Catch up with the Roys ahead of Succession’s season 3 premiere
Succession’s second season ended two years and a pandemic ago, so it’s understandable if you’re a bit confused
Background, clockwise from top left: Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy (Photo: Graeme Hunter/HBO); Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy (Photo: Graeme Hunter/HBO); J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman and Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans (Photo: Zach Dilgard/HBO); Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch (Photo: Peter Kramer/HBO) Graphic: Rebecca Fassola
HBO’s Succession returns this Sunday, October 17. The Emmy-winning drama follows the exploits of dysfunctional, uber-wealthy Roy family, owners of the fictional multinational media conglomerate, Waystar Royco. Season two ended with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) naming his father, Logan (Brian Cox), as the sole person responsible for Waystar Royco’s cruise scandal.
That finale was two years and a pandemic ago, so it’s understandable if you’re a bit confused. Not to worry: The A.V. Club is here to get you up to speed with our latest Previously On. You can watch the full recap in the following video, or if you’re just looking for a brief refresher, check out the excerpt from the final two episodes below.
A Waystar whistleblower gives a televised interview about the ongoing cruise scandal that implicates Gerri (J. Smith Cameron), Kendall, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), and Bill (Mark Blum). They, along with Logan, are called to D.C. to testify before the Senate and Shiv (Sarah Snook)’s old boss Gil Eavis (Eric Bogosian). Tom completely flubs it. Logan attempts to pin the blame on Kendall, who sharply deflects to Eavis’ personal bias against the Roys.
Shiv finds out that Eavis has a surprise witness: former cruise employee Kira (Sally Murphy). Shiv tracks her down and talks her out of testifying. Rhea Jarrell (Holly Hunter), realizing the depths of Logan’s lies, backs out of the CEO job. Meanwhile, Roman (Kieran Culkin) travels to Turkey with Jamie (Danny Huston) and Karl (David Rasche) in an attempt to secure funding from a wealthy Azerbaijani investor in an effort to take Waystar private. They are briefly held hostage.
Logan is advised to pin the cruise scandal on a public scapegoat, in a last-ditch effort to appease the shareholders. He invites all the potential candidates on a Mediterranean holiday. Roman, Karl, and Jamie return from Turkey unscathed, with an offer from Eduard (Babak Tafti), but Roman convinces Logan not to take it.
The Roys debate over who should accept responsibility for the cruise crimes. Kendall and Logan try to convince Stewy (Arian Moayed) to take Waystar private, with the family maintaining some control, but Stewy refuses. Tom tells Shiv he’s unhappy in their relationship; Shiv in turn begs Logan not to sacrifice Tom. Logan chooses Kendall to take the fall, and tells him he never had a chance to really run the company, because he lacks the killer instinct. Roman is named sole COO.
Kendall and Greg (Nicholas Braun) fly back to New York for a press conference where Kendall is set to take full responsibility for the company’s crimes. But Kendall has other plans: He instead pins the blame squarely on Logan, with Greg watching in the audience with his proof. Halfway across the world, Logan watches the press conference with Shiv and Roman, a ghost of a smile flashing across his face.