Spoiler alert: this article is for people who have watched Succession season four. Don’t read on unless you’ve seen the finale, episode 10.
‘Roman licking Peter’s cheese was hysterical’
I loved the way the siblings’ relationship as children was echoed here. Roman licking Peter’s cheese was hysterical. There was a nice continuation of the theme from season three where Tom ultimately double-crosses his wife and her brothers to get what he wants. The conflict was so evident in that scene with Matsson. Has Shiv also won? In a way, she has beaten her brothers and proved herself a worthy successor – the irony being her husband wears the crown. She will always be punished for trying to undermine him. Nicky Davis, 51, Shoreham-by-Sea
‘Lovely to finally get some real LGBTQ+ representation’
For some reason, I’m left with a cautiously optimistic feeling about the Roy siblings’ futures after the final episode. Kendall has been liberated from the white whale he’s been chasing all his life. Roman no longer has to live in the shadow of his older siblings, striving for affection and approval. Shiv finally has the self-belief to trust her better judgment, and may even have laid the groundwork to repair her relationship with Tom in the process of asserting it. In the wake of Logan’s death and their resulting grief, all his children are faced with an opportunity to recover from the long-term effects of his abuse. Besides, is it really a tragedy when they’ve each just made $2bn? After watching Kendall and Roman consistently tell Shiv she was too inexperienced to be CEO all season, it felt right that she should be the one to hold the mirror up to Kendall and plunge the knife in his heart. Also lovely to finally see the show get some real LGBTQ+ representation in the form of Stewy allegedly kissing boys while on molly. Grounds for a spin-off? Pav, 27, London
‘It stretched a three-season story over four seasons’
So said Logan Roy to his children: “I love you, but you’re not serious people.” What seemed at the time like standard emotional manipulation now reads as his most prophetic and honest line. However, Kendall, Shiv and Roman didn’t heed the message. The finale danced erratically through moments of panic, rage, sibling love and sadness, but ultimately delivered all the characters to their natural conclusions.
I previously predicted that Kendall would become like his father, and he did – though instead of inheriting the company, he inherited the cold loneliness. Shiv, relegated to bitter wife; Roman, promoted to jester-philosopher: “We are bullshit … We’re nothing.” Yes, Tom had been roundly foreshadowed as vassal-puppet material since the first episode, but spending the final season bouncing from one ridicule to another now feels like the writers overselling his ineptitude in order to make his eventual success a greater surprise. Perhaps no one matched Kendall’s obsessive drive, but only Wambsgans was willing to sell his soul. Succession stretched a three-season story over four seasons, and was never as vicious in its criticism as it needed to be. But I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters. Zac, Manchester
‘Quite dreary’
Quite dreary: the same old conversations that have been playing out over four seasons repeated almost verbatim. Writers were clearly out of ideas some time ago: what was season three about? I really enjoyed the first two seasons (and this season had some good moments – election night episode in particular). I’m glad it’s finally been brought to a close. LS, London
‘I think this was a truthful ending’
I am sad Succession has ended, but am glad, too. How something goes out – whether it be a series, a civilisation, a society, or individual – probably tells you the most about it. Series that just make their point and move on are the most powerful in my experience, and that is what Succession did. I think this was a truthful ending because it combined the financial direction of travel with the foibles of human nature. On the one hand, the overall economic winds were prevailing for the GoJo deal so anyone who stood against it wasn’t going to make it. Tech, the future, defeating legacy media. On the other hand, Shiv’s final decision reflects how irrationality can dominate human behaviour even when it causes self-injury. The fundamental drives as to why people make a choice are dark, deep and unfathomable sometimes, as we saw with her final decision. Gaverne Bennett, 54, London
‘It all came down to Shiv’
It all came down to Shiv in the end. She finally accepted that it couldn’t be her (could it have been different if she hadn’t been visibly pregnant?), but found herself playing kingmaker. She chose Tom – because that was the best option for her and her child who will be the next generation to succeed. Hopefully, by then, being a woman will not be a bar to succeeding in business. Julie, 63, Jersey
‘Underwhelming’
It was underwhelming, exposing just how little the show had to say. The pattern of betrayals, brutal arguments and wounding words was done so many times, their impact was lessened. Had it played absurdist, or more darkly funny, it would have been wonderful – their being trapped in a cycle of endless backstabbing and failure – but going for the grand, sweeping tragedy thing fell flat when we’ve seen them do it all a ton of times, and with basically no consequences or tangible stakes. The conclusion felt like the right one – and it remains a good series – but it could have got to the same place within three seasons and would have been all the better for it. Tobias, 37, Paris
‘The high moments made the painful tension worthwhile’
It had to end bleakly; there was no doubt. The happiness on the way to tragedy was what won it for me – siblings swimming in the sea and causing trouble in the kitchen. These high moments have made the sometimes painful tension worthwhile. Greg and Tom’s fight in the toilet, followed by Tom bringing out his stickers was priceless. Roman’s relief martini was perfect. Kendall is bereft now, but he’ll do something new. Shiv is the one who has lost – tied to a man she doesn’t respect, destined to be as unhappy as her own mother. She made it happen, but the misery will get her. Careful what you wish for. Helena, 38, London
‘I feel bereaved’
We only started watching Succession about two months ago but managed to catch up with everyone this week. I feel bereaved now it’s finished. We are probably going to be talking about Kendall, Roman, Shiv, Logan et al for a few more weeks. As someone who had a tricky relationship with a dominant and charismatic father, I could at times really empathise with the sibs. I loved the way that the least likely characters came out on top: Tom with the big job, Greg on retention and even Connor, off to the far ends of Europe, happy to let Willa fill the lofty penthouse with all the tasteless tat that money can buy. It’s only Roman, Shiv and Kendall that look lost and terrified, still looking for some magical way of earning Logan’s approval. A really beautiful ending that found the perfect answer to the question that Logan could never answer: who, out of the family, could follow him? The answer was, of course, none of them. Lyn Lockwood, 52, Sheffield
‘The final scene was marvellous’
The final scene, of Kendall in the park with just Colin (representing his guilt over the waiter) was marvellous. Kendall trying to pretend the waiter never happened was the saddest moment for me. It was one of the few honest moments he shared with his siblings. And Shiv! She has always loved Tom, I have always said it. But then she had to choose between being the sister or the wife. Considering the circumstances, she made the better choice, but in doing so continued the cycle and became Caroline. She will never be able to look past Tom taking what she saw as her rightful place, so Tom’s victory as CEO isn’t a triumph, even for him. Connor got the best deal; he had time before Logan’s death where he got to be the only child again. And Kendall insisting that he’s the eldest boy, when he’s just a 40-year-old man clinging to a promise made when he was in primary school … Logan was right: he is stunted. Tom is a suit, a puppet. Roman knows they are all hollow. Even Greg was claimed like secondhand furniture. My goodness, I think we’re going to spend decades talking about this episode. It’s a classic. Emily, 24, York
