Note: Spoilers for “Succession” Season 4 Episode 3 follow below.
“Succession” viewers were shocked on Sunday night when, in the third episode of the final season, Brian Cox’s Logan Roy died. It was a twist no one saw coming, and the emotional fallout that occurred in the Roy family resulted in some series-best performances from Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin and Alan Ruck.
Killing off the family patriarch and central force in the series so early in the final season was certainly unexpected, but creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong said that was partly the point.
“Shooting the episode honestly was quite exciting because it felt high risk,” Armstrong said in the show’s behind-the-scenes featurette for the episode. There’s a couple of factors that played into where Logan’s death falls in our narrative trajectory. One is sort of based on, ‘Ooh maybe it’ll surprise people.’ You know, I am not immune to such thoughts of wanting to keep the show exciting and fresh.”
But Armstrong explained that Logan’s death also resets the table in a high-stakes way for the rest of the season, and allows viewers to see how it impacts all of the characters.
“I think much more prominent was the feeling of if we’re going to do this, we don’t just want to see people crying and then have a funeral and be done with the show. We want to see how death of someone significant rebounds around a family.”
Armstrong admitted he was nervous to tell Cox he’d be exiting the series in the third episode of Season 4.
“I was very nervous to tell him because there’s lots of anxieties about whether this is the right creative decision and there’s anxieties that someone who I love working with and has been at the center of the show will feel rejected on a human level for not being in it anymore when he’s been so central to the whole thing,” he said. “He took it like a total pro and he was professional and decent and kind enough to make it a pretty good meeting, but sad and significant one.”
Cox admitted in the same video that he was sad when he heard the news but also understood that it reflected reality in a stark way.
“When you’re playing a part that has been removed in that way, yeah, it has an effect on you. You feel, hang on this is one of the greatest pieces of work I’ve ever been involved in and suddenly it’s no more. But it also reflects what our existence is about because we’re here for a time and then we’re gone,” Cox explained.”
The actor also had “great respect” for Armstrong’s decision.
“When you work with the genius of somebody like Jesse, it’s always sad when that comes to an end there’s no question about it, because you’ve had such great respect.”
New episodes of “Succession” air Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max.
