Athleisure Mag #56 Aug 2020 | BING3WATCH

BING3WATCH - SUCCESSION

HBO’s Succession, created by Jessie Armstrong (Executive Producer, Creator and Show Runner) is an American satirical comedy drama that looks at media from the vantage point of a family at the top of an international conglomerate empire. How do you maintain power and keep it in the family? The importance of dominance, edge, alliances, and acquisitions are key. Likewise is whom in the family is next to lead the empire, who can be sacrificed, and defining and keeping loyalty.

These themes run throughout each episode as we learn more about Waystar Royco. In the series' second season, we continue to watch how Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is navigating his company as he fights off competing firms and the interests of his family who believe they are ready to take the reigns. Two siblings in particular are pitted against one another as they struggle to prove their ability to be their father’s number 2. The heir apparent, Logan’s eldest son Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) is unable to establish his takeover due to a badly designed plan. His sister Siobhan (Sarah Snook) is thrown into the mix, colluding with her father for the firm. Ultimately, we end the season with Kendall declaring his birthright, aiming directly athis father. You can watch both seasons of Succession which will go into production for the 3rd season on HBO as well as HBO Max. This month we’re focusing on the intersectionality between Logan, Siobhan and Kendall as they navigate 3 key areas - the depths to stay in favor with someone providing access; making alliances known; and when to take what’s rightfully theirs?

Stills/Clips/BTS content courtesy of Succession/HBO

LOGAN ROY (Brian Cox)

Without a doubt, Logan is a formidable leader. In season 1, we watched how this mogul was at the helm of his company, became ill, temporarily wasn’t involved in his company and came back to take the reigns. As we began the second season, he is still looking to keep his company alive and is navigating lawsuits, scandals, considering partnerships with other firms and keeping an eye on his children to see who is fit to lead as well as to push them to enhance their strengths. Although he has been at the helm longer than he ever anticipated, he understands that he must have a successor and although his children have the right elements, there isn’t a clear leader that embodies everything that he believes is needed. Throughout the season he has put plans into action and each one for nuanced reasons fail to work. The partnership that ended up not going through. Siobhan is brought in as a confidant, while Kendall is directed to fall on the sword for the family so that they can move on as there was no proven killer instinct; however, he realizes at the end of the season that Kendall is not only an adversary that he will have to go up against, butthat he might have the pedigree to take the firm.

BTS Photos/Stills/Clips courtesy Succession/HBO

BING3WATCH – SUCCESSION

SIOBHAN ROY (Sarah Snook)

In season 1 Siobhan was involved at family meetings; however, she was on the periphery. She had her own life and ambitions and the idea of working with her father and siblingswasn’t part of her story. In season 2, we watch how her analytical nature is pulled into her father’s orbit as they collude to have her learn more about the business as a means to allow her to take the reigns. In many ways it’s an attempt to create a natural loyalty between herself and Logan. He values a number of her opinions; moreover, he knows that her siblings share with her. As they don’t see her as someone that would be in consideration, they would have no need to change the way that they converse with her and she can share the intel that she learns with him. This plan of a secret sniper meets mole goes well until they’re at dinner with the Pierce family who they are trying to partner with. When Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones), the matriarch asks who is in succession to the family company, Siobhan asks her father to just say that it’s her. This atypical way of analyzing how she should engage in a conversation of this nature is met with shock from her siblings on hearing the news and disapproval from her father. Siobhan also realizes that she isn’t in a special place with her father and that her future is as much in question as her siblings. She also realizes that if she wants the opportunity that she will have to tread water. If this requires her to be noncomital when it comes to her husband and his future, agreeing that Kendall should take the fall or simply by staying in the middle – she will do what she needs to do now that she has a notion of taking power.

BTS Photos/Stills/Clips courtesy Succession/HBO

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KENDALL ROY (Jeremy Strong)

Kendall has a lot of heart and a passion for the company; however, he has a lot of issues to deal with from season 1 – his sobriety, publicly trying to take over his father’s company and the accidental killing of the server at a family function, to name a few. In season 2, Kendall is on a bit of a redemption tour. His focus is to prove that he is not only on his father’s side but that he will do whatever he tells him to show his loyalty and that he is worthy of his trust. Through most of the season, we see Kendall operate on autopilot and that he is a shell of his former self. He may not have been happy about the missions that he has been on; however, there was a higher goal. He has not been above throwing his brother Roman (Kieran Culkin) under the bus as someone whomay be leaking stories aboutthe family. He even honors his father while adding in his own creativity to showcase that he is a good son. It’s the moment on the boat with his father after hearing that due to the lack of him having the killer instinct that he will have to be the sacrificial lamb where we see Kendall’s fire. Sometimes, when one needstoprove who they are, itmust be an actual attack that is done in the open in order to make a change. We see this moment from Kendall and even though it was anticipated by his father, it is a move that he respects on a certain level. Only season 3 will be able to illustrate what this means with their relationship, how it works with the business and how his siblings will engage with him inthe future.

BTS Photos/Stills/Clips courtesy Succession/HBO

BING3WATCH – SUCCESSION