Succession season 4, episode 4 recap: Honeymoon States

Episode 404 of HBO’s Succession does an admirable job of not keeping everything open-ended. In the wake of the death of Logan Roy, close family, and business associates meet at Logan’s home to discuss the future of the family business.

Marcia Roy (Hiam Abbass), who seemed to be estranged from Logan, insists to Kendall Roy that she was still very close to Logan. Noticeably, Kerry Castellabate, Logan’s most recent sexual conquest, is not at the meeting until later.

Siobhan “Shiv” Roy goes to the wake/business meeting as a “coronation demolition derby” for some of the people there. There is speculation that Gerri Kellman might take control in the interim.

However, Karl Muller (David Rasche) says, “Logan was souring on you,” to which she responds, “Well, Logan’s not around anymore.” Meanwhile, the Roy siblings eke out details for a future meeting about the “GoJo” acquisition deal considered essential for the future of Waystar.

As another interesting moment, Marcia tells Willa Ferreyra, “Look how far you’ve come,” to which Willa responds: “Well, look at us both, right?” It’s certainly a little mini commentary, as Willa was formerly a prostitute and there’s always been a sense that Marcia was after Logan’s money more than his genuine affection.

Succession season 4, episode 4 recap — An important (yet not legally binding) paper

There are a few other big developments for the Roy kids. Marcia apparently sells Logan’s house to Connor Roy for a mere $63 million, and an important paper has been found in Logan’s safe.

At the same time, there is another new scandal that threatens even non-Roy family characters, after Hugo Baker (Fisher Stevens) learns his daughter sold Waystar stock around the time of Logan’s death. Hugo says it was a coincidence, but it seems it could place her (and Hugo) under suspicion of insider trading (for more on what that means, you can check out this link).

Still, one of the biggest kerfuffles is about Logan’s safe paper suggesting that Kendall take over as CEO. It is technically not legally binding as the documents and addendums are undated.

But it does become a matter of internal debate regarding Logan’s intentions of who takes over and is used as a form of leverage. For example, Shiv brings up the question of whether Logan underlined Kendall’s name or crossed it out — an interesting question, regardless of Shiv’s own intentions.

So, even though the company board will ultimately choose, regardless of Logan’s paper, the company nonetheless might be influenced by such considerations.

Succession season 4, episode 4 recap — Molded like clay

Though Shiv says the document is “moot” and “impossible to decipher,” Ken interjects that the paper, at no point, mentions Shiv as a candidate for taking over. Gerri calls it a “selection of musings” by Logan, no doubt partly because the document also makes no mention of her.

That being said, even Greg Hirsch is mentioned, (albeit with a question mark) in this informal document. Meanwhile, Frank Vernon (Peter Friedman) suggests to Ken that Logan, “was an old bastard and he loved you,” which is a suggestion that Frank is on Ken’s side.

Succession also shows us that, predictably, some key players in “the conservative movement” are present for Logan’s wake, including people that Shiv doesn’t like, such as Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk), Mark Ravenhead (Zack Robidas), and Ron Petkus (Stephen Root). The Roy siblings roll their eyes when Petkus says Logan, “molded the country like clay in his hands”.

Connor takes issue with how Logan’s political leanings are being labeled. Also, Sandy Furness (Larry Pine) shows up, and finally, Kerry does as well.

She engages in seemingly exaggerated hysterics regarding Logan’s demise. Marcia prevents Kerry from going upstairs, but Kerry insists Logan was preparing to marry her, which is one of the most literal power plays in the episode.

Succession season 4, episode 4 recap — The new co-CEOs

This “Succession” episode doesn’t end without closure, and some positions are clarified quite strongly. For example, when Ken asks Roman if he’s still “pulling for Gerr-bear” (that is, Gerri), Roman says he’s “done helping old ladies cross the street.”

Meanwhile, it becomes clear that, because Roman knew Lukas Matsson as well as anyone could, he may have played a key role in solidifying the GoJo deal. This would suggest that Roman has already played a key role in shaping the future of Waystar.

Basically, no one could reasonably argue that Roman has failed to show any leadership strengths, despite his questionable behavior over the years. On that note, Ken and Roman essential tag team to freeze out Shiv from any formal leadership in Waystar.

The two, who were COOs, are soon voted in as the new co-CEOs, which Shiv resents but ultimately accepts, as they promise her input will still be included. As one of the factors, Stewy Husseini notes that Ken’s name was indeed on that private paper.

Finally, Karolina Novotneyn (Dagmara Domińczyk) and Hugo do a quick PR-planning meeting with Ken and Roman. The PR team suggests giving a negative PR treatment about Logan, to distance the company from some of his scandals.

Roman is outraged over the idea, seeing it as backstabbing and inappropriate after his father’s death. But Ken later speaks to Hugo about, “the bad dad stuff” and says to go through with it, “for the firm”, but to make it “soft” and on the “downlow.”

What are your thoughts on this episode of Succession? Let us know in the comments!

Succession season 4 episode 5 airs on April 23 on HBO.