‘Succession’ just killed off a major character. Where does the show go from here?
The following contains major spoilers from Season 4, Episode 3 of “Succession.”
That sound you heard Sunday night was the sound of the internet exploding at the news that one of TV’s most terrifying protagonists, Logan Roy, had died.
Following a time-honored HBO tradition, “Succession” sent the ruthless media tycoon to that big shareholders’ meeting in the sky.
And it did so in perfectly apt fashion for a billionaire who put his quest for domination ahead of everything, including his family: aboard a corporate jet bound for Sweden, rather than to the wedding of his (especially) neglected eldest son.
Logan’s demise leaves his already damaged children reeling with grief and the future of Waystar Royco more uncertain than ever. Most painful of all, at least for fans? It also leaves “Succession” without the ferocious, brilliant Brian Cox — for the seven episodes that remain.
Like the interior crew of a luxury yacht full of vacationing billionaires, we have much to unpack here, so let’s grab a slice of loony cake and dig in!
Times staffers and “Succession” buffs Meredith Blake, Yvonne Villarreal and Mary McNamara react to the series’ most explosive episode yet.
The Waystar Royco chief, who died in Season 4, Episode 3 of ‘Succession,’ leaves a legacy of hardball business tactics and cable news provocation.
Meredith Blake: Can a death be totally inevitable and completely shocking at the same time?
That seems to be the only way to describe Logan’s demise. His mortality has loomed over “Succession” since the series premiered five years ago, and his death — or at least his retirement, which for him effectively meant the same thing — is baked into the show’s title.
We all knew Logan would go someday, and years of watching HBO should have taught us that no one is safe. Not even the ostensible protagonist of the show.
And yet… were any of us of us really prepared to say goodbye? I certainly wasn’t.
One of the most brilliant aspects of the episode, written by series creator Jesse Armstrong, was how much of Logan’s death happened offscreen. I can easily imagine a different, more predictable version of this episode, in which we’d see Logan collapse on the plane, gasping for air as an overhead camera pulled slowly upward.
Instead, we barely glimpse Logan after he boards the plane and experience his death through the eyes — or rather, the ears — of his children, who are forced to say goodbye (or try to) over the phone while he’s miles away in the sky. If that’s not a perfect metaphor for his detachment, I don’t know what is. This storytelling choice helps align our sympathies with Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and even Connor (Alan Ruck) — poor, sad, forgotten Connor. For the viewers, it made Logan’s death feel as it must have felt for his children, and as it often feels for the survivors: brutal, sudden, incomprehensibly final.
It also meant that Logan’s last real conversation with all his children took place at a karaoke bar in Koreatown, where he told them they were not serious people, which is so darkly funny it could only happen on “Succession.”
While a part of me selfishly wishes we’d gotten to see more of Cox — what I wouldn’t give for one more “f— off!” — I also loved how the episode became such a showcase for the Roy siblings, who will never get the paternal approval they so desperately wanted. It’s hard to say who broke my heart the most, but I’d pick Roman, who betrayed his beloved Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) in a final bid to please his dad, left him an appropriately angry voicemail, then struggled to accept the reality of his death because he was clearly convinced he caused it. (Connor, an afterthought as always, ranks a close second.)
Mary, Yvonne, what stood out to you most about Logan’s farewell? Did it feel like a fitting sendoff for the old bastard?
Yvonne Villarreal: I should have known HBO would find a way to traumatize us during another wedding event — it’s become their version of “happily ever after.” And yet I went into Connor’s wedding hoping for an affair high on comedic moments and questionable fashion choices. Instead, I wanted to hug Connor more than ever — and the other “rats,” as Logan not-so-affectionately called them, Shiv, Kendall and Roman.
As you said, Meredith, Logan’s death seemed inevitable, especially in this farewell season, but its arrival and execution were a surreal experience. With hindsight, it almost feels like Logan knew his death was imminent. The way he not-so-secretly missed his kids and hoped that they would acknowledge his birthday felt more than just the loneliness of not having them around. And with his visit to the karaoke bar, as a way to ensure their support of the GoJo deal, there was a solemnness to his words that didn’t simply feel like a manipulation tactic as they have in the past. When he said to them then, “Look, I don’t do apologies. But if it means so much to you, then sorry,” it felt like someone who knew his time was limited but still too stubborn to show vulnerability expressly.
But maybe I’m just looking for clues that weren’t there. Isn’t that what happens? We search for meaning in words and try to reconstruct events to make everything make sense. Honesty and authenticity swirled around the sequence of events — Roman morphing into a little boy, saying his final words to Logan, even awkwardly calling him a “very good dad,” or Kendall going from businesslike to son-like, communicating his love for his father but also his inability to forgive him as he undergoes chest compressions. Don’t even get me started on Shiv and Connor. And yet the humor, as in life, was never too far away. I can’t be the only one who was sobbing and felt like the wind left my chest along with the Roy siblings.
Mary, as someone who has seen many fictional deaths through the years, how did this stand up?
The Australian actress who portrays Siobhan ‘Shiv’ Roy in the HBO drama reflects on the end of the series and how she has evolved alongside her character.
Mary McNamara: First of all, I would like to know who decided to kill off Logan Roy on Easter Sunday. I’m assuming that was not baked into the plan from the get-go, but for those who celebrate the Christian day of resurrection, it was a big tonal shift.
Or was it? We began “Succession” believing that Logan was on his way out — mentally, physically and certainly professionally. But what began with sibling fisticuffs over the deathbed, spiritually if not literally, turned into something very much else. Logan not only appeared at his own funeral, he overturned the coffin and set fire to it. Which left three of his four children torn between reluctant admiration and infuriated disappointment, scrambling for Plan B. And C. And D.
But the show is called “Succession,” so we knew Logan had to go in some way, at some point. I did appreciate the decision to not show the actual death, for the reasons Meredith pointed out, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the hideous, ear-ringing, mind-numbing shock that inevitably accompanies the loss of a parent so palpably portrayed. The farewells via cellphone were, intentionally or not, a painful reminder of how many people were kept at a remove from their dying loved ones during the pandemic. But the stuttering shock that sent Shiv, Roman and Kendall into the emotions, posture and even voices of childhood was universal.
Considering my dwindling emotional attachment to any of the characters, I found it surprisingly upsetting, and like Yvonne, I will never trust an HBO wedding again.
More important, though: Meredith, do you think there is hope for Shiv and Tom now?
The HBO drama is back for its final season, and a real successor for the Roy family business has yet to materialize. We assess who could take over.
Blake: Funny you should mention it, Mary, but I did find myself thinking that Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) has never seemed more competent, poised or — I’ll admit it! — attractive than he was in this episode, calmly handling a moment of intense crisis and barely flinching when Shiv accused him of dancing with her dead father. If she winds up having a little grief sex with him, well, I wouldn’t be surprised. I might even endorse it. Don’t @ me!
Speaking of people who absolutely should not be together: What about the Roman-Gerri of it all? If you’d asked me 10 minutes into this episode if anything could possibly be more shocking than Gerri getting fired — by Roman, no less — I would have said, “Sir, you are mad!” Of course, things got much crazier. And yet we shouldn’t forget the enormity of Roman’s betrayal. It seems clear Gerri isn’t about to. Did anyone else wince audibly when Roman told Gerri he was sad and she said, “Well, the room’s all yours.” Ouch. But also, those are some healthy boundaries, something we rarely see on this show.
And while we’re on the subject of love, I found that chat between Willa (Justine Lupe) and Connor — in which she admitted money played a factor in their relationship, but, hey, she was happy — strangely lovely. Of all the transactional relationships in this show, at least one is rooted in some kind of honesty.
Mary and Yvonne, I love what both of you had to say about grief. I also realized, as I watched, that these kids will never get to process their father’s death in a healthy way because, within minutes, they’re already in crisis-management mode, planning a Reagan-like funeral, thinking about how the market will respond to the news and worrying over potential missteps that could “restrict their future freedom of movement.” Which makes me wonder, do you think Logan’s death will be an opportunity for his kids to break free of his domineering personality? Or will he continue to haunt them after death? I have a hunch it’s the latter.
Villarreal: Definitely the latter. I would think grief plus daddy issues when you’re a nepo baby to a billion-dollar dynasty and probably not in therapy is a recipe for dark days ahead. It’s what made the end credit scoring — a delicate, almost eerie variation on the original theme by Nicholas Britell — so tragic and beautiful. Logan’s reign of terror may take on a new shape, but it’s definitely not over. I am interested to see what this does to the relationship among the siblings as they navigate processing the death of their father in tandem with figuring out their place in a Logan-less dynasty. The awkward yet tender hand touches, words of encouragement and hugging amid the panic and confusion, while special, are likely fleeting and will make for the kind of brilliant drama that keeps us coming back.
I have to say, I don’t know if I’ll be able to withstand another shot this season of an incoming call from Tom Wambsgans without feeling triggered, but there’s also no one else I would want to deliver me terrible news. And I know we’ve been giving kudos to all the performances from the main cast, but what a brilliant move to have TV anchor wannabe Kerry (Zoe Winters) serving as the audience proxy with her still-processing meta-delivery of this line: “That was f— nuts. That was f— crazy, right?” YES, KERRY! IT WAS! It’s such a weird feeling to grieve the death of a ruthless media tycoon — a true testament to the power of fiction and of this series.
But back to your earlier point, Meredith, I also want to dissect the Roman-Gerri of it all! Have we checked on the Slime Puppy brigade? Do we think Logan really wanted Gerri fired or was he just testing Roman’s loyalty? Did karma come for Logan in an airplane bathroom because he tried to have Gerri fired? Are we all adding “f— around and find out” on our Out Of Office replies?
Also, Mary, were you into her hat choice for the wedding? More seriously, what are your predictions for the rest of the season?
Elizabeth Earnshaw, a licensed marriage and family therapist, explains the attachment and relational issues behind the Roy family in ‘Succession.’
McNamara: The hat was almost as shocking as Logan’s death; I did not peg Gerri as a fascinator kinda gal. I absolutely hope that whatever was left of Logan’s heart gave out because he made Roman fire Gerri — and the regrettable loss of Cox notwithstanding, I think we can all agree the world is a better place without Logan Roy. (I was kind of hoping he would fall off the platform Tom made for him out of printer-paper boxes in the previous episode. That would be have been a truly poetic death.)
It would be lovely to think that the three siblings, united in shock and grief over this Red Wedding, would band together like the surviving Starks, sell Waystar, get out of buying Pierce and take up lives of quiet philanthropy. Tom and Shiv could reunite, Roman could make up with Gerri and Kendall could maybe spend more than 15 minutes a month with his children.
But as there are no dragons here, that would make for a very boring show. And if “Succession” can, at times, seem relentlessly heartless, it is never, ever boring; even the piano chords in the theme music are molten anxiety.
After five minutes of genuine grief, Kendall is already in full aviators-on mode, which, historically, is never good. Tom and Shiv will no doubt be trying to figure out if a reconciliation puts them in a stronger position. (Yes, Tom was rather lovely in this episode, but he also was first off the mark politically, telling Greg to delete his files and remind everyone that he was with Logan when he died.) As for Roman, well, he is as close as this series gets to a nice guy, so it will be interesting to see if this makes him or breaks him.
I do wonder if he will approach Gerri with a “that conversation never happened” offer — I am such a Gerri fan that when Logan died, my first thought was, “Wait, is Gerri technically fired or not?” Which, I’m guessing, was Gerri’s first thought too.
If nothing else, we will see what each character actually wants, absent provoking, punishing or still attempting to placate their father. I can’t wait for the reading of the will; I’m honestly hoping cousin Greg winds up with it all.
And then he pulls his face off and reveals it was Arya all along.
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