Episode Grade: (8.9/10)
As Logan prepares for the sale of Waystar, he and his children battle it out over PGM.
Plot (45/50)
The show’s final season starts off strong as long-standing conflicts are promptly reintroduced alongside new issues for which these conflicts will play out under. In the months between last season’s finale and the start of this season, Logan has consolidated his core team featuring the usual trifecta of Frank, Gerri, and Karl, the “Disgusting Brothers” Tom and Greg, and the increasingly trusty Kerry and Colin. He’s 48 hours away from closing the deal that would sell Waystar to GoJo for a personal fortune; however, that hasn’t stopped him from making similarly large moves. It seems the sale of Waystar to GoJo allows Logan to retain control and ownership of ATN. Not one to be content with what he has, Logan has reignited his perpetual interest in PGM as he attempts to establish the sort of media dominance that will secure his relevance and influence. In the aftermath of Logan’s bombshell, Kendall, Shiv, and Roman have been working together somewhat functionally in an effort to establish a new media brand when they catch wind of Logan’s plan. The estranged siblings swiftly abandon their existing plans and move to snatch PGN right from under Logan’s thumbs. And in a welcome change of pace, the siblings actually work together to hand their father his biggest loss to date, at least that’s how it seems at the moment. In reality, the Roys outbid eachother to the benefit of the Pierces, who were happy to sit back and watch as a bitter family feud added billions to their declining company’s value. Still, the kids managed to get one back against their father, and that’s all that matters at the moment. Of course, there are several caveats, none being as big as Waystar’s impending sale. Any deal to acquire PGM is contingent on having the necessary funds, funds that will be available upon the completion of Waystar’s sale to GoJo. Knowing the show’s history, there’s a good chance that the deal will fall through. And then there’s the matter of the presidential election in ten days time that the likes of Logan, Shiv, and Connor are heavily invested in. Logan essentially helped pick the Republican nominee, Connor has continued his run as an independent, and Shiv is still considering joining up with Jimenez, the Democratic nominee. The stage is set for the Roys to battle it out over multiple intriguing storylines. Whether it be Waystar’s sale, PGM’s acquisition, or the imminent presidential elections, the Roys will be there. And where the Roys go, drama follows.
Character Development (15/15)
The season’s first episode does an excellent job re-establishing the state of the main characters. Despite being surrounded by plenty of his henchmen and women, Logan finds himself somewhat isolated. He’s alienated his children, and we even got a subtle confirmation that Marcia is completely out of the picture. In his own sadistic way, he misses his kids. Still, that’s not why he feels this sense of loneliness, maybe even emptiness. The truth is that he’s tired. He’s tired of winning and tired of living. And for the first time since the opening episodes of the show, it feels like the end is near. His existential rant to Colin is evidence that he feels it too. Logan describes Colin as his “best pal,” yet he won’t let the man speak more than a few words at a time. That characterization in itself is an acute testament of what the man truly values: loyalty, dependability, and subordination. To that effect, Kerry has positioned herself as an increasingly dependable individual that is arguably Logan’s most trusted minion. Kerry is emboldened by Logan’s increased trust in her and, as a result, is increasingly protective of him. Tom and Greg’s relationship as “bros” is still intact, but the two of them are on opposite trajectories. While Greg’s enjoying the ecstasy of the high life, Tom is increasingly disillusioned and miserable. Despite betraying his own wife to tip off Logan and help him consolidate his power, there’s nothing to suggest that Tom’s earned any permanent favor with Logan. On the contrary, Logan’s enigmatic comments all but confirm that he views Tom as nothing more than an asset to be kept around until his usefulness expires. And that’s to say nothing of the state of Tom’s marriage, which I’ll get to in a bit. Moving on to the Roy children, Connor remains fairly one-dimensional with the only major development for him being that he holds a precarious 1% of the vote. Kendall’s still trying to make something of himself, but he’s very blunt about the fact that he needs to be uber-occupied with something to remain functional and to avoid another breakdown. Roman’s showing more character growth as he’s slowly but surely on his way to becoming a competent businessman. He’s not driven by the resentment Kendall and Shiv’s hold against their father, so he seems like the most sensible of the siblings right now. That in itself is a testament to how far they’ve all come since the beginning of the show. Finally, we have Shiv, who was arguably the main focus of the episode. Shiv is as noncommittal as ever, and that noncommitment is manifesting itself in every aspect of her life, from her partnership with Kendall and Roman to her political career, and most importantly, to her marriage. Tom and Shiv’s relationship is so broken that they can’t even bring themselves to have an honest conversation about what went wrong or how to proceed. Shiv set the tone when she asked Tom for an open relationship on their wedding night, but Tom dug himself and the marriage into an increasingly deep hole by sticking to his policy of appeasement for as long as he did. Of course, when he finally abandoned said policy, he betrayed Shiv’s trust when it mattered most. The tragedy here is that beneath all the material and status interests, Tom really does love Shiv. Shiv’s feelings are perhaps not as clear, but it seems she too is realizing that she actually loves Tom as well. There’s so much baggage to unload at this point, and while Tom may want to get into it, Shiv just isn’t ready to process that much pain. Dua Lipa’s “We’re Good” comes to mind…
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- Money often drowns out virtue.
- Big decisions driven by strong emotions or ego almost always come back to bite.
- There’s a certain strength that comes with working as a team.
Acting (13/15)
Brian Cox (Logan) and Nicholas Braun (Greg) both put in solid shifts, but Matthew Macfadyen (Tom) and Sarah Snook (Shiv) stole the show. I’ve been somewhat critical of Snook’s performances in the past, but something about her delivery here seemed much more refined. Whereas Macfadyen usually steals the spotlight, Snook held her own. This balance added a level of intensity to their scene at the end of the episode.
Cinematography (12/15)
- Great shot of Tom and Shiv sitting on the bed with their backs to each other (59:40)
- And again as they both lay on the bed holding hands (1:01:16)