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The Latch

Turns Out We Didn’t Pre-Grieve, Either: The Best ‘Succession’ Finale Reactions

May 29, 2023
Still from Succession Finale, "With Open Eyes".
HBO

Well it’s over. The Succession finale has aired, and as it turns out? We’re just like Roman — we thought we’d pre-grieved, but we hadn’t. Of course, we’re not the only ones. Twitter users across the globe have been tweeting their thoughts about the final episode of the beloved HBO drama, and we’re gathered here today to give you the all the best Succession finale reactions.

Before we get into that, though, let’s talk about the TikTok account @nameberry.com, who accurately predicted how the Succession finale would play out.

The TikTok That Predicted How Succession Would End

Four days ago, Nameberry‘s Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm posted a TikTok that delved into the names on Succession. In the video, Kihm theorised that Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) would come out on top based on his unusual surname.

She noted that while TV writers often give their characters common names, the names of the Succession characters were “very intentional” and often held a double meaning.

The Origins of Tom Wambsgans’ Surname

“Wambsgans is a very rare German surname,” Kihm said. “Gans means ‘goose’ in German, and the Wambs part of the surname comes from the gothic given name ‘Wamba’, which means ‘big paunch’.

“‘Wamba’ also shares roots with the English word ‘womb’,” she added.

However, Kihm said that this was all just “background information”, but that it tied into Tom’s character because of late baseball player Bill Wambsganss.

Why “Wambsgans” Is the Key to Succession

“He is remembered for one thing, and that is completing the only unassisted triple play in World Series History,” she said. “He took out three players at once in what is essentially the finale of baseball.”

Kihm said that it was “no coincidence” that the pair shared a surname, and mused that “you have to wonder if Tom will complete an unassisted triple play” in the final episode of Succession.

@nameberry.com

Do the names on Succession reveal the show’s ending? #succession #hbomax #tomwambsgans #billwambsganss #shivroy #successionhbo #successiontok #successionfinale #babynames #nameberry

♬ Epic Inspiration – DM Production

Folks, Kihm was dead on. The 88-minute Succession finale ended with Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) refusing to vote along with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) to block the sale of Waystar Royco to Norwegian tech company GoJo. With the sale being a done deal, GoJo’s CEO Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) elected to make Tom the CEO of Waystar Royco.

The episode was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and as each new scene unfolded, it felt like this:

And at times, felt like this:

Fans of the show are still reeling from the final episode’s many twists, turns and revelations, and no, no one is okay.

Here are the best Succession finale reactions.

On the Happier Moments Between the Roy Siblings

In the Succession finale, we got to see Kendall, Roman and Shiv Roy share a rare and genuine connection as siblings. After agreeing that they would team up to block to GoJo deal and make Kendall the CEO of Waystar Royco, the three bonded and laughed in their mother’s kitchen.

Of course, this is Succession, so viewers knew this happiness would be short-lived. After all, happy Roy siblings? That’s a Succession red flag.

Of course, there’s always the option to just… turn off the episode after this scene. It’s kind of like turning off Titanic right before the boat hits the iceberg, you can make it a really lovely, 90-minute rom-com!

This scene wasn’t the only nice moment that the Roy siblings shared in the finale, either. They also had a tender moment with Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) while watching a video of their late father Logan Roy (Brian Cox) together.

On Shiv Voting Against Kendall

While the trio of Kendall, Roman and Shiv had gone into the board meeting with the intention of blocking the deal, Shiv got cold feet. When it came time for her to cast the deciding vote, she froze, before getting up and leaving the room.

Kendall begged Shiv to vote for him, and fans were sick.

They’re also divided on Shiv’s motives, and how they feel about her decision.

Some fans see Shiv’s decision as an act of love — Shiv saving Kendall from himself, breaking the toxic cycle that got them all here in the first place.

Others saw it as a power move for herself, or felt that Shiv blocked Kendall out of jealousy.

At the show’s end, Waystar Royco is no longer under the control of the Roy family, but Shiv has reunited with her estranged husband Tom, who’s just been named the US CEO of Waystar Royco.

On Kendall’s Ending

In the finale, Kendall begs his siblings to let him be CEO. It’s all he’s ever wanted, it’s his birthright, he’s known since he was seven years old that this was his path.

Does he get his wish? No.

The final shot of Succession is of a devastated Kendall, reeling as he stares out at the water. It’s Kendall and water, once more with feeling.

Kendall fans were devastated, of course.

As Kendall looks out at the sea, Colin watches on from a safe distance, ready to spring to action if necessary.

Meanwhile, other fans of the show were less sympathetic to the billionaire who had just made millions and millions of dollars.

And some pointed out the irony in Logan telling Kendall that he wasn’t capable of being the CEO because he wasn’t a killer, only to have Shiv tell him that he couldn’t be the CEO because he actually did kill someone.

In one of the episode’s most climactic scenes, Kendall, Roman and Shiv go at each other’s throats — quite literally, in the case of Kendall and Roman.

Kendall lunges at Roman after Roman says that Shiv’s pregnancy makes her “the bloodline” of the family, and reveals that Logan didn’t consider Kendall’s kids “real”, because they’re not his biological children.

Viewers were shaken, and left unsure about whether the Roy siblings would ever speak again.

On Tom Becoming CEO and Shiv Joining Him

After Tom is declared the new CEO, he joins Shiv in the car. The final shot of the couple is of them holding hands (if you can call it that).

Viewers are heavily divided on this. Many feel that Shiv was always doomed to suffer the same fate as her mother — being reduced to the wife and mother of the CEO.

Others felt it was a smart move.

And some people were just happy for Tom.

On Roman Being Freed

While Kendall’s final moments in the finale are of him dealing with the earth-shattering realisation that he’ll never be CEO, Roman’s arc ends on a much more hopeful note.

After Shiv refuses to block the GoJo deal, Kendall begs Roman to help him. Roman knows it’s over, and tells Kendall that in the end, they’re all bulls**t and that they’re “nothing”.

Viewers were quick to note that it’s a full circle moment for Roman, who begins his arc on Succession by telling Kendall that the place was “a cage” to him, saying “look at all this f**king bulls**t!”

He then heads to the bar, and in his final shot, we see him with a smile that looks to be one of acceptance, peace and perhaps possibility.

The episode didn’t give fans any closure on Roman’s relationship with Gerri, but fans of the pair as a couple were happy to see Roman’s expression as he watched her in the video with Logan, Connor and co:

And others noted that Roman ordered a martini, which is Gerri’s drink.

On the Disgusting Brothers

Tom Wambsgans and Greg Hirsch. The Disgusting Brothers themselves. These two have had quite the journey over the past four seasons, and for a brief moment in the finale, it seemed they would end up on opposing teams.

Greg spilled the beans to Shiv that Lukas wasn’t planning on making her CEO. Tom hadn’t told Greg that he was going to be made CEO, so Greg giving Shiv this information was just not ideal for Tom.

Tom pulled Greg into a bathroom and slapped him, and Greg slapped him right back.

Fans were shocked!

In the end, though, Tom stuck by Greg’s side, and fans were thrilled that the Disgusting Brothers would remain together.

On Kendall Telling Stewy “and You Kiss Guys on Molly”

Finally, in one of the finale’s lighter moments, Kendall tells Stewy, “you like pancakes and waffles and you kiss guys on molly”.

It’s a revelation that the fans are eating up, and many are choosing to believe that Kendall is, in fact, one of the guys in question.

And there you have it, folks. That’s all they wrote.

Succession is streaming in full on BINGE now.

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