Succession’s sinister cocktail of power and betrayal is a familiar nightmare – but we can’t look away

This story contains spoilers for the season four episode of Succession, America Decides. Every week The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald will be recapping the latest episode of Succession. You can listen to our recap podcast here.

Midway through the previous episode of Succession, Kendall Roy called the floor during the party to share an important reminder: “We watch history, we make history, and then one day, we become it.”

The irony that Kendall, CEO (sorry, Co-CEO) of a major media conglomerate, is delivering this speech to a room full of America’s most influential people on the eve of an election is hard to ignore.

Vote of confidence? It’s election night on Succession.Credit: HBO / Binge

Because if we’ve learned anything from recent history – more specifically, the 2020 US presidential election – not all histories are created equal. And those who wield the most power have greater sway in which story ends up being told.

It’s impossible to watch episode eight, America Decides and not be transported back to the chaos that ensued after Fox News went first in calling the state of Arizona for Biden.

The decision triggered a domino effect that severed the relationship between Trump and the network but also highlighted a broken system held hostage by powerful candidates and a desire for ratings.

America Decides cherry-picks elements of that real-life drama and drops it into the world of Succession by creating a situation in Milwaukee where a fire at a vote-counting facility has destroyed enough ballots to tilt Wisconsin from blue to red. How ATN handles the issue becomes a flashpoint that simultaneously exposes the simmering divisions in the Roy family while also deciding on the future of democracy. What a time to be alive!

But first, a little scene setting.

The looming presidential election has bubbled away in the background for some time now, but this episode finally brings the battle into sharp focus. Last season we met Jeryd Mencken, the right-wing Republican candidate anointed by Logan Roy. Back then, Roman described Mencken and his alt-right hardline politics as “box office,” a Trumpian term if ever we’ve heard one.

The brains trust. Greg, Tom and Roman wargame strategy in American Decides.Credit: HBO / Binge

Mencken, a man who says things like, “People trust people who look like them,” was another meta-move by Jesse Armstrong. A composite character representing Trump and the rise of extreme politicians prepared to say and do anything.

For the first time, America Decides shows us who he is up against in Daniel Jimenez, the Democratic nominee running on a ticket alongside Shiv’s old boss, Gil (aka Succession’s version of Bernie Sanders).

Unsurprisingly, Shiv is Team Jimenez not only because she seems more politically progressive than her brothers but also because Jimenez is unlikely to block the merger, which benefits her and her alliance with Mattson. When early exit polls suggest Jimenez is in the lead, Shiv tells Matsson over FaceTime it’s “good for democracy but great for us.”

Meanwhile, Roman wants to Make America Great Again with Mencken because their chaos-goblin energies align, but also he knows Mencken will block the merger.

As for Kendall, he’s somewhere in the middle, aware that Mencken might be good for business but uneasy about what his presidency looks like, especially after his daughter was caught in the crossfire last episode.

Shiv to the left of me, Roman to the right. Here Kendall is stuck in the middle with you.Credit: HBO / Binge

Mostly though, Kendall is focused on making sure ATN’s election coverage rates through the roof, telling Tom, “Market is watching, first Superbowl without the King, we need those numbers.”

It’s enough to send Tom into a spiral; the confident Balcony Scorpion is replaced by a coke-sniffing panic merchant stressing about ATN’s malfunctioning touch screens.

“We will become a laughing stock,” pants Tom, running across the newsroom floor. If he thinks the touch screen drama is bad (where is John King’s Magic Wall when you need it?), what comes next is worse. Word filters back to Shiv and Kendall that a fire in Wisconsin has burned a bunch of votes.

It seems that Mencken supporters might be responsible, and Kendall tells Tom that “if these nut jobs are going paramilitary, we can say that.”

At first, Tom dismisses it as a possible electrical fire before hitting Kendall with a one-two punch.

“It’s important to keep our unique perspective,” claims Tom, adding, “We need to respect our viewership.” Talk about a company man through and through; Logan would be so proud.

By the time Roman forms a narrative about what’s going on in Wisconsin (“Antifa firebombing”), the battle lines are drawn. Shiv attempts to influence Tom in the only way she knows how by appealing to their shared history and apologising for their fight. But when that fails, she leans into the possibility of a future, finally revealing to Tom she is pregnant.

It’s a damning indictment of just how little trust remains between the pair that Tom’s initial reaction is to question the information. “Is that even true, or is that a new position or a tactic?”

You can’t blame the guy; he’s endured an entire relationship being manipulated by Shiv. While she’s reeling from a failed bombshell moment, the Wisconsin fire situation is heating up.

Mencken wants ATN to call Wisconsin for him because, as a result of the 100,000 missing votes, he holds a significant and unexpected lead.

However, ATN’s Decision Desk caller Darwin (who sounds a lot like Fox’s real-life decision guy Arnon) knows from historical data that votes would’ve most likely gone to the Democrats.

But “most likely” is most certainly not enough to convince Roman, who can sniff an opportunity to swing momentum back to Mencken. He green lights ATN’s firebrand anchor Mark Ravenhead to go off script and paint the fire as a ploy from the left to steal the election.

“Apparently, the democrats are accusing this fire of being biased,” jokes Ravenhead. “It only burnt democratic votes; it’s one of those picky fires.”

Spare a thought for poor old Darwin. Wasabi in the eye and being forced to change the course of an election. That’s not a good night.Credit: HBO / Binge

For those still playing Succession or Real Life? Ravenhead’s rant is straight out of former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson’s playbook.

Carlson famously (and falsely) claimed on his nightly show that electronic voting machines in Arizona “didn’t allow people to vote” following the 2020 election.

Around this point, America Decides shows us that America doesn’t really decide at all. Instead, the country’s future ends up in the hands of three siblings driven by self-interest and an inherited desire to win at all costs.

Through sheer force of will, Roman gets Wisconsin called for Mencken despite Shiv’s warning that should he win, “the world is over”.

As momentum builds for Mencken, Connor (remember him?) pulls out of the race, leading to the episode’s best line, courtesy of Frank watching the election from afar. “Connor was running for president?”

It’s nice to chuckle because the remainder of the episode will likely make you cry. When Michigan goes red, Mencken and Jimenez are neck and neck, with only Arizona left to call. Mencken is also ahead in Arizona, and should ATN call Arizona, they’re calling the election for Mencken due to their decision to go early on Wisconsin.

Roman is positively frothing, Shiv is mortified (doubly so because she has also learned that Greg is across her deal with Mattson), and it all comes back to Kendall.

“America, it is kind of a nice idea,” he says to Roman while tossing up whether he should elect a fascist rather than risk losing his Shiny New Job.

The number one boy has just enough doubt about Mencken that he goes to Shiv with a proposition: get Jimenez to agree to block the merger, and they won’t call the election.

For the second time in two episodes, Shiv finds herself in a “lay all the cards on the table” conversation, and for the second time, it doesn’t pan out well for her.

Kendall asks if she is on their side in blocking Matsson, but rather than assuring Kendall, she deflects, reminding him that Mencken is the nightmare and that while they can’t physically elect him, they can open up the pathway.

On the surface, Shiv appears admirable; after all, she is popping off about “the future of the country.”

But Succession has taught us all to be cynics, and her push for Jimenez could be seen as equally selfish.

Everything comes undone when Kendall asks her to contact Nate and float the idea of Jimenez blocking the deal. She fakes the phone call, which Kendall discovers when he actually does ring Nate. This bombshell is backed up by another: Greg reveals to Kendall that Shiv is working with Matsson.

The betrayal is enough to send Kendall over the edge and leave America on the brink of oblivion. ATN calls the election for Mencken; the people will pay for the sins of the privileged.

Succession has kept it insular for much of this season, a family drama about the ridiculous elite, who say mean things to one another and posture over deals that will only make them richer.

A big night for Greg The Egg. With just two episodes left, could Succession’s bumbling cousin be making a big move?Credit: HBO / Binge

But we’ve been spared the brutal reality of how these decisions impact people in the real world.

In America Decides, Jesse Armstrong ripped the Band-Aid off and lifted the curtain, reminding us of the dangerous consequences that come from concentrating power in the hands of a few.

And, of course, the most depressing thing is we’ve seen this all before. Succession didn’t need to conjure up its darkest moment; it just consulted the history books – a pinch of 2016 chaos, a dash of 2020 disbelief.

America Decides ends with two critical moments. Firstly, Greg is tasked with being the one to tell the control room to make the call. The button that changes the shape of democracy is being pushed by Greg The Egg, a possible hint that his proximity to power is more crucial than ever.

And finally, we see Roman attempting a weak backpedal, claiming that regardless of who wins, nothing changes; it doesn’t mean anything. All they did, in the end, was made “a night of good TV”.

America Decides was a night of good TV too, but that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach?

That is painfully real.

Succession is dropping new episodes every Monday on Foxtel and Binge.

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