Why is Succession So Addicting?
The answer lies in Cousin Greg
Warning: Minor Spoilers ahead.
Every time I watch Succession, I am gobsmacked with the amount of theories I have about the show while I’m watching it. Every interaction, I’m trying to analyze the motivations of the characters, whether they’re telling the truth, whether they’re fucking with someone, or whether they’re just doing what they need to do so that they can get ahead in that moment. The constant power grabs are part of the interest of Succession, but WHY are we interested in these power grabs? Especially when the show goes out of its way to show that the characters we follow are horrible jackasses, abusive family members, and almost without empathy or love.
It’s in that key word, ALMOST, that we get a little glimpse into why we watch Succession. Because despite all, these characters are HUMANS, they are sad beings looking for love and validation. This is particularly true of the three children that the show mostly centers around (Shiv, Kendall, and Roman). While they’re terrible to each other and to others, they are all influenced by wanting the approval of their father, and that gives them humanity, which their father Logan uses to manipulate them and keep them just far enough away from the power he holds. They’re tortured by the bait of being the successor, and force themselves to continue rising up a metaphorical hill even though they will inevitably fall down again. While each of these key characters are very different, they are very much the same in that sense. Their humanity is quite simply what makes Succession interesting and watchable. Without it, it would be a show that has 2-dimensional characters and clearly glorifies the lifestyle it depicts. We’d hate it because we can’t relate to it. But what makes it addicting is how we get sucked in to the world of Succession, to the games that are being played, how we root for terrible characters even when they’re terrible, and how we’re groomed to support the quest that abuses Succession’s leading characters, despite the pain it will cause them. How does Succession win us over? By making us like it’s core characters. Addicts who can’t get enough of the struggle for power, who are like insects sucked towards a fire because of its “pretty colors”.
Succession even presents us with a reflection of ourselves. Cousin Greg.
Greg begins Succession on the outside of the Roy family. He’s distantly related, but he’s struggling to make ends meet, loses his job, and is forced by his mother to ask for a job from the Roy family. Initially, he just wants to get his job at “Parks” (the constant reference to a Parks based subset of Waystar-Royco, the corporation that the show centers around) back. He has no intention to squirm his way into the Roy family, and become immersed in the world that they inhabit. He begins quite tertiary to the drama that is occurring, and serves as little more than an “errand boy”. Greg’s growth across the seasons occurs as he becomes a primary player in the games of the Roy family, an essential member that looks out for his own best interest and throws others under the bus to get what he wants. While Greg maintains his demeanor of stupidity and innocence throughout Succession, Greg’s actions paint the picture of a person who is far more smart, tactical, and aware of the risks involved than he may present himself as.
How we observe Greg, and his development throughout Succession is how we see our own development as viewers watching the show. Do we really still see Greg as this innocent person who doesn’t know what he’s doing, a fool who is unable to escape being driven further into the misdeeds of this family because of the situations he unwittingly puts himself in? If we do, what does that say about us as viewers. Is that how we feel about the reasons why watch the show? Do we continue watching Succession simply because we’ve kept watching it, because we’ve invested time in watching the characters make choices and advance the plot, and because we are too far in to stop?
I really don’t think so. If you currently see Greg simply as a bumbling bafoon, you’re missing the ways that Succession is trying to make you grapple with your own viewership. As has been stated, each of these characters is three dimensional, and Greg is no exception. Greg is fully aware of the game he’s gotten himself into, and he’s playing to win, he’s addicted to it like everyone else. He’s in the game, and the reason that he “can’t get out” isn’t because he’s gone too far, it’s because he doesn’t want to. And you are too, that’s why you watch the show.
What does that say about us? Why do we love the game that so clearly hurts everyone who tries to play it? The chase for power is an unending and unfulfilling quest, so why do we participate? Why do we root for Kendall, Tom, Roman, Shiv, or any of the other characters? WHY do we watch Succession?
I think the answer lies in the characters, again. What is the motivation for Kendall, Roman, and Shiv to take over the company? To feel like they’re worth it, to feel validated and loved by their father. We, as humans, search for power because we feel like we’re incomplete as we are, and we need more to fix us, to make us feel whole. Acquiring power, material wealth, or social status will make us feel like we’re the shit, like we’re cool, like we’re worth it. On a deeper level, much of our obsession with addictive things comes from a thought that we have to fix ourselves, and that we must look outside of ourself to accomplish that goal.
That puts another question into the mix. Is it healthy to watch Succession? Is it good for us to participate in the political games that the players within the show play, to be driven mad in their search for power as they are, to root for their desire for fulfillment in “playing the game”, when we know that this search for power is driven by a lack of one’s own ability to accept themselves as they are?
To be honest, when I look at Succession like this, I think it’s telling us something about ourselves that most of us, either consciously or subconsciously, already know. The inclusion of Greg’s journey as a character in and of itself asks the audience to grapple with the addictive aspect to the show, the family, and the power it depicts. In this way, I think it’s informative about our own human needs and desires more than it is unhealthy for us to consume. While we play the games that the characters play and root for their rise or downfall, we do so while hopefully being aware of what we’re doing. Succession can be seen as healthy because it makes us aware of how we’re being sucked in, even though it sucks us in itself. It makes us grapple with the manifestation of ourselves as viewers within Greg’s character arc, and gives us the opportunity to judge him as well. By putting judgement on him, we are critiquing and dealing with our own role in either actively or passively forming our addictive tendencies, and taking a step in the right direction towards recognizing how to address them.
