looking at the 'midseason trailer' and seeing roman fighting his siblings, roman shitting on gerri, roman working for fascists, roman walking proudly through ATN like logan did just two days prior... it's not surprising, but it is fucking sad.

logan's death will not free roman. instead, it will reforge the chains he's worn all his life, casting them in iron -- that's what roman deserves for thinking, for the first time in his life, that maybe he wants the chains off. that's what roman deserves for killing his father by not loving him enough, by not loving him correctly or at the right times. logan's death will not free roman at all. if anything, it will imprison him.

(as always, this got very long, so keep reading under the cut!)

this was the worst case scenario for roman. not just logan dying, but the exact way everything played out. he betrayed his siblings, he fired gerri -- for nothing. he could have been on the plane with his father in his last moments -- he refused. his last interaction with his father was leaving logan a voice message that called him a cunt -- the first time roman has ever, ever, questioned or stood up to his father, and also the last. we don't know what killed logan. we probably never will. but god if it won't feel awfully coincidental to roman: the one time he fought back against his father or even showed the slightest hint of doing so, his father died. is it likely that logan heard roman's voice memo and keeled over because he called him a cunt? no. but is it just as possible as anything else? entirely. roman might have killed his dad. roman murdered logan when he could've been on the plane with him holding his hand, if he were a good son. he didn't even tell logan he loved him. not that he needed to, it fucking oozed from his every pore and the desperate nature of that love was one of the reasons logan could never quite stand him -- but that's not the point. roman's one attempt at agency, at setting boundaries, at standing up for himself killed his fucking father.

logan dying would never have been good for roman, at least in his current state, no matter how the actual death came to pass. people often talk about abusive relationships as if the end-all-be-all fixer to abuse is independence, and it's not. independence isn't always enough to heal, especially not when it's forced upon you rather than something you choose. this is especially true for roman, i think. what roman needed was not just to gain his own independence, but to realize that independence and love are not mutually exclusive, that gaining one does not mean losing the other. logan's always hammered in roman's weakness, his wrongness; roman was never someone who deserved to be loved on his own terms. roman's never considered himself to be someone with agency and authority in his relationships -- he's been told over and over again that he isn't a real person, that there's something deeply wrong and unfixable in him, and he believes it. he's never set boundaries with his father or even his siblings because i don't think he really realizes he has the power to do that. he's simply there until people decide they no longer have use for him or want him around, and he'll always come crawling back after a kick because he doesn't realize he's not on a leash -- that he doesn't need to be on a leash. independence has been unreachable all his life, he isn't normal or real enough to be a real normal independent capable person, but if he grovels and shows his use enough, then maybe he can be loved. but his dependence and loyalty is all he's good for. independence means no love, no family, no relationships. and roman desperately wants, needs, those relationships in a way that none of the other characters do (or at least can admit to) -- he wants his father in his life, no matter what; he wants his siblings in his life, no matter what. but independence, being his own person, separating himself from logan's side means he'd lose everything else, everyone else. he's not good for anything anyways. it's not like he has other options.

...until the start of season four. that's why this is all so tragic -- more than anyone else, it seemed like roman was on the road to healing. it seemed like he was finally realizing that independence and love might not be as mutually exclusive as he's been made to think: maybe he could be independent while still having a relationship with his siblings and even his father. maybe he could have his cake and eat it too. he's realized that he's capable, that he has his own worth, and that he can be successful without living under logan's thumb -- and, more importantly, could still text him on his birthday and try to rebuild a relationship, this time outside of business. outside of "that room" in waystar royco. an actual fucking family relationship. that's what escaping the cycle would look like for roman — not complete separation, not a metaphorical killing of his father, but the ability to live alongside him, to have a life outside of him, to love his father without living for him. so simply removing logan from the equation wouldn’t help roman, not when what he needs most is to realize that self-respect is not mutually exclusive with love, that being your own person isn’t a betrayal, that family and love aren’t dependent on how low you can kneel and won’t be whisked away the moment you stand up. and for the first time in his life, it seemed like he was on track to discovering this. maybe he and the siblings could have the hundred, logan could keep going with atn, and in a few years down the line they'd all get together to talk shop and joke around and coexist -- for the first time, he had started to think of himself as enough of a real, okay person to be allowed to coexist with his family, rather than naturally subordinating himself in every interaction.

roman could’ve been his own person, could’ve escaped the cycle, could’ve started a business with his siblings and tried to heal, but now he won’t. he can’t. roman can’t become his own person now, not when his first attempt to do so is exactly what killed logan. it’s his fault. he fucked up and now there’s no dad. he gained his independence, but at what cost? love. that’s the cost. it always has been and always will be. nothing could be more detrimental to roman roy than the exact series of events that occurred in this episode, because just as he started to see a world beyond his father, logan dies -- proving once and for all that the only world beyond logan is one without him in it at all. that’s been roman’s fear all along and why he’s stuck so close to his side: roman loves and loves and loves and is terrified, terrified, of death. of loss. but in a moment of 'weakness,' roman wobbled (he tried to stand up to logan rather than just taking the kicks as he's supposed to, as he always has), and his father paid the ultimate price. there’s no more dad. there’s no reviving him.

…unless, of course, there is. unless roman can undo his error by choosing his father again, and again, and again. becoming logan is the closest roman can get to resurrecting him, after all. and besides, doesn’t he owe it to dad after killing him? after calling him a cunt, choosing not to be with him on that plane he ended up dying on? after forgetting to even say “i love you dad” before the end? roman needs to fix things. needs to make it like dad's still here. needs to make it like he didn't kill his own father by refusing him for the first time in his life. so roman will be the firebreather logan wanted -- he'll do ATN, he'll push for mencken, he'll do whatever it fucking takes to try and make things right. if it's his fault logan's no longer here, then he needs to do everything he possibly can to fulfill his dying wishes, to do what logan would've done, were he alive.

"dad can't die, he's dad." he can't ever die. he's immortal, and his immortality was solidified by the circumstances of his death -- logan will not die. he’ll live on in roman, as roman.

roman will make sure of it.

Predictions for S4: Roman Roy comes out in the Marilyn Monroe nude dress and sings “happy birthday Mr. President” for Mencken

I think it’s time we think about the very real possibility of CEO Greg. Like it’s all shits and giggles, but idk if its a joke anymore and I NEED you to hear me out on this. 

1) Greg is now in Lukas’s inner circle. He’s wiggled his way in and out of all the members of the Roy family/main characters he’s the only one Lukas has taken any interest in besides Shiv, and let’s be real, he’s playing her. He has NO intention of making her CEO. If nothing else gave that away, his Shiv being pregnant as a minus comment is 10000% a red flag.

2) He’s ambitious enough to take the position if it was handed to him. He knows how to play the game well enough to get where he is, but he doesn’t quite know it well enough to get to the REAL top on his own. It would have to be given to him. Which leads me to

3) He’s inexperienced enough that he needs guidance. He’s malleable. Between that and the fact that he’d owe his whole career to Matsson, he’d basically be a meat puppet for the guy. Which is exactly what he wants out of the American CEO.

4) A huge theme of the show is the myth of the American meritocracy. The rich claim they’re where they are because they’re smarter, they worked harder. Taking CEO away from Kendall, Roman, and Shiv, who worked their whole lives hoping to get the top spot, and giving it to Greg because he kissed the right asses at the right time would help drive that point home in the final episode.

If Greg fires Tom, I genuinely hope Tom starts screaming in front of God and the entire staff of ATN about all the things he's done for Greg. Like just full blown, "You wouldn't even BE here if it wasn't for me, GREGORY!!!" followed by listing everything from protecting Greg during boar on the floor to offering him the deal with the devil. This would heal me, actually.

I think Roman is taking anti-anxiety meds. He is fidgety and low energy, and in the car he complained that the seatbelt was choking him. A side effect of anti-anxiety meds is a sense of emotional blunting, a psychic flatness that limits emotional range. With how monotone he's talking, how he has a lack of reaction to anything, and barely makes any of his usual jokes I think this adds up.

ive seen so many posts saying "tomgregs dying" or asking why the writers ruined what they had and like. i get it but. i feel like it had to end up this way. greg was always going to become hungrier and disgusting and consumed, and tom was always going to harden and control him and lash out because theyve been doing this since day 1. like greg is an outlet for tom and tom is a ladder for greg and they are too selfish to ever treat each other as anything else. there is a sentimentalism between the two of them, and they care about each other, but. nowadays, its like never getting rid of something old. you know it doesn't really work, but it used to! and you just can't let it go.

tom needed greg the way a dog needs a chewtoy, and greg needed tom the way a kid needs a stepstool to reach the snack cabinet. but tom has nearly beheaded the chewtoy, stuffing coming out, its covered in his slobber and grime and is near repulsive to play with now. and greg is tall enough on his own, he doesn't need help to get his hands in the water. and yet, occasionally it's the only toy tom can stand to chew on, and sometimes greg convinces himself he needs the extra boost.

The parallels between Logan and matsson are insane and the Roy siblings are projecting their daddy issues onto him because of it.

Roman: Hates matsson (Logan) and resents him for forcing him to repress his emotions yet again. He is trapped, in royco, in himself…in the world of expectations and pretense. The dog in the cage. He cannot escape, he cannot get out. Forever gnawing at his own leg and at the chain that binds him. He has exhibited the fawn trauma response towards his dad for so long, has wallowed at his heel, and compressed himself inward so much, that he’s spring loaded and ready to fly. He just wants to bite and kick and scream and get the hell out. I think he’s more alone in that than he realizes.

Shiv: Wants to get into matsson’s (Logan’s) club and maybe fuck around in a distressingly codependent relationship. She doesn’t see the red flags because that’s all she knows, and as long as she’s getting a crumb of respect she’ll keep coming back with hope in her bruised, broken heart. She isn’t naive, but she doesn’t have the self respect to challenge false affection. She needs love. She needs someone TO love, or else, who is she? She has an angry man in her house and I don’t know if he’ll ever leave now.

Kendall: Wants to rule over his own empire of ashes. Wants control. Power. Revenge. To burn the world! 😊 He has control issues because he’s been at the mercy of his dad for so long. Pushed down, again and again and again. Blackmailed and belittled. Now that he has the opportunity to exert his will over the world, I’m a bit scared to see what he’ll do. There’s been a fire building in his belly for a long, long time, and it’s coming to meet us.

Thinking about the two settings to episode three. How important it was to have Logan die in the air, trapped by his wealth in a luxury plane that actually just ends up looking and feeling claustrophobic and then having the kids find out when they’re on a boat, literally, physically as well as emotionally unmoored. Neither party having any control of the situation, the one thing they’ve had all their lives, that money has always been able to buy them. Down to being able to pick the next goddamn president. Death being the great equaliser once again. Jesse is a genius my fucking god

at the end of the day we got a status quo shiv, a (more) broken ken, and

ROMAN SMILING AND SIPPING HIS MARTINI

given kieran culkin's insanely emotional performance this season in particular, i was so goddamn happy to get this little glimpse into roman's new future: lighter, freer, and dare i say... happier ?

#i like to think after he got a little drunk he hit up gerri and she figured fuck it, he's out of the company and officially fuckable and martyn is a stupid name

If one more of y’all says Roman is gonna die

IM SO GOOD TWO EPISODES IN A FUCKING ROW

Let me be clear!

I WANT Tom and Greg to get together

and

I WANT Tom and Shiv to stay married!

Succession is the only show where I can WIN WIN!

Please don't disappoint me! MAKE MY DISFUNCTIONAL TRIANGLE ENDGAME!

I know the chances are unlikely because Logan probably had a burial plot picked out and updated said plot after his marriages but GOD I think it would be so delicious if he just. Forgot to update that and after years of semi-pretending she didn’t exist he ended up being buried next to Connor’s Unnamed Mother for the rest of eternity.

brian cox saying that he thinks logan would want shiv to take over the most out of any of the kids..... "little princess"... shiv being too low now to not come out on top later.... i bet its a cross out on kendalls name and he pencilled in shiv and gerri+karl+frank fucking erased it

matsson/mencken alliance -> deal goes through -> mencken refuses to have a woman as ceo -> makes a side deal with the only member of the family he has some respect for (kendall) -> kendall gets shiv’s deal and fucks over both roman and shiv

Hate that the Succession Speculation tag is still suggested every time I try to tag something as Succession. Like No I Cannot speculate on what will happen any more there's nothing I can do it's already been done