Succession – Rehearsal

By: Kelly Kearney

Things don’t go as planned after three out of the four Roy kids outbid their father in an attempt to acquire Waystar rival, PGN. Now it’s time for payback, but Logan isn’t the only one ordering up revenge. Shiv finds an opening in the GoJo deal and puts PGN on the back burner to fire up her brothers for a new way to take down Logan–by squeezing the Norwegian for more money. Kids-2, Logan-0! Also in the episode, Connor’s wedding rehearsal hits a snag when Willa goes MIA after admitting she has cold feet to a room full of their guests. The shocking moment sends Connor down an introspective road of love lost, love never gained, and karaoke with the “regular Joes” to drown out his sorrows. “Rehearsal” reminds us why there is no place for feelings in the world of business; it takes a killer, and the kids just don’t have their father’s taste for blood. Not yet anyway.

“Conflicted Out”

We open on Kerry (Zoe Winters) checking in with Logan (Brian Cox) about his feelings surrounding the upcoming vote to sell Waystar to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). Apparently, he is sick of everyone asking him this since it was his choice to sell. Why wouldn’t he feel great? He’s so amped up and looking at what comes next that he’s heading into ATN to turn his focus on the one branch of his company that still interests him. It also interests his girlfriend, Kerry, the pet pitbull he uses to guard the gates whenever he needs a go-between. Kerry has her heart set on adding “news anchor” to her resume and lucky for her, she is sleeping with the man who owns the leading right-winged outlet. Unfortunately for him, she doesn’t seem to have the talent to do the gig–but we will get to that hilarious reveal later. As for now, Kerry has orders to cancel the kids’ helicopter ride to Connor’s (Alan Ruck) wedding rehearsal. It’s another attempt by their father to punish his nepo-babies for their recent attempts at acquiring PGN.

Speaking of the Pierce network, Roman (Kieran Culkin) can’t believe how boring their breaking stories are compared to the 24-7 shock and awe of ATN– the propaganda network he and his siblings are used to, Romulus thinks PGN is an unsexy snoozefest that has him already brainstorming ideas to boost the ratings and grab viewers’ attention. More and more we start to notice how alike Roman and Logan are–more so than Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Kendall (Jeremy Strong), who work themselves into a tizzy trying to be anything but their dad. Roman has big ideas, ones where “new gen-Roys” could finally make their own piles of cash, but unfortunately, his business sense all too often takes a back seat to his need for familial love. We see this when Shiv gets a phone call about Tom (Matthew MacFadyen)– who retained all of the best divorce lawyers in New York with the help of Logan. Every name on her list is “conflicted out” and she knows who’s behind this. This is payback for the deal they cut with Nan (Cherry Jones). Shiv starts to devise her own payback plan and it’s bigger than the PGN deal they stole from Logan last week. This second back-stabbing alliance between her soon-to-be ex, and her father, prompts Shiv to put in a phone call to Sandi (Hope Davis) on the eve of the big Waystar/Gojo board vote. Apparently, both daughters think Logan rushed the deal and there is a lot more money to make off of Matsson. When Shiv interrupts her brothers mercilessly mocking Kerry’s ATN audition tape with this new Waystar idea, she conveniently leaves out the part where she contacted Sandi to get the ball rolling. She knows the details of another revenge deal will intrigue her brothers, especially after their father leaves them stranded on the tarmac en route to Connor’s rehearsal.

Beating the Competition and Taking the White House

“He’s just moseying. Terrifyingly moseying,” says Greg (Nicholas Braun) when he calls Tom to let him know Logan showed up at ATN and is scaring all the employees on the floor of the newsroom. As Tom rushes to the scene he asks how terrifying and Greg succinctly compares the patriarch to if, “Santa Claus was a hitman.” Logan’s attention is solely focused on making the news his main priority. It’s why he’s leering over people’s shoulders questioning their work ethic and referring to his staff as  a bunch of, “F**king Stakhanovites in here.” That 3% boost in the demo every week is not good enough for Logan– who never misses a chance to remind everyone he’s a winner and expects his underlings to keep those stats coming. There is just one problem with being the King who so easily lobs off the heads of those who don’t please him; when he needs an honest answer about Kerry’s audition for ATN, Tom and Cyd (Jeannie Berlin) practically fall over themselves figuring out which answer the boss wants to hear. Logan needs a staff willing and ready to help him build something “better, faster, lighter, leaner, wilder,” than ever before and he can’t do that with a lazy staff, or with a mistress embarrassing him every night on TV. As for the latter problem, he asks Tom to do his dirty work. Since his son-in-law is so eager to please, Logan asks him to save him from the impropriety of rumors and fire Kerry himself. He makes it clear Tom should do it gently and keep his name out of it. After getting the lay of the land at ATN, Logan gathers the newsroom together for an inspiring speech from atop a DIY stage made of printer paper that is very reminiscent of that climactic scene in The Wolf of Wall Street. With the election around the corner, ATN has the opportunity to bring Logan’s candidate home but only if they slaughter the competition–namely, his children and PGN. The end of Waystar isn’t the end of Logan Roy or ATN, it’s just the beginning. He ends his rallying speech by barking out praise for a team he calls, “f**king pirates!’

Logan might’ve excited the ATN troops but deep down he is starting to worry about the GoJo deal. He hasn’t heard from any of the board members and the vote in the following morning. When he shows up early to a meeting with Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) and Hugo (Fisher Stevens) to get a read on the deal, he walks in on the two of them laughing and Hugo quickly closes his computer to hide what was so amusing. After Karolina (Dagmara Dominczyk) pushes Hugo to open up the laptop for his presentation, Logan sees the two were watching Kerry’s ATN audition and the realization doesn’t help his mood. In fact, he lashes out at Gerri–who he already pushed out of his inner circle the second he found out about her “mess” with Roman and accuses her of jumping on Team Matsson before he’s even signed the paperwork. He orders Hugo to find out what is going on with the board and the vote but plans to keep Gerri out of the loop. Either she was too competent of a CEO or he sees her as a threat to him now that he knows Roman’s loyalties are divided between his father and his Mommy crush. Logan was never going to be good at sharing the spotlight.

Kill the Deal and Kill Dad

We find out exactly why the board has gone silent when we see Sandi and Stewy (Arian Moayed) meeting with Shiv, Kendall, and Roman in New York. The duo pitch the idea that their father’s deal is not only bad for them but also bad for Logan. There is a lot more money on the table and if they kill the vote, they can renegotiate in a few weeks and walk away happier and wealthier. Shiv is all about it, but Roman and Kendall are content with walking away with their billions to buy PGN. Sandi gives them a short time frame to think on it but lets them know she and Stewy want to vote no but without the votes to back them up, they will be forced to vote yes. The ball is now in new gen-Roy’s hands and while the brothers aren’t interested, Shiv tells Sandi she will work to convince them.

The convincing happens when they enter Connor’s rehearsal dinner to see a visibly upset Willa (Justine Lupe) walking out. When they find their brother they learn his fiance announced to all their guests that she couldn’t go through with the wedding and then hid in the bathroom for forty minutes before bailing on the entire event. Now Connor is licking his wounds as he tracks her phone all over the city, unsure if the wedding is off or even if she’s ever coming back. With all the siblings together at one table and no wedding preparations to rehearse, Shiv takes the opportunity to open up a discussion on Sandi’s offer. The brothers are still “no” on the offer and instead of beating a dead horse about it, they just want to spend the evening with their drunk and distraught brother. Shiv shelves the discussion for a while as the four Roy kids head to a bar where Connor can get his dose of “every man” fun, and to him, that means karaoke.

While Shiv and Roman introduce Connor to the underbelly of the 99%, Ken gets a phone call from a worried Matsson who heard rumors of a squeeze in the deal. Playing up Kendall’s need to be accepted, Matsson claims he’s warning Kendall ahead of time because he likes him, but that if they vote no, there will be no renegotiating for a higher price because there is no more money. Matsson’s weakness is showing and Ken, like the Roy he is, is hungry for the kill. After running the numbers he sees that Sandi and Stewy are right. He will back Shiv and kill the vote, but what about Roman? From the start, he didn’t have any interest in killing their father–no matter how awful and abusive the man has been to him. Roman has a mature mind for business this season and right now, his heart is set on making moves without the dark cloud of Logan raining down on all their successes. The Hundred was their chance but then Shiv and Ken killed that by jumping on the PGN deal. Now the Pierce deal is in jeopardy with this circle back to Waystar, and it seems to him, it’s only about hurting their father. Roman cannot seem to get off this merry-go-round any more than he can stand up for himself when pressured by the people he loves. Which is why it’s no surprise when his phone buzzes with a notification from their father. Shiv and Kendall lose it, questioning his loyalty to them and their deal. Roman blows off their concerns by saying he texted Logan on his birthday, even after agreeing not to because the man is still their father. The other two are livid but after searching through his dickpic filed phone they realize he was telling the truth. He isn’t working for their dad, he just wished the man well on his big day. Back to the vote and Roman says his gut is telling him that Matsson isn’t lying; there isn’t any more money and if they vote no they will lose PGN. The pressure they put on him is too much and he winds up ignoring his gut and agreeing to back his siblings in voting no, but every bit of his body language says it’s killing him to do it. Connor, who is listening to his siblings become willing participants in Logan’s games, isn’t on the board with any of this. He doesn’t get a vote, but he does have shares in the company so he agrees with Roman. They should cash out and walk away from this entire circus.

Kerry Gets Canned and the Kids Sing Karaoke

Next, we check in with Greg who has the unfortunate job of firing Kerry thanks to Tom pushing it off on him. Nobody wants to be the one to tell her, mostly because making an enemy out of her could cost them their jobs. No surprise, when Greg attempts to fire her she aggressively controls the conversation and turns all of his words around until she has the stuttering cousin on the ropes like a boxer aiming for a knockout. She knows Tom sent Greg in his place so that means Logan told Tom to fire her. She isn’t happy about any of it–although it is hard to tell since Kerry seems incapable of emotions. She ends the meeting by threatening to destroy Greg over this and then goes straight to Logan– who doesn’t have time for her problems since he just found out about the Sandi-Stewy-Kids alliance. Now he has no choice but to go play nice with the kids in hopes they back him in the vote. Lucky for him, Connor tipped him off so he knows exactly where to find them. The vote is hours away and the clock is ticking.

At the karaoke bar, Connor is still worried about Willa–and for good reason, she seems to be bouncing around the city with her phone instead of planning for their wedding. As he obsesses about the aquarium supply ping, his siblings are droning on about a man who will never love them the way they want him to. They can prove themselves as worthy successors by stabbing him in the back but Logan will always rig the game so he wins. In many ways, Connor is free from that toxic cycle of begging for a love that will never be offered. Cashing out is their only hope for freedom and it’s why he called their dad to talk some sense into them. Obviously, the other three think he’s lost his mind, but sure enough, Logan walks in not long after and all five sit down for a family chat.

“You Are Not Serious People”

Logan opens the conversation by saying he was hurt that the kids missed his birthday and the kids practically fall out of their seats in shock and laughter. Feelings? Logan Roy? Never. Roman is also delighted to be the one to tell Kerry how awful she was on that ATN tape and it’s the first time we see the woman react with emotion. Logan eventually apologizes for his recent revenge tactics with the lawyer and the whirlybird to Connor’s rehearsal and the kids just aren’t buying it. With everything left to lose, he practically begs them to back him in the vote because his gut says Matsson doesn’t have more money and won’t return to the table for a new deal. This decision of theirs, which he knows is primarily based on revenge, will fail and leave the company vulnerable to outliers. Before he leaves he insults his children’s choices with, “you people are not serious people” and then storms out of the bar telling Kerry to cancel the board meeting, he needs to meet with Matsson in person. He also tells her to rope in Tom, Karl (David Rasche), and Frank (Peter Friedman), but not Gerri. Once again, his General Counsel is on the outs.

Later that night after the karaoke bar, Connor gets home and finds a calmer Willa in their bed. The two embrace and it seems like the bride’s cold feet are much warmer now. The wedding is probably back on because even though this union started off as a business arrangement, the two seem to have authentic feelings for one another.

We also check back in with Roman, who wound up letting his guilt and gut lead him to his father’s house. He tries to apologize for the weirdness surrounding that meeting earlier but  Logan clocks Roman’s need for acceptance peeking out under his furrowed brows and says, “we know how they are.” He means Shiv and Ken, and he is already pulling Roman’s loyalties across the line to his side of this family fight for power. With that, Roman sits down and hears his father out. He has big plans to overhaul ATN and that includes firing Cyd. His youngest son is not meant for the soft approach of PGN, he is a killer like his father and that’s exactly what Logan needs at ATN. He ends the pitch knowing Roman could never deny him after he says, “I need you.” It’s what Roman has been waiting for his entire life, to be noticed by his dad as someone worthy to compete for his crown. This plea might be enough for him to give up his dreams of self-sufficiency for another round of” kick the slime puppy and lock him in his gilded cage.” Poor Roman started out with so much promise, but that working heart of his is his tragic flaw in a world run by Logan Roy.