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A Reflection on 'Succession', Season 4 | Review

Ten juicy episodes to sink our teeth into, each one stepping closer and closer to that bitter sweet ending. Succession’s finale season, season four delivers a resoundingly successful ending to the Roy family saga. This season cemented the HBO black comedy/drama's reputation as one of the finest the platform has ever made.


Succession is a moody drama with flawed characters who audiences love to hate, this season puts a magnifying glass to each persons intentions and shows us how they handle the heat. Shifting the power, status and rankings of each character in the blink of an eye, this season showcases how you can’t always rely on family. The storyline was chaotic this season, leaving some absolute shocking moments from beginning to end and leaving audiences thinking, how can they come back from this?


Succession made empathising with its characters very easy until the end. The Roy children never stood a chance with a father like Logan Roy, played by the powerhouse of Brian Cox, however in this season we get a chance to see the ‘kids’ fight for the scraps after Logan’s untimely death. Watching as these characters turn into vultures, picking at whatever they can get their hands on really shines a new light on the show and its characters. Once Logan was out of the picture I saw no future for the series but I was wrong, without this overbearing shadow the children were able to battle each other to the top. I enjoyed watching the rivalry between siblings but also the secretive and selfish means to an end, they sadly prove what their father always reminded them of, none of them can handle the heat.


Overall, Succession as a whole is a show-stopping piece of television, stylised storytelling with some brilliant performances and a rollercoaster of emotions. An example of must-watch tv, definitely a show to remember.


Although Succession could continue for many more seasons, leaving the story in this moment feels right. We don’t need to see what happens next for these characters but it is fun to imagine. “Their stories—they don't end, they will carry on," - Jesse Armstrong


Succession uses every element at its disposal, performances, storytelling, composition, dialogue, atmosphere but my favourite element is easily the camera movements. Since season one I have enjoyed the unsteady hand held camera, invasion of privacy and fly-on-the-wall style scenes. Succession has created a new way to showcase dramatic yet comedic television and it will hopefully inspire more to do the same.


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