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As nerve-racking as the middle section of this episode is, the rest of the hour is often very funny, in that gallows-humor way at which “Succession” excels; the tone even brightens a bit once everybody starts shifting into post-Logan mode. Although the contingent on the jet and the folks at the wedding are in shock, both groups also know that how they react will eventually be judged by the press and the markets. As such, they do not want to make any move that, as Kendall says, “restricts our freedom of movement.” Naturally, they all blunder into further trouble.
The chaos that follows is a perfect storm of Roy family greed and pettiness. Logan’s big plan to sell to GoJo and to buy Pierce Global Media might have gone off without a hitch had his children not decided to pursue Pierce themselves and tried to squeeze extra money out of GoJo — largely, whatever they might say, out of revenge, which rarely makes for smart decision-making. (And who knows? Maybe all that aggravation added some extra stress, contributing to Logan’s death.)
But then there are all the questions left behind by Logan’s death — unanswered partly because of Logan’s insistence on always keeping even his closest allies in the dark. Is Gerri still fired? Do the kids have any say on what happens next? Logan’s stalwarts and the Rebel Alliance each want to get in front of the press as soon as possible — partly to shape the narrative about who is in charge and partly to protect the stock price. But no one really knows what Logan would have wanted, or what the smart play here is.
Perhaps the most devastating casualty of the day is Logan’s oldest son, Connor, whom Logan never even bothered to inform that he was going to miss the wedding. Alan Ruck has been a stealthy M.V.P. of this season, wringing pathos from Connor’s realization that neither the American voters nor his family really care about him. In an uncommonly touching heart-to-heart with Willa, he admits that he is scared she will leave him — he is pretty sure she agreed to this marriage, he says, only because she wants to be rich. (Willa doesn’t exactly deny this, though her response is charming enough that they end up getting married anyway, after nearly everyone has gone.) When Kendall gives him the news about their dad, all he can mutter is, “He never even liked me.”
Perhaps because of some lingering sympathy for and loyalty to Logan’s children, the Waystar execs ultimately allow the Roy kids to draft the statement to the press — with the idea that Frank or someone on the board will sign off. The statement, which Shiv will deliver, is meant to be a simple expression of fact and sorrow, leaving an impression of stability and continuity at the company. The statement should also include mentions of Karl, Frank and Gerri by name, Frank insists, for the sake of “market confidence.”
Instead Shiv ignores the executive team’s edits and makes no mention of any of them. And although she said she would not take any questions, she lets it slip on the way out that she and her brothers plan to be involved with Waystar going forward. This, no doubt, will cause trouble in the weeks ahead. The stock plunges immediately.
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Noel Murray
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