After a season premiere that was among the best episodes in the series, Succession returned this week with an episode that is radically different in tone. Much slower-paced and more character-driven, the season’s second episode focuses on what many fans love most about the show.
Of course, if you have not watched Season 4, Episode 2 of Succession — “Rehearsal” — you should stop reading this article here, because we are going to break down what happened in the episode and what it means for the evolving character dynamics of the show.
Now that it’s clear that Shiv, Kendall, and Roman are willing to go to war with their father, “Rehearsal” follows the two warring factions of the Roy family as they attempt to negotiate the upper hand. However, what really stands out about this episode is that what the characters do is less important than what they don’t.
One of the biggest surprises of this episode is that it features Logan (Brian Cox) taking a more hands-on approach to the management of Waystar Royco. He goes into the newsroom, where he is on the floor for the first time in quite a while, observing the employees. This is indicative of the fact that Logan is genuinely worried about the future of the company, and that he’s now taking the philosophy of “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
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However, “Rehearsal” also shows a much more vulnerable side to Logan than we are used to seeing. Shockingly, Logan is willing to make concessions — something that seems rather out of character for him. This further reveals that Logan might be more concerned with the company’s future than he lets on. Maybe he knows something that his kids (and the viewers) don’t yet.
After largely taking the backseat in the last episode, it is revealed why Kendall (Jeremy Strong) was not as active in the negotiations to take over Nan Pierce’s company. It will come as no surprise to fans of the show that Kendall has his own duplicitous plans operating in the background. Kendall is working with Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård) in his own attempt to conquer the Waystar Royco empire.
“Rehearsal” also boasts the return of fan-favorite character Stewy (Arian Moayed) who again tries to get his fingers in the Waystar Royco pie. This time around, he and his team want to partner up with the Roy siblings to squeeze more money out of Mattson. This introduces even more cooks to the kitchen, making the negotiations deliciously more complex.
Also interesting is that Connor (Alan Ruck) begins to take a more active role in the negotiations. Connor previously played a somewhat agnostic role in the power plays between his siblings and their father, but he has begun to realize that, to be successful in his bid for the Presidency, he will have to make some powerful allies within his own family. It will be interesting to see how he plays his cards throughout the remainder of the season.
Of course, the episode culminates in a meeting between the siblings and their father. After a season premiere that was all about division, it’s only fitting that the next episode would feature them coming back together. As one would expect, things don’t exactly end well — although many of the unresolved tensions remaining from the previous episode (and the last season) come to fruition here in a characteristically vicious way.
Although it may not be as tense or sharply funny as the season’s premiere, “Rehearsal” is still a great episode of Succession in that it progresses the character dynamics in unique and interesting ways. Fans will be able to see the seeds of the show’s conclusion being planted — especially in Logan’s arc — as we build up to what will certainly be a fiery finale.
Succession is now streaming on HBO and HBO Max. New episodes premiere every Sunday.
Also Read: Succession Season 4 Episode 1 SPOILER Breakdown: “The Munsters”
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