Bouncing back from a somewhat divisive third season, the final two episodes of Succession have certainly had people talking. Some critics and fans had been wondering since the premiere whether the show is just sort of chasing its tale at this point, but after we all spent the past week fretting over whether Kendall (Jeremy Strong) might have drowned in that Tuscan swimming pool, series creator Jesse Armstrong delivered us a gut-punch of a finale. And while the episode didn’t so much end on a cliffhanger, I do still have some questions. Spoilers ahead.
Is Logan really trying to have a baby?
The big takeaway from the finale is that Logan (Brian Cox) is so thoroughly done with his four adult children. They’ve all disappointed or betrayed or repulsed him this season, so much so that he’s ready to hand his company over to tech billionaire Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) rather than name one of them his successor. But is he really trying to have another kid with assistant Kerry (Zoe Winters), as Connor (Alan Ruck) suggests? His evidence: the walnuts and macca roots and almond butter Kerry is apparently feeding Logan to improve his…potency. (Who knows if any of this is scientifically sound. Maybe check Goop?) And if we’re looking for real-world analogues, a baby Roy in the mix would sort of mirror the Trump family dynamic. Still, after making going through the not insignificant trouble of reconciling with Marcia (Hiam Abbass) this season, is Logan really going to blow up his marriage? Or does the fact that he might be willing to suggest that he’s once again feeling invincible?
Does Greg really have a shot with that princess?
You know, I kinda hope so! If Greg (Nicholas Braun) is kind of using Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) as his role model, Princess Influencer or whatever, with her vaguely aristocratic family, is a much closer analogue to Shiv than Kendall’s publicist Comfry (Dasha Nekrasova). Even better, maybe Greg spends the fourth season juggling girlfriends. Who doesn’t want to see that?
Did Kendall really try to save that kid in the Season 1 finale?
So, Kendall finally unburdens himself by telling Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) about the accident that resulted in the death of that waiter at the end of Season 1. In response, Roman manages to kind of rationalize away a lot of the guilt that has been eating away at Kendall for the past two seasons. “This sounds like the story of a hero to me,” he says, “I would’ve been straight out of there.”
But did it really happen the way Kendall remembers it? I went back and checked and, yeah, Kendall seems to remember what happened surprisingly well: The waiter did see a deer in the road and did grab the steering wheel, forcing the car off the road and off a bridge. And Kendal did dive back underwater twice to try to get the kid—who seemed to already be unconscious—out of the car. I mean, obviously, there’s nothing actually heroic about Kendall, who was drunk and high and shouldn’t have been driving and has managed to escape any real consequences for his actions. But for what it’s worth, the version of events he relates to his siblings is pretty much what happened.
Have Roman and Shiv really killed people?
True to form, Roman is like, It could happen to anyone! And he and Shiv both casually admit to having killed people as well. Are they kidding? Who know? Maybe! The amazing thing about this show is that it almost certainly doesn’t even matter!
Does…Tom really think Shiv doesn’t know he’s betrayed her?
Ok, so the final reveal of the episode seems to be that Tom warned Logan that Shiv, Roman and Kendall had teamed up to kill the deal with Matsson. The final shot is of Tom kissing his wife, whom he has just betrayed, with Shiv shell-shocked and trying to maintain her composure. What the hell is going on there? Why is Tom pretending he didn’t just shank Shiv?
Well, according to Snook, there is apparently supposed to be some ambiguity over how much everyone realizes about Tom’s role in what’s happened. “If Shiv knows, but her brothers don’t, and Tom doesn’t know that Shiv knows — there’s a lot of potential there,” she told Vulture. At first, this seems to strain credibility. Could Tom really walk into that room at that moment and think that Shiv doesn’t realize what he’s done? I mean, he is kinda dumb… But apparently, it’s all meant to hinge on Tom’s handshake with Logan, and whether anyone else noticed it before he came in the room.
Who is coming back in Season 4?
Definitely Skarsgård, right? It’s looking like he’s the new CEO of Waystar Royco. And my money is also on Justin Kirk’s fascistic presidential candidate Jeryd Mencken. The Roys have anointed him their candidate, and his scene with Roman in the bathroom in Episode 6 was electric and nauseating and reveal all kinds of uncomfortable possibilities for Culkin’s character. Meanwhile, it really feels like Sanaa Lathan go shortchanged this season. Her character, lawyer Lisa Arthur barely go to do anything. Hopefully she’ll be back with more to do in Season 4.
