the first episode had roman betting that kid 1,000,000 to hit a home-run or whatever and despite the taunting, that kid has a father that loves him and a hot meal. roman can't get it up and is self-aware enough to know he has a borderline (full-on, really) personality disorder, which was also the best wedding speech ive ever seen.

everyone with big money in this show is miserable.

what's truly incredible about this show is 2 things:
1. how fucking slow it started off and how unworthy these characters were of being interesting. i think a lot of people checked the f out after 2 or 3 episodes. I think Thanksgiving showed the promise with the g Jimmy Cromwell)
2. how well the writers accomplished making the viewer simultaneously dislike and be invested int here people. this is not a case of disliking but rooting for them. we're not "rooting" for them. this is not an anti-hero situation. these are all awful people we'd prefer not succeed. but we are invested in their story. i've dropped out of shows for making me try to root for bad people, but its the brilliant ones that overcome that.

a few notes:
-the mom was giving off major phoebe waller bridge vibes. she was amazing and i would love to see more of her in s02 or in the future.

-the roman bathroom rocket launch scene was easily kieren culkins most impressive acting of the season and it was accomplished without him saying a word for 2 minutes. that's not shade, btw. i love roman and his wedding speech.

- all of these people are so self-absorbed and self-involved that cousin greg showing even an ounce of foresight or strategy makes him look like the smartest guy in the room. he's not smart. he's just desperate. it's impressive really.

- logan obviously won the season. him and kendall are two of the most interesting characters on tv when they're in the room together. the way kendall came down for breakfast in his little outfit and then sunk into logan's couch and collapsed while logan stroked his daddy issues masterfully? that was a stroke of genius writing/acting/directing/cinematography.

-shiv found a man just dumb enough and desperate for wealth enough to play this shit on. she's not gonna succeed long term.

-kendall is the best character on the show. from his opening scenes in episode 1 looking a don jr wannabe trying to big talk the boardroom and buy that app, wow he's come a far way. what a performance by jeremy strong all season. i loved this guy in the big short but he really flexed his skills this whole season. brilliant acting in the hostile takeover episode, prague, austerlitz, pre-nuptial, and the finale. emmy worthy for sure (for brian cox too)