This weekend, HBO’s “Succession” will finally come to an end after five years and four seasons, and many of the show’s viewers (coughy, me) are freaking out and clinging to our ridiculously bulky tote for comfort. The show will end with a 90 minutes final on Sunday May 29 at 9 p.m.
Since 2018, the award-winning TV series has developed a loyal fan base for its deliciously loathsome characters, stellar acting, suspenseful storylines and beautiful score — and, of course, its cynical writing peppered with top-notch insults.
Jesse Armstrong’s dark comedy-drama centers on the Roy children as they fight each other for control of their father Logan’s multi-billion dollar media conglomerate, Waystar RoyCo. The characters are loosely based on the Murdoch family, owners of Fox Corporation, in addition to several other powerful media mogul families.
But even as we bid farewell to our favorite worst billionaires this weekend, the Waystar Royco empire will live on in the Twitter memes, Reddit threads, and Tiktok videos that immortalize some of the show’s most memorable moments. Every new episode premiere has resulted in a flood of internet jokes on Sunday nights, and if you’re not in the know, it’s hard not to notice when your feed is full of references to barnacle meat and wasabi. .
So without further ado, here’s my best attempt at rounding up some of these quintessential internet jokes to help us get over this loss on Sunday.
Let’s start with the man of the hour, Mr. Logan Roy. Played by Brian Cox, Logan’s character is the main point of conflict in the series, often two steps ahead of everyone around him, including his family, much to their chagrin. He is the main antagonist of the series, having built Waystar Royco from the ground up, and his character is brutal. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that her children, and most of the people around her, are just as horrible.
That’s probably why it’s so funny to twist their storylines into ridiculously absurd memes, like this one that stitches Kendall Roy’s endless meltdown into a cute Hannah Montana clip:
Or perhaps this one that references Roman’s overwhelming grief upon seeing his father’s coffin:
Or maybe this one, which recognizes one of the show’s dynamic duos, Karl and Frank. As two of Logan’s henchmen, they’ve been part of his inner circle since before cable in the ’90s.
Speaking of secondary characters (there are too many to name for the length of this article), Gerri Kellman was another fan favorite. In the first season, she started out as Logan’s right-hand man. But as we near the end, she has distanced herself from him and the Roys, especially her son, Roman.
Portrayed by J. Smith-Cameron, she hasn’t had much screen time this season, and yet, every time she appears on screen, her reactions to all the chaos around her fly in the face. instantly the star.
But back to Roys. Connor, Kendall, Roman, and Siobhan “Shiv” are Logan’s children, and they’ve taken on more characteristics from their infamous father than they care to admit. Ever since the show’s pilot in June 2018, there’s been a question on every audience member’s mind that has yet to be answered: who will take over the company?
Throughout the series, there have been several power grabs among the siblings, both for Waystar and for their father’s approval.
We all know it won’t be Connor, the eldest son. As the child of a previous marriage, Connor apologized early for the battle for control of the business and prefers to stay out of the family chaos as much as possible. As the most distant and out of touch sibling, it’s ironic that Connor is the only Roy child with a healthy (ISH!) marriage and some clarity about his father’s manipulation.
Next on the chopping block, we have Kendall. As Logan’s second son, Kendall has his own world of issues that are far too complicated to address in this article. Anyway, I’m still waiting for this. Animorph collaboration, as Hunter Harris points out on Twitter:
His younger siblings don’t fare much better than him, however. Take a look at Shiv, who married Tom Wambsgans, who is more loyal to his father and distant cousin, Greg.
Here’s a nice compilation video honoring Tom and Greg’s bromance, otherwise dubbed “The Disgusting Brothers”. (It should be noted that the most prominent comment in this video is, “It’s more culturally significant than Quentin Tarantino’s filmography,” and I wholeheartedly agree).
Played by Matthew Macfadyen, Tom is a snake, but I don’t know what the show would be without him. Oh, how he would have thrived in the Regina George clique.
Finally, we give an honorable mention to Greg. His grandfather, Logan’s brother, ceded his inheritance to Greenpeace. Although he started the show as a disgraced amusement park employee, he may well end the show as one of the most successful. (If you can count selling your soul to Waystar as a success.)
Finally, we’d be remiss not to include this jaw-dropping final prediction, for all the Twilight stans out there… Enjoy watching!
