Last night, the internet was ablaze over the episode of Succession, which many hailed as one of the greatest episodes in television history. It’s one of the most effective, emotional episodes of the show thus far, and it will completely change how the rest of the final season progresses.
Of course, if you have not yet watched the third episode of season 4 of Succession, “Connor’s Wedding,” stop now because this article will contain MASSIVE spoilers.
The episode begins with Logan insisting that Roman fire Gerri. It’s clearly intended as a test — given the sexual (if not entirely romantic) history between Roman and Gerri that Logan so vehemently did not approve of. This confrontation between Roman and Gerri happens on the yacht taking them and the rest of the party to Connor Roy’s wedding. It’s an awkward start to the episode — but this is a cakewalk compared to the rest of what audiences will experience.
In what is the biggest, most consequential development this season so far, the Roy patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) kicks the bucket. It undeniably came as a shock to every single viewer watching the episode across the country — as much as it did to the characters in the show. Although many of us expected this to happen sometime in the season, for it to happen in episode three is an interesting decision, as that leaves a full seven episodes for the series to deal with its aftermath.
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Of course, all eyes are now on Kendall (Jeremy Strong), as his antagonisms with his father were well-documented over the course of the past three seasons. But as one would expect, he didn’t handle the loss of his father particularly well. It’s clear that — even though there was rivalry and animosity between them — they still loved each other. That dynamic feels like a very natural emotional progression for their shared arc.
Shiv’s (Sarah Snook) response is one of complete devastation. The range of emotions she goes through in this episode — from sadness to anger and everything in between — is a testament to the power of Snook’s performance. People online are already calling for Snook to receive recognition for her astounding turn, and for good reason, as her portion of the episode is emotionally crippling.
It will also be interesting to see where her relationship with husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) goes for the rest of the season. Tom was on the plane with Logan when he died, and he attempted to call Shiv to let her know — only for her to not accept his call. Will this have some sort of deeper impact on their relationship? It wouldn’t be beyond Shiv for her to begin to resent her husband because of the role he played in the aftermath of her father’s death.
Roman, on the other hand, experiences more denial than anything else. Part of what makes this loss so hard for him is that, in recent episodes, he has finally won the respect and admiration of his father. Of all of the siblings, he seems to have taken the loss least hard upfront, but that also means he has the most room to crash in the rest of the season.
Perhaps the most devastating emotional arc in this episode is that of Connor (Alan Ruck). In addition to the misfortune of his father’s passing happening on his wedding day, these events force him to the realization that he will never be able to live up to his father’s expectations of him. Since everything that he has done in past seasons — including getting married — was with the motive of impressing his father, it will be interesting to see what Connor does for the remainder of the show.
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All the while, as the Roys are coming to the realization that their father might be gone, the other members of the Waystar Royco team on the plane attempt to come up with a response to announce Logan’s death to the public. Eventually, it is decided that the Roys themselves will come up with the statement, but it will be interesting to see how the ramifications of the team putting business first will affect the company’s politics in the future of the episodes.
All in all, it would be hard to say there has been another episode of this show that has been more impactful. “Connor’s Wedding” opened the door for all sorts of new paths for these characters, and while we know that the remainder of the series will explore how the kids try to take over the company after their father’s death, we don’t know whose hands the reins will end up in.
New episodes of Succession drop on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday at 9pm ET/PT.
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