In the latest Succession episode, big-big shoes filled in by not-so-serious people
This week’s latest Succession saw the siblings prep for a new Waystar product launch, but how is one supposed to enjoy Shiv and Tom’s provocative encounters when Tweedledee and Tweedledum CE-Bros come stressfully close to dismantling the fabrics of the company?
The latest episode, titled "Living+", features the launch of Waystar Royco's eponymous new retirement community, which will expand the company's portfolio in the wake of the GoJo deal moving forward. The Roys are still grappling with Logan’s death while simultaneously preparing for the new launch, marking the company's last-ditch attempt to stay relevant before selling to Matsson.
The episode explores the wayward optimism of tech titans, who mistake hype for facts just as much as they do people for users. Kendall is caught in a doom loop of ideation, and his half-baked ideas build up to potentially cataclysmic fruition. Roman behaves like a power-crazed emperor and sacks two women who challenge his fragile ego, while Shiv and Tom's relationship seems to be stuck in a weird process of rekindling.
Things kick off with the new Waystar co-CEO’s attempting to sabotage a deal with the erratic Swede, by claiming he is a "human Chernobyl". Shiv sees through her siblings' lies instantly and calls them out for trying to sabotage the deal. “Hey dad, Shiv spilled chocolate milk in the Range Rover,” feels about as implicating as a smoking gun for the two man-children to cave. Seems Pinky can dance after all.
With their plan to kill the deal thwarted by their meddlesome sister, Kendall's plan B involves pricing Matsson out of the sale by pitching Living+ as a digital proposition, resulting in analysts giving the firm a tech valuation. However, his scheme involves fraudulent market manipulation, raising concerns about its potential consequences.
It's a risky move that's sure to have far-reaching consequences, but Kendall’s “got that gleam in his eyes” that masks his desire to take control of the company with the shoddy veil of saving the company from a bad sale. His excitement over the launch is just as nerve-racking as it is hilarious, as he eggs on his financial advisors with a prompt “EH?” and doesn’t take no for an answer for his ambitious stage designs.
Meanwhile, Kieran Culkin’s Roman lives up to his namesake as an empire destined to fall from grace for its power-hungry ambitions. The tension between him and Waystar’s studio head was palpable as he promised to throw money at the company as long as she could produce successful hits. However, her dismissal of the failed Kalispitron movie and her concerns about the rightward shift of ATN's values rubs the youngest, most fragile Roy the wrong way, leading to him giving her the axe after she hinted at his nepotistic privileges.
Unwilling to tolerate any opposition to his fragile ego, Roman promptly fires Gerri soon after for labelling his recklessness as the products of a "weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum". So much for evading the ‘Kill-List’.
Despite his regret, Roman finds surprising support from Kendall, who praises his actions as a "baller move." With both brothers desperate to prove their worth in the footsteps of a former despot, each frustrating misstep is lauded by the other with the confidence of a pre-pubescent.
Meanwhile, Shiv is seen crying in a meeting room, leading to speculation about her pregnancy, only for Tom to unexpectedly waltz in on her ‘scheduled’ grieving sessions. The estranged couple share a kiss that leads to a renewed romance, albeit one fuelled by mutual disgust.
Later, the two play a bizarre game of "Bitey" at a party, before Shiv confesses about her conspiratorial relationship with the Swede during pillow talk. It’s the most honest and vulnerable the two have been with each other over the series’ four-season span.
Shrugging off his claims of heartbreak with the smug stoicism of her late father, Shiv declares that she'd follow him anywhere for love, before the two simultaneously erupt in a fit of laughter. Kudos to Snook and MacFadyen for keeping us fully invested in this strange, dysfunctional love affair.
With the ghosts of past Waystar events still plaguing a volatile Kendall Roy on Investor Day, the red-flags keep surmounting as Shiv and CFO Karl worrying about falsely inflated numbers, co-pilot Roman abandoning ship having lost faith in the Living+ enterprise and above all, the clouds not being cloudy enough.
With the ship all set to capsize and the prodigal son destined to fail, the Public Enemy blasting Roy takes the stage by storm and manages to pull off the launch against all odds. However awkward the opening few “big, big shoes” may have been and however ‘fossilizingly’’ cringe worthy his fourth wall-breaking conversation with Papa Roy was, Kendall pulls off the impossible, leaving Roman and the rest of the gang baffled.
And though, Matsson tries to hijack the launch with an incendiary tweet, Kendall manages to dissipate the Auchswitzian parallel to Living+ quarters with surprising aplomb, getting the share prices to soar. The episode ends with the siblings potentially snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, yet again, all thanks to a last-minute clutch from the most blundering idiots of all three siblings.
Brian Cox's Logan continues to loom over the show, even in death, with Roman playing a deep fake of his abusive father taking a dig at his “micro-dick” and Kendall taking a well-deserved dip in the ocean. As he writes "1" in the sand and floats in the ocean, the Moonlight homage comes through with Nicholas Britell’s hopeful outro building to a satisfying crescendo.
As is the case with each preceding episode, showrunner Jessie Armstrong leaves it impossible to anticipate the future of the Waystar empire, but “Living+” leaves us thoroughly satisfied with its impeccable value for pure entertainment.
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