As the prestige black comedy-drama Succession nears its end, the Roy children lay their media magnate father to rest in the penultimate episode, “Church and State.” Beware of spoilers ahead.
In the ninth episode of the show’s 4th and final season, Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) family and business associates gather for his funeral, paying their respects and side-hustling in the church pews to solidify each of their respective grips on the family’s media empire, Waystar Royco.
Ahead of the funeral, Roman (Kieran Culkin), who had previously volunteered to give the eulogy since he had supposedly “pre-grieved,” starts the day off strong. Practicing his speech alone in his bedroom, reciting his emotionally removed words in the mirror, Roman’s signature humorous bravado is fully intact. “See Shivy cry, see Kenny lie. See Roman the Showman light up the sky,” he says, amping himself up.
Last episode, Roman led his siblings and the family television network, ATN, through the presidential election, sealing a deal with Trumpian candidate Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk). If ATN declares he has won the race, Mencken will halt tech billionaire Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) acquisition of the family business. Riding that high, Roman’s overzealous confidence is seemingly as solid as ever. He playfully asks his reflection, “I selected the President. Do you see his pecker in my pocket?”
A frenzy of unsettled emotions, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) is forced to clean up the mess of the election at the ATN offices in lieu of attending the funeral, even though he is set to be one of Logan’s pallbearers. Kendall (Jeremy Strong) unravels when his ex-wife Rava feels, given the political climate and the target on their children’s back with the last name Roy, it’s safer to head upstate rather than attend the funeral as protesters fill the streets of New York. To add to the chaos of the morning, Shiv (Sarah Snook) tells her brothers she’s pregnant in the car on the way to the service before coming face-to-face with thier toxic mother, Lady Caroline Collingwood (Harriet Walter).
With Mencken and Matsson in attendance, you could cut the tension with a knife as each of the Roy kids make their own alliances. Shiv proposes to Matsson that maybe Mencken would be inclined to shift his point of view on the acquisition if he were to place an American CEO at the helm, namely Shiv Roy herself, potentially demolishing her brother’s end-game deal.
Lady Caroline assembles Logan’s ex-wives and ex-mistresses to the front row to mourn and lean on one another– even bringing Marcia and Kerry together to bury the hatchet — at least for today.
While Conner’s (Alan Ruck) proposed eulogy could open the family up to legal action, Logan’s estranged brother Ewan unexpectedly takes to the pulpit to speak. Unforgiving and to-the-point, Ewan provides some heartbreaking insight into their childhood, potentially giving some insight to Logan’s rock hard exterior, sending a reticent love to a brother lost.
Up next, Roman. And in a heart-wrenching performance he can hang his hat on, Kieran Culkin‘s quick-witted boy wonder disintegrates in front of the crowd, falling into his siblings’ arms. His blasé attitude and perverted humor can’t save him now since he has not actually “pre-grieved” after all.
Kendall steps up to take over for her overwhelmed brother, making a Hamlet-like speech, making his intentions to come into his own and step into his father’s very large shoes, known. Rounding out her siblings, Shiv follows Kendall, sharing the difficulties of being the daughter to a famously misogynistic man, but giving him grace and expressing her love for her “world of a father.”
As loyalties and intentions eb and flow, the seat on the Waystar throne remains vacant. With one episode left to see who takes the power, “Church and State” makes it clear — as cutthroat, dysfunctional, and conniving as the Roy children are, their core motivation is to make their dad proud.
