Succession's third season picked up right where its second season ended, with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) surprisingly deviating from his prepared press-conference script and instead outing his father Logan (Brian Cox) for the company's rape and cover-up scandals. Kendall reveals that his father has always been fully aware of the misconduct and oversaw the surrounding legal settlements himself. With Kendall now on an adrenaline high, and back to his ambitious self, he along with Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) and Karolina (Dagmara Domińczyk) enter a car heading for Waystar. Karolina, however, is conflicted over Kendall's decisions and exits the vehicle.
In the aftermath of Kendall's allegations, Logan splits his inner circle into two teams. Roman (Kieran Culkin), Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), and Shiv (Sarah Snook) are sent back to New York as one team. Karl (David Rasche), Frank (Peter Friedman), and Hugo (Fisher Stevens) are to join Logan in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina since the country has no extradition treaty with the U.S. Logan also keeps Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) close, and when Logan brainstorms who should be CEO of Waystar Royco, Tom doesn't push for his wife Shiv to get the position. When Shiv fails to convince Lisa Arthur (Sanaa Lathan) to legally represent Logan, he points Gerri as CEO interim. Star attorney Lisa then turns up at Kendall's ex-wife's house where Kendall has set up a "war room" away from the press. Kendall's intimidation tactics mean word of this gets back to Logan, who is furious.
No One Knows Whether to Side with Logan or Kendall
Greg is conflicted by the situation, having fallen into Kendall's team inadvertently. When Shiv turns up at Kendall's, Greg calls Tom to warn him. Tom pretends to know, brushing it off, then calls Shiv himself. Shiv then lies, telling him that she's home. Tom's distrust of Shiv now grows. Shiv is on the fence now, having been denied the CEO role by her father, but still hoping to talk Kendall down somewhat. Both Roman and Connor (Alan Ruck) also arrive at Kendall's despite their misaligned intentions and ideals. Humoring the idea of a sibling team-up, Kendall pitches to Stewy (Arian Moayed) that together they can push Logan out. Shiv mentions the idea to Tom and Roman discusses it with Gerri too, who tells Roman that yes, it would work in ruining Logan, but it would likely burn them too.
Greg is approached by his grandfather, and Logan's brother, Ewan (James Cromwell). Ewan supports Greg's need to separate himself from either side and get his own lawyer to protect his own interests. When they visit Ewan's lawyer, though, the men seem to want to use Greg to further investigate and expose the corruption within Waystar. Now unsure whether even Ewan has Greg's best interests in mind, Greg eventually takes a meeting with Logan who tells him to think about what he wants and come back to him with an answer.
Marcia (Haim Abbass) offers to return to Logan's side and play the part of supporting wife again under some conditions, namely that both she and her children are financially cared for. When Logan returns to the country, he asks Shiv to be President. Although she sees this as more of a mascot role than a leadership role, Logan makes Shiv feel special by asking her to be his eyes and ears, watching Gerri. He previously made a similar request to Roman too. Tom seriously fears going to prison in light of the scandal. He tells Shiv he considers facing it head-on as a martyr for Logan's cause, and although she reassures him that it won't come to that, she likes the idea of that show of faith; to prove Tom's loyalty towards Logan and earn themselves some brownie points. Tom does so Logan appreciates it.
Kendall Sabotages Shiv with a Nirvana Song
While Waystar is playing host to the town hall, headed by Shiv, Kendall decides to turn up at Waystar, since it is still his place of work. The building goes into panic stations, unable to prevent him from entering. Hoping to avoid a PR disaster, they are unable to fire Kendall and hope to convince him to step down. During Shiv's speech, she is drowned out by Nirvana's "Rape Me" blasted over the stereo by Kendall.
Having now made an enemy of Shiv, she drafts a letter calling Kendall an unreliable source with a history of drug abuse and poor relationships with women. Connor and Roman refuse to sign it, so Shiv goes it alone. Deeply horrified by the rogue publication of the letter, Kendall breaks down, pulling out of a TV appearance, so the program has no choice but to fill the airtime by reading out the letter for context. The only thing able to cheer Kendall up after this is the news that the FBI has raided Waystar Royco.
Shareholders Get Nervous After the FBI Raid
The FBI raid does not bode well for the shareholders, so Josh Aaronson (Adrien Brody) asks for a meeting with both Kendall and Logan. Eventually, they both agree to meet Josh at his private island home. Logan urges Josh to sit tight, promising to make him rich. Josh disagrees. He tells them that unless they can work together, the situation will need to be reconsidered, to which Logan delivers a heartfelt speech about his love and admiration for Kendall. He tells Josh that Kendall is the best of them, harking back to Logan's wry smile in the season 2 finale when Kendall outsmarted him. Logan's team needs Josh's vote in the upcoming shareholders' meeting, but it's hard to tell which way Josh is leaning. On the walk back, Logan is unwell and needs to sit down.
In an attempt to avoid the shareholder meeting altogether, Logan's legal team is attempting to come up with a deal. Logan is unhappy with everything they suggest, though, turning down the deal. It turns out that Logan is experiencing some mental haze as a result of his UTI, and the team wonder whether he was in the right mind to have made such a drastic decision. Shiv goes behind Logan's back to accept the deal with Sandy's daughter Sandi (Hope Davis), offering Sandi an extra seat on the board. As a result, no shareholder vote needs to take place. Kendall still takes the stage regardless, listing the names of the company's victims and announcing a foundation in their name. Logan blocks Kendall's phone number, and when Tom helps Logan in his confused and unwell state, Logan calls Tom "son".
Tom's Allegiance Is the Season's Big Mystery
With the company now fully cooperating with the Department of Justice, Kendall feels his side has less of a clear "good-guy" narrative than before. He then arranges to meet secretly with Tom at a diner, offering him a way out of going to prison. If Tom joins him, he will be able to place the blame on someone else higher up. Kendall tries to manipulate him by asking whether he thinks Shiv would wait for him to get out of prison, knowing full well she has not been faithful to her husband. Tom leaves to think about it and Kendall snaps a photo so that he has proof that they met to use against him if needs be.
At an elite private function that essentially sees the upper class select the country's next president, Shiv reluctantly follows Logan's orders to be photographed with xenophobic candidate Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) who Logan has decided to back despite Shiv's protests. Needless to say, Connor's campaign is a non-starter. Furious that Greg has decided to no longer be represented by his lawyer, Ewan arranges for Greg's multi-million-dollar inheritance instead to be left to Greenpeace. This sparks a hilarious lawsuit in which Greg proudly sues the major environmental charity.
The Family Drifts Further Apart Than Ever Before
It's Kendall's birthday, and he receives a card from Logan that reads "cash out and fuck off", with an offer to buy his shares for $2 billion. He throws an enormous party where he plans on singing onstage, but when his ex-wife informs him that his children have left him a present, he panics, unable to find it, confiding in his girlfriend Naomi (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) that he has not been prioritizing his life correctly. Logan is also interested in buying the company of tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) who speaks with Roman. Roman arranges a meeting between the three of them. Roman then attends Kendall's party where he berates Shiv, saying that the men have made all the moves without her help.
Kendall, Roman, and Shiv's mother, Lady Caroline Collingwood (Harriet Walter) is remarrying, this time to Peter Munion (Pip Torrens). Peter has a history of bankruptcy and failed marriages, so Roman wants his mother to arrange a prenup. Gerri has also moved on, seeing someone else, so she asks Roman to stop sending her nude photos of himself. Later, Roman accidentally sends a dick-pic to Logan, intending it for Gerri. Logan calls him a sicko and considers firing Gerri, which Roman reminds him would not look good PR-wise. Connor proposes to his escort-turned-girlfriend Willa (Justine Lupe) who says she needs to think about it. Eventually, she gives in and agrees to marry Connor.
During roleplay, Shiv tells Tom that he's not good enough for her, and Tom admits to feeling uncomfortable afterward. Shiv flippantly shrugs it off, invalidating his insecurities in light of her revealing remarks. Kendall sits down with Logan and agrees to the $2 billion buy-out, but Logan reminds Kendall of his manslaughter from the Season 1 finale, reminding Kendall of the power he still wields over him in spite of this. Later, Kendall falls asleep on an inflatable in the pool, nearly killing himself.
The Roy Family Splinters Even Further in the Finale
Kendall is revealed to be alive, having been treated overnight in the hospital. He says he doesn't want to make a big deal of the event, but later, his three siblings sit with him for an informal intervention. There is still and always has been support for his wellbeing among them. Gerri informs them that the company is facing an enormous fine from the D.O.J. and that Lukas Matsson's tech company is overtaking Waystar's, so Logan takes Roman with him to meet Matsson (sidelining Shiv yet again). Matsson knows, though, that Logan is desperate to acquire his company, so Matsson pitches a takeover where he would bring Roman on and buy Logan out. Logan sends Roman away while he discusses the matter with Matsson.
Roman tells Shiv the latest developments, and worried, she takes the issue to Kendall. Kendall experiences a breakdown at this moment, confessing his involvement in the manslaughter to Roman and Shiv. In a darkly-sweet moment, they comfort and forgive him, and the trio is back together again in full force. In order to stop Logan from handing the power over to Matsson, Kendall tells them they need a supermajority, and that the holding company their mother got in the divorce helps maintain the siblings' power. They form a plan and Kendall is seemingly more himself again. Shiv calls Tom to inform him of their plan, and Tom asks Greg if he will join Tom in making "a deal with the devil"? Greg sides with Tom.
The siblings confront Logan, who says it's the best time to sell to Matsson. They hold a united front against him, but when Logan calls Catherine (whose holding company is the siblings' only saving grace) it turns out Logan already got to her. It's over. But how did he know what they planned to do? As Logan leaves, having won, he gives Tom a pat on the shoulder. Shiv knows it was Tom who told Logan, and that "the devil" he and Greg decided to side with was in fact Logan Roy. Logan won, but it cost him the support of all his children.