Reaction Review: Succession Season 4 Episode 6: Living+
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
EPISODE SUMMARY
Warning: major spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 6, “Living+”, are throughout the entire review. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
We start with a familiar face: Logan Roy, back from the dead (not really), with a green screen behind him. Really, this is old footage that Kendall and some other Waystar RoyCo team are watching post death; it’s for the upcoming Investor Day event. It captures the two-faced nature of Logan, who appears to be charming while filming a video for a special day, and then talks poorly about his kids while berating the crew working on the bit. While Siobhan (Shiv) gets this footage sent to her, there’s Lukas Matsson calling her, letting her know that he is on her runway and about to board her plane. He’s here to ask why cruises and Living+ is a part of the deal — the one that was pitched last episode, thanks to Shiv saving the day — when he considers them “depressing”. While shooting the breeze, he brings up how her brothers made fools of themselves insulting him the last time they met. She brushes him off, and he departs the private plane.
Roman and Kendall are meeting the board during Investor Day to discuss Waystar stuff; Shiv is annoyed when Kendall sits in her chair by accident. The two brothers serendipitously piggyback off of what Matsson was bringing up before: they reveal the confrontational meeting. They begin to express doubts about fulfilling the deal, which is a surprise to Shiv and other board members. Gerri states that this deal should go through, but they need to keep a close eye on his erratic behaviour. Kendall then states that they will go ahead with the deal, and the other board members leave the Roy kids alone. The brothers apologize for not having told Shiv sooner. She sees through their tactic that they want to destroy the deal through deception. She calls them bad liars. Kendall folds and admits that they aren’t sure about the particulars of the deal.
Kendall uses this opportunity to admit that they don’t want to really be out of Waystar anymore, but that they can keep what they own (like Pierce). The brothers apologize if Shiv feels backstabbed, as that was never the intention. Shiv leaves to partake in an important meeting: before the “meeting” can commence, Tom walks in on her crying and asks if everything is okay. She reveals that she doesn’t have a meeting: she booked the room to have alone time. He consoles her while she grieves and expresses frustration about her siblings; they begin to kiss, despite their plans to divorce. Back to the Roy brothers: they’re continuing to try to sabotage the GoJo takeover whilst preparing a statement for Investor Day as the new Waystar RoyCo CEOs. Roman heads over to meet Joy (the studio executive they’re working with), who sends her condolences and asks about the Matsson deal (like everyone else wants to know). She continues to press Roman in a way that intimidates his credentials, and he threatens to fire her for questioning him. He then decides to commit and fires her on the spot.
Kendall is busy preparing for the Investor Day; he asks if a Living+ operated house could be set up for the event, but it seems far too ambitious. He asks his team to help out anyway. Roman shows up and is hush-hush about what had just transpired with Joy. At the investor reception, Shiv and Tom connect over champagne. He uses the opportunity to apologize for backstabbing her, but she shrugs him off and states that what he did had no effect on her. She proceeds to start a game of “bitey” with Tom: they bite each other harder and harder, and the first to stop loses. They stick their hands out and begin biting each other’s limbs. Shiv loses and states that “Tom Wambsgans has finally made me feel something”. Ouch, for both. Back to Kendall and Roman (and, somehow, Greg): they’re trying to figure out a way to rise Matsson’s pitch to a dollar amount that he cannot accept. Once Greg leaves (acting like a robot, naturally) to carry out their plan, Roman begins to open up about how he finds it difficult to accept their father’s death. Gerri storms into the room and asks to have a talk. Roman confesses that he fired Joy. Gerri calls Roman out for not being as competent or headstrong as his late dad, and Roman snaps on her and demands to be treated with the same respect as his dad. Roman decides to fire the second person person of the day, and Gerri is not pleased with her predicament.
Roman goes to Kendall and discusses how they should let Joy go. Luckily for him, Kendall is okay with this choice. However, Roman is initially not happy that he fired Gerri, but then he becomes fond of Roman’s tyrannical powers that he has finally tapped into: he sees it as a series of big moves that may get them the respect they demand. Back to Shiv and Tom, who appear to have had sex. Shiv gets a text from Matsson, and she uses the opportunity to ask Tom if he fully supports the GoJo situation. Tom says yes, feeling as though his time at Waystar is likely up otherwise. Tom professes jealousy about Matsson and then says he wants Shiv back; she indicates that it’s too late since he betrayed her. He continues to tell her how he felt like he was in a tough place, as he didn’t want to lose his money or career; he dares her to give up all of her possessions for love and see how she would feel. Shiv tells Tom that she would follow him anywhere for love, but they both begin laughing. We’re not sure how serious each partner is.
Greg is watching the old Logan footage and is trying to edit it for Investor Day. Greg asks for an impossible task (to get Logan say something that he didn’t say), and he actually gets tough with the editor working on the clip: it’s the most ruthless Greg “the egg” has been yet. Meanwhile, Kendall is working on more Investor Day goodness by adding projection numbers into the opening speech, as to make the GoJo offer null and void so Matsson has to offer an unreasonable amount now; between him, Roman, and, apparently, Greg, there is a lot of thirst for power and flexing of capabilities in Waystar with Logan gone. The next day, Shiv has a virtual meeting with Matsson and tells him that Living+ has to be pushed. He isn’t in love with that idea. Kendall and Roman are in the auditorium, and he arrives to see a partially finished Living+ home (which won’t be finished to his expectations by the time the event is due to start). Roman asks Kendall about those numbers; Shiv, who arrives afterward, is curious about those projections too. Shiv expresses concerns and asks if they should cancel the Investor Day event. Roman states that it’s high risk but it should proceed anyway. Shiv states that this should be cancelled for Kendall’s benefit, since he cracks under pressure and comes up with insane ideas that won’t work.
It’s too late. They seem to be going forth. Kendall and Roman are wearing flight jackets to boot. Roman uses this opportunity to eventually — at the final hour — call an audible to postpone the event. Kendall looks frustrated. Roman pins the blame on himself and proclaims that he’s worried that he will mess everything up to soften the blow. They get the cue that it’s time to start the event, and it appears as though Kendall will actually go up on his own. Karl tries to talk to Kendall about the projection numbers and the apparent ploy to destroy the GoJo deal, and Kendall begins to insinuate that now his job is on the line. Karl doesn’t settle: he promises to squeal about Kendall’s plan to kamikaze the deal if Kendall gives numbers that are inflated. Kendall goes on stage — alone — despite all of the red flags that laid before him. He is welcomed by thunderous applause (but no house prop, since that didn’t pan out). As predicted, Kendall appears to be bombing. He then talks to a video image of his father, and he appears to “talk” to the deceased Logan. It’s corny and self indulgent, and none of the Waystar staff or other Roy family members like it. Kendall pitches Living+. This goes a bit better, thanks to the help of other Waystar RoyCo staff that worked on the writing. He begins to promise life enhancement procedures, and that’s when Matsson calls Shiv and asks Kendall to stop the event. Kendall has that edited clip that Greg demanded, and thus the inflated numbers begin; Karl and the other board members aren’t happy.
Karolina reports that the instant online reaction is generally good. However, there’s a curveball: Matsson has just made a nazi joke online, clearly as an attack on Waystar (now it appears that a problematic person is buying the company). The first question Kendall is asked about is that tweet. Kendall — caught off guard — decides to use this moment to address the incident. He states that the deal will continue, and that Waystar will hope Matsson change his tune. No one is pleased with Kendall’s response, which seems insincere and like another opportunity to push Living+. Shiv, on the phone with Matsson, tells him to back off. Tom is up next to talk about ATN, and we're just going to ignore that. Kendall gets applause from all of Waystar RoyCo backstage, but we know it's fake praise. Matsson appeared to delete the tweet after Shiv’s insistence. Roman leaves during all of the ass-kissing, and Shiv notices. In a limo alone, Kendall sends another edited Logan clip, where he appears to say that Roman has a”micro dick”. Roman isn’t offended: instead, he replays the clip again and again to hear his late father's voice. In another vehicle, Shiv asks Tom to keep their relationship professional. Kendall is alone on a shoreline, where he writes “1” in the sand with his foot. He takes his shirt off and begins to stroll into the ocean and swim freely. Unlike the other times he has appeared to be drowning, he is instead blissful here and in command of the water.
FIRST REACTION
This seems like another story-building episode of Succession: one full of the Roy brothers slowly sabotaging everything that their father had worked for. They seem to be in “control” in their own minds, but everyone else is telling them differently. With Roman and Kendall (and apparently Greg, who needed to tell Kerry that she couldn’t cut being a newscaster, if you recall) being trigger happy with the threats of being fired, the power is slowly going to the heads of all (even Shiv, to a degree, but she is far more controlled than her siblings). We’re also learning more about Lukas Matsson: how many moves ahead he really is, how anarchistic he is willing to go in order to get his way, but also how deep down he does listen to reason when it’s given to him by someone he respects. It may be tough to tell if he has a crush on Shiv at this point, but it is certain that he honours her in the same way he did Logan.
Seeing Greg get forceful and Tom more real were both nice touches, as if Greg is starting to surpass the scumminess of the latter while Tom is resorting back to a regular human being unlike the former. Then again, Tom could still be his old manipulative self like always. Who knows. It is at this point that I take note of how many episodes of Succession are left: four. Just four. With an episode dedicated towards building plot structure (after a series of blows to the gut), I can only predict the final bombshell(s) coming our way. Even in episodes like this, Succession is so calculating that you can’t help but wonder where this is all going to lead. In Succession’s final season, even expository episodes have little twists (all of those “firings”, to say the least). Then, there’s the introduction of Living+ and other future endeavours promised during Investor Day: all things that are meant to prolong life. The sweet irony that this likely will start the death of Waystar RoyCo and all that are attached to it. Logan Roy was right: these are not serious people.
Final Grade: 4/5
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.