‘Succession’ director breaks down Shiv’s new alliance

Christopher Rosen
·4 min read
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The following post contains spoilers about “Succession” Season 4, Episode 5, “Kill List.”

Blood was drawn during Sunday’s episode of “Succession,” just not on screen. During a clandestine meeting between tech billionaire founder Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard) and Waystar Royco executive Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook), Matsson revealed he had sent one of his subordinates liters of his actual blood after their problematic office relationship had ended. 

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The moment of shared emotional honesty between Matsson and Shiv came at a key moment for the Roy family’s First Daughter. Throughout the episode, Shiv is sidelined by Kendall and Roman (Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin) as the brothers attempt to kill the deal between GoJo and Waystar in a misguided attempt to hold onto their father’s legacy. By aligning with Matsson – she gives the unsympathetic billionaire some public relations advice about his predicament without shame, a tactic he appreciates – Shiv ends up in a strong position by the episode’s closing moments when the GoJo boss goes around the Roy brothers with a huge offer for Waystar that is impossible for the company to turn down.

“Shiv is forced to do her own kind of side deal just to survive—not knowing exactly what’s going to happen with the company,” the episode’s director Andrij Parekh told Vanity Fair in an interview published Sunday night. “What I found interesting was that Matsson really puts himself out there—lays himself open… He’s trying to build an element of trust. He’s already dealt with the brothers, and that, clearly, didn’t go well. If Matsson and Shiv are going to work together, that alliance begins with some level of personal trust. I love that fact that he tells her this whole thing with the blood. She’s like, ‘Obviously, that was a stupid idea,’ and his response was, like, ‘Well, no one ever told me that.’ He finds her to be a straight shooter, the advisor he needs. I think she finds the possibility with him very real.”

The scene between Skarsgard and Snook crackles with an energy that borders on danger, something Parekh said was the goal. “There’s an element of sexual tension between the two characters. We didn’t really play that up, but it was there. It’s nice to leave that a little bit buried, allowing the audience to read into it instead of making something of it. You allow for the possibility,” he said.

For both actors, the episode was notable. While he’s a series regular, this was only Skarsgard’s second appearance on this season of “Succession” (he appeared earlier during a FaceTime call with Strong’s Kendall). The actor, an Emmy Award nominee in Best Drama Guest Actor last year and a previous winner for “Big Little Lies,” stole the show as the alpha Matsson – particularly in his scenes dominating Kendall and Roman. As for Snook, it was another episode in a season of acclaimed work. Snook remains second in the Gold Derby combined odds for Best Drama Supporting Actress, although her ultimate category placement could change. 

But for all their fireworks – and planted seeds for potential complications to come – the true winner of “Kill List” among the “Succession” faithful online was Culkin. The Emmy nominee went on tilt as Roman’s unexplored grief exploded out during a key confrontation with Matsson. 

“I wanted to give that feeling that he could at any point physically attack Matsson,” Parekh told Vanity Fair. Maybe next week?

“Succession” airs Sundays on HBO.

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