Like all the characters are obnoxious assholes, I have no one likable to root for, and even the writing and plot points feel like the product of douchebags w/ daddy issues who are kind of missing any deeper point.
They're all just different shades of the Dark Triad: narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy. You're not supposed to root for any of them.
The deeper point is intergenerational trauma, and how narcissist parents can destroy their children's lives. Judging by how authentic the writing has been, I guess the writers/producers must have had some first-hand experience.
And it's called abusive childhoods, not "daddy issues".
Review by chrundle1BlockedParentSpoilers2022-06-08T19:07:46Z
Season 1 of Succession surprised me. It's a pretty unique show and quite different than I was expecting - less event-TV drama, more dark satirical dramedy. Everything clicked when I found out Will Ferrell is an executive producer. So much of his character DNA is present here. from Cousin Greg's stammering stoner ramblings, to Tom's blatant two-faced treatment of others, to Kendall's douche-y bravado and barely-masked insecurity. You can see the echoes of Ferrell and his collaborators' characters from Stepbrothers to Anchorman on full display. The tone and pacing feels very similar too - the way that semi-serious scenes end up devolving into barely-contained improv, ending with an unexpected barb or blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual sight gag before quick-cutting away.
That said, it's not perfect. The mid-season dragged a bit. At times I felt like the show wasn't quite deep or thrilling enough to keep me hooked as a drama, but wasn't consistently funny enough to hook me as a comedy either. The amount of quick-cuts can make some scenes feel a bit disjointed and tough to follow. The writing also feels a bit transparent at times, where it feels like characters are doing / saying things in order to move the plot in the desired direction, instead of doing/saying what would feel natural for the character in that situation. And at times the whole thing just feels kind of... douche-y? The same sort of feeling that Entourage used to give me (altho I've only seen a few episodes). Like all the characters are obnoxious assholes, I have no one likable to root for, and even the writing and plot points feel like the product of douchebags w/ daddy issues who are kind of missing any deeper point.
That said, the finale episode of Season 1 bumped this up from a 7 or so to a solid 8 for me. Very unexpected, raw, dark, and chilling. Looking forward to the following seasons.