‘Succession’ Just Killed Off Logan Roy in the Middle of Connor’s Wedding
Connor #Connor
**Major Spoilers for Succession Season 4 Episode 3 “Connor’s Wedding” Ahead**
Ever since Succession first premiered on HBO way back in 2018, we’ve known that the question driving the show is which Roy scion will take over Waystar RoyCo when their father Logan Roy (Brian Cox) eventually kicks the bucket. Logan Roy’s death has always been inevitable. Succession Season 4 Episode 3 “Connor’s Wedding” finally kills the imposing patriarch off in a brilliantly shocking way.
About a third of the way through an episode that’s theoretically about Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) wedding his one-time escort Willa (Justine Lupe), Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) get the call that Logan collapsed on his private plane and it’s not looking good. Against the backdrop of Connor’s ridiculous party, Kendall, Roman, and their sister Shiv (Sarah Snook) say their last goodbyes over iPhone to their unconscious father in the sky.
Did Succession really just do that? Did Logan Roy die suddenly in the middle of the third episode of the show’s final season? Yes, Succession did that and gave Logan Roy a death that came out of nowhere — the way death so often can in the real world.
So how did Logan Roy die? What comes next for Succession? And did Connor and Willa get married after all?
Yes, Logan is dead. Roman might have been in the throes of denial — hoping that maybe a doctor could revive his father on the ground — but Logan Roy is officially dead. He died on a private plane bound for Europe, where he planned to ease Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgard) nerves about the upcoming GoJo deal.
How Did Logan Roy Die on Succession?
Since we don’t see what exactly happened, we have to piece together what went down. It sounds like Logan had a heart attack in the plane’s bathroom. When others on the flight realized he was in trouble, they had to break down the door. By the time Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) calls the siblings, Logan is unresponsive and receiving chest compressions. These continue up to a point, where Logan is legally dead.
While Logan is still receiving chest compressions, his three younger children frantically say their goodbyes. Roman is first, and in the panic of the moment, he forgets to say he loves his father. (Kendall later reassures his younger brother that he did say, “I love you,” but he did not.) After Kendall tells Logan, “We love you. I love you,” but also, “I can’t forgive you,” he looks for his sister Shiv. When he pulls her aside from the pre-wedding reception, the look on his face tells her someone has died. She asks if it’s their mother, which we later learn was a coping mechanism as she intuited it was Logan. Shiv gets to tell Logan she loves him, but it’s unclear if he hears. He is dead at this point and still receiving compressions, but you know, there are scientists who believe hearing is your last sense to go, so maybe Logan hears all this? When they finally tell Connor, his reaction is cold, opining that Logan never liked him.
On the plane, Kerry (Zoe Winters) is a mess, but Karolina (Dagmara Domińczyk) is all business. The team aboard the plane clashes a little with the kids on the ground, as both parties want to be in control of the narrative. Kendall does his best to rally his siblings and in the end, when the plane lands and the press catches wind of what’s happened, it’s Shiv who gives a statement with the support of her brothers.
Every episode of Succession has been building up to this point: Logan’s death. The pieces that series showrunner Jesse Armstrong and his writers have meticulously put in place will now get to fall like dominos as Logan’s children, employees, lovers, and enemies will now fight for their piece of the Waystar RoyCo pie.
We know that the GoJo deal is still up in the air. Kendall and Shiv have sided with Stewy (Arian Moayed) and Sandy (Hope Davis), who want to push Matsson for more money. In last week’s episode Logan begged his children not to push Matsson as he believed the Swede would be spooked and back off the deal. So does that mean the GoJo deal is dead? (And if it is, do the kids still have the capital to buy Pierce??)
While Kendall, Shiv, and Roman have presented a largely united front so far this season, we’ll now get to see how that alliance fares without Logan serving as their common enemy. We’ll also get to see if anyone comes out of the woodwork to cause trouble for the grieving Roys…
This week’s episode of Succession was tantalizingly called “Connor’s Wedding.” So did the wedding take place? Did Willa get cold feet? Did Connor really go through with a wedding on the same day his father died??
As it happens, Connor and Willa do get married! Albeit, it’s a much more muted ceremony as the guests left after news of Logan’s death broke. Willa’s mom and bridesmaids were there and the couple looked happy. Happier than ever before?