Succession: How Logan Can Finally Lose In Season 4

WARNING: Major spoilers for the Succession season 3 finale.

Succession‘s season 3 finale ended with a bang, and it appears Logan (Brian Cox) can finally lose in season 4. In its third season, the HBO series saw Kendall (Jeremy Strong) go against his father with all his weaponry, only to fail dramatically and succumb to his demons once again. Logan uses this opportunity to make a business move that leaves all his children out of Waystar after they (bar Kendall) struggled to be the favorite child throughout the season. The season 3 Succession finale even managed to top the previous season finales, keeping Succession’s rating at an all-time high.

When it becomes clear that Kendall is no match for him, Logan becomes interested in acquiring GoJo, Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) giant tech company. Matsson offers to buy Waystar instead, and for the first time ever, Logan actually considers cashing out. Of course, he knows his children wouldn’t agree, so he swiftly exists his ex-wife’s wedding to get the deal moving. Shiv realizes that she and her siblings are about to be screwed out of their stake in Waystar, and gathers Kendall and Roman (Kieran Culkin) to stop Logan’s plan by not granting him supermajority (Shiv and Roman turning against Logan also being a first). But Logan is one step ahead again and agrees with Caroline (Harriet Walter) to restructure their divorce settlement, giving him the supermajority needed to make a change in control.

When Logan comes out on top again, the Roy children learn that neither of their parents loves them, with Logan even mocking Roman when he brings up love as a reason not to cut them off. Shiv also learns that her mistake was not to concoct the plan against Logan but to tell Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) about it. It is safe to say the children are as angry as ever with their father, and if they manage to stick together in Succession season 4, it’s likely that Logan will finally lose in the Roy power struggles. Exposing Logan’s affair with his secretary Kerry (Zoe Winters) would be an obvious course of action (especially after Connor claimed Logan and Kerry are trying for a baby). With Logan finally letting go of Waystar, the list of what his children can do against him is long. And if season 3 ended with Logan once again declaring he won, Succession season 4 is bound to change some power dynamics – especially if Logan faces a team who can together take care of one another’s weak points.

Knowing how much Logan values power, many might question why he would agree to sell Waystar. Logan’s CEO position at Waystar meant not only power within the firm, but respect, public adulation, and ruling over those he cares about most. In a scene echoing Game Of Thrones, Logan sacrifices his corporate control to punish his children for their previous mistakes and let them know he is always the winner. But Logan is forgetting something important: that these are his children he is swaying over, and they are capable of unifying against him.

When Shiv asks Kendall and Roman to join her in a dusty backlot and make plans to defend their stakes at Waystar, Kendall breaks down and confesses his role in the death of the waiter at Shiv and Tom’s wedding. Roman and Shiv manage to comfort Kendall by surpassing their dysfunctional family tendencies. Amidst a Waystar crisis, this family crisis helps the siblings bond again and creates a strong basis for this team to take down Logan. In the car to Logan’s villa, the team seems strong (with Kendall more alive than ever). If they are to beat Logan in season 4, they must stick together (which has been historically hard), and also must demonstrate the killer instinct that Logan keeps reminding them they don’t have. Succession season 4 will see the end of Logan if his children use their collective power – and their anger – against him.

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