REVIEW: ‘Succession,’ now on DVD, is this generation’s Shakespeare
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment / Provided with permission.
Earlier this year, HBO’s Succession, starring a brilliant cast, came to a natural, satisfying end, and now fans of the show can enjoy the entire series on DVD thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. There is no denying that what Jeremy Strong, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun and Alan Ruck did with this series was nothing short of magnificent. They brought the complicated, villainous family of Logan Roy (Cox) to life with believability, fear, poetry and pathos. It’s a cliche at this point, but it bears repeating: Succession is this generation’s Shakespearean work.
Think about it: Yes, the Roy family is a stand-in for other media moguls currently on the conglomerate landscape, and there’s no denying that the show’s creators and writers wanted audiences to make parallels to the goings-on of contemporary society.
But there’s something old and trodden in how Logan and his children operate on the show. In the series, they make decisions from a playbook that was first drafted by the likes of Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and others. They are back-stabbers and clever devils, working for one another and against one another, depending on the situation and the possibility of a larger payday. They are not people, but pawns, aspiring to be kings and queens on the chessboard of life.
One of their best qualities as TV creations is that they never overstayed their welcome. After four seasons, the journey came to a fitting conclusion, and that finale felt right and appropriate, given the many obstacles the family members faced in the past. Everyone knew this drama of succession could not end with a nice bow tied around everything and everyone. Could anyone see Logan heading off into the sunset to enjoy his retirement? The show reveled in messiness, dashed expectations and connivery, and that’s what the audience received until the bitter, bitter end (and, oh, how bitter it was).
The memories of the superb acting will linger for a long time after the final installment of the Roy saga. One can easily make the case that Succession featured the best acting on television.
Cox is brilliant as Logan, scary in his all-consuming power and influence, yet every so often showing a human side, even though the character believes humanity is a character flaw. Strong, Culkin and Snook play the three children vying for Daddy’s toys, and they are massively entertaining in their unique interpretations. Strong plays Kendall, a man who seems destined to take over the family business, but Snook’s Siobhan is someone who schemes until the last second to earn a spot at the decision table and possibly keep Kendall on the sidelines. Culkin’s role of Roman, a bit more complicated, is filled with inner-demons and debilitating uncertainty. He doesn’t know what he wants until someone tells him he can or cannot have it.
Also, who doesn’t love the comedy duo of Macfadyen and Braun, two scene-stealers whose characters play the game so well and so stupidly, seeming to relish their coveted position as outsiders somehow on the inside. Ruck’s character, a step-sibling to the others, finds himself on another planet, oblivious to his enormous wealth, his outlandish ideas and his unpopular political statements.
For several years, this family made for riveting television. They are horrible people, but fascinating to watch.
Succession will be missed, but the Roys are going out on top — even if this cutthroat game leaves them on the bottom.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Succession: The Complete Series, featuring more than two hours of bonus content, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. Click here for more information.
