Saturday, October 12, 2024

“Succession” First Post-Logan Episode: He’s Still Present, and the Talk Becomes Much More Brutal (Plus, Best Line)

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The biggest spoiler in “Succession” is from this past Sunday: Logan is dead.

Well, he’s still in the room and present as ever in Episode 4. All the talk is about him, good and bad. Mostly bad. The man is not in his grave yet but his memory and reputation are being used as ping pong balls and bargaining in chips at the board of Waystar comes to pay its respects in his lavish Park Avenue apartment.

The whole episode should be titled “Sitting Shiva, with Swords.”

Everyone who should be in this episode appears or is mentioned except for Logan’s brother, Greg’s father, played by James Cromwell.

There are many revelations and plot twists. The conversation seems more raw and brutal as characters appear to be telling each other off in more unguarded ways than ever. Tom and Greg are particular targets, which leads to Geri giving my favorite line of the show to Tom, who has just taken an hors d’oeuvres from a tray: “You might want to put down that fish taco. You’re getting your melancholy everywhere.”

Shiv gets a few surprises, Kendall gets one, and special kudos go to Peter Friedman, who is quite touching, and Zoe Winters, very moving work.

Much more cannot be said til Sunday. But if this is a foreshadowing, the funeral episode — presumably a week from Sunday — should be titled “Monster’s Ball.”

PS This year HBO should bring back their Emmy party. They’re going to have truckloads of them when you factor in “House of the Dragon,” “Hacks,” “Barry,” and “The Last of Us.”

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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