Reaction Review: Succession Season 4 Episode 4: Honeymoon States
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
EPISODE SUMMARY
Warning: major spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 4, “Honeymoon States”, are throughout the entire review. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
It’s been only a day since… the event… Kendall is sitting on the floor in a daze. Roman is brushing his teeth like it’s business as usual, but he’s still a bit off. Siobhan (Shiv) is also staring off into space until her phone ringing catches her off guard. It’s a doctor with blood test results which have come back promising, and it appears that Shiv may actually be pregnant. After a major death comes life. Loved ones are visiting Logan’s old place for a wake, and Kendall arrives alone. He bumps into Marcia “Roy”, who we haven’t seen for an eternity. Apparently she kept in touch with Logan with intimate talks every evening. Let’s move on. Kendall finds the other Roy kids (excluding Connor, but isn’t that usually the case), and they’re banding together to make it through this day. Kendall asks why Marcia is here, and his siblings seem similarly not-keen. On that note, they wonder where Kerry is.
Once Shiv brings up how this day is one that brings opportunity to vultures, her soon-to-be-ex husband Tom lingers in the background. He goes about his own business, and that isn’t figurative: he’s in talks with the board members wondering where to go from here and even asking as much as who will become CEO now. Of all days. His usual gremlin, Greg, sends his condolences to the Roy kids in his own awkward way. He does bring up the board meeting to try and warn them, but they shoo him away. Maybe they should have listened, as the board meeting commences and instantly they are disregarded, with Tom going as far calling them “dipshits”. Ouch.
CFO Karl Muller is a potential successor, as it only makes sense that he can make the short leap to CEO. Tom isn’t allowing this, as he tries to plant the seed that he could have a shot at this. Muller shuts him down instantly, confirming that Logan was the only person that would have vouched for him and now he’s dead: this leaves him powerless. The Roy kids try to call Lukas Mattson to see what’s going on with his purchase of Waystar RoyCo, but instead they get a brick wall: he and his team are on an annual retreat and are now being difficult to meet to discuss this deal, of which they still want to set in motion. Not caring about the upcoming election or, you know, Logan Roy fucking dying, it’s clear that Mattson and company aren’t being fair.
Connor and Willa arrive as newlyweds. He asked Marcia if he could buy her and Logan’s old place, of which they are in right now. She asks for a greedy offer of tens of millions, but he is game; they spit in their hands and shake to confirm this sale. COO Frank Vernon comes to Karl with some news: Logan’s wishes for funeral arrangements from his safe. Gerri walks in and they begin to discuss this discovery. They also start to question the legality of it all. Speaking of being legally sound, we cut back to Connor who is talking about the house situation with Willa. He connects with the other Roy kids, of whom are still concerned that Roman has already “moved on” (or so he says). Kendall, on the other hand, connected with his therapist for answers, and offers his number to his siblings.
Hugo comes in with copies of various newspapers responding to Logan Roy’s death. He subsequently asks Kendall to talk in private. He tells him that his daughter sold a bunch of Waystar stock and wonders if this will be an issue. He leaves his fate in Kendall’s hands. Tom asks the Roy kids to come sit down with the rest of the board, but then he stops Kendall to ask if they both are even (clearly, he’s trying to get a good word so he has someone on his side). Kendall wishes Tom “good luck”, confirming that he isn’t buying it. Frank brings up the list of wishes with the big mic drop: Kendall Roy should be successor if Logan dies. The document is likely from years ago, so who knows how much these wishes meant to Logan right before he passed. However, there are amendments pencilled in, and there is a line that is neither strictly underline or striking-through Kendall’s name: what did Logan try to state with his changes? Did he change his mind? Or did he want to confirm that Kendall will take over?
Shiv begins questioning the document, and Kendall begins to get vicious with her. Greg comes in amidst the discussions, and apparently Greg is also on the document as well. He wonders if he will be Kendall’s number two: everyone laughs (mainly Frank). The rest of the board leaves, with Frank and Kendall left alone to revisit the document. After some pleasantries, Frank questions if Kendall should come “back in”, considering how well he seems now. Roman and Shiv are now talking in private, stating that things felt good when it was just the Roy trio; this, however, doesn’t. Speaking of unpleasantness, down comes Tom to console Shiv. She confirms that she is unhappy with Tom picking Logan over her. She feels that the Roy kids are to blame for Logan’s death, since their choices forced him to hop onto a plane to try and conduct business to get ahead. Tom tries to comfort Shiv, and she rejects him.
Tom asks if Shiv remembers the first time they met, when they fell in love. It seems genuine, but it’s likely a way to try and curry favour with Shiv. She, too, catches on to his deception and shoos him away. Ron Petkus (remember him?) comes to deliver a eulogy. Sandy Furness makes an appearance as well, and it’s clear that he isn’t wanted either. In case this parade wasn’t enough, Kerry finally shows up. She has come to reclaim items that she has left upstairs, but Marcia doesn’t allow it. Roman brings Kerry her bag of belongings, which she spills out of anxiousness. She begins murmuring something to Roman in a hysterical state. She is escorted out. Meanwhile, Shiv confirms that she and Kendall need to talk.
Tom tries his luck again. There are three Roy kids that have banded together, and there are also three strikes in baseball. He approaches Roman next and states the same bullshit: “he’s here to serve”. Roman just hurls insults as a means to get him to leave. Kendall meets up with Stewy and we finally get the official cause of death: Logan died from a pulmonary embolism. After Stewy’s condolences are given, Kendall brings up the list of wishes. He asks if he can swing the board to favour him to make this document come true. Stewy asks if Kendall even likes what’s going on and if he’s actually okay with this deal, or if he’s just chasing the power again. He subsequently asks what’s in it for him; Kendall states that a favour for a friend whose dad just died should be enough.
Kendall snaps when he feels ignored about the document. He asks his siblings outright: do they have a problem with the document. Kendall states that his name means he can grant any of the siblings power. Roman states that he worries about Kendall’s leadership. Shiv states that they should be working together. Roman begins to bring up the private conversations he and Logan had, and the fact that he does have the COO title. Kendall is flexible and states that it doesn’t have to be just him in charge: Roman can join too. He questions Shiv’s position, however, wondering if it looks like a flaky excuse; he states that she doesn’t have the expertise, and three heads is overkill (while two is cleaner and more dynamic). Kendall and Roman assure that Shiv would still have power and this is only while they work on selling Waystar. They confirm that they will have equality across the board. Shiv worries that she will get backstabbed, but her brothers promise that they won’t.
Gerri arrives at the “right” time to bring the siblings to the board meeting. The board questions Roman and Shiv being there, but they make their claim that they should be there. Karl and Gerri step in to counter the push for Kendall and Roman stepping up; Roman reminds Gerri that she was on her way out before Logan died. Stewy fulfils his promise and stands up for what Kendall wants. Kendall confirms that they just want to make the deal and then go forth with new plans, including with ATN.
Kendall and Roman are officially the new heads of Waystar RoyCo. Shiv storms out. She comes across Marcia and promises that she’s fine. While leaving, Shiv hurts herself and refuses Tom and Stewy’s help. She also states that she is upset with everyone smiling: sure, new successors have been made, but 1) she wasn't one, and 2) no one should be happy in the shadow of her father’s death. Roman and Kendall look at Logan’s empty chair and the reality of the situation hits them. Hugo begins to discuss options for when the market opens the following Monday to try and cement Kendall and Roman’s positions: they can either follow what Logan did to a tee, or they can be more open about their actual involvement (whether it’s real or not) in order to brush off any concerns about their ability to lead. Hugo suggests bringing up angles of slander to make Logan seem like he was going mentally insane, and that his children were pulling the strings this whole time; Roman and Kendall don't want to go with this, and they have effectively stated that they never want to have this discussion again.
In the washroom, Kendall rereads the list of wishes and wonders if his name was meant to be crossed out, rather than underlined. He approaches Hugo alone and then states that his dad would have actually gone ahead with the digging up of dirt. Kendall asks Hugo to “go soft”, though. Hugo asks if Roman needs to verify this choice, and Kendall dismisses this and asks for the slander to go ahead.
FIRST REACTION
Naturally we couldn’t assume that “Honeymoon States” would have come even close to the weight that “Connor’s Wedding” possessed, but that’s because the third episode already is being discussed as one of the greatest episodes of our time (and all time): it’s expected that the instant follow up episode, especially since it’s far from the finale, would be as great. Nonetheless, we could have only hoped for a strong episode, and we got exactly that. The hideousness of this episode is truly something, with the greed of Succession seeping through the cracks in a series that has been shattered by loss. The Roy kids — particularly Kendall — don’t look great again, and they really are their father’s children. I can guarantee that this is only the tip of the iceberg of what will transpire next.
Remember the finale of the previous season? This promise that Tom Wambsgans was going to screw over the rest of the Roy family and be the next favourite in Logan’s eyes? My, how things change. The previous episode’s twist is so big that nothing in Succession is where the series would have headed should Logan have stayed alive. Remember how Kerry seemed awful in the last episode and the least sincere? Here, she’s the only one crying because she has lost this connection with Logan (no one else will accept her around); meanwhile, the rest of the gathering — pretending to be holier-than-thou — are like grubs sucking up whatever they can get. Even Connor has asked for Logan’s house! Again, this is only the start, but things are going to get brutal. This is a great followup to a titanic episode, and it’s one that gathers momentum after the shock that froze the series; Succession is far from done, and God help us all with the direction it’s heading (I mean that in a good way: blood will be spilled).
Final Grade: 4.5/5
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.