Maybe! Shiv did not take kindly to learning Logan has been sending goons after Kendall’s kids and seems to be searching for any excuse to abandon ship. He can pay for the party of his dreams, but he can’t escape the hurt caused by his family (or fill that party with actual joy).ĭasha Nekrasova and Jeremy Strong in “Succession” (The same dichotomy can be seen in miniature during Episode 3, “The Disruption,” when Kendall backs out of Sophie Iwobi’s show following his sister’s scathing letter, only to end on him smiling as news reports follow the DoJ raiding Waystar Royco.) Thus is the life of an excessively wealthy man whose emotional facilities have been gutted by abuse. When he’s at his lowest, there’s always something that pulls him back to his feet. In Season 2, when Logan tries to make Kendall the “blood sacrifice,” the down-and-out son finds his backbone and goes in for the “kill.” When Kendall is at his highest, there’s always something that undermines his happiness. After his vehicular manslaughter cover-up in Season 1, Logan takes pity on him, shielding him from any formal investigation while, yes, side-stepping Kendall’s bear hug. All it takes is a card from his father to remind Kendall just how dire his situation has become and send him spiraling through the rest of his party - lashing out at his siblings’ business dealings, stumbling through his stack of presents like a drunk Godzilla (if only he was still wearing his dragon-breasted jacket), and, yes, abandoning his big performance.īut just like Kendall’s overconfidence can screw up his grand schemes, his genuine pain can lead to happy accidents. And the supposedly damning documents he got from Greg (Nicholas Braun) aren’t enough to take down Logan Roy (Brian Cox). He botched his Department of Justice interview. He’s fired his team of lawyers (whose initial acquisition represented an early win for #TeamKendall). Parties thrown to mask people’s inescapable problems rarely serve as the escape they’re seeking, and Kendall’s reality has been closing in on him for weeks.
Because of course Kendall isn’t going to get to do what he wants on his much-hyped birthday celebration. That moment, paired with the always electrifying cut-to-credits, also sets Episode 7 on a tragic trajectory. 'Abbott Elementary' Review: Quinta Brunson's Schoolhouse Sitcom on ABC Is Hilariously SharpĢ021 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 'The Cleaning Lady' Review: Cliché Dirties Up Elodie Yung's Confident Portrayal
WATCH THE OFFICE SEASON 3 EPISODE 7 FULL
Kendall is a proven stage presence, no doubt, but with the rhyme scheme still fresh in everyone’s minds (“A-1 ratings, 80K wine / Never going to stop baby, fuck father time”), how could Kendall (let alone the “Succession” writing staff) expect an encore to live up to the first show? As tantalizing as the “nut nut, full boar” follow-up initially sounds (a flying crucifixion?!), Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) serves as the collective voice of reason, checking Kendall’s assertion that he’s gone “anti-fragile” by couching her approval with “Yeah… I think.”
“Succession” is too smart to try to top itself - not this soon, and not when it comes to “L to the O.G.” That thought was running through my head while Kendall (Jeremy Strong) prepped a karaoke rendition of Billy Joel’s “Honesty” for his 40th birthday bash, teasing an “epic” sequel to last season’s monument to mortification at his dad’s 50th anniversary party.