Succession Ep. 306 / Ultra City Smiths
In which some puppets try to solve a murder and some rich people puppet the US government
Succession Ep. 306: “What It Takes”
First things first: I was wrong in last week’s newsletter when I said that it was never specified what party the president (or the Raisin, as the Roys call him) belongs to. He’s explicitly a Republican, and this week’s episode, “What It Takes,” finds the Roys meeting with a number of top GOP members to basically pick the next president of the United States. Watching the Roys (sans Kendall) basically play kingmakers makes for a thrilling episode (and the best of the season so far) which also ends up being maybe the bleakest episode the show’s ever done?
Let’s get the Kendall stuff out of the way first. He still seems like he’s acting manic and is convinced that he knows how to do everything, basically. He’s got hotshot lawyer Lisa Arthur (alleged Beyoncé biter Sanaa Lathan) on his side, but he disregards pretty much everything she says and tells her that she’s not doing enough (even though she’s, you know, the one who’s the actual lawyer). The two have a meeting with the DOJ that we don’t see, but we hear that Kendall bombed it, probably because he was as overconfident and cocky as he’s been all season. We then hear later on that he’s fired Lisa, which I think means we can all agree that Kendall is absolutely, irretrievably fucked now. It’s hard to not feel bad for him and want to side with him, considering he’s the one Roy who is trying to do the right thing (kind of) but he’s also arrogant and an asshole so I think it’ll be very satisfying to see his eventual implosion.
The much more exciting stuff in this episode happens in DC, where the rest of the Roys meet with the GOP in a secret-ish meeting. Due to the unfavorable coverage of Waystar Royco’s Fox News-esque cable channel, ATN, the Raisin is stepping down as president, and the Roys have enough sway that they are able to help influence the conversation about who’ll be the next GOP candidate for president. As Shiv says before they arrive, they’re all heading into this conference with a number of different aims and goals, and it’s exciting watching it all play out.
The structure of the episode is smart, with the first half showing us the Roys mingling with all the various GOP politicians and donors (including Stephen Root, from Barry, the new Perry Mason, and 260 (!!!) other credits according to IMDb). There are some great comedic moments here, like Tom telling Greg (Nicholas Braun) that this is a safe space where he “doesn’t have to worry about pretending to like Hamilton,” or Greg bragging about how he’s suing Greenpeace because his uncle is giving them all of his money instead of leaving it in his will for Greg.
Connor is also walking around with his girlfriend, Willa (Justine Lupe), and meeting fellow “Con-heads” (ugh) who are fans of his and support his presidential ambitions. Willa is a playwright and she spends most of the time at the function looking extremely uncomfortable and writing one of her plays on her phone, and there’s no way that this play she’s writing isn’t about the Roy family, right? She gets brought to a lot of private meetings and everyone seems to forget she’s there, but I would not be surprised if she ended up turning everything she’s heard and seen into a riveting play that may (finally) give her some recognition. Roman also has a conversation with the neo-Nazi fascist Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk, from the criminally underrated Showtime series Kidding) who, like, is an awful person, and of course he spells his name “Jeryd.” The Roy kids also find out that their mom is getting remarried (“New dad just dropped,” Roman announces to Shiv and Roy) even though she never bothered to tell them.
All this is fun, but the back half is when the episode really sings, with Logan, Shiv, Roman, Tom, Connor, and Kerry (Zoe Winters), Logan’s nurse/assistant whom he’s definitely fucking, meeting to talk about who they like for president. There’s talk of the current VP, Dave Boyer (Reed Birney), but pretty much everyone agrees that he’s just too boring. Shiv, desperate to prove her liberal bona fides, pushes hard for Rick Salgado (Yul Vazquez), one of the only non-white people there and also one of the more liberal politicians. However, everyone pushes back immediately and he’s never seriously considered. Connor suggests himself, and for a moment it seems like Logan was taking him seriously. I was so worried because I feel like a serious Connor presidential run would take the show too far out of the realm of reality, but luckily he’s also shot down. Roman is stumping for Mencken, who already has a large online following and who would be good for ATN (and vice versa). Later, Mencken comes to the hotel suite and has a one-on-one conversation with Roman in the bathroom that is dripping with sexual tension (@HBO make them kiss you cowards). The conversation is also chilling though, hearing Mencken casually talk about white supremacy and Roman outline his plans for the future of ATN (giving Mencken a lot of airtime and producing shows that appeal to the youth with “E-girls with fucking guns and Juul pods”).
While all this is happening, Tom sneaks out to meet Greg at a diner (according to Tom, so he can get a chance to try what prison food tastes like, which is hilarious), and we find out that Tom is being called “the Christmas tree” around Waystar Royco because everyone’s hanging their offenses around Tom’s neck like ornaments on a Christmas tree and letting him take the fall for everything. Greg asks Tom if he can also let him take the fall for his offenses too, because he really doesn’t want to go to jail, and since Tom’s already going… Surprisingly, Tom agrees, and it ends up being a pretty sweet scene (@HBO make them kiss you cowards). Later, Tom has another clandestine diner meeting with Kendall, who is secretly in DC and trying to get Tom to flip. Tom doesn’t seem to want to, though, and essentially tells Kendall to fuck off. When Tom gets back to the GOP conference, he sees Greg being feted as a hero and being lifted up in celebration by the other Republicans for suing Greenpeace.
Eventually, despite Shiv’s protestations, the Roys decide to go with Mencken, and take a group photo with him as a way of endorsing him. Shiv refuses at first, but eventually gives in and joins the photo. And just like that, the Roys are backing a white supremacist fascist for president. Like I said, this shit is bleak.
Next week will hopefully be much more fun, since we’re going to get to see Kendall’s 40th birthday blowout (it’s gonna be a shitshow) and we’re finally meeting Alexander Skarsgård’s tech CEO character. I absolutely cannot wait.
Ultra City Smiths
In Ultra City, no one is truly happy. The city resembles New York in the ‘70s, with graffitied subways, a pervading sense of seediness, and crime at an all-time high. Carpenter K. Smith (Kurtwood Smith), a famous magnate, is running for mayor with the intention to clean up Ultra City and make it a better place to live. However, when Smith goes missing, detectives David Mills (Jimmi Simpson) and Gail Johnson (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who also happened to play a cop on Only Murders in the Building) are put on the case to find him. The six episodes of the first season follow them as they investigate Smith’s disappearance, uncovering various other nefarious plans and wacky characters along the way.
Steven Conrad, who was also behind the series Patriot (on Amazon Prime) and Perpetual Grace, LTD (on Epix, which means not a single person saw it), is know for his strange, off-kilter style, but Ultra City Smiths might be his strangest series yet. The show is animated in stop-motion by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the people behind Robot Chicken and M.O.D.O.K., and it looks absolutely gorgeous, with some really impressive set and character design. I was expecting it to be a funny send-up of noir films, which it’s clearly riffing on, so I was surprised to realize that it actually takes itself very seriously. Every episode features a musical number, and there are some jokes and darkly comic moments scattered throughout, but for the most part the show commits to its noir style.
Like I said earlier, no one in Ultra City is truly happy, and the series has a real affection for every character that Mills and Johnson meet. Street Hustler Boy (Damon Herriman) is a down-on-his-luck sex worker who’s only trying to make enough money for his lover’s life-saving surgery and who has to rent pants since he can’t afford to buy any. Kristen Bell plays the unfortunately named Donella Pecker, wife of Chris Pecker (Bell’s real-life husband Dax Shepard), a congressman who can’t stop sending dick pics to people. Bebe Neuwirth plays Lady Andrea the Giant, a wrestler who has to fight in underground wrestling rings to make money to help her daughter Little Grace (Alia Shawkat) get out of the trouble she’s gotten into with some very dangerous people. Detective Nico Onasis (Chris Conrad), a playboy who’s slept with almost 1,000 women (“and men” as he keeps pointing out) but who’s finally looking to settle down, later joins the investigation. Debra Winger plays Trish McSapphire, a somewhat washed-up actress who tends to keep to herself. These disparate characters are all pulled together by a twist that I won’t spoil here and are all drawn into the Smith investigation, and all these characters are people you can’t help but feel sorry for and want to see happy.
It is to this show’s immense credit that it can cover so much ground, plot-wise and character-wise, in only six 20-minute episodes. In addition to the characters I listed above, the cast also includes: Tim Heidecker as Kevin De Maximum, the Tr*mp-like incumbent mayor of Ultra City; Luis Guzmán as Rodrigo Smalls, a crime lord; Jason Mantzoukas as Tim Snodgrass, a TMZ reporter; Caleb McLaughlin as Trevor, Detective Johnson’s son who is involved with one of many pre-teen gangs roaming around the city; Terry O’Quinn as Captain Krieger, the corrupt police captain; John C. Reilly as Donovan Smith, Carpenter Smith’s son who just wants to be a club performer; and Melissa Villaseñor as Sister Mary Margaret, a nun with a fondness for Street Hustler Boy. Even with this huge cast, every character feels like a real person, and most of the characters get some time devoted to fleshing them out.
The show also commits to its central mystery, and it’s easy to get invested, especially as the show delivers twist after twist. The season ends on a cliffhanger, which means that there better be a second season or else I will be so upset. The series is on AMC+ which means a lot of people probably won’t see it (although as someone who uses the service pretty regularly to watch stuff on Shudder and BBC America, I think it’s worth it), but it’s something that I definitely recommend watching. Ultra City Smiths is weird, funny, sad, engrossing, and truly unlike anything else on TV right now.
Other Miscellaneous Things
Not much to talk about this week, but Stephen Sondheim just died :( so here, have Adam Driver singing “Being Alive” in Marriage Story:
The meme about which characters in TV shows would know about crypto and which ones wouldn’t is kind of dumb, but these are my two favorites because they’re so accurate:
Sorry this one came out a day late! I’m blaming it on Thanksgiving. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, and for all who celebrate, have a happy first night of Hanukkah tomorrow!