Notice: This text accommodates spoilers for a number of Succession episodes, notably season 4, episode seven, “Tailgate Occasion.”
In Tailgate Occasion, the seventh episode of the ultimate season of Succession, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), who’re in a greater place than ever of their relationship, are about to throw a pre-Election Day soiree at their house — a continuation of an occasion Logan (Brian Cox) threw for a few of the nation’s most influential political movers and shakers.
We see loads of assist — cleaners, caterers, waiters, drivers, doormen — milling about within the background as Tom and Shiv giggle about their naughty machinations. Everybody on the celebration is engaged in a form of tactical bullshitting: Kendall (Jeremy Robust) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) are spreading rumors and innuendo to highly effective individuals in hopes of tanking GoJo’s acquisition. Shiv is mendacity to her brothers’ faces whereas working with GoJo chief Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), hoping to safe herself the position within the firm that Logan and her brothers have lengthy denied her. Matsson, it seems, is conjuring numbers out of skinny air. Connor (Alan Ruck) is attempting to barter his cratering presidential bid right into a prestigious diplomatic gig.
This episode is basic Succession: There’s a swanky occasion happening, however the principle characters are scurrying round with ulterior motives, attempting to outwit their opponents. The election itself is a humorous little distraction: Partygoers are inspired to take part in a cutesy sport guessing which candidate will win by how a lot, and there’s a pervasive sense of ideological nihilism within the room — individuals may need a most well-liked candidate, but it surely’s all the identical in the long run. Hedge your bets, and prepare to cozy as much as whoever finally ends up president.
The Roys are careless individuals, leaving others to scrub up their mess, because the well-known line goes in The Nice Gatsby. However they will’t come away fully unscathed. They’re stuffed with mundane wishes and wounded emotions. And many of the bullshitting they have interaction in throughout this episode boomerangs and knocks them again right down to Earth.
Wheeling and dealing
Within the final episode, Kendall and Roman tried to drive up the Waystar inventory worth in order that Matsson, unable or unwilling to match it, would stroll away. Apparently, it wasn’t sufficient to snuff out the deal.
Now, they wish to take the regulatory tack. As in, tip off somebody excessive up in political circles to get the DOJ, FCC, FTC — doesn’t matter which scramble of letters — suspicious of the sale and examine it on antitrust grounds. They wish to invite Nate (Ashley Zukerman), Shiv’s ex-boyfriend and ex-affair associate, to the celebration: He’s a political operative who’s now working with the Democratic presidential candidate, Daniel Jimenez (who, in one other day or so, could possibly be the subsequent president of the US). Shiv acts prefer it’s an honest concept after which instantly calls Matsson to inform him what her brothers are cooking, insisting that he additionally must attend the celebration to get Nate and different bigwigs on his aspect. That is Tom’s worst nightmare: two males that Shiv has some form of flirtation with at his celebration.
The CE-Bros are protecting all their bases. They’ve already ordered the notorious Ratfucker, grasp of uncovering each bit of knowledge on an individual, to dig up the filthiest Matsson dust attainable.
Matsson rolls as much as the celebration along with his crew, interrupting a second of silence for Logan. He’s unfazed among the many celebration company, chewing gum arrogantly and wearing a hideous brown velvet observe jacket. Shiv makes use of the chance to inform him she desires one thing from him: For a second, one would possibly count on her to plead the case for not eliminating Tom. As a substitute, Shiv seems out for herself as all the time, asking Matsson for a “very, very, very important position” on the new firm. Regardless of how keen he’s to flirt with Shiv, telling her how a lot he likes speaking to her, he demurs the second she asks for actual energy, which her father all the time denied her, too.
In the meantime, Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) — the ultra-conservative Trump caricature and Republican presidential candidate backed by the Roys’ information community, ATN — desires Roman and Ken to persuade Connor to drop out. The newest ballot numbers are exhibiting a decent race, and what Mencken desires is to “divert the Conhead stream to the Mencken river,” as Roman explains. It’s asking rather a lot — Connor proudly boasts that he’s getting 4, 5, even 6 p.c in Alaska — but it surely’s not a agency no, relying on the commerce. Like he’s providing a bit of gum, Roman suggests Connor take the ambassadorship to Somalia. Connor declines; he’d choose one thing in Europe, or the UN. Connor even suggests North Korea as an concept. “I may open it up like Nixon did China,” he says, eyes glittering on the prospect of such fame. They trip with affords and counters, speaking about total nations like they’re simply buying and selling playing cards.
This form of vanity resonates notably strongly in Tailgate Occasion, although it’s all the time true of the world these characters inhabit. The Roys are the 1 p.c. In fact they’re dismissive and careless in regards to the little, virtually invisible individuals round them. Tom straddles this divide, typically each perpetuating their cruelties and being a sufferer of them; he doesn’t come from cash, and late on this episode Shiv even outright calls him “striving and parochial” — the poor little boy from Minnesota.
But Tom has discovered rather a lot throughout his time within the higher crust, and there are many ants on the sidewalk for him to squish, too. The morning of the celebration, Tom publicizes layoffs at ATN via a gaggle video name. Properly, he doesn’t — he fingers that disagreeable baton off to Greg (Nicholas Braun), who reads off a script that’s an echo of so many real-life company layoff memos: “This was a tough choice, however obligatory to guard the way forward for the corporate. It wasn’t taken flippantly, however solely after exploring all accessible choices. It’s not a layoff, it’s a acutely aware uncoupling from an employment-based relationship.”
They don’t even have the humanity to inform everybody in particular person, regardless of being within the ATN places of work, nor the naked minimal decency to inform every particular person individually. As a substitute, the assembly attendees are informed that in the event that they’re on the decision, they now not have a job.
Greater than 100 individuals have simply misplaced their livelihoods, and it’s not even an itch on Tom’s conscience. He goes about his day, worrying in regards to the wine and the way drained he’ll be after internet hosting such an impressive, vital celebration.
Finish sport
Regardless of their carelessness, these rich snobs are sometimes shocked and dissatisfied to be taught there are typically penalties to their messing round. Tom axes a bunch of his staff however bristles on the fact that his head is on the chopping block, too. Matsson, on the celebration, is telling virtually everybody he meets that after Waystar is his, Tom might be out. Tom tries being a kiss-ass, however Matsson can inform and isn’t impressed by it. As Shiv joins the dialog, Matsson units up one other one among his merciless jokes by complimenting their house. “Who’ll get to maintain it within the divorce?” It elicits uncomfortable laughter, however neither of them tells him that they’ve agreed to get again collectively.
Matsson is shedding observe of his Rube Goldberg machine too. The GoJo males harass Ebba (Eili Harboe) — his head of comms and typically lover to whom he sends half liters of his personal blood — prefer it’s all enjoyable and video games, however she’s had sufficient. Kendall, who hasn’t been having a lot luck along with his regulatory technique, catches on that one thing is off and approaches Ebba. She spills rapidly: Sexual harassment is the least of Matsson’s worries. The actual mess is that he’s been mendacity about his subscriber numbers in India. It’s higher than something the Ratfucker may have informed Kendall and Roman. It seems Matsson, just like the Roys, is an enormous bullshitter too.
Roman’s once-romantic rapport with Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) seems irrevocably over, too. Her look on the celebration offers Rome some hope — perhaps she’s not that upset anymore about him trying to fireplace her final episode. Frank (Peter Friedman) dispels that false impression: She’s “extremely offended,” he says. Roman tries to sidle as much as her later to clean issues over along with his traditional foolish, unhinged, inappropriate appeal. Gerri informs him coolly that she’s performed with Waystar, desires a nine-figure payout, and has employed “private repute administration.” If any of them undermine the narrative she tells in regards to the firm within the subsequent 5 years, she tells Roman, she’ll sue and launch the multitude of dick pics Roman has despatched her.
“I may’ve bought you there,” she tells him wistfully, suggesting she may have helped Roman turn out to be an actual chief of his father’s empire — however he threw all of it away.
Even Kendall comes nose to nose with the repercussions of his involvement with Waystar. He finds out his daughter, who shouldn’t be white, was just lately harassed by a racist fan of the ATN anchor Mark Ravenhead, who’s mainly an alt-right Nazi. Kendall’s response isn’t to be crestfallen that their craven information protection is immediately impacting his youngsters — he’s not going to take some grand stance towards ATN’s excessive bias. He asks his ex-wife why his daughter was “out on the road.” The Roys could also be extremely sheltered more often than not, ferried from non-public automobiles to personal jets, however not even the ultra-rich can all the time be cosseted from actuality. Rava (Natalie Gold) balks on the implication that her parenting is responsible, throwing it proper again at him — he barely even calls his daughter. Kendall protests that every part he’s attempting to do with Waystar, together with ATN, is for his youngsters. Positive. Logan mentioned that, too.
Shiv’s little sport of enjoying each side — pretending to be on her brothers’ group however truly feeding intel to Matsson — explodes in her face, too. Ken and Rome, suspecting nothing of her deception, inform her excitedly about Matsson’s made-up numbers. (Nevermind that Kendall was shot down onerous within the final episode for additionally pondering of inflating earnings projections.) Alone with Tom on their balcony, Shiv tears up on the worry that she has nailed herself to the “Matsson cross.” She’s so fast to lose religion and leap ship, so simply rattled by what or who she desires.
Damaged individuals
At first of the episode, Shiv and Tom are nearly sickeningly affectionate; he offers her a weird knick-knack of a scorpion as a present. They’re not going to divorce in spite of everything. Because the celebration dwindles, nevertheless, they’ve the largest struggle of their relationship. Tom tries to reassure Shiv’s fears however has had sufficient of her woebegone act. He factors out that she feels responsible about betraying her brothers however doesn’t assume twice about her confederate Matsson planning on firing him. They are saying ugly issues to one another — the type you may’t ever take again.
Shiv admits how offended she is about his present. He thinks of her as a stinging, venomous scorpion? She has some creature comparisons to make, too: Tom is a hyena, a “road rat.” She’s not solely calling him poor, she’s calling him a greedy vulture. He calls her egocentric and tells her that she ought to by no means have married him. She didn’t even need his child. “I feel you might be incapable of affection,” he says. “And I feel you might be perhaps not a superb particular person to have youngsters.”
It’s a stake via her coronary heart. It’s unclear if Shiv remains to be pregnant, however she was earlier within the season, and he or she clearly has but to inform Tom. She says the nastiest factor she will be able to consider — that Tom betraying her to aspect together with her father on the finish of season 3 is what drove her and Logan aside, retaining her away from him in the previous couple of months of his life. Tom doesn’t declare this blame. “It’s not my fault that you simply didn’t get his approval,” he says. “I’ve given you infinite approval, and it doesn’t fill you up since you’re damaged.”
Like that, the coy flirtations they’ve been enjoying with for the previous few episodes are snuffed out. Honesty can foster highly effective intimacy in a relationship, however that is the form of uncooked, harrowing fact that drives two individuals aside for good.
Shiv is a damaged particular person, as is everybody else within the Roy household. Succession doesn’t ask its viewers to pity the billionaire, but it surely shows how corrosive energy and privilege will be even to the individuals benefiting from them. Wracked by paranoia, they give the impression of being down from their penthouses and see how far they should fall. In lots of respects, their riches defend them from hurt, wrapping them in a protecting layer that cushions them from the inequities and indignities that the much less lucky face every day. However that layer has additionally suffocated the a part of the mind that permits them to belief and love others as equals.
Matsson sums it up in a scene with Shiv, telling her, “I believed these individuals can be very difficult. However they’re not. It’s mainly simply cash and gossip.” That’s all they know, and so they’re impoverished by it.
Kendall, armed with the information of GoJo’s bullshit numbers, tells Frank his new plan. He desires to rewind every part in regards to the deal. As a substitute of promoting to GoJo, “We pillage their village,” he says. “Waystar acquires GoJo.” And he reveals why he’s basically damaged, too. All through the season, Kendall has stored up the artifice that he and his siblings are on this collectively. They’re sharing energy. However like a moth, he’s drawn to the harmful, all-consuming mild. He hasn’t consulted with Shiv or Rome about this concept as a result of he’s not concerned about their opinions. He’s been bullshitting them — and perhaps himself — the entire time. “One head, one crown,” he says.
Earlier, looking the window from Shiv and Tom’s triplex on the midtown Manhattan view, Matsson observes at one level that it seems like Legoland to him. An amusement park, not an actual place the place actual individuals dwell. And from this top, the skyline actually does appear like Lego blocks — plastic items organized in a hanging show, with no people within the scene.
