The conclusion of “Succession” finds Kendall Roy alone by a body of water, a location that has been used countless times before. Such full-circle moments abound in “With Open Eyes,” the feature-length climax to the Roy family drama. We present you with the finale review of HBO Succession.
Some series finales drastically deviate from the usual rhythm of their respective shows, flashing ahead to show us the entire course of the characters’ lives (“Six Feet Under”) or evolving into a completely different concept (“Girls”). Even as it builds to a conclusive rupture between the Roys and the firm that is no longer theirs — a union that had, otherwise, informed every second of the series’ events – “With Open Eyes” is the condensed, concentrated essence of “Succession,” despite its length.
HBO Succession finale review
Like every season finale before it, “With Open Eyes” takes its name from John Berryman’s poem “Dream Song 29” and takes place, at least in part, in a foreign country. Like most episodes of “Succession,” it revolves around a seismic event that forces most of the cast into a single room. (In the past, that gathering place could be a wedding or a funeral, or a corporate retreat — but this time, it’s a board vote, just as it was in Season 1’s “Which Side Are You On?”.) And like the last hurrahs of many TV shows, it brought back small supporting players for a fond-ish farewell, a tradition “Succession” has honored all season. They didn’t get screen time like Nan Pierce, but Lawrence Yee and even Ratfucker Sam got to take their bows.
But for “Succession” in particular, doubling down on its long-established DNA has its own, singular significance. The show could buck cliché when it wanted to, yet built itself around a pair of truisms: first, history repeats itself; second, hurt people hurt people. Logan Roy, the monstrous, Murdoch-esque founder of Waystar Royco, was the product of a tragic and harrowing childhood. “Succession” always implied this, working in allusions to Logan’s imposing uncle Noah and shots of scars on his back, and confirmed it with his brother’s eulogy in the penultimate hour “Church and State.” Logan then passed on that lack of stability and support to his own children, who in turn were stuck in an emotional maze of their father’s making.
The song “With Open Eyes” has an extended section where Kendall teams up with his younger siblings Roman and Siobhan, which causes a disorienting déjà vu feeling. After all, this is how “Succession” began the season: with the trio cooperating to first launch their own media company and then nab a Waystar rival. This time, however, things are a little different because Logan is dead and they’re attempting to seize control of Waystar rather than follow their own course. However, the Roy family keeps coming back to a small number of agreements and partnerships. As “Succession” illustrates by repeatedly going back to the same conflicts, setups, and comedy beats, forward motion is practically impossible. The programme was like a boomerang that never missed its target.
Shiv, in the end, has the perspective to zoom out and state plainly what’s always been obvious from the outside. “I don’t think dad gave a fuck about anything more than putting one foot in front of the other,” she says, understanding what it truly means that Logan promised the company to all three of them at some point or another. And Shiv, in the end, chooses to free her family of its burden and approve a sale in a decisive board vote, a gift Kendall is fundamentally incapable of recognizing as such. “I am like a cog built to fit only one machine,” he pleads. He can’t help trying to seize his birthright, over and over and over again.
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Such repetition means that “With Open Eyes” won’t necessarily stand out in retrospect among the 38 episodes that make up “Succession.” It doesn’t feature outlandish props like the birth canal from Kendall’s birthday party, or introduce a memorable new character like the Pierce matriarch. It does, however, state a few fundamental truths with startling candor, as if the characters have been ground down to the most unvarnished version of themselves. “I am the eldest boy,” Kendall bellows. As Shiv points out, this isn’t literally the case. (Poor Connor, always forgotten when it counts.) But it’s the purest expression of why Kendall really thinks he deserves the job, far more than optics or an MBA.
To keep his position of influence, Tom Wambsgans hardly bothers to explain why he betrayed his wife; this is yet another scenario that was previously used, in this case, the Season 3 finale. But this time, Tom doesn’t hesitate to state unequivocally that Shiv has already done the same thing to him if given the chance. The episode opens with Shiv saying, “Once you’ve said and done the worst things, you’re kind of free.” By the time it’s through, she’s hesitantly, ambivalently reconnected with him and Waystar’s new puppet CEO, like ‘The Graduate’ but with tinted windows and a chauffeur. With the worst parts of their relationship openly acknowledged, they can now fall into a habit.
Kendall, on the other hand, retreats from the light at the worst possible moment. Coming clean about his manslaughter of a waiter helped cement his bond with Roman and Shiv; denying it as Shiv weighs her vote severs the connection, probably for good. (This is from the man who once planned a performance of Billy Joel’s “Honesty”!) Like Shiv, Roman has achieved a bluntly articulated emotional clarity — “We are bullshit,” a nepo baby’s words of anti-affirmation — that signals some kind of growth, however, stunted. But Kendall, always the character who has most fully expressed the themes of his show, has marooned himself on an island of denial, where he’ll almost certainly remain.
“With Open Eyes” doesn’t extend much beyond depicting the titular event of “Succession.” It also doesn’t have to. After GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson has signed the papers making his acquisition official, we don’t learn what becomes of the Roy siblings in the future, or even find out who won the nailbiter of a presidential election from two episodes ago. Yet we’re left with the certainty that divesting themselves of their father’s company hasn’t liberated them from the trauma that makes up their true inheritance. Look no further for proof than the final shot. This isn’t the first time Kendall has stared into the abyss, and it won’t be the last.
