Let’s get this out of the way…

** THIS IS A SPOILER HEAVY BREAKDOWN **
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** PROCEED WITH CAUTION **

‘Succession’ Season 2, unfortunately, came to an end this past Sunday with an explosive season finale.

I promise I am not exaggerating when I say that this show has become one of my favorite shows of all-time. It deserves all of the Emmys possible at next year’s show and is one of the best things on television.

Logan Roy promised a “blood sacrifice” at the end of penultimate Season 2 episode of ‘Succession’ and it set up an intense episode of to close it all out. If you’re reading this, you likely know how the season ends, with Kendall uttering just one word after his dad chooses him as the “blood sacrifice” to save the sinking ship…

Has the word “but” ever carried so much weight in a TV show before? I’ll get to my theories on what happens next in a moment, but my goodness, what a fucking end to the season. The entire episode was tense, but it was a slow burn, I kept thinking to myself throughout it, “shit, this is too obvious, right?” You just knew something was going to go down at any moment, even after the very easy, quick nature in which Logan picked Kendall.

The Season 2 finale of ‘Succession’ actually reminded me a lot of the Season 2 finale for ‘The West Wing’, titled ‘Two Cathedrals’. To me, it is the greatest TV episode of all-time. Much like the finale to this season of ‘Succession’, that ‘The West Wing’ ending had a few spark-worthy moments…

(incredible moment, Aaron Sorkin is a lunatic)

…but, all along, you (spoilers for the show ahead) felt as though everything happening was too obvious.

‘The West Wing’ Season 2 finale left everyone in disbelief, and that’s what ‘Succession’ just did with its finale episode, ‘This Is Not For Tears’.

While I am not the first person to point this out, ‘Succession’ packed an incredible amount of foreshadowing and imagery into their finale. First up, they teased early on that Kendall would be the “blood sacrifice” with the way he was laying in the pool like a crucifix…

…the episode slowly built up to the moment where Kendall was, in fact, the choice to be the “blood sacrifice,” but another moment of biblical imagery teased that the ending may not be as obvious as it seemed…

That’s right, Kendall giving his father the Kiss of Judas. If you caught this reference, then you probably had a feeling Logan would actually be the one to take the hit. Some people have also compared it to the Fredo kiss from ‘The Godfather’…

Regardless of the comparison you think fits the most, Kendall marked Logan with that kiss. He roped him in only to make sure his father was the one who went down with the ship. This leads to the next moment of imagery, which was also fairly biblical…

There were some skeptical looks thrown around by Logan at dinner but little did he know, he was actually at his own Last Supper. ‘Succession’ did a great job at misdirection with this scene, keeping the focus on Logan, but, upon re-watch, they did a lot here to show you that Logan was nearing an early defeat in his tenure at Waystar Royco.

Before moving on to “what happens next?” I need to get to the funniest part of the episode for me…

Tom is too good, man. His corny dynamic plays well with every character, especially Roman, who always seems to despise him at every turn.

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Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, though, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

DID LOGAN WANT THIS TO HAPPEN?

It sounds fucking crazy but just look at Logan’s tiny smirk as Kendall hammers his legacy at the press conference…

Earlier in the episode, as Logan was informing his son that he would be on the chopping block, Kendall asked him if he thought he was ever cut out for the CEO position…

He wanted a killer. Guess what? With that press conference, Logan got a killer. Twenty episodes into this series, it is pretty obvious that Logan knows what he is doing. He is smart, ruthless and the best at what he does for a reason. Maybe he didn’t know Kendall would skewer him, but, with so many chips already on the table, Logan might have viewed this as his only move. He said to the family that the shareholders wouldn’t accept him resigning, this clears that up pretty easily.

We also saw Logan looking upset at the lack of Marcia’s presence on the boat this episode. Maybe, just maybe, he wants this all to end, so he can slip into a normal life with his wife, especially after the turbulence that was caused during the attempt to purchase the Pierce’s PGM and then make Rhea Jarrell the CEO.

In his speech to Kendall, Logan also referred to the waiter at Shiv’s wedding that died when drugged-up Kendall drove his car into a lake as a “No Real Person Involved.” This is the same terminology used in the cruises division about sex workers and migrants involved in the scandal. Would Logan really implicate himself? Or was he just giving Kendall a little push with some heavy ammo? No matter what, it again circles back to the point that Logan might be too smart and calculated to slip up and let Kendall stomp all over him without actually having a hand in the matter.

It seems insane to think that after the intense, maddening battle Logan has gone through to keep his company together that he would just give up everything that quickly, but, with ‘Succession’ we’ve been trained to always expect the unexpected. Logan told Kendall a killer has to be in the role of CEO and it’s pretty obvious that Kendall has finally become a killer, with a little inspiration to back it up.

HOW IMPORTANT IS COUSIN GREG?

Uh, pretty fucking important it would appear.

In Kendall’s press conference he references documents he has that show his father’s involement in the cruises scandal. Standing off to the side, quiet, but holding a ton of power, was Greg with those documents in hand.

Many moons ago in the ‘Succession’ Universe, Greg saved a few documents after Tom told him to shred boxes full of evidence. Then, a few episodes before the finale, Greg handed over his “Secret” file to Tom in order to burn all the remaining documents…

But Greg, being the quiet mastermind that he is, kept a sliver of evidence when Tom was not looking and it seems as though he was able to parlay it into a pretty great spot for himself.

What a turn of events for Greg! Shit, just earlier that episode he was in line to be thrown to the wolves as the “Greg sprinkles” on top of Tom’s “blood sacrifice”…

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The big question with Greg is whether or not he has been in cahoots with Kendall for a while on the kill-shot, or if this was a recent development. We know from back in the Season 1 finale that Kendall is fully aware of Greg’s document saving.

GREG: “Anyone would be wise to keep me in a good role.”
KENDALL: “Greg the Motherfuckin’ Egg. Look at you… I see you, Greg, I like it.”

Kendall and Greg have been close for a while, they even showed up to the yacht together…

I think Greg likely briefed Kendall much further than the show led us to believe and had the bullet in the chamber ready to go. He does apologize to Kendall about his father on the plane back to the United States, but it remains to be seen if it is a “sorry your dad has forced you to take him down” or a “sorry you’re about to be taken down by your father.” Did the papers come in to play before the yacht trip and plane ride, or was it a last-second Greg-bailout of Kendall? I’d guess we will find out pretty early on in Season 3.

WILL KENDALL’S VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER COME BACK UP?

Speaking of a “bullet in the chamber,” Logan has a pretty huge one with the vehicular manslaughter Kendall could easily be convicted of from the Season 1 finale. Even with Logan making Kendall feel better about the incident in this season’s finale, we know it ate away at his son for a long time, and still weighs on him ever since it occurred.

My big question here is this: can Logan even use the event to strike back at Kendall? He was the one who helped cover up the incident and even keep it quiet, would he manage to implicate himself again if he uses it to take down Kendall? It also stands to reason that with as much power as Logan has, he could make it go away for himself all while dragging Kendall into trouble.

Marcia’s return would also add a lot of fuel to the fire here, as she was fully aware of the incident that happened with Kendall in England. Her son, Amir, who runs Waystar Royco’s Animation Division, was also in attendance at the wedding that weekend. Is it possible that they make a power play of their own, either with or without Logan, to halt Kendall from gaining control?

Everything surrounding the death of the waiter and cover-up of Kendall’s crimes creates an insane amount of tension in the show, so it is no doubt not the last we hear of it in ‘Succession’.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT HEAD OF WAYSTAR ROYCO?

Once Logan is out, if that ever happens at this point, who will be the head of this disaster of a company?

Roman, incredibly reluctantly, accepted the position of lone-COO during the Last Supper scene in the finale. This moment also offered another hint that Kendall was not going away without a fight, or, rather, a shot at his father.

LOGAN: “You’re on your own, solo. Can you handle it?”
ROMAN: “Well, yeah, yeah Dad, that’s… really exciting.”
KENDALL: “No, Rome, it’s great. … Okay guys, eat up, this one is on me.”

That, to me, seems like a hint from Kendall that he would be back and working with his brother in no time. I am not totally sure of Kendall‘s exact trajectory, but he isn’t going anywhere and is gunning for his dad’s spot. Would he possibly get back to the side Stewey and Sandy, win over the shareholders and assume the top spot? The civility between Kendall and Roman was as good as ever in this episode and it gives me the feeling that it might continue on with the brothers in power next season.

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Roman has matured a ton these last few episodes, largely in part from navigating a situation in which he was a hostage, and his skepticism makes me think he is comfortable just being in the COO position right now and not the driver’s seat.

The person who seems to be closest to Logan and the head-of-power position is Shiv. She was side-by-side with her dad during the press conference and was the key player in her dad landing on Kendall as the “blood sacrifice.” If Logan truly gave Kendall a push on purpose, then that would seem to be his real choice for the top job, but with the recent developments, it would make sense that Shiv is next in line. She seemed like the obvious choice all season long, but, as always with ‘Succession’, the obvious choice might once again be left in the dust. I can’t decide if I want to finally see Shiv in control (shout out to the #ShivHive) or to see her continue to ruthlessly claw her way to power.

What about Connor?

Okay, not really, I just wanted to use that GIF. A special shout out to the #ConHeads out there.

Another person who likely won’t get the job, and this pains me to say it, is Tom. Described as “a smirking block of domestic feta” following his appearance on the Hill, Tom is likely in deep shit following the announcement that there are leftover documents in the possession of Kendall and Tom. I would hate to see Tom Wamsgans get hit with heavy legal action, but something bad seems likely.

This is especially tough for the character following the brutal talk he had with Shiv about how upset he is over their marriage…

The ‘Succession’ creators were wise to leave Tom’s reaction to the press conference out of the finale. All seemed to improve for Tom once Shiv saved him from impending doom, but that all seems to not matter much anymore. It’s also worth noting that the amazing “Tom & Greg” dynamic is likely gone forever…

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Damn. “Tom & Greg” forever.

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That was a lot to cover and, honestly, I could go on for longer. ‘Succession’ manages to answer a ton of questions yet, at the same time, finds a way to open up so many possibilities at the same time.

I’ll sound snobby here for a second: the show is a stroke of genius, it’s a master-class in dramatic entertainment. It’s tragic, at times funny, and I can’t look away. ‘Succession’ is as compelling as anything I have ever watched. Getting your audience to buy into so many “villain-like” characters and emotionally invest in their every move isn’t easy, but ‘Succession’ does it without any issue.

This show fucking rules. Season 3 can’t get here fast enough.

What did you think of the finale? What do you think will happen next? Let us know below…