Last Sunday, the Roy family’s stormy journey officially concluded with the broadcast of the last episode of the acclaimed HBO series created by Jesse Armstrong; a chapter that has certainly given a lot to talk about on social networks, be it because of the twists in the plot, the ambiguous motivation in the actions of its characters or the powerful final shots with which the brothers Shiv, Roman and Kendall said goodbye to the audience . And in the case of the latter, it turns out that there is an alternative ending that would have returned his last appearance in succession even more… shocking, to say the least.
Spoilers for the end of succession next!
The episode titled “With open eyes”, through which the fourth and final season of succession, concludes that none of the Roy brothers manage to maintain the captaincy of Waystar Royco. The acquisition of the company by the technology company GoJo becomes inevitable, and the final sequence with Kendall shows him devastated, walking through a public park in Manhattan until he reaches a bench where he sits and silently observes the New York harbor at sunset, with Colin (his bodyguard) watching him from a distance.
However, the alternate ending featured some particularly drastic action by the character, the actor revealed. Jeremy Stronginterpreter of Kendall, in the official podcast of succession (via Deadline). Beyond just fixing her sad eyes on the tide, Strong proposed that Kendall walk into the water as well, apparently suicidal intent. However, her bodyguard—played by Scott Nicholson—guessed her intentions and ran towards him.
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This is how Jeremy Strong described that alternative ending that he came up with when shooting that scene in the park in Manhattan:
“I looked at the waves and that day it was very windy and cold. There was a terrible metallic noise that I couldn’t bear. I got up and walked slowly to the barrier there and climbed on it. I didn’t quite know what I was going to do, and the actor who played Colin saw me and ran to stop me.
On the other hand, Jesse Armstrong, in his role as showrunnerhe preferred to keep a more subtle final shot of Kendall, which was no less tragic for that reason… He, alone, without purpose and without a family to turn to.
“I’m sure the choice of Jesse is better,” Strong acknowledged. “And in a way I think you see the intentionality in the character.”
The complete four seasons of succession are currently available in the HBO Max catalog.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.