So here we are, with just four episodes of Succession to go, and it’s all to play for. The past few weeks have seen monumental storylines erupt from the minds of Jesse Armstrong and co., none more so than the shock death of Logan Roy. From that loss, we’ve seen new alliances, old tensions and surprising revelations emerge.
With the end in sight, let’s take a temperature check for the remaining characters and speculate about the final twists of the Roy dynasty...
Kendall
Finding his dad’s piece of paper with his name (underlined or crossed-through?) galvanised the killer in Kendall, and he went on to give a mostly well-received speech at Investor’s Day to launch the company’s new assisted living proposition, Living+. Let’s just gloss over the evangelical promise to live forever, shall we?
We left Kendall at the end of Episode 6, floating in water, a common motif in the series, which usually signifies trouble. But this time he looks content, almost like a rebirth. Also, was that a “1” he wrote in the sand? Quite possibly. While he looks set to charge ahead as the next unhinged leader of Waystar Royco, we’re all forgetting one vital fact: he killed a waiter in a car crash in a lake, and several people around him covered this up. Surely this will rear its head again - and could be revealed by his siblings (he confessed about the death to them last season). No matter his success, that death will always come back to haunt him.
Roman
Oh god, it’s not looking good for Roman is it? Powerless in the latest episode, he begins firing women high up in the company (come on Roman, think of the optics!). Romulus is officially not in a very good place, despite his protestations of having “pre-grieved” the death of his abusive pops. And that doctored video message of Logan sent by Kendall hit Roman where it hurt: telling him he was worthless, thus continuing the abuse in the family.
Conversely, Kendall’s been pumping up Roman as the co-CEO, mainly to placate him. The Investor’s Day speech seemed to be the moment that Roman finally stood up to Kendall, but his big brother was then warmly received. Kendall now has a hold over Roman, and could argue to the board that Roman doesn’t make good business decisions, and therefore Kendall should be sole CEO. Also, let’s not forget Gerri threatening in the trailer: “I will sue and I will go public”, presumably as a result of her firing.
Roman, pushed out by his brother, is becoming unstable. While several people online think Rome may replay the Romulus and Remus story and kill his brother, it’s highly unlikely. Will he hurt himself, instead? Possibly, though that also seems too extreme, as we’ve already had one shock death on the show so far. It’s more likely that Roman continues as before, stuck in his self-loathing feedback loop, and using humour to deflect from his real feelings. How depressing, but how Roman.
Shiv and Tom
Shiv’s actually played this season pretty well and has got her back well covered, by siding with both Matsson and Tom. After being sidelined by her bros, the most intelligent Roy sibling made herself the “inside girl” to Matsson - gleaning some choice personal facts that she could also now use for leverage - and worked alongside him to kick her brothers into shape.
And somehow, Shiv and Tom’s weird, kinky romance is arguably now the most honest love story in this whole sorry tale. After throwing some well-placed insults at each other (“earlobes like barnacle meat” and “wiry, like a fucking spelunker”) and following a game of Bitey, we finally got to understand who Tom is: he’s all about the money, and Shiv liked having that power over him. Guess what, rich people really, really like money, and getting together with other really, really rich people! His admission, a final moment of honesty, seemed like a turn on for her. It feels like the stage is set for their ending: a love-story warped by wealth and power games.
However, Shiv’s pregnancy has not been mentioned for a few episodes - was she OK after that fall in Episode 4? If so, why’s she not told Tom yet? Does she even want to keep it? She is probably scared that the failed relationship with her mother might repeat itself, but there is also a more optimistic reading of the situation: could Shiv and Tom be the only characters who get a semblance of a happy ending?
Greg
Dare we say it, but Greg’s been relegated to a bit part: only popping up with the odd lol-inducing line now and again. Is this a double bluff from Armstrong, and there’s going to be a twist in the tale for one half of the Disgusting Brothers? Or, despite fans salivating for literal years about Greg inheriting the whole shebang, is it just too obvious? We’ve come to side with the latter.
Connor
Connor was busy getting married, and then planning Logan’s funeral (kilt or no kilt in the casket?). But as the mid-season teaser trailer shows, it looks like he actually makes a decent run for office, and is “exploding in Alaska”. Jeryd Mencken even tries to get Connor to pull out from the race, so he must be some kind of credible threat. Could Connor… end up as POTUS? Or maybe Mencken’s second-hand man? If the life-long underestimated Connor can dare to dream, then maybe so should we.
Marcia
The stone-cold queen was serving up a storm at Logan’s wake, firing laser-sharp barbs at anyone who had ever crossed her (we even felt sorry for Kerry). But she was in a strong position: mentioning her and Logan’s daily “intimate” calls before his death, and she was named in his will (he wanted to be buried with a photo of her). Plus, they’re still technically married, which means she’s likely to take the lion’s share of Logan’s estate. Could one of the kids challenge her - Kendall, it’s got to be Kendall - only for her to drop the truth bomb about the dead waiter?
Lukas Matsson
The unhinged billionaire tech-bro-treneur has been displaying disgusting behaviour for most of this season (maybe Tom and Greg could initiate him into their fold): admitting he harassed a female staff member with whom he hooked up, sending her “bricks of [his] frozen blood”, and tweeting highly offensive “jokes” about the Holocaust. But Waystar Royco board members ultimately don’t care. They want the GoJo deal to go through so they can get their dollars and fuck off into the sunset. If the deal does go through (please! It’s been weeks of this!), then what other deranged stunts can he pull?
He already has a kill list (detailing employees he will fire and keep), but what if he does something like… make Tom CEO, just to mess with Shiv? Or Greg, whom he nicknamed the “Habsburg giant”? Then, there’s a school of thought on Reddit that believes it has something to do with the election – Matsson only bought Waystar for ATN, so he’s using that to swing it in favour of his preferred candidate (and the benefits that come with it) for him. Or maybe he goes full Elon Musk and makes himself CEO, and starts looking into launching rockets to Mars.
Ewan Roy
Conspicuous by his absence, he’s obviously making a return at some point - most probably the funeral - and he’s got a thing or two to say, which will be intended to cause absolute chaos. Will he manage to tank any deal? Or get Greenpeace involved again?
Succession continues weekly on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV
