‘Succession’ Season 1, Episode 2 ‘The Shit Show at the Fuck Factory’ Recap: Messed Up Family  [SPOILERS]

Tonight’s episode of HBO’s Succession, titled “The Shit Show at the Fuck Factory” really deserved its title to be this explicit. Moments of this episode did not just shock us with another “unique” style of drama and reality but also came out straightforward. At first glance, the title tells you how messed up the Roy family is, coming from the first episode, titled “Celebration.” But this one focused more on the dispute of the siblings, indeed proving how messed up things are with the family.

Sibling or Not

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

“The Shit Show at the Fuck Factory” opens up with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) rushing to the hospital to see his dad Logan (Brian Cox) who was confirmed later in the episode that he had a Hemorrhagic stroke. Although, as the episode continues, the dispute was all about who will be the big boss of the company now that Logan “will not be around.” The Board of Nominees visited him in the hospital not only to visit but to discuss with Kendall as to who will manage the company. Kendall showed underlying doubt and lack of concentration when he was boiled down by the Board. Due to this behavior, Kendall was described to be in “no fit shape.”

Kendall makes his way into proving his sibling that he should be the one who will take over the company. During the early discussions, Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) did not approve of this. When Kendall opened up the plan of him taking over, Shiv didn’t want to talk about it since their dad is not dead yet, pointing out that there isn’t much sense as to why they’re even talking about it.

Due to building pressure as to who will take over the Waystar/Royco chair, Kendall was pressured to up his game to talk to his siblings. After Logan fired Frank (Peter Friedman) as COO in the previous episode, he appointed Roman to take Frank’s place in the company, which Kendall did not like. Time runs out as the dispute between the siblings goes on. They needed to decide as to who will take Logan’s chair. Shiv talked privately with Roman and suggested that Gerri, one of the higher-ups in the board, could handle the chair since she knows the secrets of Waystar/Royco from the inside out. Eventually, Gerri declined the offer.

A Close Call

Kendall ran out of choices. He can’t win his siblings over; he can’t decide on how will the company run and doesn’t know if a family member will still run the family business. Kendall has no clue on what to do. Later, Kendall meets Frank outside the hospital to talk him into coming back as COO of the company, to which Frank declined. There were no reasons shown by Frank as to why he refused, but there may be a connection to what was shown at the end of the episode.

Gerri shares about the secret company debt to Kendall and says that Frank is one of the people who knows about it. With no other options left, Kendall went with the idea of Roman being the COO and pushing forward with him as his father’s successor.

Someone Wore the Boot

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

Finally, the boot fits, and it suited hard. Marcia (Hiam Abbas), Logan’s wife, killed her role in this episode. During the announcement of her husband’s illness, the siblings were concerned as to whether the doctor was right and if the hospital has all the right tools to treat their dad. Shiv told the doctor that their dad must be transferred to another hospital. Earlier, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) had a weird discussion with Marcia. She says that she likes hospitals and that the hospital is safe. After Shiv raised the topic of a transfer, Marcia calmly said, with a sharp tone, “I am his next of kin, I am his poxy, I am in charge.”

An Awkward Exchange

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO

Back in the previous episode, Tom “jokingly” urged Greg (Nicholas Braun) to kiss him. Now, after Tom failed to propose successfully to Shiv, he again gives a lot of attention to Greg. Later, when Greg arrived with the things Marcia asked him to get, Tom teases Greg about being a prince charming to Marcia and having the intention to sleep with her. Tom then admits that he cares about Greg and that if ever he was needed, he’s got Greg’s back. But what’s weird about the exchange was that when Greg left the room, Tom awkwardly sighed.

The Showdown

The episode didn’t get its title from the content but really from Kendall and Lawrence’s dispute. Kendall called Lawrence (Rob Yang) in the middle of the night, waking him from slumber with his “boyfriend.” Kendall told him that the issue they had in the previous episode should be kept in the shadows and that Kendall is still above him. 

Lawrence took it badly, so after the call, he tapped Vaulter to make a story about the Roy’s family’s shit show. This article sparked the fire in the siblings’ fight for succession.

After all the drama and all the fights, the episode wraps it all up with Logan waking up from comatose. He eventually sends a message that Kendall’s plan will crash into the ground, with only him on board.

‘Succession: Shit Show at the Fuck Factory’ Overall Verdict

“Shit Show at the Fuck Factory” was jammed packed with detail. But it’s oversaturation of particulars worked well, making it one good trait of the episode. While it showed all happenings in one setting, it allowed the dispute to take center stage, proving the title’s meaning. That said, it would’ve been better if the episode gave a little bit more limelight on Greg’s importance to the family since he was introduced quickly in the previous episode, rather than focusing too much on Kendall’s wanna-be CEO aspirations and failure as a son.

Succession continues Sunday, June 17th, with “Lifeboats” at 10/9c on HBO.