Jesse Armstrong’s dark satire and family drama show, Succession, still stands as one of the most well-written and perfectly paced series HBO has aired in a while. Ever since it was first aired on June 3rd, 2018, the show started gaining recognition for not just its intriguing storyline but also its skilled actors that make Succession a show that deserves to be on everyone’s watchlist.
The plot of Succession revolves around the family owning a successful conglomerate called “Waystar RoyCo.”. Owned by the patriarch of the Roy Family, Logan Roy, the company has most of its children in all kinds of positions within the conglomerate. When Logan’s health starts to decline due to his age, the children, consisting of Connor Roy, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv, try to prove themselves worthy of power so that they can become Logan’s successors.
It’s no surprise that Succession managed to win awards like the British Academy Award, Golden Globe award, and many others for all of its seasons. Jesse Armstrong has also been awarded three different Emmys for his work on the series. The cast of Succession consists of Brian Cox (Logan Roy), Kieran Culkin (Roman Roy), Alan Ruck (Connor Roy), Jeremy Strong (Kendall Roy), and Sarah Snook (Siobhan Shiv Roy). Other supporting cast members include Hiam Abbass, Matthew Macfadyen, and Rob Yang.
Succession Season 1: Recap
The season begins with Logan Roy, owner of Waystar RoyCo, celebrating his 80th birthday. Seeing their father reach old age, the Roy children decide on who should be the next heir to the company. Logan, however, refuses to step down and instead gives the trust vote papers to his wife, Marcia.
He also hires Greg Hirsch and fires Frank Vernon, the man who was the company’s COO for years. This makes Kendall’s belief that he should be the next heir stronger, as his father had started making irrational decisions.
While on a helicopter ride, Logan collapses due to a stroke and is immediately taken to the hospital. In his place, Kendall becomes the acting CEO, while the position of COO is given to Roman, his younger brother. Shiv, their only sister, works in the political line, but seeing the fight for power within the company, she decides to focus more on Waystar RoyCo. As Shiv’s busy finding out about Marcia, Kendall tries to get his old friend, Stewy Hosseini, to invest in his company as it is falling into debt.
Tom Wambsgans, Shiv’s boyfriend, is hired as the head of Waystar Parks and Cruises, but right as he starts his job, he ends up finding out that the company was trying to hide crimes that took place on Waystar Cruises. He confides in Greg, leading to one of the best relationships on the show. Desperately wanting his father to step down, Kendall holds a vote of no confidence but ends up being late for it, causing Logan to take over and fire him from the company.
Things between Logan and Kendall get messy, and this causes Kendall to go back to drug use. The Roy family starts preparing for Shiv and Greg’s wedding at an English Castle. Kendall plans to take over the company again, and this ends up infuriating Logan.
Shiv’s infidelity is revealed, but Greg chooses to ignore it. After being kicked out from the wedding, Kendall and Andrew Dodds, one of the wedding waiters, go off into the night for doing drugs. However, they swerve after spotting a deer, throwing the car into the water. Although Kendall manages to make it out, the waiter drowns.
Succession Season 1: Ending Explained
In the final episode, Kendall proposes the offer to buy off Waystar RoyCo for $140 a share, which disappoints Logan. Roman prepares to watch the launch of a satellite in Japan that he is overseeing, but it unexpectedly blows up.
Connor reveals that he plans to run for the President of the United States. Logan lets Shiv know what Kendall is planning, and they all decide to have a private talk. Logan shows up as well and lets Kendall know that if it wasn’t for him, Kendall would have been a nobody.
Stressed out from the recent events, Kendall goes out in search of drugs and ends up with a waiter from Shiv’s wedding. While driving, a deer appears out of nowhere, and their car swerves right into the water. Kendall saves himself and leaves the waiter to drown.
He rushes back to the wedding party and pretends as if nothing happened. Logan calls him to his room the next day as Kendall’s key card is found with the waiter. His father also uses this opportunity to force him to back out from taking over the company by offering to protect him from the accident accusations.
Kendall breaks down in tears, and we see the father-son duo reconciling. The weight of the situation finally gets to Kendall, and he can’t keep up his strong demeanor anymore. The ending of Succession Season 1 shows Kendall reaching the breaking point of the fight against his father and possibly postponing his plans to become Waystar RoyCo’s CEO.
Although he hoped to be the main man of the company, Kendall was instead going to be living in Rehab until he got over his addiction. Each of the Roy children has their plan set out for achieving ultimate power and influence.
All seasons of Succession are now available to stream on HBO Max and Prime Video.
Also Read: Where is Succession Ending Filmed? All the Locations To Know
