How the ‘Succession’ Finale Gave Hope to Roman/Gerri Fans

Succession wasn’t created for viewers to like the characters and find comfort in them. On the contrary, it exposed the overuse of power and money in a family that controlled mass media and had an uncountable amount of resources.

But even without that intention, the show introduced a long list of flawed characters who made their way into the hearts of the audience. Among those characters, we can find Roman Roy and Gerri Kellman.

Their dynamic wasn’t fully explored until Succession Season 2, and from that season on, fans could either jump on the shipping train or view it as another plot point.

The Roman/Gerri relationship became a controversial one among viewers and in different discussions on social media.

In the case of the viewers who believed this ship was wrong, there were two arguments that they have mentioned time and again regarding these two characters and the quasi-romantic dynamic.

On the one hand, there is the age difference. While J. Smith-Cameron and Kieran Culkin have a 25-year age gap, Succession never explicitly says how many years Roman and Gerri have between them. Viewers can tell it’s enough for Gerri to have known him his entire life and have been given the title of Shiv’s godmother.

There is a question to be raised about this. How many times have we seen older men on TV shows date younger women? So, is the problem the fact that Gerri is older, or the fact that she is a woman?

It tends to upset some audiences when women of a certain age are in a position of power and they exercise control in a relationship — particularly when they are exploring their sexuality and are in charge of it without a male figure telling them what to do.

Besides the noticeable age gap, fans who weren’t on board with the ship believed there was a problematic dynamic going on between Roman and Gerri. For some, their interactions had become borderline toxic.

Once again, it can all come back to how much it bothers viewers to see relationships — particularly those of sexual nature — that fall outside of the norm. In this case, Gerri was always in control and Roman needed the degrading commentary in order to enjoy it.

Succession crossed a line and showed a relationship that wasn’t built on love, trust, and dreams of a fairytale. Instead, whether they loved each other or not was never proved (until Jesse Armstrong made his comments after the finale).

The trust was always broken between the two as they took turns betraying each other to further their positions. And dreams of a fairytale? Those were never present on Succession; it was never that kind of show.

But even though there were some haters, the relationship continued until the very end and always had the support of both Smith-Cameron and Culkin who teased about it and emphasized how the relationship had come to be due to their chemistry.

The dynamic between these characters centered on Roman’s humiliation kink and his troublesome relationship with sex, while Gerri was able to be in control and always pull the reins when they needed to take a step back. Besides that, it was an apprenticeship that she believed could have gotten him to the top.

During Succession Season 3, fans were able to see that alliance come to an end as Roman began to side with his siblings to try and take their father down. That plot paired up with the fact that he sent a nude to his father instead of Gerri, marked the end of this relationship as we had been seeing it up to that point.

And then came Succession Season 4, with all of the anxiety of knowing that it was going to be the last season.

Succession Season 4 was definitely not smooth sailing for Roman/Gerri, pushing them further apart than they had ever been.

Roman was devastated by his father’s death and that pushed him to act out. In doing so, he betrayed (once again) the only person who had arguably believed he could make it to the top.

Even though Gerri seemed like the kind of character that others could try to kick down but she would never give in, after being fired twice, she told Roman she was out. Thus he lost the only real alliance he ever had.

After that particular conversation, the two of them didn’t share a scene together again.

However, Gerri was clearly upset to see Roman break down at his father’s funeral. And it is seeing Gerri one last time in the office that makes him break down again, wondering if he truly could have made it to the top.

So, when it all seems to be going completely against this ship, why do Roman/Gerri fans have hope that even beyond the final scene these two characters can reconcile?

The answer lies in two very specific scenes that showed, at least from Roman’s perspective, that the feelings had always been there and they had been very real.

The first scene happens on Succession Season 4 Episode 10, “With Open Eyes,” when Roman watches Gerri say the limerick in a recording of a dinner with Logan Roy. The moment he sees her, there is a slight smile on his face.

It is the way he watches her, in awe and admiration (and maybe a little bit in love), that gives away the fact that Roman still thought of her dearly and there was more to be explored between the two of them.

He tried to make it up to her on Succession Season 4 Episode 7, “Tailgate Party,” knowing he had made a mistake. He carries that sense of failure in their alliance throughout the season until the very end — breaking down when he sees her and he is at his worst.

But the scene that really makes Roman/Gerri fans believe that there is hope at the end of the tunnel is the very last Roman scene during Succession Season 4 Episode 10, “With Open Eyes,” when he is at the bar.

Throughout the entire series, it became very obvious that Gerri’s drink of choice would always be a martini. Roman even makes fun of this on Succession Season 4 Episode 7, “Tailgate Party,” when he approaches her and mimicking her voice says, “Let me guess, ‘I’ll have a martini.’”

So, what better way for this character to show or indicate that he is still thinking of Gerri than by ordering a martini at a bar the moment he is finally free from the Waystar Royco chaos (and tragedy)?

Once again, there is that slight smile on Roman’s face as he is sipping on the drink of choice from the woman many could say he is in love with.

Roman had always wanted to be free from the company, from the abuse of his father, and the dysfunctionality of the relationship with his siblings. He now is free to do what he wants and possibly be with who he wants.

For him, at that moment, freedom translates into a martini glass.

If these subtle hints during the Succession finale weren’t enough to give the fans hope, the comments made by J. Smith-Cameron and Jesse Armstrong after the episode aired definitely gave them a lot to talk about.

Smith-Cameron has always been a loud advocate for Roman/Gerri. When the show ended, she told the TIME:

I don’t know at what point she’d thought about it as a romantic thing, except if somebody young and wealthy and charismatic had a silly crush that they kept insisting on when they were around you, you’d have to be made of stone to not eventually respond to that. I could see them getting tipsy and making out in a bar once he’s not her boss.

And also took to Twitter to share the photo of Roman drinking the martini with the caption: “My ex wants me back.” Exactly what the fans needed.

On his end, Armstrong mentioned to the NPR:

Kieran’s character, Roman, he ends up most particularly exactly where he started, which is living the life of a sort of sad playboy, I guess, and sipping a drink, which people might associate with his quasi-love of his life, Gerri, who we’ve often seen sipping a martini.

Between the beautiful chemistry that radiated from Smith-Cameron and Culkin, the little moments that were shared throughout Succession, and the comments post-finale made by the actor and creator, the fans have a lot to hold on to even if the show has ended for good.

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Succession is available for streaming on MAX.

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Why ‘Succession’ Couldn’t Have Ended Any Other Way