Work Text:
Succession S3 E9 Editing Analysis
Succession is an HBO dark dramedy series that centers around the Roys. An extremely wealthy family that owns Waystar Royco, a global media and entertainment conglomerate. Throughout the series, the three main siblings: Roman, Kendall, and Shiv fight for the control of Waystar from their father, Logan Roy. Logan Roy is a powerful CEO but also an abusive and manipulative father. All of his children have unhealthy relationships with him and a big part of the show is how they function as a family in the public eye and behind closed doors.
Succession’s camera work and editing has a very specific style and it’s one of the first things people might notice when starting the show. Mark Mylod, executive producer and director once used the words “sadistically voyeuristic” to describe the camera work on Succession and that sums it up perfectly. As viewers we are given a glimpse into the lives of these rich and powerful characters that would be otherwise ‘untouchable’. There are some specific shots which make the audience feel as if they’re paparazzi, peering from behind a curtain and looking onto something they should not be watching. For most of the show the cameras are pretty shaky with quick zooms and panning which gives it a comedic effect but also the feeling that the camera itself is a person in the room scrambling to catch onto what people are saying and what’s happening. The rhythm of the cuts feel less calculated than other shows but more realistic because of how naturally everything plays out. It’s almost as if the camera is a person’s eyes darting around the room trying to capture all the information and reactions on everyone’s faces.
The scene I will be analyzing is from the season 3 finale, All the Bells Say. I will be focusing on the very end of the episode, from 1:03:50 to the credits. To quickly summarize, the siblings find out that their father wants to sell the company behind their back and decide to team up for once and try to stop Logan. Roman, Kendall, and Shiv all feel a huge sense of betrayal and loss of direction so they are grasping for any bit of control they have left. It is a climatic moment as it is the finale and everything is unraveling and falling apart with so little time left.
The scene starts with Logan angrily stating “I fucking win.” it then cuts to his three children in front of him visibly upset in their own ways. In the show so far it has been rare that the Roy siblings team up as they usually have their own agenda with conflict of interest. Showing all three siblings in a room lined up side by side together across from Logan is terrifying and makes a strong statement. It shows that at the end of the day they care deeply for one another and they can and will take a stand against a common enemy, their father. The camera then cuts to Logan and follows him for a bit as he angrily walks out of the room. However, the camera doesn’t follow him out completely and we instead see the siblings reaction to the entire situation as their father walks past the camera. A lot of what Succession aims to capture is genuine reactions of the characters in regards to the atmosphere. Whether that’s the character’s being directly talked to, or a background character. By not following Logan out of the room and then cutting to the children but instead letting Logan walk past the frame and refocus on his children it gives the viewer the effect of being ignored and walked out on; bringing sympathy for the Roy siblings.
So far, there has been no background music in this scene and the silence is used to build tension. There’s an uncomfortable stillness as the siblings face their father. I think that in this scene the silence was a great choice as it captures their uncertainty of their future and fear of their father better than any music could. Through the silence time seems to slow down quite a bit and the air feels heavy as they are negotiating the future of not just their company, but their life, with an unrelenting patriarch and businessman.
Logan exits the room and the music fades back in as we see the back of Kendall but with the camera still focused on Logan outside the door. The music is soft but filled with a sad desperation as it cuts to Roman begging Gerri for help as his last hope to stop his father. Gerri Kellman is the general counsel of Waystar Royco and always has her own best interests in mind and avoids mess as much as possible. Throughout the season Roman has had a deeper relationship with Gerri than anyone else at Waystar Royco as Gerri is someone that he trusts and relies on. They have also had quite a few flirtatious encounters which have been complicated as the line between business and personal life have been heavily blurred. When Gerri softly lets him down saying that his plans don’t serve her interests it cuts to Roman’s devastated face as he struggles to find his next words. It then quickly cuts away to Logan again. I honestly wish they stayed on Roman a bit longer so the audience could see the realization of hopelessness sink in but I believe they quickly cut away to keep the focus not on one sibling but the entire situation as a whole. There are still unresolved issues and since Roman doesn’t get the luxury of time to process his own feelings, neither does the audience.
At this point the Roy children are aware that someone told Logan ahead of time that they were going to confront him which in turn gave him enough time to finalize the plans to sell the company without their approval, but they do not know who told Logan. Until Tom walks into the screen. Tom Wambsgans is Shiv Roy’s husband and as Logan pats his shoulder it is clear who sold them out. The camera cuts back to the room the siblings are in and we see Tom and Logan again but this time from their perspective looking out of the doorway onto this betrayal which has a much greater impact. The dramatic music swells as it cuts and quickly zooms in to Shiv’s realization of what has happened. The quick zoom in on Shiv’s face is almost comedic even in such a grave situation and I remember laughing out of shock when I watched it for the first time because it caught me off guard and I wasn't sure how else to process the scene. After Tom and Shiv exchange a few words it cuts to a wider shot showing all the siblings. This shot was most likely done to parallel a scene from earlier when they were almost in the same exact position while Kendall was having a breakdown. No matter the tragedies and disagreements that the Roy siblings have, at the end of the day they will have each other’s backs and it’s shown beautifully in this shot. The camera then follows Shiv slightly as she moves away to process her husband's betrayal. It cuts to a close up shot to show her devastated emotions more clearly but also so that when Tom comes up from behind her he face is obscured from view because of how tall he is. The focus is completely on Shiv’s anger towards Tom instead of Tom himself. His relevance in the scene is for Shiv to realize what he’d done and to put the pieces together, he doesn’t need to be shown clearly. His presence creeping up behind her has enough impact.
The episode and season ends abruptly and unresolved, showing Shiv infuriated and Tom looming behind her with fake sympathy. It doesn’t cut back to see what Kendall and Roman are feeling and it doesn’t need to. Sarah Snook as Shiv did a wonderful job embodying all of the siblings' emotions and the audience’s too. The abrupt ending and the dramatic music that swells as the credits roll leave the viewers in shock to process what has unfolded as it all happened very quickly with no time to breathe. The brilliance in Succession’s editing is the focus on reactions. It often cuts mid sentence to instead focus on whoever has the most interesting reaction to the speaker. Even if someone was spoiled before an episode with major plot points it still makes for a riveting watch as the camera work and editing style puts the viewer in that scene to experience the characters' shock and response in a fluid and natural way.