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Great analysis and totally agree. I contrast Succession with a show like Ted Lasso, where all tension and flaws feel completely sanitized. Some of the best shows around have very unlikable characters—Sopranos, Mad Men, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

A lot of cultural criticism annoys me because it’s based on this idea that entertainment is supposed to carry a moral or socio-political valence that guides us to a morally correct view of the world. Art can beautifully express human conflict, it can not resolve it.

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