Succession has brought Rava Roy (Natalie Gold) and Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) a lot of pain throughout its four seasons, but the last few episodes have really weighed on them as individuals and parents. In Season 1 of the series, we saw the destruction of their marriage and throughout the show, we've seen them try to come together to deal with their kids, be there for each other, and navigate a world where they're divorced, but they're still somewhat good for their family. But the warped election of Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk), threw a wrench in whatever progress Rava and Kendall had been making together. And Gold broke down why Rava decided to leave the city with their kids and not attend Logan Roy's (Brian Cox) funeral in Season 4 Episode 9 "Church and State."
Talking with Variety, Gold dove into Rava's relationship with Kendall, and why the character decided to not go to Logan's funeral when it clearly meant a lot to Kendall to have his family there. "I was so shocked by her decision to not go to the funeral when I read [the script]," Gold said. She continued:
"Not in a bad way. I just thought, 'Wow, that’s bold.' But I think now she seems more done than she ever has — and she’s been pretty done. She’s done being collateral damage, and I think we’re really getting to see her terrified, maybe dealing with her own complicity and getting out of Dodge — and she’s not going to show up for him. She’s putting her kids [Sophie, played by Swayam Bhatia, and Iverson, played by Quentin Morales] and their safety first."
It makes sense given how Rava has constantly been the only one who seemingly cares about their children. Kendall is there when it matters to him but Rava has been taking care of them day in and day out while Kendall wasted his time trying to prove to his father that he can take over Waystar Royco.
The thing about Kendall and Rava's relationship is that she clearly has always felt bad for him and struggled to leave him completely. When she should have thrown him to the curb, she still lets him into her life but now he may have taken things a bridge too far.
Logan Roy's Funeral Wasn't for Everyone
The decision for Iverson (who Gold says is Kendall and Rava's birth son) and Sophie (who the two adopted) to not go to the funeral came from countless moments throughout the series where Logan was a horrific grandfather to them. He hit his grandson at one point, asked him to try food he thought was poisoned—whether it was a joke or not—and just was generally unwelcoming to them. So it wasn't really a surprising thing for Rava to get her family out of town. "I found it to be a shocking decision, but it was absolutely perfect and absolutely right," Gold said about Rava taking the kids.
"I think Rava is obviously very conflicted. I don’t think it’s necessarily easy for her, and [the writers] write conflicting decisions so well. Was it the right call? Was it the wrong call? That’s for other people to decide. And you know, he wasn’t the fuzziest grandfather in the world. He was terrible to his grandkids. I mean, Brian would probably not love me saying that. But he hit his grandson in the face with a can. He was dismissive of them, dismissive of my parenting style. He was a terrible father to Kendall."
There is only one episode left of Succession and it is hard for fans of the series to come to terms with the fact that we have to say goodbye. But with an episode like "Church and State" setting up the finale, there's a lot we have to unpack. Like Kendall trying to take the kids from Rava and everything that could possibly happen as the Roy kids enter one last fight to take over the family business.
The Succession series finale airs on May 28 at 9 PM ET. You can watch the teaser trailer below.