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HBO: "Succession"

Did you watch "Succession" this season? Let's talk.

*By far my favorite subplot is the Gerri/Roman romance. Great writing should surprise you--and I can't say I would have predicted the strange sadomasochistic thing that these two have going. Is one thirty years older than the other? No matter. (J. Smith-Cameron--wife of Kenneth Longergan--almost didn't get to play Gerri. The role was written for a man. "Succession" is still a show with too few women, but what a great move to turn Gerri into J. Smith-Cameron!)

*I often think of "The Godfather," which involved four adult children. "Succession" is a show with four adult children--and, as many have observed, the season two finale involves "a Fredo kiss." The kiss that precedes the betrayal. Judas with Jesus. Kendall does this, then stabs his father in the back. (If we're meant to think of the "The Godfather," then it's fun to compare Shiv to Connie. So much brutality aimed at Connie, so little she can do in response. Shiv--and Shiv's power--would seem to indicate that we've entered a new era.)

*As I've said, this show often seems to be in dialogue with the Patrick Melrose novels, and I'm often thinking of my favorite Melrose quote: "He found his moral compass spinning whenever he entered the magnetic field of intimacy." Logan seems to feel some fondness for Kendall. If he retaliates against Kendall in season three, then of course he is really retaliating against himself. But--if he doesn't retaliate--he is still attacking himself, just in a new way. Ah, family! 

*The MVP--if not J. Smith-Cameron--is Jeremy Strong. I'm never unhappy to spend more time in his company. Strong says he does not approach the show as a comedy, but as a tragedy; he spent his off-season reading "Crime and Punishment," as a way to contemplate Kendall's guilt. Strong--truly frightening and unpredictable--seems to raise the bar for everyone around him. I'll keep thinking about this performance as I wait for season three.....
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