"The Disruption"
Logan seethes about Kendall's public presence and about the government potentially knocking down his door. At a journalist's dinner, Kendall and Shiv delicately touch base, but Kendall later upsets this balance when he enters Waystar Royco and plays Nirvana's "Rape Me" over Shiv's town hall event. This greatly upsets his sister, who follows Logan's earlier advice and attempts to get a blistering statement out against him with the help of their other brothers. When Roman and Connor refuse to back her, she publishes it herself.
Meanwhile, Roman agrees to a fluff piece about Logan to help soften his father's image, and Tom sticks Greg in a crappy ATN office to punish him. Tom also frets about potentially going to prison if everything goes south, and in an attempt to get ahead of it, he offers himself to Logan as a Fall Guy.
Kendall is supposed to appear on a talk show with a host who had previously mocked him, but abandons the prospect after learning Shiv's statement. The FBI then arrives to raid the Waystar office.
Tropes in this episode:
- Adam Westing: Ziwe's character Sophie Iwodi is very evocative of Ziwe herself, a witty leftist talk show host who employs humorous callouts and takedowns of public figures.
- All for Nothing: Shiv's public statement against Kendall ultimately only further fractures their relationship, as any reporting that might have changed towards Shiv's favor in the aftermath is quickly overshadowed by the FBI raid on Waystar.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite the ongoing situation and their fraught relationship, Roman doesn't want to co-sign Shiv's blistering statement because Kendall is still his older brother.Roman: It makes me feel unwell. He taught me how to aim my pee-pee in the toilet.
- Bourgeois Bohemian: Deconstructed; Sophie accuses Kendall (a billionaire heir trying to prove he's not like his father by airing the conglomerate's dirty laundry) of performative activism and "fake wokeness".
- Calling the Old Man Out: For all her faults, Gerri calls out Logan for his initial reaction to resist the FBI raid, warning him that it will only make matters worse.
- Double-Meaning Title: "The Disruption" is the Show Within a Show that Kendall interacts with throughout the episode, but it's also referring to a number of things in the Roys' status quo that have now been upset, including Shiv and Kendall's relationship, and the government taking action against Waystar.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Logan's lieutenants suggest that Logan threatening the White House aide who had stopped by ATN is what brought the FBI to their doorstep.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The letter itself is full of Sugary Malice, implying there's no hope for Kendall's mental health or his sobriety, but Shiv describing what he's done is spot on, serially lying so much that his siblings are pissed at him for how he's Obviously Not Fine, problematic relationships where everyone ends up Parenting the Husband, prone to misogyny when he lashes out, and being an absent father and drug addict.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In humiliating Shiv by loudly playing "Rape Me" on a number of speakers during her press conference, Kendall fucked over the one person who didn't want to use his mental health against him (Roman doesn't really either, but he can talk big in front of Logan) and was trying in her way to take care of him.
- Never My Fault: In a conversation with Shiv, Logan tells her that he's blameless in the cruise ship scandal and waves it away as the actions of a few bad apples despite being involved in all communication. Shiv doesn't believe him.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-Universe; Kendall pretends to not have a problem with the backlash to his actions, since they just keep him relevant. And while his PR team is not thrilled by his idea to go on the same show that mocked him, he dismisses that concern and tries to go on anyway. However, Beneath the Mask it gets more to him than he lets on.
- One-Steve Limit: Broken in this episode, since talk show host Sophie Iwodi shares a name with Kendall's daughter.
- Troubled Fetal Position: At the end of the episode Kendall is curled up with his knees to his chest in the electronics room of the studio after reading Shiv's statement.
