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Breathe out, if you can. Succession<\/em>\u2019s presidential election is over\u2014and, unless the Democrats find a way to reconstruct the 100,000 or so ballots lost in that mysterious Wisconsin fire, it seems Jeryd Mencken, the alt-right imp played by Justin Kirk,<\/strong> will be the next leader of the free world.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is, perhaps, an inevitable conclusion\u2014though that doesn\u2019t make it any easier to watch the episode, titled \u201cAmerica Decides,\u201d unfold. \u201cI was so scared watching this episode,\u201d cohost Chris Murphy<\/strong> says in the latest edition of VF<\/em>\u2019s Still Watching<\/em> podcast. \u201cThe PTSD of it all was so, so vibrant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There are more than a few ways in which Succession<\/em>\u2019s fictional take echoes the 2016 election of Donald Trump:<\/strong> the initial confidence of Mencken\u2019s Democratic opponent, the achingly narrow margins, the slowly dawning horror even among those who are ostensibly politically aligned with Mencken. But in real life, Trump\u2019s ascent to the White House was decisive. On Succession,<\/em> the result of the election is a little murkier\u2014and Mencken may not be able to power himself all the way to the Oval Office without a boost from ATN and the Roy siblings. The real takeaway here, cohost Richard Lawson<\/strong> says, is how politics is really \u201cabout storytelling, and the momentum that comes from a narrative.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n So yes, ATN can\u2019t literally rig the election. But it can<\/em> act as though all ballots have been counted even when they haven\u2019t, giving Mencken an all-important final push. And why should the network do that? For Roman and Kendall, the decision is entirely selfish: Mencken will block the GoJo deal, allowing them to retain control of their father\u2019s empire. In short, as Murphy puts it: \u201cTheir damage, their own childhood trauma, all of their baggage, has the potential to destroy democracy. That\u2019s how high the stakes are\u2026. None of them have the character, the integrity, to take their own bullshit, their own personal lives, out of the equation and do what is best for the nation. And now it looks like we\u2019ve got a fascist president.\u201d<\/p>\n What may be even more jarring, Lawson points out, is the essential sincerity of \u201cAmerica Decides.\u201d Three episodes before Succession<\/em> ends for good, its creators are laying out their genuine beliefs about who the Roys and their ilk actually are. \u201cMaybe they\u2019re doing a little bit of nose-rubbing for the audience like us, who have gleefully watched this for four seasons, and being like, These are bad people.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere in this Still Watching<\/em> episode, Murphy and Lawson discuss the marginalization of Shiv\u2014who finally reveals her pregnancy to Tom, only to prompt one of his most cutting insults yet\u2014Tom\u2019s coke-fueled evening at the decision desk, Roman\u2019s descent into full edgelord nihilism, Connor\u2019s brilliantly kooky concession speech, and the moment Kendall sells his soul. Meanwhile, David Canfield<\/strong> chats with Justin Kirk about who Jeryd Mencken is\u2014\u201cThis guy may not currently
exist, but it feels like he will any second,\u201d says Kirk\u2014and his charged chemistry with Kieran Culkin.<\/strong> Listen to the latest episode of Still Watching<\/em> below\u2014and if you\u2019ve got your own questions, comments, and final-season theories, please email stillwatchingpod@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n