Return of the Roys: Succession is Back and Better Than Ever

They’re back: our favorite toxic, turbulent family. The Roys returned on March 26 in Succession Season 4, the HBO Max dramedy’s suspense-filled final season.

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 4, EPISODE 1 YET, TURN BACK NOW

Like Season 1, the sunset season begins on Logan’s birthday. And like Season 1, Logan is not happy. “The Munsters,” he calls the crowd surrounding him — referencing the 1960s sitcom about a family of monsters. Not an auspicious start, but certainly a hilarious one.

But since Season 1, tectonic plates have shifted. After the Season 3 finale — one of the most dramatic episodes of television I’ve ever seen, barring maybe the penultimate episode of White Lotus Season 2 — the family is ruptured. But this time, it’s not just the internal strife or Kendall being on the outs while all the others are on the inside. There’s a clear line. Logan vs the kids. And they say you can’t put a price on family, but the bidding war on this one starts at $10 billion dollars.

Recap: What’s going on?

The highlights of this episode are clear: the kids are trying to screw over their father by overbidding on the Pierce deal. Well, they certainly did that. As culture writer Hunter Harris put it in her Succession Power Rankings: “Ten billion dollars just to get a call from Daddy… pathetic.”

But the emotions undergirding this conflict are what makes it intriguing — and different than past seasons. Yes, the Roy kids are always either sucking up to or attempting to spite their father. Too bad they lack — as Logan said — their own ideas. After insisting that they were going to strike out on their own and build something themselves, they do what they always do: go after their father’s scraps. Their euphoria at the Pierce deal is in contrast to Logan’s isolation during his birthday party. His lonely stroll through Central Park? Add a Lana Del Rey soundtrack and that’s me at 16 — having an existential crisis, wondering about the world and the meaning of it all.

Logan’s reflectiveness is new for us, and for him. We see it in his conversations with Kerry, his sad diner dinner, and even in his drawing room pleas for everyone to “roast” him and “tell a joke.” Anything to feel something. For Logan, things are going well. Yet he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing.

It’s Greg who comes out and says it: “Where’re all your kids, Uncle Logan?”

And indeed, the first time we see Logan back to his usual self is when he’s yelling at his kids on the phone. And as we gear up for the rest of the season, it seems clear that this battle will bring the Roys together — even if it’s just in their usual, toxic ways.

Who are the major players this season?

The lines are clearly drawn this season. But it wouldn’t be HBO’s Succession without the cast’s internal strife in all camps.

Though Shiv and Kendall pretty much bullied Roman into a $10 billion deal — younger siblings can relate — previews hint that Roman might be the one to flip-flop back to his father’s side. He sent him a birthday text, after all. Gasp.

And on Logan’s side, everyone, as usual, has their own agenda. Tom posits what his life will look like if he and Shiv divorce, namely his current place in Logan’s proverbial lap. Kerry’s climbing up the ladder and feels comfortably perched at the top, on Logan’s right-hand side, but how long will that last? And Greg is having “a rummage” in the Roy house. Cue all the finance bros renaming their groupchats to: “the disgusting brothers.”

But from what reports foretell, this season will conclude with a successor being named. So, one of the Roys will inherit the keys to the kingdom. At this point, I honestly can’t imagine who. All I know is the road there will be full of hidden agendas, witty one-liners, and buckets and buckets of wasted money.

What’s coming up?

• The Pierce Battle: Is this the end? Or will it blow up in the kids’ faces?
• The GoJo Deal: The world’s convinced this is set in stone. In fact, it’s the source of all the money the kids are betting their futures on. So, it seems ripe for an implosion. And I can’t wait to see more of Alex Skarsgard as a typical tech mogul.
• Logan’s Life: We saw the man experience emotions for the first time. Now what’s he going to do with them?
• Speaking of Emotions - Shiv and Tom: Is this the end for TV’s most malignant couple? They were barely together when they were together. But we saw that hand-holding! And we’re intrigued!
• There’s a Presidential Election: Connor certainly isn’t going to win. But the kids and Logan seem on the opposite end of this battle, too. Will it be a harbinger of how things turn out with the Roys?
• Oh, Greggy — have we lost our clueless, bumbling boy for good?

That’s all for week one of Succession’s final season. And it looks like it’s going to be a good one.