© HBOAlan Ruck's delusional Connor Roy has dragged his siblings, Jeremy Thomas' Kendall, Sarah Snook's Shiv and Kieran Culkin's Roman to the venue as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he might be jilted at his own wedding.
As Connor mangles Leonard Cohen's 'Famous Blue Raincoat,' the karaoke bar becomes the perfect metaphor for his three siblings.
Throughout the show, each of them has been a pretender in both senses of the word.
© HBOLike people singing karaoke, Shiv, Kendall and Roman have been doing an unconvincing impersonation of someone else - their dad.
Each sibling's illusion is brutally shattered, however, when their father, Brian Cox's Logan Roy turns up to persuade them to shelve their opposition to a deal he's cooking with Alexander Skarsgard's streaming billionaire Lukas Matsson to buy out their family conglomerate, Waystar Royco.
For him, the conversation is an opportunity to unite the family and secure his legacy.
For them, it's an opportunity to make the old man grovel.
Unable to contain his irritation at their failure to grasp the significance of the deal, Logan lashes out and delivers a bone crushing parting line.
© HBO"I love you but you are not serious people," he tells them.
Logan's line isn't just a momentary devastating rebuke.
It's an observation that reverberates throughout the rest of the season.
It goes to the very heart of what Jesse Armstrong's show has all been about because for three seasons, the Roy children have spent their time jockeying to win their father's approval by pretending to be someone they're not.
© HBOIn Season Four the desperation to prove they are a corporate giant becomes intense.
However, try as they might, they can never come up to Logan's mark.
Before going any further, it's important at this stage to flag up an event that takes place in Season Four that is so significant it cannot avoid being mentioned in this review.
So if you haven't watched the final season of 'Succession,' stop reading this now and save it until you have.
(SPOLIERS ALERT!!)
© HBOSeason Three ended with Logan pitched directly against his children, Roman, Shiv and Kendall as he tried to steer through his deal with Lukas Matsson for the Swede's takeover of Waystar Royco.
Shiv, in particular, was the most bruised sibling in this battle - having witnessed her husband, Matthew Macfadyean's Tom Wambsgans betray her alongside his crony, Nicholas Braun's Greg Hirsch and cosying up to the old man.
Season Four finds the Roy siblings in Los Angeles in their new self-styled "Rebel Alliance" against Logan.
The three of them are considering launching their own online news venture but they quickly ditch that plan when the opportunity arises to get one over their father by launching a counter bid to his attempt to take over Pierce Global Media.
© HBOLogan is incensed when they manage to win over Cherry Jones' Nan Pierce with a $10 billion offer.
However he puts the loss quickly behind him and concentrates on getting the GoJo deal for Waystar over the line.
Under the deal, Logan will be able to keep his beloved ATN news channel.
Fuelled with a passion for ATN to maintain its influence over the US political agenda, he unnerves Tom and Greg by insisting on going onto the newsroom floor to deliver a stirring pep talk to staff.
© HBOMeanwhile Kendall and Shiv work hard to undermine the GoJo takeover.
Roman, though, begins to waver and secretly starts to curry favour with his dad.
Then something extraordinary happens.
On the day of Connor's wedding to Justine Lupe's Willa Ferreyra, Logan boards the company jet for Sweden to negotiate the GoJo deal with Lukas.
He orders Roman, presumably as a loyalty test, to fire J Smith-Cameron's Gerri Kellerman for her handling as Waystar's CEO of the cruises scandal.
© HBOWhile Roman awkwardly does his bidding, Tom frantically tries to contact Shiv and the other siblings from the jet chartered for Sweden.
(MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!)
When he reaches Kendall, we learn Logan has collapsed on the flight and is dying.
Tom urges Kendall, Roman and Shiv to say some final words to their dad down the phone from Connor's wedding onboard a luxury liner in New York Harbour.
Their father's shocking death has, not surprisingly, massive repercussions for the family, for the company and for the GoJo deal.
© HBOBut it also brings out the worst in each of the siblings as they adjust to life without him and jostle to become the dominant force within the family.
With America in the throes of a toxic Presidential Election between Justin Kirk's populist Republican Jared Menken and the Democrats' Daniel Jiminez, played by Elliot Villar, rival camps in the Waystar Royco acquisition are keen to capture the ear of the winning candidate who could scupper the Gojo deal.
And as the Roy siblings start to play each other off, courtesans like Tom and Greg become really nervous about their own positions in this corporate struggle.
This is especially true for Tom whose case is further weakened by the fact that his marriage to Shiv has gone sour.
© HBOSeason Four ultimately resolves the question of who will take the family crown.
But at what price?
During the three seasons that preceded this, 'Succession' justifiably muscled its way into being mentioned in the same breath as 'The Sopranos,' 'Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul' and 'The Wire' as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time.
Season Four, though, determines exactly where it ranks against those shows and, not surprisingly, it is pretty high.
© HBOThroughout the last season, the quality of the writing, directing, acting and production is so high, it actually outguns 'The Wire' which had a slightly disappointing final season.
It arguably shades it over 'Breaking Bad' and its excellent spin-off 'Better Call Saul'.
But is it on a par with 'The Sopranos'?
Possibly, although the passage of time and repeated viewings will ultimately determine if it is actually better.
© HBORegardless of whether you agree with that assessment, there's no doubt that 'Succession' is the greatest show of the last ten years.
If you want a measure of just how good it is, try this on for size.
In the build up to writing this review, I had toyed with the notion of writing a piece that celebrated the ten best episodes of 'Succession'.
I ditched that plan two weeks ago when it became clear that all the slots could have been filled by all episodes in this season.
© HBONo show has managed to raise the bar every week like 'Succession' has in this season.
No show has left its fanbase gasping as regularly as 'Succession' did, with jaw dropping moments of drama and black comedy.
As in the previous seasons, the dialogue and the one liners roar and they cut hard like a chainsaw.
The plot is operatic in sweep and Shakespearean in tone.
The production values are slick and cinematic.
© HBOOver the course of ten episodes, Armstrong and his fellow writers Tony Roche, Susan Soon He Stanton, Lucy Prebble, Jon Brown, Ted Cohen, Georgia Pritchitt, Will Arbery and Will Tracy deliver emotional gut punch after emotional gut punch.
Not only that, their rollercoaster of a show isn't afraid to take huge narrative gambles.
Not only is the offscreen death of its most dominant character three episodes in indicative of this narrative bravery but the subsequent stand-offs and power plays that occur in Sweden, at Shiv and Tom's reception and at ATN on Election Night are typical of a writing team on top of their game and willing to take big risks.
The high point of the season is arguably reached in the penultimate episode at Logan's funeral.
© HBOIt is so crisply written, devastatingly acted and intelligently directed, you'll feel compelled to watch it again.
Although it has to be acknowledged the 90 minute concluding episode is also impressive, staggeringly building towards a suitably messy climax.
As for the cast, Strong remains a fascinating figure as Kendall, who you always fear will self-combust as he comes close to the big prize.
While he and Cox have understandably received the biggest acting plaudits for their performances in previous seasons, the balance shifts in Season Four to Snook, Culkin and Macfadyean.
© HBOSnook delivers her best work of the entire run, as Shiv wrestles with the magnitude of her father's death and her burning ambition to get one over her brothers.
Her spats with Tom throughout the series are electric, with both actors delivering withering and heartbreaking observations.
She also does good lines in smugness and vulnerability.
Macfadyean injects a greater sense of self-doubt in Tom as he comes to terms with the shifting sands in the family and the company and starts to fear for his future.
© HBOA scene in the penultimate episode where he appears to be suffering a panic attack is oddly poignant despite Tom being the most venal character outside the siblings.
His scenes with Nicholas Braun's Greg, though, remain a joy, with both actors squeezing every ounce of humour out of a situation where their characters are desperately trying to cling on to the Waystar greasy pole.
Culkin is superb as Roman flails in the wake of the siblings split from their dad and then in the wake of his father's death.
Ronan's trademark snarkiness is stripped away to reveal a huge insecurity and vulnerability.
© HBOHis performance in the penultimate episode is unquestionably one of the best pieces of acting in the entire show and possibly of all time.
Ruck provides much needed light relief in the show as Connor's Presidential run meets a laughable end, while Justine Lupe as his fiance Willa is a great foil.
Harriet Walter has a lot of fun too as Lady Caroline Collingwood, Logan's second wife and Kendall, Shiv and Roman's manipulative mother.
As Ewan Roy, James Cromwell gets to deliver a powerful, sanctimonious and revelatory eulogy about Logan at his funeral.
© HBOPeter Friedman, J Smith Cameron, David Rasche and Fisher Stevens are also excellent as the Waystar Royco execs Frank Vernon, Gerri Kellman, Karl Muller and Hugo Baker.
As the siblings manoeuvre during the power grab, each executive trades observations and gossip and calculates what it means for them.
Alexander Skarsgard has a shark like quality in the role of the ruthless Lukas, while Zoe Winters impressively handles the fall from grace experienced by Logan's secretary and mistress, Kerry Castellabate after his death.
As for Cox, he remains a huge force even when he is killed off unexpectedly early in the final season.
© HBO'Succession' stalwart Mark Mylod superbly directs all four of the ten episodes he is given.
Cathy Yan, Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Kevin Bray, Andrij Parekh and Lorene Scafaria impressively deliver the episodes they're asked to helm.
Cinematographers Patrick Capone and Katelin Arizmendi conjure up the slick Gothic visuals we've come to expect in the show and are complemented by the intelligent work of film editors Ken Eluto, Veyna Bruk, Ellen Tam, Bill Henry and Jane Rizzo.
Composer Nicholas Britell's score is smartly deployed, swelling at all the right moments.
© HBOShows of this calibre rarely come that often and they are frequently judged by their final act.
In this regard, 'Succession' doesn't disappoint.
While fans of the show will undoubtedly miss 'Succession' terribly, tbe decision to call it a day after four seasons is the right one - ensuring it doesn't rumble on unnecessarily beyond its natural lifespan.
No doubt HBO will face pressure in the next few years for a movie or a TV spin-off.
But maybe this is one of those shows which for the sake of its legendary status should be left well alone.
(Season Four of 'Succession' was broadcast in the UK and Ireland between March 27-May 28, 2023)
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