LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It seems like art imitated life in Season 4 Episode 8 of ‘Succession’. The show recreated the US Presidential elections with an unlikely winner in Jeryd Mencken, who looks like an archetype of Donald Trump. Mencken, who becomes President at the end of the episode titled ‘America Decides’, is a hardcore conservative who will implement traditional and outdated values in a changing world. However, his somewhat evil nature is overlooked by the Roy brothers, Kendall and Roman, since they want him to block the GoJo deal that Lukas Matsson, the Swedish tech billionaire, is trying to push.
The latest episode of ‘Succession’ offers valuable insights into the shifting loyalties of their characters. Tom Wambsgans has one mission — saving his job at all costs by ensuring a smooth election night coverage while cousin Greg is on Tom's duty for the night, attending to his every need which includes doing cocaine with him and bringing him food and coffee. Tom’s loyalties were aligned with his wife, Shiv, once upon a time, but for now, he only cares about staying in the chair as ATN’s showman. He doesn’t even react when Shiv tells him that she was carrying his baby. His sidekick, Greg, offers to keep Shiv’s secret deal with Matsson to himself if she gives him a better job title in return. Sneaky Greg tries to break free from Tom but was unable to strong-arm her, but he he gets his revenge later. This is the state of people who do not enjoy Logan’s name and legacy but for the people who do -- Kendall, Roman, Shiv and Connor -- it’s a night where they made some good television
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Who’s good? Who’s bad? Who knows?
The Roys are in deep with both Presidential candidates Mencken and Daniel Jimenez. Logan likes Mencken because he was obedient and Roman was on board with swaying the narrative in his favor. Shiv leans toward Jimenez as he won’t block the GoJo deal with Matsson and is also an anti-conservative candidate. Kendall was neutral, weighing his options, business and personal ramifications, listing the pros and cons. One candidate (Mencken) will help the business by blocking Matsson’s GoJo deal while the other won’t but will be a flag bearer of democracy.
Roman wants to be like his father by saving the company by placing a Presidential pawn who would cater to their needs but would destroy the fabric of America’s democracy, denoting the constant need of corporate bigwigs to meddle in the elections for their needs. Should one crucify Roman for placing his interests before the country? Is he good or bad?
Shiv was exposed and taken apart completely. Kendall and Roman learnt about her deal with Matsson after Kendall requested her to speak to Jimenez to agree to block the GoJo deal since he now thought Mencken was bad for the country. He was unsure about his choice to support Mencken. When Shiv pretended to call and was eventually caught, she had no one to go to except Matsson. Another of the Roy siblings puts their interests first and manipulates someone but fails. The country’s election takes a back seat here as well despite Shiv using the tactic of patriotism to convince Kendall that Mencken was the devil. Although, it was evident Shiv only wanted Jimenez as President to serve her interests, that is the Matsson deal.
Kendall, the man in charge, seems to have had a moral awakening. He saw Mencken as a problem for the country but eventually, backed him for President after learning about Shiv’s collusion with Matsson. “Some people can’t just cut a deal,” Kendall tells his driver, suggesting Shiv’s apparent betrayal. Kendall found some good but led the bad take over at the end to save his father's legacy.
Will Mencken stay true to his word?
A sly Mencken won the election only because he decided to kiss the ring. He agreed to do all the work for the Roys and in return, they ensured that the narrative was in his favor. Roman went further to suggest through the ATN news desk that Mencken was the real deal and Jimenez was not. Mencken promised to keep Matsson out by introducing new foreign regulations. Will he deliver? Will Mencken be a good guy for the Roys and bad for the country or will the equation flip on its head? In the world of ‘Succession,’ one can never be sure. There are just two episodes left that will reveal the fate of the Roys and the new king of Waystar.
HBO’s ‘Succession’ airs new episodes on Sundays.