Succession Recap: The Roy Family’s Power Struggle Takes a Very Dark Turn in the Most Intense Episode Yet
It’s safe to say that after this week, Succession will never be the same again.
We thought Sunday’s episode would center around Connor and Willa’s wedding, and indeed, it starts with Roman heading there when he receives a call from Logan, who’s getting on a plane with Tom to meet Matsson. Logan wants to fire Gerri… and he wants Roman to give her the bad news. It’s clearly a loyalty test, and Roman swallows hard and says he’ll do it. At the wedding, a brass band plays as Willa explains to her mom they’ll take a boat to Ellis Island for the ceremony. (So Connor is getting the “hoopla” he asked for.) Connor bristles when he overhears some guests griping about the ultra-rich — “Mr. Scrooge just happened to be a huge wealth creator. They don’t mention that in Mr. Dickens’ books” — while Roman works up the nerve to pull Gerri aside.
Right away, Gerri can sense he’s being weird (because he isn’t talking about dicks for once), and after he hems and haws for a bit, he blurts out that’s she’s fired. Logan blames her for what happened with the Department of Justice and the large fine they had to pay, he says, but she says she worked her ass off for him. “You just lost his confidence,” Roman concludes, assuring her she’ll be well compensated and trying to say he’s sorry. But an angry Gerri just storms off, leaving Roman to leave his dad a voicemail: “Are you kind of just being s–tty to me?… That’s the question: Are you a c–t?”
Kendall arrives as Connor is complaining about the “inadequate” wedding cake — it reminds him of the “loony cake” he was given when his mom was sent away to an institution — and Shiv ignores several phone calls from Tom. Connor is still hoping Logan will stop by, not knowing that he’s on a flight overseas, and Kendall and Roman volunteer Shiv to break the news to him. But then Tom calls Roman from the flight and urgently tells him there’s something wrong with Logan: “He’s very sick.” They found him unresponsive in the bathroom, and they’re doing chest compressions. The airplane staff is doing their best to revive him, but Frank puts his phone to Logan’s ear so Kendall and Roman can talk to their dad, “in case it’s the last chance.” A shellshocked Roman tells Logan, “You’re a monster. You’re gonna win,” and Kendall chokes out: “I love you. I do… I can’t forgive you. But yeah, it’s OK, and I love you.” Kendall runs and tells Shiv, and she runs to the phone crying, telling Logan, “I love you… don’t go, please not now.” But Tom tells her, “He’s not OK, no.” Logan’s heart has stopped, and his breathing has stopped, Tom reports.
The jet is turning back, and Kendall barks into the phone that he wants Logan’s doctor and “the best f–king heart doctor in the world,” and he wants them in the next minute. He also insists on talking to the pilot, but Frank softly tells him, “He’s flying the plane, son.” Kendall asks if Logan is dead, and Frank isn’t sure, but “I think he went.” Kendall gets choked up and hangs up, and Shiv is upset that no one told her sooner. Roman is dazed and can’t even remember what he said to Logan (“Did I say I loved him?”), and they realize they need to tell Connor. They pull him aside and tell him they think Logan may be dead. “Well, is he?” Connor coldly responds, working through a lot of complicated feelings about his father before declaring he can’t handle this right now and walking away. Roman still wants to get some proper doctors to look at Logan; he’s not officially been declared dead yet, he says, “so f—king stop!”
On the plane, Karolina starts to make preparations for the worst, and Kerri is shaking and clearly in shock, saying, “That was so f—king weird.” Tom calls Greg and tells him he needs to leave the wedding and go into the office “because Logan is dead.” They need to keep this quiet for now because Waystar’s stock could tank, Tom warns, adding, “I’m not OK. I’m sad… I lost my protector.” (He does want it known, though, that he was with Logan when he died.) Hugo offers his condolences, but Roman still won’t accept he’s dead: “What if it’s a big f—king test?” The lawyers are starting to draft a statement, but the Roy siblings aren’t ready to talk about that yet. They start to fight among themselves — Shiv wonders if they can circle the plane for a bit while they figure out how to handle this, while Roman wants them to land immediately so a doctor can see Logan — as Kendall reminds them that “what we do today will always be what we did the day our father died.”
Connor and Willa talk about postponing the wedding, but Connor’s afraid it’ll give her a chance to rethink things. She’s so young and full of life, and “my father’s dead, and I feel old.” He asks her point blank if she’s just with him for his money, and she admits there’s something to be said for “money and safety… but I’m happy. I am.” She vows not to leave him… “not today, anyway.” Kendall starts talking funeral plans (“We could do Reagan’s, with tweaks”), and he confers with Roman and Shiv about the GoJo sale. Do they go through with it, or “keep our options open”? They insist on drafting the company statement themselves and maintaining control until the board meets, and Shiv and Kendall nominate Roman to tell Matsson what happened.
The three of them take a helicopter to the airport where Logan’s plane is arriving and a press conference awaits. (Roman asks if they’re going to be OK, and Kendall replies they will, before they joke that they’re actually screwed.) Shiv takes the lead, announcing to the press that Logan was pronounced dead on arrival and paying tribute to him before adding that the board will meet to determine the next steps. When a reporter asks what their role will be, Shiv says, “We intend to be there.” As Waystar’s stock price is nose-diving, Kendall, Roman and Shiv wonder if they should go see Logan’s body before sharing a tender three-way hug. Connor and Willa end up getting married after all in front of just a few guests, while Shiv and Tom take a car home together and Kendall stays back to watch his father’s body get loaded into an ambulance.
Whoa… once you’re done processing that intense hour of television, join us in the comments below to share your thoughts on Logan’s death and what it means for the future of the Roys and Waystar.
wow.
Exactly
Holy wow
100% thought he would die in the last episode, did not see that coming so early at all!
I’m wondering if Brian Cox’s hatred for Jeremy Strong played a role in him leaving the show early or if it was for story purposes.
Given this was known to be the last season, I think this was story driven
No, this was story. It has to happen now-ish. Well, they could have got another episode or two or three (at most) with Brian Cox, but they have to get to the “succession” part of Succession. If they only had an episode or so to do the “succession” bit, it would be way too rushed and a cheat, like the last season of GoT. I didn’t guess they would do it quite this early but it sure made for an incredible surprise (rare in television anymore) and an incredible hour!
Masterfully done.
I kept thinking he’d have pulled through and died in the last episode. I mean wow, what a twist.
Holy cow – I’m in shock! Story wise I can understand but man I miss that bastard already
For me one of the best episodes of Succession so far. It was brilliant to bring his death this early in the season because the first thing that went thru my mind was that Logan was playing a mind game with his children and it was all an act. Then to watch the children struggle to figure out a human emotion that they have no experience with could make them collectively performers of the week.
I also kept wondering if this was Logan f***ing with them. It was something it was easy to imagine him doing, but Tom didn’t seem nervous like he does when he’s lying. Kudos to the show having a true surprise.
Sure didn’t see this coming, at least not this early into the final season; yet one more reason why this is such a superior show. Not much more to say right now other than Logan’s passing sets the stage for some terrific drama, and that appears to be the case based on the trailer, after the episode, that showed snippets of what’s to come. I will miss Logan. Rest in peace, sir, and watch the fun from up above as your family and friends wreak havoc on all you left behind.
Wow. Just wow!!!! WOW!
By far the best episode of the series. Loved how everything unfolded in real-time, the grief mixed with the thought of stock market results, the agony in Roman’s initial denial….
All three (or atleast Sarah and Kieran) should tie for POTW.
Agreed! And maybe Matthew Macfadyen. “I lost my protector.”
I honestly kept thinking it was a fake out until the ending scenes and the promo for the next week’s came on. I honestly thought he would outlive all of them for spite.
I can’t wait to see what happens next! Who will the Board trust to run the company? And when do we get to meet all the Gregletts that Tom has running around?
I think the one to watch will be Marcia. She is the widow Roy and she’s going to be a major player if Logan did add her to the family trust as she demanded last season.
I think it’s safe to say that Succession just won the Emmy with this episode. I cannot get over how engrossed and moved I was by this episode. It reminded me of The Buffy episode ‘The Body’. That was the last time I felt death be so accurately portrayed in a television show.
I honestly thought it was a horrible prank Logan was playing.
What an ep.
ditto!
Timing is perfect for this since watching the kids flail around had gotten boring. Thank goodness. I hadn’t been looking forward tonight to watching and only did reluctantly. I’m all in now.
Amen to everything you just said.
Masterclass in acting and writing, one of the finest episodes of tv I’ve ever seen. That being said… what if he’s alive and faked his death and testing everyone’s reactions so he can see who the true successor should be? How, I don’t know. But…
One of the most intense and best episodes of succession dare I say TV. I honestly cried when Shiv broke down (please Sarah Snook deserves all the awards for that scene).
Honestly watching the siblings try to find an emotion for their father was so intense. And as usual, they forgot all about poor Connor.
All in all A++++ TV.
I was watching with my daughter tonight who had never seen it.. Too busy right now but I am visiting so she hung with me what I watched… I explained a little about the show as we watched… I told her I bet it was a fake out by Logan but I was wrong.. what a great episode…. that’s the reason I told her that I have the theme song as my ringtone
That’s a badash ringtone!
Wow! That was an amazing episode. I will miss Bryan Cox so much, but this is where the actual succession really comes into play, so this is going to be fun!
Incredible. Gonna miss Brian Cox.
Was it really necessary to use a spoiler-type headline like 5 minutes after the episode aired in the east? I really don’t understand this site sometimes.
DON’T visit the website then! It’s not rocket science, whenever people complain like this.
I didn’t visit the website – I was talking about the email sent out minutes after the show aired. To me, that’s a spoiler. They could have written, “We break down this week’s big episode of Succession.” Yes, I know enough to avoid social media and TV web sites when a new ep of a Game of Thrones, etc., type show airs. I shouldn’t have to avoid my email too.
No spoilers, it was just written that it was an intense episode (and really, aren’t they all?)..
TVline is great at clickbaiting, but not their fault if you clicked. .
Again, I didn’t click, just read my email subjects. ‘Very dark turn, ‘most intense episode,’ to me those are spoilers. Just like the old movie ads that said, ‘don’t miss the last 5 minutes,’ or the NBC ads with their ‘one character will not survive this episode.’ I’m going to read the TVLine story on this week’s Succession, even if they had a subject of “Most boring Succession episode ever.” They don’t need the additional hype.
I saw the headlines, too, but there were no spoilers in them. I simply avoiding reading the articles until I watched. Also, if you didn’t subscribe to TV Line’s emails, your problem would be solved.
My dad passed suddenly eight years ago. When I spoke to my mom, she put her phone to his ear so I could say something. I remember telling him I loved him and asking him not to go. That all came rushing back tonight when Tom did the same for the kids, hit me like a freight train. Whether you’re rich or not, whether you’re close or not, losing a loved one in real time like that is harrowing, and they captured it perfectly. Someone else in the comments compared this episode to BUFFY’s “The Body” and they’re right on. Kudos to everyone for making me shed a tear for the Roys.
Kinda funny how you can’t type the s swear word but you can leave in the c one in the same quote lmao
As much as I love that this event happened so early in the season so we could see the impact of it and really see who his successor is, I’ll miss the heck out of Brian Cox. Well done, writers