The Roy children – still grappling with the massive loss of their father Logan Roy (Brian Cox) – try to solidify a deal with Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgard) in the fifth episode of Succession’s fourth and final season.
Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) all make the journey to Sweden to meet with Mattson and try to finalize the merger.
The merger has been in the works for quite some time, though it was revealed that the Waystar Royco stock price dropped significantly after Logan’s surprising death in the third episode of the fourth and final season.
Sunday night’s episode – entitled Kill List – comes on the heels of the Waystar Royco board voting Kendall and Roman as the temporary CEOs, which didn’t sit too well with Shiv though her brothers insisted she will still be an integral part of the firm.
The preview for Sunday’s episode also featured a scene with Greg (Nicholas Braun) revealing there is a ‘kill list’ of employees that will be let go, likely when (or if…) the merger with GoJo is finalized.
Roy children: The Roy children – still grappling with the massive loss of their father Logan Roy (Brian Cox) – try to solidify a deal with Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgard) in the fifth episode of Succession’s fourth and final season
Merger: The merger has been in the works for quite some time, though it was revealed that the Waystar Royco stock price dropped significantly after Logan’s surprising death in the third episode of the fourth and final season
The episode begins with Kendall checking his phone while being driven through the city, listening to rap music on the way.
He gets out of the car and walks down the street, checking his watch, before walking into the Waystar building.
Kendall tells Hugo (Fisher Stevens) that he is just checking in before getting on his plane to Norway.
He walks in and glances at his father’s empty office, when everyone starts applauding for him before meeting up with Roman and their team.
Karl (David Rasche) and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) come to check in as Kendall thinks they can squeeze an extra $3 or $4 a share from Matsson.
Matsson texts everyone and gives them a list of people he wants to come on the trip, which surprises everyone but they all agree, as the title sequence begins.
Greg meets up with Tom at the airport, as Greg wonders why they’re heading to Norway, not Sweden.
Tom tells him that GoJo’s annual retreat is in Norway – and not Sweden where Matsson is from – as Tom says he can’t wait to see what ‘hotties’ they have in Norway.
Greg is told by basically everyone to be respectful because this is important leading into the merger.
They are all on the plane when Shiv wonders why there are so many hit pieces about their father that imply his children were really pulling the strings – which Kendall secretly told Hugo to do.
Kendall tells Hugo to stop any leaks as soon as possible.
Kendall and Roman joke that they could ‘slit Tom’s throat’ to make her feel better but she laughs it off.
The rest of the team reveals what GoJo has done with other companies they’ve acquired as they’re all worried about their jobs.
Gerri tries to make them feel better, stating, ‘Hey, come on, guys, listen. Sure, they’re young and they’re fit, but they’re European, they’re soft. Hammocked in their social security safety nets. Sick on vacation mania and free health care. They may think they’re Vikings, but we’ve been raised by wolves. Exposed to a pathogen that goes by the name Logan Roy. And they have no idea what’s coming to them.’
After landing, Kendall tells his siblings that he’s nervous about the deal but Shiv says every dollar that they squeeze will make them stronger when they launch Pierce-ATN.
They all get situated in their rooms when Kendall calls Roman and complain about their rooms.
They are on a gondola on the way to the meeting with Matsson when Karl wants to go over the plan some more.
Shiv offers an old Mike Tyson quote – ‘Well, yeah, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’
Karl says their dad would start with a joke but Kendall gets right to the point, offering less than 144.
He adds they are, ‘Aiming for 147, hoping for 148,’ but they would, ‘settle for 145, 146.’
They get a call from Connor (Alan Ruck) who reveals that Marcia has been in and she wants to put Logan in a kilt for his funeral.
Matsson jokes that they brought the ‘whole crew’ and wonders if they are trying to ‘outmaneuver’ him since he’s solo… but he insists he’s joking.
Roman congrats Lukas on his football team winning as they try to get into the deal but Kendall and Roman start awkwardly.
Roman says they liked their offer but he doesn’t think it reflects their, ‘full valuation of what you’re purchasing.’
Lukas said their stock dropped 20 percent on Friday, but Kendall says it gained back 10 percent on Monday.
The kids insist that their father would not be a part of the business going forward even before his death.
‘I still feel like I’m going to the checkout during a sale and getting asked to pay more,’ Lukas says.
He jokes that he wants to buy their ‘whole operation’ for one dollar, insisting that he’s joking… before dropping another bombshell: he wants ATN now… which had previously been carved out of the original deal.
Lukas says, ‘187 per share. Fifty-fifty cash stock… For the whole thing,’ which stuns Kendall and Roman.
They say they want to talk about it with everyone else and they run the deal past Karl and Gerri and Frank and they’re all pleased since they offer is much higher, even with ATN folded back in.
Kendall and Roman meet up with Shiv who says she heard a rumor that, ‘ATN has an open line to Jeryd Mencken’s campaign team and they’re just dialed in on editorial morning conference.’
Kendall and Roman say they haven’t heard that as they tell Shiv that Matsson wants ATN folded back into the deal.
‘Sure, fine, get rid of it. It’s a toxic asset,’ Shiv says but Roman adds, ‘It’s also Dad’s pride and joy, he died trying to keep?
Shiv adds, ‘Yeah, well, let’s just keep one of his old sweaters. Less racist. You know, there’s leverage in not looking too thirsty.’
They ponder whether they can survive without their dad as Kendall and Roman say they have done a good job since the stock price has stabilized and the markets seem to like them.
They all wonder if their father would do this deal or not as they all meet for lunch with Matsson and his team.
Greg tells Tom he’s heard on good authority that there is a ‘kill list’ that is ‘evolving’ but there are ‘eight or nine names.’
Matsson says he is waiting for their counter as Roman says they want to figure out a deal that won’t include ATN.
Matsson says they don’t want ATN but they insist they want it still and Lukas says he’s, ‘been talking to Oskar, and we see a way back.’
Kendall says, ‘You see a way back for our… phenomenally lucrative and influential news operation? You gonna save that?’
Kendall says they are concerned about Matsson’s vision’ and since their deal is half stock it could decrease the value.
‘I would fold it in. Fat pipe that shit. Make it more Bloomberg grey. You know? Simple, cheap, huge. IKEA’d to f**k,’ Matsson says.
Kendall says he doesn’t think Matsson understands what he’s buying and that’s why there is a disconnect on the value.
Kendall says their company is a ‘trusted brand,’ but Matsson disagrees, saying, ‘It’s a parts shop. Good parts, yes. Bad brand,’ but Kendall adds, ‘Gotta say, I just think fundamentally you’re wrong.’
‘Yeah, well, I don’t care what you think. You’re a tribute band,’ Matsson says as Shiv asks if they’re all OK, and Matsson says they are OK and he’s, ‘just trying to make you f***ing rich.’
Preview: The preview for Sunday’s episode also featured a scene with Greg (Nicholas Braun) revealing there is a ‘kill list’ of employees that will be let go, likely when (or if…) the merger with GoJo is finalized.
While, for a majority of the series, the Roy children have been at odds with each other, the last few episodes of Season 3 found them finally joining forces to stop their father Logan from selling off the family’s media conglomerate.
Little did they know that family black sheep Tom Wambsgans (Matthew McFadyen) betrayed his own wife Shiv and gave Logan a heads up on what they were doing, giving him enough to remove their power to block the impending sale.
The final shots of Season 3 seemed to indicate that Shiv realized her husband betrayed her, though it’s unclear how that will play out in Season 4.
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong first confirmed that Season 4 will be the end of the show in a wide-ranging interview with The New Yorker, where he was asked why he decided to confirm the final season before it debuted.
‘One, we could have said it as soon as I sort of decided, almost when we were writing it, which I think would be weird and perverse,’ Armstrong began.
‘We could have said it at the end of the season. I quite like that idea, creatively, because then the audience is just able to enjoy everything as it comes, without trying to figure things out, or perceiving things in a certain way once they know it’s the final season,’ he added.
‘But, also, the countervailing thought is that we don’t hide the ball very much on the show. I feel a responsibility to the viewership, and I personally wouldn’t like the feeling of, “Oh, that’s it, guys. That was the end.” I wouldn’t like that in a show. I think I would like to know it is coming to an end,’ he clarified.
He added, ‘And, also, there’s a bunch of prosaic things, like it might be weird for me and the cast as we do interviews. It’s pretty definitively the end, so then it just might be uncomfortable having to sort of dissemble like a politician for ages about it. Hopefully, the show is against bulls**t, and I wouldn’t like to be bulls****ing anyone when I was talking about it.’
Tom: Little did they know that family black sheep Tom Wambsgans (Matthew McFadyen) betrayed his own wife Shiv and gave Logan a heads up on what they were doing, giving him enough to remove their power to block the impending sale
Creator: Succession creator Jesse Armstrong first confirmed that Season 4 will be the end of the show in a wide-ranging interview with The New Yorker, where he was asked why he decided to confirm the final season before it debuted