Editor's Note: The following contains full spoilers for 'Succession' Season 4, Episode 7Though he's now been named co-CEO, Roman Roy's (Kieran Culkin) may be short-lived in Succession Season 4, and it's all thanks to Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron). Gerri has had a hectic couple of seasons of the show, and Roman can be traced back as the source of that nonsense. Roman has frankly had an unhealthy and inappropriate obsession with Gerri since Season 1, constantly making unwanted sexual advances toward her and sending her explicit photos of his genitalia (which he once accidentally sent to his dad). The later photographic evidence may prove to be Roman's biggest mistake, as Gerri has the receipts and is ready to make an expensive return.
Roman Immediately Regrets Firing Gerri in Episode 6
Things have been on a slow decline for Roman and his overconfident brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) ever since they took over as co-CEOs following the unexpected death of their father, Logan Roy (Brian Cox). While Kendall has created a habit of surrounding himself with a gaggle of "yes men," even going as far as to enact a rule that nobody is allowed to tell him "no", Roman is also going a bit mad with power. We get a first glimpse at this when Roman makes the curt decision to fire Joy Palmer (Annabeth Gish) — a prominent executive in Waystar Royco's hugely successful filmmaking division. The reason for Joy's firing? Roman doesn't like that Joy questioned his authority and competency as CEO, even though Joy brought up her concerns in a fairly polite and straightforward manner that is not unheard of in usual business dealings. If anything, Joy probably had conversations like these with Logan Roy on a daily basis.
Unfortunately for Roman and Kendall, it seems the only lesson they learned from their dad's business dealings is to be as unpredictable and erratic as possible, firing, punishing, and reprimanding anyone who dares question their authority. It's something that Logan was admittedly known for doing, but he also did take the advice of his counsel seriously, regardless of how many times he hurled profanity at them. One of those people was Gerri, the former interim CEO who got that temporary position because of her unparalleled business smarts and loyalty to the company. And although Gerri was on the chopping block right before Logan died, her expertise is unmatched in Waystar Royco.
Shortly after Joy is fired, Gerri confronts Roman on the decision and advises walking back the respected executive's termination at Waystar Studios. Gerri says the reason is firing a prominent employee like Joy opens Waystar Royco to potential litigation issues, not to mention a pricey severance package in any scenario. What does Roman do in response to this criticism? Just like Joy's concerns, Roman completely ignores any accusation of wrongdoing and even fires Gerri on the spot. It's a shocking move that showcases Roman trying to assert his dominance once again over an employee who dared question him, but it's one that may have been the first critically bad move in what could be the start of many more bad moves.
Roman Tries to Walk Back Gerri's Firing in Episode 7, But Gerri Isn't Having It
Despite Roman seemingly firing her in Episode 6, Gerri still sticks around at the company as if nothing happened. It seems that the main reason that Gerri has been sticking around is that she's been building a case against Roman and the company in case they don't agree to her lengthy demands. This is all revealed when Gerri makes a surprise appearance at the Roy Siblings' election tailgate party.
Roman takes instant notice that Gerri is present and tries to put on his definition of charm to make a good impression on the enraged executive he fired. This hasn't really worked for Roman in the past, but he at least had Logan to inspire fear in Gerri and anyone else who crossed him. Roman tries to convince Gerri that he wasn't serious when he fired her in vain, trying to frame it as a hypothetical or a joke. To put it simply, Gerri is not having it and takes this obnoxious conversation with the perverted Roy sibling to give him formal notice that she has demands and will sue the company if those demands are not met.
Gerri tells Roman that she wants compensation of several million dollars to make up for her premature firing, showing that she's not even interested in working at the company anymore. Roman scoffs at this idea and immediately says no, but his demeanor subtly changes when Gerri mentions that she has copies of his sexually harassing messages and pictures that he's sent her over the years. Those were something that Gerri put up with to maintain her position at the company, but now that she's been let go, she's using that evidence to her advantage to take Roman and maybe the entire company to the cleaners.
Roman Shows Gerri's Threats Got to Him in His Conversation with Connor and Willa
Before Gerri dropped the bomb of her lawsuit threats, we can see that the pressure is clearly getting to him during his conversation with Connor (Alan Ruck) and Willa (Justine Lupe). Prior to his impromptu meeting with Gerri, Roman has been trying to get Connor to drop out of the presidential race to make the outcome of the election more concrete. It looked like he was convincing his brother, but after Willa tells her new husband that living in a new country for political reasons may not be a great idea, Connor reconsiders.
When Roman finds out his brother has flip-flopped, Roman loses it. He hurls obscenities at Willa, repeatedly trying to discredit her opinions even though this is her personal decision and showing his true feelings to Connor by telling him he's a joke and a failure. Connor may be arrogant and naive when it comes to his political aspirations, but he still manages to show he's matured following Logan's death and simply takes Willa and leaves the party.
It's almost impossible to deny that Roman's outburst towards his sister-in-law and brother was influenced by his conversation with Gerri. Without that, maybe Roman would have approached this with a cooler head and handled it differently. Now, with a damning lawsuit that could destroy his career and negatively affect the company, Roman is deathly terrified of Gerri and her prospective lawsuit. That sense of fear is entirely justified.
Succession Season 4 is available to stream on HBO Max.