Spoiler alert: this recap is for people watching Succession season four. Don’t read on unless you’ve watched episode eight.
A pressure-cooker episode, largely set in ATN HQ on its first post-Logan election night, saw the quad squad at war. Here are the exit polls for the eighth episode, titled America Decides …
Busted back down to Greg level
We began with ATN boss Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) juggling a chaotic newsroom with demands from his in-laws to deliver blockbuster ratings. He admitted to being “a little bit tense” from last night’s marital strife. Comfy shoes, adult diapers and double shot coffees were required, as was a bump of cocaine from cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun). Definitely no “bodega sushi”, though. Not for Tightrope Tom-Wom’s refined palate.
Greg was not-so-fresh from his night on the tiles with GoJo mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), who’d made him visit “unseemly” venues, “dance with a confused old man” and “drink things that aren’t normally drinks”. He had, however, learned about Shiv’s secret alliance with the striking Viking. Knowledge is power, said Tom, but tonight he wanted the leggy princeling “Gregging for me” again. Latest polling predicted a tight race, with Democrat candidate Daniel Jiménez (Elliot Villar) edging it … but a night is a long time in politics. It’s even longer on a rolling news channel with malfunctioning touchscreens and micro-managing CEOs.
Smileys v eggplants
Upstairs in the VIP suite, the Roy siblings clashed over consequences of the result – for themselves, for the firm and, far less importantly, for the country. Shiv (Sarah Snook) was texted an optimistic “four smileys” by Jiménez’s running mate, Gil Eavis. Roman (Kieran Culkin) received “eggplant, eggplant, flag” from alt-right rival Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk). This would become a running theme: liberal Shiv scurrying off to check in with the Dems, Romulus flirting with the neo-Nazis. He wanted ATN to Trumpishly claim voter fraud. She wanted it to report on civil unrest and voter intimidation. He took impish delight in winding up his sis by dismissing such concerns as “false flags”.
If Jiménez won, his administration would probably wave through Waystar’s acquisition by GoJo, leaving the brothers with the board and shareholders nixing the deal as their last hope of retaining ownership. “Good for democracy and great for us,” Shiv told co-conspirator Matsson. When Kendall (Jeremy Strong) wished Jiménez luck and nudged him to “rein in tech” once in power, he got short shrift. Roman had more joy with kindred spirit Mencken. They agreed on “what assholes would call a narrative”. If he lost, Mencken wanted it “characterised as a huge victory”, laying groundwork for the next election. If he won, he’d refer the sale to regulators in exchange for ATN’s explicit backing. So it came to pass.
Shiv’s bombshell fizzles
Amid the mayhem, Shiv collared Tom for a corridor tête-à-tête. Roys rarely apologise, but she said sorry for “some of the things I said last night” and gave Tom “the opportunity to retract” too. Except he didn’t. Emotionally detached Tom sneered that she was merely worried he’d blab about her Matsson alliance, cruelly adding: “You hated your dad and kind of killed him.”
As a last resort, reeling Shiv shared the news she has been sitting on for four episodes: “Also, actually, I’m pregnant. By you.” That’s one question answered. Tom blankly asked if it was “even true” or a negotiating tactic. Poleaxed by his cold, sadistic reaction, Shiv stormed off. She took out her frustrations on punchbag Greg, wrongfooting the babbling beanpole by asking if he found her attractive, before threatening him to keep her double-dealing on the downlow. But as we know, morally flexible Greg’s hardly rock solid.
We didn’t start the fire
When a Milwaukee voting count centre was firebombed and evacuated, ATN’s touchpaper was similarly lit. Roman waved it off as “antifa” or “an electrical fire”. Shiv and old flame Nate Sofrelli (Ashley Zukerman), part of Team Jiménez, wanted it pinned on pro-Mencken extremists. Caught in the middle, Tom desperately tried to keep the Roys off the newsroom floor.
But Roman had had enough of experts. He steamrollered resident polling guru Darwin (British actor Adam Godley) into calling Wisconsin for Mencken, despite ballots being lost in the blaze. To add injury to insult, “human abacus” Darwin got wasabi in his eyes, which hapless Greg tried to wash out with lemonade. The slapstick came as a respite from the relentless tension. While Jiménez urged the media to “respect the process” and wait until all votes could be counted, Romulus ordered ATN’s Nazi-sympathising anchor Mark Ravenhead (Zack Robidas) to go full Tucker Carlson, ranting on-air about “woke conspiracies” against “traditional values”. As Shiv watched aghast and Kendall seemed depressively inert, ATN lurched even further to the right.
When Arizona went red too, Roman pushed hard to call the election for Mencken. Kendall urged caution but Roman argued that putting their man in the West Wing was what their father would have done. It would kill the deal and was all upside, bar the small matter of the country burning. Dwelling on his daughter’s recent brush with a racist Ravenhead acolyte, Kendall consulted his sis. Except Shiv secretly had skin in the game.
Sitting in the Potus position
Roused from his stupor, Kendall levelled with Shiv. He admitted he was tempted to seize sole control of the company and felt threatened by Roman’s relationship with Mencken. However, stopping Matsson remained his priority. Shiv warned against giving Mencken the legitimacy to declare himself president, not least because if the courts reversed the Wisconsin result, they’d be discredited as a news organisation. She reassured Kendall he was “a good guy”, appealing to his sense of decency. He asked Shiv to see one last time if the Democrats could block the GoJo takeover too. Cue a killer twist. Wanting to preserve the deal in exchange for a powerful position in the newly merged company, Shiv only pretended to phone Nate.
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Under pressure to make a decision, Kendall tried Nate himself. Horrified Shiv was powerless to stop him. In a squirm-inducing scene that seemed to unfold in slow motion, Kendall realised she’d lied and got confirmation from Greg that she was aligned with Matsson. Partly out of expediency and partly to spite her, he agreed to call it for Mencken. Cue a chillingly fascistic victory speech, with “Hocus Potus” saying he’d been anointed by “an authority of known integrity”. Ahem.
Everyone except Roman was shellshocked. PA Jess (Juliana Canfield) looked fearful. Kendall wanted to reassure his kids. Tom was scapegoated by left-leaning Pierce Global News (“ATN head blasted for premature projection”). “We just made a good night of TV,” shrugged Roman nihilistically after taking a grateful call from Mencken. “That’s all. Nothing happens.” “Things do happen, Rome,” said Shiv, eyes ablaze. She advised Matsson to go public with GoJo’s subscriber scandal, burying bad news amid the election fallout, and vowed to “do a number” on her brothers. The sibs were on a war footing. Again.
The Conheads aren’t coming
Whither the dynasty’s own White House wannabe? Egged on by wife Willa (Justine Lupe), spare part sibling Connor (Alan Ruck) complained that ATN were filming him but the footage wasn’t making it to air. Well, duh. His best bet for making his paltry supporter base count was Kentucky. When Mencken won it, Connor asked Roman if a cushy job might still be on offer. In return, he could “concede in Mencken’s direction”.
Keen to maintain momentum, Mencken agreed to make Connor ambassador to Slovenia. Now all he needed to do was make a statesmanlike concession speech live on-air. It soon descended into Father Ted-style swipes at those who’d wronged him and defiance about his inherited wealth (“The politics of envy are ugly. I happen to be a billionaire, sorry”). He couldn’t even do defeat properly.
The heir apparent
With kingmaker Roman set to have a direct line into the Oval Office and an agreement from Mencken to block the takeover, he came out on top. Kendall’s “reverse Viking” plan remains cooking on the back burner.
Line of the week
Roman wisecracked at warp speed and Kendall’s “goose trying to shit a housebrick” merits a mention. Yet the prize goes to Tom’s advice to Greg: “Information is like a bottle of fine wine. You store it, you hoard it, you save it for a special occasion – and then you smash someone’s fucking face in with it.” Hopefully it’s not biodynamic German red with the bouquet of wet dog.
Notes and observations
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This episode was written by Jesse Armstrong, who steers his ship home by penning the final three instalments. Next week’s is titled Church and State, set at a certain funeral.
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A low profile for the “greybeards” again, with Frank, Karl and Hugo reduced to heckling from the balcony like Statler and Waldorf. Gerri will presumably return for the funeral, alongside exes Marcia and Lady Caroline.
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Note how Connor’s campaign slogan, with delicious double meaning, was “Enough already!”. Jiménez’s was the Obama-esque “Let’s do this!”.
Will Mencken’s mob storm the Capitol? Will revenge be sweet for Shiv? Rejoin us here next Monday. In the meantime, normalists, stay hydrated and leave your thoughts below.
