Succession season 4 premiere recap: The Roys return for a round of humiliations and broken contracts

HBO’s hit show Succession is back with its fourth season, and it promises to be an exciting one. In the first episode, titled “The Munsters,” the show picks up from where it left off, with the Roy family dealing with the fallout of their failed coup attempt.

Warning! Mild spoilers ahead

The episode sees the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), celebrating his birthday in New York, while his children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin), plot their revenge against him in Los Angeles.

The episode’s center is Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Shiv’s failing marriage, with Tom starting to realize that Logan values him only as a way to keep tabs on his rebellious children. The two are on the verge of divorce, but even then, they cannot quite finish what they started. Tom and Shiv’s storyline is a highlight of the episode, with their relationship serving as an excellent metaphor for the show’s central theme, power, and its corrupting influence.

Meanwhile, Logan is miserable at his own birthday party, surrounded by “monsters” he despises. He eventually escapes to a diner with his bodyguard, Colin (Scott Nicholson), where he ruminates on the fleeting nature of life and the economy. But what eventually rouses him is what is happening across the country, where his children are plotting a new venture, “The Hundred,” with the top thinkers in the major fields.

Shiv, Kendall, and Roman’s storyline takes them to Los Angeles, where they are waiting for Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones), who is trying to sell her left-leaning media company, Pierce Global Media. Logan has his sights set on the company, and despite The Hundred’s potential, Shiv and her siblings must try to convince Nan to take them seriously. Their visit to the vineyard where Nan resides serves as a hilarious contrast to Logan’s miserable night in New York.

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Overall, the first episode of Succession’s fourth season is a strong start to the final season, with the show’s trademark mix of dark humor, family drama, and betrayal all present. Fans of the show will be eagerly anticipating what the future holds for the Roy family, and how their story will ultimately conclude.