‘Succession’ recap: S3 E2 – “Mass in Time of War”

Tonight’s episode of Succession should have been entitled on shaky ground. This is 1st time we have ever seen Logan second-guessing where he stands in the world. This whole Civil War with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) has him shaken.  Alliances are as distorted as ever. Other than Kendall and Logan, no one seems to know where anyone stands. With that being said, let’s go over the top 5 moments from tonight’s episode.

5. Logan is playing them all

What’s interesting in the midst of this war is how Logan, during his weakest moment, has the foresight to not only play his children off of one another but try and reconcile with his wife Marcia (Hiam Abbass), which was done merely for appearances. At one point or another, he tells Shiv (Sarah Snook), Connor (Alan Ruck), and Roman (Kiernan Culkin) that they are his #1 child. Logan also puts on a brave face as he tries to reconcile with his wife. Marcia has a sense of what’s up and puts a price tag on her return. Something tells me that this moment will have an impact on the endgame in season 3.

4. Greg seeks outside counsel

Greg (Nicholas Braun) is spooked by the events of the last few days. His loyalties are torn between Logan and Kendall. He seeks out advice from his grandfather (played by James Cromwell). He offers to back him legally, but what comes with that might not be too appealing. Where Greg ends up in all of this mess is anybody’s guess.

3. Wavering

Kendall picks up on Greg’s uneasiness about everything that has unfolded. His response to that didn’t elicit any confidence at all. Instead of trying to ease his mind, he immediately questions where he stands in this growing conflict. While that might work on someone like Greg, it certainly wouldn’t work with anyone else in his immediate family. This plays out later on during this episode. While Kendall might have had the nerve to step up to his father over this scandal, I’m not sure he has the nerve to see this through.

2. Unrealistic

My internal alarm bells indeed went crazy during this exchange tonight. It seems that Kendall is under some delusion that he can take out his father without being prosecuted himself. Kendall feels his decision to go public was just but felt that any prosecution for his part in the scandal would be unfair. Who would lead this company out of this darkness? Why would anyone else be allowed to assume a leadership role in the company? Who is this guy kidding? Kendall is taking a me, not we approach in this crusade against his father. Unless he comes to his senses, it will lead to his downfall.

1. Close

Most of tonight’s episode was dedicated to the interaction between the siblings as they tested the waters to see if they could visualize joining Kendall in this quest to oust their father from Waystar. The writing during this episode was terrific, but those moments where all the siblings were together, hashing out their allegiances were amazing. Kendall, of course, proposes an alliance to take down dad. Instead of appealing to their sensibilities, Kendall approached his pitch to them as more transactional.  This approach was never going to work. Remember, the Roy’s are out for themselves. This, of course, ends rather poorly (perhaps exacerbated by their father sending donuts over once he got wind of their meeting). As the episode ends, it’s apparent that they are siding with Logan in what perhaps will be a losing battle.

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Dewey Singleton

I'm a member of Critics Choice, Hollywood Critics Association, and The Society of Professional Journalists. I am also on Rotten Tomatoes. My bylines include @awardswatch, @deweysmovies, @awardsradar, @weliveentertainment, @bleedingcool, and @insessionfilm. I am married to @sgitw and have two sons.

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