Kendall’s enthusiasm is at odds with those of Roman and Shiv, and it’s hard to articulate why. Perhaps it’s because he’s gleefully vicious in tone when Logan’s doc snaps, “I didn’t say Shiv.” Or maybe it’s the way he’s trying to corner them both by warning them not to give the company away to Jerry or anyone else “just because he didn’t talk.”
Ultimately, Roman accepts the idea that the board and the market may view Kendall’s pitch as “the same old thing, but with a vibrant new flag.” And when management realizes they can package Kendall as a co-leader, along with Roman, who still holds the formal title as Waystar’s COO, management comes along. Shiv has been cut off from this leadership group. Her siblings claim she’s still part of the unofficial triumvirate, while she makes them “yesterday’s dad promises” (all of them in shock and grief). (referring to how she was tied up inside), she’s a mini-coup that she falls down a small staircase when she runs away from home.
Other power plays are in the works this week. Logan’s estranged wife Marcia (Hiam Abbas) says she won’t be “shopping in Milan forever” anymore, as Kelly once said. She conspicuously positions herself as a wake greeter, claiming that she still talks to her husband every day. Gather her personal belongings and let her out of the premises as she nervously babbling to Roman about Logan’s big plans for her.
And then there’s Tom, as usual, treading the line between “kindly helpful” and “creeping.” He tries to show Shiv her kindness, reminding her of when they first got together and how he flew to France to be with her. Shiv is as unsure as we are about whether Tom is just playing, but calmly replies, “That was a while ago.”
But it’s Kendall who ends the day in the lead. He and Roman bolster the executive’s goodwill by spreading to the press from Hugo and Carolina that Logan was a mentally unstable abuser who had not been in charge of Waystar in years. Entertaining sales pitches about. Roman categorically denies this. But Kendall, knowing that Hugo has a potential problem buried in insider trading, came to him personally about the “Bad Dad” plan and said, “That behavior, but soft… There are no prints.”
Before meeting with Hugo, Kendall is staring on the phone at a picture of Logan’s sloppy succession plan and his own name crossed out or underlined. Indeed, the old man was mysterious to the end. But the nasty smile on Kendall’s face just before the credits roll also raises questions. So? Or is Kendall still bent on revenge?
Either way, one thing is certain: Kendall is his father’s son.
due diligence
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The title of this episode, “Honeymoon State”, refers to the itinerary Connor sets for his post-marriage trip to Willa. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania…they are all swing states in presidential campaigns. Connor also moves from Mercia to buy her house in Logan for $63 million without Willa’s permission. Recalling the old advice that Willa should not make big decisions while he is in mourning, he counters:
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As the nation’s conservative thought leaders, who call Logan “LR”, toast “those of humility, grace and dignity,” Tom leans over to Greg and whispers, I couldn’t help but whisper. toilet. “(Rumor has it that curls got stuck.)
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Greg is briefly allowed to attend a meeting on Logan’s estate, where he is noted to be a “pencil, question-marked miscellaneous addendum” on a controversial piece of paper. When Logan asks if he was going to make him Kendall’s second-in-command, hopefully, the roaring laughter that follows is probably as enjoyable as anyone in that room would have felt all day.
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In this episode we have to talk about Shiv’s big news that she hasn’t shared with anyone. At the outset, she got a call from her doctor about a test showing that “everything looks healthy” and she heard that she needed to come back for “a 20-week scan.” It is strongly implied that Shiv is pregnant. This makes her fall more alarming later in the episode.
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Speculation Corner! If Kendall continues to play hardball, how long will it be before his brother takes advantage of Kendall’s confession last season about accidentally killing a catering waiter? Surely next he’ll fly off to see Mattson in the next 24 hours, right?
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This whole episode is about how nobody really knew Logan. (Was he a neoconservative? Paleo-liberal? Anarcho-capitalist?) This point is made clear when Waystar’s new co-chiefs, Kendall and Roman, walk into Logan’s office at the end of the episode and make it Further driven home when discovered and surprised. Their father liked to play Sudoku puzzles.
