HBO Succession Season 4 Episode 1: Logan Roy is on their own

Note: This article accommodates spoilers for a number of Succession episodes, notably season 4, episode one, “The Munsters.”

The first episode of the fourth and ultimate season of HBO’s Succession finds us — not for the primary time — on the birthday celebration of Logan Roy (Brian Cox). This yr, it’s not clear who organized it. Not his spouse, Marcia (Hiam Abbass), who left him in season two and is now “in Milan shopping, forever.” Maybe it’s Kerry (Zoe Winters) — the brand new girlfriend who introduces herself as Logan’s “friend, assistant, and advisor.” Or maybe Connor (Alan Ruck), the one certainly one of his youngsters that he’s presently on talking phrases with, deliberate it. The occasion appears to be like extra like a piece operate or a political fundraiser than a birthday celebration — grownup children Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook) are conspicuously absent, and we don’t acknowledge the general public in attendance. And Logan is depressing. “Munsters,” he grumbles, eyeballing the friends. “Meet the fucking Munsters.”

It’s a not-so-subtle callback to the very first episode, which started at Logan’s eightieth birthday. Marcia has deliberate a “surprise” occasion for him. He’s surrounded by his household. Even Kendall, who’s attempting to shut a media acquisition deal that he hopes will please his father, takes a breather from the touch-and-go negotiations to affix the festivities. Of course, it’s not all sunshine and cake — when is it ever the place Logan’s concerned? At the occasion, Logan tries to steamroll his children into accepting a change to the belief that can give his spouse Marcia extra energy — however there’s little question that the billionaire CEO of Waystar Royco is enveloped by individuals who care about him and know him intimately.

If Logan is having a nasty birthday within the season 4 premiere, nevertheless, that’s of his personal making. In final season’s finale, Kendall, Shiv, and Roman tried to cease him from promoting Waystar to the streaming video firm GoJo. First, they tried to pressure his hand. When that didn’t work, Roman pleaded with him, invoking love as a purpose why a guardian who has all the facility on this planet may nonetheless stand down, present compassion, and never crush his youngsters. “You come for me with love?” Logan scoffed ferociously. “You bust in here, guns in hand, and now you found they’ve turned to fucking sausages. You talk about love?”

In denying the opportunity of his children ever taking up the household enterprise, Logan crossed the Rubicon. This time, the Roy youngsters don’t even deign to point out up for his or her beloved father’s birthday. On what appears to be like like the other facet of the nation, Kendall and his siblings are strategizing for the launch of their very own enterprise, a brand-spanking new digital media outlet known as The Hundred that guarantees to be “Substack meets MasterClass meets The Economist meets The New Yorker.” Lots has modified since Italy and the top of season three, the place the youngsters have been left sick to their stomachs on the thought that their very own father would lock up Waystar perpetually and throw away the important thing. They’ve all written resignation letters for Waystar and appear (considerably) enthusiastic about beginning their very own firm as they put together to satisfy with potential buyers.

Macall B. Polay/HBO

Succession has at all times been largely concerning the ruthless competitors between the Roy siblings — scions of a robust media mogul impressed by real-life media households such because the Murdochs — to inherit the highest place at Waystar from their ageing father. Kendall, Shiv, and Roman have every suffered a litany of betrayals, manipulations, and cruelties from Logan; trauma that will be value it in the long run, the kids advised themselves, if Logan selected certainly one of them to comply with in his footsteps. That all appears to have modified, maybe irrevocably, in season 4. (For a extra full backstory on the Roys, take a look at Vox’s pre-season preview.)

The trio, who’re often at one another’s throats, are suspiciously in sync. Throughout the episode they’re affectionate; they nonetheless rib one another, however it doesn’t have fairly the identical chunk. They truly take heed to what the others must say, as an alternative of ready for the proper second to inject a devastating insult. “Let a thousand sunflowers bloom, Romie,” Kendall says early on — that means, let’s throw all our concepts on the wall. It’s not clear if he acknowledges that this phrase (attributed to Mao Zedong) is an echo of one thing his father mentioned in season three, egging on his terrified advisors to recommend somebody to switch him briefly: “Let a hundred flowers bloom,” Logan tells them, although it underscores how little Logan truly listens to different folks. The children, however, may earnestly be equals on this new partnership and already look lighter now that they’re not below Logan’s thumb. It’s jarring to see and in addition a bit unhappy — a glimpse of who these folks may need been in the event that they hadn’t grown up the way in which they’d.

The children bag a minor victory towards their father

Then Shiv will get a name from Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) that units off the drama of episode one. He offers his estranged spouse a heads-up that he’s simply had a drink with Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who just isn’t solely a cousin of Pierce Global Media proprietor Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones) — the Roys tried to purchase PGM in season two — but additionally Kendall’s ex. Tom makes it sound prefer it was a date, all whereas claiming it was not a date. He’s toying along with her a bit, which is comprehensible contemplating how a lot of a head begin Shiv has had within the “play mind games with my spouse” division. It works, momentarily, till Shiv realizes what “a drink” truly means: Logan is attempting to purchase PGM once more.

As a reminder, right here’s the newest on the enterprise facet of issues in Succession-world: Logan is, pending a shareholder vote, promoting Waystar to tech firm GoJo, however retaining management of ATN, their broadcast information community. In season two, the Roys spent a whole lot of vitality attempting to purchase PGM, a rival, however it fell by way of because the Pierces realized the Roys (and particularly Logan) have been poisonous and about to be embroiled in scandal.

Back on the celebration, Tom and Logan affirm that they’re as soon as once more near a take care of PGM. This time round, issues aren’t going nicely at PGM, apparently. Nan appears to have misplaced curiosity in working the enterprise, in keeping with whispers from her family members. “Savages,” Logan says with no trace of irony. “They eat their own.”

Logan, ever the doting father, asks after his youngsters. “Have you heard from the rats?” he asks Tom. Tom lies that he hasn’t, after which in his typical unsubtle approach probes Logan about whether or not their relationship may change if he and Shiv divorce. “Whatever happens, we’ll always be good, right?” he asks, making the error of so many Roy youngsters in searching for reassurance from a household patriarch who purposely ensures they’re by no means on certain footing.

Just a whisper of what their father is as much as, and the youngsters are again in his orbit, able to abandon The Hundred to make a rival bid for PGM. They’re all addicts of the household feud and might’t appear to withstand scoring on their dad. Roman worries about his siblings’ vengeful motivations: Kendall needs to get again at Logan. Shiv needs to get again at Tom. Roman, as standard, is the one one who “doesn’t want to fuck anyone.”

Kendall leans on Roman’s penchant for mischief. “Just think about how fucking funny it would be if we screwed Dad over his decadeslong obsession,” he factors out. Unbeknownst to them, they really do have the higher hand for as soon as. Logan is downright despondent over his absentee youngsters and in addition offended that he misses their presence.

Back on the occasion, Kerry calls Roman, and the youngsters are completely vicious to her, however she suffers the humiliation of asking them to provide their father a name. They need their father to name them, however that’s unlikely. Kerry says she may possibly get him to textual content a request for a name. It’s only one extra business-like negotiation to the Roys, yet one more sport of one-upmanship.

Claudette Barius/HBO

After Logan is knowledgeable there’s a rival bid for PGM, a few of his verve returns — there’s work to do. Logan’s struggle council — Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), Karl (David Rasche), and Frank (Peter Friedman) — quickly suss out that it’s the youngsters, however how did they discover out concerning the PGM bid? Tom tries to forged off any suspicion, however his tip to Shiv might be going to return again and chunk him within the ass.

Kendall, Shiv, and Roman journey to Nan Pierce’s residence. Naomi, who’s now rocking a wolf lower, tells them Nan wants 5 minutes as a result of she has a headache. In different phrases, she’s noticed that the Roys can pay any value to destroy each other and plans on milking each cent out of it. Nan additionally worries that one of many new homeowners of PGM may be married to Tom, who heads its rival, ATN. Without lacking a beat, Shiv says, “I’m getting a divorce.” It doesn’t appear to be she’s introduced it to anybody else. Kendall appears to be like shocked.

The bidding struggle for PGM begins, with both sides attempting to determine how excessive the opposite has gone. Logan low-balls. The children go a lot greater, providing a conversation-ending quantity: $10 billion. (“Eight, nine,” Nan hints earlier within the episode, “who knows what someone will say next?” “9b?” Roman guesses.) Logan is advised that Nan just isn’t accepting any extra bids. “Tell them I’ll go up,” Logan says. “She says they’re content,” replies Tom. Logan can’t fathom how somebody might be content material when there’s a proposal for a much bigger quantity.

Logan lastly will get on the cellphone along with his children. “Congratulations on saying the biggest number, you fucking morons,” he tells them. The children know that this can be a concession, of kinds. Shiv and Kendall truly do a fist bump, whereas Roman appears to be like relieved.

Shiv and Tom name it quits

At evening, Shiv returns to a darkish New York house. Her canine barely acknowledges her. We study that Shiv and Tom aren’t dwelling collectively anymore. Shiv is filled with rancor, needling Tom with crass questions relating to his love life. She’s jealous, and has been all day, of the opposite ladies Tom could or is probably not sleeping with. She may additionally be on a mission to push ahead the divorce she guarantees Nan earlier, which Tom doesn’t learn about. But Tom is in a uncommon second of blunt honesty. “Do you really want to get into a full accounting of all the pain in our marriage?” he asks gently. Shiv has no comeback to that.

Tom has principally been a buffoon on Succession; he’s a social climber who has weaseled his approach into one of the crucial highly effective households in America, and his standard obsequiousness is commonly performed off as comedian aid. But his harm right here is palpable, and his sincerity is obvious. No one can doubt that Tom actually loves Shiv, even when a part of what he loves is her energy and standing — and possibly Shiv realizes now, when it might be too late, that what she feels is love, too. Why else would his betrayal nonetheless harm a lot that she will be able to’t even speak about it? Tom needs to debate issues, however she shuts it down. She doesn’t need to probe by way of her emotions. “I think it might be time for you and I to move on,” she says, holding again tears. Tom doesn’t beg and plead. They each lie to one another, claiming they gave it their greatest strive.

Logan doesn’t discover life humorous anymore

At the top of a really lengthy, unusual day, Logan remains to be up watching TV. He calls Cyd Peach (Jeannie Berlin), an govt at ATN, to complain concerning the channel’s late-night protection. “Are you losing it, Cyd?” he asks.

It’s a query Logan could be higher off posing to himself. During his occasion, he escapes the house for a lonely night stroll within the park, his bodyguard Colin (Scott Nicholson) trailing behind him. At a diner, Logan tells Colin that he’s his greatest pal. He’s instantly an outdated man bitter concerning the turning of seasons. “Everything I try to do, people turn against me,” he says. “Nothing tastes like it used to, does it? Nothing’s the same as it was.”

It’s his birthday, and the person usually allergic to existential waxing asks his worker, “You think there’s anything after all this?”

“I don’t know,” replies Colin.

“We don’t know. We can’t know,” says Logan. “But I’ve got my suspicions.” It’s the primary time we’ve seen Logan meditate on the fact of nearing the top of his life, and what his legacy may be. He’s proven earlier than that he doesn’t like to think about the previous, however on this episode, he’s filled with nostalgia for the way in which issues have been earlier than. In an interlude throughout the PGM bidding struggle, Logan abruptly says to the room, “Nobody tells jokes anymore, do they?” Karl, Frank, Tom, Gerri — a room filled with sycophants — take a look at him like deer caught in headlights.

“Come on, roast me!” he orders. The king needs a jester. He turns to Greg.

“You’re mean,” Greg gives feebly. “You’re a mean old man, you’re a mean old bastard. And you scare the life out of folks, that’s your thing — you’re scaring me right now, and that’s why I don’t even know what to do.” Logan mocks Greg, pushing him to go additional.

“Where are your kids?” Greg asks. “Where’s all your kids, Uncle Logan, on your big birthday?”

It’s a direct hit, however Logan is aware of easy methods to hit more durable. He throws Greg’s absent father proper at his grand-nephew’s face. It’s simply too straightforward. No one can wound Logan the way in which he can wound his peons, nobody can beat him at a sport he invented: When they go low, he goes to the ninth circle of hell. It’s a spot reserved for only a few folks — and he wonders why he feels so alone.