The final season of Succession has been filled with the same scheming, power struggles, and dysfunctional family dynamics that fans have come to expect from the wealthy Roy family. In the eighth episode, “America Decides,” the family faced a pivotal moment as the country elected a new president, with serious ramifications for their company, Waystar Royco.
The election could determine the fate of GoJo’s acquisition of Waystar, with Democratic candidate Daniel Jimenez unlikely to block the deal and far-right nominee Jeryd Mencken potentially allowing the Roys to keep the company within the family. Shiv was worried about what a Mencken win would mean for American democracy, while Roman was unbothered and Kendall was caught between supporting the candidate he was opposed to and his own ambition to take over Waystar.
As the night went on and the race swung in Mencken’s direction under controversial circumstances, Mencken urged ATN to prematurely call the race. Roman couldn’t make such a decision without Kendall and Shiv’s approval and Shiv tried to appeal to Kendall’s humanity by pretending to call her old flame Nate to see if the Democratic nominee would block the GoJo deal. When Kendall found out Shiv had been colluding against him and Roman, he gave Roman the go-ahead to announce Mencken as the winner, a decision that would ultimately benefit Roman over Kendall and hurt Kendall’s chances of taking over Waystar.
The episode highlighted the power of the media in our modern political landscape and how it can be used to control the narrative and serve individual interests. ATN prematurely announcing Mencken as the winner would bolster his claim to the presidency, and the network’s conservative viewership could be convinced that the election had been “stolen” if Wisconsin managed to count the destroyed absentee ballots and Jimenez prevailed in court. Such manipulation of the news could lead to Succession’s version of the January 6 insurrection.
In the end, Succession’s final season shows the consequences of power, wealth, and greed, and how they can corrupt both individuals and institutions. The Roys have made their choices, and the consequences will be felt not only in their company but also in American democracy itself.
