I have to tell you I have basically been in complete alignment with you on Succession almost the whole way through. I may have written more article calling it an overrated series than any other series in my years as a critic pretty much for all the reasons that you did. Indeed, I've written five articles in the past two months expressing variations on this theme, includign the fact that the main reason it has done as well as it has in the Emmys has less to do with the quality of the show than the fact that it is an HBO series - and perhaps more importantly for the Emmys, the most monochrome series that HBO has.. (I can actually send you the links to the articles if you're interesting)

Last week's episode has done almost nothing to change my opinion on the show when it comes to characters. Indeed, Verne Gay wrote one of the most negative rave reviews you'll ever see about just how little there is at the center of Succession. The main reason I gave a change of opinion had more to do with the fact in finally resolved one of my larger issues I've had for the last three seasons and that is each year ended with the appearance of something big happened and yet nothing ever did. I don't blame you for not wanting to mourn Logan roy: to use a paraphrase, he's a prick then and he's a prick now; the only difference is now he's a dead prick. And I fully agree that my fundamental issue with the series is that none of the Roys deserve to run Waystar (I also think anyone who considers Logan a supergenius has him wrong: he was just so rich and such a bully that everyone was afraid to say no to him).

What I admire is the bravery of how the writers hit Logan's upcoming death in plain sight for two episodes and still managed to take the entire viewership by surprise. Logan's death was not a sad one by any stretch but it was arguably the most surprising one since Will Gardener's on The Good Wife. I may never understand the popularity of Succession or even like it, but I have to respect boldness and this decision was among the boldest in TV history.

Don't get me wrong: I'll still be pulling for Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets and The Crown over Succession this fall at the Emmys. But at least I can't pretend that when the inevitable raft of nominations for Succession come out this summer, that they're undeserved as I have the last two times it was eligible. I'll never understand why so many people watched this show as much and for some reason considered all the flaws that we consider of great TV to be virtues in this case but I can't deny that at least Armstrong wasn't leading to something all along. And you're right. Logans death isn't a tragedy. But its exactly what the man deserved.