Who’s going to ‘win’ within the ‘Succession’ finale? Do not depend out these excessive darkish horses

As Succession gears up for its large finale, followers are making their ultimate bets on the result. No, actually. Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ director of race and sportsbook operations crunched no matter numbers one can crunch a couple of fictional present(opens in a brand new tab), and has the sensible cash predictions for you: 

Sure, the corporate will probably be offered to GoJo, in response to Avello. So far as the stickier query of who will reign (since precisely what they will reign over depends on the reply to that first query), essentially the most boring solutions are, in descending order of probability, Shiv Roy at 5-2 odds, adopted by Kendall, after which Roman. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a lottery ticket guess, go along with Cousin Greg. At 50-1 odds, he isn’t the one to stake your own home on, however in case you have some cash to threat, a Greg payout could possibly be large.

However here is the attractive factor about fiction: Actually something can occur. Kendall’s son Iverson could be CEO if the writers will it. Hell, there is no legislation that claims showrunner Jesse Armstrong cannot make Logan come again from the lifeless, or have aliens materialize and take over Waystar Royco.

However someplace between “boring” and “completely, unsatisfyingly out-of-left discipline,” are the darkish horses. Tom, Frank, and Gerri are some examples of CEOs who would all make for quite wild decisions, in addition to most likely nice TV. Nevertheless it does not take a lot to think about these eventualities into existence. 

Right here, then, are three excessive darkish horses. None of those are probably, however I am providing them up as hypotheticals anyway, as a result of, if nothing else, they present simply how a lot enjoyable TV writers can have in the event that they actually minimize themselves unfastened.

Peter Munion 

Pip Torrens and Harriet Walter in “Succession”
Credit score: {Photograph} by Macall Polay/HBO

If you happen to’re not a Munion stan, it’s possible you’ll want a reminder that Caroline Collingwood’s quite pathetic, social-climbing husband Peter (performed by Pip Torrens) even exists. A part of his character, in any case, is that he’s simple to not discover. It was dangerous style within the excessive for the Roy siblings’ new stepdad to announce himself at Logan’s funeral by saying “Daddy’s right here!” Nevertheless it was true in a way, and what if it all of a sudden turned queasily more true? 

On the finish of Season 3, you may in fact recall that when the siblings tried to wrest management of Waystar from Logan, the previous man’s vice grip on the steering wheel was maintained by making some form of enchantment to his ex-wife Caroline. Their divorce settlement had as soon as stored the Roy Household Holding Firm — which owns 36 p.c of Waystar  — below the management of the siblings. However after renegotiating the divorce, the ex-couple froze out the siblings so the sale might go forward.

With Logan lifeless, in response to my math, Caroline controls — although she doesn’t personal — 36 p.c of Waystar. One of many present CEOs of Waystar Royco has simply been trampled, and the opposite is making ready to wage boardroom conflict towards his sister Shiv. All this turmoil could be resolved, nonetheless, and the GoJo sale can transfer ahead if Caroline simply makes use of her appreciable voting energy to seat one other CEO. And provided that Waystar’s newest Wall Avenue coup was pushed by Residing+, a brand new sort of retirement house, it should actually assist to herald somebody with expertise in that space, as a result of different board members are going to want to vote for this individual.

Welp, it is value noting that Caroline occurs to be married to the CEO of Lavender Park Care Houses, a series of British retirement houses: our previous buddy Peter Munion. One other win for awkward stepdads. 

To make sure, assuming Jeryd Mencken, along with his America-first mindset, does really turn into U.S. president, the British Peter might by no means be promoted to CEO of GoJo, which might turn into Waystar’s guardian firm on this situation. However assuming Shiv’s need for that job is only a fantasy, and Matsson has different, greater plans, Peter’s ascendancy to the place of Waystar CEO would make him seem to be the winner of the present anyway.   

Lawrence Yee

Rob Yang and Kieran Culkin in “Succession”
Credit score: {Photograph} by Peter Kramer/HBO

The media panorama was a bit of totally different again when Succession debuted in the summertime of 2018, and the significance of Lawrence Yee (Rob Yang), founder and CEO of Vaulter, mirrored that. BuzzFeed and the opposite punching-above-their-weight on-line media organizations that impressed Vaulter had been breaking main information(opens in a brand new tab) and perceived as a risk to legacy firms like Information Corp. However that pattern reversed throughout Succession‘s run, and now the concept of a determine like BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti or Vice’s Shane Smith, absolutely taking on a serious conglomerate like Waystar is, nicely, laughable.

However when seen in that mild, Lawrence Yee’s return could possibly be the funniest potential end result. If the Succession universe mirrors our personal, Yee’s whole nook of the media biz, to not point out his personal completely defunct firm, would have quickly turn into an afterthought between Season 1 and at this time. However lest we overlook, Yee as soon as had the flexibility to truly vote in Waystar board conferences, and he was planning to make use of that capability to terrorize the Roy siblings — particularly Kendall.

 “You simply invited me into the hen coop,” Yee mentioned on the finish of the pilot, “and with out Daddy round to guard you, I am gonna eat you all. One by fucking one.” He by no means did that, however what if he was simply biding his time? There is no simple technique to make the mathematics of this work given the present plot machinations of the present, but when we assume one thing’s been cooking within the background — probably some type of plot by the devious Sandy and Stewy — it might, perhaps, learn as believable.

Regardless of the necessity for a sweaty, last-minute exposition dump, having Yee pop up in Kendall’s face as a leap scare towards the tip of the ultimate episode can be value it. Simply think about Kendall shrinking into a bit of puddle as the ultimate credit roll. 

Colin 

Scott Nicholson on the premiere of Season 3
Credit score: Photograph by Lexie Moreland/Selection/Penske Media by way of Getty Photographs

As Logan’s physique man, basic fixer of Waystar’s issues, and the corporate’s go-to absorber of human distress, Colin’s presence is sort of a haunting. As Logan sat throughout from him at dinner the day earlier than he died, his thoughts could not assist however wander to the subject of demise, as a result of Colin (Scott Nicholson) is a reminder of the literal and figurative corpses which have paved the trail to the Logan household’s blood-drenched success. Throughout Kendall’s temporary second as an anti-Logan gadfly, when he got here to the Waystar workplace to throw his weight round, Colin confirmed up simply to mutter, “I do know you” — and we all know what Kendall noticed when Colin mentioned these phrases: the face of Andrew Dodds, the Scottish waiter whose demise Kendall is partly liable for.

Colin does not actually have a final title. Aside from the truth that he is married(opens in a brand new tab) and has a non secular father, we do not know something about his backstory. However he is aware of every thing. As of their dialog on the funeral, Kendall has now employed Colin to do for him what Colin as soon as did for his father Logan, and little question Kendall would like to suppose that by appropriating his father’s “finest pal” and right-hand man, he is turning into extra like him. However what he is actually doing is cozying as much as the grim reaper who can, any time he needs, sink his scythe into Kendall’s again. 

If ever an actual ethical reckoning got here to Waystar, Colin would most likely be one of many first to be condemned, indicted, and usually made to undergo. However up to now, Colin does not appear to be pulling a Cousin Greg — he isn’t maintaining a ledger of the darkish favors he does for others so he can use them as foreign money. In reality, Logan’s demise appears to have left an enormous, gaping gap in his life, and he is on a seek for solutions, together with visits with a psychiatrist. Remedy is time nicely spent, and it may benefit Colin specifically if, amid all that reflection, he is woken as much as the facility he has. 

As soon as awake, an inaudible whisper within the ear of each Roy and Roy acolyte, and management could possibly be Colin’s as soon as and for all. And okay, this one’s positively not occurring, however it’s value maintaining Colin’s eerie potential in thoughts as we head towards a finale the place the one positive factor is that one thing goes to shock us.

The collection finale of Succession airs Might 28 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.(opens in a brand new tab)