The best drama about bad people returned triumphantly to our screens last night. Here’s what The Spinoff’s resident Succession fans thought about the new episodes.
A cavalcade of amazing moments
It was the moment when, after several awkward interactions full of divorcee tension, Kendall’s ex-wife Rava finally explodes, unleashing a torrent of abuse at the stammering Cousin Greg over the opening of a bottle of wine she’d been saving. No, wait, it was the moment in the car when Greg gaslit Kendall by telling him The Pope followed him on Twitter. “It’s ‘a’ pope, not ‘the’ Pope.” Hang on, perhaps it was Kendall hinting that he might have killed someone, running with the OJ Simpson metaphor and declaring: “The juice is loose baby!” Then there’s Kendall wanting the writers of Bojack Horseman to run his Twitter, Logan declaring a food ban because they’re running on “saliva and adrenaline,” and Roman serenading Shiv with the news Jerri had trumped her as Waystar Royco’s interim CEO.
Ugh. I can’t decide. You know what? I’m going to give the best moment of this titanic return of television’s best show to Shiv’s exceptional eyerolls. Her reaction to Roman’s sarcastic “I know you know” secret CEO switchover conversation on their private jet deserves an Emmy award all of its own. Succession, it’s so good to have you back, you sick little slime puppy.
– Chris Schulz, features editor
Could Kendall be the worst person on the show?
I have two main observations about the return of Succession, the show that people with verified Twitter accounts love more than any other show.
The first is that while I am not sure if Kendall Roy is the worst Roy, I am sure that he is the one I hate the most. The first episode is full of this inflated man child pivoting like a couch up an apartment stairway, constantly reminding us that his actual skillset is limited to his last name. Not only has he literally killed someone (remember that!) but in this episode, he tarnishes the good name of BoJack Horseman by revealing that he’s a fan of it.
There are two kinds of people. The kind who realise Kendall Roy for the snivelling sack of privilege that he is, and the kind who would absolutely invest in a start-up he’s leading. You know who you are. Act accordingly.
My other observation is that Succession unfortunately does not have the budget to dress Shiv appropriately. Simply put, she is far too rich to be dressing like a PWC partner. It is perhaps the only criticism I have of TV’s glossiest comedy.
– Sam Brooks, staff feature writer
The best scripted show on TV, bar none
Logan promised to go “full fucking beast” and the first episode of season three delivered on that – and more. After a painful two year absence, it’s thrilling to have TV’s most horrible family back on my screen. And what a reunion: The first episode was tightly scripted, funnier than ever and pulled us straight back into the action faster than you could say “juice is loose”. Has any quote-unquote “drama” had this many quotable moments in a single episode? The answer is no.
– Stewart Sowman-Lund, live updates editor
A monstrous display of self-delusion and hubris
Are we certain that Kendall is clean now? Because he’s certainly displaying all the manic energy of a man cresting the wave of a Elton-level coke binge. My god, those scenes in Rava’s house were excruciating, a series of watch-through-your-fingers conversations between a delusional rich kid and the far smarter women he’s trying to impress. The scene with the communications team might have been the most cringe – that suggestion to “hit up the Bojack guys” to help make his Twitter feed “off the hook” was a standout – but his exchanges with the estranged wife whose home he bulldozed his way into were the hardest to bear.
He’s desperate for Rava’s support, to be treated like the provider and protector of the family he hardly ever sees, and is so self-involved that he doesn’t realise she now feels little for him but contempt. Hopped up on media attention and the high-stakes adrenaline rush of it all, he asks her “Can I do it?” clearly expecting her to back him to the hilt. Her quietly honest response – “I don’t know, Ken” – was one of the least showy lines of the entire episode, but it might have been the most devastating.
– Catherine McGregor, deputy editor
You can watch Succession on Neon, new episodes dropping weekly on Monday.