'SUCCESSION' SERIES FINALE: CONNOR DIDN'T GET THE CLOSURE HE DESERVED
Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for the series finale of Succession. The curtains have finally dropped on Succession. After years of character betrayals and fan theories, we finally know who the victor is and – to the surprise of absolutely no one – it’s not Connor (Alan Ruck). With Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) clinching the victory, the Roy kids have now officially been pushed out, and the line of succession now passes over to the Wambsgans line. In the closing minutes of the show, we watch Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Kendall (Jeremy Strong) all grappling with the world-shaking change that’s upon them. One final, resigned, look at all the Roy kids, except for Connor who we haven’t seen since the scene in Logan’s (Brian Cox) apartment before the final chip fell. The fact we see so little of Connor in the show’s final episode feels somewhat fitting for a character who was viewed as a footnote in the lives of his family. Still, it’s disappointing for the only other Roy, Logan’s real eldest boy, to get sidelined once again in these final moments. In a season that gave Connor so many stand-out moments, he’s denied the closure he deserves.
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Connor Roy Isn't So Different From His Siblings
Connor’s presidential run started off like a joke. And in many ways, it remained one all the way until his concession. But Connor was 100% serious about his run. He’s an out-of-touch rich guy but unlike his siblings who would always fall back into line to work for Waystar anytime they strayed, Connor actually wanted to see his campaign through. This presidential run was a comedic side plot we knew would never amount to an actual President Connor Roy, but it also allowed us to see more of Connor than we’d often been allowed to. He’s just as ambitious as his siblings just in a different way — he pursues these ambitions purely for himself. A lifetime of being denied his father’s attention, let alone approval, has left him seemingly the only Roy capable of imagining a life for himself outside of Logan and Waystar.
Season 4 also gave us a chance to understand Connor more from his own perspective. His bachelor party and the resulting fight after Logan’s interruption lead to Connor standing up to his siblings, calling them out for constantly seeking their father’s approval by any means, and finally getting to voice some of the abandonment he feels from his family. “You’re all needy love sponges, and I’m a plant that grows on rocks and lives off insects that die inside of me,” Connor says before leaving his failed bachelor party behind. For a brief moment, he’s mature, much more so than his siblings, just as brimming with emotional depth and just as tragic. And this self-awareness is something we see in his relationship with Willa (Justine Lupe). He accepts the love he can get from her, he’s satisfied with a symbiotic relationship where his siblings only feel the desire to consume. Connor’s wedding, and campaign have all been central elements of the season, and illuminating ones at that. It’s been Connor’s biggest season ever, and yet we don’t get to see how he ends it.
Connor Ended Up Being the Closest to Logan
Kendall’s indignant line about being the eldest boy sounds just as childish as it is. Especially given that if there’s one thing we’ve seen this season, it’s Connor taking on the brunt of the responsibility for taking care of the aftermath of Logan’s death. Sure he’s still dumb and goofy, but there are times like this where we see his maturity. While his siblings are off backstabbing each other and trying to either push or kill the GoJo deal, Connor is taking care of everything for the funeral. Where his siblings have all dove headfirst into work as their father would have, Connor is actually getting things done. He arranges the funeral, checks on their father’s body (maybe a little too much), and tries to consult with his siblings on details only to get ignored. Connor was his father’s least favorite, and he knew it, yet he still takes up the responsibility to send him off well. This family is rich enough that they could easily pass off all the tasks of arranging the funeral to other people, but Connor sees it through himself. It’s ironic that the one Logan cared for the least is now the one caring for him the most. Connor’s the only one that really takes on the familial role here.
And we’ve seen this countless times across the seasons. Connor is never taken seriously by his father, never loved, but never truly cast aside. Connor was the only family member in that final video of his father. He teases him, and we’ve seen him tease Logan before. Connor being such a non-starter for his father gave him the unique blessing and curse of not being beholden to his expectations. Shiv, Roman, and Kendall lived in awe and fear of Logan in equal measures, putting him on a pedestal they could never reach. But Connor, unwanted Connor, was able to see Logan with clearer eyes. The distance his father kept him at ironically kept them closer. Connor was the only sibling whose relationship with Logan never wavered, and he got to spend those final months with his dad the way his other siblings could not. So, for the camera to pull away just when this contrast might have been highlighted the most, when his siblings feel a distance from Logan that Connor doesn't, feels like a huge missed opportunity.
How Does Connor Feel at the End of 'Succession'?
Connor has always been something of a foil to his siblings. He’s unserious, somewhat whimsical, and has never been considered a key player. He’s been out of the running since the beginning. A tertiary character in his own family. So, as those final minutes played out, and we saw the varying levels of devastation, relief, and resignation among Kendall, Roman, and Shiv our thoughts drift to the fourth Roy child (although technically he's the first). While his siblings' lives are falling apart and reforming before their eyes, does Connor feel anything? He’s lost nothing here. His wins and losses will be tallied months later when the presidential election is actually decided. Connor has long had plans for himself outside of Waystar and his father. His world won’t collapse from the GoJo deal. We see varying levels of devastation and acceptance from his siblings, Connor’s aloofness for even a single shot in that final sequence could be a perfect counterbalance to the utter emptiness we see in Kendall. Those final shots are so carefully composed to give us one last look at the inner workings of these characters, and it feels remiss to not give us even a glimpse of Connor.