In the Succession Season 4 Premiere, The War Truly Begins

By wazup on March 27, 2023 Comments Closed / 92 views

In the Succession Season 4 Premiere, The War Truly Begins

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Succession, Season 4 Episode 1, “The Munsters.”]

“Nobody tells jokes anymore, do they?” asks a morose Logan Roy (Brian Cox) in the season premiere of Succession, a lament that might sound like an old man bemoaning the existence of “cancel culture.” But, as with so many elements of this series, it’s really a flimsy cover for the man’s true feelings, as the family estrangement incited by the selling of the family business means that Season 4 begins with a Roy vs. Roys showdown.

As “The Munsters” begins, it’s been a few months since the Italian wedding that led to the family going nuclear, and bonne anniversaire to Logan and his navy blue double-breasted cardigan, an extremely apt wardrobe choice for a mogul enjoying a supposedly happy and relaxed occasion like his own birthday party.

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It’s a well-populated affair, with Connor (Alan Ruck) talking up his “one percent” standing in the race for President and other Waystar Royco hangers-on in attendance. Even Greg (Nicholas Braun) has a date, though said date, dubbed “Bridget Randomfuck?” by Logan’s “friend, assistant and advisor” Kerry (Zoe Winters), ends up getting Greg in a spot of trouble later. Logan’s feeling dismissive of the crowd, though — “meet the fucking Munsters,” he snarks to Kerry, perhaps because noticeably absent, and in fact literally on the other side of the country right now, are Logan’s three younger children.

Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) work on getting their post-Waystar operation off the ground. This really is an unbelievable pitch for what they’re calling The Hundred: “Substack meets Master Class meets The Economist meets The New Yorker” (as previously mentioned in our review, never before have so many smart things sounded so dumb when mashed together).

The three siblings seem to have different levels of commitment to The Hundred, and none of them seem excited by the branding options they’ve been presented. Which is perhaps why a different idea begins to formulate for them, after an inadvertent tip comes in via Tom (Matthew Macfadyen).

Succession (HBO)