Succession season 3 ending explained after devastating betrayal
Major Succession season 3 finale spoilers ahead
There aren't enough "what the f**ks" in Logan Roy's vocabulary to describe what the hell went down in the Succession season three finale.
Fans across the world were reeling after the latest power play among the Roy family, where new frontrunners came to light as deception and manipulation fully took over.
Top tip, guys: never bet against the house.
Now, with season four's release date confirmed as March 27 in the UK on Sky and the day before in the US on HBO, we don't have long to wait before we find out what happens next in the deliciously dastardly tale of the back-stabbing Roys. If the trailer is anything to go by, it's bound to be as twisty and complex as previous seasons, with Tom (Matthew Macfayden) warning us that: "This is a chessboard, and every move is crucial."
With the new season just weeks away, here's everything you need to know about the season three finale to get you prepped and ready for the power struggle that's sure to come in season four.
(This is your last spoiler warning.)
A New Deal
At the end of the last episode, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) appeared lifeless in a pool – and among the family, the debate is still ongoing over whether it was attempted suicide or an accidental near-drowning.
Either way, he survived, but has given his siblings a cause to (somewhat) come together for.
Over a very meta round of Monopoly, naturally.
During the game, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) gets a Get Out Of Jail Free card, and Shiv (Sarah Snook) is caught stealing from the bank in order to win. Succession's foreshadowing has never been so blatant.
While Kendall is in hospital, Logan (Brian Cox) has miraculously taken on the role of doting grandfather, attempting to reassure his two kids their dad will be OK.
But a phone call changes everything. Calling Gerri, he decides to finally meet tech entrepreneur Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard) for a new discussion about his company GoJo's merger with Waystar Royco.
Roman (Kieran Culkin) offers to go with him, but Logan refuses, only to change his mind seconds later when Shiv offers as well. Shiv's clearly hurt and feels the company slipping from her grasp.
But it turns out there might not even be a company to take over at all – at the meeting, Matsson suggests he not equally merge with WayStar, but buy it out, absorbing the massive conglomerate into GoJo. He argues WayStar is antiquated, with the tech company being the boost needed to keep things afloat.
Initially telling him to f**k off, Logan soon seems to consider it, but before giving an answer, sends Roman back to the family so he's not late for his mother Caroline's wedding.
An Italian Wedding
Ahead of the wedding, the four Roy siblings meet for lunch. Well, we say lunch, turns out to be more of a badly thought-through intervention for Kendall.
Shiv tries to take the lead, but is undercut by Roman who can't stop cracking wise, and an increasingly frustrated Connor (Alan Ruck), who is getting sick of being ignored by the family.
When Kendall refers to himself as "the eldest son", Connor snaps and reminds everyone that it's actually him, and he needs to be considered. Throwing in a bit of additional posturing as he admits he's still waiting for Willa to accept his proposal, he storms off.
Turns out Connor needn't have worried though, as in one of the least enthusiastic proposal acceptances we've ever seen, Willa agrees to marry him, calling him a nice man before declaring: "How bad could it be?"
Well… if it's anything like any marriage we've seen within the Roy family, pretty dang bad. But we'll get there.
At the ceremony, Cousin Greg turns full social-climbing douchebag, moving on from being that tongue-tied boy over Kendall's assistant three episodes ago to now wanting to hook up with a Contessa to get a foot on a royal line of succession instead of a business one. You've got to hand it to the lad, he dreams big.
Seems that timid loose family member is getting pretty big for his boots too, later declaring Roman a sexual pervert in a bid to ward him off the Contessa.
Caroline's wedding to Pierre-Timothy goes off without a hitch, but Logan isn't there, setting off alarm bells.
In a speech, Shiv wishes her mum well, saying she hopes the new marriage is as "fulfilling and happy as hers" with Tom, which every viewer knows is a humongous lie, with the couple hanging on by a thread… that thread being structural power.
As questions surface about where the hell Logan is, Connor reveals to Shiv and Roman he's noticed their dad's been putting maca root in his smoothies… suggesting dear old daddy is hoping to add another baby to the Roy brood.
Before they can think about it too much, Gerri tells Roman and Shiv there's been a development regarding the merger, with Greg being informed that assistants are arriving in Tuscany as they speak.
With Karl and Frank, Logan's right-hand men, suddenly dropping into Italy as well, Roman realises Logan may have agreed to the sellout. Needing back-up, Shiv reaches out to Kendall.
Truth time
Let's make it clear, at this point Kendall is a shell of his former self. Quiet and withdrawn, he's spent most of the wedding in the shade smoking and staying out of the way. Isolated from his family, Kendall is in a dark place.
Heading to a quiet area behind the house, Roman, Shiv and Kendall discuss what to do next.
When Kendall says he doesn't want to get involved, Shiv initially thinks it's a power play, and he could even be in on the deal.
But then he breaks down in front of his two siblings, sitting in the dirt next to dumpsters. He admits he feels disconnected from life and that he doesn’t know what's wrong.
Roman tries to lighten the mood but it doesn't work. In a desperate bid to finally get through to his brother and sister, Kendall finally confesses he's "f**king lonely" because he's been keeping a secret. With that, he admits to killing the waiter in the car accident at Shiv and Tom’s wedding.
He also reveals for the first time that, against our initial beliefs that he simply got out of the car and ran, Kendall had attempted to go back under the water for the kid, but couldn't save him. The guilt he felt had caused him to spiral.
The admission gets through to Shiv and Roman, and the three of them finally share a tender moment that reunites them.
Unfortunately, their tender moment is cut short when Shiv hears the buy-out deal is actually going ahead, leaving them all with nothing if it does. Finally deciding to join forces, the trio head over to their father.
Siblings United
While in the car, Shiv, Kendall and Roman seem galvanised to talk him out of the deal. Roman suggests he spends one-on-one time with Logan to try and calmly talk him round, but Shiv delivers some home truths.
The main one: Logan's agreement to the merger suggests he doesn't believe any of them can or should take over the business.
Realising they need to work together, it's decided they try and prevent the merger, playing their hand as the "super majority" – a deal secured by their mother Caroline in her divorce from Logan. Without the super majority's agreement, Logan couldn't secure the deal.
They'd essentially stage a coup to overthrow Logan, saying he was no longer fit to run the company, allowing the three of them to take over as a team. They'd split responsibility and sectors of the company equally.
Roman remains hesitant, but this new business mission has given Kendall a new fire, telling Shiv to "pass the shotgun" when she asks how he feels about killing their dad's livelihood.
Shiv calls Tom to update him to tell him to set up things from his side, but Tom clearly has something else going on.
Pulling Greg aside, he asks his protégé if he's willing to become his "attack dog", before questioning what the family has ever actually done for him.
Tom ominously asks: "Do you want to make a deal with the devil?" and Greg says yes, responding: "What am I going to do with a soul anyway? Boo souls."
Family Showdown
Kendall and Shiv meet Logan as he works alongside aides including Gerri and they take the lead in trying to get their dad to reconsider the buy-out.
Logan argues the deal could see him cash out at $5billion, but Kendall mocks it, asking what he'd do with it apart from add it to his other billions.
Roman remains timid in the conversation and Logan notices. He tries to tempt him into staying on his side, but for the first time ever, Roman stands by his siblings, begging his dad to please not take the deal.
But Logan's biggest love is not his family, it's his business, and he has some aces up his sleeve.
When the kids brag that Logan can't do the deal without their super majority, he calls up the only person who could overrule it… Caroline. The pair have agreed to renegotiate their divorce agreement, removing their super majority. Logan will get full control of the business again and the children will be left in the cold.
As a result, they have no leverage, and no future at the company.
"I have you beat, you morons," Logan bitterly spits, and with one last f**k off, Logan walks out. As he does so, he passes Tom, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder, making clear that Tom had sold out Shiv for his own position.
While Tom pretends to be supportive of Shiv, she recoils. She’d seen the exchange, and realises she’s been bested by her husband.
Meanwhile, Roman appeals to Gerri, his once close friend, but she's shut herself down to him too, after the embarrassment suffered as a result of his penis pic "prank". Instead, she argues she's putting the business above all else.
In the last seconds, all three Roy siblings stare blankly, aware they've been beaten. For now.
Succession season 3 airs on HBO in the US, and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
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