For starters, I watched this entire episode thinking it was the finale… so its extremely relieving knowing we have one more epi to explain everything that just went down! Totally thought HBO left us on one of the most incredible cliffhangers of all time haha. There’s a lot to dig through in this penultimate episode (sorry about any confusion in episode eight’s post), so let’s jump right into dissecting this amazing episode.
Breakdown of Court Situation
Gerri and Tom (and Greg, of course)
We started the episode with the guys all huddled around the TV watching the press story that covers the cruise mishap before quickly jumping over to the courtroom scene that takes up most of the episode. First up to bat was Gerri and Tom, who were thrown in as a “filler” of sorts to relieve some time from Logan being questioned. Most of the grilling came from Shiv’s previous employer, Presidential candidate Gil Eavis, and at first, it seemed as if he wouldn’t really get anywhere. Gerri was an airtight safe throughout this whole thing, yet Tom began to crack (and in a rather quick fashion). The second Gil mentioned that “Uncle Mo” was called Mo because once its put in front of Lester it becomes “Mo-lester” (Which, I’m not sure how I missed this, but I had no idea that’s why he was called “uncle Mo”), Tom looked like he was done for. We then find out that he has sent plenty of email messages referencing Lester as “Uncle Mo,” just before Tom is asked about Greg. He originally says that he has no idea who Greg is, which was a massive mistake before we get one of the best lines of the show from an old email that Tom sent Greg 67 times the day he had him destroy all of those documents. “You can’t make a Tomelet without cracking a few Greg’s,” which is just pure Succession gold. From here, Tom continues to get grilled and things don’t seem to look in his favor going forward, especially with how the episode ended (more to come later).
Logan and Kendall
This was where the tides seemed to turn in the favor of the Roy’s, even after what Logan does to Kendall. Logan’s prepared speech was worded quite well and almost sounded like it was read with actual emotion, which I didn’t realize Logan had. However, once he gets to the end and starts getting asked questions by Gil, he starts wandering and acting as if he cant hold his attention to the question. I wasn’t sure if this was a calculated move to seem old and unaware, if he wasn’t sure how to answer the question, or if he was actually wandering because he’s losing his mind. Either way, he answers by completely tossing Kendall out in front of the bus. I was worried for a second here because Ken looked as if this pressure was what would make him crack. Yet, this turned out to be Kendall’s defining moment and he completely turned the tides of this hearing. He gave Gil “a taste of his own medicine” according to the newscaster we see later on in the episode, yet Logan thinks he came off too strong to take over the company. Either way, we may finally have normal Kendall back for the finale and I couldn’t be happier. These two had a much better court sitch than the former as well, but even they weren’t the true heroes of the episode.
Siobhan the Savior
In my mind, Shiv was hands down the most crucial Roy family member this episode. Without her heart to heart with the former employee that was about to blab all the deets about the cruise mishaps, the Roys would probably no longer own their own company. Shiv was firing on all cylinders this episode and may have just cemented herself back as the front-runner for CEO now that Rhea has left Logan high and dry. Shiv and Logan, well… mainly Shiv, seem to be faced with a tough situation heading into the finale, however. Logan thinks a “blood-sacrifice” is necessary to save the company, and in my eyes that is clearly Tom. There’s no doubt in my mind that Shiv will have to throw Tom under the bus to save the company, and I have no idea how that would play out for Tom or the Roy’s to be completely honest. That actually terrifies me, plus I really don’t want to lose the Tom/Greg chemistry we have all grown to love so much. This will be the only thing that stands in the way of Shiv and CEO (that she can control at least), but Roman may be making a surprising splash in the finale that seeds him as the #1.
Roman the Hostage
This was quite the curveball and I really don’t think many people saw this coming. Roman seemed to be crushing this deal, and also, I have never seen him as serious as he was giving that pitch right before the armed soldiers barged into the room. This should also lead to quite an interesting twist in the finale next weekend, and I will be curious as to who actually ends up taking Royco private. No matter what happens though, I am positive Roman will come out a hero for the company, which is why I think he may also have a strong shot at taking over right as the season ends. The only thing that I think this may change would be Tom’s fate. When Roman secures the deal, will Waystar Royco still need a big deal blood-sacrifice? I guess we will all just have to tune in to find that one out.
Predictions
With only one epi left, I’d like to think I have a good idea of where this season is heading. It is HBO, however, so I could be 100 miles away from where they plan on taking season two of Succession. With that being said, I have two theories for the finale and how they will push us into season three next year.
- Roman saves the company by taking them private and no blood sacrifice is required, but season three is now full of shady private dealings and some sort of terror plot.
- Tom is the blood sacrifice, and since he feels betrayed by Shiv he attempts to take her down with him. This would lead to Roman being a hero once he comes back and would make him the CEO.
I know these theories aren’t too far fetched or crazy, but to me, it doesn’t seem like they can do anything too drastic here. Whatever happens would have to be somewhat in line with one of these, or maybe a mixture of both, with some other plot twist hidden within that I am not seeing yet. No matter what happens though, I am certain that the finale will something you do not want to miss. Be sure to go check out or other Succession posts by searching “succession” on Summary.org!