Season 3 of Succession came back as good as ever, even delivering what might be the best season finale the show has offered thus far. The HBO show's second Season ended with Kendall played by Jeremy Strong refusing to take the fall for the company’s cruise scandals, so Season 3 has the Roy family more fractured than ever.
It’s Team Logan versus Team Kendall to start, but quickly and predictably Kendall’s potential power grab fades into the background. He just isn’t enough to take on Logan played by Brian Cox, and the show knows it. Early on in the season, the siblings come together and realize that only the three of them have the power to take the company from their dad, but by the time they’ve come together to do so, he’s one step ahead.
Aside from all the drama, Season 3 also came through with the show’s signature comedy that has marked its tone from the beginning. Big character moments are often balanced with comedy laced with a painful edge; as awful as these people are (thanks Twitter, we know) the pain is real. We’ve put together a list of some of the best moments of Season 3 that offer hilarity, drama, or (most often) both.
Connor speaks up - Episode 9, "All the Bells Say"
After Kendall’s near-death experience, the rest of the Roy siblings arrange a pseudo-intervention for their brother. Kendall is initially blasé about the whole thing, but eventually starts to open up about what a hard time he’s been having. Connor (Alan Ruck) is, as always, quietly supportive, but speaks up when Kendall refers to himself as their father’s oldest son.
In a rare fit of temper, Connor stands up and rather forcefully reminds them that he is their eldest brother. Kendall responds with, “I thought you loved me?” and Connor drops: “Asshole! I do love you. I love all three of you pricks, but what do I get from you chumps but chump change. Fucking chump change.”
The siblings confront Logan - Episode 9, "All the Bells Say
After meeting with Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), Logan does the unthinkable and actually begins to consider taking a settlement and stepping back from the company. Things start to look pretty shady to Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), who are deliberately kept out of the loop so that they don’t sabotage the deal. They bring Kendall in on what’s going on, and the three set off to use their veto power to stop the sale of Waystar.
However, Shiv makes the mistake of letting Tom (Matthew Macfayden) in on what’s about to go down, and he gets to Logan before the siblings do. Logan talks Caroline (Harriet Walter) into re-negotiating the clause that gave their children veto power, and shuts down their power play before it can get further than a series of emotional pleas. After three seasons of Logan successfully pitting his children against each other, the Roy siblings manage to join forces too late in the game.
Kendall leaves his party - Episode 7, "Too Much Birthday"
Kendall is a complicated character. On the one hand, he is a privileged asshole with extremely narcissistic qualities. On the other hand, he is a baby. This is largely due to Strong’s performance, which showcases the pain and insecurity beneath all the bravado, and really each Roy sibling has a ton of emotional baggage just from being raised in such a toxic environment.
Though Kendall decides to take on his entire family in Season 3, he still wants to be loved. They were all prepared to throw him to the wolves, but he is desperate for their approval (and the approval of basically everyone he meets). So when Connor, Roman, and Shiv show up to his birthday party, you can see how happy he is.
Of course, Roman and Shiv have an agenda: Matsson will be in attendance, and they want to speak with him on behalf of Waystar (another move that will help them gain their father’s approval; this family is seriously messed up). Also, Connor won’t take off his damn coat. Kendall really should have known better, but naively believed that his siblings just wanted to see him. When he realizes how alone he is at his big birthday bash, he leaves his own party early.
On his way out, he’s aggressively bullied by Roman, who can be a real dick when he puts his mind to it. Of course, Roman’s lashing out stems from his own issues, but that’s for another entry.
Logan loses it - Episode 5, "Retired Janitors of Idaho"
In a standout episode from the middle of the season, Team Logan is trying to figure out a way to settle with Sandi and Stewy in order to stop things from going to a vote, which they’d likely lose. Sandi and Shiv relay different terms between their fathers as they try to reach an agreement before it’s too late, but Logan himself starts showing signs of mental incapacitation, throwing into question the deal in its entirety.
Shiv sees this as an opportunity to girl boss it up, and Tom grows closer to Logan by patiently taking care of him while he’s out of it. Once Logan gets his medication, he’s back to normal, and Shiv lingers at his side, waiting to be congratulated for basically single-handedly saving the deal (and the family’s stake in the company). But Shiv should know by now that Logan isn’t big on positive reinforcement, and he gripes about how she could have done a better job.
Roman’s dick pic - Episode 8, "Chiantishire"
After making daddy proud, Roman sends Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) a celebratory dick pic. However, his subconscious takes over, and he sends said pic to his dad, making him decidedly less proud. Culkin’s facial expression when he realizes what he’s done is like, maybe the single greatest visual of the year.
Logan takes Roman into another room to ask him why he’s sending dick pics to Gerri of all people, but since Roman himself doesn’t really want to touch his sexual psyche, he passes it off as just something people do for giggles. I guess it’s not like he can say his cat walked across his keyboard with all those witnesses.
Shiv’s dancing - Episode 7, "Too Much Birthday"
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Logan puts Shiv through quite a bit too. In Season 2, he kept promising her that she was being groomed to take over when it was time for him to step down, but everyone knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Season 3 has Shiv still trying to be daddy’s favorite, but she continues to fall behind her brothers. This time, it’s Roman who’s edging Shiv out of the spotlight, and Shiv is starting to break by the time Kendall’s birthday party rolls around. When Roman refuses to let her help with Matsson, Shiv gets a little drunk and lets loose on the dance floor, which is something you just have to see for yourself to understand why it’s on this list.
Tom and Greg make a deal - Episode 9, "All the Bells Say"
Tom may be a sort of pathetic guy, but he isn’t dumb. He isn’t helpless, either. This season, he started to really earn the trust of his father-in-law by his willingness to go to jail for him and help him go to the bathroom. Kendall approaches Tom, thinking that the likelihood of jail time will make him vulnerable to switching sides. Tom’s response shows how much he’s learned from his time with their family: “I don’t mean to be insulting, but, having been around a bit… my hunch is that you’re going to get fucked, because I’ve seen you get fucked a lot. And I’ve never seen Logan get fucked once.”
This comment foreshadows Tom’s betrayal of Shiv in the Season finale, but that isn’t the only move Tom makes. Before he makes his move, he asks Greg (Nicholas Braun) if he wants in. Earlier in the Season, a distraught Tom tells Greg the story of Nero, who betrayed his wife before castrating and marrying Sporus, a slave. This story becomes real for Tom and Greg when Tom screws Shiv over and teams up with Greg, who happily declares: “Souls are boring. Boo souls!”
“Fuck it forever” - Episode 9, "All the Bells Say"
Early on in Season 1, we meet Willa (Justine Lupe), an escort and aspiring playwright who is often paid to accompany Connor to family events. Connor is in love with her, and manages to bribe her into making their arrangement full-time. As Connor’s political ambitions grow in Season 3, he proposes to Willa to protect them from the press finding out about her past profession. He also actually just loves her.
Willa waits for a bit before making her decision, wounding Connor’s ego. Finally, as he’s guilting her again, she says “fuck it”, which is Willa for “yes”. This acceptance is basically a gut-punch, so of course the eldest son of Logan Roy loves it, prompting him to yell “Fuck it forever!” with a huge, unironic smile on his face.
Kendall and Logan Sit Down - Episode 8, "Chiantishire"
After an entire Season of hardly speaking, Kendall asks Logan to sit down with him to discuss selling his shares and leaving the company behind for good. After an entire Season of parading about as the king of feminism, Kendall cuts the bs, accepts defeat, and makes what could have been the best move for him. The thing is, Logan has no intention of letting Kendall go.
Logan refuses to buy Kendall’s shares, and instead continues to taunt him over the kid he killed in Season 1. When Kendall realizes he’s lost, he shows he’s his father’s son by throwing a small tantrum. Logan’s tantrums turn him into a bigger bully, but Kendall’s defense is to play the victim as much as he can. Logan just isn’t letting him. It’s a great scene between two fantastic actors.
Kendall Confesses - Episode 9, "All the Bells Say"
In the most emotional scene of the Season, Kendall breaks down and tells Roman and Shiv about the kid he killed at Shiv’s wedding. There’s a reason this is the clip all the awards shows are using for his nominations. Strong delivers a heartbreaking confession that brings Kendall and siblings closer than we’ve seen them in a long time (possibly ever).
Roman and Shiv aren’t natural comforters; affection isn’t really something that comes naturally to the Roy family. But they show their brother that they love him in their own ways. Shiv with an awkward head pat, and Roman with an unrelenting quest to do what he knows he can, which is make Kendall laugh.