HOLLYWOOD—Only two episodes are left before the HBO series “Succession” comes to an end, after a season that has been full of surprises and twists people. This week’s episode, ‘America Decides’ kicked off with constant discussion of the Matsson fallout on numbers, just as ATN was gripping up for the election results. Tom and Greg were nervous as hell. Greg spilled some Intel with Tom about a business alliance between Shiv and Matsson which caught him off guard.
The battle between Jimenez and Mencken was tighter than expected per exit polls. Again, polls are NOT reliable in the real world or in the TV world. Shiv and Roman are on opposite sides of the political spectrum and gosh, Roman Roy has to be the most unlikeable character I have seen on TV in years. He is a pretentious, pompous ass. Kendall got alerted from Rava with concerns about safety, and she was stunned to find out Kendall had his ex and his daughter followed without informing them.
Many are signaling that Jimenez is looking like the front-runner, just as Nate informed Shiv and Kendall about the tension with polls in Arizona amongst other places. Oh, I really would love to be in a newsroom on Election Night to witness the chaos behind the scenes that most Americans never get to see. Roman paid a visit to Mencken, who is almost like a doppelganger for Roman who is a smart-mouthed, arrogant ass. Let’s spin the narrative isn’t this what the media does people.
Whew, Tom and Greg are some characters, as it was apparent they were taking coke to knock off the edge. Tom was adamant that Greg partake even though he didn’t want to. Connor expected to be televised, but Tom ignored that angle. After Kentucky was called, Connor realized his chances of being President of the United States were not happening. Tom panicked when he realized the touchscreen was not properly working. Kendall heard about the touchscreen and all hell started to break loose.
Tom is ignoring what he doesn’t want to report, especially in Wisconsin, as Kendall and Shiv pushed for things to be covered. A fire at a polling location may have cost a ton of votes to be lost, as Mencken’s team relied on Roman to spin a narrative, just as Shiv worked with Nate and the Jimenez camp to also push a different narrative.
Shiv was hoping to receive an apology from Tom after she expressed remorse, but nope, Tom was just being Tom. Ok, so is Shiv really pregnant or was she just pulling one over on Tom?! He didn’t believe what she disclosed prompting her to just walk away. Shiv relayed to her brothers that Tom cannot be trusted, as it was obvious she wanted to clue them in on her pregnancy, but it was not the time. Roman made a VERY BAD, DISTASTEFUL JOKE, once again proving why I cannot stand the kid.
The absentee ballots missing in Wisconsin caused strife, as Roman was pushing for Mencken, just as Shiv and Kendall wanted to follow the law before calling a state. Shiv wants Jimenez, while Roman obviously wanted Mencken to win the presidency. These lost ballots and that fire in Wisconsin are the catalyst of tension for the media empire and Kendall, Roman and Shiv. Roman pulled a move that didn’t bode well with Shiv and it worried Kendall as well. Shiv interrogated Greg about his night out with Lukas that unnerved him.
Roman spilled to Kendall that Mencken will block that deal with Matsson if ATN supports him during the election. Gosh, I cannot believe I’m saying this, but if Roman Roy died in the next two episodes, I would not shed a single tear. This guy is annoying as you know what. Darwin informed Roman he couldn’t call Wisconsin without verifiable information, which Tom was also in favor of.
La Croix and wasabi caused a major scene at ATN that was hilarious. Connor was willing to align with Mencken because it was a great political and business move for him. Kendall was very worried and Shiv didn’t like seeing the cards start to fall around her. It was a dead heat between Jimenez and Mencken with 262 electoral votes apiece. Arizona was leaning red, and Kendall was NOT READY TO CALL THE ELECTION even though Roman thought otherwise.
Kendall realized that Mencken could be dangerous for America, while Roman had his stance and this was a bigger issue for Kendall when it came to his family where Roman was more focused on just winning per usual. Kendall alerted Shiv about the Matsson deal and Mencken. Kendall Roy is a more complicated character than I ever imagined.
Oh, I couldn’t believe Shiv made a fake call to Nate about the Matsson deal to try to put Kendall at ease. Shiv has her own angle and jeez this feels so dirty, but this is what politics does to people. After that ‘fake’ call, Shiv, Tom, Kendall and Roman about the parameters of the situation. Kendall wanted to make a call for certainty and it was obvious he knew his sister just pulled one on him. Shiv was shaking as she spotted Kendall chatting with Greg. Kendall confronted his sister about her duplicity.
Roman and Kendall were siding together, leaving Shiv solo and she did her best to plead her case. Tom was waiting for Kendall to make the decision on the election, as it was called for Jeryd Mencken. Shiv was heartbroken, just as Greg realized he may have made a decisive reveal of information. It looked like everyone at ATN was stunned at this decision to call the election for Mencken. The somber response to an individual being called the victor in an election almost resonated the feeling so many Americans had in 2016 when Donald Trump was declared President of the United States.
I’ve never seen so many people defeated by an election outcome. Kendall realized Mencken is good for business, Roman was giddy, Shiv was worried, and it makes me think something really bad is about to transpire and I mean real bad. Shiv was making a big move with Lukas one that is about to possibly tear down the ATN and Roy empire. Next week marks the penultimate episode of “Succession” before the series finale. Get ready people because Roman Roy is on cloud nine and I think his fall from grace is about to become epic TV, until next Sunday.
