Prediction: The Successor
Spoilers throughout
Don’t read a sentence more if you don’t want to spoiled on major SUCCESSION plot lines.
Logan is dead.
Not since THE LEFTOVERS have we had such a treatment of grief on the small screen. It’s not rewatchable, in the way that REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is not rewatchable, but a must-see. The first few moments when we are trying to decide if Tom is lying and Logan1 is in-on-it, got me from reclining to upright and uncomfortable.
So who is the successor?
I’ll lay out the possibilities and give the probabilities.
One of the Roy Siblings
I don’t think so. They are not serious people. The show has not signaled this in any way. There are smarts there, but all stunted, fragmented, and disintegrated. Could they try a triumvirate? I think the show has attached too much dynamite to each sibling, but they will string us a long a bit and it will be fun to watch. Low probability.
One of the Senior Execs
Again, no. They are the corporate mirror of the siblings and all of the same criticisms apply, not to mention the board dynamics. Low probability.
Someone Connected with One of the Buyers
Madsen? Nan? Sandy’s family? Not likely. The narrative payoff is not there. Low probability
Tom
Getting warmer.
Tom is in despair because he thinks, without Logan, he has no protection. Not true and immediately resolved at the end of the episode as Shiv takes him back in. It’s clear that Tom has keener political instincts than any of the siblings and landed on his feet at every attempt to sideline him. If he was this lucky in poker, you would suspect a cheat. Tom will be elevated because he is underestimated, and people will continue think of him as a lightning rod like they did for Senate testimony. However, Tom ultimately has been humiliated too much. Medium probability.
Greg
It’s always been Greg! Look at Greg in the pilot, he’s the only character that has been transformed. He’s 50% of the Disgusting Brothers, who sold his soul on the level that Logan has, and is the only one who was willing to be serious with what resources he had (not much.)
The thing with Logan is that while he was shrewd, he and his kids overrated his ability and confused his dominance as a result of his manner, instead of the role of randomness. The show tries to convince you, like the kids, that he is on another plane, but that is only in comparison to his offspring. Logan has poor judgment and bad taste. He made his fortune the same way Jed Clampett made his.
So when the Roy kids leverage their billions to outbid their father, this is a nascent example of “seriousness”, but it’s not that remarkable a move.
But Greg is on another plane. The show has been incrementally moving him forward in status and import. For Greg to stay as central to the show’s plot while remaining at the periphery, maintaining real leverage without the resources, and remaining underestimated in a way that outpaces Tom, is the true setup. But, he’s going to have to betray Tom (and everyone else). I don’t make the rules.
Contrast Logan watching the news in episode 1 with this scene