‘Succession’ Was Never About Who Was Going to Win
Last Sunday, Succession reached its conclusion, with none of the Roy children inheriting the throne to their father’s twisted kingdom. After this surprise twist of an ending, fans were left to wonder: Did we miss the point of the show entirely?
What seemed to be a show about a company turned out to be focused on something else entirely. In fact, Succession was never about Waystar Royco, or who the Roy family’s steadfast patriarch would entrust with his company. More than capitalist gain and the question of who would inherit the company, Succession was concerned with the transition into life after a death, and if people this codependent can ever live without their loved one’s guidance.
One of the hardest things in life is navigating the death of a parent, especially when they’re a media mogul with a wide-spanning business to inherit. Over its four seasons, HBO’s dark dramedy always centered itself around mortality. Logan was confronted with the idea that he was approaching his own death since the series’ pilot, in which he turned 80. Despite his age, he continued to desperately cling to the power and respect he had always held in his media company—and the power he had over his children—as CEO. But underneath the desire of Logan’s four children—Kendall, Shiv, Roman, and Connor—to make their father proud was their own fear of Logan’s death. They were afraid not only of losing him, but also of how they would proceed afterward.