Is Succession season 4 plotting the downfall of the Roy children?

The final season began with the trio marching headstrong into a ludicrous purchase of the deteriorating Pierce Global Media conglomerate. After some cunning manipulation from current owner Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones, masterfully playing a wolf in sheep's clothing), they committed to paying well above what the company is truly worth: an eye-watering $10 billion. It's a figure that the kids believe they can just about scrape together from investors and their personal fortunes, which will get a sizeable boost when patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) sells Waystar to GoJo founder Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).

How utterly idiotic, then, that Succession season 4 episode 2 – titled Rehearsal – sees the siblings risk detonating the very deal on which their entire plan rests. Shiv and Kendall agree with boardroom frenemies Stewy (Arian Moayed) and Sandi (Hope Davis) that they can squeeze "more money from the Swede", despite warnings from their father and Matsson himself that the eccentric buyer will simply walk away if the sale is voted down. Nevertheless, the children are steadfast in their belief that the gamble will pay off. They're wrong.

Why? Well, as executive producer Frank Rich concisely summed up on the official Succession podcast: "They don't know s**t about business." Though their father might not be completely tapped into current trends, there's no doubt that he's a more skilled entrepreneur and that his instincts are generally sound. In the first two episodes, Logan has appeared to be somewhat on the back foot, coping with losing the bidding war for Pierce and this attempt to tank the sale of his company. But make no mistake, it's Kendall, Shiv and (possibly) Roman who will come out of this battle brutally beaten.

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has a history of tormenting morally reprehensible characters – just look at Peep Show. There we followed flatmates Mark Corrigan (David Mitchell) and Jeremy Usbourne (Robert Webb), whose frequently shocking acts of selfishness always came back to haunt them, often in the most humiliating way imaginable. It's not hard to see this story heading in a similar direction, with the Roy children finally being humbled by some misjudged moves that leave them in dire straits (at least, relative to what they're used to).

If they successfully block the GoJo sale, it seems clear that Matsson will stick to his word and move onto his next impulsive acquisition. That would leave the Roy company on seriously shaky ground. With no buyer to provide some much-needed future-proofing, long talked-about anxieties over its outdated business model would once again rise to the top of the conversation. At the very least, the rebel dream of buying Pierce would crumble, while at worst they could lose a considerable chunk of their inheritance as Waystar becomes less financially viable.

Alternatively, let's suppose that Logan can push through his sale and the kids get their share of the money; their corporate takeover remains doomed to fail. "They go after Pierce, which it's not clear that any of them even read," Rich continued on the Succession podcast. "It really captures the difference between someone like Logan, who created an empire... [and] a bunch of kids who were born on third base and don't know what the hell they're doing. And worse, are so arrogant that they think they're smarter not only than Logan, but also much of the world – including the people they're making deals with."

The executive producer went on to tease that the ending of Succession is an "organic" conclusion; something fitting with everything that has come before. Well, what do we know from the previous seasons? Logan always wins – and his kids are, in his own words, a bunch of "f**king dopes". That they sincerely believe they have what it takes to succeed is a joke, but that we, as viewers, can be swept up by their confidence and charisma is a lesson. A crushing defeat would come with the moral not to glorify super-rich jerks with loud mouths – a timely theme indeed in the current moment.

We're only two episodes into the final season of Succession, but the writing is already on the wall for the Roy children. It remains to be seen whether Roman, who has been uncharacteristically level-headed recently, could escape this sinking ship on the comfy life raft of employment at ATN. But at the very least, his siblings – including Connor, who unwisely poured his fortune into a laughable bid to become President – stand to lose everything. If there is anyone left to be anointed successor at the end, they may find themselves ruling over an empire of rubble.

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