A New Succession Picks Up the Pieces, and Sets Up the Power Struggles to Come: Recap
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The post A New Succession Picks Up the Pieces, and Sets Up the Power Struggles to Come: Recap appeared first on Consequence.
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Succession, Season 4 Episode 4, “Honeymoon States.”]
Perhaps the most important moment of Succession this week is when, in the discussion over how to proceed in the aftermath of Logan Roy’s death, his children are asked how recently they spoke with their father. “48 hours ago” is the answer, a stark reminder of the fact that this show is operating within an exceptionally tight timeframe, one which finds the events of “Honeymoon States” occurring just the day after Logan died, and only two days after Connor’s Leonard Cohen karaoke funtimes.
Oh, also, after Roman says “48 hours ago,” Frank says “And how’d that go?” Because even if Frank wasn’t in that private lounge, he’s not wrong for guessing that any conversation between Logan and his offspring, just prior to his death, would be a little fraught.
It’s a bit of a slap, that moment, but Shiv, Roman, and Kendall have no choice but to push forward, because the gathering that occurs in Logan Roy’s penthouse just the day after his death is one of the most important in Waystar Royco history: The company needs a new interim CEO, one to see the sale through, and would you believe more than one person on this show thinks that they’re the right choice? Shocking, to be sure.
“For some of us, it’s a sad day, but for others, it’s coronation demolition derby,” as Shiv says, and nearly everyone either has the chance to put forward their reasons for why they’re the best choice to take over. The one person who maybe has an advantage is Kendall, because a “piece of paper” has been found in Logan’s safe naming him as the one to take over. It’s undated, and marked by a penciled line that might have been an underline or might have been a strike-through. But it’s more than, say, Shiv’s got going for her.
Everyone’s got their arguments as to why they should take over, but with the benefit of the piece of paper (a very Sorkin-y expression), Kendall, Roman, and Shiv come up with a plan for the board that two of them like a whole lot better than the other: Kendall and Roman step up as co-CEOs. Their reason to not include Shiv in the power play is that “two is fucking and three is some weird orgy for hippies” — and Roman’s the COO and Kendall’s name’s on the piece of paper. But they do make Shiv fervent promises that after the events of the day before, their bond is on a whole new level now, and she’ll be included in everything and they won’t screw her over. (You can almost hear Ron Howard’s voiceover during this scene: “The Roy boys did, in fact, screw her over.”)
Succession (HBO)
But for right now, perhaps the most screwed over is Tom, because as someone points out, “You’re a clumsy interloper and no one trusts you, the only guy pulling for you is dead, and now you’re just married to the ex-boss’s daughter and she doesn’t even like you.” Tom’s a bit at loose ends after that, though does take the time to tell Greg that Logan “died fishing his iPhone from a clogged toilet,” a fact which may or may not be true, but is certainly gruesome to think about. Greg, meanwhile, is equally untethered, with Roman telling him that he now needs a new mommy.
“Honeymoon States” hardly offers the fondest of remembrances, especially as the Roy siblings break down their father’s obituaries across multiple publications. As Shiv says, “Dad sounds amazing — I would have liked to have met Dad.” Nothing like death to make you question how much you ever knew a man, whether it be his newly discovered interest in sudoku or if he actually ever loved his children.
The episode is largely focused on the aftermath of a bomb going off, leading to very direct question of (sorry) succession. But other little dramas are playing out on the sidelines as well, such as a destroyed Kerry showing up to ostensibly collect her things but really to insert herself back into the inner circle — a failed effort, thanks to the blunt efficiency of Marcia.
Y’all, Hiam Abbass is back! Apparently she and Logan spoke “intimately” every day, so she found out about his passing immediately, and flew home to… plant thoughts about her having phone sex with Logan in his children’s minds? You do you, Marcia.
Marcia is also selling Logan’s apartment, which Connor stumbles into buying for the low low price of $63 million — just another punch for his new bride Willa to roll with, prior to their planned trip to “the honeymoon states,” because a dead father won’t stop Connor’s Presidential campaign. (In fact, no confirmation yet on this score, but the sympathy vote is nothing to joke about — perhaps two percent is in Connor’s sights!)
That election might be coming up very soon, because as mentioned at the beginning, the timeline of Succession is becoming increasingly important for a number of reasons: Like, for example, the first actual scene of the episode: Following a reminder that the Roy siblings are very sad indeed at the moment, Shiv gets a phone call from her doctor, informing her that “everything looks healthy” because Shiv’s having a baby, y’all! It’s not a huge shock, as Sarah Snook showed up pretty pregnant to the Season 4 premiere, but now we know that Season 4 will be incorporating it directly into the action.
Succession (HBO)
The passing of time on Succession is a curious thing, with Slashfilm’s math suggesting that only one year has elapsed since the Season 1 premiere, in which Logan celebrated his 80th birthday. That would also mean his 81st birthday was the one celebrated in the Season 4 premiere, and he died shortly afterwards.
Season 4 has mostly taken place in this extremely condensed timeline, but dialogue in Episode 1 confirmed that there was a three-month time jump between the end of Season 3 (specifically Lady Caroline’s wedding) and Season 4. Because her doctor mentions that Shiv’s next appointment will be for her 20-week scan, that means Shiv’s still in the early days of her pregnancy, likely her first trimester… Which could mean that Tom’s the father, or that Shiv was seeing someone else during that three-month gap. Not to rush immediately to that question — it just feels like a topic of conversation that might get explored more down the line, is all I’m saying.
Meanwhile, Kendall Roy is going to spend the rest of his life thinking about one akimbo line on a piece of paper, and what it might have meant. It does look like an underline to some degree, at least at the start. Perhaps Logan experienced a Freudian slip of the pencil while reviewing that document. No matter what, it’s a testament to the show’s art department that the line is so tantalizingly unclear: A perfect final gift from a father whose love was impossible to capture. “He made me hate him, and then he died,” Kendall says, in yet another devastating moment for the character. “I feel like he didn’t like me. That I disappointed him.”
Perhaps that’s the reason why Kendall takes one more opportunity to get revenge on his father, even after the fact: After agreeing with his siblings that Hugo’s suggestion to point out Logan’s weaknesses in the press, as a way of shoring up their own position, is a terrible one… he goes ahead and tells Hugo to do it anyway, but secretly. Because Kendall knows that Hugo’s daughter could be in a lot of trouble due to a Waystar stock sale that might be classified as insider trading, Hugo has no choice but to obey.
That’s where another beautifully acted, nuanced episode of Succession leaves us, with a reminder that a parent dying can be a seismic event in a person’s life… but it doesn’t necessarily change who a person is. And at the end of the day, no matter how much hugging and grieving they do… Roys gonna Roy.
New episodes of Succession premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
A New Succession Picks Up the Pieces, and Sets Up the Power Struggles to Come: Recap
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