HBO's Succession is filled with memorable dialogue that captures something true about ambition, power, and moral compromise. Here are a few exchanges that stuck with me:
On ambition and souls:
Tom: Do you want a deal with the devil?
Greg: What am I gonna do with a soul anyways? Souls are boring! Boo, souls! Of course!
Greg's casual dismissal of his soul is played for laughs, but it's also genuinely chilling. How many people in high-stakes careers make similar calculations without the self-awareness?
On career advancement:
Tom: Who has ever looked after you in this fucking family, huh? You could be heading away from the endless middle, and towards the bottom of the top.
Greg: The bottom of the top? And could I get my own... my own, like...
Tom: Your own Greg?
Greg: Yeah?
Tom: You can have twenty!
"The bottom of the top" is such a perfect phrase for the ambition trap—trading autonomy and dignity for proximity to power.
On implied threats:
Greg: I don't want to bring up anything to you in a way that feels like horrible, but would it be bad for me to like mention those to you?
Tom: Are you asking if you could blackmail me?
Greg can't even say the word "blackmail" while attempting blackmail. It's a perfect encapsulation of how power works through implication and deniability.
Other gems:
- "That's where heroes are born, Tom, on the battlefield" / "It's also commonly where they are killed"
- "What would it take for you to change your mind?" / "A lobotomy"
The show's genius is making these characters simultaneously ridiculous and recognizable. We've all seen (or been) the Greg who can't quite bring himself to commit to the terrible thing he's doing.