If you build a house, they will come.
One of the great things about
Succession is that each episode brings us somewhere new and you never know where the gang will end up.
Last week, it was the beautiful fjords of Norway, this week - the Roys and co travel to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where Kendall and Roman plan to unveil Waystar's new real estate venture - Living+. And so the Californian sun shines on the Succession power rankings.
The City of Angels seems to be having some sort effect on the siblings this week as Kendall goes full Hollywood CEO, Roman decides he wants to be the next Alan Sugar and Shiv is getting a bit hot under the collar for Tom.
Let's check out how the glitz and glamour of Hollywood affects the rankings for this week.
8. Gerri
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Photo: HBO[/caption]
Gerri's position within WayStar has been up in the air for some time now. Barely getting away with being fired after Logan's timely death saved her job, she now finds herself fired again by the very man who was so reluctant to do it the last time.
However, Gerri's firing by Roman seems half-baked and we're sure we won't see the end of her. Despite that, she's really not having a good time of it this season. A word too, for poor Joy who also found herself in the firing line of mini-Logan this week. You don't like ATN's fascist leanings? Well then, you're fired.
7. Roman
After Roman's meltdown on top of a Norwegian mountain in last week's episode, the youngest Roy has a tummy full of condolences and is now acting like a mini Logan just feel something again. He doesn't settle for just
wearing his dad's sweater this time around, though. This week, he's abusing his power as co-CEO by just firing people for the craic.
Channeling that scene in the Simpson's where Homer, as coach of the local football team, cuts pretty much everyone, Roman has the knife out and sharpened. Joy, you're cut. Gerri, you're gone too. He then closes out the episode by listening to a doctored clip of his dad telling him he has a small appendage over and over again. I think he needs the huggie thing.
6. Lukas
While sitting pretty in last week's rankings, Lukas is once again far away from the action, with a big offer still on the table for WayStar hanging in the balance. The Swede showed off his vulnerability to Shiv in Norway and continues to try and get her on his side, but he shows weakness again by doing... that tweet.
Maybe not the best move to compare Living+ to Nazi death camps, and deleting the tweet straight after makes him look even sillier. However, it also shows how much power Matsson has over WayStar. While the ball is in the Roy's court for now, Matsson has a big, sharp pin waiting to burst it at any moment.
5. Greg
Resident dopeness-gauge Greg is getting along just fine in the new WayStar shakeup. Somehow, he continues to get himself in with the Roy siblings and ends up actually being asked his opinion on Living+ by Logan and Roman.
He also tests out his power on the video editor and successfully manages to get him to alter Logan's voice to say Living+ will double the earnings of the parks division rather than provide a significant boost. Greg will see another day, and he's not in trouble, great job Greg!
4. Shiv
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Photo: HBO[/caption]
The CE Bro's continue to squeeze Shive out of decision-making, which we can see by Kendall simply sitting in her seat at a meeting. Metaphors, they run deep this week. Reduced to scheduling her grief, she draws ever closer to Tom for support while also keeping her boy on the outside - aka Lukas - within reach.
Shiv remains an outsider for now, but her growing connections stand her in good stead for the upcoming finale. Just tell Tom about the baby for goodness sake.
3. Tom
The scenes between Shiv and Tom in this week's episode absolutely steal the show. The tension between the couple is starting to level up in a big way, with Tom literally nearly biting her hand off at one point.
Finding himself back in the mix this episode, Tom getting closer to Shiv will mark a big shift in his power going forward and, you know what, good for him! He even got to do a big ol' speech at the investor meeting, even if he did have to follow Kendall promising eternal life.
2. Karl
A new entry has stuck his head above the parapet and gone straight for Kendall's throat in this episode. While the Roy sib is about to go on stage to give his weird CEO speech, Karl corners him and threatens that if he says anything he doesn't like, he'll start squealing.
So, with Kendall realizing Karl holds a lot of power, he makes his speech a little more vague on the numbers side and, lo and behold, everyone loves it. Karl is happy and has now established himself as the new scary-old-man of the company.
1. Kendall
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Photo: HBO[/caption]
There's a new space cowboy in Hollywood, and he goes by the name Kendall Roy. He may not have got the clouds he wanted for his glitzy Ted Talk, but he somehow managed to pull off the unveiling of Living+, even dodging Lukas' stray bullet of a tweet while still on stage.
If anyone is living up to the Roy name right now, it's Kendall himself, and he feels right at home in sunny LA, alongside the rich and famous of Hollywood.
Throughout almost the entirety of the episode leading up to and during Kendall's speech, disaster seems to loom large. With Roman pulling out last minute, the off-script virtual dead dad banter, the very on-script "big-shoes" ordeal - everything is set up for cringe. But somehow, Kendall prevails and he's won this week's episode!
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