Spoilers below for the latest episode of Succession, so those who haven’t watched should tread lightly and carry a big stick.
In its latest installment, Succession took viewers one step closer to what will surely be the TV event of the season, Logan Roy’s funeral, and set up strife amidst the only-just-rekindled siblings’ shared relationship, both personally and professionally. “Honeymoon States” gave fans much to discuss by way of Shiv’s surprising pregnancy reveal and further head games being played out by Mattson, but arguably the episode’s biggest catalyst came in the form of an unnotarized will that named Kendall as the true successor for the Waystar throne (depending on if his name was underlined or crossed out). The will featured several other important details however, including a rare-but-vital reference to Logan’s mysterious late sister Rose.
The Key Way Succession Referenced Rose In Its Latest Episode
The aforementioned paperwork found in Logan’s safe dictated a variety of final requests and preferences that the media mogul had for how his funeral should be handled, among other things. (Big ups to the denim-friendly Colin getting that pricy AF watch left to him, assuming that part still plays out.) And one of the sections of the letter that can be read through several moments of pausing, screen-grabbing, and pic-adjusting brings up the specific way Logan wants to honor his late sister after his death.
I wish to be buried with the attached copy of my sister Rose’s photograph placed in - [unreadable] - and one of my wife, Marcia, in my right hand chest pocket.
The line on the paper wraps with “and” at the end, and at the 18:49 mark, when Karl is handing the paper back to Frank, it can be gleaned that there are three words after “placed in,” with the first being “my.” It’s possible it says “right/left hand,” or indicates another one of his pockets in which the photo is meant to be placed. Though in a way that earns a shorter description than “right hand chest pocket.”
(Also, one has to wonder whether or not Logan would have noted an intention to be buried with a picture of Kerry had the will be more up-to-date, and whether Marcia's pic would still get its heart-adjacent placement.)
Whatever the unintelligible words may be, it’s certainly worth considering that viewers may finally get to see Rose’s face, assuming the picture Logan wants to use isn’t of her in a mask or something. It would obviously be easier to see if it was held in his hand inside his coffin, it wouldn’t be necessary. Since each Season 4 episode spans a single day, it’s entirely possible the funeral episode could feature a scene where either a family member or the funeral director is shown to be putting the Rose pic inside his jacket, also giving viewers a visual nod.
Will We Actually Learn Anything About Rose Before Succession Ends?
Of course, audiences might not see Rose’s face at all, which technically wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, since knowing what she looked like wouldn’t actually provide any further information about her. In a more legitimate example of the mask joke above, the image could genuinely contain a world of information about her, depending on what it shows. For instance, if he picked an image of her beaten and bruised, with the marks on his back serving as previously shown potential proof of their uncle’s abusive ways. Or if he chose one of her near death, we could come away with more insights into that unexplored era of Logan’s past, since we know that Logan feels guilty over how she died.
Succession has obviously played it very close to the vest when it comes to divulging details about older generations of the Roy family. Even James Cromwell’s Ewan Roy, who has appeared multiple times across the four seasons, hasn’t exactly offered much by way of backstory. One of the only highly personal details we know about him, in fact, involves their shared sibling Rose, with Ewan firmly voicing his stance that he doesn't think that Logan is responsible at all for whatever happened. And considering their fractured relationship and polar-opposite idealisms, it likely took an effort for Ewan to say anything that didn't skew highly negative about Logan.
In the scheme of things, it doesn't overtly matter what happened to Rose, either in life or in death, since none of it will directly influence the siblings' lives. (Unless it ends up being a whopper of a reveal tied to other characters.) But I'd still like to have something more to go on, even if it only adds the tiniest bit of context to Logan's thought process and brutish behavior.
Since this is the final season, with the cast having reacted to that somewhat surprising update, there are only a finite number of episodes left to go for more Roy family details to get unearthed. That is, unless creator Jesse Armstrong has spinoff ideas that have yet to be announced. Maybe an alt-universe concept where Kendall gets to show off his rapping skills, as heard in the podcast clip below.
Fans can watch or stream Succession Season 4 Sunday nights on HBO and with an HBO Max subscription.
