As Succession‘The fourth and final season ends this Sunday, the question remains: who will it be That Waystar Royco successor? Since Logan (Brian Cox) death, the Roy brothers (besides Connor) have competed to see who most resembles their father, with varying degrees of success. When Kendall (Jeremy Strong) took control after Roman (Kieran Culkin) during their father’s funeral, it seemed like number one son Logan was truly determined to step into his father’s shoes. This was further exacerbated by the departure of two important women in Kendall’s life: his ex-wife Rava (Gold Natalia) and her assistant Jess (Juliana Canfield).
Entering the penultimate episode, Kendall was already in an emotionally unstable place. Considering the episodes are dropped weekly, it’s easy to forget how little time has passed Successionespecially in Season 4. The controversial election that ATN asked to support Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) happened the night before, where Kendall once again demonstrated her tendency to change her mind easily. While Roman already had a close relationship with Mencken and was more than ready to call the election without considering absentee ballots, Kendall was still a bit hesitant to do so after Rava told him their daughter Sophie (Swayam Bhatia) have been victims of hate crimes. But once Greg (Nicolas Braun) told him that Shiv (Sarah Snook) has coordinated with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) behind their backs all along, he soon sided with Roman and insisted that ATN call an election in Mencken’s favour.
Kendall’s Feud With Rava Drops to a New Low
From the dramatic election night to her father’s funeral in front of hundreds of people the next day, Kendall was clearly on edge. New York City is stalled by protests over the election, but when Kendall learns his ex-wife plans to take their children out of town for their own safety, he demands that his driver who disregarded traffic laws meet him as soon as possible. . Rava is fed up with him for not calling his kids and blames him for not being around when Sophie (Swayam Bhatia) pushed by a man in the street, not to mention Kendall’s disregard for their daughter’s well-being to get the far-right Senator Mencken elected. It is not clear what exactly their custody situation is, but it is indicated that Rava is their children’s primary guardian and therefore makes most of the decisions on their behalf. Kendall has little interest in being an active father to her children, but when Rava takes action to remove them from a potentially dangerous situation, Kendall suddenly wants to get involved.
When Kendall ran into Rava in the car, he screamed at her, told her he planned to go to court for full custody of their children, and even threatened to throw himself in the front of the car to prevent them from leaving. It’s a typical post-breakup abuse tactic, and it’s so obvious that despite demanding to see her, her kids don’t unlock the car door. Even though Rava is upset with Kendall, an expression crosses her face that shows she still cares for her and knows she is not well, but has to do what’s best for her children even if it means irreparably damaging their relationship. Rava was there for him in Season 1 when Logan was hospitalized and again in Season 3 when he used his apartment as his base when he launched an attack on his father, but he showed that he was being unreasonable and he made the final decision to distance himself. from him.
Jess Reaches Her Professional Breaking Point
Shortly after the incident with Rava, Jess also told Kendall that she wanted to find other job opportunities. Even though she had tried to schedule a later meeting with him to discuss the matter, Kendall demanded that he tell her right then and there, right before they walked into the church. She tells him as gently as she can that she’s resigning, and he gets mad at her, reminding her of the access he’s given her to some of the most powerful people in the world. She didn’t answer when he asked if her retirement had anything to do with Mencken, but given her brief interaction with Greg in the previous episode right before the race was called, it’s pretty clear that Kendall helped put a white supremacist in the running. office crossed a line he couldn’t ignore. After saying that this was a stupid reason to quit, Kendall also started getting mad at her for telling him right before her dad’s funeral – because of course she would.
Considering all that Jess has been through and witnessed while working for Kendall, there is a real desire to see her actually scold her for all the stress and mistreatment she and her family have endured. But as Kendall claims she gave him “access”, she had no real power in Waystar, most likely signed multiple NDAs, and therefore had to control her emotions when she resigned lest Kendall try to tarnish her name while she looked for another job. Her remarkably subtle phrasing was an act of willful self-preservation, and the most rant she managed to get out was, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Kendall.” Kendall can’t see where Jess, a black woman, is coming from in her refusal to work with Mencken, who used a white supremacist dog whistle in his presidential acceptance speech. What’s the point of having access to some of the most powerful people in the world if those people basically deny you your humanity?
What Does This Mean For Kendall Heading into the Series Finals?
Even though we see Roman at his most evil during election night, he breaks down during Logan’s funeral, and Kendall steps up, taking over the speech. Kendall knew she couldn’t trust Shiv, found Roman too emotionally unpredictable, and had been (in her mind) abandoned by Rava and Jess, two women she thought she could trust. The Old Guard (Frank, Gerri and Karl) are ready to go all out, and Matsson and Mencken are two slick characters, so who is Kendall left with? Hugo (Fisher Stevens), one of them, and Logan’s former bodyguard, Colin (Scott Nicholson), who also knows about Kendall’s incident at Shiv’s wedding. He assembles his own team of yes-men as he plans to take his father’s place.
With the series finale airing this Sunday, Waystar Royco’s fate still hangs in the balance. Kendall, Roman and Shiv are all vying for the top spot but Kendall has always been considered the successor to Logan. He has few people he can trust and even fewer to lose, and considering the way he treated Rava, Jess, and even Roman in “Church and State,” it seems like he’s ready to become all Logan. Kendall Roy is the antihero who will go down in TV history with the likes of Don Draper and Walter White, and we’ll soon find out if he becomes the man he repeatedly promised he would never be.