Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for the entirety of “Succession” Season 3, Episode 9.
Key to executing a successful magic trick is misdirection, that deft ability to reroute an audience’s attention towards one thing so that it fails to notice another. “Succession” is not a magic show, but the magicians who write it understand its necessity to pulling off a plot twist that takes you by surprise, yet feels logical and fully earned.
After last week’s episode, the question on everyone’s minds (and Twitter feeds) was: “Is Kendall Roy dead? And even if he isn’t, will he live to see Season 4?” Three seasons of watching Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) devolve from Logan’s (Brian Cox) “No.