Season 3 of Succession has officially ended. The hit series, for those not familiar, follows the Roy family, owners of media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. The family patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), has experienced a decline in health. His four children—removed oldest son Connor (Alan Ruck), power-hungry Kendall (Jeremy Strong, who deservedly won an Emmy for his season 2 performance), irreverent Roman (Kieran Culkin)) and politically savvy Shiv (Sarah Snook, who also played a lawyer in the Oscar-nominated Pieces of a Woman)—all with varying degrees of connection to the company, begin to prepare for a future without their father, and each begins vying for prominence within the company.
After an eventful season of ups and downs, the Roys faced a new set of challenges in the latest episode of the season. Shiv singlehandedly destabilized her marriage, Roman texted a big mistake and Kendall’s surrender left us wondering about his fate. We hope to get some answers in episode 9, which serves as the season finale. In the meantime, here's a closer look at the most iconic moments this season thus far.
8 Logan Makes Shiv “President” of Waystar
Of all the Roy siblings, Shiv probably works the hardest and gets the least credit, despite her occasionally shady, Roy-ish ways (i.e. cheating on and taking Tom for granted, throwing her siblings under the bus in a variety of ways, etc.). By the end of the third season's second episode, however, she uses the disappointment in not being chosen as CEO to her advantage, getting Logan to name her as Waystar’s president. The position sets her up nicely for the battle ahead, but only time will tell how it will all unfold. Regarding Shiv's rapport with her dad Logan, Snook said to IndieWire:
"It’s an ever-evolving relationship, I think, and part of the joy of this show for me is the writing and learning new things about our characters as we go along. I think Jesse [Armstrong] is a person who reserves the right to change his mind, which I like — unless it’s in the final cut of the episode, like in the season, it may or may not never have happened. And so our relationship for Shiv and Logan as it’s evolving, we learn more about what their history might have been at the same time. I love that."
This memorable moment of Logan naming his daughter president, and the skeptical look she gives him in return, earns a spot on this list due to the events it then sets in motion — some of which are mentioned below.
7 Greg Learns Ewan’s Real Motives for Seeking Counsel
Season 3 kicks off with Cousin Greg (Emmy-nominated for his season 2 turn) following a defiant Kendall into the car. But as the season progresses, we find Greg rightfully feeling like he can't trust anyone. In effect, he reaches out to his grandpa Ewan (the iconic James Cromwell) to help him find some legal representation early on in season 3. This is a bold move on his part since Ewan usually tries to distance himself from the Roy family. In episode 5 of the third season, we see what Ewan is really up to with his newly hired lawyer (Peter Riegert in a humorous surprise appearance), who is really there not to help Greg, but rather to help dismantle capitalism. Greg's tragic moment of realization made the list because Ewan's place in Greg's life has always felt like Greg's last resort—and now that the ship has sailed, who knows where the young go-getter will end up? In a hilarious follow-up scene later in the episode, we find Greg contemplating a lawsuit aimed at the nonprofit that will receive the inheritance he would have received from Ewan (who had turned on Greg after learning Greg stuck with Waystar).
6 Shiv Sends Letter Trashing Kendall to the Media
Kendall has quite the emotional journey in season 3's third episode. Against the advice of his lawyers, he forces his way into Waystar's offices and finds that most of his security privileges have been revoked. After sabotaging Shiv's speech at a company town hall, Kendall ultimately finds himself in an hopeless state by the end of the episode upon discovering Shiv's open letter to the masses that personally attacks him. As he reads it, Kendall is preparing to make an appearance on a late-night comedy show. In effect, he backs out at the last minute and looks as if his whole world has just crumbled—hence why the open-letter discovery makes this list of iconic moments.
5 Tom Celebrates, Realizing Prison Might Not Be a Possibility
In episode 7, Logan gets some good news: Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) reports that the Department of Justice thinks Kendall’s evidence isn’t entirely valid, and that Waystar’s punishment will simply be a fine—“nothing custodial.” Logan pushes Shiv and Roman to lock down a deal with upstart tech firm GoJo led by Lukas Matsson (played with subtle ferocity by Alexander Skarsgård). In this moment, Logan also gently squeezes Tom’s arm, telling him, “I’ll remember," referring to how Tom had volunteered himself to take the fall for Waystar. Tom then barges into lowly Greg's depressing office and celebrates his newfound freedom by beating his chest like a wild animal and tearing the office apart before kissing Greg on the forehead. It's a hilarious—and fitting—little performance by actor Matthew Macfayden here, earning a high spot on this list of season 3's iconic moments.
4 Nirvana Song Plays During Shiv’s Speech
We'll say it again: Poor Shiv Roy. In that standout third episode this season, she delivers her first address to the employees of Waystar as the company’s new president. While trying to reassure the masses that the future of the company is stable, she is ultimately shouted down by her brother Kendall, who uses surround-sound speakers to blast Nirvana’s “Rape Me," a reference to the company’s previously hidden history of mistreating sex workers, migrant workers, and women in general, in order to drown out his sister’s words. The episode is fittingly called "The Disruptor," and this cringeworthy moment with Shiv onstage calls back into the spotlight all the controversy surrounding Waystar that drove the end of season 2 into season 3.
3 The FBI Raids Waystar
There is one more iconic moment within that third episode that ranks high on our list here. Shiv's letter trashing Kendall, as previously mentioned above, is released just moments before Kendall is set to appear on a talk show. Meanwhile, however, the DOJ finally comes knocking at the offices of WayStar RoyCo. In a very surprising turn of events, Logan actually lets the feds do their thing quite simply because he simply has no choice. Throughout the first few episodes this season, the bullish patriarch has refused to cooperate with the DOJ's investigation into the wrongdoings of WayStar. Despite just about everyone advising him against this, Logan even goes so far as to tell the DOJ to "f*** off" when they try to serve him with a subpoena earlier in the episode.
Logan's time for stubbornness has run out, though, and Gerri finally convinces him that he must cooperate with tge DOJ. They simply have too much leverage over the company, and it would look bad for everyone involved if they tried to prevent the search warrant from going forward. Logan's succumbing to the powers that be is an utter shock.
2 Roman Accidentally Texts His Dad Instead of Gerri
HBO
And finally, there’s Roman, whose fall from grace was inevitable. His swaggering overconfidence is a subtle problem in the lead-up to a big board meeting in this season's eighth episode. Rome had established himself early on as chief wrangler of Lukas Matsson (that tech giant played by Skarsgård), which was always dodgy, especially Matsson opts for a merger instead of an acqusition by Waystar. Roman stumbles into a bit of good luck when his dad reveals openness to the merger idea, but in his celebratory moment, a graphic "dick pic" intended for Gerri winds up on Logan’s phone instead. This hilariously unfortunate turn of events highlights Gerri's complicated rapport with Roman, which stems back to some shocking moments from season 2 involving through-the-door sex talk. Roman has always gotten flack from his siblings for his sexuality, and it all comes to a head in this latest episode. It's jaw-dropping and graphic, to say the least, and deservedly earns a spot on our list.
1 Dad Sells Out With Mom's Help
And then there's the finale, which saw the power dynamics among Logan and his battered-and-bruised adult children go up and down, as Waystar pursued a risky transaction with GoJo. Logan makes the historic decision to hand over the keys to the kingdom — or at least, make it look like he’s handed them to Lukas. As Logan explains to his children after they confront him about selling out, the answer to Roman’s plaintive question “why” is simple. “Because it works,” says Logan. The siblings believed they had the power to deny their father a super-majority vote needed to approve the deal, but Dad had an ace in the hole: his ex-wife Caroline (played by Harriet Walter from The Last Duel). The season's iconic final episode ends with Shiv having to spill the beans to Tom: "Mom f***ed us." Let's not forget, however, it was Tom who betrayed Shiv earlier in the episode by tipping off Logan that the kids were coming. Season 4 should be a doozy!