Content Consumed: Succession, Bupkis, Bad Bunny, and Kaytraminé
Hey, happy Monday! I think I’m finally not sick(?), but work is chaotic and I’m headed out of town again this weekend, so things still feel anarchic and out of routine. Anyways, in today’s edition of Content Consumed, we’re talking about:
🎥 Succession: Logan Roy’s funeral and finale predictions
🤡 I tried to watch Pete Davidson’s Bupkis
💃🏻 Bad Bunny just made my favorite song
🎧 Wishing Kaytranaminé was better
Succession: Episode 9
As expected, the Logan Roy funeral episode was a punch in the gut.
Finally, Roman broke down in a dramatic fashion, hysterically weeping in front of his father’s coffin—and about a hundred of the most influential people on Earth—instead of delivering his planned eulogy.
Yeah… he’s getting that lead actor Emmy.
And his ass did NOT pre-grieve.
More important and/or noteworthy moments:
- Kendall almost pulled a Jason Sudeikis on Rava.
- The ex-lovers of Logan Roy unionized.
- Mattson promised a U.S. CEO (not necessarily Shiv, but she might not know that) to appease everyone’s favorite fascist and president-elect, Mencken.
- Roman naturally makes everything gross and sexual to avoid confronting serious things like his sister’s pregnancy or his father’s funeral.
- Ewan gave a top-tier eulogy for his beloved-and-hated brother Logan (despite many efforts to get him off the stage).
- Kendall stepped in for Roman when Romey breaks down, and honestly… he nailed it. Kendall can be good in a crisis… sometimes.
- Kendall tells Roman he fucked it, sending Roman into full self-destruction mode. Roman heads out, finds the violent protests, and gets himself beaten up.
The next episode is the series finale. You already knew that. But it’s worth re-iterating because there is now 1 hour and 30 minutes (yup, it’s a longer finale) for everything to wrap up.
My predictions:
- Shiv and Tom divorce for real (split custody over the unnamed child who Shiv has already promised to be an absentee mother to)
- Kendall gets the CEO position after the deal goes through but in an unfulfilling and tragic way (which involves screwing over Shiv)
- Roman re-appears at the top of the episode then dramatically disappears when things don’t go his way at the end
- Connor heads back to New Mexico with Willa and finally accepts full political defeat (yeah, even the ambassadorship)
- Mencken succeeds and America spirals
This won’t be a happy ending because these are not good people. That’s a guarantee. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a perfect ending for Succession as a show.
‘Bupkis’ is exactly what you’d expect
How many semi-autobiographical TV shows and movies can a guy make? Pete Davidson’s count is at two now.
I never watched King of Staten Island, but I gave Bupkis a try on Friday. Let it be known that this only occurred because we got logged out of half our streaming accounts last week and I was panicking, okay?! Peacock was my last hope.
Heightened fictionalized versions of celebrities’ lives CAN work. Look at Curb Your Enthusiasm. But is Pete Davidson as talented as Larry David? Most people would say no.
This is Pete Davidson’s brand of humor, so you might like it if you’re a fan. Plenty of 9/11 jokes and crude physical bits. It’s a strange smorgasbord of TV shows we’ve already seen, especially FXX-type shows like Dave. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this kind of just feels like an alternate version of Dave.
Anyways, it’s half “feel sorry for me” and half “I’ve done this to myself”, perfectly demonstrated in a scene where he spends time Googling himself. There’s so much bad shit about him on the Internet, some of which he invites, but a lot of unnecessary cruelty. But did he need to make a TV show to tell us that? That his life kinda sucks but not really?
CNN’s review said that Pete Davidson is the least interesting part of this show about Pete Davidson, which is spot-on. Celeb cameos and scene-stealers like Joe Pesci and Edie Falco do most of the work.
I got through one and a half episodes and I shall not be returning to Bupkis.
Bad Bunny made my Song of the Summer
You’re right, you’re right—too soon to call a Song of the Summer. But I’ve been bumping this one on repeat since it dropped on Thursday night.
‘WHERE SHE GOES’ is a nasty little song. Yeah, I had to look up an English translation of the lyrics to know that. It’s got a hot, bouncing beat to match and a gorgeous music video featuring cameos from Frank Ocean, Dominic Fike, Lil Uzi Vert, Ronaldinho, and more. The pulsing reggaetón mix is very Bad Bunny, but at the same time, a bigger step towards EDM-style rhythms and trendier than his usual stuff.
Just listen. Please.
Mini-album review: Kaytraminé
I wanted to like Kaytraminé so badly. I’m a fan of Portland rapper Aminé and really respect what producer Kaytranada can do. But alas… this was disappointing.
Based on the first single, “4EVA”, I was hoping for an album full of synth-y Afrobeat hip-hop. Perfectly light and airy and seasonal, with Aminé’s adaptable vocals guiding each track. The second single, “Rebuke”, also gave that groovy vibe.
Alas, Kaytraminé is not that.
Instead, it’s full of uncreative and cringe-y lyrics like: “Me and you was meant to be like Seth with the pottery.” The album is multi-genre but in a messy way. Ironically, Aminé’s verses are duller and more monotone than I’ve heard before (but maybe comparing to Limbo isn’t right—that’s clearly his best album and may keep that status forever).
The duo told W Magazine that they weren’t ever in the studio at the same time, as Kaytranada produced during the day and Aminé rapped at night… and you can tell. It’s disjointed. It feels more like an unfinished mixtape than anything.
I know: I should give it another listen or two. I will! I want to like it more.
That’s it for today! Thanks for reading. Last week marked 500 followers and one full year of Content Consumed and that’s so damn cool. I love you all!
Cheers,
Casey
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