A good bread with butter

In the story Untitled by Rodrigo Fresán, the protagonist repeatedly exclaims: "Benjamín Federov is dead.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
30 May 2023 Tuesday 16:40
119 Reads
A good bread with butter

In the story Untitled by Rodrigo Fresán, the protagonist repeatedly exclaims: "Benjamín Federov is dead." Similarly, I today proclaim "Succession is over." And I do it from joy.

If you wonder who Benjamin Federov is, perhaps the best thing to do is to read Fresán's story. If the doubt arises from the Succession side, I can say that it is a television series on HBO, which aired the final episode of its fourth and final season on Sunday night in the United States, our early morning.

In fact, I deliver this column (which I send every two weeks to La Vanguardia sometime on Monday morning) without having seen the latest episode. I'm saving it for tonight, which is Monday, although this text will reach readers on Wednesday.

In other words, nobody suffers, you can read in peace, whether you have not yet seen the episode or have never heard of Succession because the treacherous and slightly ridiculous beast of the spoiler is not hidden between these lines. The monster that explains to you what you don't want to know and teaches you what you don't want to see, but which, no matter how perfidious and annoying it may eventually be, is rather scary.

At least I think that there is an intrinsic and deep enjoyment in the gesture of reading a good book or watching a good movie or series, that nothing can take away from you. And this is one of those cases. Succession is a lady series. And although it may seem like a contradiction, I happily celebrate its end.

I watched like a relic, years after they were first broadcast, The Sopranos or The Wire, considered almost unanimously as two of the best series in the history of television, and I absolutely agree with the verdict. But to recheck with Succession the evidence that good creative artifacts do not only come to us from the past, that a series of quality and artistic gesture, risky, demanding and coherent, can be made from today, capable of explaining and exploring what I wanted to explain and explore. , and then finished, without dragging on incongruously like not enough butter on too much bread, has been exhilarating. And having been able to follow her in real time, having been part of her arrival in the world, has definitely been an enjoyment.