after 200 years i started a new tv show

26 May, 2023

With less than a week to the finale, I finally started watching Succession. I'm shitty at taking recommendations – there's nothing anyone can do intentionally to get me into anything except leave something out and hope for the best – but there were three, maybe four, things I encountered on my own time that were instrumental in getting me to watch.

• This S3 promotional poster of Gerri and Roman. As an older woman girlboss/younger man babygirl truther, I gaped at this for a minute when I first saw this. (I also kind of have a crush on Kieran Culkin.)
• This meta about Logan being a crossword guy. I love the attention to detail - not all wealthy people are the same.
• This incest joke compilation I stumbled upon while scrolling through fandom wank. I saw this and was like I have got to watch this show.
• This post:

Like, what in the world. That tells me so much. So many dynamics to unpack here.

Combined with my brother and dad talking about it sometimes at the table, I finally caved. I've only just finished S01E02 and know I won't be caught up in time for the finale, but I'm floored at how good it is from the very beginning. Maybe I went into it already intrigued by everything from the list above + having heard all the glowing reviews by everyone else, but I already love it. I've been scouring the Gerri/Roman tag on AO3 all day.¹

When asked about my taste in media I usually default to saying I like romance and cartoons – two things where problems are resolved fairly easily and you're near-always guaranteed a satisfying ending. Historically that is what I've liked, but as I've gotten older I've noticed that changing. I've always been character-driven as a reader/watcher/story-eater, and these days, having compelling characters do things that feel real for them, exploring the dynamics between them, etc. is more important than feeling relief at the end. I still don't like gore or anything too depressing (no war films), but give me something with a morally complex, lifelike cast and I'll devour it.

anyway, things i have to do today that aren't "watch succession" or "read succession fic":

• clear out the insane number of fic tabs I already have open (catalog, comment, close)
• reply to some emails and Neocities comments
• get some actual work done so next week I have something to show for my remote day today
• maybe work on a new page on my site? I feel like my default hobbies these days are "drawing" or "coding" and I haven't felt like drawing in weeks...
• clean up my Notion

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#media