Reaction Review: Succession Season 4 Episode 8: America Decides
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
EPISODE SUMMARY
Warning: major spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 8, “America Decides”, are throughout the entire review. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
It’s here: election day: Jeryd Mencken and Daniel Jiménez (the former is who Logan Roy was backing). Tom Wamsgans feels the pressure to ensure a win (or at least good viewership numbers via ATN) so he can protect himself. Greg, on the other hand, feels “pretty good”. Kendall Roy is already on Tom’s ass to get good numbers from the start of the evening. While they await the end of the voting period, Greg asks Tom if he knows about Siobhan (Shiv) and Lukas Matsson’s business arrangements: clearly Tom wasn’t aware. On that topic, Lukas has a private chat with Shiv: he asks if he and Shiv can keep the fudged Indian subscriber numbers on the down low (it may be too late for that). She contacts old fling Nate (professionally, this time) to try and keep their partnership (with Lukas) open to brand a new ATN.
Kendall gets a call from ex wife Rava, who claims that her family is being stalked by an SUV; Kendall claims it’s one of his own guys following her to ensure that they are safe. Roman finds Mencken who is bothered by the former: in the previous episode, the politician wanted Connor Roy to back out because it would affect his numbers. On that note, Mencken then states that losing could be a private victory: they can skew this loss for future potential success. Greg begins hounding Tom to try and secure his own future with a better position (he’s not feeling how Lukas and the GoJo people treat him). Tom is more focussed on the election: he is feeling antsy. Tom has a hit of cocaine and offers some to Greg, who initially refuses. Greg finally snorts a line with much hesitation. This should have been a sign: Tom starts freaking out and demands that Greg is his assistant tonight, which bothers Greg a lot.
Connor calls Tom and is upset that he’s getting no airtime for his own personal results. Tom basically shrugs him off. First state is Kentucky, and Mencken has the lead, with Jiménez taking Vermont. We don’t find out any more votes or victories because Connor shuts the television off. He tries to take the results in vain, but his wife, Willa, is gutted for him. Later on, Tom is watching the ATN coverage of the election. The touchscreen map is not updating like it should be. Tom gets into panic mode, and Kendall is not far behind him on his ass. Shiv brings up how other events aren’t being reported on, including an electrical fire in Milwaukee; social media has been ahead of both the election and these other current events. The fire is important because there is a chance that it is caused by followers of Mencken.
Shiv has a private talk with Tom amidst all of the chaos: she wants to apologize for the verbal attacks she landed during their fight the previous night. He rebuttals with the intel he has about Shiv and Lukas working together. Tom continues to state that Shiv “hated” her late father, Logan, and is likely the reason why he died. Shiv withheld information that she is pregnant the previous night, but she uses the present as the opportunity to tell him. Tom doesn’t fully believe her and asks outright if this is another manipulation tactic. Shiv leaves offended without a response. Shiv finds comfort in her two brothers. Connor calls Roman to ask if he can still be an ambassador and back out of the election. It may be too late because this was an offer from the night before that was turned down.
Shiv claims that Wisconsin can’t be considered done until absentee ballots are counted, but Roman claims that Mencken stated that Wisconsin actually is “done”. Tom comes in confirming what Roman is saying: they have enough information to call it. Shiv thinks it’s too early to call in case they have faulty information, but Tom goes ahead to try and get the call into plan anyway. Shiv and Roman start squabbling, and when Tom chimes in about his soon-to-be ex-wife’s stance, Kendall warns him to back off. On ATN, anchor Ravenhead goes on to discuss voting fraudulence: talking points provided to him by Roman. Lukas calls Shiv to ask what is going on, and she shares the sentiment. Kendall disapproves as well. Shiv uses the opportunity to have a private chat with Greg to discuss his rapport with Lukas. She then asks for him not to double cross her. Greg wants to blackmail Shiv to guarantee him a better position in the company, but it doesn't work.
Roman finds Tom to state that they should call Wisconsin, but he gets a lot of backlash from Tom and Darwin; finally accepts this decision if he can be the one to deliver the news with a graphic confirming that this is a “pending call”. Right afterwards, he gets wasabi in his eyes (from the sushi Greg fetched); Greg tries to save the day by washing it out, but he accidentally uses lemon La Croix, so he makes it worse. Connor actually is now at the ATN office, and he finds Roman: he wants to concede in a way that will skew in Mencken’s favour. Before we get more on that front, Wisconsin is officially called by ATN, so not in the way that Darwin would have liked. Connor officially concedes to become an ambassador in Slovenia. He goes on television to make it so. He then proceeds to be a poor sport and fluff his own ego. Shortly afterward, both Mencken and Jiménez have two hundred and sixty two seats apiece: a dead heat.
Roman wants to go ahead and actually call the election once they get a good read on Arizona’s results. Kendall tells him to take a breather and revisit the Wisconsin results because this feels premature. Roman states that Mencken can help block the GoJo deal especially if ATN is the network that can call his win. Kendall is thinking about his family and their safety. While Roman tries to win him over, a rival network, PGN, begins to predict Arizona. Kendall approaches Shiv with this strategy despite his own reservations. He then begins telling Shiv that he has had feelings to be a solo CEO, and Roman being so enamoured by Mencken is why he is feeling this sentiment more than ever. Kendall then asks if all of the Roys want to stop Lukas, and Shiv begins to flounder; she finds her footing to shift her insecurity towards the Mencken discussion. Kendall begins to worry that he is a bad father. Shiv is concerned that this election can destroy ATN. During this heart-to-heart, Kendall asks Shiv to block the deal through Nate as a hail Mary. Shiv pretends to call Nate in the other room just to please Kendall.
Shiv tries to relay the fake message from Nate, but Roman still wants to call the election. Kendall wants to call Nate to try and get a firmer answer because of Shiv’s shifty response. Kendall catches on almost instantly. He guns to Greg to ask about Shiv’s backstabbing ways. We don’t hear either conversation. Kendall pops back in and confronts Shiv right away. He tells Roman that Shiv is in cahoots with Lukas. Right away Roman and Kendall decide to call the election. Shiv threatens to go public with the Roy brothers trying to sabotage the GoJo deal. She also states that this decision threatens the country and it’s bigger than the Roy family and their own personal business endeavours. Tom comes in at the right time and Roman demands that he calls the election. He obeys.
Greg’s been tasked with letting the ATN team know about the call for Mencken’s win. Tom confirms this right behind him, and the ATN team follows orders. The new president of the United States addresses his win right afterwards on television. Darwin leaves dejectedly while Tom and Greg watch in awe. So are Roman and Kendall, who confirm that he is a president that they can do business with. Shiv feels the repercussions already, but Roman gets a call from Mencken right away to tell the Roys “thanks”. Tom is being targeted via his phone and on other networks, but he chooses to ignore all of it. Shiv connects with Lukas right afterwards to promise that they will backstab her brothers, but he seems a little too upset this time; we see no resolution. Kendall asks Rava to see his kids, but he gets rejected.
FIRST REACTION
What a tremendous hour of television. It zips out of the starting gate at fifth gear and never slows down once. You are invited to watch a waltz with three pending shitstorms. There’s the election itself, and while no one has faith in Connor Roy’s outcome, who wins over him will affect Waystar RoyCo and ATN quite a bit nonetheless. Then there’s Tom who tries to save his own skin with what is effectively his final opportunity to prove his worth; the pressure he feels all night long is the strongest balancing act you feel all episode. Finally there are the Roys and their own personal agendas; Kendall wanting to be head honcho; Roman wanting to be in Mencken’s good books; both Roy boys wanting to destroy Lukas’ GoJo deal; Shiv fulfilling her side hustle with Lukas behind her brothers’ backs. Technically, there is also Greg trying to be taken seriously for once, and I feel like all of his season 4 outbursts will finally bubble. We haven’t seen the last of Greg. I dread the thought as to when his time will come and how it will look.
Succession took a storyline that was basically a joke (no one really thought Connor would ever stand a chance) and made it nerve wracking television for an hour straight. The outcome of the election affects so many variables. The actual night itself was like an Aaron Sorkin story from hell, with characters walking-and-talking each other into booby traps. The deception was there like always, but the speed at which it was being delivered felt like an all time high. It finally got the better of one of the Roy kids: Shiv, who poorly handled Kendall’s request to get Nate involved. She went from being the best deceiver to being worse than Greg (ouch). Things were happening far too quickly. The show made Shiv human with this error. It was necessary during a season where Shiv felt untouchable. And so the question of who will finally win in the end continues, and Shiv may be on the very bottom (who knows where her support, Lukas, will be soon, because he was not happy tonight).
Seeing how Logan appears in all three of his kids has been fascinating post-death, particularly because his children really don’t have a clue at all. The self destructive nature of how the Roys are handling these major events has been fascinating to watch. While this isn’t “Connor’s Wedding”, “America Decides” is easily the second strongest episode of season 4 so far (why do they have to be based on Connor’s milestones, though?). This was a flurry of anguish, with multiple games of cat-and-mouse going on at once throughout this eventful evening. What gives this episode the extra edge are the little flourishes; Kendall not being able to see his kids right after making calls that are guaranteed to make their lives miserable; Tom not even being able to trust Shiv’s baby news that she finally delivers; Roman being impulsive because he never had a say as a child and was clearly the least-favoured kid (aside from Connor). All of these little intricacies that made an already riveting hour of TV into character studies right before the end of the series. These are reminders of who these people are, what drives them, and how they are currently being received. Without ever feeling expository, “America Decides” prepares us for the finale in two weeks time whilst knocking our socks off with cutthroat drama.
Final Grade: 5/5
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.