HBO's Succession season 2, episode 6 recap: Argestes

In episode 206 of HBO’s Succession, a scandal threatens to ruin Waystar Royco’s deal to buy Pierce Media Group.

Previously on Succession, the Roy family has dinner with the billionaire Pierce family to discuss a possible buyout. The Roys seemed to win, but they stand on shaky ground. If you recall season 1, Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) shredded documents at the request of his “mentor,” Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen).

However, Greg had kept copies of the papers for blackmail purposes, as they involved a number of scandals on their Brightstar cruise line. This scandal is starting to pop up in the press, and the Roy family starts pressuring the Pierces to finalize the deal, which will also head off an attempt to take over Waystar Royco. In fact, Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) verbally abuses people on a flight, pressuring them to procure the Pierce deal faster.

Arriving at Argestes

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Though Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Sarah Snook) stays home after not receiving the CEO position at Waystar, Logan (Brian Cox) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) are at the media club event at Argestes. In fact, Roman is accused of “scanning for influence like a yuppie Robocop.” Meanwhile, Tom and his “sherpa,” Greg, are off to discuss slogans for ATN News. Much to Logan’s sadness and delight, Sandy Furness (Larry Pine) is also there (Furness is trying to take over Waystar). Childishly, Logan speculates to Tom that Sandy has syphilis, to which Tom responds: “You don’t hear much about syphilis these days. Very much the MySpace of STDs.”

Also, due to the cruise line scandal, Succession introduces Hugo Baker (Fisher Stevens), Senior Vice President for communications in parks and cruises. They want to suppress the story with a cease and desist order, but that action could do even more to jeopardize the Pierce deal, should they get wind of it. In the process, Logan hangs up on Shiv for contributing nothing over the phone.

Sloganeering

Meanwhile, Greg is challenging Tom’s app slogan, “We’re Listening,” finding it too big brotherly — especially because the technology can randomly listen in on people. They debate replacing “We’re Listening” with “We Hear You,” ultimately concluding with “We Hear For You.” Greg finds it non-specific, with plenty of wiggle room. Oddly enough, though, the slogan becomes “We Here For You,” sort of reminiscent of MSNBC’s previous slogan, “Lean Forward.” It is interesting that Succession” delves more into business strategy this season, while skillfully blending it with the personal drama. Keep in mind, this is all occurring between Tom and Greg as the cruise scandal potentially threatens to sink them both.

Business or personal?

In a surprising development, Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) asks Roman to talk with a man named Asgarov (Babak Tafti), a rich Azerbaijani who may be able to save Waystar from Sandy Furness and Stewy (Arian Moayed), should the PGN deal fall apart. Asgarov seems open to a deal, except he proposes vague, positive spins to the news which might not be to Waystar’s liking. On that note, Logan meets with Pierce CEO Rhea Jarrell (Holly Hunter) to apply pressure, saying they need the deal signed soon or they might walk. Kendall fraternizes with Stewy, warning him to back off from the takeover, as PGN will make them too big to handle. Greg later meets with Roman in the bathroom, asking him if he has any cocaine.

Shiv then surprises Tom by appearing. She gives vague news of the cruises scandal, also asking him if he’s trying to get with Nia Bayton (Cerelina Proesl). Of course, given her own infidelities, it’s a bit hypocritical for her to be at all outraged. In another odd Succession moment, Roman proposes a vague business partnership with Gerri, likening her to a competent filing cabinet no one seems to notice, which would blend interestingly with himself as a “rock star moron.” Given the strange sexual chemistry between the two, it seems like something crazy enough to work. He calls it “the rock star and the mole woman.”

Deal dead in the water

Soon, Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones) shows up to Argestes, which is the Roy’s chance to finish the deal. Ken wants them to sign over breakfast, fearing the cruises scandal could derail them. After breakfast, Hugo Baker discusses the scandal, involving those working at Brightstar cruises in the mid-’90s. People were demanding sex with dancers for contract renewals, which they did to avoid having their careers derailed. They also had to sign non-disclosure agreements. It’s also apparent that at least one woman may have drowned, and murder is suspected. In planning for publicly addressing the scandal, Kendall ultimately says they can’t minimize it and there must be consequences. Shiv is asked to address it but is reluctant. Stewy later tells Ken his PGN deal is “Dead in the water, like some of the women on those cruises.” Under the stress, Logan vomits.

Hugo says the best strategy is to condemn the scandalous behavior and move on. Shiv wants to go solo in the interview, but it’s ultimately split between her, Kendall and Roman. As they appear before the audience, Ken says they won’t simply “condemn and move on” (borrowing and criticizing Hugo’s slimy language). They do emphasize that it was 25 years ago and they haven’t begun properly investigating. Roman says “We’ll do whatever it takes, whatever anyone wants.”

Shiv scandalously says they need a “dinosaur cull,” emphasizing that she means “dinosaur attitudes” and not her father Logan; “I would never go after my dad; That’s a sport others enjoy.” Logan doesn’t seem very pleased with the comment. In fact, he later slaps Roman across the face after Roman defends him against the dinosaur reference. Normally Roman isn’t very sympathetic, but when we learn Logan cracked his tooth, we gain some insight into ongoing family abuse (Logan has hit family members before).

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The roast

Comedian Zell Simmons (Nore Davis) conducts a roast, joking about the cruise scandal. It prompts Nan Pierce to leave the room. She confronts Rhea Jarrell, demanding she resigns for speaking to Logan without her knowledge. When Nan leaves, we see Logan panicking. The deal is indeed dead in the water. Can anyone save them from Stewy and Sandy?

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