Well, it’s over. The Succession finale has aired, and one of the biggest, most awarded television shows in recent years has come to an end. As with any episode, there are winners and losers, dealmakers and backstabbers, but things are final this time around. So who got the job, who lost a loved one, and who compromised their morals past the point of no return? Read on to find out.
Kendall — LOSER
Kendall lost just about everything in the finale: the company, the respect of his siblings, and his sense of purpose. Back in the Season 2 finale, Logan told Kendall that he would never win because he’s “not a killer,” the events of Season 1 to the contrary. Last night, Kendall seemed to act on that sentiment, insisting to his siblings that he’d made the whole killing a kid thing up. That put the nail in his CEO campaign coffin, and killed the close bond he’d developed with Shiv and Roman this season. The prodigal son only manages to mimic his father in his final scene—alone (save for security) in a public park, aimless and alienated.
Shiv — LOSER
Shiv did play it smart (she has an in at the company, but she’s also free of the Waystar RoyCo beast—as always, she has options), but at what cost? Her rise to the top came to a harsh halt thanks to the cold smack of the glass ceiling, so she settles on being the wife with the right vote at the right time. She and Tom are no longer headed for divorce, but that’s hardly a win for Shiv.
Roman — WINNER
This may be a controversial take, but out of the Roy sibs in the running to take over the company, Roman got out the cleanest. At the start of the episode, he was hiding out in a lovely little villa, away from the absurdity of dealmaking, and he seemed pretty content with it. Like Kendall says to Shiv, Roman would never admit it, but he doesn’t want to be in charge; he just wants people to think that he could be in charge. Waystar RoyCo was not the life for him, and now he’s free of it forever.
Lukas Matsson — WINNER
He got the deal, he got rid of those pesky Roys, and he got his pick of the C-Suite. He’s a winner (unless Ebba decides to leak that whole blood brick thing).
Tom — WINNER
Arguably the biggest winner, Tom leaves the series as CEO and, even more miraculously, still a married man. Shiv tells Matsson early on in the finale that Tom will gladly “suck the biggest dick in the room,” and that particular soft skill on his resume is what gets him the job. He climbed the corporate ladder and got a hold on that American Dream—being a puppet CEO to a foreign tech weirdo.
Greg — LOSER
After the shocking reveal that Greg is paid $200K for being Tom’s assistant, anything but a promotion would have been a loss for the lanky lad. To see him try to straddle the line and climb the ladder at the same time made his slip back down to Tom’s servile assistant all the more painful. At the end of the series, Greg is up for auction, and Tom is the only bidder. You can be sure he’s lowballing the price.
Gerri — WINNER
Gerri keeps her job, and she doesn’t have to put up with Roman! When it comes to Gerri, the only loser is the audience, since her only line is a lovely little limerick on home video. She will be missed.
Connor — LOSER
He lost his election and his chance at an ambassadorship is tenuous at best, so Connor’s fate is a bit up in the air. The cost of running a campaign seemed to haunt him this season, so perhaps this auction of Logan’s old home has less to do with Willa’s remodeling plans and more to do with what he lost…
Willa — WINNER
Whether she’s First Lady to the Ambassador to Slovenia or not, she’s still got her play read through coming up and has a cow-print couch in transit. Good for her!
Logan — WINNER
Though entombed in his gaudy mausoleum, Logan won Succession in the end. His decree that his children are not serious people from the start of the season seems to finally hit home with Roman and Shiv, while Kendall flounders in the way Logan always expected him to. Logan died working to secure this GoJo deal, and Matsson is a worthy successor as a fellow sociopathic media tyrant.
