LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Roman Roy’s introduction in ‘Succession’ came with the following words, “Hey! Hey! M**********rs!” as he dashed into Kendall’s office with a mischievous smile on his face. Since then Roman has been looked at as an enthusiastic little attack dog who can talk his way out of tricky situations with his mumble lingo. He’s a man-child who never answers straight. He will twist and turn his tongue and force the English dictionary of vulgarity and profanity upon it. He also likes to make sexual innuendos and talk about sex a lot but unfortunately is not an ardent practitioner of that art. He’s a mere masturbator to derogatory words that arouse him. All this act of ‘I’m the disgusting man who can get work done’ came to an end in the penultimate episode of the series.
In ‘Church and State,’ the second to last episode of HBO’s flagship show, we see Roman for who he truly is. During the episode, Roman was prepping up to deliver the eulogy at his father, Logan Roy’s funeral. He had everything rehearsed and also just emerged victorious by helping Jeryd Mencken win the election through his ATN news machine. The stage was set for him to announce his credibility as the new patriarch of the Roy family but Roman, poor Roman fell to his knees. He mumbled and all the ludicrous talk vanished when a moment of real and self-realization arose. What happened to the man who could talk his way out of any situation?
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‘Succession’ Season 4 Episode 9: Kendall finally recognizes the Logan in him after Roman's meltdown
Roman wept like he’s never wept before
Roman Roy was the loneliest man in an auditorium full of grievers. He looked at his father’s casket and it dawned on him, that the man whose approval he lived for, is no more. The repressed emotions which came out through his filthy multilingual tongue now found a new way to erupt — through his eyes. It was as if Roman had never wept in his life. Through his tears, he said all he could have. For now, it feels like Roman has nothing more to say on the show. It was a cathartic moment for Roman who might be relieved but equally confused about his next steps. How should he deal with these feelings that he has never embraced before?
To add to his misery of missing his father, Kendall blames Roman for messing up the Presidential election for Waystar as Mencken may not block the Lukas Matsson deal which they wanted. Mencken’s victory was the only thing that Roman could have looked forward to and it seems, this too has been taken away from him. There’s no Gerri or Shiv or Kendall or Logan to help him, and Roman cannot do without help. “You tried to Dad it. And you failed,” Kendall reminds Roman during the funeral service, confirming that Roman doesn’t have the guile to go alone. He’s done. Throughout his life, he thought living in denial and a flowery language will help him thrive. He’s exposed, and unfortunately at a time for him when he needed to be firm.
Roman’s already showing signs of self-destruction
The middle Roy child is a man who has ignored his feelings to live at the mercy of his father. However, the bough has broken and the ants of the past traumas have crept out, leaving Roman confused about how to embrace them. He’s a hot-headed maniac, bashed by his brother, Kendall at the moment who is fighting his own war to become Logan. During the nine episodes, when all is said and done, Roman leaves the building and rushes towards a group of angry protesters on the streets, trying to pick a fight with them.
He hurls abuses at them in his swanky suit, only to get knocked out by one of the protesters. Roman wants to punish himself for failing at everything — being a good sibling, a good son, and a decent human being. After witnessing his spiraling emotions and erratic behavior in the past, it is a possibility that Roman kills himself in typical Roman fashion, leaving behind a quote, “F**k it. I’m out.” For now, everyone knows, he cannot lead and he doesn’t want to be someone’s number two. He wants to rest and the finale will show us maybe how he does it.
