The timing of Succession’s death twist is more important than you think
Succession season 4 episode 3 spoilers follow.
When Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) hails "Loganus Maximus, slayer of Vikings" upon Logan's (Brian Cox) arrival on the airport tarmac, the possibility that this will be his final scene on Succession is as remote as the Roy patriarch making it to Connor's (Alan Ruck) wedding later that day.
Despite bellowing at his gang of "pirates" in the ATN newsroom just one episode ago, the indomitable, foul-mouthed, Santa Claus-if-he-was-a-hitman doesn't even make it past the iconic Nicholas Britell-scored opening credits.
Yet ahead of this final season of the prestige monster hit, it was unlikely Logan's death would come as a surprise. The very first episode of Succession sees the media tycoon suffer a stroke in a helicopter – in hindsight, an ominous prelude to his similarly airborne death. Show creator Jesse Armstrong had initially planned to kill off Cox's character, before him and his f-bombs garnered a firm fan following.
Jeremy Strong, who plays Kendall, admitted he wasn't surprised when he first learned Logan would die this season, because it "made sense dramaturgically". Yet the reality of reading the script of Logan's death proved "emotionally devastating".
Logan, who has been the sun every other character orbited for three seasons, is unceremoniously ripped away fifteen minutes into the third episode. He boards his private jet planning another cull as he exclaims, "A bit more f***ing aggressive," and then we never see him again.
There's no punching final speech or operatic death, not even a hospital dash. We see a few chest compressions in the background of the harrowing plane scenes and then the great Logan Roy is carried back to the tarmac in a body bag as the sun sets.
The remarkable thing about Logan's death is not that it happened nor how, but when. The centre of Waystar Royco and this uber wealthy world has been snatched away in the show's third outing of a ten-episode arc.
While speaking on HBO's Inside the Episode special, show director Mark Mylod described the decision to kill Logan in the third episode as a way to defy viewer expectation, which show creator Jesse Armstrong echoed.
"I am not immune to such thoughts of wanting to keep the show exciting and fresh," Armstrong said, but added that the other significant factor was a desire to see how Logan's death impacts the Roy family.
A common criticism among Succession naysayers (those darn naysayers) is that the show never moves beyond the tug of war between Logan and his kids. With slight tweaks – although not Reagan funeral ones – it's been a cycle of plotting and backstabbing. But Logan's death has pushed everyone off the merry-go-round onto a different ride altogether and one we now have seven episodes to get to grips with.
These are unchartered waters Succession has entered and, in doing so, it has essentially morphed into a new show. Much like Logan's final moments, a lot is now up in the air. There's the deal with Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). A murkily looming US presidential election with Connor clinging on to his lone percent. And most importantly, who will fulfil what Armstrong has described as "a promise in the title" of the series.
A mid-season trailer offers a glimpse of the death fallout. Tom throws his hat in the ring. The old guard of Frank, Gerri and Karl have something in play against the kids. The reality of Logan's loss hits 'Chuckles the Clown' Kerry. Greg is Gregging, telling the kids: "I'm sad…and just thinking about how things will shake down."
This retreat to the business implications of Logan's death is already underway at the end of the third episode. As Roman, Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Kendall finally jump ship for dry land, we start to see what happens when they are left with that big Daddy-issue sized hole and the knowledge they will now never be able to fill it.
Roman focusing on the falling stock price of Waystar Royco instead of the final voicemail he left on his father's phone may be a way to take the reins in the face of catastrophic loss. Or it could stress that while everything seems to have changed, nothing really has.
The sibs have spent the three seasons of Succession battling with their father and his estimation they are "not serious people". The perspective his death brings results in Shiv, Roman and Kendall delivering a press conference and missing Connor's wedding, just as Logan had planned to that morning.
While Logan might be gone, his gravitational pull at the centre of this well-dressed mess is not. Someone is going to step into the Logan vacuum, professionally and, in all likelihood, spiritually.
If there's one thing 'L to the OG' showed, it's that you need to be prepared to turn on everyone around you to fight for control. The question we now have seven episodes to answer is who is going to stoop down to their dad's level first.
Succession airs Sunday nights on HBO in the US, and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
You Might Also Like
