“Previously Wrong” takes us week by week through the unpredictability of post-Golden Age television and how our hindsight is sharpening for contemporary series'. For this season, resident TV/film columnist Jared Marshall takes us week by week for the family implosion portrayed on the best show on TV, HBO’s Succession.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking about it too. We all are. It's on the tip of yours, mine, and Twitter's tongue. But, before we jump to any conclusions, what does the final 30 seconds of "Chiantishire'' have in connection with the episode that preceded it? Water.
Water is not a symbol of death on Succession, it's an emblem for bad memories. Some of these memories are connected to death–the Cruises scandal is a good example of this, nameless women drowning at sea only to drift ashore and haunt the Roys–but to say that death is the only thing plaguing these characters would be a serious discredit to the writing.
Succession has been using water to communicate traumatic memories for years. Look at other examples the show has given us: Logan emerging from the pool in "Austerlitz" to reveal scars on his back left by his abusive uncle; Kendall soaking in a hot tub in "The Summer Palace" trying to wash the drugs out of his system and the blood of an innocent person off his hands; the Roy children goofing off on a yacht in "This is Not For Tears," Roman genuinely trying to open up to Kendall and Shiv only to be met with them speaking in funny voices, masking an inability to communicate their problems. Water drudges up the past to remind these characters of their trauma.
"Chiantishire" is a stomach churning analysis of trauma set primarily in Tuscany. It's an appropriate setting—the episode's themes are underscored by the Tuscan seaside and various other bodies of water. Beautiful shots, such as Roman tussling his hair on a speed boat across Lake Como to meet with Mattson, speak volumes about how Succession connects trauma to water-related imagery. Roman is driven by countless memories of humiliating himself in front of his father. It's why he's so hellbent on making the GoJo deal–the acquisition could be the key to proving himself and earning his father’s respect.
Even when the water isn't displayed on-screen, this connection the writers are creating between water and familial trauma manifests itself in the dialogue. Take the scene between Shiv and Caroline where Shiv is mercilessly reminded of the lack of love she received from her mother as a child, Caroline at one point telling her she should have had dogs instead of children:
CAROLINE: Should we just enjoy a fag? Not do any sniping for a bit? Or have you come to get some attention?
SHIV: Me? Attention? From you? Oh no… that ship sailed long ago.
It's a purposeful choice of dialogue; just as clear as the ocean-blue colour pattern of Shiv's dress. Even when they're not literally shoreside, the waters of trauma run deep through the Roy children's subconscious'.
As is clear to anyone who has been watching Succession, the familial trauma inflicted on the Roy siblings by their parents is not exclusive to the siblings themselves. It seeps into the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to get in their proximity. Gerri runs the risk of having her career destroyed after being subjected to Roman's persistent sexual harassment. Iverson, Kendall's son, returns to the screen for the first time since his silent walkon at Sophie’s birthday in Season 2, reminding the viewer of his connection to his grandfather who we saw strike him in the first season (note how Logan yet again undermines Iverson's autism by asking Kendall if he's "getting better"). Willa is forced to contemplate marriage with Connor and whether or not she wants to be legally chained to this destructive mass of a family. Greg continues to be conditioned by the Roy family, being "taught" that his relationship with Comfry is no more than a form of social climbing.
And then, as always, there's Tom.
After a traumatic sexual encounter with Shiv, where she finally agrees to have children with Tom as an act of defiance towards her mother and proceeds to verbally demean him, Tom looks to her for comfort and some much needed aftercare. Shiv completely disregards Tom's request and once again backpedals on having a baby. She then proceeds to make a comment that sums up Shiv's push-and-pull manipulation of Tom:
After this conversation, she jokingly threatens to push him into a canal; water once again communicates trauma, but this time how it infiltrates the life of an outsider. In this moment, Tom becomes a symbol of the cost one must pay for joining the Roy clan. Tom could be exchanged with anyone–Gerri, Greg, Iverson, Rava, Willa–all outsiders who have been brought into the fold. The canal that Tom is almost pushed into is the water of abuse and manipulation that one becomes submerged in if you get anywhere close to this family. If you want to enter this family's toxic dynamic, you have to be prepared to drown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">there’s a TON of water foreshadowing in this episode <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuccessionHBO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuccessionHBO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Succession?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Succession</a> <a href="https://t.co/6hubtfT38h">pic.twitter.com/6hubtfT38h</a></p>— with an "i" (@liawithani) <a href="https://twitter.com/liawithani/status/1467714252626665476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
With this in mind, we now come back to the question that's on all of our minds. Is Kendall Roy dead? Well, where did we last see him? Drunk and on a pool float with his head underwater. As the internet has carefully pointed out, we are left with one of two options. He's either fallen asleep, in which case he's drowning, or he's trying to feel what the waiter he accidentally killed in "Nobody is Ever Missing" felt in his final moments.
But whether he's dead or alive, the final image of Kendall in the pool conveys a clear message to the viewer: Kendall has fully succumbed to the trauma inflicted by his father. Metaphorically or literally, Kendall is drowning. And if Kendall is alive, his new state of mind does not bode well for him or anyone else in his proximity. It means he's become a man wrought with guilt, a man with nothing to lose. Given the things that Kendall knows about his father, the things he is liable to confess to, a broken man might be a much more frightening prospect to Logan than a dead son.
“Previously Wrong” takes us week by week through the unpredictability of post-Golden Age television and how our hindsight is sharpening for contemporary series'. For this season, resident TV/film columnist Jared Marshall takes us week by week for the family implosion portrayed on the best show on TV, HBO’s Succession.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking about it too. We all are. It's on the tip of yours, mine, and Twitter's tongue. But, before we jump to any conclusions, what does the final 30 seconds of "Chiantishire'' have in connection with the episode that preceded it? Water.
Water is not a symbol of death on Succession, it's an emblem for bad memories. Some of these memories are connected to death–the Cruises scandal is a good example of this, nameless women drowning at sea only to drift ashore and haunt the Roys–but to say that death is the only thing plaguing these characters would be a serious discredit to the writing.
Succession has been using water to communicate traumatic memories for years. Look at other examples the show has given us: Logan emerging from the pool in "Austerlitz" to reveal scars on his back left by his abusive uncle; Kendall soaking in a hot tub in "The Summer Palace" trying to wash the drugs out of his system and the blood of an innocent person off his hands; the Roy children goofing off on a yacht in "This is Not For Tears," Roman genuinely trying to open up to Kendall and Shiv only to be met with them speaking in funny voices, masking an inability to communicate their problems. Water drudges up the past to remind these characters of their trauma.
"Chiantishire" is a stomach churning analysis of trauma set primarily in Tuscany. It's an appropriate setting—the episode's themes are underscored by the Tuscan seaside and various other bodies of water. Beautiful shots, such as Roman tussling his hair on a speed boat across Lake Como to meet with Mattson, speak volumes about how Succession connects trauma to water-related imagery. Roman is driven by countless memories of humiliating himself in front of his father. It's why he's so hellbent on making the GoJo deal–the acquisition could be the key to proving himself and earning his father’s respect.
Even when the water isn't displayed on-screen, this connection the writers are creating between water and familial trauma manifests itself in the dialogue. Take the scene between Shiv and Caroline where Shiv is mercilessly reminded of the lack of love she received from her mother as a child, Caroline at one point telling her she should have had dogs instead of children:
CAROLINE: Should we just enjoy a fag? Not do any sniping for a bit? Or have you come to get some attention?
SHIV: Me? Attention? From you? Oh no… that ship sailed long ago.
It's a purposeful choice of dialogue; just as clear as the ocean-blue colour pattern of Shiv's dress. Even when they're not literally shoreside, the waters of trauma run deep through the Roy children's subconscious'.
As is clear to anyone who has been watching Succession, the familial trauma inflicted on the Roy siblings by their parents is not exclusive to the siblings themselves. It seeps into the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to get in their proximity. Gerri runs the risk of having her career destroyed after being subjected to Roman's persistent sexual harassment. Iverson, Kendall's son, returns to the screen for the first time since his silent walkon at Sophie’s birthday in Season 2, reminding the viewer of his connection to his grandfather who we saw strike him in the first season (note how Logan yet again undermines Iverson's autism by asking Kendall if he's "getting better"). Willa is forced to contemplate marriage with Connor and whether or not she wants to be legally chained to this destructive mass of a family. Greg continues to be conditioned by the Roy family, being "taught" that his relationship with Comfry is no more than a form of social climbing.
And then, as always, there's Tom.
After a traumatic sexual encounter with Shiv, where she finally agrees to have children with Tom as an act of defiance towards her mother and proceeds to verbally demean him, Tom looks to her for comfort and some much needed aftercare. Shiv completely disregards Tom's request and once again backpedals on having a baby. She then proceeds to make a comment that sums up Shiv's push-and-pull manipulation of Tom:
After this conversation, she jokingly threatens to push him into a canal; water once again communicates trauma, but this time how it infiltrates the life of an outsider. In this moment, Tom becomes a symbol of the cost one must pay for joining the Roy clan. Tom could be exchanged with anyone–Gerri, Greg, Iverson, Rava, Willa–all outsiders who have been brought into the fold. The canal that Tom is almost pushed into is the water of abuse and manipulation that one becomes submerged in if you get anywhere close to this family. If you want to enter this family's toxic dynamic, you have to be prepared to drown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">there’s a TON of water foreshadowing in this episode <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuccessionHBO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuccessionHBO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Succession?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Succession</a> <a href="https://t.co/6hubtfT38h">pic.twitter.com/6hubtfT38h</a></p>— with an "i" (@liawithani) <a href="https://twitter.com/liawithani/status/1467714252626665476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
With this in mind, we now come back to the question that's on all of our minds. Is Kendall Roy dead? Well, where did we last see him? Drunk and on a pool float with his head underwater. As the internet has carefully pointed out, we are left with one of two options. He's either fallen asleep, in which case he's drowning, or he's trying to feel what the waiter he accidentally killed in "Nobody is Ever Missing" felt in his final moments.
But whether he's dead or alive, the final image of Kendall in the pool conveys a clear message to the viewer: Kendall has fully succumbed to the trauma inflicted by his father. Metaphorically or literally, Kendall is drowning. And if Kendall is alive, his new state of mind does not bode well for him or anyone else in his proximity. It means he's become a man wrought with guilt, a man with nothing to lose. Given the things that Kendall knows about his father, the things he is liable to confess to, a broken man might be a much more frightening prospect to Logan than a dead son.
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