Follow-up Season 4 Episode 9 Summary

This recap of Succession Season 4 Episode 9, “Church and State” contains spoilers.

successor It used to be about who would win. At this point it is clear that nobody will do this.

I know it’s not an interesting observation since it’s the one everyone makes, but Jesse Armstrong has made the theme of this fourth and final season so clear that it would be negligent not to discuss it. Each Roy sibling got a glimpse of a possible future without their father, a path to power and personal sovereignty finally freed from its long shadow.

And each of them, without exception, ruined it for themselves and each other out of malice, greed, delusion, fear, desperation and ignorance. When they finally got to show who they really are, they turned out to be even worse than we imagined.

Follow-up Season 4 Episode 9 Summary

Perhaps worst of all is Roman, who at the beginning of “Church and State” gleefully recites the speech he gives at his father’s funeral, writing lines about his own success as kingmaker, which was instrumental in the appointment of Jeryd Mencken as the new President of the United States was involved in States episode 8.

The key word there is “explain” as the votes have not yet been officially counted and the country is in turmoil about it, so Kendall’s wife and children are leaving town for their own safety.

Kendall can barely hold it together. He’s overreacting to the news, and when Jess tells him she’s thinking about moving to greener, less fascist, far-right realms, he gets smitten too.

Shiv, meanwhile, urges Matsson to release his unclear South Asian subscriber numbers so the scandal is drowned out in the media frenzy surrounding Mencken’s election and Logan’s funeral. She also tells her brothers that she is pregnant.

But it seems everyone knows that Shiv is pregnant. Caroline, her mother, senses it immediately. When Shiv Matsson pitches the idea of ​​a US CEO to appease Mencken if he’s elected, and of course pitches herself for the role, Matsson worries about her impending motherhood. (Shiv assures him that she will completely neglect the baby and get right back to work, and so the parenting cycle begins again for Roy.)

Who is speaking at Logan’s funeral?

But most of Church and State is devoted to speeches. One by one, Logan’s family members stand before the assembled – to mourn, rejoice, to reap potential benefits – delighting them with stories and opinions about Logan. Ewan begins despite cousin Greg being instructed not to let him speak at all. Roman follows him and after all his bluster, he immediately collapses into a quivering mess and has to hand the reins to Kendall again.

Kendall, as always, makes the best of it. He describes Logan as some kind of terrifying creator god. Shiv explains that he’s tried his best but never quite managed to reconcile having a daughter with his ingrained misogyny (I’ll paraphrase it). Fortunately, Connor, who had prepared a speech that might have included some things that could have been used later in court, says nothing.

The ending of Succession Season 4 Episode 9 is explained

The funeral is a mess to say the least. But between all the speeches and weird outbursts of legitimate emotion, the shady underhanded tricks continue.

Since Roman showed up during the funeral, he’s lost face in Mencken’s eyes as well, so his blocking of the GoJo deal is no longer a safe bet. To make matters worse, Shiv and Matsson team up to pitch Mencken with the idea of ​​appointing someone — maybe Shiv, maybe not — as CEO in the US. Therefore, Kendall’s secret plan to simply rule Waystar himself seems the only viable alternative to keeping the company under Roy’s leadership.

He’ll love this, of course, but no one else will love it.

Church and State ends with Roman dashing into the crowd of protesters, antagonizing them all until he is beaten and trampled by the crowds. I suppose we all grieve differently.

You can stream Succession Season 4 Episode 9 “Church and State” exclusively on HBO and HBO Max.

Additional reading: