"Secession"
Kendall: Who says I never killed anyone?
Immediately after Kendall's damning press conference, the Roys draw battle lines. Kendall holes himself and his team up in Rava's apartment and attempts to build a base, recruiting a top PR firm led by Berry Schneider and a famous lawyer, Lisa Arthur, whom Shiv failed to recruit for Logan's defense.
Meanwhile, the rest of his family prepares for the fallout. After an attempt at touching base with the DOJ falls through, Logan sends Gerri, Shiv, and Roman back to New York, while he, Karl, Tom, Hugo, and Frank head to Bosnia (where the United States cannot extradite them). Logan admits that he will likely need to temporarily step back as CEO, and waffles between Roman, Gerri, and Shiv as the placeholder. Roman blows his chance when he calls Logan to ask for the job and then take said offer back; Shiv blows hers when she fails to sway Lisa Arthur to Waystar Royco's side; Gerri is named interim CEO. Upon learning that Lisa is working for Kendall, Logan resolves to go on the warpath.
Tropes in this episode:
- Accentuate the Negative: In-Universe, Connor intends to exploit this and invoke a So Bad, It's Good reaction to salvage Willa's negatively received play. His plan is to emphasize the worst quotes of the bad reviews and use those to draw in hatewatchers and hipsters.
- Continuity Nod: Kendall jokes that he actually did kill someone. He did, all the way back at Shiv's wedding reception. Doubles as a Sarcastic Confession.
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Logan threatens to grind Kendall's bones into dust and bake it into bread.
- Didn't Think This Through: Kendall is getting through the day mostly on adrenaline, and Lisa can tell that he hasn't quite thought of the longterm consequences of his accusation. He thinks he can take down his father without causing significant damage to the company, his family, and his own prospects, while she knows it won't be that easy.
- Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Deconstructed In-Universe. Logan acknowledges that the blowback from Kendall exposing his role in the cruise scandal coverup means he will likely have to "step down" as CEO of his media conglomerate. However, it's just for optics. He's only planning to step down temporarily, and he'll still be pulling the strings of whoever winds up in his place.
- This Means War!: While drawing up battle plans en route to Bosnia, Logan yells at his inner circle that it's war. After learning that Kendall has scooped the lawyer he wanted, it's time for him and his team to go "full fucking beast".
- We ARE Struggling Together: Save for tensions between The Missus and the Ex, Kendall pitches his rebel camp strongly. For contrast, Logan's inner circle is beset by competing ambitions and legal setbacks.
