*This review will contain spoilers about season 4 episode 3 of Succession*

Viewers of HBO’s hit show Succession were shocked when it was announced that the upcoming fourth season of the series would be its final. From the first season, as alluded to by the title of the show, it was assumed the show would end with Logan, father and CEO of Waystar Royco, naming his successor and the one to take over his company. Assumed to be a choice between the siblings, Connor, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv, with the final season focused on the take over of Logan’s billion-dollar media conglomerate Waystar Royco, no one was expecting the events of episode 3, directed by Mark Mylod and written by Jesse Armstrong, to take place this soon. Following Kendall, Roman, and Shiv attending Connor’s wedding, within the first 20 minutes of the episode comes a call from Logan’s team on his plane. Logan has collapsed and they are doing chest compressions. Logan Roy has died. What follows is a master class in television writing and performances, opening up discussions on a possible Emmy sweep for a show not even halfway through its season. Despite viewers personal feelings towards this creative decision to kill Logan so soon, one consensus amongst fans and casual viewers alike has been reached: this will go down as one of the greatest episodes of a series in television history.

Episode 3 is proof that both the writers and the actors involved in the show are completely in tune with the characters they are creating on screen. After the news of Logan’s passing has reached the four siblings, the writing takes full advantage of the motivations and histories of each character. Kendall’s admission that he loves Logan but can never forgive him, comes from an individual who is deeply traumatized by a past with his father, Kendall on the path to healing having to reveal these hard truths before it is to late for his own personal journey. Connor’s first thoughts after hearing the news, that Logan never liked him anyways, and his decision to go on with his wedding, a devastating decision to marry Willa without his family present, puts a halt to a lifetime of Logan muddling his happiest moments. Shiv’s ongoing estrangement with both her father and her husband, two men who once teamed up against her, now losing one forever and seeking out the other for comfort, despite their difficult past of betrayal and mistrust. Roman’s refusal to accept that Logan is truly gone, hating him for the trauma he has caused his siblings and himself, while still seeking approval from his father he never got growing up. The writing of each of the Roy sibling reactions takes full advantage of these characters they have so meticulously crafted over the previous three seasons, exemplifying the humanity at the core of these deeply flawed characters.

The amazing writing would be nothing without the stunning performances given by Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, and Alan Ruck. It is their individual devotions to their craft, combined with their stellar on-screen chemistry giving believable performances of siblings with a tense and rocky past, coming together in mourning for the loss of their father, that stand out amongst the other amazing performances of the episode to draw each viewer into their character’s individual motivations and reactions to the news. Their performances capture a spectrum of recognizable reactions to the unexpected loss of a loved one, leaving viewers excited for what is to come with the aftermath of this devastating episode.

Succession takes a huge risk in the third episode of their final season. They subvert viewer expectations of the final season, making for a shocking hour that will go down in television history as one of the greatest. The decision include the death of Logan Roy with still 7 episodes remaining pushes the narrative forward into new and exciting heights, while challenging its performers to explore depths of their characters never before seen in the series. In the game of Succession, anyone could come out on top, and anyone could be named the successor, an event viewers have waited for since the inception of the series. The suddenness of Logan Roy’s death reflects real life loss, and Strong, Snook, Culkin, and Ruck prove their commitment to their crafts in their portrayal of the shock that comes with the unpredictability of death. Death cannot be anticipated. Logan’s death was not used by the writers as bait, or as an event to be anticipated for an entire season. Instead, it just suddenly happened, just like it does in real life. This suddenness placed viewers in directly in the passenger seat, experiencing this shock and loss of Logan’s death real time, alongside their favourite onscreen siblings. But this risk the Succession writers took paid off, launching the next 7 episodes into places never before explored. With strong writing and stellar performances taking full advantage of the carefully crafted characters built over 31 episodes, it is exciting yet devastating to ponder over where the show will take its viewers next.

All episodes of Succession (2018-) are available to stream in Canada on Crave.