As HBO’s Succession airs its final episode this weekend, fans will have to say goodbye to a cast of delightfully terrible characters — none more iconic than Kendall Roy. Allison Rauch has more, and Succession spoilers definitely ahead.
After 5 years, 4 seasons, and 38 episodes, HBO’s Succession is set to air its series finale this Sunday, May 28.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, creator Jesse Armstrong’s dark comedy follows conservative media mogul Logan Roy. His children, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv, are fighting for control of their dad’s company amidst his failing health. They talk on the phone, throw around numbers, and swear at each other a lot.
Succession’s first season received moderate acclaim, but the show exploded with the premiere of its second season in 2019.
Virginia Hunt is a first-year studying journalism and biology. She says she got into Succession through her high school friends. Now she watches it in CRC with a group of other fans.
HUNT: We get together every night with like five other people and we watch Succession on Sundays. Sometimes we’ll dress in business casual.
Nozizwe Msipa is a third-year majoring in communication studies. She says she’s been a day one Succession fan.
NOZIZWE MSIPA: It’s like Sunday night HBO. It’s what the people are talking about. So you have to tune in to Sunday night HBO. It’s kind of like unmissable television, and it wins all the awards.
Succession has gained critical acclaim for its distinctive visuals, beautiful score, sharp writing, and strong performances, giving each character a distinct shape. It’s one of those shows where you kind of hate all the characters, but you still manage to love them.
But one character in particular seems to hold the hearts of fans online – Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong.
MSIPA: Kenny he is…he’s so interesting. What other character commits vehicular manslaughter in the season finale of season one? We wish we could slay so hard.
Kendall’s arc has been a complicated one, to say the least. He’s battled his failing marriage, addiction, sibling bickering, daddy issues, and a brief kleptomaniac era. Time and time again, he almost manages to secure the role of CEO. And time and time again, he gets knocked back down by Logan, by his siblings, or by life.
Msipa finds Kendall’s cycle of failure relatable.
MSIPA: I think we can all relate to just trying so hard, girlbossing so close to the sun but never actually never coming out on top of the thing. Yeah, he is our favorite person to watch fail.
Hunt also commented on Kendall’s seemingly unending capacity for flopping.
HUNT: There’s something about him that’s almost pathetic, in a way. Because he keeps trying so hard. And he keeps getting so close and then just having these like, meteoric falls back down. You end up kind of being like, “Oh, I could fix him, I could fix him.”
From yelling “eff the patriarchy” at reporters to threatening to lie down in front of his ex-wife’s car, Kendall is Sisyphus. But he’s also, apparently, babygirl. Many online, especially young women, have taken to using images of Kendall at his most pathetic to espouse their love for him. Fancams abound of Kendall clips set to Mitski, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Rodrigo.
Women have commented on how many of his actions are very teenage girl, such as crying on one’s birthday or having a meltdown in the bathroom at a family gathering, or….
HUNT: “L to the OG” is iconic.
Which, if you don’t know, is when Kendall inexplicably performed a rap onstage to honor his father at an event.
At the end of the day, it’s kind of funny that young women online are so obsessed with a 40 year old man who is, objectively, a terrible person. Hunt thinks that part of Kendall’s appeal comes from a desire to take care of him.
HUNT: He keeps making these decisions that you’re like, oh, Kendall, like, baby, you shouldn’t have done that. Let me guide you.
Msipa isn’t sure if Kendall is babygirl. But there’s definitely something feminine about him.
MSIPA: The thing about Kendall is that like, he is kind of like a silly goose was like bumbling around like, doing his stuff. Let me get in on that. But he also some of like some of the sick sick pleasure of Succession is watching him fail. Like that’s what almost what we look forward to. And I think you don’t want to see the baby girl fail.
Perhaps it’s because of his moments of failure that viewers are actually more sympathetic towards him than they maybe should be. Hunt thinks that this sets him apart from other characters.
HUNT: Roman and Shiv are pretty aware that what they’re doing is wrong. But I think that Kendall specifically thinks that he’s like doing what’s right. And so he kind of has this earnestness about him.
Babygirl or not, both attribute Kendall’s relatability and je ne sais quoi to both the writers and actor Jeremy Strong, who is somewhat of a character himself.
MSIPA: Where he’s shaved all his hair. That’s also Jeremy Strong because like Jeremy Strong sort of just did that. Which is so cool. Like so metal. What girl doesn’t have a breakdown and cut off all their hair? Such a slayer.
HUNT: In real life Jeremy Strong is very kooky and I think that kind of like mirrors can littles character in a way maybe that’s like the same extent. His face..he just always looks kind of, like, pathetic or sad. His resting face is just kind of a little mopey.
Msipa and Hunt, as well as everyone else, will get to see that mopey face one last time this Sunday. And no matter what happens in that hour and a half of television…
MSIPA: He’ll always be famous. Kendall Roy, you will always be famous.
For WNUR News, I’m Allison Rauch.
Sounds Used:
Video, “Succession’s Coldest Insults,” uploaded by HBO
Video, “Kendall Roy Look What You Made Me Do,” uploaded by Erica R.
Video, “Succession: Inside the Episode Season 4 Episode 3,” uploaded by Max
“L to the OG” featuring Kendall Roy by Nicholas Britell
“Succession (Main Title Theme)” by Nicholas Britell
