The complicated father-son dynamics of “Succession.”

It took me a minute to get into HBO’s “Succession.” I tried watching early on in the pandemic, a time when I yearned for an escape, but I couldn’t invest in the characters. On the surface they are whiney, privileged (the show is very white), and self-absorbed. Friends urged me to stick with it. The writing is whip-smart and the family dynamics are fascinating. I came around full circle and love the show.

For those unfamiliar, “Succession” tracks the inner-workings of an uber wealthy media empire owning family, The Roys, clearly inspired by The Murdochs of News Corp, including an iron-fisted patriarch styled after Rupert Murdoch (Logan Roy) at the helm.

From a psychological standpoint, the family, its system, and the interrelationships between each of the members are prototypical. There are sibling rivalries, puppeteering parents playing children off of each other, betrayal, familial love bonds, and on and on.

There are many moments throughout the series (I’m personally still at Season 3… I’m a slow viewer) that are worthy of examination, but for this post, I am highlighting a scene in Season 2.

Siblings, Shiv and her older brother, Kendall discuss a strategic decision for the company. Leading up to this moment, Kendall had attempted to overthrow his father’s seat as the CEO of the company, however, the attempt was thwarted.

Kendall: Dad's right.

Shiv: Are you with him on this?

Kendall: He sees everything, Shiv.

Shiv: You have a hard time finding a happy medium between worshipping him
and wanting to kill him.

Kendall seems to acknowledge his sister’s reflection in this moment. This profound ambivalence, this experience and feeling of a son towards his father, to at the same time feel such adoration (or “worship”) and such hate or anger that makes the relationship so complicated.

But why is this such the case? Sigmund Freud famously developed the Oedipus complex of emotions, which involves a son’s hate and jealousy towards his father, in part motivated by the son’s unconscious desire to capture his mother’s love.

While Kendall and Shiv’s mother does not play a significant role (at least not at this point) in the show’s plot, Kendall’s competitive feelings towards his father is palpable throughout. Kendall seeks to dethrone his father, whom he claims is running the family company into the ground. Kendall feels as though it is his own time to shine.

Kendall has attempted to prove his worth to this father through asserting a forward thinking vision for the company, yet at every effort he is met with disapproval from Logan. It seems as though no matter what Kendall does, to carve his own path, to make his voice heard, he faces rejection. It seems that all he really seeks at the end of the day is to be recognized by his father, and for his father to be proud of him. It would be easy to point a finger to the tyrannical father, Logan, for the way he shuts Kendall down, but in looking at the relationship between father and son, and that son is in his middle age, what responsibility does he have in caring for his aging father’s emotional needs?

Psychologist, Michael J. Diamond, wrote extensively on the complexities of the father-son relationship in “My Father Before Me” (which has greatly influenced my own clinical work):

A sensitive son may need to realize that his father’s battles are really internal, that perhaps his aging father is fighting his own self. Appearing weak, passive, and even helpless in relation to another man, particularly his son, can be painful and distressing for the father. In addition, it can also impact his son detrimentally if his father acts out those feelings by rejecting the son or becoming critical… Ideally, a son needs to find ways to defuse the power struggle and offer help in a fashion that doesn’t demean the older man — ways that encourage his father to feel necessary instead of superfluous. A son’s recognition of his father’s vulnerabilities can go a long way toward this end.

I appreciate the two-way, relational component of this perspective. Logan Roy is often cast as a villain in the show, and no doubt, he says awful things to his children, but it’s worth while being curious about how Kendall’s actions and way of being towards his ailing father further perpetuate the valence between them.

If you liked this post, drop me a note or say something in the comments. I don’t own a TV at the moment, but if anybody finds this fun I’ll have a good excuse to jump back into the series and post more!

Also, if you have a challenged relationship with your dad (or son) feel free to reach out and learn more about therapy with me. I currently see clients in Santa Monica and via telehealth.