WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Succession Season 3, Episode 1, "Secession," now available on HBO.
As Season 3 of HBO's Succession rolls on, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) continues to be methodical as he plots his next move with Waystar Royco. He's facing an uphill battle to keep his company intact as a sex-scandal with their cruise line has him evading media and authorities in Bosnia, while his son, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), is plotting a business coup in New York. However, while Logan thinks he's fortifying his squad by doling out a sinister promotion to another child, it may have just created his biggest enemy.
Logan appoints Shiv as his President, a position he's creating so he can have eyes and ears on the board. The problem is this upsets Roman, his other son, who desperately wanted Logan's CEO job and now feels like he's being passed up again and isn't good enough.
This isn't the first time Roman has been pushed aside, either. Last episode Logan opted for Gerri, head of legal, as a temporary successor, as he thinks Roman isn't experienced or cutthroat enough. Plus, Logan believes Roman's mommy issues and crush on the older Gerri will be enough to keep him in line. However, from Roman's look as Shiv leaves with her dad when he gets back to America, this might not be the right calculation. The thing is, he doesn't even know the appointment has been green-lit yet, and he's already suspicious, as he knows Shiv spearheaded a meeting with Kendall with a potential alliance in mind.
When the siblings, including Connor, spurned Kendall's truce, Roman was the most adamant he'd never backstab Logan. This makes Logan's loyalty to "Pinkie" hurt even more, as Roman just can't see why his dad would pick Shiv. She's conniving, no shocker having worked in politics for years, but in Roman's eyes she just isn't ready to lead the media empire.
What makes Roman formidable, though, isn't just his rage -- it's his apprenticeship and secret alliance with Gerri, who won't like that Logan doesn't trust her either. She and Shiv are relatively diplomatic but Shiv hates that Gerri got the CEO job, so a civil war's riling. Gerri knows Logan's breaking and while she wants no part of Kendall, Roman could sway her to swing the majority vote on the shareholders to actually hold the trump card.
With a buy-out offer from Sandy Furness on the table, it'll be the last thing Logan needs because giving Gerri -- and indirectly, Roman -- the keys to the kingdom could see them spook the shareholders, board and stock market, allowing the hostile takeover to be completed.
This would be a master stroke by Roman, as Logan wouldn't ever think his youngest would screw him over like this, manipulating Gerri along the way. But the fact he keeps scorning his ambitious kid, disrespecting him with Shiv's new role, may just be the thing that dooms Logan Roy in the end.
See how Roman reacts to Shiv's appointment in Succession, airing Sunday nights on HBO.
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