Welcome to our first day in a post-Logan world. How are we all feeling?
The Roys are still processing as they gather in Logan's apartment, which fills with old faces and newspaper obituaries about a version of their father they would have liked to have met.
But there's no time for mourning — Waystar needs an interim CEO, and everyone is throwing their hat in the ring with one hand while sharpening their knives with the other.
But first …
We need to talk about Shiv's pregnancy
The writers are truly not giving us a minute to breathe this season, with the revelation of another twist in the first scene.
There is a Tomlette in the oven! React as you see fit.
Just like how Logan's death was stripped of stereotypical television tropes, Shiv's news came in the form of a very normal phone call from her doctor about the results of her amniocentesis, and a reminder about her 20 week scan coming up.
This adds another, utterly heartbreaking, layer to her response to Logan's death when she immediately said "no, I can't have that" and "not now".
She avoids an unbeknownst Tom until they speak on the stairs, saying she feels responsible for Logan's death and that he'll never rock his grandchildren to sleep — a line Tom finds perplexing because little does he know.
However you feel about Tom and Shiv's relationship, we were offered a tiny insight into the beginning of their romance which involved flights to France, handwritten notes and silk shirts.
"I put my arm around you and I kept asking 'do you like this?' and you said eventually 'I like it all'," Tom reminds her.
If you squint hard, you could possibly see a flicker of reconciliation cross Shiv's face, but it's quickly brushed off.
We can't not talk about Kendall's impending smear campaign against Logan
Back to the business end of things now, where the ghost of Logan is still one of the most powerful figures in the room.
The Roys fight over a piece of paper from their father which once said he wanted Kendall to be his successor. But his undated pencil edits are impossible to decipher — did he underline Kendall's name, or cross it out?
Lukas Matsson is being pushy about this GoJo deal, so someone needs to steer this ship pronto.
Stewie helps the Roy kids outnumber the old guard, so Kendall and Roman are put in charge after negotiating with a heavily reluctant Shiv.
Their first task? Deciding how to best spin their new leadership to the media to give the markets the best chance come Monday.
Roman's disgusted at Karolina and Hugo's suggestion of airing Logan's dirty laundry about how he "physically, verbally" abused his first wife, Connor's mother, in order to make the two sons look better.
But Kendall has other plans.
He threatens to blackmail Hugo (who's daughter "coincidentally" sold a bunch of Waystar stocks before Logan's death was made public) into pushing a smear campaign against the former patriarch.
And now, Logan can't fight back.
Let's chat power rankings
To paraphrase Heidi Klum, in Succession, one day you're in and the next you're out. This week we've omitted Logan for obvious reasons and given Kerry the week off after taking the subway home. Instead, we have some new players.
Kendall
Kendall fought for his life over those damn pencil markings and came out on top as acting CEO with Roman. He was told he was "the worst of both worlds" this week and that's well and truly the case with all his scheming and blackmailing. But Kendall gets bonus points for telling his siblings he spoke to his "grief guy" overnight and can pass on his details.
Matsson
Matsson is breathing in that clean mountain air on his annual retreat in the Swedish hinterland and is still able to throw the Roys into chaos. Despite the kids literally losing their Dad, he wants this GoJo deal to be settled before it loses momentum and won't let them forget they're dancing to his tune.
Roman
Roman earns the third spot this week for becoming joint CEO with Kendall because "three is a bit wonky". But he's got a storm coming and I fear the way he'll react when he learns his brother has already double-crossed him in order to throw their father under the bus.
Marcia (new entry)
Our belle of the ball is back in town! She's returned from her eternal shopping trip in Milan to grieve her dead husband, sell his assets and cop her cheque. She agrees Connor can have the apartment for $63 million dollars (which they seal with a very off-brand spit handshake) before telling an inconsolable Kerry to rack off and never come back.
Shiv
Shiv made her brothers promise "on yesterday" that their joint decision to become interim CEOs won't see her squeezed out. Loyalty is not something these people value so we'll see how that turns out. Not only is Shiv dealing with Logan's death and the pregnancy, but this week her biggest insecurities were laid bare when Kendall spelled out she's not experienced and any "strategy" she contributed to was just "Daddy make work".
Gerri
When Karolina backed Gerri as CEO in front of Frank and Karl, that's what we call a joint slay! Everyone was quick to remind Gerri that Logan was souring on her, but where is he now? Not breathing, that's for sure. If Gerri one day became Logan's successor, the optics would be ideal. But if not, at least she's held onto her job to stop it falling into the worst hands.
Connor
Out of all the Roy siblings, Connor seems to be holding up somewhat okay. He's got that newlywed glow about him, and Willa is already talking about remodelling Logan's pad. But the election is looming, and once their honeymoon through key battleground states is over he'll have to wield that one per cent like there's no tomorrow.
Tom
In case he didn't make it clear enough, tight rope Tommy is "here to serve". He sees a ring and he's throwing his hat into it, respectfully. Karl roasted the life out of him in that butler's pantry in front of the old guard and honestly, he's not wrong. If only he knew what Shiv isn't telling him.
Greg
Greg managed to do something quite impressive this week, which was an act more desperate than Tom. Whether or not Kendall's name was crossed out doesn't matter. What matters is Logan filed Greg under "miscellaneous matters" in pencil with a question mark, cementing his place way down the ladder. But remember! Uncle Ewan has a place on the board, which might give Greg something to work with.
Hugo (new entry)
Debuting at the bottom of the pile this week is Hugo, who is so screwed right now it's not even funny. He is paying the price big time for giving his daughter the heads up on Logan's death. If he doesn't go through with Kendall's plans to smear Logan, he's stuffed. He does, he's a terrible person. But credit where credit is due to the casting here.
Notes and observations
- Look at this attention to detail! The eagle-eyed among us clocked Shiv passing on a glass of champagne during Connor’s wedding last week.
- In case you didn't catch the medical terminology, Logan died from a pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot gets stuck in an artery in the lung, blocking blood flow. So, no, he didn't die while fishing his phone out of the toilet, as Tom said.
- It was hard to hear as she was so upset, but while Kerry was picking up her possessions off the floor she desperately told Roman that Logan had plans to marry her. Will that come back to haunt us? We'll have to wait and see.
