Liars and Saints

  In some ways, "Primate" is a missed opportunity. The setup is so great. A family of idiots in Hawaii keeps a pet chimp. The chimp gets Rabies-via-mongoose--then goes on a killing spree. This could be a chance for intriguing character development. Trapped in a swimming pool, the humans could have a kind of popularity contest. Who should brave the proximity of the chimp in order to retrieve a cell phone from the house? (The chimp won't enter the pool, so the pool is a type of panic room.) Secrets could be revealed; bargains could be attempted. This could be like the final episode of "Succession"; I had issues with that hour, but I loved when Shiv dragged out the memory of a certain corpse to discredit her own brother. Unfortunately, "Primate" has almost no interest in its humans. The main star is the chimp, Ben. He demonstrates creativity by inserting two fingers into a human mouth--then detaching half the face from the rest of the body. He terrorizes ...

 "Succession" pointed the way toward its own conclusion; it has been pointing for a few seasons. The show seemed to suggest that Roman was headed toward some kind of death; we saw him throwing himself in front of an angry crowd, and we saw him amping up his nihilistic language ("Dad, you're a monster," "nothing matters," "forcing the election of a fascist is just an act of producing good TV"). Roman didn't literally die, but his final scripted moments--"we're bullshit, we're clowns"--seemed like a kind of *spiritual* self-annihilation. The relentless backstabbing between Shiv and Kendall ("you're dirt," "you're unwell") seemed to be building toward a final betrayal. The actual betrayal was a delight; it led to one of the best lines this season ("I love you, but I can't stomach you"). Also, this scene had the most startling moment in a long while, I think; it's the moment when...

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. S...

It seems to me "Succession" should acknowledge a debt to the Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St. Aubyn. Maybe this has happened. Patrick Melrose: A boy born to fabulous wealth is brutalized by his father. His mother does nothing to intervene. Eventually, the mother gets away. The boy grows up to be a drug addict. The mother--when she drifts back into the picture--paints herself as a co-victim, as if there is no difference, in status, between spouse-of-monster and child-of-monster. "Succession," with reference to Kendall: All of the above is also true. I'm halfway through the series, at least the episodes that exist right now. My heart is with Kendall, although (spoiler alert) the Chappaquidick event that I just saw makes sympathy challenging. When I watch Jeremy Strong's performance, I think of a recent piece in the Times about Hoffa. There are two notable Hoffa impersonations: Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino. Nicholson made many cosmetic changes, but...