We all want to be significant in this life. More often than not, instead of chasing altruistic meaning, existential ambition leads to an obsession with power—it feels so fucking good. Power correlates with money, sex, and influence. Netflix’s political drama, House of Cards, dealt with this sort of behavioral fuckery to a maddening degree. Watching Frank and Claire Underwood perpetually lie, manipulate, and kill to maintain their status quo was cathartic and disconcerting. If people are that horrible in the upper echelons of Washington, it might be wiser to stick to the private sector.
Ironically, the same year House of Cards aired its finale, Succession premiered on HBO. The Shakespearean satire that is Succession painted just as deplorable a portrait of prestige and power; this time following an international media conglomerate and the family that controls it. Whether it be the Underwoods or the Roys, if you’re going up against either, you best believe they’re playing by their own set of rules. Rules that would be considered dirty from a peasant’s point of view. That said, which group’s uncompromising and cold lust for power tramples the other? Let’s find out.
Cover Photo: HBO/Netflix
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Bill Clinton once said, “99 percent of what [is done] on [House of Cards] is real. The 1 percent [they] get wrong is you could never get an education bill passed that fast.” We hope that’s not true. Dirty might not even be the right adjective; the Underwoods play filthy. The depravity of politicians craving immortality is unparalleled. Vanity and superficial cravings can be curbed, but the desire to build a lasting legacy (or a precarious house of cards) cannot be mitigated. The Underwoods don’t care what people think — public opinion is important only as a variable to be manipulated. While this is partially true for the Roys, they don’t have the ambition, drive, or smarts of the Underwoods.
Overall Winner: House of Cards
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Succession v House of Cards
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Creativity/Cunning
Once Logan goes down (temporarily), all of the Roys have their eyes on the CEO position of Waystar Royco. However, the main candidates in season one and two are always Logan and his eldest son, Kendall. Kendall uses his smarts on more than one occasion (bear hugs, board votes, etc.) to strip his father of the title, but Logan unexpectedly finds something to leverage against Kendall and/or dismantle his ego. That said, when it comes to creativity, the Roys have nothing on the Underwoods.
In the case of Frank and Claire, they approach every situation with a plan A, B, and C. For example, Frank has his eye on the vice-presidency (and the presidency) before he’s even in a position to grasp it. This is why he sets Peter Russo up to fail, opening up the democratic candidacy for governor at the last minute. The audience doesn’t even necessarily know what Frank is up to until he manipulates the vice president into stepping down and running for the governor of Pennsylvania. Claire manipulates her own trajectory out of managing a non-profit to the presidency in a similar fashion. Bottom line: the Underwoods are just much much smarter than the Roys, making them far more dangerous.
Winner: House of Cards
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Ruthlessness
Upon redacting Gillian's health insurance, Claire said, “I’m willing to let your child wither and die inside you.” That sort of rhetoric almost always gets the Underwoods what they want (except perhaps with each other). The Underwoods will exploit their enemies’ (and their friends’) biggest weaknesses: daddy issues, alcoholism/drug addiction, dead boyfriends, etc. Frank will even kill and let innocent people die because “we don’t submit to terror, we make the terror.”
The most ruthless individual on Succession is easily Logan; however, while the Underwoods are cold and calculated, Logan is like a rabid dog—chaotic and not always able to direct his rage. Sure, he tricks Kendall into signing his life away under the guise of “housekeeping” and leverages his involvement in the death of Andrew Dodds, and labeled the incident “no real person involved,” but Logan’s terror (even considering the massive sexual harassment cover-up at ATN) is nothing compared to the Underwoods and their colleagues.
Winner: House of Cards
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Morality (Or Lack Thereof)
Even though Kendall was involved in the death of Andrew Dodds, he would never intentionally harm someone (at least not so far). It’s not a stretch to say that the most moral characters on Succession are Kendall and Greg; the rest have submitted to the game and become consumed by their self-interests. Given Succession’s satirical nature, most of the characters aren’t as self-aware as the Underwoods; if they were, the show wouldn’t be as funny.
You could even argue that the Roys' narcissism makes them believe they are doing the right thing even when they’re not. The Underwoods, however, appear to understand the magnitude of their sins/wrongdoings and simply do not care. Worse, they turn, speak to the camera, and their justifications manipulate our perception of the narrative. In more ways than one, the Roys' sense of right and wrong is less distorted (virtually non-existent) than the Underwoods. You could argue that Claire had a moral compass early on, but she suppresses it to the point of evaporation by the end of the series (largely thanks to Frank's influence).
Winner: House of Cards
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Verbal Cheap Shots (Good Ol' Fashion Roasting)
Roman is easily the funniest character on Succession (aside from the inimitable banter of Tom and Greg), always saying what’s on other people’s minds; he’s a demented Chandler Bing. In Succession’s pilot, Roman offers a kid $1 million if he can hit a home run at the Roy family baseball game. At this moment, Roman is cocky and playful, never considering what this moment means to the young boy and his (probably not very well off) family. The boy loses the bet promoting Roman to laugh. There was no reason to challenge that young boy other than to stroke his ego. Say what you will about the Underwoods, but they’d never do that. The shots the Underwoods take are seldom cheap, always having a purpose.
Winner: Succession
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Influence/Ambition
Yes, the Roys love money and power; the dim-witted Connor has even launched a presidential campaign. That said, Succession mocks politics, framing Logan’s phone calls with the president in a way that gives the CEO an upper hand. However, ambition and influence should be judged based upon where someone came from, where they’re going, and where they end up. Logan came from nothing and Frank came from nothing.
Both Logan and the Underwoods influence the people around them. Still, while Logan’s sons may admire him (Roman at least), the majority of people in Logan’s life just fear him. Frank and Claire instill a similar amount of fear in people, but they’re also weirdly loved. You could even make an argument that the latter group are better leaders. Leaders who thirst as much power as humanly possible. As political figures, the Underwoods make everyone worse...even the country itself; bringing people down to their level. Playing dirty has more of an impact and consequences. The Roys want Royco. Cool.
Winner: House of Cards
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Passive Aggressiveness
The most startling aspect of House of Cards is how it reduces our democracy to handshakes and backroom dealing. More often than not, if Frank and Claire can say what they mean without compromising their plan, they do. At times, they’re overtly cruel. In fact, Frank and Claire are more honest and open with one another than most couples—they have a real-ish relationship. You could even call them soulmates. On the other hand, the Roys are a family at odds with one another. Their interactions often play out like an awkward holiday at Grandma’s; tension building until everyone’s truth bubbles to the surface. Part of what makes Succession so much fun to watch isn’t just what is said, but all of the things that aren’t.
Winner: Succession
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Lies
People expect politicians to lie, which makes them even better at it. In this category, House of Cards is obviously unparalleled in tact and hypocrisy.
Winner: House of Cards
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Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game
In the season two finale of Succession, Logan tells Kendall that “you're not a killer, you needs to be a killer” to run the company (among other things). After agreeing to take the fall for all of the conglomerate’s sex-on-a-boat scandals, Kendall pulls a fast one and outs his father as a monster at the press conference. As the episode ends, a barely-visible smirk is seen on Logan’s face; he finally respects his son for learning the right lesson: be a killer. Succession’s game is arguably dirtier because it’s very, very personal. If you’re looking to teach someone a lesson and not just win, you may play even dirtier, operating under the assumption that if they can beat you, they can beat anyone. At least, that’s how people could justify their Daddy issues...
Winner: Succession
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Causalities
In season one of House of Cards, Frank took out a dog and Peter Russo. In season two, he threw Zoe Barnes in front of a train. In season three, Rachel Posner gets run over by Frank’s attack dog, Doug Stamper. In season four, Edward Meechum is shot protecting Frank (after shooting Lucas Goodwin), and Claire kills Elizabeth Hale. In season five, the Underwoods take out Tom Yates, Akhmed Al Ahmadi, and LeAnn Harvey. In season six, Frank is poisoned before Claire offs Tom Hammerschmidt, Catherine Durant, Jane Davis, and Doug Stamper. Sigh.
The only casualties we’ve seen in Succession is that of Andrew Dodds. That said, the Roys are indirectly responsible for the murders, sex scandals, and cover-ups associated with their company, but we've never seen a Roy push Zoe Barnes in front of a train.
Winner: House of Cards
