By Liv Barry
Lifestyle Editor
Warning: This contains spoilers for all three seasons of “Succession.”
With its final season premiering Sunay, March 26, HBO Max’s acclaimed drama series “Succession” has yet to answer its central question: who will inherit the position of CEO at the fictional company Waystar-Royco?
After the conglomerate’s patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), shuts his children out of a deal to sell the business during the season three finale, the Roy siblings finally band together against their father. While this solidarity was heart-warming, especially for a show as cut-throat as “Succession,” the trailer for season four already raises the question of how long the Roy children’s alliance against their father will last.
Amidst a potential successor, a murder cover-up, and marital betrayal, “Succession” season four might be the most dramatic yet. Here are just some of the plot points that the show might have in store for its final run.
Shiv’s pregnancy
The youngest Roy child and only daughter, Shiv (Sarah Snook), is constantly battling the opinions of her family regarding motherhood.
While Shiv is openly against pregnancy despite her husband Tom (Matthew Mcfadyen)’s wishes, a conversation she has with her estranged mother, Caroline (Harriett Walter), during season three turns her on the idea.
“I should have never had children. You made the right decision,” Caroline said, spiteful about Shiv’s decision to live with her father during her adolescence. “Some people just aren’t meant to be mothers.”
Hurt by her mother’s comment, Shiv immediately decides that she wants a child with Tom. While she recants her desire the next day, the damage is done; throughout the following episodes, Shiv toasts with water, and upon discovering that Tom was influential in Logan’s plot to shut the Roy siblings out of the company’s selling, Shiv grasps her stomach.
Although these subtle hints could just be red herrings, the signs of Shiv’s pregnancy loom at the end of season three. A baby would be the tragic cherry-on-top to Shiv and Tom’s scandal-ridden marriage, but another potential successor would certainly generate new tension in the Roy siblings’ battle.
Kendall’s impending jail time
Throughout the series, it is evident that Kendall (Jeremy Strong), the seemingly preeminent Waystar-Royco successor, is battling issues with his mental health. His final tipping point comes at the end of season one, when he drunkenly drives himself and a waiter from Shiv and Tom’s wedding into a lake, killing the waiter.
After the incident, Kendall becomes erratic and battles paranoia about the potential consequences. While Logan dangles the secret under his son’s nose, threatening to let the secret loose when Kendall acts out against him, the death is kept under wraps to avoid tarnishing the company’s name.
However, Logan’s power can only go so far. As a writer for New York Magazine pokes around the Roy family during season three, Kendall’s fate is up in the air, but the journalist instead finds information regarding a string of sexual misconduct cases within the company.
While Kendall is apparently safe, the weight of his secret seems like it is too much for him to bear. With his increasingly unstable behavior and guilty conscience, Kendall threatens to be his own undoing; a confession might be in his future during the upcoming season.
Logan’s fate is up in the air
“Succession” posters are infamous for dropping hints about the upcoming season. Before season three’s release, HBO Max released three posters, each with the Roy family in different positions that hinted at their potential spots in the running for successor; the final family dynamic seen in the season — all of the Roy siblings teamed up against their father — was notably absent.
As for the season four posters, according to GQ, fans speculate that the family members wearing ties — Tom, and Greg (Nicholas Braun) — are the front runners for CEO. While this is an interesting theory, the most intriguing detail is in the top right-hand corner: a plane reflected in the glass of the Waystar-Royco building.
During the show’s pilot, Logan suffers from a heart attack while flying in his private jet. The incident sends the Roy siblings flying into the fight for succession as they watch their father’s health deteriorate throughout the series.
The plane’s inclusion in the poster cannot be mere coincidence; either the plane is meant to harken back to the pilot, or it is a hint as to what is to come. Will Logan’s demise be on a plane once again? Or will the patriarch wash his hands of the family’s fight, only to choose an outside successor and soar away from his children?
As the new season approaches, the answer to who will inherit Waystar-Royco becomes murkier than ever. While the season is sure to have its fair share of scandals, the prospect of any of the “Succession” characters ending the series satisfied is unsure.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo caption: “Succession” has a total of 13 Emmy Awards, including outstanding drama series, outstanding writing for a drama series, and outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
Just feels like Greg will wind up as the successor. He seems to have dirt on everyone.