Succession and the Weaponization of Words
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the television show "Succession".
“Words are just, what? Nothing. Complicated airflow.” This line, spoken by Kendall Roy of HBO’s Succession, seemingly encapsulates the attitude the characters of the show have in relation to language and communication. Living in a world surrounded by high-stakes business deals and the pressures of keeping up appearances has taught the characters to strategically select their words to keep the money and power in their hands without facing consequences. Empty words and insincerity are the norm for these characters, anything else is viewed as a threat or an insult. To them, words are weapons they can use for both offense and defense to keep themselves afloat and in control. Sincerity is the threat; meaninglessness is the counter-attack.
Logan Roy, the patriarch of the Roy family and CEO of the multi-billion dollar media conglomerate Waystar Royco, can be seen as the source of his four children’s difficulties with communication and their paranoid distrust of others. His children, Kendall, Roman, Siobhan (Shiv), and Connor, were greatly affected by how they were raised and the ideas he passed down to them. They always keep their guard up, never truly letting anyone in to keep themselves from facing humiliation or defeat. Logan taught them this through his constant lying and use of empty words, which he uses to gain advantages and keep himself above everyone else.
From Logan’s perspective, words are meaningless without the utility of gaining an advantage. He lies more than any other character with reckless abandon. This habit makes it difficult for his children to discern what’s true and what’s simply a ruse to place more power in his hands. Words don’t mean much to him, as his lies and empty remarks can be discarded easily.
The audience sees this behavior in the very first episode of season one, “Celebration.” In this episode, Kendall believes he will be named the new Waystar Royco CEO following his father’s retirement. However, Logan discards whatever empty words he spoke to Kendall and announces that he will not be stepping down from his position. We see that Kendall is shocked and hurt by his father’s sudden change in plans. This behavior of deceiving and stabbing his children in the back is repeated throughout the show, and each time, he makes sure he ends up on top. When he tells Shiv about his plan to name her as his successor in “The Summer Palace,” her first words are: “Is this real?” Logan has taunted his children with empty promises in the past, hooking them with some kind of guarantee before ripping it out of their hands and reprimanding them for their foolishness. He uses his words as weapons to remind his children and his colleagues that no matter how old he gets or how weak he may seem, he’s still the one in control.
The detrimental effects of growing up surrounded by distrust and suspicion are made glaringly obvious in the ways the Roy children act and communicate. Insincerity is the default for Roys, and we can see how this impacts their relationships with each other and those close to them. Just like their father, they never seem to say what they really mean. They hide their true feelings, motives, and thoughts in locked boxes that lie far beneath every sentence they utter. They all have ways to cope with living in such a paranoid environment: Kendall keeps his emotions bottled up until he breaks and desperately reaches for a bag of cocaine to numb the pain; Roman hides behind his witty insults and sarcasm, so much so that any bit of honesty that leaves his mouth is instantly regarded as just another joke; Shiv uses her cool cleverness and aloof attitude to mask her true feelings; Connor holds himself up on a pedestal in illusions of grandeur to make himself feel better about his life.
However, the Roy children aren’t exactly the same as their father, and they sometimes find themselves stumbling into sincerity. They don’t know how to properly express their feelings, especially to each other. Moments of sincerity, as seen in “The Summer Palace” when Shiv tells Roman he’s a “super-talented superstar” and that she loves him, are usually met with a response such as “Oh, you’re such a fucking bitch.” In a later episode, “This is Not for Tears,” Roman attempts to have a meaningful conversation with Shiv and Kendall after suffering through the deeply traumatic aftermath of a deal gone wrong, but his siblings simply mock his words in ridiculous baby voices. Sincerity sets off alarm bells in their heads, making them feel as if the other is attempting to catch them in a moment of weakness.
As a consequence of this paranoia surrounding genuinely honest communication, the siblings struggle with intimacy in their personal relationships. Kendall is divorced, Connor is in love with an escort he pays to stay with him, and Roman never has anyone consistent in his life. The only sibling with a relatively stable relationship is Shiv, who told her husband, Tom, that she cheated on him and wants them to be a non-monogamous couple on their wedding night. Their marriage isn’t completely based on genuine love, as Logan highlights in “Austerlitz” with the line: “You’re marrying a man fathoms beneath you because you don’t want to risk being betrayed.”
Years of being involved with the Roy family has had an effect on Tom as well, as he struggles to tell Shiv how he feels in fear of losing his position in the company. Without Shiv, Tom wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the lavish spoils the Roy name grants him access to. However, the lack of intimacy and sincerity between them visibly takes a toll on Tom, and he lets it be known through brief, biting strikes of honesty that land like slaps to the face. In “This is Not for Tears,” Tom hesitantly opens up to Shiv about how unhappy he feels with her, and delivers one of those lines like a blow to the chest: “I wonder if the sad I’d be without you would be less than the sad I get from being with you.” Shiv struggles with a response, but the audience can see through her expression that she wishes she could have real emotional intimacy with her own husband. The issue is, she lacks any sort of model in her life to show her how to achieve it. As a result, both Shiv and Tom suffer in silence, never really telling the other how they truly feel.
This insincerity is something Tom has taken and passed down to his apprentice, Greg, who is thrown into the chaotic world of the Roys while looking for a way to get into the company. Greg is their cousin, but he doesn’t hold the Roy name himself, which automatically sets him apart from the rest. It’s obvious that Greg didn’t grow up in the same environment as the Roy siblings, and that lack of understanding about their dishonest and insincere ways of communication causes him to struggle with fitting in. Tom has to teach Greg what to say and how to act throughout the show, from one outsider to another.
One way Tom does this is through repeatedly gaslighting Greg, causing him to never fully know or understand what Tom really wants from him. Through this awful teaching method, Greg learns to never fully trust what anyone in the family tells him. From time to time, he stumbles and lets genuineness slip out of his mouth, usually in the form of over-the-top praise for Logan, which causes the others to view him as just some kid in a suit, not a serious player in their game. At times when he tries to assert himself, he stutters and trips over his own feet, draining any power his words could have held.
The members of the Roy family all possess the unique and powerful ability to make lies become the truth. Their wealth, power, and influence give them this ability, and they use it to their own advantage. To them, words are meaningless, but they also hold a great power. The Roys deliberately choose their words to hold no truth or weight but to push the dominoes to fall in the right direction without putting themselves in the crosshairs of responsibility. They can afford to have access to their carefully selected vocabulary to reflect high levels of intelligence. Logan is the master at transforming lies into truth by speaking confidently and forcefully, rendering any argument against him fruitless.
The effects of this are felt in all areas of the show, including at ATN, the news network owned by Waystar Royco. ATN employees follow Logan’s example to spew lies disguised as the truth on their news broadcasts. Logan manipulates his own children with moments of false sincerity, feeding into the hope they all possess deep down inside that their father truly cares about them. He is the reason why his children automatically meet sincerity with suspicion, which has caused them to only believe in sincerity when it comes from him.
The way he treats Kendall after he discovers his involvement in the drug-fueled death of a server from Shiv’s wedding is proof of this manipulation. He’s able to regain control over Kendall and stop his attempt to take over the company by blackmailing him with evidence taken from the crime scene while simultaneously acting as if he truly cares about his son. Kendall is broken, and Logan uses that to his advantage, placing the power back in his hands. Logan loves this damaged version of his son, as he’s able to use him as a tool for his benefit. Kendall finds himself willing to give the statements the Waystar Royco public relations team makes up for him, using empty words to silence any talk of his father losing his grip on the company. He’s in an extremely dark place and sees his father as the only hand reaching out to help him, causing him to become a pawn for Logan to throw around. Logan doesn’t actually care about Kendall’s wellbeing, he only cares about keeping his son from saying anything else that could leave him vulnerable to attack. By repeating lines off of a script, Kendall is pushing a certain narrative for Logan. The words are meaningless, and that gives them their power.
Succession is asking its audience to think of words as merely tools to gain more power and influence until you’re practically untouchable. The Roys are used as the example for how detrimental this attitude toward communication can be, as the show frames them as prisoners locked to their obsessions with wealth and power with golden handcuffs. Their position in society as the high elite render them unable to escape the pressures that are tearing them apart.
It’s safe to assume that Succession’s audience isn’t comprised of members of the wealthy elite or relatives of one of the most powerful families in the world. We are outsiders looking in on the lives of the ultra-wealthy, which allows us to compare their behavior to our own. We see their paranoia and suspicion and shake our heads in disbelief. Seeing how characters like the Roy family react to sincerity and kindness is fascinating, and that’s what keeps viewers locked in. Succession allows its audience to see how the rich act behind closed doors and the consequences of wealth in every aspect of their lives, right down to how they communicate with members of their own family. Sure, they live in extravagant luxury, but is it worth the personal price? Is having millions of dollars in the bank worth not being able to talk to anyone honestly without fear of being tricked or betrayed? These are the questions Succession asks, and it’s up to audiences to answer, as any Roy would respond with a simple, resounding “Fuck off.”
Cover Photo by HBO. Edited by Madison Case.
