One of the mastery that he has Jesse Armstrong and the writing team of ‘Succession’ is found in how to handle the times: those of saying things, those of not saying them and those of facing each other and putting the cards on the table. ‘The essay’ (4×02) marks one of the latter in an unusual setting: a karaoke.
By the way, from here spoilers for the HBO Max series are inevitable.
After a first episode in which we have seen Logan’s loneliness, abandoned by his children on his birthday (yes, it only seems like a year has passed since season 1) and Seeing that his sale to Matsson may be in danger Due to the possible plays of the Shiv/Kendall/Roman trio, the father decides that it is time to have a real encounter and with all the open heart that is possible for him with his offspring.
Famous Blue Raincoat
The result is one of the most discouraging so far this season and probably from the series. Sequence marked by the fact that this meeting takes place in a karaoke in which a melancholic Connor (Alan Ruck) decides to sing alone the saddest song possible: Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen.
Once again, the writers of ‘Succession’ —specifically sign the episode Tony Roche and Susan Soon He Staton— They do not stitch without a thread with the selection of a song that is about betrayal (Willa’s alleged escape the day before the wedding) and depression.
If the atmosphere was already sad, after the song dad Logan (Brian Cox) arrives to blow things up in a bitter reunion with his children halfway between a power game and a genuinely family reunion that ends with a “I love you, but you are not serious people” by the patriarch.
Power play at karaoke
In the words of Jesse Armstrong, creator of the series:
“The whole thing about the karaoke scene is basically about trying to persuade people who have an advantage over you. The reason Logan is more talkative in that scene is, I think, because of simple power. This is an unusual position for him in that the sons have power over him, so he needs to throw in, you know, vinegar and honey, if he wants to catch these flies.
He is often a person of few words. I remember the episode where he does family therapy, where he says some things. Usually it’s because he needs it. Also, maybe some people will see Kerry’s influence. It seems that there have been previous conversations where she, either for real and emotional reasons or for tactical reasons, suggests that there is some politicking in making an apology or a gesture to that effect to the boys.
In this way, we have a group scene in which we know that things that hurt are going to be said. Something that Brian Cox himself also qualifies:
«Her children cause her pain, but she cannot express it because she does not want to. (…) Logan tries to make Waystar Royco work, but he knows it’s a disaster. He is responsible for what he has created. Even though he has become slightly monstrous, he thinks that he can control it. It’s this element, which of course is brilliant writing, it’s that implicit sense of honor that Logan requires. He doesn’t require a twisted plan, which is what children are so busy doing over and over again.”
The scene definitely leaves headdresses both father and sons…something that comes to fruition in the final scene, with Roman (definitely the most Logan-like) seemingly siding with the patriarch. We’ll see how this ends.
In Espinof | The me