HBO's Succession was absolutely phenomenal in its first two seasons, leaving fans eager to see how Season 3 would shape the media empire Logan Roy was dangling in front of his kids. He manipulated them for years, sadistically offering the company to other rivals, all while refusing to step down. Despite some high points, the third season may have been worse than Game of Thrones' final season due to its inconsistency and lack of identity.
Game of Thrones' eighth season is something fans still point toward to this day as an example of how not to end a TV show. It had such forced moments that reduced a lot of the character development seen in years, pushed characters to make decisions out of their usual range, and fast-forwarded a lot of the plot beats that needed more time to simmer. Many viewers felt the entire Season 8 narrative could have been better told over two seasons, summed up best by Daenerys Targaryen rushing into becoming a vengeful Mad Queen, and Jamie Lannister running back to the wicked Cersei when he achieved redemption. Succession star Brian Cox turned down a Game of Thrones role and it seemed like it worked out for him -- until now.
Succession duplicated many of Game of Thrones' flaws in its story but made things worse, despite the potential it had with Kendall outing Waystar Royco for covering up a sex scandal. Instead of him using his lawyers and going for the jugular, he was reduced to a daddy's boy once more, afraid of being serious and taking the empire for himself. Kendall regressed into drugs, drink and playing his current girlfriend Naomi against his ex-wife Raya, making him look like a high-school kid instead of that calculating businessman Season 2's finale promised.
Logan himself thought Kendall would have became a killer, a real businessman, but it all fizzled when Kendall realized his dad had evidence about an accident that resulted in a waiter's death which could land him in jail. Even then, instead of showing their dark exchange, Kendall just met his dad for dinner and folded by begging for a buyout of his shares in underwhelming fashion.
Succession killed off the drama as fans knew this was always going to be the destination, but they wanted to experience the journey and fear Logan inflicted. The same inconsistency happened with his other children, Roman and Shiv, who played their own games to damage Kendall. Shiv wrote a press release destroying him as a junkie and bad father and Roman had thugs stalking Kendall's kids to intimidate his brother. Neither of these things added up because one minute they loved Kendall and the next they were ready to use his family as pawns.
Season 3 reeked of the sense of confusion Game of Thrones had, not knowing its direction despite having an enticing corporate war and a great cast at hand. Logan randomly brought back past potential buyers such as Nan's company. Stewy's takeover wasn't given much screen time. Key players such as Adrien Brody's Josh and Sanaa Lathan as Lisa, the lawyer that Kendall discarded, were relegated to cameos. Succession felt all over the place, discombobulated and incoherent.
Outside of Greg and Tom's betrayal to help Logan, arcs like Caroline selling the kids down the river and giving control of her shares back to her ex, the siblings suddenly uniting to try to stop Logan's sale out the blue, or Mads being a real threat as the new buyer, every story point in the third season needed more time. People's motivations and decisions felt incredibly off. Like Game of Thrones, maybe the hype was too much to live up to, which means fans might expect a lot less from the next season of Succession.