LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘L to the OG’ is what Kendall Roy sang for his father’s birthday in the second season of ‘Succession.’ The colloquial ‘OG’ which stands for ‘original’ has been popularized in mainstream medium for someone strong, persistent, and who defies all odds to make his way. The rap song by Kendall was a statement about his father’s notorious deeds and his questionable ways to get out of tricky situations that didn’t favor him. Logan wanted to win and rule at all costs. He bent the rules that favored him and Waystar Royco. He kept a watchful eye over every inch of his empire and in the penultimate episode of the series, Kendall has finally turned up with a firm and clear mind to lead and rule over the empire left by his father.
‘Church and State,’ the ninth episode of the final season of ‘Succession’ draws a clear boundary between business and politics at first, but as always, the lines are blurred and the two are intermingled or used interchangeably as per convenience. Roman is amped to deliver the eulogy, Kendall is dealing with the news of Rava and Jess leaving him for their specific interests, Shiv’s trying to save a seat at the table for herself by hanging in with Lukas Matsson and Jeryd Mencken, the new president, has left the country more divided than ever. But all along this ride full of half-hearted grievances and regret, Kendall takes the wheel when he sees Roman blow his credibility by crying his heart out at the funeral. He cringes hard after he witnesses Shiv, his sister, bat for Matsson, the Swedish giant trying to steal Waystar away, and knows in his gut that he will have to become someone that he never intended to — his father.
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Kendall takes the Logan way ‘straight up'
It all starts with Kendall blasting Rava for taking their children away from the city. A former version of Kendall would have folded and kept his emotions to himself, but the latest reformed Kendall who just helped elect the most fascist leader in the history of America, speaks his mind and tells Rava to not leave the city. He even questions Jess’s resignation and shows his unhappiness right away. But it’s at the funeral, that Kendall comes alive. He takes care of Roman and steps up to deliver the eulogy, completely unprepared, speaking from wherever he could summon his energy from.
But Kendall finally takes charge only after putting Logan at rest in his tomb. He gets Hugo’s loyalty, as he anoints him as his attack dog whose first order of business is to draft a statement that says that the Roy family doesn’t want to sell their company to Lukas Matsson. He even throws a bone at Logan’s hefty bodyguard and playfully demands he join him. In another world, Kendall would have gone easy on Roman, especially after his breakdown, but at this hour, the eldest of the three siblings blames Roman for messing up with Jeryd Mencken and vows that he will now straighten everything up. This controlling authority is what separated Logan from others, and it looks like Kendall seem to have harnessed it from ether.
A cunning Kendall emerges
Kendall meets Mencken, and reminds the new president about their deal to block Matsson’s GoJo deal. But the half-baked response from Mencken eats him up. He felt like he was playing and not fully because of his own mistake. He doesn’t like Mencken anymore and he doesn’t like the fact that he let Roman talk him into something that he never wanted to do. If it was Logan, Roman would’ve never seen the light of the next day but since Kendall is stepping up as the new Logan, it was only right for him to confront Roman for his bad judgments and then move on to further punishments. As for Shiv, Kendall has a plan that we all are willing to find out in the series finale.
The 'Succession' series finale will premiere Sunday, May 28 at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max