What Makes ‘Succession’ Season 2 Finale a Killer

Sydney Lumet famously wrote in his book Making Movies that “In a well made drama I want to feel: ‘Of course — that’s where it was headed all along.’ And yet the inevitability mustn’t eliminate surprise”. Jesse Armstrong’s Succession is a great example of what inevitable-yet-surprising looks like on the screen.

Kendall, the beleaguered protagonist of Succession, hits rock bottom at the end of season one after his attempt to overthrow Logan fails miserably. At the beginning of season two we have a hero who has a deep-seated desire to depose Logan, but lacks the means and opportunity.

The surprise of the finale of season two is rewarding because we never see it coming. And why don’t we see it coming? Because Kendall neither expresses his desire nor pursues it. He is busy doing Logan’s bidding with dedication until the final three minutes of the finale. He betrays no hint of his intention to fight back when he walks into the auditorium, not even when he starts addressing the press conference. And, as always, the dramatic twist comes with a ‘but’, and then, bang!

Kendall’s flip is surprising, but also inevitable as his intention to oust Logan is set up right at the beginning of the series. And we have seen him translate his intention into action twice in season one. The outcome of the finale is inevitable also because right at the beginning of the episode we know that nothing but Logan’s head can win back the shareholders’ trust. And that’s what Kendall offers in the end.

Inevitable-yet-surprising, that’s the secret behind the finale of Succession season two. Inevitable because this was what the protagonist wanted right from the beginning and surprising because we never saw it coming.

The ammunition that Kendall needs to blow Logan’s head off is set up right at the beginning. The papers which Greg saves from being destroyed are the proverbial ticking time bomb. Greg’s character is set up too. He is an oddball and ambitious, but not totally unscrupulous. He is the only one with some semblance of a moral compass. And, interestingly, Greg is offered a legitimate excuse to be where he needs to be at the right time. The writer carefully puts together the ingredients of the bomb right under our noses and while we’re busy looking away he detonates it and we’re left gasping for breath by the sheer impact of the explosion. That’s terrific writing, no explanations, no need to get into processes, just explosion. No need to establish when Greg told Kendall about the papers or when they put the plan together. The action should explain itself as Sydney Lumet puts it: “If the writer has to state the reasons, something’s wrong in the way the character is written.”

Now the question arises how Kendall managed to keep his plan discreet. The answer is that he didn’t have a plan for most of the episode. He wasn’t playacting to be subservient to his father, he actually was. His defeat had made him forget who he was and what he once desired. Then how did it come back to him? Look carefully and you will find markers. There are two marvellously written scenes which make him realise who he is. The first one is when Logan forces him to make his girlfriend leave the family ship unceremoniously. What does his girlfriend say when Kendall says “he loves me, he does, it’s just a wrong kind of love expression”. Her reply is “Yeah. Ken, he loves the broken you”. The camera stays on Kendall as the scene comes to an end.

Then comes another masterfully written scene in which Logan asks for Kendall’s head as a sacrifice. This is Kendall’s opportunity to prove his loyalty. Kendall seemingly submits to Logan’s will, but only after Logan answers his question ‘did you ever think I could do it?’. The answer is no and Logan’s reason, “you’re not a killer”. This is the moment of reckoning for Kendall. Something moves deep inside him and he realises what he needs to do if he wants to ascend to the throne. In the subsequent scenes, we know that something has changed in him, but we need to see it to believe it. The rest of the episode shows us in action the decision that the hero has made.

Well, what the season two finale of Succession does is to use the fundamental principles of drama masterfully. A moving and rewarding drama has to be surprising yet inevitable as Lumet says: “The script must keep you off balance. Keep you surprised, entertained, involved, and yet, when the denouement is reached, still give a sense that the story had to turn out that way.”

Originally published at https://www.coldopen.in.

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