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Movies & TV

04th Sep 2023

Succession creator finally answers show’s biggest mystery

Rory Cashin

Succession

If you prefer Succession’s ambiguity, then look away now!

Three months on from the finale of Succession, and we probably shouldn’t have to tell you this, but this article will contain spoilers for the ending to one of the very best shows ever made.

During an appearance at a Financial Times event over the weekend, show creator Jesse Armstrong answered some of the biggest unanswered questions around Succession, telling the crowd that he would never have wanted to answer any of these questions while the show was still on, but now that there was a healthy gap since its ending, he’s only to happy to clear up any potential ambiguities.

Of course, one of the biggest questions left unanswered at the time was whether Kendall’s name was indeed underlined or crossed out. Following Logan’s death, a piece of paper was discovered with Kendall’s name apparently listed as Logan’s successor to take over the media company Waystar Royco. However, a mark under/over Kendall’s name then caused confusion, with some believing it to be underlined, and others believing it to be crossing it out.

Jesse Armstrong puts underlined or crossed out argument to bed

https://twitter.com/cassamlooch/status/1697975746680041930?s=20

Armstrong put the debate to rest pretty succinctly, telling the audience that he himself physically drew the line himself: “If you were gonna cross out, you wouldn’t start underneath, would you?”

Additionally, Armstrong revealed that he had been subtly preparing Tom Wambgsgans (Matthew Macfayden) to take the throne for quite a while, even though practically nobody on the show knew until very close to the end:

“Occasionally, I would remind [Macfayden] to do a take where it was like, do remember – this was earlier on in the show – it could be you as well, just to make sure he had that thing about [how he’s] a suck-up who also had some steel that could be activated at a certain point.”

All four seasons of Succession are available to watch with a NOW Entertainment Membership right now, and the entire box set is scheduled to arrive on DVD on Monday 11 September.

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Topics:

Succession,TV