*Warning: Spoilers ahead*
This is it, folks. The fourth and final season of HBO’s hit Succession has finally arrived and while the teams may have shifted, the battle remains family vs. family.
While this will sadly be the last installment of Logan’s yelling, Greg’s awkwardness and Tom’s scheming, we at least have the full season 4 to look forward to.
But let’s not beat around the bush here. Our Succession season 4 review? Oh, you guys. This last season is gonna be goooooood.
After Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) betrayed his wife, Shiv (Sarah Snook), and his brothers-in-law, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin), in the final moments of the season 3 finale, the rift in the family is bigger—and more dramatic—than ever. Instead of Kendall being the solo Roy out, we now find Kendall, Roman and Shiv working together to carve a name for themselves (aka find a way to screw over their dad). And in the season 4 premiere, we find out exactly how: by trying to outbid Logan (Brian Cox) for the purchase of Nan Pierce’s (Cherry Jones) empire.
The episode wastes no time in setting up the new power dynamics within the family. And in a shift from season 3, Logan is increasingly isolated. Sure, he’s technically still surrounded by Frank (Peter Friedman), Karl (David Rasche) and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), but they seem more frightened than helpful. To really hammer this “Logan goes it alone” theme home, the first time we see Logan is at his own birthday party—where nobody who he actually wants to be there has attended. (Sorry, Connor.)
Perhaps the closest thing to “family” Logan appears to have left (aside from the bumbling cousin Greg, still played brilliantly by Nicholas Braun) is Tom. But even he doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be a trusted family member, as evidenced by his awkward convo with Logan about what it will mean if he and Shiv call it quits as a couple.
Unlike the latest season premiere of Ted Lasso (which takes almost a full episode to find its footing), this first episode jumps right into the middle of the conflict, setting the tone for what is sure to be a stellar season. We’ve got all the elements we could hope for, from Greg and Tom’s will-they-won’t-they bromance to Roman’s sexual disfunction to Kendall’s creepy, “I’m not at all uncomfortable” smile.
And to cap things off, the episode ends with two very exciting moments. First, the kids score a rare victory. Obviously, as any Succession viewer knows, this is bound to be short-lived. But seeing Logan (temporarily) eat humble pie is quite satisfying, even if we know he’s got to have something dastardly up his sleeve.
The second is a beautifully written and acted scene between Shiv and Tom. Their relationship has seen a handful of ups and an avalanche of downs over the course of the series. But it all seems to culminate in the quiet final moments of the premiere. (Shall Snook and Macfadyen start preparing their Emmy speeches now?)
Though we don’t really break much new ground in episode 1, fans of the series are bound to love the latest season. And we can’t wait to see how it all finally ends.
New episodes of Succession drop Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
