Succession's penultimate episode has arrived, setting up a series finale for the ages.
As ATN's premature election call for Republican candidate Jeryd Mencken sparks a reckoning in the streets of Manhattan, the Roys shelter in the city's most elaborate cathedral to say goodbye to the man who started it all.
Knowing he's got the president-elect in his pocket alongside his pink palm cards, Roman the showman was as ready as he'd ever be thanks to all that "pre-grieving."
But farewelling Logan Roy was never going to be easy.
We need to talk about Kendall giving the eulogy because Roman couldn't
Despite a sweaty Greg doing everything short of "taking his legs out," nothing was going to stop Uncle Ewan from interrupting the order of service to give an impromptu eulogy.
"What sort of people would stop a brother speaking at the sake of a share price?" he says, scolding his family's protests as he steps up to the pulpit, adding: "It is not for me to judge my brother. History will tell that story."
Logan's estranged brother explains how the pair were sent away from Scotland during WWII, but not before the engines on their ship failed, leaving them floating adrift and threatened with death if they dared move an inch.
It gets worse.
We learn the most we've ever known about Logan's abusive upbringing, and how he blamed himself for the death of his baby sister, believing he brought polio into their home after returning from boarding school.
"I don't even know if that's true. But our Aunt and Uncle certainly did nothing to disabuse him of that notion," Ewan says, confirming the scars on Logan's back came from the hands of his family.
"I loved him, I suppose. And I suppose some of you did too, in whatever way he would let us. But I can't help but say he has wrought the most terrible things."
Finally, after a speech full of some light and plenty of shade, it's Roman's turn.
And he instantly falls apart.
Romulus — who told Greg to bring him one of Logan's sweaters when he was in hospital in season one so he had something that smelled like him — can't go on.
"Is he in there?" he asks between sobs, pointing at his father's casket as his siblings console him. "Can we get him out?"
So then it's up to Kendall, and that patricidal glee in his eye that's driven him for so long finally hardens into something different as he very nearly embodies his father.
"Yes, he had a terrible force to him, and a fierce ambition that could push you to the side … that magnificent, awful force of him. But my God, I hope it's in me."
"There wasn't a room, from the grandest stateroom where his advice was sought to the lowest house where his news played, where he couldn't walk and wasn't comfortable.
"He was comfortable with this world, and he knew it. And he liked it. And I say, amen to that."
After a stuttering start, Shiv goes last with an anecdote about how, as kids, they played outside their father's office in a bid to get his hard-fought attention.
"He kept us outside. But he kept everyone outside. When he let you in, when the sun shone, it was warm. It was warm in the light," she says.
"But it was hard to be his daughter. He was hard on women. He couldn't fit a whole woman in his head," she adds, and you can practically hear his employees, wives and mistresses saying, "Amen".
We can't not talk about Shiv and Matsson working with Mencken
With the hardest part of the day over, the Roys waste no time in using the funeral reception to war-game for the upcoming board meeting.
It's "supermum" Shiv who tells Lukas Matsson that the president-elect would likely approve GoJo's acquisition of Waystar if they appointed an American CEO — who just so happens to go by the name Siobhan Roy. Shiv's worked in politics before, and she knows it would be framed as a win for Mencken in the media.
When the pair corner Mencken at the wake, he initially brushes the Swede off before their proposition of a "meatball burger" piques Jeryd's interest.
"My feelings are irrelevant. Our audience loves Jeryd, I respect our audience," Shiv justifies.
"And I love your audience," Mencken replies.
As always, Mencken keeps it vague, with Matsson later telling Shiv: "They think they're interested, and I think I can make a US CEO work."
Before the chairs at the memorial can even be packed up, Kendall is already rallying his troops, later berating Roman at the wake for letting Shiv form an alliance with their "pal" Mencken.
"We don't have a lot of leverage at this point, we might need to make some moves," he argues.
"If we don't wanna lose Waystar, we need to get real and fight Shiv at the board."
Let's chat power rankings
The end is nigh, and Logan's funeral has attracted old friends and new enemies.
Logan
It's hard to know what Logan Roy would have made of his funeral. The speeches, the red roses, Greg filling in for Tom as one of the pallbearers. But Kendall was right when he said there wasn't a room where his father didn't feel comfortable. He was the planet at the centre of his children's orbit, and his presence has become only more haunting in death. The Roys have been flying blind, hurtling the company off a cliff without his guidance. Now that he's had an official send-off, they'll be entering their biggest battle with open eyes.
Mencken
The man of the moment was positively mobbed by the Roys at Logan's funeral reception, and who can blame them? He's the leader of the free world and has their futures in the palm of his hand. Will he side with the Roy boys and block the deal, or wave it through with Shiv spinning it as a win? One thing is for sure: never believe a thing he says.
Shiv
First of all, props to Shiv for navigating the most awkward encounter with her mother about her pregnancy. Let's not forget Caroline looked her straight in the eye in season three and said: "Some people just aren't made to be mothers." Jeesh. But back to the business end of things. Shiv might be the most democratic of her siblings but she still wants to win, and if that means being "flexible" with a fascist then so be it. But while she's "glowing" at the thought of being CEO, she's made her first mistake by believing Mencken.
Matsson
Shiv might flatter Lukas Matsson by saying she's his puppet, but this week the table turned. Now Matsson has to rely on Shiv cosying up to Mencken to get the GoJo acquisition over the line. But if the election taught us anything, it's that Succession is a man's world, and these two might strike a deal of their own and leave the Roys out in the cold.
Kendall
Kendall's had his fair share of low moments throughout the show, but physically trying to block his terrified wife and kids from fleeing the city due to the riots was excruciating to watch. "You're too online, you've lost context," Kendall tells Rava. Add in the way he treated Jess after he forced her to admit she's leaving her role as his assistant, and he's just as bad as Logan when it comes to women. After he punched down on his little brother, he's more alone than ever as he prepares to take on his sister.
Marcia and Kerry (tied)
Of course Caroline, sporting that little beret, would round up all of Logan's former wives and mistresses so they could sit together in the front row at his funeral. How camp! Instead of getting Marcia v Kerry 2.0, we got a heartwarming moment where Marcia extended an olive branch to a weeping Kerry by placing a hand on hers. If we never see either of these two iconic women again, at least their final scene was one of kindness.
Connor
If there's one thing Connor Roy loves (aside from Willa) it's real estate, and Logan's mausoleum is no different. "I was crazy for cryogenics but I wouldn't say no to a top bunk," he admits as Roman is too freaked out to even step foot inside. After Connor gave a fast and loose concession speech the previous night, he's still clinging on to hope that Mencken can swing him an ambassadorship in
Slovenia with a "macro-travel budget." Sure, Con.
Greg
Greg is slippery! Did he leak the ATN chaos to the media? Everyone is accounted for in that timeline except for him due to his microscopic role, but it's a role nonetheless. Greg being victorious over the Roys feels too predictable, but he's in the rare position where he has no responsibilities, no loyalties, and no debts to be paid.
Frank and Karl (tied)
Krank's at it again. They're the closest thing the Roy kids have to father figures in their lives, and part of that new role is to protect them from reality. "How bad was Dad?" Shiv asks them both. "He was a salty dog, but he was a good egg," Frank says. "What you saw is what you got," Karl adds, before the two share a look that means anything but.
Gerri
"How much of you is glad?" Gerri asks Frank, Karl and Karolina at the funeral, further cementing her status as a petty queen when she doesn't pray for Logan during the service. She's still furious at the way things have worked out, and seeing Roman break down in front of everyone would have been traumatic. She knows A LOT about Waystar, so there's plenty of time to get her hands dirty in the finale.
Roman
I am begging someone to please check on the welfare of Roman Roy. After Kendall told him Shiv's alliance with Mencken was entirely his fault, he walked out of the wake, but not before Frank realised Roman's breakdown at the funeral had been filmed by GoJo's Ray and posted online. Roman, emotionally and now physically bruised after entering the wave of protesters outside, is in pieces — and we're running out of time for him to be put back together.
Tom
"You would never have dared not come to his funeral when he was alive," Shiv tells Tom at the wake when he manages to extract himself from the offices for 20 minutes. But the ATN dumpster fire was just an excuse. In reality, Tom was too overwhelmed to go after being on the plane with Logan that fateful day. "I was the first one in there with him after he died. So I did say goodbye to him." Tom and Shiv finally discuss the pregnancy, and it's not constructive, and something definitely shifted between them.
Hugo
Big H! Literally no one has ever called Hugo that in his life, but if anyone can it's Kendall Roy. He's the droid Kendall's been looking for and he will continue to be blackmailed into being his lackey by leaking to the media. "You can come but it won't be a collaboration, you'll be my dog, but the scraps from the table will be millions. Happy?" Kendall asks. All Hugo can say in response is: "Woof woof."
Notes and series finale predictions
- No one has brought up the fact that Kendall committed vehicular manslaughter in season one. Is someone saving it for the series finale? Will it be Shiv? Or Roman?
- Speaking of… Logan was the only one who used to call Roman "Romulus." If you're unfamiliar with Roman mythology, Romulus killed his twin brother Remus in order to be the sole founder of Rome. It could be nothing, but it could be something.
- We need to start preparing ourselves for the finale because even Succession executive producer Adam McKay (who also directed the pilot) says he had to "emotionally recover" after watching it. He told Variety: "I knew what was coming. And still! Oh, my God. Wow."
