“He’s got that gleam in his eye.”
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 5.
With Logan Roy (Brian Cox) now pushing up daisies in Succession, and potentially in a kilt if Marcia (Hiam Abbass) has her way, the Waystar leadership has fallen into the hands of Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin).
The duo are tag-teaming the role of CEO, although the former has already asserted himself as the more dominant force by going against his brother’s wishes and covertly selling stories to the press.
Shiv (Sarah Snook), meanwhile, has been deployed elsewhere but remains looped in on key discussions – although that pact has already started to creak under the weight of external pressures, such as the GoJo renegotiation, which saw the three of them head to Sweden alongside board members and critical figures to clinch the deal.
Now, in the teaser for next week’s episode, Shiv shares concern for both of her brothers as those tensions continue to escalate. “You’re out of control, he’s out of control”,” she says to Roman, with Ken once again displaying signs of a possible collapse.
“You know he could do anything up there,” she remarks as he takes to the stage for what appears to be a company-wide presentation. “He’s got that gleam in his eye.”
We’ve seen that gleam before and it’s not pretty. Watch the preview below:
In the previous instalment of Succession season 4, right off the bat, Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) changed the parameters of the original agreement by asking the siblings to sell him the entire operation, ATN included, for an increased sum, which was a direct contradiction of the deal Logan had drafted.
Despite high praise from Gerri, Frank and Karl for securing a higher offer, Ken and Roman remained unenthused about losing the company’s news operation and that same evening, they cooked up a play of their own.
“I think I’d like to tank the deal, kill it, blow it up,” Ken said to Roman. “I like running the ship, I think we’re good at it. I don’t want to stop.” And he also has serious reservations about Matsson.
“He’s a bad fit, he doesn’t get the company, and I think he’s going to f**k it,” he added. “You’ve seen him up close and he’s a card trick, and he’s going to destroy everything dad built”.
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After some convincing, Roman agreed to backtrack and the duo headed up a mountain to confront the tech entrepreneur, with Ken leading the conversation before the “little brother” took over and lambasted the Swede for essentially murdering their father.
Of all the Roy children, Roman has worn his grief most visibly in the aftermath of Logan’s death. “I’m gone,” he said. “I’m on the f**king–I’m dead. It’s over for me.”
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That interaction could have quashed the deal but Matsson, being the agent of chaos he is, threw another offer their way, via Frank, upping the price to 192, which prompted champagne and high fives all round.
Then there’s Shiv, who looked like the cat that got the cream when the announcement came through. Matsson is a law unto himself but she’s absolutely under the impression that their private powwow had moved the needle.
Kendall and Roman, however, could barely hide their disappointment as they came to terms with the knowledge that they’re potentially about to lose control of their empire – but they’re not going down without a fight.
Succession is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW – sign up for Sky TV here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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