How the the Masterful Use of Dialogue in ‘Succession’ Creates a Glib Insincerity Within the Characters

Video essayist and web producer Evan Puschak, aka The Nerdwriter, decided to watch both seasons of the HBO show Succession for a second time. In doing so, Puschak explains how he began to understand that the masterful use of dialogue in the series holds a particular cadence that creates and reflects the glib insincerity within each of the characters. Whether it’s through gaslighting, lying or subtextual conversation, the Roys and those in their orbit weave about linguistically, without actually saying a whole lot.

‘Succession’ is packed with examples of words that have absolutely no meaning at all …these are words designed to be empty so that they can fulfill the act of communicating when saying something is required without making the speaker responsible for content. …All these nothing words are a form of insincerity and in this show, this world, this family, in sincerity is the rule not the exception. That doesn’t mean all words are empty, only that for the most part words have a very flimsy relationship to their literal meaning.