Our final Succession power rankings

Previous ranking: 4 (down 6 spots)

For Kendall, who came so close to getting that CEO spot he coveted, and was promised from the age of seven, having to watch it slip through his fingers yet again is far worse than never having a shot at all. Anyone who knows the show had to be on edge watching the siblings come together to joyfully coronate him in their mother’s spare kitchen; we knew it couldn’t last. And sure enough, with the prize in sight, the alliance breaks down and the knives come out. In a final desperate act, Kendall betrays their trauma bond by denying his culpability in the death of Andrew Dobbs, walling off the last bit of humanity left in him. We leave him staring out at the river, contemplating his next move, possibly a terminal one. Honestly, it could go either way. Kendall will never be anything but a hollow shell of a man whose father went to his grave thinking of him as a failure.

Previous ranking: 6 (down 3 spots)

For a little while there, Hugo was on a roll. But he should have known better than to throw his lot in with Kendall. What happens to a dog on a leash when his master falls off a cliff? He goes over too. Not that Hugo had much of a choice. He was on the kill list, and it looks like Matsson is going to make good on that threat and cut him loose. Tom doesn’t seem inclined to help him, either. As Hugo himself so adequately puts it, “The losers never triumph.” Still, he’s got some good connections and he’s not bad at his job, so we think he’ll be okay.

Previous ranking: 9 (up one spot)

Roman actually moved up in the ranking after the final episode, but that’s not too surprising considering he reached his nadir at the end of “Church And State.” By the time the episode starts, he’s already flown down to his mother’s Caribbean getaway home to lick his wounds. But soon his siblings come calling, not for some quality family time or because they care about him, but to campaign for his swing vote. The surprising camaraderie they experience there once they come to an agreement about Kendall quickly dissolves once they get back to the board room. Roman is the one to speak the truth we’ve known for four seasons (and Logan knew their entire lives)—they’re all bullshit. Maybe that realization will carry him through the next phase of his life, once he finishes that martini. If you want to believe he’s thinking about Gerri at that moment, we won’t dispute that theory.

Previous ranking: 10 (up 3 spots)

Although these two are headed in opposite directions, their trajectories are somewhat aligned, so we’re combining them into one ranking here. Of all the fucked up relationships on Succession, theirs was the most honest from the start. Ultimately, they both got something out of it. Even if Mencken doesn’t win and the ambassadorship falls through, Connor will still be rich enough to chase whatever delusional pursuit strikes his fancy next. Meanwhile, Willa gets to live in Logan’s fancy apartment and lounge around on her new cow-print furniture. They might not ever get a perfect fairytale ending, but they’re going to be fine.

Previous ranking: 8 (up 2 spots)

Tom and Greg have had their ups and downs this season, but in the end Nero claimed his Sporus with a sticker and those three little words: “I got you.” Now that it’s over, the real losers are the ones predicting Greg would take it all. To be fair, there were times when it legitimately looked like it might be going that way. It still could. Greg is on his way to becoming the new Tom (he’s definitely got the “pain sponge” qualifications), and Tom wound up taking the throne, so it’s worth considering that he’ll just keep failing upwards. What we do know for sure is that Tom is keeping him around, so all that groveling ultimately paid off.

Previous ranking: None

We’ve been waiting all season to put Karolina on this list, but there always seemed to be others in line ahead of her. For one thing, Karolina is a great character—a nimble and reliable operator who knows how to control the narrative. For another, Dagmara Domińczyk has been quietly nailing the role since season one. So congratulations to both on the late surge. The rivalry between Hugo and Karolina always kind of simmered in the background, and she confirms it in this episode when she suggests to Shiv that Hugo needs to go. Karolina wasn’t on Matsson’s kill list, but just to emphasize her importance to the organization, newly crowned CEO Tom sidelines Hugo and asks him where she is. It’s not clear whether she heard the exchange, but for Karolina fans, it was a satisfying moment.

Previous ranking: 2 (down two spots)

We had a tough time figuring out where to put Shiv on this final list. It doesn’t seem fair to dock points from her because Matsson is a misogynistic asshole who used her ideas for his own gain and made false promises in return. Or because her ex-husband went behind her back and took the CEO job she thought she’d locked down, knowing full well how much she wanted it. She landed here because she realized she had the power of her vote, and she voted with her gut, not because of pressure or coercion from any of the men in her life. While her brothers sink into their defeat alone, she drives home in a limo with her husband, the CEO of Waystar Royco. With the two of them finally on equal footing, maybe they’ll be able to make it work. Let’s hope they treat their child better than their poor neglected dog, Mondale.

Previous ranking: None (last ranked at 4 in episode 7)

When Greg asks Tom what his plans are, the first thing he says is that he wants to talk to Gerri. “Gerri gets it,” Tom says. “She’s not afraid of the dark.” With Frank and Karl gone, Gerri will be the last of the old guard left, and Tom knows he needs her. For Gerri, it might be a refreshing change of pace to work alongside someone who isn’t constantly trying to tear everyone down. She lived through the Logan years, she can handle Tom. As for her lawsuit, we assume that will be dropped now that she’s back on the job, but she still has the Roman dick pics in her back pocket to use as leverage should she ever need it. Whatever Roman may say, Gerri is good at her job, and might be the only person on the show we could ever truly root for, so it’s nice to see her finish strong.

Previous ranking: 5 (up three spots)

Now that we’ve had some time to think about it, it makes so much sense that Tom would be the one to go home with the big prize. Actually, two prizes, since he also goes home with Shiv at the end of the episode. And baby makes three. Tom makes his own case to Matsson for his succession without even realizing it. “I worry all night about everything,” he tells him. His high tolerance for pain and discomfort makes him the ideal “pain sponge” Matsson is looking for. Tom has always been considered an outsider and an interloper within the Roy family, a parasite living off his wife’s money and reputation. Matsson might be the first person to ever seriously consider Tom for the CEO position, and ultimately he’s the only one that mattered.

Previous ranking: 1 (no change)

The only person we wanted to see win less than any of the Roy siblings was Lukas Matsson, but here we are. The slimy trickster tech bro walks away with all the marbles—Waystar Royco, ATN, and a hand-picked frontman to run things and take the abuse when things get nasty. Succession has been telling us all along that in the sandbox of the rich and powerful, admirable human qualities like compassion, morality, and humility will only hold you back. To win, you’ve got to be a killer. And if you’re ruthless enough, you can get away with fraud, harassment, backstabbing, abuse, and all sorts of heinous acts, and still come out on top. That was true of Logan, and it’s true of Matsson too. We should have known that it couldn’t have ended any other way.