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Macall B. Polay/HBO

Top Ten Tuesday: Best ‘Succession’ Episodes


In honor of the end of the hit HBO series Succession, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday picks ten of the best episodes from the comedy-drama. With so many great episodes, it was a challenge to narrow it down to ten; but for a show that got better by the season, we feel this is a good mix with five Season 4 episodes, two Season 3 episodes, two Season 2 episodes, and one Season 1 episode.

 

10. “Nobody Is Ever Missing” (S1E10)

Shiv and Tom’s wedding is the backdrop for the Season 1 finale, but a lot happened—including Kendall (with Stewy) attempting a takeover of WayStar RoyCo., Roman hilariously watching the rocket launch he was responsible for explode on the launchpad, Conor telling Willa of his intention to run for President, and Shiv asking Tom for an open marriage.

 

But the heart of the episode is Kendall looking for drugs with the caterer Andrew Dodds (that Logan just fired for spilling a little champagne on him), and eventually crashing off a bridge into water. The caterer drowns, and a shaken Kendall simply walks back to the party. Logan covers for Kendall, thus getting control of him via blackmail and ending the takeover bid. The crazy part is that Kendall tried to save Dodds, and the crash was somewhat caused by Dodds grabbing the steering wheel to avoid the deer. In the end, however it went, Logan was in a total power position, concluding a very strong first season.

 

9. “Too Much Birthday” (S3E8)

Like Brian Cox and the entire cast in their respective roles, Jeremy Strong’s acting shined throughout his four-season run as Kendall Roy. Kendall had plenty of low moments, but his lowest might have come in the penultimate episode of Season 3, “Too Much Birthday”. The 40th birthday party for someone that’s been working against the family for a while turned into a rock-bottom moment of emotional emptiness for someone that had on the outside been portraying himself as riding a high. Also, this episode was the first appearance of Alexander Skarsgård’s extremely important character Lukas Matsson.

 

8. “Kill List” (S4E5)

Kendall and Roman are the co-CEOs of Waystar, and shortly after their father’s death they head to Norway to meet with Mattson at GoJo’s annual corporate retreat—but they are not willing to include ATN in the GoJo takeover. While Mattson makes a massive offer—but it would mean taking over ATN—that the board would love, Kendall and Roman instead decide to sabotage the deal partly because of Mattson’s arrogant stance. Kieran Culkin especially shined in this episode with the explosion toward Mattson on top of the mountain, and “Kill List” ends with Shiv—after laying the groundwork for a partnership with Mattson—snapping a photo of her dejected brothers on the flight home.

 

7. “DC” (S2E9)

“DC” set the stage for the Season 2 finale and the need for a “blood sacrifice” by showing critical Senate testimony regarding WayStar’s misconduct. Tom was a total trainwreck, which turned out both hilarious and super tense—and he was as distraught as ever when he returned to the war room (Frank said he gets a “B+” for his testimony: “Bad plus terrible”), where Logan showed his leadership in calming the situation. Logan wasn’t doing so well in his testimony, but he deflected blame to Kendall, who showed his major upside in handling Senator Gil Eaves—which prompted a funny fit-pump from Connor in attendance behind him. “Tern Haven”, “Safe Room”, “Hunting”, and “Dundee” are other Season 2 episodes that could have been included in this range.

 

6. “Church and State” (S4E9)

Set to give the main eulogy at his father’s funeral, Roman was as confident as ever after taking control on election night. However, the youngest Roy brother couldn’t necessarily get people behind him while making the rounds in the church, and then Ewen’s eulogy—Greg being incapable of stopping it (“want me to take his legs out?”)—also led to less confidence. Roman’s pre-grieving didn’t hold up in another sensational performance by Culkin, but Kendall took over and successfully told the other side—essentially taking back the driver’s seat in the power dynamics within the company. After the funeral, everyone flocked to president-elect Jeryd Mencken, and it set up the Roy boys versus Shiv and Mattson matchup heading into the series finale, with an emotionally and physically damaged Roman on shaky ground.

 

5. “America Decides” (S4E8)

Let’s start with maybe the funniest moment in the series, which helped put “America Decides” into this range as a top-five episode… One word: Wasabi. “It’s not that lemon-y!” Overall, the election episode felt realistic to how things could really go within a newsroom with such high stakes, and Roman showed some Logan-like qualities in pushing to get his guy Mencken declared the winner of Wisconsin (and the presidency). Shiv was squarely on the other side, while Kendall mostly hung back with mixed feelings—until he found out from Greg that his sister was working with Mattson, leading to an explosion and the “OK” to call the election. “America Decides” was one of the most entertaining episodes of the series from start to finish.

 

4. “This Is Not for Tears” (S2E10)

“This Is Not for Tears” is arguably the Succession episode where you know the show was total hit that could become among the best series in history. It starts with hilarious testimony from Cousin Greg in front of the Senate, but things get more serious when the company basically discusses the “fall guy” for WayStar’s misconduct—though Tom literally eating Logan’s lunch by taking a piece of chicken off his plate was also comical. Ultimately, Logan thinks Kendall should take the fall, which Kendall seemingly agrees with while asking his father if he ever saw him running the company, with Logan’s answer being no because he’s not a “killer”. Kendall and Greg (with documents in hand) fly back to New York for the press conference that begins with Kendall taking responsibility, but stunningly turns to Kendall flipping on Logan while calling him a “malignant presence, a bully, and a liar” that knows about everything that goes on at WayStar. Everyone was completely shocked, but Logan ends the season with a bit of a proud smile: maybe his son could be a “killer” after all.

 

3. “All the Bells Say” (S3E9)

Termed by many as the “Red Wedding” of Succession, it’s difficult to think of a much better compliment than that. The Season 3 finale ends with the stunning turn of the Roy siblings losing to Logan—after finally coming together and trying to take him on—and being frozen out of the company. The final shots—including Logan putting his hand on Tom, who had unselfishly offered to be the fall guy throughout the season and then gave the information that the kids were planning to take Logan out, while the camera zooms to a dumbfounded Shiv—are very memorable, leaving the viewer in total anticipation for the next season. Earlier in the episode, Roman helps Logan talk to Mattson, Connor states he is the eldest son and gets engaged to Willa, Tom gives Greg a heads up of his plans, and Kendall has the breakdown where he tells Roman and Shiv that he was involved in the caterer’s death.

 

2. “With Open Eyes” (S4E10)

The series finale of Succession was a whopping feature-length 90 minutes, during which creator Jesse Armstrong successfully stuck the landing with an ending that made a ton of sense. Many fans of the show would’ve liked to see WayStar stay with the Roy name—Kendall being the one that felt like the natural choice, as he made clear to his siblings in the episode—but it was fitting that Kendall, Shiv, and Roman self-destructed and acted pretty much as they had throughout their lives: as spoiled, not-so-good people.

 

Especially with Mattson in control, Tom is an ideal fit as the United States CEO that’s at least competent and will stay in line. Tom’s willingness to go along with Mattson and basically turn on Shiv again, leading to him revealing the truth and then eventually striding into WayStar headquarters in triumph (with an awesome score playing in the background) was an iconic moment completing the “succession” that was the premise for the show.

 

“With Open Eyes” delivered classic moments you expect from the series, from the subtlety of Kendall calling for “New Jess” to the siblings having a kid-like moment in their mother’s kitchen after anointing Kendall to classic Tom and Greg shenanigans—along with fast-paced moments and situations. And the devastating final shots, concluding with a broken and empty Kendall overlooking New York, were highly memorable ending notes.

 

1. “Connor’s Wedding” (S4E3)

The uniqueness of “Connor’s Wedding”—or “The One Where Logan Dies”—helps make it arguably the best that Succession had to offer in an epic four-season run. In the third episode of the final season, the beast that was Logan Roy was not “supposed” to die. One would think it would be something that comes later in the season. But, having the death happened out of nowhere the way it did—not even showing Logan’s death and instead having Tom call Roman to share the news of his father being gravely ill—plays a big part in inserting you into the world of the show and make it feel more like real life, where anything can happen.

 

The entire time, the viewer basically knows it is not looking good at all and that Logan is probably not going to make it—while simultaneously also maybe feeling that he will somehow pull through, or even that he was perhaps staging the entire thing as some type of ploy. What does that say about Logan Roy as a character? The situation was in fact very real, and insanely good acting showed Kendall, Roman, and Shiv coming together in an emotional episode that ended—like the finale—with a broken Kendall.