‘Succession’ Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Celebration’ Recap: Let The Games Begin [SPOILERS]

HBO’s Succession brings up a perfect twist of how we usually go through TV marathons. Since we’ve been used to a single genre concept, the first episode of Succession, titled “Celebration,” portrayed how a serious TV show about power and money could be enhanced by its accurate delivery mixed with compelling drama. The first episode alone showed how we would expect the TV series to be a Godfather-like show but tends to play with the everyday reality of a wealthy family. The series follows the story of the Roy family, who owns Waystar/Royco, one of the largest media companies of the 21st century. Logan Roy (Brian Cox), served as the CEO ever since the company started and also the patriarch of the family. As his old age gets the better of him, one of his children will have to step up to take control of the media empire.

The Failed Deal

“Celebration” opens with Logan pissing on the carpet, confusion as to where he is. As time passes, the scene shifts to a skeptical situation when Logan’s second son, Kendall (Jeremy Strong)—who was about to get the CEO chair from his father—failed to close a business deal with Lawrence (Rob Yang), owner of another media conglomerate that’s a powerhouse of video and digital media content. Later, this failure continued to rattle Kendall. Despite fattening the details of the bid, the deal failed. With such failure and dismay, Logan wanted to postpone Kendall’s promotion to the higher office and stay CEO for five or more years.

Not a Cause for Celebration

“Celebration” also focuses on Logan’s eightieth birthday—hence the title. In attendance were Kendall’s older brother Connor (Alan Ruck), younger brother Roman (Kieran Culkin), sister Siobhan/Shiv (Sarah Snook), and the secondary family members (including their weird cousin Greg [Nicholas Braun]). Logan gathered all four of his kids in one room to discuss the family trust. Since each of the siblings wanted a share of the trust, they must sign a document first. Earlier in the episode, Logan tricked Kendall into signing the document without lawyering up. Connor couldn’t make a valid decision, so he opted to be “water that flows freely.” Connor patterned his decision to what Roman and Shiv would choose. Eventually, nobody really wanted to sign since Logan gave each of his kids one vote and two votes for his second wife Marcia (Hiam Abbas)—leading to a family dispute.

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

After the celebration, they all went for a family baseball game at the city outskirts. One of the key moments during the game was the talk between Logan and the COO of the company, Frank (Peter Friedman). Going back to the first scenes of the celebration, Frank delivered a toast to Logan and his success in driving the company for 60 years, only to be met by a sarcastic gesture of thanks from Logan. He then directed the conversation topic about the game. After that, Logan discussed some things with Frank, but it didn’t end well. Frank was fired—or, in Logan’s own words, “time to do lighter work”—for no apparent reason, pissing Frank off and leading him to stay behind as Logan flew back to the city.

Firing Back

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

Upon learning about his CEO promotion cancellation, Kendall was enraged, eventually manipulating his siblings Roman and Shiv not to sign the Trust. It’s unfair for Kendall that Marcia (who’s not even their birth mother) gets two votes, while his CEO promotion suffers as well. Roman and Shiv had none of Kendall’s desperate moves.

During the family games, Kendall receives an anonymous call from a reporter. Kendall commented about his family and how Logan isn’t fit to remain the CEO. Thinking blackmail, Kendall remained anonymous and told the person on the other line to refer to him as a “source close to the family.”

A Game Well-Played

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

The episode ends with Logan fainting in the helicopter with Roman, Shiv, and Connor. He was rushed to the hospital, and news about it spread like wildfire. Upon returning to Waystar/Royco, Kendall was surprised by, Lawrence (Rob Yang) in his boardroom. Kendall hard-balled his deal to Lawrence, even promising him shares of the company. Lawrence then got the news of Logan’s hospitalization. Seeing that Kendall was unaware, he took the deal. When everything was settled, Lawrence then told him about Logan, shocking the supposed CEO. Lawrence then told Kendall that he’s coming after everyone, now that he’s inside the company as a shareholder.

‘Succession: Celebration’ Series Premiere Overall Verdict

As the premiere episode of Succession, it must spill candy and popcorn to the viewers to want more of it—which they succeeded in bringing. Tonight’s episode was very into the family’s orientation of power over family itself. The drama was also seen in the episode which gave life to such a detailed new “corporate” series. Despite the cliffhanger, it’s a good way to keep new viewers to keep wanting more of what Succession has to offer. There were also many characters introduced, but their motives weren’t fully revealed yet. It’s another HBO tentpole series that demands your full attention.

Succession continues Sunday, June 10th, with “Shit Show at the Fuck Factory” at 10/9c on HBO.