‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. That one may smile and be a villain. There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy’
-Marcellas, Hamlet, Act 1 Scene IV
Okay, replace Denmark with Norway (close enough) and you have the synopsis of Kill List, the most recent episode of HBO’s smash hit Succession.
Kill List, takes the remaining Waystar Royco players to Norway to negotiate a company wide buy out, which excludes news channel ATN, from Gojo founder and Swede super villain Lucas Matsson. Almost immediately, the Roy kids and the rest of their team are mismatched in every aspect by their Swedish counterparts. The viewers know it, Gerri and Tom know it, but the Roy kids don’t know it because the only valuable asset the Roy kids possess is money.
Or more technically, the money their father made for them. Seriously, if you look up a photo of Nepo-Babies on Wikipedia, it’s a photo of the Roy children.
Fireworks explode as cultures clash as Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard), tries to change the terms of the deal to include ATN, which is a bridge too far for the Roy Boys. As this new development unfolds, the unprepared, untested and outsmarted duo of Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Keiran Culking) attempt to defeat Matsson how only they know how; by screwing something up.
I swear, the Roy Boys are like the inverse of the Duke Boys, but instead of a shitty car and Uncle Jesse, the Roy Boys have a yacht(s) and Hugo.
And that is where the fun starts. By the end of the episode, Kendall and Roman are outmaneuvered by Mattson, but as the ultra-rich often do, the brothers fail forward by being offered a stock price that can’t be refused.
The catch? ATN comes with the stock price.
But, none of that matters because the board received a glorious price, ensuring that most of the important Waystar players, outside of the Roy Boys, got what they wanted. Golden parachutes and new jobs abound, even if the Waystar and ATN that Logan created, is coming to an end.
Don’t worry though, the Roy Boys learned nothing, screwed up, had no self-awareness, and somehow became even more wealthy. You know, exactly like how it works in the reality.
AXE THROWING AND BLOOD BRICKS
- Tom and Greg plotting next to a pair of dead sheep roasting on a spit was quite the visual metaphor. In fact, dare I say it was prescient?
- ‘Your earlobes are thick and chewy, like barnacle meat’. I had to press pause because I was laughing so hard.
- Maybe Shiv really is, as Matsson told her, like her dad. Not due to inherited business savvy, but because she showed affection to Tom by inviting him to dinner after he flicked her ear and insulted her.
- In an episode where Roman is, by showing pure anger and rage, the most Logan-like, he is wearing a cardigan sweater, just like his old man. Great touch.
- It is hard to pick a winner of the Matsson burns; ‘Scooby Doo’, was the funniest, ‘Hanna Barbara Business College’ was the smartest, and ‘Tribute Band’ was the most scathing. Regardless, all three were incredible slights.
- Speaking of great burns, Greg getting called ‘6 feet 9 inches of nepotism’ was also incredible.
- Keiran Culkin is taking the entire cast to acting school this season.
- Speaking of Culkin, is Roman popping pills? It seems like it. Which makes his line, ‘I’m fucking gone, I’m dead, it’s over for me. It’s okay. It’s fine’, even more ominous.
- #compressionsocks
NETFLIX & GRILL SUCCESSION ‘F@@K OFF’ POWER RANKINGS
ELIMINATED FROM CONTENTION – Frank Vernon, Karl Muller, and Hugo Baker. This can’t be the end of the Frank and Karl show, can it? Man, those guys were on fire this season. However, a Golden Parachute is what each of them wanted and I just hope that parachute is enough for Karl to go halfsies on that Greek island with his brother-in-law.
SUPER WILDCARD – Karolina Novotney. The new Gojo Director of Communications (I assume) is new to our rankings and going to have her hands full; just hopefully not full of bricks of frozen blood.
WILD CARD – Tom Wambsgans. Tom, a chameleon and survivor of the highest order retains his ranking from last week as he somehow stay ofsf of the Gojo kill list. This may be plot armor but it may also be that Matsson liked Tom’s description of American media (and Americans) as being, in not so many words, Xenophobic.
#5: Kendall Roy – Down three spots and judging by his defeated look and dejected manner (which included drinking a champagne toast), it seems that Ken may be, from both a professional and personal aspect, clinging to life. With the uber inflated Wayco stock price, maybe he can finally launch ‘Homework, The Channel’.
#4: Roman Roy – Let’s give it up for Roman. He is the glue holding his family together, both professionally (asking for Shiv’s input) and personally (supervising Connor’s choices at the funeral home). His soliloquy when telling Matsson what an awful person he is, while defending his father, was nothing short of incredible. The down side of that moment? Potentially feeling the wrath of an increasingly (Bumps, anyone?) unhinged Matsson.
#3: Gerri Kellman – Up two spots from last week, Gerri is the highest-ranking and most intelligent of Logan’s Lieutenants and it is no surprise that Matsson sees her as an asset.
Plus, the dick pics.
#2: Shiv Roy – Do Shiv and Matsson have a real connection? Are the playing each other? Do they have feelings for each other? Regardless, Shiv is the Roy closest to Mattson, and that is all that matters.
#1: Lukas Matsson – Still the king, Matsson will almost certainly, due to a storytelling angle, be dethroned by the end of the season. A good beginning to his end would be sending a brick of his frozen blood to Gojo subordinate and Communications Director Ebba. Karolina’s (assumed) promotion, just might be the straw that breaks Ebba’s back and brings down Matsson.
netflixandgrill.blog 