"Argestes"
The Roys are at Argestes, an exclusive business conference, where they hope to finalize the merger with Pierce. The reason for the fast track isn't just the proxy defense — it's because the cruise line scandal is about to break. Kendall's suggested tactic is to go after the magazine and kill the article quickly; Shiv's is to delay it by agreeing to cooperate and communicate. Logan goes with the former, but the magazine fast tracks the piece instead, so it is published just as he and Kendall are sitting down with Nan and Rhea. Nan politely delays discussing for now.
Damage control continues. Gerri instructs Roman to secure funding from Eduard Asgarov, an Azerbaijani investor, who agrees to provide money in exchange for a propaganda venture. Shiv covertly meets with Rhea. Later, Roman offers to team up with her. At a panel discussion featuring Kendall, Shiv, and Roman, the siblings offer different views on the scandal, with Shiv in particular shirking the suggested company line of "condemn and move on". She alludes to "dinosaur politics", accidentally insinuating that she may be a better fit to run the company. Logan is furious afterwards and accidentally strikes Roman.
At the subsequent dinner, which includes a comedian roasting the guests and starting with Logan, Nan leaves. When Logan and Rhea follow her, she angrily fires Rhea for siding with Logan over her and says that the merger is off.
Tropes in this episode:
- Category Traitor: Both Shiv and Gerri care more about the optics of whatever the Waystar response to the article will be than the victims or the posibility of the Waystar being actually guilty
- It's All About Me: Logan says that the article is not about seeking justice for the victims of Uncle "Mo"-Lester, just an attempt to get at him.
- On a related note, noone at Waystar Royco, not even Shiv, cares about the company being guilty and care more about the short-term consequences of the article, particularly the possibility of the PGM acquisition deal falling.
- Fun with Homophones: Tom is forced to revise his talk's tagline ("We hear you") after Greg informs him that it could look bad considering their "gray area" in data collection. They eventually settle on "We here for you", which Tom and Greg agree could mean "We hear for you" (as they are a news organization), that the are here for them, or whatever else.
- Men Use Violence, Women Use Communication: Kendall's strategy for dealing with the magazine is to "kill, kill, kill" (threats, intimidation, bribery) while his sister Shiv's is to delay the article by promising to cooperate with the magazine (and then reneging on the deal once the Pierce deal has gone through). However, this is deconstructed and explored — Shiv suggests it not just because she's a woman, but because in a post-#MeToo world, cooperating and providing support for the victims makes for better optics.
- Propaganda Machine: Eduard, the Azerbaiani scion, wants to invest in Waystar Royco in exchange of his own news network.
- The Roast: The final dinner at the conference is a roast, where a comedian host takes potshots at the guests. He starts by roasting the Roys, using the cruise line sexual harassment cover-up, but Logan leaves before we hear much of it.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Gender-Inverted. Roman pitches a team-up between himself (an asshole rich kid) and Gerri (the no-nonsense, sensible legal counsel) by describing himself as the wild frontman and her calmer, in the back, making sure the numbers work.Roman: Is there an angle here for a team-up? Like me, kind of like a Jagger/Tarzan fronting things up and swingin' through the trees with my little dick singin', killin' shit, and you back home cookin' us soup and makin' sure the numbers are right. Hmm? Rockstar and the mole woman?
- Villainous Breakdown: Abusive media baron Logan has one after Shiv takes a dig at him (indirectly of course), causing him to slap Roman when the latter starts making jokes. To make matters worse for him, a comedian roasts him using the cruise cover-up article, and then his acquisition of PGM falls through as Nan Pierce has had enough, leaving him uncharacteristically flustered as he chases after Nan and screaming insults at her as her limo drives away.
- You Have Failed Me: Nan fires Rhea for her insistence at the PGM acquisition and having met with Logan behind her back.
