10:15 Kendall outsmarted himself. Frank told him not to get out of the car but Kendall didn’t listen and got on a helicopter to Long Island. He went out there to get one more vote. Kendall not showing up caused Stewie and the guy from Vaulter to abstain and Roman without Kendall did not have the nerve to vote against Logan. He lost 3 votes because he missed the meeting trying to get one more vote.
Bro I have no idea how I forgot that happened. That would’ve been a perfect point to bring up. Hella mad at myself rn. Thanks for bringing it up though.
Kendall still had the right plays set up, he just gets unlucky (with the helicopter) or his vices are to blame (drowned kid), Logan isn’t invincible andKendall is damn near the one to prove it every single season. Logan was right to put Kendall down on his “piece of paper”. It’s like he saw that Kendall almost did it before, now that Logan took care of himself, he’s almost challenging Kendall to force enough leverage to maneuver himself to victory after his death with his underline/cross-out of Kendall’s name. “I know it’s you but I never admitted it, you know it’s you, but they don’t and I don’t plan on telling them, earn it and take it from them you fucking crackhead”.
Kendall's folly goes back to the previous night, actually. Frank told Kendall not to even make the phonecall. Kendall defied him and his inept handling of that phonecall was what necessitated making the trip the following morning in the first place.
"Children who were never allowed to become serious people" I love that so much, because it speaks to so much of why they turned out the way they did. Everyone gives the children all this flak about how they're nothing and they're incompetent and blah blah blah. And yeah, that's not wrong, but the truth is that they were playing a losing game. Right from the beginning. They were raised by such cold, cruel, neglectful people that becoming functional, level-headed people would have taken so much therapy and so much unpacking that they would spend their entire lives just scratching the surface of.
@@twoeyes1922That’s why it’s called a “cycle”. Shiv’s kid is a result of an unfaithful woman married to a man she doesn’t love, who had it to spite her neglectful mother. Kendall’s kids are barely in the show, and he’s probably going to be more distant than ever after the finale. Those kids will grow up in a pretty cushy life, but they will have a ton of internal issues in the long term.
First person that has ever talked about how Logan was lucky in the entirety of the show. He may have been a business mogul once before but we as an audience never really saw him as that. Really appreciate you bringing light to that.
To win with a narcissist dad you have to stop playing his game altogether. There's no other way. You kill the love of that innocent child in yourself for him. You love him, a more mature love which can stay at a distance for the sake of saving yourself if needed.
So what you are trying to say is....Connor win in the end? He doesnt play by his dad rules or his company and just do whatever he wants. He may still ask for his father money and stuff but he wont be involved with the insane company drama and such. Conheads prevail as always!
basically every rich asian dad ever, however they're more smart at teaching their kids, one father from conglomerate family here in the philippines puts his sons into a normal employee of the company instead of giving them all the leeway of higher positions. In that way, his sons understood the management from the ground up instead of waiting for the succession to come just because they're blood. Which is why the stigma here is to not bring family along with work.
At first you got the feeling that Logan was trying to forge the kids by fire. But he didn't give them they key ingredients all kids need to shine - warmth and breathing space. They became his biggest failure so he decided to burn down the house. He built an empire but was incapable of building one lasting relationship in his life. And that failure was the true pathos of his life
My grandfather was my Logan Roy. He was an abusive, misogynistic, racist machismo man who treated his kids and grandkids like shit. He was never encouraging. He was discouraging, unsupportive, and manipulative. Like Logan, he would dangle his approval like a carrot and always keep it away. He treated my mother like a slave, someone to cook & clean, after my grandmother died. His eldest and youngest sons hero worshipped him and chose to emulate all his negative qualities and amp them up to 11. He and my uncles would play the game of keeping me, my mom, and others smaller than them. Smaller, always smaller. The game’s rules they played was constantly changed to their whim. Whatever we did right was never acknowledged and everything we did wrong was cataloged and thrown in our face time and time again. I felt shock and eventual relief when he died. He’s been dead 10 years and I don’t miss him one bit. My youngest uncle passed away in 2020 and again, I felt shock and relief. He was my primary bully all my life and I never forgave him for hitting my mom one night. She hit him back and it turned into a scuffle. It’s been 3 years and I’m relieved both of them are gone and I never have to see them again. If you have a Logan Roy in your life, get away from them as far as you possibly can. Sever all contact and live your life the best way you can. Be the exact opposite of what they are. That’s what I chose to do, be the anti-Logan Roy. I may not have much to my name and people will forget me when I’m gone, but I treated my mom, my sister, my dog, and my friends with kindness and support. For that, I feel content.
Every life you have touched is a testament to whatvyouve accomplished. Infinitly more valuable than the material BS that is worshiped by this infantile society. KUDOS TO YOU AND GOD SPEED.
The point about Logan winning through luck in the beginning is really good. I think Logan got lucky once and became even more calculated and heartless once he saw he wasn't invincible.
One of the most heartbreaking things in the story is how Kendall is pulled away from his kids. At the beginning, he seems like a pretty regular dad who is going through a separation. He is friends with his ex-wife and there is no sign of that he would ever be as cruel to Sophie and Iverson as Logan was to him. He was probably reckless and irresponsible, but not abusive. But as the show goes on, he becomes more and more broken and he loses sight of who he is. In the "family therapy " episode Logan plants a fake story about Kendall being on drugs. Rava sees the story and is hesitant to let Kendall see his kids. Efter this, Kendall actually gets high again, because if he can't see his kids anyway and Rava doesn't believe him, despite his best efforts, plus that his dad is incredibly cruel to him, he has nothing left to comfort him but drugs. Between Iverson getting hit by Logan in s1 and Sophie being scared of Mencken in s4, Kendall has completely lost sight of how defending your kids should be the most obvious thing for any parent to do at all time.
I think you're spot on with something, as the show opens with Logan confused, urinating in his house, then dying offstage. He was such a force of selfishness, no tool overlooked when it came to him 'winning.' Certainly not the needs of his children who he relentless weaponized and manipulated not in an effort to build a successor, but in an effort to keep himself at the center of everything. His battle was with life in general, a battle that can never be 'won,' especially when your definition of winning is to never be stopped, to never die. As powerful as he was in that show (and I swear, the episodes after his death he was in every scene and dominating every action and thought, both onscreen and with the viewer, for me at least. I freaking MISSED him and his awful intoxicating menace), he was ultimately like us all, completely weak and powerless against the relentless march of time.
i went into succession thinking it was a more business-y version of arrested development (and a lot of similarities are there, the clever writing, the comedy, etc.) but when i realized it was about generational trauma and the cycles of abuse, it hit me like a truck. as with any well-written, complex, characters, no matter how awful human beings the roys are, we can't help but see pieces of ourselves in people like kendall, roman, shiv, and connor. the sad thing is, adding the whole being born into billions angle doesn't mean anything in their situation-- they're just bound to repeat logan and caroline's mistakes and continue to inflict pain upon themselves and others. hurt people hurt people. kendall had all the money and resources and practically nothing stopping him from being a better father and partner than logan ever was to his family, yet he becomes logan, but without any of the self-made success. kendall inherits all of logan's worst features-- down to the smallest mannerisms (putting roman down, talking down to shiv, the finger point, "i did it all for my kids," "you're not serious people/you're just not serious") but without any of the success that logan forged. more than a month has passed since the finale and i still can't get enough of this show. tom was talking to shiv when he said this, but it applies to all of the roy siblings: that they are incapable of love, and endless amounts of love and validation from others will never do because they are, as tom brutally put it, "broken." they're incapable of real love, loyalty, honesty, and affection. the rare glimpses we see of kendall trying to be a good dad, the siblings getting along and just acting like siblings-- those glimpses give us hope that they are capable of change, but someone always has to self-sabotage, whether it be kendall, shiv, roman, or even caroline and outsiders like tom. logan was a force, and one that we'll be talking about for a long time. this was a great video, man. keep it up.
One main thing that was missing between Logan and the Roy kids was love. If Logan nurtured them with love and understanding, they could have become leve-headed people. If only he didn't treat them so harshly. Love is always and always more important than money and accomplishments.
I had my own Logan Roy, he was ashamed of me and I knew it from a very young age, I was always afraid of him I knew he was ashamed, I knew he did not like I was not like him I knew I was an embarrassment for him, and just like Logan his past was really messed up and hard to endure so I see A LOT of my father in Logan
I have genuinely seen a ton of succession takes even from the actors themselves and the writers but i genuinely have not heard someone ever make the take you did in the way you did on logan, that made him seem so truly week and showed me, a person w autism who has trouble understand a lot of shadiness and reasoning and how ppl can change emotions/expressions, understand the intentionality of his behaviors with a way that wasnt at all genuine and put it together in this video in a way that summed it all up perfectly understandable in under like 20 minutes. Respect man.
I was just taking notes on the speech given last month by Rory Stewart OBE at Gresham College called "Populism, Aristotle, and Hope". It's about the rise of Neoliberalism on the back of the wave of American secular optimism after achieving global economic hegemony in the post-World War II era. He argues that there are 5 Assumptions that underlie Neoliberalism. And your words zeroing in on Logan seeing people - including his children - as only economic actors came flooding back into my mind as I was thinking about the claims of Modernisation Theory in the 1950s, that Free Markets were the only path to prosperity, and Free Markets and Liberal Democracy were one and the same. And the thought came to me that Succession's critiques are far broader than our new-but-old social media autocracy. It's a philosophical critique of our value system that inevitably created the Roy Family. The fight in the mud is much the same idea that life is brutish, nasty, and short, and that autocracy is necessary to impose civilisation top down on the masses. It is a counterpoint to the Humanism of the Enlightenment. And we struggle with those two conflicting visions of human nature. And that conflict between these two conclusions about human nature can create monsters. Why? In trying to reject the extreme tendencies of the other, each can go to extremes in fighting their fears. Much like Logan's caregivers learned then applied to him. It was their reality they imposed on him, and he learned all too well from his suffering. So much, he could not discern the destruction he created, as much as he tried to mould his children into being strong enough to be him. He was bound to fail. And so will our autocrats. So, the legacy is passed on. We can choose to do differently if we become aware of our entrainment, our conditioning, and find the courage to challenge it, by avoiding the pitfalls and extremes of both pessimism and optimism. But that's not easy. That is hard work. It's easier not to. And that's our challenge. Thanks for making me think L. Subbed. Lol.
Dude… wow. This is without a doubt the most analytical comment I have ever seen on one my videos. Like damn ngl didn’t understand a lot it but I think I got most of it. Glad u said it.
One thing I keep thinking about that show and I don't know if its inconsistent, but in the first episodes there's a theme of him being senile. Something like King Lear. Maybe his defeats are explained by the fact that he is really getting old and unfit. It kind of backs Kendall's argument that he should have passed over his kingdom. And he kind of did!
Great video! For a character as transparently malignant as Logan, it’s surprising how many people who watch the show seem to take him at his word. (I.e. A business mastermind who has to constantly put up with incompetents on his way to greatness) That montage at the end is so good!
Oh, Logan very much DOES see his children as threats. More than anyone else, really. Probably because he does love them in his messed up way (he sees love as weakness, vulnerability) and because he sees them as extensions of himself - if "imperfect" ones. (They all reflect many of his toxic traits, in different ways). At the beginning of the pilot, Logan is pissing at the carpet and freels disoriented. 15 minutes into the pilot, Logan sees Kendall on the cover of Forbes and his reaction is... visible annoyance. And the same day, he changes his mind about the succession. The reasons he gives Kendall are either utter BS (that he was in rehab three years ago - as if he just found out about it) or dubious (going to his own birthday before closing the deal - was that really the clincher? Maybe. But he deliberately gave him that as a test and also sent Roman as a spy basically to see how the deal was going, like he was really looking for reasons to change his mind.) He is supposedly disappointed in his children for their incompetence or weakness or whatever, but at the same time, whenever they do something right, and save the company from the mess he got it in (Kendall in season 1, Shiv in season 3), he berates them and make them feel like crap. He keeps investing so much energy into intiimidating them, into looking like an indomitable powerful force in front of them, as if showing any vulnerability would leave him open to attack. (I rewatched the scene in the season 1 finale where Kendall gives him the bear hug letter, and it's funny how Logan acts perfectly intimidating and dismissive and dramatically throws the letter in the toilet, but the moment Kendall leaves, he starts fishing in the toiilet for the letter and is then visibly panicked as he reads it and tells Marcia what's in it.) Or as if he thinks they could only love and respect him if he seems all powerful and if he keeps throwing money, shares and potential positions in the company at them and manipulating them We all know the kids' ambitions about CEO (or President, in Connor' case) are all about approval and signs of love, they are needy love sponges (yes, including Connor, as much as he tries to deny it) but Logan really was the same, just as pathetic and unserious and desperate to prove he's the strongest and the mightiest and get his kids to show him love (even if he needed to manipulate, break and/or blackmail them so they could be subservient enough, because he couldn't bear any criticism or rebellion as he saw them as attack on himself). He was just really good at projecting that image of power - and had had decades to build it up in the company and the entire public.
I love Logan as a character (not as person); he embodies so much of my own childhood trauma, it's given me so much perspective on memories I'd long forgotten. I had a few good cries watching Succession for everything it brought up for me. Honestly, grateful for the "therapy." Brian Cox is truly legendary.
I couldn't stand Logan. If he were real, I would get away from him as fast as possible. He sucked. He was always lashing out at anyone he had within sight's range because he secretly hated himself. There was no love there, for him or for anyone else. It's impossible to live with someone like that. A true monster.
The death of the waiter and the way his father handled torturing it with that information was so fucked. He used the information like a sword, but only the tip until he actually went and slashed him by outright talking about it. Fucking horrifying
Yea there’s a comment about how Kendall being stuck in traffic was because he ignored advice and went out there which I’m mad now I didn’t bring up. But I agree though I mention “luck” cause I want to imply that Logan’s abuse to keep his kids down isn’t some intelligent strategy to win in bear hugs, votes, etc. again this kids. It’s just cause he’s a broken man.
@@mediaroom4181 you have a good point. I understand what you mean. It’s not that Logan is so brilliant that he keeps winning, it works out in his favor because of the endless cycle of abuse that inevitably repeats itself that Kendall is bound to repeat. In psychoanalytic terms, it is Kendall’s Oedipal downfall, the inevitability of his own self destruction that he can’t help but do, and it’s a toxic dance between he and his father. The writers, especially the main writer and creator, Jesse Armstrong, seem very aware and well versed in psychoanalysis and object relations as is demonstrated both in complexity and inevitability of this tragic dynamic between father and son. Armstrong even uses the Oedipal downfall in his dialogue when the Holly Hunter character meets Kendall for the first time mentioning “poking your eyes out.” The “TMZ” channel calls Kendall Oedipussy. Remember when Kendall was already clean and off drugs and Logan plants a story in one of his own tabloids saying Kendall is messed up on drugs, which sends Kendall in reality BACK on drugs and also severs the trust that Rava has for him.
Logan was not a monster. What many people dont realize is that he acted the way he acted around his kids because he already saw them for the disappointments they were. He was honest with themselves many times. He did tell them that they werent serious people and he meant that. He didnt say that because he was manipulating them or was trying to hurt them on purpose. He was being honest with them. He did love them, otherwise he wouldnt have left them so much shares and made them billionaires. He gave all of them chances and they failed miserably and embarrased themselves many times. All of his children did nothing with their lives. They had the means to do anything and yet they all stuck around hoping they would inherit the CEO. It speaks more about their selfishness rather than his.
I really expected Logan to be a bumbling buffoon and its the Kids fighting over each other but man oh man i was wrong. He was so cutthroat that he stiffs his contractor even though he could pay the bill 10x and he wont even feel it. It kinda makes sense too when i thought about it, he won't be this rich if he wasnt ruthless as fuck.
The main thing to remember about Logan is that he's a killer, and he's able to weaponize ANYTHING to gain an edge in a fight, even/especially LUCK. I think the accident with the waiter underlined that point fairly well. When Kendall is blindsided by the trauma of causing the death of a stranger who he'd shared a moment with, what does Kendall do? He hides and tries to pretend it never happened. He is shaken to his core. Once Kendall's dad discovers the details of the tragic accident, Logan takes full advantage of the situation, using it as leverage against his own son. I can imaging him having an emergency late night conference call with Jerry, Carolina and his PR firm about how to handle the matter. The man is an absolute Savage.
The only part that made sense, to me, was the parental manipulation over the child. Many people do this, no matter their status. They can cripple, manipulate, compete and attempt to own the child. Not just the 'abusive' types, but those who do not even admit to it. Even the 'perfect' mother can be the very worst character in that child's life. Let's be real about this. Humans.
What I enjoyed most about Succession was how it encapsulates the flaws of a system hyper focused on individuality. That's why I think saying Logan is worse than Hitler is a stretch. Sure, he's corrupt but there's a heart beating in there some where. Making his relationship with his children and his life in general all the more tragic. Kinda giving me Heredity vibes, no pun intended.
I was rooting for Logan the whole time. It was clear that he did not do a good job raising his children but it was also clear that he had regrets about that and was conflicted about some decisions and not everything was pure manipulation. He could have easily cut the kids out but he repeatedly tried to make it work with them in the business at times to his own detriment. It was also clear that while his children may not have had good parenting that they were incredibly flawed due entirely to their own agency and innate shortcomings. Of course these were exacerbated at times by Logan, the reality is that there are people from far worse off backgrounds than billionaire children with tyrannical fathers that end up as much better people than the Roy children. In the end they weren’t serious people not because Logan didn’t let them but because they truly did not have it within them. Logan was from nothing and was treated worse and you can say what you want about his behavior but no one will argue that he isn’t a serious person. All in all it’s the mother who may have a bit more responsibility to bear for her children’s lack of seriousness as she is someone who is from money, but during the divorce extracts everything she can out of Logan. Then after the divorce spends her time and money in various family estates while being caught up in one infatuous fling with foolish or conniving men after another simply because she knew that she controlled the leverage of the relationship and was insecure otherwise.
It makes me sad to see Kendall so vehemently defend Roman when he sees Logan slap him, only to then see Kendall doing much worse in the form of actively hurting Roman until someone stops him. It’s very heartbreaking to see everything this family has gone through.
Stop it, Kendall killed a young man, dad not comforting him over it isn’t abuse. He cleaned up his mess and kept him out of jail. What is Kendall crying for? He isn’t a victim. He could have turned himself in and faced the consequences.
Yea I kind of always do cause I just like using the soundtrack of the movie/show I’m talking abt. But it just a monetization block and I haven’t even monetized the channel at all so idc
I think calling Logan a monster is incredibly reductive and undermines what the show is communicating. There’s so much more to his character, his story, and the part others play.
Haven't watched it yet , but guessed the father was a hurt man. Usually, these Type of people hate themselves. As he insults the children calling his son "You are nobody", actually he knows that he himself is "nobody" unless he owns somebody. This is the most he can. He is a weak men, nothing to give to anyone including his children and unique tool is to control them or anybody. He knows he is disliked even by his friends. It is just a self-control. Usually , these types they either have childhood trauma, marriage trauma ( such as having been cheated or chosen over),sexual problems or even hidden sexual identity or even low IQ because being a tyrant does not require much intelligence. Anyone can be. And that is all he can. He is an old man with issues , unsatisfied with himself.A sad story.
I think you’re a wonderful essay writer and I don’t want this to be seen as a slight on you because I really enjoyed the whole thing; also, just trying to give this show a chance. That being said, everything I’ve seen over Succession always comes off to me as just telling me exactly why I shouldn’t try to watch past the first 4 episodes. I have no ability to feel apathy to anyone in this story because I can’t find a reason to relate or like any of them. Sure I may have some issues that I/people in my life share, but I have no idea why I can/should connect with people that have enough money to by the small town I live in without noticing a difference in their bank account. The most egregious aspect is that they were all born into it and makes it impossible for me to be invested in something when I hate most characters
“that’s kind of the point of the show. At the end of the day none of this really matters. It’s a bunch of rich ppl trying to get richer. Nobody’s life’s at stake. This is small blip in waystars history and the kids have all the money in the world. But because of Logan’s abuse the thing that doesn’t really matter was the entire world to them because it represented his approval.” I copied a response I gave to another comment. The show is very aware of the horribleness and power of the people you’re supposed to feel sympathy for. It doesn’t glorify billionaires or try to reason with how awful they are. It just creates a new perspective on abuse through the context of their wealth. That being said it just might not be for you but I would give it a shot. It’s amazing
@@mediaroom4181 I know that it’s not trying to force me into a sympathetic position by any means, but I just don’t think it’s for me. I think the premise is a solid idea, but something about the characters doesn’t even necessarily draw much out of me but apathy. Like, I’ve tried really hard to give it a try for some people in my life, but I think your essay really just drove the point home for me that it’s just not for me. Thanks for responding though and have a wonderful day!
Monster ? have you watched other series ? he is not a monster, he is ruth but he is just a businessmen. He likes his children but are just stupid af. Only one season is enought to get it
Can’t blame Logan. His kids are amateurs and are not serious people . The business world is brutal and these children are not up to snuff. They are weak and spoiled
Okay, Logan was an imperfect person, but he was NOT the villain, in my opinion. The Man was not "given" power, he gained what he did from THE WAY he was. He had his own trauma, and instead of people starting their own thing to see it grow and almost die, I don't think that makes them any better than he 'was'. People downplay what it took for him to be who he is, and he, God-forbid, ENJOYED himself and he ENJOYED making fun of others...so do I. If only they left him alone. Only drama and childishness came with these people, and good for Logan for reminding them of who they are to him too.
@@R_S747 Lol! His kids were awful. They gave nothing, brought nothing, had nothing and did not even worry about that as much as 'taking over' as CEO. How extra of them. Lol!!
just watching succession for the second time and don't see logan as a monster at all. his love and compassion for his kids is so apparent throughout. shiv and kendall are just spoiled rotten and not nice people. and definitely not serious.
I love the analysis people keep making of could Kendal do the job, can he do the job like his dad his could. “He was never as good as his great father”. “Logan Roy was horrible but an amazing business man”. It is all people seem to have to say while shitting on the children this monster emotional and physically abused. By the time Kendal was gonna take the company, Logan had already run it into the dirt and was pissing on his own carpet cuz he’s fukin senile. So this nonsense of could Kendall do it, do what? Run a company??? It’s not fukin rocket science, Elon musk runs a company, mark Zuckerberg, the heads at Fox News!!!!! There’s so many more complicated and nuanced ideas, themes, and emotions happening beyond who won. I appreciate this analysis for looking at those things, beyond a capitalist perspective of Logan Roy won cuz he money a lot.
10:15 Kendall outsmarted himself. Frank told him not to get out of the car but Kendall didn’t listen and got on a helicopter to Long Island. He went out there to get one more vote. Kendall not showing up caused Stewie and the guy from Vaulter to abstain and Roman without Kendall did not have the nerve to vote against Logan. He lost 3 votes because he missed the meeting trying to get one more vote.
Bro I have no idea how I forgot that happened. That would’ve been a perfect point to bring up. Hella mad at myself rn. Thanks for bringing it up though.
F it I’m pinning this
Kendall still had the right plays set up, he just gets unlucky (with the helicopter) or his vices are to blame (drowned kid), Logan isn’t invincible andKendall is damn near the one to prove it every single season.
Logan was right to put Kendall down on his “piece of paper”. It’s like he saw that Kendall almost did it before, now that Logan took care of himself, he’s almost challenging Kendall to force enough leverage to maneuver himself to victory after his death with his underline/cross-out of Kendall’s name.
“I know it’s you but I never admitted it, you know it’s you, but they don’t and I don’t plan on telling them, earn it and take it from them you fucking crackhead”.
@@mediaroom4181 Thanks 🙏 😊
Kendall's folly goes back to the previous night, actually. Frank told Kendall not to even make the phonecall. Kendall defied him and his inept handling of that phonecall was what necessitated making the trip the following morning in the first place.
When Logan died off camera, I honestly thought Logan was just pulling a "move" on his kids. That's how malevolent I thought his character was.
Same here
"Children who were never allowed to become serious people" I love that so much, because it speaks to so much of why they turned out the way they did. Everyone gives the children all this flak about how they're nothing and they're incompetent and blah blah blah. And yeah, that's not wrong, but the truth is that they were playing a losing game. Right from the beginning. They were raised by such cold, cruel, neglectful people that becoming functional, level-headed people would have taken so much therapy and so much unpacking that they would spend their entire lives just scratching the surface of.
Ok same could be said about logan
You see this a lot in everyday life though. Parents scolding their kids for “having it too easy” for simply living the life said parents gave them.
@@twoeyes1922That’s why it’s called a “cycle”. Shiv’s kid is a result of an unfaithful woman married to a man she doesn’t love, who had it to spite her neglectful mother. Kendall’s kids are barely in the show, and he’s probably going to be more distant than ever after the finale. Those kids will grow up in a pretty cushy life, but they will have a ton of internal issues in the long term.
First person that has ever talked about how Logan was lucky in the entirety of the show. He may have been a business mogul once before but we as an audience never really saw him as that.
Really appreciate you bringing light to that.
To win with a narcissist dad you have to stop playing his game altogether. There's no other way. You kill the love of that innocent child in yourself for him. You love him, a more mature love which can stay at a distance for the sake of saving yourself if needed.
So what you are trying to say is....Connor win in the end? He doesnt play by his dad rules or his company and just do whatever he wants. He may still ask for his father money and stuff but he wont be involved with the insane company drama and such. Conheads prevail as always!
@@johans3164 president
basically every rich asian dad ever, however they're more smart at teaching their kids, one father from conglomerate family here in the philippines puts his sons into a normal employee of the company instead of giving them all the leeway of higher positions. In that way, his sons understood the management from the ground up instead of waiting for the succession to come just because they're blood.
Which is why the stigma here is to not bring family along with work.
At first you got the feeling that Logan was trying to forge the kids by fire. But he didn't give them they key ingredients all kids need to shine - warmth and breathing space. They became his biggest failure so he decided to burn down the house. He built an empire but was incapable of building one lasting relationship in his life. And that failure was the true pathos of his life
My grandfather was my Logan Roy. He was an abusive, misogynistic, racist machismo man who treated his kids and grandkids like shit. He was never encouraging. He was discouraging, unsupportive, and manipulative. Like Logan, he would dangle his approval like a carrot and always keep it away. He treated my mother like a slave, someone to cook & clean, after my grandmother died. His eldest and youngest sons hero worshipped him and chose to emulate all his negative qualities and amp them up to 11. He and my uncles would play the game of keeping me, my mom, and others smaller than them. Smaller, always smaller. The game’s rules they played was constantly changed to their whim. Whatever we did right was never acknowledged and everything we did wrong was cataloged and thrown in our face time and time again. I felt shock and eventual relief when he died. He’s been dead 10 years and I don’t miss him one bit. My youngest uncle passed away in 2020 and again, I felt shock and relief. He was my primary bully all my life and I never forgave him for hitting my mom one night. She hit him back and it turned into a scuffle. It’s been 3 years and I’m relieved both of them are gone and I never have to see them again.
If you have a Logan Roy in your life, get away from them as far as you possibly can. Sever all contact and live your life the best way you can. Be the exact opposite of what they are. That’s what I chose to do, be the anti-Logan Roy. I may not have much to my name and people will forget me when I’m gone, but I treated my mom, my sister, my dog, and my friends with kindness and support. For that, I feel content.
Every life you have touched is a testament to whatvyouve accomplished. Infinitly more valuable than the material BS that is worshiped by this infantile society. KUDOS TO YOU AND GOD SPEED.
My dad used to be that person in my life my mom supported his behavior, my life was hell and only became livable once I moved out
The point about Logan winning through luck in the beginning is really good. I think Logan got lucky once and became even more calculated and heartless once he saw he wasn't invincible.
One of the most heartbreaking things in the story is how Kendall is pulled away from his kids.
At the beginning, he seems like a pretty regular dad who is going through a separation. He is friends with his ex-wife and there is no sign of that he would ever be as cruel to Sophie and Iverson as Logan was to him. He was probably reckless and irresponsible, but not abusive. But as the show goes on, he becomes more and more broken and he loses sight of who he is.
In the "family therapy " episode Logan plants a fake story about Kendall being on drugs. Rava sees the story and is hesitant to let Kendall see his kids. Efter this, Kendall actually gets high again, because if he can't see his kids anyway and Rava doesn't believe him, despite his best efforts, plus that his dad is incredibly cruel to him, he has nothing left to comfort him but drugs.
Between Iverson getting hit by Logan in s1 and Sophie being scared of Mencken in s4, Kendall has completely lost sight of how defending your kids should be the most obvious thing for any parent to do at all time.
He couldn't be a parent he was too busy being a child
I think you're spot on with something, as the show opens with Logan confused, urinating in his house, then dying offstage. He was such a force of selfishness, no tool overlooked when it came to him 'winning.' Certainly not the needs of his children who he relentless weaponized and manipulated not in an effort to build a successor, but in an effort to keep himself at the center of everything. His battle was with life in general, a battle that can never be 'won,' especially when your definition of winning is to never be stopped, to never die. As powerful as he was in that show (and I swear, the episodes after his death he was in every scene and dominating every action and thought, both onscreen and with the viewer, for me at least. I freaking MISSED him and his awful intoxicating menace), he was ultimately like us all, completely weak and powerless against the relentless march of time.
"Dies surrounded by employees" - ...which are arguably closer to him than his children (the dinner song tape from the last episode).
i went into succession thinking it was a more business-y version of arrested development (and a lot of similarities are there, the clever writing, the comedy, etc.) but when i realized it was about generational trauma and the cycles of abuse, it hit me like a truck. as with any well-written, complex, characters, no matter how awful human beings the roys are, we can't help but see pieces of ourselves in people like kendall, roman, shiv, and connor. the sad thing is, adding the whole being born into billions angle doesn't mean anything in their situation-- they're just bound to repeat logan and caroline's mistakes and continue to inflict pain upon themselves and others. hurt people hurt people. kendall had all the money and resources and practically nothing stopping him from being a better father and partner than logan ever was to his family, yet he becomes logan, but without any of the self-made success. kendall inherits all of logan's worst features-- down to the smallest mannerisms (putting roman down, talking down to shiv, the finger point, "i did it all for my kids," "you're not serious people/you're just not serious") but without any of the success that logan forged. more than a month has passed since the finale and i still can't get enough of this show.
tom was talking to shiv when he said this, but it applies to all of the roy siblings: that they are incapable of love, and endless amounts of love and validation from others will never do because they are, as tom brutally put it, "broken." they're incapable of real love, loyalty, honesty, and affection. the rare glimpses we see of kendall trying to be a good dad, the siblings getting along and just acting like siblings-- those glimpses give us hope that they are capable of change, but someone always has to self-sabotage, whether it be kendall, shiv, roman, or even caroline and outsiders like tom.
logan was a force, and one that we'll be talking about for a long time. this was a great video, man. keep it up.
One main thing that was missing between Logan and the Roy kids was love. If Logan nurtured them with love and understanding, they could have become leve-headed people. If only he didn't treat them so harshly. Love is always and always more important than money and accomplishments.
Logan Roy is Tywin Lannister in modern times.
Yeah, especially if he went into his pulmonary embolism while listening to Roman's voicemail...
I had my own Logan Roy, he was ashamed of me and I knew it from a very young age, I was always afraid of him I knew he was ashamed, I knew he did not like I was not like him I knew I was an embarrassment for him, and just like Logan his past was really messed up and hard to endure so I see A LOT of my father in Logan
Really sorry to hear that
@@mediaroom4181 thx ❤
I felt that +
A lot of people can relate to this
@@mohmedhassan6875 i know
I never saw a show that is so cyclical yet feel new at the same time
I have genuinely seen a ton of succession takes even from the actors themselves and the writers but i genuinely have not heard someone ever make the take you did in the way you did on logan, that made him seem so truly week and showed me, a person w autism who has trouble understand a lot of shadiness and reasoning and how ppl can change emotions/expressions, understand the intentionality of his behaviors with a way that wasnt at all genuine and put it together in this video in a way that summed it all up perfectly understandable in under like 20 minutes. Respect man.
It's not intentional, it's unconscious. It's a traumatized psyche protecting its fantasy instead of being in touch with feelings & reality.
I was just taking notes on the speech given last month by Rory Stewart OBE at Gresham College called "Populism, Aristotle, and Hope". It's about the rise of Neoliberalism on the back of the wave of American secular optimism after achieving global economic hegemony in the post-World War II era. He argues that there are 5 Assumptions that underlie Neoliberalism. And your words zeroing in on Logan seeing people - including his children - as only economic actors came flooding back into my mind as I was thinking about the claims of Modernisation Theory in the 1950s, that Free Markets were the only path to prosperity, and Free Markets and Liberal Democracy were one and the same. And the thought came to me that Succession's critiques are far broader than our new-but-old social media autocracy. It's a philosophical critique of our value system that inevitably created the Roy Family. The fight in the mud is much the same idea that life is brutish, nasty, and short, and that autocracy is necessary to impose civilisation top down on the masses. It is a counterpoint to the Humanism of the Enlightenment. And we struggle with those two conflicting visions of human nature. And that conflict between these two conclusions about human nature can create monsters. Why? In trying to reject the extreme tendencies of the other, each can go to extremes in fighting their fears. Much like Logan's caregivers learned then applied to him. It was their reality they imposed on him, and he learned all too well from his suffering. So much, he could not discern the destruction he created, as much as he tried to mould his children into being strong enough to be him. He was bound to fail. And so will our autocrats.
So, the legacy is passed on. We can choose to do differently if we become aware of our entrainment, our conditioning, and find the courage to challenge it, by avoiding the pitfalls and extremes of both pessimism and optimism. But that's not easy. That is hard work. It's easier not to. And that's our challenge.
Thanks for making me think L. Subbed. Lol.
Dude… wow. This is without a doubt the most analytical comment I have ever seen on one my videos. Like damn ngl didn’t understand a lot it but I think I got most of it. Glad u said it.
@@mediaroom4181 You know more than you think. You got it when you said "the love didn't stand a chance."
One thing I keep thinking about that show and I don't know if its inconsistent, but in the first episodes there's a theme of him being senile. Something like King Lear. Maybe his defeats are explained by the fact that he is really getting old and unfit. It kind of backs Kendall's argument that he should have passed over his kingdom. And he kind of did!
Great video! For a character as transparently malignant as Logan, it’s surprising how many people who watch the show seem to take him at his word. (I.e. A business mastermind who has to constantly put up with incompetents on his way to greatness)
That montage at the end is so good!
I don’t know why no one put their hands on this man just one time 😭😭
Oh, Logan very much DOES see his children as threats. More than anyone else, really. Probably because he does love them in his messed up way (he sees love as weakness, vulnerability) and because he sees them as extensions of himself - if "imperfect" ones. (They all reflect many of his toxic traits, in different ways).
At the beginning of the pilot, Logan is pissing at the carpet and freels disoriented. 15 minutes into the pilot, Logan sees Kendall on the cover of Forbes and his reaction is... visible annoyance. And the same day, he changes his mind about the succession. The reasons he gives Kendall are either utter BS (that he was in rehab three years ago - as if he just found out about it) or dubious (going to his own birthday before closing the deal - was that really the clincher? Maybe. But he deliberately gave him that as a test and also sent Roman as a spy basically to see how the deal was going, like he was really looking for reasons to change his mind.)
He is supposedly disappointed in his children for their incompetence or weakness or whatever, but at the same time, whenever they do something right, and save the company from the mess he got it in (Kendall in season 1, Shiv in season 3), he berates them and make them feel like crap.
He keeps investing so much energy into intiimidating them, into looking like an indomitable powerful force in front of them, as if showing any vulnerability would leave him open to attack. (I rewatched the scene in the season 1 finale where Kendall gives him the bear hug letter, and it's funny how Logan acts perfectly intimidating and dismissive and dramatically throws the letter in the toilet, but the moment Kendall leaves, he starts fishing in the toiilet for the letter and is then visibly panicked as he reads it and tells Marcia what's in it.)
Or as if he thinks they could only love and respect him if he seems all powerful and if he keeps throwing money, shares and potential positions in the company at them and manipulating them
We all know the kids' ambitions about CEO (or President, in Connor' case) are all about approval and signs of love, they are needy love sponges (yes, including Connor, as much as he tries to deny it) but Logan really was the same, just as pathetic and unserious and desperate to prove he's the strongest and the mightiest and get his kids to show him love (even if he needed to manipulate, break and/or blackmail them so they could be subservient enough, because he couldn't bear any criticism or rebellion as he saw them as attack on himself). He was just really good at projecting that image of power - and had had decades to build it up in the company and the entire public.
You know, I’m soo happy that I watched this series in real-time. Not months after seeing UA-cam reviews on it. Brilliant show!
man succession was so good I am gonna miss this show so much. Logan roy one of the best villains in TV history
I felt so bad for Kendall when he was reduced to a pathetic automaton by Logan
Exceptional video buddy. This channels gonna skyrocket real soon.
God I love your videos. Succession is one of my favorite shows ever and this video encapsulates the dramatic and evil undertones of the show
the ending of your video essay is sooo good with music and dramatic dialogue.....absolutely loveddd it
I love Logan as a character (not as person); he embodies so much of my own childhood trauma, it's given me so much perspective on memories I'd long forgotten. I had a few good cries watching Succession for everything it brought up for me. Honestly, grateful for the "therapy." Brian Cox is truly legendary.
this is the best video essay i'v ever seen about this show. you earned my subscribe sir.
Great video. Logan Roy as played by Brian Cox was an enigma. He was just 5 feet 9 inches tall but it was as if he was 15 feet tall.
I couldn't stand Logan.
If he were real, I would get away from him as fast as possible.
He sucked.
He was always lashing out at anyone he had within sight's range because he secretly hated himself.
There was no love there, for him or for anyone else.
It's impossible to live with someone like that.
A true monster.
The death of the waiter and the way his father handled torturing it with that information was so fucked. He used the information like a sword, but only the tip until he actually went and slashed him by outright talking about it. Fucking horrifying
But the point isn’t that Logan is lucky, it’s that Kendall Will inevitably sabotage himself.
Great job! You called it. It really like a car crash. Horrible, but you can’t look away.
You did an Excellent Job. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Logan didn’t just get lucky. The point is Kendal is self destructive; and Logan keeps him in that position
Yea there’s a comment about how Kendall being stuck in traffic was because he ignored advice and went out there which I’m mad now I didn’t bring up. But I agree though I mention “luck” cause I want to imply that Logan’s abuse to keep his kids down isn’t some intelligent strategy to win in bear hugs, votes, etc. again this kids. It’s just cause he’s a broken man.
@@mediaroom4181 you have a good point. I understand what you mean. It’s not that Logan is so brilliant that he keeps winning, it works out in his favor because of the endless cycle of abuse that inevitably repeats itself that Kendall is bound to repeat. In psychoanalytic terms, it is Kendall’s Oedipal downfall, the inevitability of his own self destruction that he can’t help but do, and it’s a toxic dance between he and his father. The writers, especially the main writer and creator, Jesse Armstrong, seem very aware and well versed in psychoanalysis and object relations as is demonstrated both in complexity and inevitability of this tragic dynamic between father and son. Armstrong even uses the Oedipal downfall in his dialogue when the Holly Hunter character meets Kendall for the first time mentioning “poking your eyes out.” The “TMZ” channel calls Kendall Oedipussy. Remember when Kendall was already clean and off drugs and Logan plants a story in one of his own tabloids saying Kendall is messed up on drugs, which sends Kendall in reality BACK on drugs and also severs the trust that Rava has for him.
Honestly this is a great video. Really well done.
Logan was not a monster. What many people dont realize is that he acted the way he acted around his kids because he already saw them for the disappointments they were. He was honest with themselves many times. He did tell them that they werent serious people and he meant that. He didnt say that because he was manipulating them or was trying to hurt them on purpose. He was being honest with them.
He did love them, otherwise he wouldnt have left them so much shares and made them billionaires. He gave all of them chances and they failed miserably and embarrased themselves many times.
All of his children did nothing with their lives. They had the means to do anything and yet they all stuck around hoping they would inherit the CEO. It speaks more about their selfishness rather than his.
I really expected Logan to be a bumbling buffoon and its the Kids fighting over each other but man oh man i was wrong. He was so cutthroat that he stiffs his contractor even though he could pay the bill 10x and he wont even feel it. It kinda makes sense too when i thought about it, he won't be this rich if he wasnt ruthless as fuck.
Great summary of a great character in a great series. Thanks!
Best ending to a video analysis. Great lady lines and montage
The main thing to remember about Logan is that he's a killer, and he's able to weaponize ANYTHING to gain an edge in a fight, even/especially LUCK. I think the accident with the waiter underlined that point fairly well. When Kendall is blindsided by the trauma of causing the death of a stranger who he'd shared a moment with, what does Kendall do? He hides and tries to pretend it never happened. He is shaken to his core. Once Kendall's dad discovers the details of the tragic accident, Logan takes full advantage of the situation, using it as leverage against his own son. I can imaging him having an emergency late night conference call with Jerry, Carolina and his PR firm about how to handle the matter. The man is an absolute Savage.
The only part that made sense, to me, was the parental manipulation over the child. Many people do this, no matter their status. They can cripple, manipulate, compete and attempt to own the child. Not just the 'abusive' types, but those who do not even admit to it. Even the 'perfect' mother can be the very worst character in that child's life. Let's be real about this. Humans.
Logan was a lot like Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece.
on the first minute, the opening: Tony Soprano. his presence in Sopranos is very similar to Logan’s in Succession.
What I enjoyed most about Succession was how it encapsulates the flaws of a system hyper focused on individuality. That's why I think saying Logan is worse than Hitler is a stretch. Sure, he's corrupt but there's a heart beating in there some where. Making his relationship with his children and his life in general all the more tragic. Kinda giving me Heredity vibes, no pun intended.
His brother called him Hitler due to the Waystar propaganda causing national unrest
I legit teared up at the end of season 3 finale. Roman.. that hurt my heart
This was fantastic. Bravo!
Please, make more of these.
I was rooting for Logan the whole time. It was clear that he did not do a good job raising his children but it was also clear that he had regrets about that and was conflicted about some decisions and not everything was pure manipulation. He could have easily cut the kids out but he repeatedly tried to make it work with them in the business at times to his own detriment. It was also clear that while his children may not have had good parenting that they were incredibly flawed due entirely to their own agency and innate shortcomings. Of course these were exacerbated at times by Logan, the reality is that there are people from far worse off backgrounds than billionaire children with tyrannical fathers that end up as much better people than the Roy children. In the end they weren’t serious people not because Logan didn’t let them but because they truly did not have it within them. Logan was from nothing and was treated worse and you can say what you want about his behavior but no one will argue that he isn’t a serious person. All in all it’s the mother who may have a bit more responsibility to bear for her children’s lack of seriousness as she is someone who is from money, but during the divorce extracts everything she can out of Logan. Then after the divorce spends her time and money in various family estates while being caught up in one infatuous fling with foolish or conniving men after another simply because she knew that she controlled the leverage of the relationship and was insecure otherwise.
It makes me sad to see Kendall so vehemently defend Roman when he sees Logan slap him, only to then see Kendall doing much worse in the form of actively hurting Roman until someone stops him. It’s very heartbreaking to see everything this family has gone through.
Stop it, Kendall killed a young man, dad not comforting him over it isn’t abuse. He cleaned up his mess and kept him out of jail. What is Kendall crying for? He isn’t a victim. He could have turned himself in and faced the consequences.
Amazing analysis
The narrator has a beautiful voice.
Lmao thanks I do a ton of retakes cause I don’t like how I sound so I appreciate that
He definitely lead an eclectic career
1:53 I don't understand why Kendall did not call for the vote again at that point instead of cowering to a shouting old man.
What a fantastic video
Well said
I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF TURNING A FUCKING TANKER
Hurt ppl hurt ppl
Question: did you run into any copyright issues when you uploaded this with succession music and all?
Yea I kind of always do cause I just like using the soundtrack of the movie/show I’m talking abt. But it just a monetization block and I haven’t even monetized the channel at all so idc
Why don’t they all just leave
good vid
Very good.
I guess this really was their succession
Mark Mylod at 8:16 ? Lol
I think calling Logan a monster is incredibly reductive and undermines what the show is communicating. There’s so much more to his character, his story, and the part others play.
bro he never lost tho he always won that all that matters
We need a prequel show centered around Logan.
(Gosh, guys, I was being sarcastic)
💯
He’s not worse than Hitler bro
I didn’t root for anyone watching this show. All of them made me physically sick, mostly cuz I see myself in them
Haven't watched it yet , but guessed the father was a hurt man. Usually, these Type of people hate themselves. As he insults the children calling his son "You are nobody", actually he knows that he himself is "nobody" unless he owns somebody. This is the most he can. He is a weak men, nothing to give to anyone including his children and unique tool is to control them or anybody. He knows he is disliked even by his friends. It is just a self-control. Usually , these types they either have childhood trauma, marriage trauma ( such as having been cheated or chosen over),sexual problems or even hidden sexual identity or even low IQ because being a tyrant does not require much intelligence. Anyone can be. And that is all he can. He is an old man with issues , unsatisfied with himself.A sad story.
I think you’re a wonderful essay writer and I don’t want this to be seen as a slight on you because I really enjoyed the whole thing; also, just trying to give this show a chance. That being said, everything I’ve seen over Succession always comes off to me as just telling me exactly why I shouldn’t try to watch past the first 4 episodes. I have no ability to feel apathy to anyone in this story because I can’t find a reason to relate or like any of them. Sure I may have some issues that I/people in my life share, but I have no idea why I can/should connect with people that have enough money to by the small town I live in without noticing a difference in their bank account. The most egregious aspect is that they were all born into it and makes it impossible for me to be invested in something when I hate most characters
“that’s kind of the point of the show. At the end of the day none of this really matters. It’s a bunch of rich ppl trying to get richer. Nobody’s life’s at stake. This is small blip in waystars history and the kids have all the money in the world. But because of Logan’s abuse the thing that doesn’t really matter was the entire world to them because it represented his approval.” I copied a response I gave to another comment. The show is very aware of the horribleness and power of the people you’re supposed to feel sympathy for. It doesn’t glorify billionaires or try to reason with how awful they are. It just creates a new perspective on abuse through the context of their wealth. That being said it just might not be for you but I would give it a shot. It’s amazing
@@mediaroom4181 I know that it’s not trying to force me into a sympathetic position by any means, but I just don’t think it’s for me. I think the premise is a solid idea, but something about the characters doesn’t even necessarily draw much out of me but apathy. Like, I’ve tried really hard to give it a try for some people in my life, but I think your essay really just drove the point home for me that it’s just not for me. Thanks for responding though and have a wonderful day!
Monter
Monster ? have you watched other series ? he is not a monster, he is ruth but he is just a businessmen. He likes his children but are just stupid af. Only one season is enought to get it
He's a fu blown narcissist. That's a monster in my book.
Season 1 was probably one of the best seasons in any series ever.
Can’t blame Logan. His kids are amateurs and are not serious people . The business world is brutal and these children are not up to snuff. They are weak and spoiled
Okay, Logan was an imperfect person, but he was NOT the villain, in my opinion. The Man was not "given" power, he gained what he did from THE WAY he was. He had his own trauma, and instead of people starting their own thing to see it grow and almost die, I don't think that makes them any better than he 'was'. People downplay what it took for him to be who he is, and he, God-forbid, ENJOYED himself and he ENJOYED making fun of others...so do I. If only they left him alone. Only drama and childishness came with these people, and good for Logan for reminding them of who they are to him too.
Idk if this is saying he's a villain, just a really bad person lol but everyone on this show is
@@R_S747 Lol! His kids were awful. They gave nothing, brought nothing, had nothing and did not even worry about that as much as 'taking over' as CEO. How extra of them. Lol!!
I wish Logan was my dad.
just watching succession for the second time and don't see logan as a monster at all. his love and compassion for his kids is so apparent throughout. shiv and kendall are just spoiled rotten and not nice people. and definitely not serious.
Lmao WTH is this. Video essays are so goofy what are you even saying by the end of it dawg 😂😂 is this a parody?
Don’t watch video essays if you’re too stupid to appreciate them
I love the analysis people keep making of could Kendal do the job, can he do the job like his dad his could. “He was never as good as his great father”. “Logan Roy was horrible but an amazing business man”. It is all people seem to have to say while shitting on the children this monster emotional and physically abused. By the time Kendal was gonna take the company, Logan had already run it into the dirt and was pissing on his own carpet cuz he’s fukin senile. So this nonsense of could Kendall do it, do what? Run a company??? It’s not fukin rocket science, Elon musk runs a company, mark Zuckerberg, the heads at Fox News!!!!! There’s so many more complicated and nuanced ideas, themes, and emotions happening beyond who won. I appreciate this analysis for looking at those things, beyond a capitalist perspective of Logan Roy won cuz he money a lot.
This is a stupid Reddit post turned into a UA-cam video
Monter