With only a few episodes left before it follows Brian Cox's Logan Roy into eternal oblivion (while still being able to rewatch ad nauseam with an HBO Max subscription), the award-mongering drama Succession hasn’t lost a step in Season 4 by way of delivering emotionally charged scenes for its ensemble cast. The endgame is finally taking shape in the aftermath of Logan’s shocking death in Episode 403, with the fate of Waystar, ATN and more on the line as the Roy siblings attempt to either make or break a deal with Alexander Skarsgard’s Lukas Matsson, whose verbal lashing from Roman only spiked his interests. And as it usually goes, viewers are having a blast watching this batch of selfish and egomaniacal asshats and their high-dollar struggles.
After everything we’ve seen this company and its founding family go through over the years, I think many fans would agree there are only a limited number of characters in the show who genuinely deserve to experience true happiness, peace, and success when exiting the Succession grinder at Season 4’s end. At least working from the base assumption that any of these power players are worthy of such fates. Let’s kick things off with what I assume is the most obvious entry.
Gerri
If angels existed in Succession’s universe, they would probably all look to J. Smith-Cameron’s Gerri Kellman for advice. The Waystar Royco general counsel and occasional temp-CEO has survived many years of being the key female presence within a pack of alpha wolves, and managed to maintain her spot not by destroying those below her, but by doing her job well and helping others achieve their goals. Had Roman been more interested in Gerri’s business plans instead of jerking off to her dominant insults, he would have had a far better chance of landing success without needing to stay tethered to Kendal and Shiv. (I don’t think it’s a strike against to say she’s great at fantasy fulfillment, either.) But for all her efforts, some of her most noteworthy takeaways have been “receiving endless dick pics from Roman” and “getting unofficially fired multiple times by Roman.” Gerri. Deserves. Everything.
Willa
Justine Lupe’s Willa may not be as outwardly saintly as Gerri can be, but my goodness, she deserves all the greatest things simply for shifting her life path to dovetail with Alan Ruck’s Connor, thus keeping his exceedingly nutty ass grounded. (At least as grounded as a mega-millionaire heir and presidential candidate can be.) The former sex worker, who has sat through way too much judgment for that career path, has certainly found ways to enjoy and take advantage of Connor’s wealth and longing for her, so it’s not like she’s struggling. But considering she’s helped to make the now-married pair inarguably the healthiest couple of Succession’s core pairings, a lifetime of further happiness and success is warranted. Maybe a play-writing instructor, too.
Karl
While he may or may not come off as too much of a brown-nosing sycophant, especially compared to Gerri, David Rasche’s Karl has largely played the CFO game properly and respectfully, knowing when to stay quiet and when to lean into the drama. Unlike Frank, who could be talked into jumping ship with the right pitch, Karl is one of the bigger pillars of loyalty within Succession, and deserves a huge payday and more whenever his time with the company has run out. He probably also deserves to say when that time is, too, as opposed to having Roman or Kendall fire him. Especially since he didn’t whoop Ken’s ass for overpromising stats during his Living+ presentation.
Rava And The Kids
I’m fully aware of how many Succession fans out there are desperate for Boy Wonder Kendall Roy to overcome his many, many personal and career low points by the show’s end for whatever modicum of victory exists. And if I were to align myself with that camp, it would almost entirely be for the sake of his ex-wife Rava and their two children Sophie and Iverson. Even if he could share stories about Rava not being a great partner, I dunno if I’d believe them, and since I’ve largely only seen her be a solid mom and friend to her lying and judgmental addict of an ex, I think Natalie Gold’s character deserves a golden ticket to easy street for her and the kiddos. Seriously, a lifetime stipend from Waystar just for her listening to Kendall’s disgustingly vapid “Six continents!” as a way of expressing how busy his life is.
Ewan
For however much screentime that James Cromwell’s Ewan Roy has earned across the previous three seasons (with one more appearance on the way), viewers probably only witnessed between 10-20 seconds of behavior that could be considered anything close to hospitable and genial. He’s like Succession’s version of the Muppets’ Statler and Waldorf, with less interest in punny gags than in calling his brother out for being an asshole. Which is what makes Ewan worthy of escaping the HBO drama in the most positive of ways. Because just about every harsh critique of Logan was spot on, and while we haven’t witnessed their full history, I don’t mind assuming he’s justified for his current stance. And while I might have initially felt ill about him for how he’s treated Greg, that’s no longer the case.
Marcia
Our final entry is also the most debatable, perhaps, if one isn’t taking a big-picture approach. Hiam Abbass’ Marcia Roy is possibly the most thankless role on the show, since she’s often been pegged as a difficult obstacle cemented between Logan and the rest of his family. And while I can’t say I objectively like Marcia, I think her instincts have always been on point, especially in knowing that Shiv, Roman and Kendall would likely be a combined source of stress great enough to eventually kill him. And the whole Kerry affair was a reminder that she’s long had to quietly deal with Logan’s awful behavior in ways that none of his kids or employees could truly understand. Could she be hiding a bunch of shit that makes her into as big of a ruthless monster as her late hubby? Absolutely, and I’ve got my suspicions about that being the case. But until we see proof, I kinda hope Marcia gets control of everything that the three youngest kids hold dearest, and shares it with Willa and Gerri.
While fans are just as bummed as the stars felt about Succession ending after four seasons, it’s hard to deny the anticipation for seeing how it all plays out. Here’s hoping some big family secrets are unearthed in the big funeral episode, including more details about Logan’s sister Rose.
