This article contains spoilers for HBO’s SuccessionSuccession is a unique show; one where the characters are disgusting, yet fascinating. We can’t stop watching the show, as it’s a true reflection of America’s relationship with capitalism, but also a series about how bad it can be working with your family. Here’s what makes the Succession characters so fascinating:
They’re Human
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All the show’s characters, and especially the Roy siblings, have extreme wealth; gross wealth; let’s-go-to-work-in-a-helicopter-wealth, and yet none of them are happy. Their unhappiness is what makes them so interesting and human. They might be rich, but they still have all kinds of problems. They’re insecure, sad, arrogant, vengeful, funny, mischievous, admired, and they want to be loved, showing that each character is many things all at once, as are every one of us, and that makes the Roys people with a lot more depth and realism that many shows would give them. When we rank the Roys from worst to best, there’s evidence that, like any real person, every one of the characters has their own desires, hang-ups, and blind spots. Kendall Roy’s (Jeremy Strong) problems might be bigger than his sister Shiv’s (Sarah Snook), but that doesn’t mean her marriage is going any better or that she’s happy.
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It has always looked like the best rival for Logan Roy (Brian Cox), would be if all the siblings worked together, as they complement each other much more than it might look at first sight, and at the end of season three, especially the famous scene in the parking lot in the third season finale, might indicate we’re going that way, and it would be a very interesting dramatic place to work for the new seasons. About that incredible scene, creator Jesse Armstrong told The Guardian: “I was very present watching that scene being filmed. I was like a fan of Succession watching it.”
Being Rich Doesn’t Buy a Loving Family
Mixing business with pleasure is never a good idea, but mixing business with family might even be worse. The Roy family has many problems, but at the end of the day, most of them come from the fact that all the Roy kids; Kendall, Shiv, Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck), want to make their daddy proud. That is one of the many reasons the characters are so fascinating. Although their circumstances are very different from most of us, what they really want is the same: love and affection from their family. In their world, the value of a family member is measured in stock participation, and that’s not a way to love.
Succession acts as an addictive view into the rich, as we can see how billionaires live, have their own boats on the Mediterranean coast, or eat in restaurants where the check is thousands of dollars. What the series also shows is that, even with all that money and power, the characters are not happy, as money doesn’t buy them a loving family, and most of their personality troubles, addictions, troubles, and intimacy problems come from that simple fact.
Cousin Greg might be the perfect example. He hasn’t been raised with a silver spoon and has had to work for something in his life, but once he sees this life, he wants it and becomes a worse person in the process. About the character, Armstrong told IndieWire: “As soon as he gets a little bit of capital this season, maybe he doesn’t handle it brilliantly, but he’s not grown up as close to how people wield power. I think we’ve seen that Greg is not uninterested in wielding power and gaining capital. It’s just that he’s had quite small amounts of it in the past.”
Great Actors Play Them
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Jesse Armstrong and his writing team are geniuses. They know how to make dialogue sharper than swords, create characters who give one step forward and three steps back in their progress as humans, and they keep making us come back to see more adventures of this baffling family. Nevertheless, Succession’s popularity couldn’t be explained without its incredible cast, as those are the ones that infuse the characters with humanity, even in their worst moments.
Jeremy Strong has been lauded since he started on the show. His role as Kendall is always on the brink of destroying himself in a genius but sad performance. He and Brian Cox had some of the best TV performances of 2021, as the story made them raise their games, and both answered accordingly. Even if Strong has received most of the accolades, the whole cast is incredible: Roman wouldn’t be so venomous yet such a scared little boy if it wasn’t for Culkin’s interpretation of him, and with every season, Tom (Mathew Macfadyen) and Greg’s (Nicholas Braun) characters and relationship have become the not-so-secret perfect combination, as both are outsiders, who like being in power, even if that power is crumbs compared to the rest of the family.
There are many iconic moments from the third season, but what they all have in common is the incredible work of the actors, following the sharp writing. Even the actors who appeared as side characters, people like Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), Stewy (Arian Moayed), or Frank (Peter Friedman), hit it out of the park in each of their appearances, making this world and its people more rounded and believable, By giving those smaller roles complexity and personality, with their own wants and needs, it is always a good sign for a show. These are the reasons why the Succession characters are so fascinating, and we can’t wait for the new season, to see what’s next for Wayco, the Roy siblings, and every other character in this fascinating, strange, scary world of family issues for those who are born with a silver spoon. We can’t wait for the next season.
