NEW YORK—With the beloved characters joyously sharing the warmth of Yuletide cheer as snow fell gently upon Manhattan, HBO’s hit drama Succession concluded Sunday with the Roy family saving Christmas. “After years of sibling squabbles over who would take the throne at Waystar Royco, the hit series has elegantly stuck the landing with an episode that follows Kendall, Shiv, and Roman after they discover that recently deceased family patriarch Logan Roy was not only their father, but Father Christmas himself—and that his passing meant there would be no Christmas unless they could set aside their differences to deliver presents to the world’s children,” wrote New York Times TV critic Miranda Lawrence, praising the way the Roys finally accepted the spirit of the season and gave up their riches to make sure the Christmas wishes of all little boys and girls came true. “My heart melted when Roman put his arms around Rudolph, begging him to believe in himself so his nose would glow again. Each family member learned their own special lesson from the three Christmas ghosts, even Tom, who finally felt secure enough to let Greg turn back into a snowman and go live in the Magical Winter Woods. This finale is sure to go down as one of the greatest of all time, especially after that final shot where the three Roy siblings flew Santa’s sleigh through the night sky in their matching footy pajamas as the voice of Logan Roy could be heard saying, ‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a fuck off!’” The review also praised Peter Friedman and David Rasche, who played Frank and Karl respectively, for their beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night.”
