{"id":37968,"date":"2021-10-15T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=37968"},"modified":"2021-10-15T20:29:07","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:29:07","slug":"succession-season-3-premiere-review","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/succession-season-3-premiere-review\/","title":{"rendered":"In \u2018Succession\u2019 Season 3, It\u2019s the Kendall Show\u2026For Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jeremy
Jeremy Strong (center) in Succession<\/i> (Photo: David M. Russell\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Succession<\/em>, the black diamond in HBO\u2019s prestige crown returns this weekend for its long-awaited third season. What have the power-hungry members of the absurdly wealthy Roy family been up to since heir-apparent Kendall (Jeremy Strong) went on live TV to accuse patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) of knowingly presiding over a media empire that was rife with corruption and sexual misconduct? Well, not much. The new season opens pretty much where Season 2 ended almost exactly two years ago, with the Roys — all of them — scrambling in the aftermath of Kendall\u2019s bombshell.<\/p>\n

And I do mean all of them. For all his icy poise and seeming self-control as he threw his own father under the bus in the second season finale, Kendall is back to preening and flailing in the Season 3 opener. It becomes clear pretty quickly that he doesn\u2019t really have a plan; his big betrayal wasn\u2019t so much a carefully orchestrated coup as an impulse, the acting-out of a spoiled child.<\/p>\n

Strong, who won an Emmy<\/a> for playing Kendall\u2019s more subtle, wounded shades in the Season 2 finale, is back in \u201cself-important popinjay\u201d mode, as one character describes him in a later episode. Kendall is convinced of his own heroism in exposing his father\u2019s misdeeds, and Strong\u2019s performance of the character\u2019s delusions of grandeur is the highlight of the first couple episodes provided to critics. High on adrenaline and self-regard, he can\u2019t seem to see the mess he\u2019s in, the herculean task ahead of him in attempting to bring down Logan without implicating himself in the company\u2019s culture of corruption and irrevocably damaging Waystar Royco. Having been banished from the company\u2019s headquarters — something he never anticipated — he sets up shop in his ex-wife Rava\u2019s (Natalie Gold) apartment, taking meetings and inviting his new girlfriend over for dinner. During a meeting with a potential media team, he can\u2019t stop himself from talking over the two female execs, pitching his own ideas, like hiring some Bojack Horseman<\/em> writers to run his Twitter account. He disregards the very real concerns of his powerful new lawyer Lisa Arthur (Sanaa Lathan), and when Rava finally reaches her breaking point with his team\u2019s use of her home, an oblivious Kendall turns to Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) and smiles. \u201cAll these brilliant f*cking women,\u201d he says, genuinely impressed with himself. \u201cI must be doing something right!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brian
Brian Cox and Sarah Snook in Succession<\/i> (Photo: Hunter Graeme\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, Logan and the rest of the Roy siblings along with their inner circle, are in transit, stuck at a Croatian airport on their way back from their yacht in the Mediterranean and uncertain where to go next. Several countries without extradition treaties with the US are floated, as Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) weigh their own options: join Kendall or stick with pops? Sure, the jockeying for the top job — not to mention Logan\u2019s favor — is familiar territory. But Succession<\/em>\u2019s appeal has always been the show\u2019s razor-sharp dialog, vicious wit and world class performances more than the specifics of the Roys\u2019 dynastic tussle. We care<\/em> about who may end up in the role of interim CEO if and when Logan steps back insofar as it shifts the dynamics between characters and creates opportunities for verbal sparring amongst them. We care more<\/em> about the sparring itself, the rhetorical electricity that happens when Shiv and Roman and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) find themselves in competition once again. As always, Culkin is the MVP in this arena, but this stellar ensemble continues to thrive off one another.<\/p>\n

Still, though Cox continues to seethe and storm majestically, Strong is the undisputed champ in this early round. But it\u2019s early days. Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd and Adrien Brody are still waiting in the wings — not to mention Lathan. The battle has only just begun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":37969,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16],"yoast_head":"\nIn \u2018Succession\u2019 Season 3, It\u2019s the Kendall Show\u2026For Now - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Succession returns for its long-awaited third season, with Emmy-winner Jeremy Strong back in preening, flailing mode as Kendall Roy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/succession-season-3-premiere-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In \u2018Succession\u2019 Season 3, It\u2019s the Kendall Show\u2026For Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Succession returns for its long-awaited third season, with Emmy-winner Jeremy Strong back in preening, flailing mode as Kendall Roy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/succession-season-3-premiere-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-15T20:29:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/10\/jeremy-strong_0-e1634307025343.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/succession-season-3-premiere-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/succession-season-3-premiere-review\/\",\"name\":\"In \u2018Succession\u2019 Season 3, It\u2019s the Kendall Show\u2026For Now - 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