SPOILER alert: This recap contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 3 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max.
It’s the end of an era on “Succession.” In a shocking turn of events, family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) died while on a flight to Stockholm in the third episode of Season 4.
The episode, titled “Connor’s Wedding,” begins with the Roy siblings, Greg, Gerri and Hugo boarding a boat to Liberty Island for Willa and Connor’s nuptials. Tom, Kerry, Karolina, Frank and Karl accompany Logan on his jet as he travels to a meeting with Lukas Mattson regarding the now-uncertain GoJo acquisition. As Logan boards his jet, he informs Roman (Kieran Culkin) that he won’t be attending the event, and instructs him to fire Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron).
Roman simmers with anxiety, which the ever-perceptive Gerri notices immediately. He awkwardly breaks the news to her, which she takes with aplomb while fiercely defending herself: “I danced us through a fucking thunderstorm without us getting wet!” A distraught Roman leaves Logan a voicemail demanding to be treated better, an action that may haunt him later.
Things take a turn when Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) repeatedly calls Shiv (Sarah Snook), who declines to answer. When he finally gets Roman on the line, Tom is forced to deliver the upsetting news that Logan is in dire shape, receiving chest compressions after complaining about shortness of breath and going into the plane’s bathroom.
While it’s unclear whether the unresponsive Logan can hear them, Tom puts the phone to his ear as Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman tearfully say their goodbyes. Roman seems to be in denial, telling his father, “You’re going to be OK. You’re a monster. You’re going to win. You’re a good man. You’re a good dad. You’re a very good dad. You did a good job.”
Meanwhile, Kendall delivers a message befitting his complicated relationship with Logan: “I can’t forgive you. But it’s OK. And I love you.” He returns the phone to Roman and fetches Shiv, who panics as she tries to find the right words. “Daddy? I love you. Don’t go, please. Not now,” she pleads to her father.
After Kendall makes some frantic phone calls to Jess and Frank, the three business-minded siblings finally decide to tell Connor (Alan Ruck) the news. “He never even liked me,” Connor says in response. “I never got the chance to make him proud of me.”
While it’s unclear when exactly Logan dies, Tom eventually informs the crew that they’ve stopped chest compressions. Even in the midst of tragedy, the business grind never stops, as Karolina (Dagmara Dominczyk) mobilizes to craft a statement on Logan’s death and create a plan. The kids insist on drafting the statement themselves, and they make their way to the airport.
After a tender embrace with Tom, Shiv reads their message to the press, ad-libbing that she and her siblings intend to be involved with Waystar Royco in the aftermath of Logan’s death. Connor and Willa wed in a nearly-empty venue, the final shot we see is an emotional Kendall as he watches his father’s body get loaded into an ambulance.
For his portrayal of Logan Roy, Brian Cox has been nominated for two Emmys and won a Golden Globe. Logan’s death will bring “Succession” back to its essence: the fight over Waystar Royco.
