This article contains spoilers for season 4 episode 10 of “Succession”.

On Sunday, HBO aired the series finale of its critically acclaimed show “Succession.” Since its premiere in 2018, the series has focused on the Roy family and their battle for the billion dollar company Waystar Royco. The entire series has been leading up to this finale, and viewers were eager to see who would finally succeed the late Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the CEO and family patriarch.

Episode nine of “Succession” season four left us on a very emotional note. After Logan’s funeral, we see Roman (Kieran Culkin) suffer a mental break, with his siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Connor (Alan Ruck) struggle with the harsh reality that their father was an evil person in life and death.

Episode ten picks up right where we left off, focusing on the recovery of the Roy siblings and their struggle to close respective deals for the company. Kendall and Roman plan to liberate the company, while Shiv wants to merge with the Swedish tech company GoJo, owned by Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). Upon Logan’s death, the company’s fate is uncertain, and a merger with Matsson would jeopardize Kendall’s dreams of becoming CEO.

We open the episode with both Shiv and Kendall searching for Roman, who fled after his outburst at the funeral. Both are working an angel, however, to get him on their respective sides. Upon finding him at their mother’s vacation home, the siblings bond and join together as much as they can given the circumstances. Shiv and Roy decide that Kendall should take over as CEO, something his father promised him at age seven but cheated him out of several times during life. Upon this agreement, we see a strange yet heartwarming scene where Kendall’s siblings make him a disgusting “meal fit for a king,” a type of hazing ritual to honor his ascension to CEO.

Upon returning, however, the entire plan falls apart. Shiv learns that her husband whom she is in the process of divorcing, Tom (Matthew McFadyen) was promised a significant position as CEO by Matsson upon the merge of the companies. Learning this, and seeing Kendall spiral into mania and disrespect, she ultimately decides to vote against him at the board meeting. The three siblings have a screaming match, wherein Kendall tries to manipulate both Shiv and Roman in a very Logan-esque manner.

The episode ends with the merger going through. Tom is now CEO of Waystar Royco. We see Roman smiling while ordering a martini: he is finally free. Shiv, on the other hand, is stuck, shown ominously taking Tom’s hand upon his new position being made official. Kendall’s fate is less certain, with the closing shot being him looking pensive by a lake.

This episode is some of the most brilliant writing I have ever seen. It is fraught with symbolism, from Roman’s juvenile shirt symbolizing his vulnerability to Kendall opening Roman’s stitches representing resurfaced trauma. Each character has ended in their own nightmare: Roman is free but still haunted by his father, Shiv has become the wife, mother, and pawn she always swore not to be, and Kendall has lost the only thing he has ever aspired to.

This finale is not final at all. There are still so many questions about the fate of these characters, but no outcome can be good. “Succession” is, at its core, a story of generational trauma, abuse, and the horrors of corporate life and opulent wealth. To have any of these characters win, or even to give a straight answer to what became of them, would be completely contradictory to everything the show has done thus far.

By leaving us with a dismal, uncertain ending, “Succession” avoids a trap many dramas fall into. In the world of business, nothing is ever wrapped up in a nice shiny bow.