Succession has completed its run, and if anything, the show explored the contradictory nature of modern life like no other.
I’ve previously detailed this in a number of ways this past season. On Succession, jokes are hard truths or perverse harassment, weddings are funerals, family games are demeaning competitions, and eulogies are as much about the living as they are the dead. This theme carries right on through to the final minutes of the show. But this time, we’re talking about the subversion of physical affection.
One personal breakthrough highlighted this season has been the Roy siblings getting more used to comforting each other through physical affection. This comes up in the final season’s third episode in which they learn of the death of their father. The first sign that the layers of ironic detachment and emotional damage are starting to crumble comes when Roman awkwardly reaches for Connor in an attempt to embrace and seek comfort.
The gesture is there, but his movements are so awkward and alien. It’s clear Roman knows what he wants — to console and be consoled — he just doesn’t understand the choreography of it all.
But by that episode’s end, we see siblings Roman, Kendall, and Shiv share a lengthy embrace that actually feels like people who care for one another. And they carry this forward in the season. Together they might be able to overcome the loss of their father. And maybe find a way to maintain control of the company he built.
Of course, there are past examples of the siblings sharing a meaningful embrace. One particular scene that comes to mind is when Kendall breaks down in Shiv’s arms, unable to admit to his crime of murder.
But it’s in the final season that the show really starts to weaponize physical affection. By episode six of the finale season — titled “Living+” — Shiv has started to pull away from her brothers as they attempt to kill the deal with GoJo and its owner Lukas Matsson. Matsson has promised Shiv a seat at the table if she covertly helps push the deal through and GoJo acquires Waystar-Royco.
Meanwhile Kendall and Roman, as they continue their efforts to halt the buyout, also begin cutting Shiv out bit by bit as they go. Shiv senses that her brothers don’t have her best interests in mind and indicates that she senses a hint of bullshit on their parts.
Roman is put off by the contentious nature of the conversation and asks, “Can we do the huggy thing?” They hug, but you can tell from Shiv’s expression that it’s a gesture that’s beginning to lose all meaning. It’s becoming just another business tactic.
Succession’s final episode — “With Open Eyes” — once again finds the Roy siblings as a united front. They propose that the board block the buyout and move forward with Kendall as the new head of the company. But as the vote is set to happen, they fall apart one by one.
Roman is both emotional and physically shaken. A recent scuffle with protesters left him with stitches across his brow. Alone in their late father’s office, Roman questions why he wasn’t able to step up and lead the family company. He mentions this again and again while remarking on the stitches. Basically, his physical injuries don’t adequately express the severity of the emotional and psychological wounds that prevented him from becoming a viable leader.
Kendall embraces his brother and pulls Roman’s head into his shoulder. You then realize that Kendall is squeezing Roman tighter and tighter. Finally Roman’s stitches burst and his wounds are reopened. The Roy brothers embracing is now an act of aggression and pain — both physical and mental.
Kendall almost realizes his dream of taking over his father’s company, but Shiv votes the other way. The GoJo deal goes through, and Shiv’s husband (Tom Wambsgans) is named the new CEO.
It is left to viewers to decipher what role Tom’s ascension played in Shiv’s decision to turn on her brothers. Was she doing what’s best for business or could she simply not stomach Kendall as CEO? There are plenty of theories to be had about this.
One thing that is certain is that Shiv has tethered herself to her estranged lover, whom she might not even be capable of loving. And this seems to be purely about business.
In one of the final shots of the series, we see Shiv and newly minted CEO Tom riding away in the backseat of a luxury SUV. Tom lays out his hand on the center console between their seats, inviting his wife to hold hands. Shiv limply lays her palm against his — refusing to lock fingers.
It’s a pantomime of love, of affection. And it’s not even a convincing one at that. Instead the simple gesture of holding hands with the person you love has become a half-hearted imitation that communicates nothing but disdain. Or at the very least indifference.
With its finale, Succession grounds itself in layers and layers of simulacrum and bullshit and nothingness. It told the story of a family business that could never figure out how to be one without interfering with the other. So they turned love to hate and hate to love over and over until they arrived at a conclusion.
“It’s bits of glue and broken shows, fucking phony news,” Roman says. “We are bullshit… it’s all fucking nothing, man.”
