‘Succession’ Season 4 Episode 3 Review: ‘Connor’s Wedding’ – Spoilers

April 10, 2023

So the plane on the poster was a hint after all.

(Editor’s note: Included in the following review spoilers for “The Succession” Season 4, Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding”.)

Death has been hanging over “Succession” since the pilot, when Logan’s (Brian Cox) stroke was first sparked by his children. fight for the control of his empire. But the Grim Reaper was also there in the shadow of the opening episodes of season 4. During Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) routine stabbing, Roman (Kieran Culkin) jokes about what happens to Buddhists when they die. In the midst of last week’s “needy love sponge” speech, Connor (Alan Ruck) describes himself as a plant that can only survive on the insects that die inside it. (And Connor certainly can’t make a living, let alone run for president, without dad’s money.) One could also argue that we’re witnessing the death of a marriage between Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Shiv, as well as the death of a man. Waystar-Royco prepares to be absorbed by GoJo.

Perhaps the sale, which marks the end of Logan’s lifelong ambitions, was supposed to point to impending death. After all, it must have felt like death to him. In his soapbox speech to ATN, Logan protested the idea that he was done. Before that, at the very beginning of the episode, he was visibly irritated when Kerry (Zoe Winters) asked him how he was feeling. (“Why is everyone asking how I’m feeling? It’s my decision!”) Logan was specifically referring to his feelings about the GoJo deal closing, but he may have also been referring to his health. In Episode 1, Logan spends his birthday thinking about the literal end. “Nothing tastes like it used to, does it?” he says to his bodyguard. “Nothing is the same as it was.” These are not the thoughts of an appreciative person, a happy person, a person who longs to experience life. And you wouldn’t know? The next words out of Logan’s mouth are: “You think there’s something after this? (…) I do not think so. I think this is it. (…) We do not know. We can’t know. But I have my suspicions. I have a fucking suspicion.”

Now that it’s collapsed it’s his PJs on the way to meeting Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), he knows. Or if Logan was right and death was nothing but lights out, he’d never know. Logan’s fate has an apt ambiguity: if you see it that way, you’ve got your answer, and if you see it differently, you never will. But even better is the certainty of what comes next; that the pending fate of his empire will be resolved in the coming weeks and we will all see him shine or fall to the ground.

Killing off Logan in the third episode of the final season of “Succession” is a brilliant creative decision. It’s shocking in its suddenness (for the family and the audience), yet grounded in the reality that death waits for no one—not even a day, so Logan can make the deal that secures his legacy—ending in a fittingly titanic twist that he’s caught. as a completely human ordeal. “Connor’s Wedding” has it all (even Connor’s actual wedding for a moment). There’s a fateful meeting that never comes, the carpeting of Logan’s mile-long death (and subsequent fallout), and mounting questions about what to do next. The impending tussle over Waystar-Royco, whether or not the GoJo deal is rubber-stamped, will challenge and expose our remaining players in ways that are hard to fathom, yet inevitable.

Just look at how long it takes kids to process the news. Kendall and Roman have to repeat themselves a dozen times, yelling at poor, helpless Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) begging for more information or their father’s survival. (Quick sidebar: Tom, for what it’s worth, handles the situation about as well as anyone can. He calls Shiv first—twice—before Roman. He’s as clear in his messages as he is delicate in his news—by Roy family standards, anyway — and does his best to follow up on any extreme CPR requests from the ground, even though it’s clear to those on the plane that Logan won’t wake up. Tom will likely witness the death of his own career alongside his father-in-law, since Logan was the only person alive. , who stayed in Tom’s corner. He admits this in his phone call to Greg, which frankly happened later than anyone else on that plane.)

Succession Season 4 Episode 3 Logan Dead Brian Cox

Brian Cox and Matthew Macfadyen in The Succession

Courtesy of David M. Russell/HBO

The pain pouring out of Kendall, Roman, Shiv and Connor is messy and intense. It takes the two brothers hours to leave Shivér (it’s actually about five minutes)—who was at Connor’s pre-wedding cocktail hour, blissfully unaware of the chaos a few rooms away—and by the time all three are together, their grieving process is only prolonged. There are pleas to speak to the pilot, demands for heart surgeons who have no way of reaching Logan during the flight, and a desperate plea from Kendall to “do it right.”

Kudos to Strong, Snook, and Culkin, but especially to the man playing Roman, who carried the extra burden of guilt (for betraying his brothers to help Logan) and worry (knowing his last words to dear old dad). are you a whore?”). It will be fascinating to learn how the episode was written and shot, given how crazy and raw the final cut was, but the careful pacing and indelible frames are a testament to the entire team, not just the hour’s credited writer, Jesse Armstrong. and director Mark Mylod.

(Update: In the HBO production video released with the episode, Mylod said that at first they shot each scene where the kids learned of Logan’s death separately, but then ran the entire series in real time—essentially making a 28-pager. “It was like we would have done a one-act on a ship, with multiple rooms with background actors, three cameras everywhere, lights,” Culkin said, crediting Mylod for the idea. (Mylod, Culkin said first.) “It was unlike anything I’d ever done. (And) we only did it once.” Mylod also said that a “large percentage” of this footage ended up in Episode 3.)

Kendall on the tarmac as Logan’s body is taken off the plane and Roman standing by the boarding steps – this shot has legs. And even though the three Roy brothers hug before parting ways, it’s worth noting that none of them are together as the ambulance drives away. Each Roy child stands alone.

At the start of Season 4, much of the focus was on the siblings’ united front: could Kendall, Roman and Shiv hold together after being trampled in Tuscany? The premiere makes it clear that they’re better off without their father, just as the second episode shows just how ugly things can get when they’re lured back into his orbit. Roman has a complete meltdown after watching his vengeful brother and sister beat up dear old dad, while Kendall and Shiv spend months trying to start their own company once they get the chance to screw their dad. (Of course, Száz was a bad idea, but that’s how it was theirs idea, and promised a better, healthier future for the Roy kids than his $10 billion ill-gotten waste.) Up until episode 3, it looked like Logan was going to tear them apart with his typically nefarious ways, but now a familiar temptation — who will control Royco? — just without a villain to go up against. Can they stay together through grief, or will Logan’s absence become her greatest power?

We do not know. We can’t know. But I have a fucking suspicion.

grade: A

Succession Season 4 Episode 3 Nicholas Braun Greg

Nicholas Braun in Succession

Courtesy of Macall B. Polay/HBO

Greg Sprinkles

It’s almost a shame that Logan had to die in the same episode where Tom drops “Gregging for me” and “Greglet” as in the movie. Greg is a pig. My God. I really like both of them. Here’s hoping the latter leads to a future photo shoot of Nicholas Braun with minis.

Slime Puppy Time

Part 3 is a rollercoaster ride for everyone involved, but no one hits the ups and downs better than Roman. Before the wedding, she questions whether she should be helping her father at all—especially after Logan asks her to fire Gerrit. “I think it would be better coming from you,” Logan says. “You two were… close.” There’s no doubt that Logan is intent on punishing his son for fooling around with a top executive like Gerri (not to mention involving Logan through an accidental dick pic), but Roman is powerless to stop him. The best he can do is leave an angry voicemail—a voicemail that will come back to haunt him when he learns those may have been the last words Logan heard from Roman.

By following his father’s wishes, he lost an ally in Gerri. By talking to Logan in secret, she jeopardized the bond she had formed with Kendall and Shiv. On top of all that, he still has to find a way to say goodbye to his dad — which doesn’t go so well at first, as Tom holds the phone to Logan’s ear and Roman says, “You’re a good dad. You did a really good job… no.” He stops himself from forgiving Logan in his father’s final moments, as does Kendall seconds later. But at least Kendall says, “I love you.” Roman, well, Roman already regrets these forgotten words.

Whatever happens to Roman, it won’t be easy. His brother jokes when he tells Roman, “You’re not going to be okay. You’re totally nuts,” but that might be the truth.