Content Consumed: The end of Succession, NBA Finals, and more

Hey, hey! Happy Tuesday. Let’s dive right in.

In today’s edition of Content Consumed:
💔 Ruminating on the Succession series finale
🎬 This week’s television, books, and more

I’m completely satisfied with Succession

This was exactly the way it was supposed to go.

A kitchen montage of sibling joy like we may have never seen from the Roy children. Backstabbing and betrayals from nearly every character. The fall of the family dynasty. The one man who works—really, truly works hard—gets the CEO title, and takes those who are actually good at their jobs with him.

Tom earned it. He’s the only one who didn’t feel entitled to the job, yet the only one who is actually qualified for the job. He soft-pitched himself to Matsson flawlessly. He missed the funeral of Logan Roy for post-election day work. He proved himself time and time again, from gobbling shit to swaying elections.

It feels good and right, every character’s fate. Shiv was doomed to take the role of every woman before her, demonstrated as she and Tom drive away together, just barely holding hands. Her entire identity revolved around her name, the power of which has been taken away along with the company. She’s now The Pregnant Wife of Waystar-Royco-GoJo CEO Tom Wambsgans and not much more.

I thought Kendall could jump at the end, during his walk through Battery Park with Collin… but, to be fair, I thought he could off himself at least a dozen times in this episode alone. He threatened to kill himself if he didn’t get the CEO role, outside the boardroom in a physical fight against Roman and a screaming match with Shiv.

That’s when we as the audience confirmed it could never happen, Kendall as CEO.

An entitled psychopath who claims to have made up the story of killing a waiter…

…who screams “I AM THE ELDEST BOY!” in front of the Waystar Royco board…

…it could never happen.

One thing I was afraid of, prior to episode 9, is that we’d never touch Roman’s grief and his true humanity. And thank God we did. From the funeral breakdown to the Barbados escape to the Gerri-inspired PTSD, we saw all of Roman. His arc ended as it should—in a bar, drinking Gerri’s go-to: a martini.

It’s the end of an era. I’m sad to see Succession go but thrilled with how it ended—no Game of Thrones season 8 bullshit here.

Succession is the real deal and it’ll be lauded as such for decades to come.

P.S. There are a lot of think pieces and such going around right now, naturally. The two articles I recommend you actually read are:
- Eater’s “Love Is A Smoothie Full of Hot Sauce and Spit”
- Jezebel’s “Shiv Roy Is a Rorschach Test for Fans’ Understandings of Feminism”

This week’s Content List

In no particular order, this is the content I’m engaging with this week:

📚 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
I’ve been meaning to read this modern epic for a while now. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year after being published as an immediate bestseller last October. I’m ten chapters in and I’m hooked. Instantly understanding the rave reviews praising the main character, Demon, as the voice of a generation.

🏀 NBA Finals
I’m so stoked about the Finals match-up: two underdogs. Sort of. Yes, the Nuggets were a #1 seed, but this is their first-ever Finals appearance. But, admittedly, I’m rooting for the Heat. Really, let me be honest: I’m rooting for seven very entertaining games that each come down to the wire.

🎤 The Other Two
I’m almost all caught up! The Other Two is a great, underrated HBO show that’s gotten a lot more serious in Season 3 (which is currently airing). I wrote more about it here if you’re interested.

👑 The Great
Midway through Season 3 and loving it. Taking it slow. Savoring it.

📮 Veep
Realized my husband has never rewatched Veep all the way through. So, of course, that must happen.

📗 Duolingo
We booked a trip to Prague! I studied abroad there and learned about 4 words in 4 months so I’d like to challenge myself to learn a bit more Czech before actually getting there in December. So yes: I will be consuming Duolingo stories.

🏡 Harry’s House
It’s that time of year. My spring playlist is about 50% this album. What can I say? Songs like “Grapejuice” are perfect for a spring day in the sunshine.

And that’s all from me today! Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
Casey

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