Man, i had to keep pausing tonight’s episode just to try and figure out the kids’ motivations throughout. My wife just loves it when i turn an hour show into an hour and a half by constantly pausing and talking it out.
The only kid’s motivation that was obvious off the bat was Roman. He has such a hard-on for pleasing his dad.
So was shiv’s motivation for reopening negotiations just to screw her dad and Tom? What prompted Kendal to suddenly look with interest toward Stewie and Sandy? Did he sense nervousness from Mattson? Did he resent the threat? Just trying to squeeze out more money for himself?
Overall, this episode didn’t work for me. Just felt odd. Even though Tom, Greg and Connor were all in it, they felt out of place. It really was a Shiv, Kendal, Roman, Logan and Kerry-focused ep. (The kids really landed some haymakers on Kerry at the bar. I feel like she may be on borrowed time with Logan. She had some real weakness put on display tonight.)
I’m not sure what Shiv’s plan was, but Kendall, when he know that Mattson was going to walk if pushed decided to deep six the plan - I think Kendall thinks that Logan is going to look terrible when it all falls apart and that’s his way back in.
Logan going to the kids was pretty incredible. Didn’t think I’d see that happen.
Also I’m pretty sure Logan also thinks his assistant would be terrible on air, so wants anyone else to tell her. Poor Greg.
I think Logan hates not having his kids around. He was a surly cuss at his birthday. And he was a surly cuss when he was walking out of the bar last night. He was desperate to get them back into his life.
I notice the cycle is just like Catherine told Shiv: He kicks the things he loves to see if they’ll come back to him. The cycle is he’ll kick a kid, they leave him, then he’ll promise something or lead them to believe they’re in line for something big so they come back, then they’ll fuck something up in his mind and he’ll kick them again. Normally he kicks them one at a time, but this seems like the first time he’s kicked them all at once (in Italy), so now they’ve all left him collectively. I think going to the bar really was a desperate attempt to get them back in his life.
Yeah, I was sorta wondering if Kendall saw a path back to the top from this. I just couldn’t figure out what that path would be. Making Logan look bad makes sense.
Shiv is worried that they “overpromised” for PGN. And, yes, she is pissed about the divorce lawyer situation.
Kendall is just being Kendall.
Logan going to the kids was his preemptive play for Roman. He wanted to disarm Roman, making him think “Dad loves all of us, we will be OK” before Logan had his one-on-one meeting with Roman.
Lots of great dialogue and digs: “It’s like Jaws is here… if everyone in Jaws worked for Jaws”, “sounds like ‘Homework: The Show’”, “Cyd doesn’t tend to stay late when it’s opera season”, and that’s just in the first 10 minutes.
Somebody is going to blow up the Mattson deal. Logan, Kendall, somebody.
If I had an issue with the episode it was because it spent too much time with the Conner/Willa situation. Unless they somehow play in the ‘succession’ battle, I don’t really care.
Also, would like to note that Kendall lied (by omission) to his siblings by not telling them about his convo with Mattson. So I think that will come into play later on.
Two of the major scene settings, the newsroom and the bar, were very un-Succession-like sets with loud, gaudy color palettes that are a big departure from the typical muted earth tones of the show. I think this contributed to the feeling, which I shared, that the episode seemed somehow out of place, and not just in its storytelling.
I will say I enjoyed Logan’s soapbox speech in the newsroom, it was the kind of nod to Brian Cox’s theater background that I like to see utilized. It seems like he’s more in his element when he’s micromanaging things in the trenches, rather than delegating tasks from his desk.
At the end of the previous episode, he’s shown watching the news at night, alone, and then calls Cyd to complain about its shortcomings. It’s like he suddenly realized he could take more of a hands-on role, and threw himself into it.
Wouldn’t it be a weird twist if Logan were to just devote himself to working in the newsroom instead of acquiring more companies, and turned out to enjoy it so much, as a sort of “reverse retirement”, that it gradually turns him into less of an asshole, and the way the series ends is him finally reconciling with all of his kids?
lol, I feel that the lack of commentary re: this episode is another indicator of how weak it is. I don’t even think it was a good “setting the pieces in place” episode.
Standing on boxes of printer paper is a direct (and probably very deliberate) steal from Rupert Murdoch in the Wall Street Journal newsroom, as part of his own rise as the reactionary Right’s preferred media baron.
Logan Roy has clearly decided that his next fortune will come from following a Fox News style positioning as the de facto voice of the Right and its kingmaker. One possible plotline that opens up is that, with Willa’s departure, Connor can be groomed and boosted as Logan’s preferred presidential candidate with some chance of being a contender (they have been at pains to point out he was floundering by his own rubbish efforts).
But isn’t ATN already that? And I thought they were backing that fascist guy. Sure, they could turn to a Connor backing network, but his far right fans may be disappointed. Of course, if the deal goes through, it’d be amusing if the Roy kids basically start up an OANN.
At the end of the episode, Connor came home to Willa in bed. So she apparently didn’t leave him. (And how would her leaving him help his campaign?)
BTW, I found the conversation among the kids about what sort of news channel they would create hilarious. Kendall said something about global and hyperlocal news and all Africa news, all the time. It seems obvious that none of them have a clue.
For the purposes of keeping all the kids in play to the Game of Thrones-style cliff-hanger ending something has to be done with Connor. Otherwise he’s become a presidential no-hoper joke, bleeding money and still vulnerable from Willa’s background. This at least gives him a path to be a credible alternative.
And I didn’t register Willa’s return at all - will need to re-watch
WOW! What an episode. I definitely didn’t think they’d kill Logan off this early in the season. What an acting performance by the entire cast in this episode. My jaw is still on the floor.
Yeah, the more I think about it ,the more it makes sense that it was now but I was still completely shocked. That’s why this show is the best thing on television right now…
I’m so happy for Gerri right now though , I was like , someone go get Gerri. I think she may have been the one that leaked it to the press but she is the one that has her shit together… Roman should have gone with his instincts and put that conversation off for 30 more minutes…
I couldn’t figure out why Logan was so insistent that Roman fire Gerri. He had to know that having the guy who sent her dick pics terminate her employment would not be advisable from a legal standpoint.
Wait, did Roman ever actually have the conversation with Gerri? I don’t remember that he did, which is a good thing. And really Gerri is well-placed to head the company now.
