Succession – Series finale, Sunday, May 28 at 7pm ET on Max
There’s no denying the final season of Succession has produced episode after episode of excellent television. As we come to the end of what will likely be considered an HBO classic, fans are besides themselves asking, “How can they possibly wrap everything up in one episode?!” The series is coming to a head, and the question remains the same as it was back in season 1: Who will be the CEO of Waystar RoyCo?
Kendall and Roman Roy’s desire is still seemingly to tank the GoJoe deal to cement their roles as co-CEOs of the company (but most fans know better and that ulterior motives are most definitely at play). After ‘helping’ Menken win the election, the Roy brothers expected the president elect to block the deal, leaving them atop the food chain. But, considering Roman’s heartbreakingly disastrous attempt at a eulogy at Logan’s funeral, Menken’s confidence looks to have shifted to Kendall.
Shiv’s desire to push the deal through is combating their wishes, however. Her relationship with GoJoe CEO Lukas Mattson has left her believing he will make her CEO, should the deal go through. The two believe Menken will not block the deal if an American was left in charge of Waystar RoyCo. But who’s to say Shiv would be that American? Who’s to believe that Kendall, who looks revived after his passionate eulogy of his father won’t come out on top?
Theory: My prediction, seeing as ATN is Menken’s biggest asset, is to look no further than the man running the show and who made the call to name him president, Tom Wambsgans. A loyal servant, who has proven to be a snake in the grass, effective in playing the game and doing whatever necessary to come out on top. Would Logan Roy have gone to a funeral when there was work to be done? No. And neither did Tom in the latest episode.
Maybe Greg will prevail as his #2? Unless one of the Greggys or Greglets steps in front. Alas, we can only hope that Tom gets his double shot and keeps the country from going kablooey.
Barry – Series finale, Sunday, May 28 at 10pm ET on Max
Bill Hader’s extremely dark, extremely funny hitman comedy Barry has completely obliterated the heavily fortified borders that typically separate TV genres; The jokes are as funny as those in the best of Hader’s previous projects, but the heavy moments are heartbreaking and the action elements are expertly executed. It adds up to one of the most unusual and singular shows we’ve ever seen, and we’re expecting all of Barry’s disparate elements to come together in the finale.
Theory: As fittingly ironic as it would be for Barry’s character to survive and somehow become the hero he’s always imagined he is (think of the ending of Taxi Driver), the many dream sequences of Barry on the beach have us convinced that he’ll wind up in the afterlife. However, we’re fully expecting some sort of dark twist, so our guess is that after successfully persuading Gene and/ or the movie studio to back off of their plans for a biopic (whether by extreme force or more conventional measures), they end up optioning the rights to the story of his former handler-turned-prison-gang-leader The Raven, and Barry Berkman’s sordid saga ends up on the big screen anyway.
Yellowjackets – Season finale, Sunday, May 28 at 10pm ET on SHOWTIME
Compared to the fiery first season of SHOWTIME’s survivalist thriller Yellowjackets, the second season has been a bit of a slow burn. We suspect that’s because it’s setting up a third season that will begin to untangle the many mysteries the show has spun over its first two years. If so, Sunday’s finale should feature at least one major revelation, and we have a theory.
Theory: Alternate realities. Over and over again this season, characters have made allusions to “not being where they’re supposed to be,” to say nothing of Taissa’s dangerous doppelganger or Coach Ben’s hallucinations about missing the flight and avoiding the Canadian cannibal compound (the teaser for the finale ends with young Natalie confessing, “We really don’t belong in this place”). What if, whether due to the trauma of their experiences in the wild or overtly metaphysical forces, the Yellowjackets tagged-in their shadow psyches to bear their pain? At the very least, it would explain why they’ve so thoroughly botched the cover-up of the murder they committed.
Ted Lasso – Series finale, Wed., May 31 on AppleTV+
To borrow a soccer expression, AppleTV+ bottled the third and final season of the Emmy-winning show Ted Lasso, mostly due to some unfortunate story choices around Nate’s character. Still, even a disappointing season of Ted Lasso is better than most comedies, and the show could still stage a late rally to send Ted Lasso off with a victory.
Theory: Because this is a show about soccer, we mean that literally: The penultimate episode saw Richmond defeat real-life EPL champs Manchester City for the chance to win the Premier League in the final game of the season. In most shows, a championship would be assured, but Ted Lasso could easily pivot to a lesson about how the “real winners are the friends we made along the way.” Regardless, it’s clear that Ted is ready to head back to the States to be with his son, so we’re gonna say that his surprise exit before the last game leads to Roy getting promoted to manager, with Nate “The Wonderkid” devising a game plan that delivers Richmond a championship.
