#romanjeryd

[maverickswomb]

Romanmencken makes me feel sick to my stomach that’s why it’s my fave succession ship they’re so objectively the worst that they win & they need to have sex. Hbo i will never forgive you for cutting justin kirks screen time.

[sunflowerdigs]

A lot of people have noted that Mencken resembled Roman in dress, styling, mannerism, and vocabulary. And that's also why I want them to become closer. Something about the recognition of self through the other.

Roman hates himself a lot. He has a hard time truly believing someone like Gerri could actually care for him, which is part of why they fell apart. But Mencken, he believed right away, probably because a) Mencken was direct and b) Mencken is disgusting in a lot of ways. He's looked down on even by the other cis white dudes of the Republican party (who Roman also secretly is disgusted by). And so Roman can believe that pond scum like Mencken could be attracted to him. Notably, when they spoke in the bathroom, Roman seated himself so that he was above Mencken, which isn't something he typically does. It showed that, for once, he felt superior to someone else.

Succession likes to show its audience something negative and then pull positive aspects out of it. A relationship between two drug addicts who feed each others' addiction. A relationship between a dude with mommy issues and his mommy figure. Characters on this show leech nutrients from poison. I think that Roman would let Mencken in on things he probably wouldn't tell other people. He might even manage sex with him because he could think of it as two disgusting people doing something disgusting together (particularly since Mencken would obviously be closeted) instead of one disgusting person (Roman) sullying another with his queerness. If he fell in love, it would be accidental and, therefore, true, much like with Gerri.

Basically, I think Mencken could help Roman accept the parts of himself that Roman sees in Mencken, and subsequently reject the parts of Logan that he sees in Mencken (the fascist authoritarian who doesn't feel empathy for others). I really, really hope that happens next season because, imo, it's the clearest way that I can see for Roman to start to heal.