"Succession" is the generational series of our time. No one else has caught – and maybe added to? – the hopelessness and contempt many feel for "the ruling media class", where all truths can either be bent to the breaking point or completely rejected.
Without revealing who sits on the throne as heir to the corrupt Waystar Royco family empire, series creator Jesse Armstrong has navigated his blockbuster series to the finish line in an admirable way that is thrilling to the end.
After Logan's death back in episode three, the Roy siblings have had to show more emotions and a broader register than in the previous seasons (the Emmys are supposed to wait), but of course without learning any life lessons or becoming better people.
Kieran Culkin (Roman) has said in interviews that "Succession" is a comedy, Jeremy Strong (Kendall) that it is like a heavy Shakespearean drama. The answer is, of course, both, and then some – family epics, soap operas and criticism of civilization underlined by the camera work – handheld, close-up and with quick zooms reminiscent of reality series. This makes you as a spectator feel that you get a rawer, vouyeristic image of the absolute media power elite whose image is otherwise harshly corrected.
If you're going to try to pinpoint what makes the show so good, it might be the brilliant tension between dialogue and acting. The script is filled with fantastic one-liners, but nothing that can be trusted. What is genuine – hurt feelings, sadness and attraction are conveyed only through mimicry and second-short glances.
Best in Season Four: Episode 9. The Roy family has been playing empire for four seasons, but on election night, reality intrudes and makes a small hole in the family's bubble. There are demonstrations in the street and it is clear that presidential candidate Mencken is not playing the same game as them. He cannot be bought or sold but is a fascist ideologue.
Worst: Cousin Greg – Greg has stood and stomped during the season and when the great drama and the question of the nation's survival has taken up more space, it is as if Armstrong does not really know what to make of the "class clown".