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In the words of Ray J, are we live? Emphatically, the answer is yes! After enduring several production delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, HBO's hit series, Succession, is back for yet another season. If you didn't get a chance to check out the first episode of season three just yet, now would be a good chance to turn around. Everyone else, follow me into the war room.
Coming off of a fiery season two finale that involved Kendall Roy leaving his father, Logan, for the wolves, a lot of questions are left up in the air. Is Logan going to jail? He's probably not, but you never know. Who will run the company in the meantime? That's a hard question to answer, but it surely won't be Kendall. Speaking of Kendall, many viewers were left wondering how he'd move forward into the storm that lies ahead for him.
During episode one of season three, Kendall assembled a team of lawyers, crisis communications specialists and of course, Greg. While Greg is a valuable part of our viewing experience, he is not the most valuable piece of Kendall's new team. Kendall's new layer, Lisa Arthur, holds the title of "Team Roy MVP." Played by Succession newcomer and critically-acclaimed actress Sanaa Lathan, Arthur is a miracle-working attorney who has strong connections in business and politics. At first Kendall's sister, Shiv, tries to get Arthur to join her team as she tries to become Waystar Co.'s next CEO. However, Arthur informs Shiv that she's already taken a meeting with Kendall. As expected, Shiv throws a fit and walks off in anger, but does so in the most hilarious way possible.
At this time, it's unclear just how powerful Arthur is, but it is clear that she's valuable enough for everyone to be fighting over. More importantly, she represents something that the show has been lacking for some time, a powerful Black character. Succession is a show centered around the top 0.1% of the 1% in American wealth. Historically, that top 0.1% of the top 1% has primarily been made up of white Americans because a number of roadblocks have been put up in society to prevent Black and brown people from amassing such wealth. With that in mind, it hasn't necessarily been surprising that there have been few, if any, Black characters of note in the show's first two seasons. Still, the inclusion of a power player like Arthur, played by Lathan, is a welcomed addition and fans of the show were happy to see her.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Lathan's character manages to duck and dodge the many darts that will be thrown her way by Team Logan Roy. Episode two of season three will air live on HBO on Sunday.
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