The entire hour takes place on election night in and around the ATN newsroom, where either Democratic front-runner Daniel Jim Nez will maintain the precarious state of the American Republic for another four years or far-right conservative challenger Jeryd Mencken will usher in a new era of fascistic anything-goes demagoguery.
Succession Season 4 Episode 8 Recap
Naturally, ATN is on Mencken’s side. That implies that the Roy siblings are, at least the majority of them. The central conundrum in America Decides is this: Do the Roy family cherish their monetary self-interest more than the fundamental principles of democracy and decency upon which the Western world has been built?
Of course, we already know the solution. But it is a lot of fun to watch them figure things out on their own.
Why Is ATN Supporting Jared Mencken?
Of course, there are a number of individual subplots and motives to take into account here as well. This season’s episode 7 revealed that Kendall was considering keeping his brothers out of a potential takeover of GoJo, so whatever happens, he needs ATN to maintain its reputation as a reliable source of news.
Roman, meanwhile, has become beneficial by befriending Mencken, guaranteeing him favorable publicity in exchange for a complete blocking of the GoJo deal in the event that Mencken loses.
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How Does Tom Find Out About Shiv and Matsson?
Shiv needs Jimenez to be elected president because she is currently, figuratively, in bed with Lukas Matsson. She is also, albeit secondary, worried about the future of the Republic. She has a lengthy list of issues, but the most recent one is that Cousin Greg has been hanging out with Lukas and is aware of his arrangement with Shiv, which Lukas revealed without recognizing how devoted Greg was to Tom.
By making amends to Tom for their dispute, which happened last week for us but just last night for them, Shiv tries to head off this possible catastrophe. However, Greg has previously casually brought up Shiv’s arrangement with Lukas, so Tom isn’t buying it.
He accuses Shiv of being at least partially to blame for Logan’s death while still being visibly resentful, and when she draws the heavy guns by announcing she’s expecting his child, he wonders if that accusation is even genuine.
What Happens in Wisconsin?
Given that nothing there functions, two out of three touchscreens begin to malfunction, much to Tom’s furious anger, and nobody there has any type of technical expertise, it is remarkable that ATN has any sort of cultural cache at all. They are particularly confused when a voting location in Wisconsin is destroyed by fire before the ballots can be tabulated.
Maybe the issue with ATN is that no one is sure who is in charge. Tom is purportedly attempting to be a responsible news reporter by holding off on reporting on the fire until they have all the details, but Roman views it as an opportunity to just declare the state for Mencken by some hazy mathematical logic. Particularly in this regard, Adam Godley’s troubled statistician Darwin steals the show, making him the new President of the United States.
When Connor, of all persons, shows up to concede the election to Mencken in a live broadcast that swiftly develops into a weird national threat, Mencken’s campaign gains even more traction. However, Connor has dropped out of the race, which he was never really in, to begin with, at least not in any significant sense, and his support for Mencken influences public opinion.
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Succession Season 4 Episode 8 Ending Explained
Who Becomes the New President?
In a strange way, Kendall ends up casting the deciding vote, as is frequently the case. Kendall is concerned, especially about his daughter and wife. He’s starting to have a conscience, sort of. What does it say about him and his legacy if he helped elect a fascist from the far right as the head of the free world? What kind of repercussions will it have on his family?
This is why Kendall continues to urge Shiv, even at the last minute, to seek a Democratic guarantee against the GoJo deal. Roman uses that as his main bargaining tactic, so if Jiminez makes a counteroffer, they will get the best of both worlds: no GoJo agreement and no dictator in the White House. Shiv is pleased to comply.
However, she exaggerates making the call. Kendall calls himself and is definitely informed that Shiv never contacted out since she is unable to provide a definitive answer regarding the outcome. Curious, he asks Greg whether he has any information worth sharing. Of course, Greg tells him about Shiv’s arrangement with Matsson.
Shiv’s attempts to deceive Kendall have angered Kendall to the point that he authorizes ATN to call the election for Mencken, which will almost certainly result in a variety of issues for all parties involved and just before Logan’s funeral. Only HBO and HBO Max will stream Succession Season 4 Episode 8, America Decides.