There was a massacre in the Succession Season 3 finale. Spoilers ahead. Logan was able to cut his kids out of his company with the help of a treacherous Tom Wambsgans. Though there wasn't as much blood and guts, the Succession finale was like the Red Wedding. Sure, Succession wasn't referencing Game of Thrones à la Westworld. But there were enough parallels between these cursed nuptials for fans of HBO's Sunday night lineup to get excited about it.
The Red Wedding saw the fall of House Stark while "All the Bells Say" saw the fall of Logan Roy's kiddos. (Who got married during these weddings? Meh, doesn't really matter.) In the Succession scenario, Tom is Walder Frey and Cousin Greg is Roose Bolton — both men working on behalf of the true mastermind, Logan Roy (Tywin Lannister). While Greg doesn't have skin in the game, Tom is seeking vengeance for the slight against his daughter (or perhaps its vengeance for the frozen embryo that Shiv will destroy when he dies). Or, if you think more like Forbes, Tom is Roose Bolton to Logan's Walder Frey. But let's be real — Logan is a Tywin through and through. And though Tom has won this battle, he could very well end up eating a pie made up of his kids... if Shiv ever lets him have any.
If you're more a fan of the "Purple Wedding" (far less catchy title), well — there's a meme for that, too. Is it a coincidence that Mark Mylod directed the Game of Thrones episode where Olenna Tyrell told Jaime Lannister that she had orchestrated Joffrey's assassination by poison? Discuss.
And what about Shiv? Well, another fan on Twitter mentioned that Shiv was giving off Daenerys in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones vibes. Is it a coincidence that the Game of Thrones episode was titled "The Bells" and this Succession episode is titled "All the Bells Say"? Discuss. (And yes, I know the Succession finale title comes from a John Berryman poem.)
During a Twitter Spaces chat following the finale, journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy asked J. Smith-Cameron about the potential parallels between the two HBO shows (at 42:15). The Gerri actor went on the record to say that no, Succession wasn't inspired by Game of Thrones. But she was generous enough to add in a tweet, "Maybe it is part of the collective consciousness?"
Based on the overwhelming amount of comparisons, Smith-Cameron may be onto something. As people continue to process "All the Bells Say," the ruthlessness of the ending had led to even more Game of Thrones connections, like comparing Tom to Varys or Cousin Greg to King Bran. Because at their cores, Succession and Game of Thrones are about the same thing — terrible people scrambling for power. Succession just does it with less literal death.
Image: Graeme Hunter/HBO