This week on Succession, we got a glimpse into ATN’s biggest night: the presidential election. On the ballot are Jeryd Mencken, a literal fascist, and Daniel Jimenez, the Democratic candidate whose most defining feature so far is not being a fascist. Oh, and also Connor Roy.
While we’ve gotten glimpses into the Roys’ power and its effects on what their father would probably call the “tiny people” of the world, they’ve mostly operated in their own bubble of the ultra-rich. That bubble bursts this week, with their petty choices truly changing the course of history in the country in ways even they must finally grasp.
Tonight is the Tom Wambsgans show, and he is, um… freaking out. It’s the first election without Logan, and he knows he has big shoes to fill (to borrow a turn of phrase from Kendall). He also has Kendall constantly checking in. So yeah… no pressure!
Darwin, ATN’s Steve Kornacki, leads the team through a session about the rules for the night — rules that I’m sure are important, but which Greg and Tom completely ignore, as Greg is too busy sharing the details of his night out with Matsson. He also shares that he heard a little something about Shiv and Matsson’s agreement, to which Tom responds: “Information, Greg. It’s like a bottle of fine wine. You store it, you hoard it, you save it for a special occasion. And then you smash someone’s fucking face in with it.” Turns out the opportunity for a face smashing will come sooner rather than later.
Back in the CE Bros’ office, the siblings are checking in with their respective political allies. Shiv has gotten “four smileys” from Gil regarding Jimenez’s chances, while Roman has “eggplant, eggplant, flag” from Mencken’s team (which he claims is a stronger emoji combo). Roman is pretty immediately leaning full fascist, defending the possible kidnapping of left-leaning voters in Florida.
As Roman goes off for a face-to-face with Mencken that Kendall wasn’t invited to, the older Roy gives Jimenez a call — both brothers seeing whose favor they can better curry to place a regulatory roadblock in front of the GoJo deal. Kendall’s call is just such a clear example of how ineffectual he is in his role: he barely says anything of substance, hardly even plays nice with some small talk — just goes right in asking Jimenez to be on their side in regulating tech. The candidate easily waves him off.
This isn’t the only call he whiffs. Rava phones him, fearfully asking if she and their daughter Sophie can come to his office because they’re being followed by an SUV. Kendall assures them that the SUV is one that he secretly hired to watch over them, which (as Rava points out) is truly warped parenting. He promises them that they don’t need to worry about the results of the election — results that would affect them far more than they would him — as Jimenez is polling ahead.
Meanwhile, Roman arrives at Mencken HQ. The candidate tells him, “We still think we can win. But I am very focused on losing.” Essentially, he wants the ATN narrative to be completely behind him. As Roman puts it, “Even if you’re not going to be the President, you’re going to be our President.” It’s not an unfamiliar sentiment to those of us in the U.S., unfortunately — but chilling to watch nonetheless. Especially with Justin Kirk’s icy performance here.
Back at ATN, Tom is continuing to spiral over the pressures mounting on him tonight. He temporarily demotes Greg to being his coffee fetcher once again, and then they promptly do some coke together. The Disgusting Brothers, back at it! I’m sure this will have no negative consequences for Tom this evening.
Lest we forget him entirely, Connor is at his own campaign headquarters as the first results come in from the east coast — and he is holding onto Kentucky as his only hope for staying in the race based on the polling. Most states are too close to yet call. Most states, but not Kentucky, which immediately goes to Mencken. Willa tries to comfort him with a hearty “fuck Kentucky,” but Connor won’t bite. “I shan’t become that. Alas, Kentucky, Willa. Alas, vanity.” Okay… call me a Con-Head.
Back at ATN, there’s a fire brewing. Literally — there’s a mysterious fire at a ballot counting center in Milwaukee. Tom is worried to cover it until it’s clear who the arsonists are (or if it’s simply an accident). He knows he has a conservative base whose opinions he must appease.
There’s not much time to dwell on that decision, though, because suddenly every touch screen at ATN seems to be malfunctioning, sending Tom into a tizzy and bringing all the Roy siblings down to the newsroom floor to figure out what the hell is going on with the screens and why the hell ATN isn’t talking about Wisconsin. Greg’s attempt to corral the siblings off the floor are, unsurprisingly, unsuccessful, and Shiv manages to pull Tom aside. She’s decided this is the right time to swap apologies for last night’s brutal fight, for some reason. She offers hers, but Tom is less forgiving, until finally Shiv breaks and reveals she’s pregnant with his baby. “Is that even true?” he asks. “Like, is that even true, or is that like a new position or a tactic?” Shiv is shocked to tears — but hear me out! Everyone in this family is lying all the time, why shouldn’t Tom be skeptical at this admission during the most stressful night of his life? If there was any shred of hope left for their marriage, it seems well and done. Shiv seals the deal by telling her brothers that Tom is a “piece of filth” who can’t be trusted.
Tom aside, there’s an election to tend to. Shiv, Roman, and Kendall regroup in a conference room to debate the consequences of the ballot fire in Wisconsin. Shiv is on the side of “every vote must be counted.” A reasonable side to be on, I would say! Roman, who we know and have known to be, if not a near fascist himself, very comfortable with the idea, is content to consider the 100,000 ballots to be permanently lost — which would leave Mencken ahead. Roman is only concerned about what the election results will mean for the GoJo deal, and as of now Mencken is the only one promising to put a regulatory squeeze on Matsson.
Kendall is, as always, in over his head. He’s pulled one way by the allure of the Mencken regulatory promise, but he is being pulled slightly more strongly to Shiv’s side, likely given his recent chat with Rava and Sophie. He tries to paint himself as a realist, considering both sides, but I truly think he just has no idea what to do with the amount of power he’s realizing he holds. He’s rarely had to really deal with a consequence! And there’s no escaping the consequences of the direction he and his siblings lead ATN in tonight. Of course, he is thinking about this in personal terms: be forced into the GoJo deal vs. lose Rava and Sophie’s… love? The bigger consequences — for us, the tiny people — don’t factor in. These hugely impactful decisions are made based on financial and personal benefits to a few billionaires; the rest of us are barely a consideration in the room.
Which is why I love the short scene of Hugo, Karl, and Frank watching the election coverage, commenting on how “dull” the candidates are. It’s meaningless to them! They’ll be fine either way, it’s just something to watch.
The Roy siblings take their debate to the numbers man, Darwin, who is reluctant to call Wisconsin as he knows from his models that there’s an overwhelming likelihood that Milwaukee would have voted blue. So Roman takes things into his own hands, sending talking points to ATN anchor Mark Ravenhead, who essentially blames the left for the Wisconsin fire. His siblings yell at him, but what’s aired is aired.
After a call with Matsson, who reveals how much he and Greg have been talking, Shiv corners her cousin. She asks if he finds her attractive, which leaves Greg predictably in shambles, then says, “if you try to fuck me, I’ll kill you.” He tries a light blackmail attempt, but the only payment Shiv is ready to offer is Greg’s organs remaining inside his body. I think Shiv is forgetting that Greg has been the punching bag of this family for years, and he’s still here — empty threats are not going to scare him!
Greg rejoins Tom and Roman, and together they manage to convince Darwin to report a “pending” call for Wisconsin going Mencken, and Darwin could get on camera to explain what that means. Unfortunately, Darwin won’t be going anywhere, because he rubs his eye with a finger that he’d dipped in Greg’s bodega sushi wasabi. Greg tries to wash it out with a lemon La Croix seltzer, because of course he does. Sorry for laughing at probably one of the worst nights of Darwin’s life, but in an episode so tense… we needed this.
Things start rolling along for Mencken. ATN calls Wisconsin in his favor, Connor gives a wild concession speech to try to push some of his lingering potential voters to Mencken in exchange for a diplomatic post in Slovenia (as Willa puts it, “he’s very right-wing… but Vienna for lunch, Venice for dinner”).
Then, reports come in from the data team that Mencken has enough votes to take Arizona. If ATN calls it, they’re calling the entire election for the right-wing candidate given their earlier Wisconsin verdict. Kendall and Roman sit down to discuss — Kendall is still hesitant to make this final call, and Roman accuses him of leveraging his big brother status, just like he did to get his preferred dinner menu as a child. “So, because we had so much chicken when we were kids,” Kendall retorts, “I have to like the fascist?” It’s silly, but also kind of literally what’s happening! Roman’s desire to prove himself and get what he personally wants is leading to the declared victory of a fascist!
Shiv makes one final attempt to convince Kendall, when he comes to her to be open about his desire to be the sole CEO. In his moment of vulnerability, she reminds him that he’s a “good guy” (as I let out the longest “welllllllll?????”) and that their call will not necessarily make Mencken president but will give him dangerous momentum. Kendall is deep in his feelings, wondering if he’s a bad parent, if “the poison drips through.” To soothe his doubt, he needs Shiv to try one more time to get Jimenez on board to block the GoJo deal.
Instead, Shiv makes a fake phone call, and lies to Ken and Roman that they have the liberal candidate’s support. Kendall isn’t satisfied with her vague encouragement, and against her protests gives Nate a call directly.
In a frankly chilling moment, we watch Kendall through the conference room window as he calls Nate, discovers Shiv’s lie, then runs into Greg who shares his precious information about her alliance with Matsson — as all the while he stares icily at his sister through the glass. He finally comes back in to confront her: “I wondered why you looked like a goose trying to shit a house brick, you piece of dirt.” Kendall and his way with words! Shiv is unable to wriggle her way out of the sudden confrontation, and the betrayal is all it takes to turn Kendall. He tells Roman it’s time to call the election for Mencken, which Tom sets into motion — just following his orders.
There’s a small but weighty scene between Greg, who has just gotten the instructions to tell the newsroom to call Arizona, and Kendall’s assistant, Jess, who tries to delay his delivery of the inevitable for just a few minutes more — the most they can do to put a roadblock in front of Mencken. Her fear is evident, and as Greg walks away she gets on her phone — I hope either to resign, to leak Tom’s role in the decision, or both. Team Jess forever!
The episode ends on Mencken giving a chilling speech, warning against the transactional nature of democracy and calling those who seek help from their government “little tyrants.” He says he was “willed into being” by the people to save “this polluted land.” Kendall’s response? “He’s a guy we can do business with.” Roman says all they did was make good TV, with no real consequences. Only Shiv reminds them, “things do happen.” Immediately after the speech, Mencken calls Roman — they’ve fully ingratiated themselves to the fascist.
As Kendall rides home, he remarks to his driver: “Some people just can’t cut a deal, Fikret.” For the Roy family, that’s all this was: business.
