Succession Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Argestes
Carissa Pavlica
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Another outlet suggested that Succession Season 2 Episode 6 offered so many quotes that it could run a special article featuring them.
From my perspective, "Argestes" was light on humor and leaned heavily into dramatic territory.
The timing of an event like the one at Argestes in the middle of the bid on Pierce was iffy enough. Adding the potential disastrous expose on Cruises set everyone on edge, and darkness prevailed.
Effective satire has to be pointing out the faults of the subject it's criticizing, and while humor is integral, sometimes allowing the darkness to flourish gives the humor more room to breathe as a result.
While there were some funny moments during "Argestes," they weren't what made the hour work so well.
Instead, it was a combination of Shiv's desperation to be included in the business while still wanting to remain squeaky clean and Logan's anxiety over the Pierce bid that prevailed.
There is never a good time for a slam piece to roll out on a business. But in the midst of a takeover and a bearhug, the timing couldn't have been worse.
While we know that Mo was into some shady business, that he was a perv, and that Tom had Greg destroy any evidence pointing to the wrongdoing of Waystar Royco, we haven't gotten a lot of details.
Even while the top brass put their heads together to respond to the impending accusation, we weren't privy to the truth about what was about to unfold.
What we did know was that it was big, damaging, and would likely end the bid to buy Pierce.
It was also obvious that the company was trying to buy time to battle the expose, but the more they pushed, the less likely they'd get the opportunity to state their case before publication.
These people aren't classy or PC on a good day, but a meeting the equivalent of what Waystar Royco is very stressful. Add to that the lethal extra whammy of the Pierce deal and the article, and it was a catastrophic combination.
Nothing was going in Waystar's favor. Tom's simple presentation turned out to be a game-changer when Greg got notified that their previously approved title was an issue unto itself.
Greg: So the question is is it a smart thing for you to be saying we're listening when, when we are indeed listening?
Tom: Why was I not aware of this?
Greg: Well, it's basically legal, the guy said, but he didn't want to put that in an email, so.
So while Tom would have ordinarily been able to smooth over any rough family waters with his signature humor, he was too wrapped up in himself to see how badly he was needed.
That's not to say that Tom purposefully thinks of anyone outside of himself. When Shiv told him about the article, his first thought was that it was all about him and he'd be the family scapegoat again.
It's starting to seem like Greg's possession of the damaging evidence could turn out to be a good thing for the company. With all of the evidence of the trail between Mo and Tom destroyed, it could be that Waystar is more culpable than a mere coverup.
And how sad it is that in 2019 we're discussing the degrees of despicable behavior? But Roman wasn't wrong when the article hit that in light of years worth of allegations, it was just bad and not bad bad.
Roman: I mean, call me sociopathic, but doesn't this seem a tiny bit quaint in comparison to the last few years?
Logan: He's right. It's cultural splashback. We're being punished for the sins of others. No one real gives a fuck.
Cultural spashback or not, everyone knew that Nan Pierce wouldn't take the accusations well.
She was already hesitant about turning over her family's legacy to the likes of the Roys, so the idea of guilt by association wasn't scoring Waystar Royco any points.
The mad scramble to secure a potential deal outside of Pierce to steer Sandy and Stewey in a different direction brought Roman closer to the main event, and that was Gerri's doing.
Is there an angle here for a team-up? Like me, kind of like a Jagger/Tarzan fronting things up and swingin' through the trees with my little dick singin', killin' shit, and you back home cookin' us soup and makin' sure the numbers are right. Hmm? Rockstar and the mole woman?
Roman
The idea of the two of them running things isn't such a bad one, but even when he's being a Jagger/Tarzan kind of guy, Roman isn't nearly as winning as he imagines himself.
But that Gerri seemed to be considering it shows how deeply he's affected her with his clinginess and crazy sexual proclivities.
As usual, everybody is playing every angle available to them, but Shiv is playing the game from a very awkward position. Since she's straddling both sides of the fence, it's given Rhea an advantage.
Logan: Shiv, let's get you out here. I need your help on the optics.
Shiv: Uh, excuse me? No, ah, I am not flying out to Argested to be the face of this.
Logan: Then what the fuck are you doing on the phone, Siobhan.
Rhea has an unknown agenda here, but since she's not Logan's daughter, she can get away with it more easily than his named if unannounced successor.
Rhea has to see the disorder in Logan's house. Seeing how he supports those around them even when the going gets tough, she seems ready to strike while the iron is hot.
Logan leans on Rhea more than he does anyone else other than Kendall. Even though Logan often sides with Shiv's opinions over Kendalls, that doesn't say much for either child.
It does say something for Rhea, who continued to push the deal even when she knew full well that they were drowning in a new pot of hot water.
When it was first suggested Shiv take the stage with her brothers to mitigate the optics given their present sexual predator nightmare, she wanted no part of it. But Rhea manipulated her into thinking it would be beneficial.
That was a concerted effort on Rhea's part to get all of the contenders for the throne on one stage, so they'd fall apart at the seams, and it worked.
Shiv, Kendall, and Roman were outdoing each other in their quest to be relevant. Each one sounded worse than the other. Kendall immediately went off-book taking away from Shiv the condemn and move on stance.
Shiv was left juggling the weight of allowing her brother to speak first and undoing what she and Logan had decided was the best course of action. Roman, then, decided that he should say something, anything, and he got trampled for his idiocy later.
But Roman was also the first to call out Shiv on dropping her desire to oust the dinosaur when situations such as the Cruise article hit. Logan almost had a heart attack on the spot, but Shiv couldn't backpedal on her statement.
Shiv got a little rope when Logan offered her the succession, and so far, she's used it to hang herself. She didn't take to heart what Kendall suffered at Logan's hands, and she keeps riding the waves jabbing at Logan in a crowd because she won't do it one on one.
But by the time the panel was over, it was Roman who got the brunt end of the Logan's wrath.
Niiice. Bring your daughter to the slaughter. Tell the old dinosaur what you were going to do?
Roman
He was concerned with Nan to the point of almost spraining his neck in his attempt to read the emotions on her face, and suffering through Shiv's taunts about his archaic ways made Logan incapable of accepting Roman's sarcastic comments.
So instead of laying into his daughter as would be appropriate, he backhanded Roman violently. The best thing to come out of that was Kendall's intervention.
It's not often the siblings show any amount of concern over one another. Kendall's protective nature wasn't for Roman alone, though, as he had been rather shaken by the callousness his family greeted the Cruise accusations, even commenting on their victim math.
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For a family that is already at each other's throats more often than not, the events leading up to that moment were almost unrivaled in their scale.
With all of that weighing on their minds, the entire group had to suffer through a roast at dinner.
Roasting is far more brutal than satire, and the comic pulled no punches when it came to the Roys.
That and Rhea's betrayal caused Nan to pull the plug on the sale. Logan was pitiful lunging after the car as she rode away demanding the deal continue.
It's hard to imagine what's next. The siblings could pull together to keep Rhea at bay, but it's more likely they will continue protecting their own interests at the cost of the firm.
But Shiv hasn't done much to win over Kendall and Roman, so the every man for himself option wouldn't be a surprise.
What did you think about Logan's meltdown? Were you happy to see him suffer or more concerned about those around him taking the brunt of his displeasure?
Do you think Rhea is working an angle toward getting a top post at Waystar Royco?
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
