Spoiler alert: this article discusses the plotlines of Succession from season one up to and including season four, episode nine.
After four superlative seasons and thousands of F-bombs, Jesse Armstrong’s dynastic drama, HBO hit Succession, is about to bow out. The show’s Rolls-Royce writing, sumptuous production values and stellar performances have seen it win armfuls of awards and become a pop cultural phenomenon. The multibillion-dollar question is right there in the show’s title: who will succeed the media mogul Logan Roy? However, that is far from the only storyline to be tied up. Here are 22 burning questions for the feature-length finale. Buckle up …
1. Who will end up on top?
The multibillion dollar question is right there in the show’s title and Armstrong has promised us an answer. So who will ultimately succeed potty-mouthed patriarch Logan Roy? It currently looks like a knife-fight in the mud between his daughter Shiv (superbly played by Sarah Snook) in partnership with tech mogul Lukas Matsson, and a boardroom rebel alliance led by her brother Kendall, acted with haunted intensity by Jeremy Strong. Mythology suggests that Roman AKA Romulus, the youngest son played brilliantly by Kieran Culkin, might emulate his ancient namesake by defeating his brother to seize the throne. Yet perhaps the most logical outcome is the self-sabotaging scions destroying each other and handing power to an outsider. Just pray it’s not Bran bloody Stark.
2. What’s happened to Roman?
We last saw the youngest Royboy™ brought low by the double humiliation of his aborted eulogy at his father’s funeral and fluffed deal with neo-fascist president elect Jeryd Mencken. Having failed to “pre-grieve” after all, he waved away his security detail, took to the streets and masochistically goaded protestors into punching him to the ground. Rumours are he’s “missing” in the finale. Expect his siblings to pick him up, dust him down – then probably shaft him. Poor Romey.
3. Who will buy out whom?
With regulatory concerns unresolved, a boardroom fight looming and Hugo briefing journalists that the sale price undervalues the resurgent company, will GoJo’s acquisition of Waystar go through? Kendall’s bid to go “reverse Viking” and have Waystar buy out GoJo hasn’t been mentioned explicitly in the past two episodes, but could be “the plan” he mentioned at the wake. And what of the siblings purchasing Pierce for $10bn? Nan Pierce could start chasing up her invoice.
4. Will the dead waiter come back to haunt Kendall?
He is Chekhov’s waiter. Could Kendall’s vehicular manslaughter of a fired member of the catering staff at Shiv and Tom’s wedding – after he went looking for drugs, swerved his car to avoid a deer and drove into a lake – be his downfall? The thread has run through all of Succession’s most climactic episodes. The season one finale featured the Chappaquiddick-echoing crash in which Andrew Dodds drowned and Kendall fled the scene. The season two finale revolved around whether Kendall was “a killer”. The season three finale found him tearfully confessing the crime to his siblings. Colin the bodyguard covered it up and Kendall has just bought his silence by offering him a job. Could Shiv or Roman leak the story to bring down their big brother?
5. Will Mencken become president?
With the help of ATN, the neo-fascist Jeryd Mencken has pulled off a coup by declaring himself president-elect. Will “the handsome Nazi” make it into the Oval Office? A protracted legal battle beckons. There is the stench of corruption and protests in the streets. If Mencken reneges on blocking the GoJo deal, could ATN turn on him and swing power the other way?
6. Was it an underlining or a crossing out?
We will probably never know for sure, what with the man who made the fateful annotation – non-binding, moot, not germane and heavily caveated, naturally – being dead. It’s easier to imagine Logan crossing out his presumed heir’s name in fury than underlining it for emphasis. Either way, it pushed Kendall to pursue the throne. As he said: “Well, it sure as shit doesn’t say Shiv.”
7. What was the meaning of Matsson and Shiv’s ‘yes’ phone call?
During Logan’s wake, Shiv and Matsson had an ambiguously coded phone conversation (“It’s a yes.” “From the …?” “Yeah.” “Smart move!”). Some viewers read this as Matsson agreeing to make her the US CEO. Others thought he was confirming that Mencken was now on side. Was it both? Will Mencken let the deal proceed, provided Shiv is in charge? Or had Matsson secured backing from someone else?
8. Will Cousin Greg come out on top?
“Greg the motherfucking egg,” said Kendall to his cousin in the season one finale. “You little machiavellian fuck. I see you. I like it.” Fans used to theorise that lanky lummox Greg could bumble his way to the top. His recent journey from court jester to hatchet man has made him less of a people’s champion, but the leggy princeling might still fail upwards. Why was he a footnote on Logan’s fateful piece of paper? Matsson seems to have warmed to him, so could he slither into a top job if the GoJo takeover happens? Could his grandpa Ewan die, bequeathing him voting rights on the board? With fans theorising that he could secretly be in cahoots with Matsson, don’t rule out the junior Disgusting Brother yet.
9. Can Tom and Shiv repair their marriage?
They’ve been circling a reconciliation all series, only to blow it up with blazing rows. Surely with a little “Wambsgland” on the way, Shiv and Tom Wambsgans – the shamelessly venal husband played by Matthew Macfadyen – can sort their act out. Shiv seemed to soften last week, sending burnt-out Tom back to their apartment to sleep. Vicious things were said, sure, but it’s still hard to imagine the co-dependent power couple with anyone else. If Tom dodges further blowback from Fox News-alike network ATN’s controversial election call, they could yet become Lord and Lady of Waystar Manor, Royshire.
10. What will happen to Decision Desk Darwin?
Election night saw ATN’s Nate-Silver-ish polling guru, Darwin (Adam Godley), steamrollered into prematurely calling Wisconsin for Mencken, allowing him to stake a claim to the presidency. With protests on the streets and the press blaming him for the controversial call, Darwin’s career looks over. Shed a tear for him, then blame it on the wasabi and lemon La Croix in your eyes.
11. Will Connor and Willa live happily ever after in Slovenia?
Spare part eldest sibling Connor, Alan Ruck’s best part since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, parlayed his failed presidential bid into the promise of an ambassadorial position. Will he and his wife enjoy “Vienna for lunch, Venice for dinner and Dubrovnik for breakfast”? Will they start a family of mini-Conheads? Will they have to live underground? And what of Connor’s demented vision of a “Pan-Hapsburg American-led EU alternative”?
12. What pills is Roman taking?
We have seen him popping mysterious pills several times this season. Consumed by grief and humiliated at the funeral, could the youngest Royboy overdose on prescription meds? Of course, he may not be the only “CE-bro” with a drug problem. Kendall’s runny nose at the funeral may have been the result of a tearful sniffle or stress-induced sweat. Or it may hint that he is back on the coke.
13. Will Hugo get caught for insider trading?
Waystar’s comms chief, Hugo, not only appeared on Matsson’s kill list, but also admitted to Kendall that he had tipped off his daughter to sell her Waystar stock before news broke of Logan’s death. Unscrupulous Hugo has formed an alliance with Kendall (“You’ll be my dog.” “Woof woof.”), but it might not protect him. With Karolina more aligned with Shiv, which of the PR fixers will prevail?
14. What will the four widows get?
Among the funeral’s most touching sights was the front pew bonding between the women Logan left behind: ex-wives Marcia and Lady Caroline (played by the wonderful Harriet Walter), alongside mistresses Kerry and Sally-Anne (played by Brian Cox’s actual wife Nicole Ansari-Cox). We know from the finale trailer made available by HBO that Lady C appears in the finale, at least. Did the salty old dog make provisions for them in his will? Could any stakes in the company – and knowledge of Logan’s secrets – come home to roost? Chuckles the Clown might have the last laugh after all.
15. Will Roman ever have sex?
It has been written out of Succession history that, way back in episode one, Romulus had a girlfriend and was stepdad to her child. The ironically nicknamed “King Dong” has since been portrayed as sexually dysfunctional – masturbating in the office, sending unsolicited “dick pics” to mentor Gerri (and, mistakenly, his father) and generally playing up to his rude, crude, slime-puppy image. Some fan theories suggest he is gay, others that he is impotent. Maybe he will rise to the occasion.
16. What will happen to Matsson’s blood?
Sending pictures of your genitals to colleagues is so last season; Matsson has been couriering bricks of frozen blood to his ex-girlfriend, GoJo’s comms chief, Ebba. She has muttered darkly about having an exit plan and has been passing intel to the Roy camp. Will the toxic tech bro’s workplace bullying and stalker-ish behaviour come back to bite him?
17. Will Kendall win custody of his kids?
In a toys-out-of-pram strop about Rava taking their children upstate for their own safety – and missing their grandpa’s funeral in the process – Kendall wants to sue for custody. With his record of half-arsed parenting and substance problems, it’s unlikely he will succeed. Put it down as a petulant threat that will come to nothing. “The poison drips through”, after all. Kendall should know from experience that the last thing Sophie and Iverson need is an absent dad.
18. Where will the Waystar elders end up?
You know, the greybeards. The boiled eggs. The emperor penguins. After taking decades of flak (“We’ve got Stockholm Syndrome crossed with a little China Syndrome”), the Logan loyalists Gerri, Frank and Karl deserve their “golden parachutes”. Gerri is negotiating an “eye-watering” payoff. Karl is buying a Greek island. Frank’s retirement plans are less clear, but they certainly won’t involve Tom’s wine or Roman’s personality. Will the exec trio sail off into the sunset or be collateral damage?
19. Will slippery Stewy have a say?
Kendall’s longtime frenemy Stewy is a major Waystar shareholder, forming an activist investor alliance with Sandy and Sandi. We know from the trailer that Stewy has a part to play in the finale. The main question is whether he will back or betray his old buddy.
20. Will Kendall drown?
“See Shivvy cry, see Kenny die,” muttered Roman in the penultimate episode. Succession is often called Shakespearean, so its tragic prince might be destined for a Hamletic demise. Kendall’s suicide has been teased for four seasons. There has been a recurring water motif, with two near-drownings as well as him often being submerged in water. The finale is thought to be partly set in the Caribbean. Stay away from the ocean, K-dog.
21. Will there be a flash-forward?
Finales hopping into the future to reveal characters’ fates is a noble US TV tradition (see Parks and Recreation, Six Feet Under, Dawson’s Creek, The OC). Imagine how much fun it would be. Connor could be president, with Willa a Gwynnie-style wellness guru. Kendall could be a Buddhist monk and Roman a shock jock. Greg and Jess could be married and running an outsize handbag brand. Shiv and Karolina could be a couple, with Tom as their “manny”. Come on, Armstrong and co, it’s not too late.
22. Will it end like Peep Show?
It has long been a fan theory that Succession will end like one of Armstrong’s previous creations, Peep Show, which wound up right where it started. Will we see one of the Roys sitting on Logan’s throne, wearing a cable-knit cardigan, bitter and alone because of what it cost them to get there? Cue Nicholas Britell’s tinkly piano …
