Editor’s note: This article contains major spoilers for Succession Season 4 Episode 3.
It’s something we’ve all been waiting for, but honestly, can anyone say that they expected it to happen so soon? Yes, Succession just killed off Logan Roy (Brian Cox) once and for all. The patriarch of the Roy family and the head of their massive media conglomerate Waystar-Royco has been living on borrowed time since the series’ inception. When Logan suffered a stroke in that first episode, it brought his long-term health into question, sparking the race among his children to prove themselves worthy of taking over the family business.
In the first season of Succession, Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) was the clear front-runner to take over for his father, but his struggles with addiction and his siblings quickly becoming more business-minded than they once were have made it nearly impossible to decide who is the best fit to be the next Waystar-Royco CEO. While Kendall may still be the obvious choice as the Roy who’s had the most instrumental role at the company for the longest time, Season 4 is making it clear that baby of the family Roman (Kieran Culkin) may have better instincts when it comes to running a business. Meanwhile, Shiv’s (Sarah Snook) quick decision-making skills and her ability to up the ante in her favor also make her a likely candidate.
In Succession Season 4 Episode 3, Logan Roy is up to business as usual as he burdens Roman with one of the most emotionally difficult tasks he’s ever been given, before setting off on his private jet to go barter with Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård) for more money in the Go-Jo deal before he hands over the keys to the kingdom. Meanwhile, all the Roy siblings have gathered on a yacht to celebrate the oft-forgotten Connor’s (Alan Ruck) wedding to his sex worker-turned-wife Willa (Justine Lupe). However, things come to a screeching halt when Tom (Matthew MacFadyen) calls to let them know that Logan is dying and that if they have anything they want to say to him before the end, they need to do it now.
The Roy Siblings Each Have Very Different Reactions to Logan’s Death
The full ensemble cast of Succession is phenomenal in this episode, but the way that Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin play Shiv and Roman’s reactions to the news of their father’s death is on another level. While Kendall is, for the most part, devastated yet even-keeled, Logan dying throws Roman and Shiv off their axis. Shiv, who is informed several moments after her brothers learn the news, becomes a scared little girl, forgiving her father for his years of emotional abuse and manipulation in his final moments.
Meanwhile, Roman—who very well believes that his last words to his father were on the harsh side—is determined not to believe he’s really gone until he sees proof and is unable to allow himself the vulnerability of saying goodbye. In fact, Roman only allows himself to genuinely admit that he’s upset in front of Gerri (J. Smith Cameron). While the events of Season 3, and his Logan-orchestrated attempt to “knife her,” don’t leave the pair on the best of terms, it’s clear that there’s still a connection here. Roman’s vulnerability with Gerri gives them some interesting ground to travel through the rest of the season.
Kendall compartmentalizes his feelings almost immediately, showing that he cares by attempting to get his father access to the best possible medical care, but his efforts are futile as there’s very little he can do while Logan’s plane is 35,000 feet in the air. And Connor, bless his heart, is entirely left out until it’s far too late for him to do anything other than continue on with his wedding as planned.
What Does Logan’s Death Mean for the Rest of ‘Succession’s Final Season?
Having Logan die in the most sudden and unceremonious way is a wise move on the part of Jesse Armstrong and the Succession writers room. Fans have been waiting for the other shoe to drop with Logan for quite some time and the suddenness of his passing comes as both a shock for the audience and the characters while also leaving much of the series’ major plotlines up in the air, so to speak. With Kendall, Shiv, and Roman having just made a deal with Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones), presenting a united front for quite possibly the first time in their lives, all of their future plans—and their newfound loyalty to each other—are called into question.
As the Roys grapple with the loss of their father, and who will take his place, they each also have to reconcile the emotional weight of having been on bad terms with him before he died. Grief is complicated and messy enough as it is, but it will be interesting to see how each of the Roys deal with this loss. Logan’s one and only attempt to be vulnerable with his children went unaccepted in Season 4, Episode 2, as Kendall drew a boundary for all of them, letting Logan know it would take a lot more than a singular apology for them to forgive him for all of the wrong he’d done to them their entire lives. Even in his mediocre-at-best apology, Logan couldn’t resist throwing one last jab at his kids, with his love–if you can call it that–remaining conditional until the very end.
Let's be honest, Logan Roy was an abusive father in more ways than one, and while the kids were right to stand up to him, having him die so suddenly after doing so is likely something that will haunt each of them in different ways. Logan’s death gives the Roys an opportunity to find out who they really are without his looming presence casting an omnipresent shadow over everything they’ve ever done. Logan passed before he could complete the deal with Mattson, leaving the future of Waystar-Royco in the hands of someone in-house, but who exactly that may be is anyone’s guess.
Succession Season 4 airs on HBO and HBO Max on Sundays at 9 PM ET.