Brian Cox talks ‘Succession’ future as fans react to twist end
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “Succession” Season 4, Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding.“
Fans are still reeling over Sunday night’s emotionally shocking episode of “Succession.” It was a moment many fans expected to come at some point in the season — but not as soon as it did.
Logan Roy is dead.
The episode, written by creator Jesse Armstrong and directed by Mark Mylod, started off centered around Connor Roy’s (Alan Ruck) wedding with girlfriend Willa (Justine Lupe), but quickly took a turn when Logan Roy (Brian Cox) suddenly collapsed on board his private jet — leaving the Roy siblings grieving over their father’s unexpected death at a wedding.
In a highly emotional scene, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) called Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) from the plane to let them speak to their dad in case he could still hear them, with all of the children grieving and processing in their own ways.
Mylod revealed in the behind-the-scenes look after the episode that the stunning sequence was filmed in one almost 30-minute continuous take.
But as the kids deal with the death of their patriarch, the Waystar RoyCo team jumps into crisis mode, figuring out what kind of statement to release that will keep the markets happy and not negatively impact their impending deals.
The show notably did not have a dramatic death scene. Viewers don’t get to see the media mogul die on-screen — just doctors doing chest compressions on a body that was most likely already dead and the aftermath of grief.
It turns out, Cox, 76, wasn’t even there for the death.
“They decided, well, they didn’t want to do that. I mean, they had this idea, you know, I think it’s a phone and an ear. I think that’s all you see, isn’t it?” Cox told Deadline.
Armstrong told Cox that his character was going to die before the season started, and the actor was shocked he was able to hold onto that secret for so long.
“I’m very proud of myself, that I managed to keep this secret. You know, I thought, wow, Brian, for the first time ever, you’ve actually kept a secret. It’s such a big secret,” Cox said. “I’m eager to see how it shapes up, eager to see how … because it’s a slightly different show when you don’t have Logan. It’ll be interesting to see how Logan’s shadow looms, but I really don’t know, because I’m out of it.”
But even with Logan Roy’s death, Cox wasn’t entirely out of the filming process.
When it came time to film Logan’s funeral, Cox showed up to the set to “throw people off the scent.”
“As soon as I got out of the car, there were paparazzi shooting me left, right, and center, and therefore, they thought, Logan’s at the funeral, what is he doing?” he said.
With fans now wondering who will take over the media empire in Logan’s absence, Cox has suspicions of who it won’t be.
“My suspicion is that it won’t be the kids. I think that they will get locked out. Ultimately, they’ll get locked out,” he shared. “I think they’re going to be walking into more shitstorms. So, I’m not sure if they’re going to be coming out running it.”
“So, I don’t know who will end up running the empire. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell unless another agent comes in, but I doubt it. I doubt Jesse’s going to introduce anybody else at this point.”
Cox has great affection for the show, which was first released in 2018 and is now in its final season, and believes now was the right time to end it.
“I think it’s one of the best shows on television, and I think for a reason, because of the integrity of the show, and the discipline of the show,” he told Deadline. “Also, you know, I think Jesse was at a point where he was done. You know, also, I think Jesse needs to move on to other stuff. You know, he’s been writing this show for six years, so …”
He told the New York Times, “Always leave the party when it’s at its height, not when it’s going down.”
Cox compared the ending to the conclusion of another HBO hit, “Games of Thrones,” noting that the creators of “Succession” knew where they were going in the finale.
“You think about ‘Game of Thrones,’ when they didn’t know what they were doing at the end, and they had an ending which was not really satisfactory. And the audience was furious. The audience [for ‘Succession’] might be furious; they might miss Logan and say, ‘Oh, what are you doing killing off one of the most interesting characters?’ But it’s fine by me. I’m doing a lot of other stuff,” he told the Times.
Cox also shared with the Times that at the end of the day, he ultimately thinks Logan Roy is a good person.
“I think there’s a lot of goodness to him. I think he’s very misunderstood. I think it’s just all gone horribly wrong. We have these little moments of — and they’re not dwelt on — the scars on the back, the story of the mother, the sister, the relationship with the brother. That’s where he becomes a human being because he is full of the foibles and all the problems that we all have on a day-to-day basis, and all the horrible decisions that we make or we don’t make.”
Fans on social media were blown away by the episode — with “Sarah Snook Emmy” even trending on Twitter.
“sarah snook’s emmy is being engraved as we speak omg,” one person tweeted.
“Really not into hyperbole, but tonight’s Succession was maybe one of the best episodes of television …ever?” another wrote.
“Shedding tears for the worst people in the world. An absolute gut-punch of devastation,” someone said. “The way #SuccessionHBO handled tonight’s turn of events was a masterclass in so many categories — subversion of expectations, organized chaos in storytelling, awards-worthy across the board.”
“It’s the fact that Logan Roy died alone, on a damn plane. With ppl who ain’t family. He always gambled with the love and companionship of his children in order to make another buck, to close another deal,” a fan pointed out.
“jokes aside this is actually one of the best and most nuanced depictions of sudden grief among siblings i’ve ever seen like jesus christ,” someone said.
“The fact that we got Logan’s death from the perspective of the kids and it was played in real time made this episode so phenomenal,” another person tweeted.
“I never thought that I would be crying for Logan’s death but this episode was brutal, it was a lot to take in … The kids were so broken and lost. Magnificent writing and acting, this episode needs to win bunch of Emmys. This is real TV,” one person wrote.
“i thought i’d be rejoicing when logan was dying but seeing roman shiv and kendalls reaction was not fun actually,” someone said.
“i thought we were gonna watch a silly little episode about connor’s wedding why is this already emotionally traumatizing,” one fan grieved.
“they really killed Logan Roy on Easter that man truly was the antichrist,” someone quipped.
“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO JUST GO TO BED AFTER THAT,” another exclaimed.
“what is happening i thought this was gonna be a funny and hilarious wedding episode,” a surprised fan wrote.
“when shiv said ‘daddy you can’t die, not now’ im not emotionally stable enough for this today. i can’t do this,” someone tweeted.
“Obviously the kids’ reactions were devastating, but in just 5 seconds of screen time, my heart also broke for Colin, who no longer had a job or a friend,” another shared.
Some fans even pointed out that the poster for Season 4 hid a clue all along.
During a previous appearance on “The Tonight Show,” Snook, 35, told Jimmy Fallon that there was a little easter egg hidden in the poster.
“But I feel like you won’t know until you know. There is a thing that once the season begins airing, it may get related back to this moment,” she said at the time.
The poster for the fourth and final season shows the Roy family standing on the balcony overlooking the New York City skyline — and at the top of the photo, in the reflection of the glass building, is a long plane soaring through the sky.
The Roys are constantly on private jets, so the plane might not have been seen as so important when the poster was first revealed, but now the symbolism is eerie considering Logan dies on a plane mid-flight.
New episodes of the fourth and final season of “Succession” are available every Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max, with the series finale airing on May 14. Seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on HBO Max.
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