‘Succession’ Season 2 Finale; This Is Not for Tears’ Review: Scapegoat

It looks like the so-called ‘successor’ is not stepping in after all. After a too-soon celebration followed by courtroom shenanigans, Waystar-Royco reaches a point of desperation. Inevitable, one board member has to take the fall. Otherwise, the tarnished company reputation remains. Picking a scapegoat proves to be a daunting task as family ties and self-interest mixes with the question: Whose head rolls in Succession?

On Sunday’s season finale of Succession, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) gathers the Waystar-Royco board as he chooses the sacrificial lamb. During the cruise, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) discuss the intricacies of their open image. Meanwhile, Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) returns with news from a possible investor. As Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) chooses between love and family, Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) deals with bad reviews about Willa Ferreyra’s (Justine Lupe) play.

Goodbye Con-heads

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Connor did not expect the bad reviews on Willa’s play. Neither of them deals with that problem well, either. Sooner or later, Connor will run out of money, given the negative reviews as well as his campaign expenditures. When Connor asks Logan for monetary assistance, the man receives even more bad news. Logan wants Connor to drop his campaign; otherwise, he will not lend Connor any money. The day is not a good day for the presidential candidate, along with his struggling playwright girlfriend. A favorable end does not seem to show itself to the odd couple, either, given how busy everyone is with the Proxy Battle.

Not-so Heroes’ Welcome

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Roman does not appreciate the insults and the jokes he gets as soon as he, Jamie Laird (Danny Huston), and Karl (David Rasche) return from their eventful Turkey trip. Also, Roman does not return with good news, either. Despite Laird’s enthusiasm, Roman reports that the plan to go private is a no-go. Sure, the Azeris said that they wish to invest, but such an endeavor will likely bring political problems to Waystar-Royco. The fact that Roman and the others endured becoming hostages says a lot about how messy things are over at Turkey.

One could tell that things will not end well as soon as the armed men showed up during the supposed business meeting. It is a miracle that none of them left with a missing limb or something. Given how dangerous hostage situations are, it does seem suspicious if Roman and the crew comes home with a real deal. Also, Jamie’s walkout is nothing more than a symbolic move. Surprisingly, Roman makes a right call this time, saving the company from yet another potential pitfall.

Uncomfortable

It was as if Tom’s humiliation during the court hearing was not enough. This time, he receives an unhealthy amount of pointed fingers when the board discusses the possible scapegoat among themselves. Everyone thinks that Tom should be the one to go, reasoning that he fits the criteria of ‘not family but significant enough.’ This pressure eventually piles up, and Tom finally reaches his breaking point.

Tom is not comfortable with the ‘Open Marriage’ arrangement. Shiv’s way of trying to cheer Tom up by having a threesome only worsens the matter. As the couple shared a private moment in an island, Tom expresses how unhappy he is with the arrangement as well as his thoughts about how less sad he could be without Shiv. Taking into consideration the events of the season, Tom indeed does not benefit from the arrangement. Shiv has all the fun of fucking someone while Tom was busy at some conference. Also, Shiv shows up unexpectedly when Tom decides to try his luck on some other woman. Now that all hell is breaking loose, Tom loses his shit, and no one can blame him; he merely is a pawn in the Roys’ game.

A Traitors’ Kiss

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Kendall has a realization that no one expected during the cruise. As he brings Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) to the yacht with him, Logan takes notice of her presence. He does not like having her there likely because she is a Pierce. Naomi eventually leaves the boat, but she parts with a wake-up call for Kendall. As expected, Logan chooses Kendall to take responsibility for the cruise scandal. When their last-minute negotiation with Stewy Hosseini (Aryan Moayed) ends miserably, their only solution demands to be a sacrifice.

Kendall’s kiss mirrors that of Judas’ as he publicly denounces his father as the mastermind for the cover-ups in Waystar-Royco. Naomi’s words convicted Kendall, making his pre-accident self re-emerge after all the things that went down in the season. Shiv, Roman, and Logan silently watched as Kendall gave his statement. This move puts Waystar-Royco’s future in deeper mud, given how the rest of the board members reacted. Not even they expected Kendall to pin the tail on Logan.

‘Succession’ Season 2 Finale ‘This Is Not for Tears’ Final Verdict

Succession ends its second season the way it started it: with Kendall making a public announcement. What goes around comes back around as the Roys’ sense of family further blurs along with Waystar-Royco’s future. Logan’s power-mongering will likely end at the beginning of the third season, but everything else is a mess. Shiv and Tom could get a divorce, Roman may vie for the spot as the next CEO, while Kendall will probably take the rogue path until the company ends in his hands. Unless, of course, something else fucks things up out of nowhere, and we come back to where we started.