that never stops me from watching. It will also be my birthday, which I take about as lightly as Kendall does. Comment your thoughts and feelings below if you’re inclined!