After a slightly stuttering half-season, one that still provided marvelous moments but also imparted a sense of status quo and standing still, “Heirs” crossed the finish line of its third season with a shout of victory. And maybe it’s an understatement, to describe the last three episodes of the season this way, each one better, sharper and more impressive than its predecessor. The last one, All The Bells Say, was just perfect, with a great, justified twist that justifies reopening the brutal playground of “heirs” heroes for next season, and doing so in a way that will make you move back and watch it again, and then again. Have you had one since the end of The Sopranos? And here it should be noted what is now, with the end of the third season of HBO’s black-and-black comedy-drama, already quite clear: no series knows how to end a season more successfully than it. None.
Heirs – Season 3 – Trailer
Where to begin? Well, let’s start with how each of the individual plot lines of the series’ protagonists, as they unfolded over the course of the season, came to fruition at the end. Kendall (Jeremy Strong), who fell from his arrogant and self-righteous horse after spending more than half the season trying to overthrow his father, arrives at the finish line broken and shattered, swimming in a murky soup of guilt and a deep sense of failure. The wild ego trip dies down and leaves a resounding void, and Kendall finally sees himself as he is – exceptional and outcast in his family, lonely and lacking in support other than his paid entourage, a father who does not know how to communicate with his children. What is left for him, apart from his brother Roman (Kieran Kalkin) and his sister Shiv (Sarah Snook), who at the moment of his depression offer him – it turns out there is a limit to their cruelty – a supportive hand?
Nothing, that’s what he has left. But brotherhood is also something, especially these brothers, and after all the time we spent with the Roy family for three seasons, it seems that the moment Roman and Shiv give Kendall the pinch of support and love he so desperately needs is the most striking moment of true human kindness we have seen of them; That we have seen from someone who belongs to the family of these predators, or even directly related to them. Sorry, not the most prominent moment, but the only moment. But just as some bread crumbs will not save a dying person, so too we can not sincerely savor this rare tender moment. The Roy brothers may have stopped shedding each other’s blood, but only for a moment, do not worry.
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Broken and shattered. Jeremy Strong, from “Heirs”
(Photo: Graeme Hunter / HBO)
Roman, for his part, could spend the next season in the way Kendall spent the second half of the third season – crushed, lost, facing the abyss of his mistakes. Like Kendall, he too has devoted himself to a wild ego trip, finally the favorite son of Daddy Logan (Brian Cox), finally sitting at the table of the greats. But he is probably not ready for it – his whims (in the form of the Dick-Pick he sent to Jerry) aroused in his father a clear disgust, and with the disgust came contempt as well. No one will inherit an empire for those who despise it. And Roman apparently felt it, which caused him to tie his fate together with his brother and sister in a last-ditch attempt to overthrow the father. Now that this attempt has failed so monumentally, what will a novel do? Will he return to his status as the black and perverted sheep of the Roy family? The weird little brother that no one really counts?
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And what now, friend? Kieran Kalkin, from “Heirs”
(Photo: Graeme Hunter / HBO)
Shiv has faced a similar status throughout the season. From someone who was clearly marked as Logan’s favorite during the second season, the almost official heiress of his power and status, Shiv was marginalized, isolated from the business moves he leads, a second fiddle to her cheeky little brother. The frustration and distress was evident in her – enough to heighten the intensity of the emotional abuse of her husband Tom (Matthew McFadden), who during the penultimate episode of the season, Chiantishire, finally realizes he has no real partner. And if there is, then in this partnership he will forever have a second place, after her and after her raging ego.
In the end, in its third season, and perhaps in general, this is what “heirs” dealt with: in the way that the ego tends to blind those who surrender to it. Even Logan let his ego blind him, fights the rebellious Kendall and almost brings about the collapse of his corporation, instead of negotiating with his son, instead of compromising. But Logan is an elderly and talented predator of his children, a scarred T-rex in front of him and small and cheeky but not experienced enough lucerne receptors. Therefore, they too found themselves between his jaws. Because in survival, experience is key.
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A dinosaur, but still murderous. Brian Cox, from “Heirs”
(Photo: Graeme Hunter / HBO)
At this stage of “Heirs,” one of her most talented survivors seems to be Tom – the one who apparently, by all indications, whispered in Logan’s ear that his children were planning a coup, and the one responsible for the upheaval that closes the season. Shiv, his abusive partner, shared this with him in a phone call – and Tom, in a purposeful display of the ruthless meekness that characterizes the Roy family, along with a fair amount of anger and revenge on his wife, used information against her. Of course, in order to improve his status. He’s finally a real Ben Roy, one who next season might even be officially marked as Logan’s successor, Ethan he will accept for his absolute loyalty.
During the season, Tom, along with Greg (Nicholas Brown), seemed to be pushed a bit to the sidelines. His main plot line was the one that accompanied his anxiety about his imminent entry into prison, the damn goat of the Wisteria-Roiko crisis. It did not seem to be going anywhere, other than emphasizing Shiv’s opacity to her partner’s obvious distress. But in retrospect, it turns out that this was the particular place we were led to. The creator of “Heirs”, Jesse Armstrong, along with his writers, actually worked to blind his viewers as to the real payoff that is taking place in Tom. The constant diminution that Shiv makes him, the disregard for him and his needs that characterized their relationship during the three seasons of the series, always seemed like a bitter pill that Tom decided to swallow in order to continue to be part of the powerful family: passivity and submission in exchange for a game ticket.
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who are you talking to? Matthew McFadden, from “Heirs”
(Photo: Graeme Hunter / HBO)
But Tom, it turns out, has a limit, and Armstrong & Co. built his disillusionment, while strengthening his relationship with Logan behind everyone’s backs (or in front of their eyes, they just did not attach importance to it), gradually and brilliantly. All the signs of the upheaval were there, in nuances and seemingly insignificant moments, here with a supportive hand to Logan when the above had difficulty walking, there with a small pat on the back. “I will remember.” And the fact that Tom saved him from losing the kingdom to his children, will Logan remember? Rest assured.
In hindsight, even the less-than-impressive start to the third season was part of Armstrong & Co.’s move – to put us to sleep, to obscure, to blind us to the real moves that take place beneath the surface. We saw Roman strengthen and Shiv weaken, we saw Kendall take off on hot and crashing air like Hindburg, we saw the three of them continue to circle around the evil Abba Logan, look for his approval / pride, and we thought “Heirs” continues to mature, giving us more of the same. We also knew that a spectacular finish awaited us, because that’s her specialty – in a final seasonal twist that will bring you to the next season as well, no matter what.
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God, what a scene. Matthew McFadden and Sarah Snook, from “Heirs”
(Photo: Graeme Hunter / HBO)
But this time, the finish is even more spectacular than the ones we are used to. Not just because of the element of surprise and the emotional power of the moment – the look on Shiv’s face when she understands! Her reluctance to touch the quisling who shares a bed with her! – but because in retrospect, he paints in a different light so much from the season that preceded him. Next season – who will let you arrive faster than the one that has just ended – we will try to be prepared in advance. Not that it will help us.
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