#kendall roy my beloved

[morethanwonderful]

All the talk about Kendall and his recurring water motif today just made something click in my brain, and I finally understand what that symbolism is all about.

In the "western literary canon," very often, water is a symbol of rebirth. A character being submerged in water (or sometimes even just drenched in the rain) is a metaphorical baptism. It's a symbolic way of wiping away past sins and starting anew. And I don't think there's anything Kendall wants more than to be reborn.

Kendall is constantly trying to reinvent himself to be new and better. He wants so badly to be a force for his idea of good and to be free from the oppressive influence of his father, but he can't do that while he's still an addict weighed down by old baggage and the misdeeds of his past. His attempt to buy the company in s1 is an attempt at this very glorious reinvention. So is rehab after the car crash. So is his betrayal at the end of s2, going onward into third season.

The water imagery isn't even the only allusion to his rebirth! He's shown with references to Jesus multiple times. He does the Judas kiss before sacrificing himself, and he was going to crucify himself at his birthday. Between that and the baptism, he is constantly coming back to this very Christian idea of being reborn. The show does it through imagery, and sometimes Kendall even engineers these images himself! He wants to have his old sins wiped away and become something good and better and new. And if he can martyr himself Jesus-style as part of his glorious rebirth, that's even better.

The problem with this, though, is that each and every one of his rebirths is a failure. His crusade for women crumbles into a narcissistic mess, which then crumbles into a possible attempt at suicide. He's pulled out of the hot tub prematurely to do his father's bidding.

At the core of Succession's writing is the idea that, now matter what happens and no matter what choices you make, you can never escape the person you are inside. People in Succession do not fundamentally change, which means that Kendall's dream of rebirth will always be impossible. His attempts at reinventing himself into a wholly good or successful man will never work because he still has all the same broken pieces down inside. He can never not be Kendall Roy.

Kendall's water motif is the symbol of his constant pursuit of a rebirth he cannot have, but he cannot understand this. He always thinks that it's going to work this time, but every reinvention is just the same as him lying in his empty bathtub. The baptism he dreams of does not exist.

#I think this might be my first proper Kendall meta #he's honestly my least favorite of the big 3 sibs #in that I'm generally less drawn to his story than his siblings' #but god do I love a good piece of symbolism #succession #kendall roy #succession meta #english major hours #kendall roy my beloved #long post #successionposting

[ardentperfidy]

i’m sorry at this point the line between kendall’s successes and failures is perfectly embodied by the ambiguous underline strike through. he was right about the fucking deal like of course atn is toxic that’s why it makes money this is AMERICA you think the bloomberg newsification of atn is going to go well? for society sure maybe for shareholders fuck no but that’s not why he wanted to tank the deal he wanted to tank the deal because walking the tightrope on a razor’s edge self destruction is his high and he couldn’t even do that because he and roman succeeded by failing because now mattsson has overpaid and they’re the conquering heroes but they’re miserable kendall is almost always right but i don’t think he even believes what he’s saying when he’s right anyway wonder if mattsson got a key shareholder lockup post-acquisition kendall will never cash out in full but he should but the point is that he never will

#kendall roy my beloved #you can’t even get being right right #succession #i do wonder how into the right wing news ecosystem they’ll go #because like the issue fox confronts is that if they’re less toxic their viewers just go to fucking oan or newsmax

[purplemotif]

just finished succession s1 moodboard

#i wasn't expecting to be emotionally attacked like that #what the fuck #kendall roy my beloved #succession

[queerasian]

#no thoughts just kendall tenderly singing honesty pre-nervous breakdown #too much birthday my BELOVED. i knew when it opened with this that that episode would change me as a person and it did #kendall roy #succession #queerasian.txt

[lesbiankendall]

SUCCESSION

3.01 "Seccession"

3.02 "Mass In Time of War"

#succession #successionedit #tvedit #kendall roy #rava roy #stewy hosseini #* #kenrava kenstewy parallels my beloved

[biherbalwitch]

listen I'll never fucking shut up about this show, the part of Shiv's eulogy saying "he couldn't fit a whole woman in his head" is a direct call to how most people online actually talk about her character. Disregarding all the complexity and nuance of her character and either painting her only as a feminist angel, a little girl, a victim, or only a stupid, malicious woman who's betraying everyone and deserves all the horrible things her brothers & husband do because "pinky can't dance" as if all these characters aren't deeply flawed ON PURPOSE and also mentally & emotionally complex to evoke empathy in viewers ON PURPOSE but that thought process is only afforded to the male characters and isn't that the heart of the statement?

#shiv roy #my beloved #succession #succession hbo #siobhan roy #kendall roy #roman roy #tom wambsgans #tomshiv #the greatest line

[schmweed]

Succession | S02E01

#Gerri Kellman #Roman Roy #Succession #my gifs #Zero personal space my beloved! <3 #Gerri completely normally fiddling with the touchscreen and Roman not stepping back. not making room. nothing. #It's 1) absolutely normal for them and 2) he's over the moon of course even as he's busy focused on Kendall and Shiv's call

[emgardner]

will you come back to my corner?

#often detestable rich asshole siblings who are ultimately all the products of abuse and neglect my beloveds #succession #shiv roy #connor roy #kendall roy #roman roy #my art #art #artists on tumblr #the woodpile is their anthem idc

[akajustmerry]

something that really got to me in that episode was how long it felt and I realised that's because, for the most part, it took place in real time. we really stayed with Roman, Kendall and Shiv from the moment they picked up tom's call. there were practically no jumps, no cut to next location, just the relentless event of losing a parent in real time. watching Ken and Roman try to say their piece, then Ken walk every step across the boat to take shiv's hand and walk with her each step back to where Roman is still talking to Tom whose updating them on the obligatory chest compressions. then, shiv trying to choke out a goodbye and then three of them trudging out to find Connor still discussing cake, breaking the news to him and all the awkward silences, hugs, and barely contained fury that the the last thing each of them said to Logan will always be the last thing he heard. I fucking love the use of real time like this. typical story structure of film/tv garuntees relief from difficult scenes with a cutaway and a change of scene, but depriving the viewer of the heightened, efficient dream-like chronology of tv, and forcing us to sit with them for every moment is such an exquisite way to portray and evoke grief. because the moment you lose someone there is no escape, no relief or break...just the unassuming unending horror and solidification moment by moment of time being divided into Before and After.

#succession spoilers #succession #logan roy #shiv roy #kendall roy #I've said it once and I'll say it again MEDIA ABOUT GRIEF MY BELOVED 🥰 #/

[kenzie-ann27]

ron howard voice: and he did

#twitter succ bot my beloved #kendall roy #stewy hosseini #kenstewy

[loveandthings11]

Lol Jeremy making fun of himself and checking on the cast's reactions, I can’t even handle this 🥰😚🤭

#Jeremy my beloved #they way he imitates Jesse half-paying attention to this idea 😂😂 #he is the cutest man on the Planet Earth #also this vid is so important for everyone who thinks he is too serious #like obviously he is very serious but also that is very hot #and he clearly has a good sense of humor about it #‘I send a lot of- emails’ Jeremy I am sitting on the floor looking up at you #Jeremy strong #succession #kendall roy #jesse armstrong

[morethanwonderful]

[Image Description: An edit made by the Barbie Selfie Generator. It shows Kendall Roy from Succession on a pink glitter background, the Barbie logo over his torso. The caption above his head says "This Ken is lusting for patricide." End ID]

#has anyone done this yet? #probably some version. but I had a Vision #succession #kendall roy #successionposting #jokes #kendall roy my beloved

[ardentperfidy]

i need to find good gifs of kendall's funeral speech because from the moment i heard kendall say "my father was, um, a brute. he was, he was tough. but also, he built and he acted," the kill bill sirens started going off in my mind because what is that if not umberto eco's ur-fascism cult of action???

#succession #kendall roy my beloved #with a wince #because as much as i know people think mencken has made a deal with mattsson #i do not think it's an accident of writing that kendall's eulogy was such a clear articulation #of a synthesis of capitalist and fascist ideologies #and i do think mencken picked up on it and i do not think he has discarded that just bc mattsson offered a us ceo

[cvstodians]

#Kendall Roy my beloved was actually first place but a girl can dream.. #blasphemous #blasphemous game #the penitent one #blasphemous 2 #self promo IDGAFFF

[blvvdk3ep]

The entire succession cast being mouth-frothingly sexy was a very unfortunate event for the "adhere rigid irl morality to fictional media" crowd, but not for me

#roman roy #yes i hate him yes i love him who cares #roman romulus roy #succession #Kendall Roy #shiv roy #siobhan roy #my beloved. my angel. what a woman #stewy hosseini #gerri kellman #i would fuck every single one of them

[wulfhalls]

most romantic scene of succession ever actually

#tortured exs kenstew era my most beloved #succession #kenstewy #kenstew #kendall roy #stewy hosseini