With Open Eyes

Technically speaking, it was a good finale. Things fit together, even from the first season, and it simply makes sense. Still, you can't help but feel somehow duped after 5 years of loyal following.

Unlike other great series like Better Call Saul, here we never see change. The world might change, but people don't. Worse, we don't see anything like evolution, redemption, not even degradation. Once you finished watching episode 1, you have essentially watched everything in the show, including the finale. And that cycle happens over and over again every episode, every season. We did see very well-crafted stories of victories, defeats and comebacks; but again, each character remains stagnant, relying on their own same tools and means, and never changing. It doesn't mean is not a good finale or show, totally the opposite, but I must admit I would not eagerly watch another show by Jesse Armstrong.

Now on defense of Jesse Armstrong, some decades ago, it has become very uncommon to portrait flattery they way he did. At some point in the 20th century, we lost interest in that aspect of humanity and power, maybe because we would like to believe flatterers are not as successful or influential as they actually are. But they are. And Succession rubs it in your face. Unlike GoT, here adulators are not masterminds, just bootlickers. Like in real world, they are mostly average people, sometimes highly educated, that could see opportunities to move up and took them. An ode to bootlicking and to remora-ism; attach to the most likely winner horse to be part of their success. Kudos to Jesse Armstrong to remind us of that.

It might be slightly farfetched to consider this series a representation of the western world decadence. Highly effective, but depraved psychopaths running transnational big companies, flawed rich yet influential children trying to find their own identity and life meaning, charming grovelers, politicians trying to get their piece of the pie... A western world where there are no heroes nor villains, just people with specific goals or not, some obsessed by success. At the end, everyone look pretty similarly pathetic, and you may conclude the only difference is one's upbringing, education, connections and being focused.

That said, I cannot tell if that representation is faithful, or if it ever was... Can the world be different than that? In The Wire, we kind of see the same patterns: almost no change on people and world; roles stay, performers are swapped; heroes and villains selfishly pursuing their own goals; but unlike it, there is no sense of relief at the end... well, maybe Roman experiences some. You can easily envision a 5th season, another attempt for the kids to grew up, and that's why I don't see this episode as a perfect finale, maybe because the world is not?

Overall, the show is a 9/10, and this final episode a 8/10.

Succession ended in a way that left me satisfied. I don't rate TV episodes too often (there are just too many and it's hard enough giving movies ratings) but this episode is probably a 10. It's Succession at its funniest, most intense, and least predictable, with everything hitting much harder than usual due to the finality of it all.

If you were watching this hoping for someone to win, sure, you might not like how it ends. But I think watching this like a sporting event by "barracking" for a character is missing the point, and a bit of a shallow way to watch a show like this. Yes, someone has to win - someone has to succeed, in more ways than one - but this cast is full of bad people, and none are really deserving. Watching them stumble over each other with all their flaws, and occasionally feeling sympathy for some (they are all deeply human, after all) has been a thrill. I was never too invested about who would actually "win."

That being said: the drama in this finale still worked for me. It was a tense 90 minutes. It moved very fast and it was thrilling. At a point, I remembered Succession is honestly more of a comedy than a drama. Then all the high-stress parts kind of got weirdly funny - I just appreciate this show being able to play with my emotions until the very end (I even kind of liked Caroline this episode? And she usually feels like the least likeable to me).

Great show. Excellent finale. I'm honestly glad they've ended it on a high - another season might've been stretching it, because for as great as the show is, the scope/story is pretty limited (not a criticism - just that I think it would have been hard to keep it going in a non-repetitive way without completely changing what the show was about).

Succession Season 4 Ep 10: "With Open Eyes" - will certainly go down in history books as one of the best series finales of all time. For me for sure at least...

I genuinely feel deeply effected by this finale. I literally feel sick after watching...what a well-written and acted show. I was really rooting for Ken but by the end, all of the characters revealed all of their ugliness..., (especially Ken) but you can't help but feel for them.

I've said from the beginning, it would be the most ironic yet poetic ending for a show about Succession, to end with none of the children succeeding. And it happened..., wow I guess they were not serious people...

This is exactly how the show was supposed to end. This was a perfectly executed Shakespearean tragedy revolving the lives of a family of narcissists.

Wow, thanks to the cast and the crew, Jesse Armstrong! Briliant show, a rollercoaster until the very end.

And after seeing all episodes, it's official. Succession joins the lines with The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Wire as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, and has become one of my favourites no question!

I will really miss this series, especially the brilliant music... Once again, goodbye Succession, and thanks everything, it was a pleasure!

I binged watched season one to three to get caught up with the show's final season, I just fell in love with the writing and direction, the visual language and storytelling. It's been a fascinating ride full of intrigue, tension and characters you love to hate. These actors are skillful, using improvisation like the showrunner/directors wanted, but also ending up making some of the finest dramatic performances on television, many have won awards during the series run and I'm sure someone will win for this episode, most likely Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy. There was not a single bad performance, every single one was great and most were even perfect. As the "antagonist" of these two seasons, Alexander Skarsgård is great as always as Lukas Matsson. Some other performances I loved were Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans and Sarah Snook as Siobhan "Shiv" Roy. Great actors in spectacular roles.

Ahead of the final board meeting on the Waystar-Gojo Deal, Kendall and Shiv try to shore up their opposing interests...and get a fix on the whereabouts of a physically and emotionally bruised Roman.

Mark Mylod directed the final episode of the series, of 84 minutes, it's one hell of a great episode, it's superb from start to finish. Mark Mylod has directed many episodes of the show's run, alongside that, he's also an executive producer. I love his direction, he's perfect at what he does, both using the camera and how he interprets the script to screen, brilliant job. The cinematography is stunning and utterly mesmerizing, perfect. Nicholas Britell's musical score is as good as always, just a master at work, he is.

The showrunner and creator of Succession, Jesse Armstrong, he said how this ending was on his first draft when he wrote the screenplay for the series. He had a vision for a TV show and it became a phenomenon. The writing have been on the same level during all these four seasons, the dialogue have never declined and neither has the story. Maybe the final season wasn't as great as the previous ones and I believe the reason for that is solely because of the surprise death of Logan Roy. The ending was brilliant and memorable, not how I expected it to be. The show has never been easy to predict and it continued to the very end, even the final scene was not how I predicted it to turn out after you see the end result. It's perfect. Some critics have called Succession one of the best television series of all time, after watching it all, I can only agree. From the writing, acting, musical score, directing and production values. The show have always showed quality and the people who worked on this show, made Succession into what it is, a superb drama and a superb black comedy. Maybe this ending isn't for everyone, but the reason it worked so well for me is just because of how real it was, the show have always placed realism over what will the viewers like the most. I like that. It's 84 minutes of brilliant drama.

I appreciate having been a contemporary of this television series. Never before has a fiction managed to make me connect so much. Worthy, perfect and heartbreaking closing for what is without a doubt the best series in the history of television. Each of the characters completing their story arc. Tragedy, loss, new beginnings, repeated mistakes, grudges and revenge. All this in an hour and a half that puts the finishing touch to a story that has captivated me for years, Sunday after Sunday. A great emptiness and a feeling of enormous satisfaction is all I have left. We are on day 1 of the rest of our lives... the rest of our lives without Succession...