Last week’s episode of Succession had Kendall Roy successfully launch a new product for Waystar Royco and Lukas Matsson embarrassed in the public eye after making some controversial comments. Fans have been waiting to see what the aftermath would be, and this episode provides the answers.
If you haven’t watched Episode 7 of Season 4 of Succession, “Tailgate Party,” yet, you should stop reading now because this discussion is going to contain massive SPOILERS.
Somehow, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) remains on top of the world. Fans have been waiting for him to lose control after taking helm of Waystar Royco — but whether it be strategy or dumb luck, Kendall has managed to keep the ship sailing surprisingly smoothly. Of course, we know that things can change in an instant and it’s entirely possible (if not likely) for things to go wrong before the series concludes. For now, though, Kendall is still coasting on good vibes.
On the other hand, Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) continues his downward spiral in this episode. The fall from grace that the tech mogul has experienced has been faster than any other in the series. After winning in negotiations in episode 5, Matsson shot himself in the foot in episode 6 by attempting to undermine the Roys, and he completely implodes here. Like so many other characters in the show, Matsson serves as a reminder of the very real costs of greed.
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Right now, all eyes are going to be on Shiv, as she holds the power to cause the Waystar Royco to either collapse or thrive. She’s become a double agent of sorts — playing for both Matsson and her brothers’ teams — but what is clear is that she is serving her own best interests. This episode, we see her trying to play damage control for Matsson while also trying to plant seeds of chaos in Kendall’s plans, and it’s fun to watch.
One of the biggest developments in this episode is the conflict between Shiv and her husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) coming to a head. Although things seemed to be looking up for them over the past couple episodes, this episode sees them both reach the breaking point with their respective anxieties. Tom is clearly struggling to cope with the fact that he may soon become irrelevant in the Waystar Royco empire, and Shiv is questioning whether he really loves her, or if he was just using her in a bid for power.
Interestingly, Shiv still has not revealed her pregnancy that was teased several episodes ago. The tense shouting match she has with Tom seemed to be escalating to a point where this would be revealed, but Shiv manages to keep her cool enough to keep this under wraps. It’s clear that she doesn’t want anyone to know this yet — but with only three episodes remaining, the cat will have to get out of the bag sooner rather than later.
As has been par for the course this season, Greg is still floundering around, trying to maintain his relevance. This time, we see him attempt to go all-in on impressing Matsson — which is likely a bad choice as we know how Matsson’s course in the series is heading. Although it’s sad to see the fan-favorite character being relegated to comedic relief once again, this season has been firmly the Roys’ story, so it makes sense why.
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After being a pretty dominant presence in the past couple episodes, Roman (Kieran Culkin) largely takes the backseat at this party. He’s relegated to helping with Connor’s (Alan Ruck) subplot — in which Roman is tasked with convincing Connor to drop out of the Presidential race by offering him positions of power in various third-world countries. This back-and-forth negotiation is funny and satirical, but not super impactful within the greater scheme of things.
This episode might not have been as impactful — nor as entertaining — as the rest of the season, but it plants plenty of seeds for conflicts that will be important in the last few episodes. As we near the end of the season, it’s starting to become a bit concerning as to how they are going to be able to tie up all of these threads before the show’s conclusion, but fans will undoubtedly be waiting with bated breath.
Succession is now streaming on HBO and HBO Max. New episodes premiere every Sunday.
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