Amazing episode that they horrifically botched in the last 20-30 minutes. I understand the show was supposed to be a tragedy, so the outcome wasn't going to be all happiness and sunshine like a typical MCU movie, but I just hate the way they carried it out.
Why could the tragedy have not been Ken officially transforming into his father, destroying all bridges with his siblings and wife, getting what he wanted, but at the cost of sitting alone at the top? Throughout the whole series he keeps emphasizing to Logan "I'm better than you", "I'm not you", and "I'm a good person". To me it felt like this whole show, and especially the 4th season, was building to a moment where Ken would gain control of Waystar but at the price of "becoming the killer" his father told him he needed to be at the end of Season 2. We slowly saw him becoming more and more cunning as the show went on, but now I'm left asking for what?
I also don't entirely object to Tom winning in the end, but why did it get carried out this way? Why not just not allow Shiv to find out after it was too late she wouldn't be U. S. CEO, effectively cutting her out along with her siblings, and make this an ACTUAL tragedy for all the Roys? It felt like in some ways she was able to come out as the random winner in all of this since she was the one to decide the vote. What was her reasoning for suddenly deciding to side with Tom and Matsson? For almost the entire episode she's pissed at them, screaming that she got backstabbed, and cursing in Tom's face that she's gonna take him down literal minutes before the vote takes place. Then she randomly decides to vote for them? You get absolutely nothing from them and a ton of power from Ken but decide to vote with the people who betrayed you? It made no sense to me. The only thing that is somewhat logical is the whole "if I can't have it no one can" thing, but even that seems ridiculous here given the circumstances.
Overall still a phenomenal series that frustratingly fell on their face right before being able to potentially be the best series ever created. I guess that title still belongs to Breaking Bad.
Why could the tragedy have not been Ken officially transforming into his father, destroying all bridges with his siblings and wife, getting what he wanted, but at the cost of sitting alone at the top? Throughout the whole series he keeps emphasizing to Logan "I'm better than you", "I'm not you", and "I'm a good person". To me it felt like this whole show, and especially the 4th season, was building to a moment where Ken would gain control of Waystar but at the price of "becoming the killer" his father told him he needed to be at the end of Season 2. We slowly saw him becoming more and more cunning as the show went on, but now I'm left asking for what?
I also don't entirely object to Tom winning in the end, but why did it get carried out this way? Why not just not allow Shiv to find out after it was too late she wouldn't be U. S. CEO, effectively cutting her out along with her siblings, and make this an ACTUAL tragedy for all the Roys? It felt like in some ways she was able to come out as the random winner in all of this since she was the one to decide the vote. What was her reasoning for suddenly deciding to side with Tom and Matsson? For almost the entire episode she's pissed at them, screaming that she got backstabbed, and cursing in Tom's face that she's gonna take him down literal minutes before the vote takes place. Then she randomly decides to vote for them? You get absolutely nothing from them and a ton of power from Ken but decide to vote with the people who betrayed you? It made no sense to me. The only thing that is somewhat logical is the whole "if I can't have it no one can" thing, but even that seems ridiculous here given the circumstances.
Overall still a phenomenal series that frustratingly fell on their face right before being able to potentially be the best series ever created. I guess that title still belongs to Breaking Bad.