I Would Like to Tell You How I Prepare for a New Season of "Succession"

I do this with other shows too, but because of the way "Succession" has rolled out, I've done it the most times with this show. 

And plus, I stopped being embarrassed about being "too obsessed" with things, so I stopped being embarrassed about doing this. 

I've let go of a lot of shame and embarrassment over the past three years and, y'all, I cannot recommend it enough! It feels great - especially realizing that all the reasons I felt so much shame in the beforetimes was dumb as hell. 

Who cares about those people anyways? I want friends and family (albeit mostly chosen) that accept and love me for my whole self. Not just what they want me to be, or think I should be... or whatever mishmash of a Jacki they have built up in their heads that they feel I must adhere to or the world will come crashing down. 

Being a nuerodivergent people pleaser is fucking hard as hell, because you never know what you're "supposed" to do. There are a lot of unwritten rules in the world that come as quite the shock when you're just bopping around enjoying life and someone, like, yells at you.

You know, because you weren't supposed to be doing that for some unspoken reason you never knew about. So, for me, the feel of that negative shock was enough to keep from from doing or talking about certain things that I loved. 

Especially when they were adjacent to things I'd been shamed for repeatedly in the past - you know, like being SUPER INTO movies and TV. 

Again, unmasking is hard and scary, because I'm putting a lot of love and trust into people who met me when I was heavily masked. It feels really good to see who sticks around as the mask slowly dissipates. 

So, I finally feel safe enough with you, dear blog readers (aka I feel safe enough with myself, because more than anything I am writing this blog for ME!) to tell you about how I prepare for a new season of "Succession."

The first step is math. Well, kind of. 

Actually the first step is finding out the premiere date of the very first episode of the new season. In this instance we're looking at a season 4 "Succession" premiere date of Sunday, March 26. 

It's okay to squeal with excitement, I did. It's so soon!

I go into my planner and mark the premiere date on it. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna forget to watch it. I just enjoy having something visible to look forward to, you know?

Now, this is where the math comes in. 

Well, it's not really math so much as it is counting. So, what I do next is go in my planner and write down one episode number per day, starting with the season 3 finale and then putting the preceding episode on the preceding day. 

I time it out so I watch one episode of "Succession" per day. Like always, I'm seem to be overcomplicating things in the explanation of something simple. Something my brain does (without me asking it or wanting it to) multiple times per day. 

Here is why I enjoy this:

By now (I also power-watch "Succession" a few times throughout the year. It's become one of my comfort shows.), I know the characters intimately, as well as the beats of the show. However, each watch through I'll discover or learn something new. 

I always find myself focusing on the journey and internal struggles of a different character every time.

And Kendall Roy. Ya girl is always focusing on Kendall Roy. I think it's such a nuanced and deeply detailed portrayal of a broken person. I'm drawn to him a lot. 

Hell, I'm drawn to all of the Roys for all of the different ways they are broken. Thinking about this same cycle playing out in rich family after rich family around the country is really terrifying to think about. 

The oldies need to retire to give someone else a shot to run things. I feel like my generation, and maybe even the millenials, have kind of missed their shot at this. We're the oldies now too. 

And while it's really easy to say, "well, we never got the chance", I would also argue with myself (because it's me that's saying this is my own brain) that we never took the chance either. 

I have a lot of hope for Gen Z and younger... and even a lot of Millenials... From what I observe, there is a big bulk of them that are cycle breaking early and often. And that's what we need, tbh. 

So, younger generations, please let this Gen X lady know how she can support you. It's your time time shine now.

I'll just be over here watching "Succession" in an ultra-specific manner. 

I think I get more from watching it this way rather than a power watch. The reason I think this is because it gives my brain time to turn things over and analyze interactions and dialogue and stuff. Like, when I'm on a watch like this, there is always a running thread in my head breaking down what I watched the previous day. 

Look, I get a lot of joy out of it is what I'm saying, okay?

And if you'd like to take this journey with me, then, welp, we're starting with Episode 1 on Saturday, February 25. I'd love some friends to watch a long with!!! But if not, I understand that too. The world is busy AF right now. And also distracting. 

My DMs are open.

Just be warned, I'm fairly certain y'all are gonna get a LOT of "Succession" art outta me during this time. It's a gorgeously shot show.