Did anyone note how Roman's rant at the end was him finally moving from denial to anger?

Hugo had the best line in this episode, when after Gerry's speech he said " we are snakes on a plane" 😆

I believe the reason why Gerri and Karolina were not on the list was that Shiv told Mattsson that they are good during their private conversation.

While blood brick story fits crazy Matsson personality soooo perfectly, I love a theory that he makes up different crazy stories about him just to test peoples loyalty and make it easy to track who licks it. Also I just have hard time believing he would be honest with Shiv, I believe he read siblings situation well and knew Shiv is desperate for any chance to get some power even if it means going behind her bros backs. I just love watching Shiv character this season.

Tom flicking Shiv’s Barnacle Meat Earlobes and then Shiv calling him wiry is the funniest scene of the season by far

Shiv wasn’t actually drinking. She puts her mouth to the glass but doesn’t actually drink

I'm so happy you guys exist for Succession reviews. I was also extremely anxious for this episode. I had to sleep on it before I realized I liked the episode because of how uncomfortable it made me. Mattson is a great character and totally filling the shoes of Papa Roy.

it was her time to smirk...the thing is Shiv has every guy in her hands: she kept Gerri to get down Roman, she knows about Kendall and the dead waiter , she gave Tom some one to serve and knows Mattson "secret" plus she got rid of all the male old guard...so, yes, she's going full Logan there with turttle neck and all

I love how Mattson enters the episode in a hoodie cloak like a ring wraith

even if matsson is manipulating shiv, this episode is still a win for her. she got a bunch of money, got rid of atn, got tom under her wing again, and she gained an ally (a dangerous ally who can put a knife through her ribs anytime but still).

Frank and Carl remind me of the two mean old muppets in the muppets movies😂😂

Nerd Soup is where it’s at. The Quad Squad! ❤

One reason why that opening scene was brilliant: Jay-Z's song samples the Doors "Five to One," which foreshadows Ken, Shiv, Roman, Greg, and Tom all interacting with Matsson throughout the episode.

I just binge watched the series again before this episode, and it really does make a difference, especially considering how little time gap there is between seasons. Shiv, especially, for me came off very differently. Personality-wise, I always really hated her-the feeling of unearned smugness, her constant gaslighting of Tom. After watching the episodes back to back, though, I still dislike her, but I definitely sympathize with her, as well. She is just constantly excluded, dismissed, and winless. She has to carry that unearned smugness because she is never actually given an opportunity to earn it.

I know this is slightly reductive but i LOVE how this is modern day warfare of an empire. Like other shows with kings and rebellions etc seem like fantasy, so far back that i can't relate but this show makes it feel so real almost like i understand better how royal courtiers and advisors would have spoken and acted and the motivations feel much more relatable

Rome needs a hug. 😢

Shiv is definitely not drinking. The liquid never goes down in the glass, and she keeps her lips together. If you were pregnant and wanting to keep that to yourself, you wouldn't want to do anything, like refuse a drink, that might give that away and compromise your position.

If Kendall Roy was a real person he’d be courtside at MSG with Pete Davidson

I wish just once Kendal could come out on top but for whatever reason the writers love to build him up then shit on him. I love this show so much & I’m sad it’s almost over. Thank you for reviewing this brilliant show.

I watched a couple interviews with kieren cilkin about this episode and he said he was genuinely miserable due to being away from his fanily during this shoot.

The smartest, most comprehensive reviews! Thanks so much! This episode - everybody scrambled - finding their footing.Madsson looming as the anti-Logan is brilliant. His entrance in Norway at the retreat - wearing that hooded jacket.... Iconic

Favourite Succession Reviewers! I love how calmly you both talk about the show! Thanks for the awesome review 😊

GEEZ = You guys always MISSREAD the women. They were just as rattled. Carolina was not complimenting Ebba. When a woman tells another woman, she looks well...refreshed. That is 100% SHADE. Its code for "I heard youre a little batshit, but you look like youre okay." Refreshed, means you dont lool as raggedy as I heard. Watch Carolina's eyes as she glides away. She literally knifed that chick. Shiv, is still hot for Tom and seeing him do well is urking her. And when he struck back, it turned her on. Gerri is STOLID AF.

I watched that scene twice upon first viewing, Shiv definitely did not do the substance

I listen to your reviews each week, love how articulate you both are. Thanks for putting these episodes out guys

Wake up babe Nerd Soup just reviewed the new succession episode

Wow! Awesome analysis that I have been searching for!! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detail-oriented deep dive. So many channels seem so general and lacking true insight of the Succession characters and storylines. Thank you!

Beau you have the perfect podcasting voice 😂

I don’t know guys, really didn’t see Kendall flustered this episode or mustered. Roman is all over the place and I think that messes up the duo at this time. This wasn’t Roman’s best moments because he is taking things personal vs professionally.

I wouldn’t get to caught up in how he treats Shiv. He’s playing them off each other to push the deal thus asap

I'm wondering if Matsson was just BSing Shiv with this blood story. Because the next thing he said after that was "you can take a joke."

Beau, Aaron, Teddy, Nash. THE QUAD SQUAD!

Very unlikely but what if Roman commits suicide... Would be extremely unlikely but he is clearly very depressed by the death in a way Shiv and Ken aren't.

I'm surprised that so few people pick up on this, but Tom has been in the drivers seat (secretly of course and we aren't sure as to who his backer/s are, but it's pretty clear that Tom isn't worried and when he was scrambling after logans death it was an act).

Bleed the Swede

About introducing something big without a payout...YES! Roman totally sold his siblings in ep2 and the beginning of ep3. It NEVER came back to bite him in the a.. And they were upset about SMS on Logan's birthday! This bomb, however, never exploded. You think they'll won't bring it up to divide the siblings?

You guys missed that Shiv is intentionally throwing a wrench into deal by having Tom fire Cyd. Cyd's got the dirt that Mencken has influence over coverage at ATN and it will inevitably get out if they fire her. That will ruin ATN's reputation and make the acquisition unpalatable for Matsson

Complaining about a small room isn't petty when the room has been done deliberately during a negotiation/meeting to put people off balance. But then Kendall walked into it by reacting.

Logan is cleary and slowly losing his mind from the beginning of Season 1, but he's so unpredictable no one dares question him, even if he's obviously deteriorating quickly. He used his disapproval to silence any question about his business acccumen or general authotity.

Shiv having Gregg's baby theory is funny considering the Swedes called him a 6 foot Hubsberg giant 😂

I’ve been working with Europeans for almost a decade now (I’m not American) and I can assure you that if the food is for free, they won’t hesitate to stack up their plate and Gerry is not wrong in her assessment. Just saying!

Would love to see you guys do this for other shows like BARRY. Love these weekly review episodes

23:46 Beau saying “Y tu Roman?” not only is funny asf, but also feels like a callback to that one cold open of the podcast where Beau was explaining to Teddy that saying of “Y tu Brutus?” when Teddy was on his history kick

Fantastic breakdown. You've got a new subscriber here.

Great review as always! My thoughts are that Lukas had already secured Geri to his side, Logan sense this and wanted her fired. This is further supported by Gerri been super Ok with pushing the compatibility meeting forward, as well as not nervous at all during the process and is off the kill list. This gives Lukas invaluable inside info on how to play the kids. Lukas purposely insulted Logan (never in Shiv presence), Kendall and Roman to get a reaction from the two, and put them off what ever plans they had! The fact they were not able to "force" Lukas to give them a non ATN included offer, shows how they failed to apply any meaningful pressure or leverage (yip there where in a difficult position due to the share price dropping, but there were in their rights to ask for revised offer on original deal). Regarding Shiv, he played her perfectly, massaging her ego and aligning himself to what Shiv was thinking : Kendall and Roman not up to the job, ATN need to shift from current business model, honouring her father by saying she could take a joke and she was the most like him, and sharing a more than likely "fake story" to show trust, bond and giving her apparent leverage while showing that he appreciates her take and advice. Even when Shiv says the obvious offer them more money, he jokes back in a clear joke tone to make this obvious, compared to the super aggressive (not really joking) with Kendall and Roman. As you guys have said very difficult to predict how things will evolve and the show will end, but guessing that Lukas will use and dispose the Roy kids as per when required, so should be fun to watch.

Good assessment, but Skarsgard (46) is only 30 years younger than Cox (76) not 50. 😊

Mattson had that lift that the kids took bugged

It was almost "killing me, Smalls" until the last 15 minutes. The Ugly American vibes were too real lol

They don't have to accept the offer, but they have to take this offer to their shareholders, so the shareholders will have to decide, in which case the kids will have to fight Matson for the shareholders' vote.

The name ROMAN. Very curious. There were 2 brothers. Remus and Romolos. Raised by a she-wolf. They built a city. And eventually the brothers had serious disagreements about governance. In the end it was Romulus that killed Remus and became the leader. The city was named Rome - after him. There is no way that his name is not significant.

Adding my ingredients to the algorithm soup

Great review! Nerd soup is awesome! Succession is Arguably one of the best shows on! This program Shows what narcissism and wealth look like in all its facets!

Shiv is 100% not the winner this episode, she is being expertly played by Mattson just like she was by Logan and Tom earlier on in the show

I don’t get the Roman love, he’s so clouded by his love of his father that he can’t make good business decisions. Not saying that’s bad as a human, but as a CEO I think Kendall is definitely the better one for the job.

Mencken has been busy being DA over on the Perry Mason show. Hugo didn’t pile all that on his plate. Mark or Ray set their cinnamon roll on his plate to avoid looking like a glutton. And speaking of Mark and Ray - who the heck are they?

Great commentary and comments

3 weeks in a fuckin row, baby

love this souppppp

We've seen Mencken before, he's the same guy that played Scooter Libby in Vice

there's an interview somewhere with kieran talking about season 4 where he talks about a situation where he felt roman makes a decision he wouldn't normally take, and after talking about it with jesse armstrong or whoever they eventually shot kieran's idea instead of the original, and i get the feeling the situation with matssen was exactly that because that was unexpected but very much in the style of his character, adding up to the thesis that some of kendall's confidence is sticking to him a little bit. great review!

I feel like mattsen bringing up France is a sign that he does understand ATN. Xenophobia sells and I think he plans to lean into that even more when he buys the network.

Shiv kept appearing to be drinking but i think Mattson noticed at some point that she wasn't actually drinking. i will have to re-watch but it think he noticed and now knows that she is probably expecting.

Thank god this just dropped, the writers never fill us in on the characters thoughts, so we gotta speculate 🧐

Ken and Roman just came face to face with a younger Logan dealing with Matsson and he showed them they are in control of nothing, they are just figure heads.

The type of family we'd all love to be a part of

You guys are great! I love how in to it you get. I don’t think you miss much which I appreciate. Nobody else I listen to pointed out the “guys a dick” line by Hugo which had me dying😂 Listening to your recap tho made me think of two things. You’ll see based on these two things I’m also in the thick of it😂 1. It may be telling that when Shiv brings up Tom to Lukas she says she broke his heart FIRST then says he broke her heart. She may be saying she broke his heart first cause that’s what happened first on their wedding NIGHT… however that COULD mean she’s thought introspectively about how she’s hurt him and maybe she feels bad. Till this point idk how she felt about that cause she didn’t want any closure in the first ep. I would think she’d lead with anger about what Tom did to her if she was still torn up about it…🤔 Or maybe that’s just what the moment called for in order for Lukas to feel comfortable. Stellar performance by shiv AND Sarah snook. 2. Im starting to like this decision to not show us Mencken. Obv the past few days/episodes have been a whirlwind but so far this season he’s only been mentioned and referenced. It’s like he’s this toxic storm creeping over the horizon that everyone knows is bad for humanity but it’s being carried out without question (other than Shiv) cause it’d be great for business. Nobody really know what’s going to come of it but they know it’ll be a shit storm and ATN is gonna stoke the fire. Makes you think of real world examples…

Shiv never drank, she did the trick of putting the glass up to her lips and pretend to drink but she never swallowed intentionally in those shots...she isn't fucking up her baby (yet) haha

Truth be told, people want more …much more of this Logan Roy world HBO should produce a show about the early life of Logan Roy: showing Logan in the years when he put Conners mom in a mental facility and when he married 2nd wife and when the kids were very young but there should be flash backs to Logan’s childhood and formidable years with his brother and whatever went down with Logan’s sister sort of like the God father part 2 flashbacks. Showing Logan’s uncle beating him, forming the emotional and psychological framework for Logan’s life and how he became the person we see in succession. There is still so much fans would like to know about Logan Roy and how he came to be. It would be a home run for WBD HBO if it is done correctly and casting the Young Logan Roy correctly.

This should be the official HBO recap! Although you guys are way off on your interpretations of Kendall and Roman, they were in eachother’s heads except for the one talking over eachother moment at the start. They’re ice cold by the end. Roman gets to have his own moment abusing Mattson and they get to win either way. They don’t lose like you’re assuming it.

I thought Kendall and Roman fared better in this episode than others did. They’re probably right that Madsen will eventually tank the stock if he runs the news, and I thought the brothers worked well together. In the end they probably fail, because that’s sort of the show but I didn’t think they were a bad team.

Shiv didn’t do the coke and she took a tiny sip of her drink, the Swede was so into himself he didn’t notice. Shiv has his number, she’s saved Gerri and Karolina, and she has Tom to kick around because he’s so desperate. The boys have proven that “they aren’t serious people”. The last 5 episodes will be a wild ride. 🙄

Guys where is your mando season 3 video? Been waiting lol

The deal is far from done..

Matsson gave Roman and Kenny the Vaulter treatment.. he mocked Ken at the table with it and then owned him by forcing an offer they have to take even though they want out and he’s such an asshole he’s willing to risk failure on ATN just to rub their noses in it. Brutal.

Always feels like Kendall is one line of coke away from losing everything

Tom and greg are wario and waluigi

This season we got to see two examples of just how out of their league Logan's children are. First in negotiating the purchase of Pierce, where Nan completely out maneuvered them. And then when they were in the position to sell a company, they got smoked by Matsson. And Shiv got played by Matsson. He told her a BS story about sending his blood to his ex. She took it at face value, not realizing it was a test to see if she was loyal. (It's like the story that Greg was spreading about Matsson wearing headphones and listening to Nerd Soup when he had sex.) Matsson seeds these specific stories to individuals so he can trace them back to who was disloyal. Shiv passed the test. She kept his potentially scandalous story secret. And then she sent him a photo of her brothers. She proved her loyalty. And Matsson now has an insider in the boardroom. Shiv, of course, believes she has leverage over Matsson, but Matsson would never give her any real damaging information. Still, she thinks he did. She thinks they have a bond. But he's psychologically messing with her. He got so much from her and didn't give her anything more substantial than a supposedly drunken confession. Sharing secrets is a FastTrack to creating a bond. But Shiv doesn't realize there's an inequity in their relationship. Then Matsson uses the info he got from Shiv to "bump the price a bit" to close the deal at his pace. Also, Matsson completely plays Roman into admitting they're trying to tank the deal, which is an SEC violation. They have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. It would be a huge scandal after the potential of the sale helped to stabilize the price of their stock. Instead of using that information against them, Matsson used it to bring Shiv's advice directly to Frank becaise he knew Ken & Roman couldn't do anything about it. He told them he could go around them. These kids are not good at negotiations. But they think truly believe that they're the best.

Hugo is on the Kill list. Hugo was privately asked by Ken to launch a smear campaign against Logan. Hugo will find out about Ken's involvement in the boy dying and hedges his bets with that information. That will be used by Madsen to sink Ken and a dark ending will be alluded to until Roman pulls a Secret of My Success finale and with the help of those he has built bridges with and Madsen's disgruntled assistant not only survives the buyout but triggers a hostile takeover of Madsen's company in a final boardroom scene. Oh please!

Her face was amazjng emotion when she saud were fd

Can you guys review mr robot like this.

Could somebody clue me in? I've watched quite a few ep 5 recaps and still haven't got the slightest idea on the blood bricks subplot. Why? What does it mean? What effect if any would it have on Ebba? I mean ... so what ... it's off the wall but what does it have to do with anything?

Do you guys remember when Adrian Brody thought he was the big bad of this show because he was in one episode? He wishes he was Lukas.

Cousin Greg is going to hook up with Ebba and use her information to advance himself.

Let's go!!!

So does next episode end with a Roman smile? 🤔

I reference a pretty big leak for season 4 in here, so don’t read ahead if you don’t want it spoiled: With respect to Mencken, I found the fact that his team had a very close, direct relationship with ATN interesting not just because of the direct effect it has on the potential for future scandals which could affect the company’s credibility, value and the GoJo deal, but also because of how it could tie back into the photo from NY of a bill board showing ATN calling the election for Mencken. If he has an open line, is it possible that he’s convinced them to call the election for him even if it’s not true? We’ve seen in the trailers that he directly asks as much, so I’m very curious about the extent to which ATN might be receptive to such a play given they have a seemingly close relationship. What would that mean for the fight over the succession? How would it affect the deal and each of the contenders personal positions? Just a thought I had a while ago.

she wasn’t drinking she faked it

Hi. Fellow European here. Europe does, indeed, have a president

Logan is like a bad Ned Stark.

Roman wants ATN because he has plans for it. Of his siblings, he was the only one with ideas to make ATN relevant again. Make Mencken president, and have the entire shit show unfold on ATN. Ken wants it to be “whats going on in africa?”, Shiv despises it, and as Logan said, Roman isn’t Pierce. It’s tempting to believe that he’s just honouring his late father, but ATN is the only place where he would be relevant.

Roman isn't being honest, he's getting the fascist presidential candidate involved at ATN.

I say.. watch those stock prices and the papers Greg has hidden. He could tank the stock price and all will go broke.

Please do not spoil by talking about the previews otherwise one of SMARTEST enjoyable analysis of show.

Anyone worried Mattson recorded Roman admitting to tanking?

Brunson highlights in a succession review 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Calling it Kendall's "murder" is a little extreme.

I don’t think Shiv is as smart as everybody thinks she is. She doesn’t really have a goal or a plan, not even decisive on what to do with Tom

Felt so bad for Roman.

I still wish they kept the Black Junior executive from the Pilot in Season 1. They talk about race and politics (and Race jokes) so much this season but there is no Black people (Not POC not the same thing) to help match.

Roman wearing a Logan cardigan