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Succession (Final Season): Who Will Win?

Succession

HBO drama Succession returns for its fourth and final season this Sunday, hopefully, Logan will get more aggressive with his swearing, Roman will find new ways to sit on chairs and Greg will continue being Greg. Since the first episode the show has been about who will succeed business titan Logan Roy and presumably in this final season we will find out. So let’s rate each contender, how likely they are to win and if they could actually do the job.

Spoiler Warning – Massive spoilers for the first three seasons of Succession

Kendall Roy

Kendall doing a rap to celebrate his father // Credit: Succession,
Kendall doing a rap to celebrate his father // Credit: Succession, HBO

The first season starts with Kendall being the designated successor to Logan, a bit of a business-bro but has spent years learning how to run the company and is the only one of the Roy children who seems capable of getting into figures, legal issues etc. Of course, Kendall has led two, maybe three, revolts against his father, on top of that Kendall has severe addiction and mental health issues. And, biggest of all, was involved in the death of a waiter in a car accident where he left the scene and hid his involvement.

Chances of winning – 50%

Capable of doing the job – 60%

Shiv Roy

Shiv Roy with her husband in the background and out of focus, which is fitting // Credit: Succession, HBO
Shiv Roy with her husband in the background and out of focus, which is fitting // Credit: Succession, HBO

Shiv Roy seemed to be Logan’s choice in Season 2, despite not working in the company and her liberal politics clashing with a lot of the company’s business interests. Shiv has essentially zero experience in business, previously working in politics. Shiv is clearly intelligent and at times can play the game very well – setting up a rival to take the fall for a scandal, convincing a witness to company crimes to back down. The negatives for Shiv are that she has no experience and angered her father, and like Kendall, perhaps lacks the killer instinct that Logan demands.

Chances of winning – 40%

Capable of doing the job – 50%

Roman Roy

Roman Roy - for a split second not being horrifically offensive // Credit: Succession, HBO
Roman Roy – for a split second not being horrifically offensive // Credit: Succession, HBO

By his own admission, Roman doesn’t get the business side of the business, seemingly with little time for the boring technicalities and instead seeing his role as some sort of CEO rock star, leaning on the far more experienced Gerri Kellman for that side of things. Roman is certainly charismatic and at one point is taken hostage in Turkey but manages to negotiate a huge deal which is pretty impressive. However, Roman is impulsive and rash, and seems unable to stop himself from saying – and doing – hugely offensive things. There is a petty cruelty to Roman not seen too much in the other siblings. In Season 3 when Roman seems in the ascendance his awfulness just gets more and more awful. Roman ended Season 3 mistaking sending a dick pic to his father – meant for Gerri – in the middle of an important meeting, which sums up Roman’s liabilities quite well.

Chance of winning – 70%,

Capable of doing the job – 20%

Chance of destroying the company in a firestorm of scandal – 90%

Connor Roy

Connor Roy - Succession
Connor Roy // Credit: Succession, HBO

Oh Connor, the eldest of Logan’s children and until the last few years was clear in his disinterest in the company. Shiv has zero business experience but Connor has zero experience. Connor decided in Season 1 to run for President, a truly terrible idea and has persisted with this delusion, believing himself to be some outsider candidate with a chance. It’s bizarre. Connor has also shown resentment at how he is left out of the company and family decisions, Kendall is often referred to as the first-born, despite Connor actually being the first-born. Connor has little to recommend him in way of business or intelligence but is perhaps the nicest of the siblings (whilst still having huge problems), he often tries to calm the others nastiness, advocating for civility, and seems to have genuine affection for his younger siblings.

Chance of winning – 5%,

Capable of doing the job – 25% – only scores higher than Roman as if Connor simply sat in a dark room doing nothing he might last longer than Roman.

Tom Wambsgams

Tom steals food from Logan in a rare moment of defiance // credit: Succession, HBO

Arguably the most fascinating character of the bunch – Tom is Shiv’s husband and there was a stated plan that Shiv would pursue politics and help push Tom into being the successor to Logan, not in the family, but married to the family. Tom has run various parts of the Roy business empire and was disliked by just about everyone but really made a leap forward for the prize in Season 3. Very early in the show a scandal was brewing in the cruise division and Tom helped destroy evidence that would harm the company as such in Season 3 it seemed likely he would go to prison. With this in mind, Tom offered to be the person who could be sacrificed to appease public opinion and the authorities, earning Logan’s gratitude. And of course in the Season 3 finale when Kendall, Roman and Shiv gang up against their father Tom betrays his wife and informs Logan of the plan. With Logan’s children seriously out of favour and Tom already one of the most senior people in the company it is perhaps within Tom’s grasp.

Chance of winning – 65%

Capable of doing the job – 65%

Greg Hirsch

Greg Hirsch - Succession
Greg testifying to congress, it did not go well // credit: Succession, HBO

Greg – Greg is a cousin of the main siblings, his grandfather being Logan’s brother, and shows up in episode 1 looking for a job, and somehow he gets it, essentially being Tom’s assistant. Greg clearly grew up wealth off but not in the ridiculous luxury of the Roys and is mocked by all of them. The bizarre relationship with Tom starts with Tom recognising someone with less status and so bullies him but at some point a genuine and strong – if conditional – friendship develops. On paper Greg has nothing going for him – little experience, a distant family connection that is also a liability (given Logan hates his brother) and no particular skills. But…Greg has went from being unemployed to someone a position at the company in a couple of years.

Chance of winning – 5%

Capable of doing the job – either 5% or 95%, is he a genius or an idiot?

The Winner…

So who to pick? In this exercise, Tom and Roman were rated the highest, but Roman is very much the high-risk could be brilliant but could also cause a rocket to explode (which he did in Season 1). Tom is the safer choice and that is who might be the most logical candidate. But. But there is Greg…who is a constant surprise.

Also Read: Iconic Scenes: Succession – “Boar On The Floor” & “Beach Scene”

Also Read: Succession: Season 3 – Where Are We Now?

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Posted by
Richard Norton

Gentleman, podcaster and pop culture nerd, I love talking and writing about pretty much all pop culture.