If you could see through your tears, remember that heartfelt three-way hug - impromptu from all the actors, apparently – between Kendall, Shiv and Roman at the end of the Episode 3 of Succession’s 4th season? It felt like a turning point for the siblings, who collectively just experienced one of life’s most devastating moments: the death of a parent.
Episode 4 (you can read our recap of ‘Connor’s Wedding’ here) presumably takes place the day after Logan’s death, and the family and all the Waystar Royco meat-puppets are in a wake, of sorts, at Logan’s house. Marcia’s back from shopping in Milan forever, and she wants everyone to know that she was engaged in “intimate” phone calls with Logan, every evening, up until his death. It seems like Marcia has been waiting for this day for a long time, as she snaps into cold-hearted action in tying up loose ends: selling the New York mansion to Connor on a whim for a tidy price and humiliating Kerry (“Chuckles the clown”), who has lost the plot over the past few episodes.
But while all this retribution from Logan’s estranged wife goes down; Frank, as executor, has uncovered a scrappy bit of paper in Logan’s safe. Now, it’s not his official will, and certainly not legally-binding, but it’s a list of wishes in the event of his death, and nestled among it all is Kendall’s name as CEO, and it’s been underlined.
Let’s talk about Logan’s will
When informed of the news, you can see the cogs whirring in Kendall’s old brain box again: “Dad…chose me?” Instantly, invisibly, a switch goes off inside him: initiating Killer Kendall. Like the witches telling Macbeth he will be king, so Kendall is proffered this possible self-fulfilling prophecy, and like the Shakespearean anti-hero before him, he is going to obsess over this, tainting his every waking second until he fulfils this role.
Kendall’s entire demeanour changes, and despite him showing a softer, more vulnerable side with his siblings the morning after, joking and talking about finding a “great grief guy”, the stakes have now been shifted - he sees a (final?) chance for a power grab. If that means trampling over his nearest and dearest - once again - then he’s all for it.
There’s no way of knowing when Logan wrote his document, and when Roman and Shiv are told about it, Shiv points out Kendall’s name could have actually been “crossed-out”. Unsurprisingly, the ambiguity divided Twitter into those who believed his name was scratched out or underlined for emphasis.
For many, it was a replay of the infamous meme in which people saw a dress as either blue and black or white and gold:
The Succession Twitter account offered a close-up, and fans applied a very forensic lens in the replies:
Perhaps the most astounding part is how the show’s writers managed to add yet another element of chaos into proceedings, leaving us to argue about Succession all week:
What does Logan’s will mean?
While in the last episode, the negotiations of the Roys were with the very idea of death itself, this time it’s a verbal showdown on who should be interim CEO of Waystar Royco, until the board votes on it. Shiv is the first to be immediately sidelined by Kendall, with him saying three people heading up the media conglomerate are “not clean enough.” Roman, perhaps sniffing a chance for a few crumbs of power backs him up: “Three’s a bit wonky”. Only minutes before Roman had been agreeing with Shiv how “good” it felt for all three of them to be working together - still, we always knew how quickly Roman would betray others for those in the position of power.
But here’s the kicker: after deciding that the brothers will manage the situation jointly, Kendall goes straight behind Roman’s back to tell Hugo the PR to action the “bad dad stuff” media leak. Kendall has shafted Roman within minutes of forming an alliance - this is very much not in the “gang of three” plans of theirs, and demonstrates the playbook he’s planning to run for this entire operation.
Perhaps it was foolish to think their dad dying would unite the siblings. Logan has set them up for a future of conflict, betrayals, splintered family ties and a lifetime of unhappiness, just like when Daddy was around. The spirit of Logan lives on, and scarily for Shiv and Roman, he has possessed Kendall.
Succession continues weekly on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
