Succession Does America

In the penultimate episode of Succession, Kendall Roy gives an excellent eulogy of his father, and the speech could stand in as an ode to capitalism.

When I first watched it, I thought Kendall’s speech would be for the United States if you sub in “America” for his father. But you would never have the American experiment without Britain. Other countries old and new deserve a shout. So instead of just one country, it’s a speech touting capitalism.

It’s why migrants go to the places they go, whether domestically or internationally. It’s why the Earth by night looks like it does at the head of this post. THAT FORCE.

I knew my father. And it is true, what I said, what my uncle said. Yeah, my father was a brute. He was. He was tough.

But also, he built. And he acted. There are many people out there who will always tell you “no.” And there are a thousand reasons, I mean, there always are a thousand reasons not to. To not act. But he was never one of those.

He had a vitality, a force … that could hurt, and it did. But my God, the sheer … I mean, look at it. The lives, and the livings, and the things that he made. And the money.

Yeah, the money. The lifeblood, the oxygen of this wonderful civilization that we have built from the mud. The money, the corpuscles of life gushing around this nation, this world, filling men and women all around with desire. Quickening the ambition to own, and make, and trade, and profit, and build and improve. I mean, great geysers of life he willed. Of buildings he made stand. Of ships, steel hulls. Amusements, newspapers, shows, and films, and life. Bloody, complicated life. He made life happen. He made me and my three siblings.

And yes, he had a terrible force to him. And a fierce ambition that could push you to the side. But it was only that human thing. The will to be, and to be seen, and to do.

And now people might want to tend and prune the memory of him, to denigrate that force. That magnificent, awful force of him, but my God, I hope it’s in me. Because if we can’t match his vim, then God knows the future will be sluggish and gray.

And there wasn’t a room, from the grandest state room where his advice was sought to the lowest house where his news played, where he couldn’t walk and wasn’t comfortable. He was comfortable with this world. And he knew it. He knew it and he liked it. And I say amen to that!

Kendall Roy, Season 4 Episode 9

Total Failure

This post was only supposed to be about Kendall’s eulogy but why not throw in another thought that’s been irking me? Succession character Lukas Matsson is based on Elon Musk, an accomplished tech billionaire who is unusually vocal and unorthodox on Twitter.

I was surprised at his interest in total failure, because success is too easy, but that interest only grew after Elon bought Twitter.

What are you worst at?

Success doesn’t really interest me anymore. It’s too easy. Like, analysis plus capital plus execution … anyone can do that.

But failure, that’s a secret. Just as much failure as possible, as fast as possible. Burn that shit out. That’s interesting!

Lukas Matsson, Season 3 Episode 8

Succession has often been credited with its uncanny resemblances to real life, but this is beyond uncanny. The episode aired in December 2021, just one month before Elon started buying Twitter stock. He completed a takeover in April 2022 and has proceeded to decimate the company’s value. It makes you wonder if Elon watches the show and was inspired by this scene.

I’m not trying to denigrate Elon Musk. He’s done amazing things with PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX. He’s currently the richest man in the world, which is to say richer than me. But given what is happening with Twitter, it makes you wonder if life imitates art. Is this television series as true to life as fans say, or was Elon inspired by the show to aim for total failure?

If he were, how would he do that?

First, buy a public tech company at the peak of the market amid historically frothy valuations. Then leave your unmolested perch at the top of the microblogging scene to enter the crowded space of “anything goes” competitors that cater to inflammatory content (Gab, Parler, Truth Social). Then require prominent users to pay for verification in hopes some of them abandon the site.

These early moves have resulted in an estimated 59% drop in revenue. But Twitter wasn’t built in a day. It’s still the best place to go if you want to go in-depth on issues like the war in Ukraine or protests in Peru. It is still the world’s public square. Total failure will not come easy.

What Elon does with Twitter poses a risk to his other companies. His personal brand is becoming toxic with the kind of people who buy Teslas.

I don’t know how this shakes out. But total failure after great success is not easy.