‘Succession’ Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Lifeboats’ Recap: Not Enough [SPOILERS]

This evening’s serving of HBO’s Succession isn’t really a good dish to dig into. The previous episode, “The Shit Show at the Fuck Factory” was where Logan Roy (Brian Cox) woke up from his coma, leaving all the viewers in shock as a cliffhanger struck towards the end. In this episode, titled “Lifeboats,” it really went to shit for all of Logan’s children, as they pull their resources to figure out how to solve a major crisis involving a secret company debt. The title in itself speaks for the drama that transpired during the episode, but it wasn’t enough to help them come through.

A Bad Decision

“Lifeboats” opens with Kendall (Jeremy Strong) visiting Waystar/Royco as the new temporary CEO of the company. Kendall managed to oversee the company in good shape, showing an aggressive attitude saying, “I’m the Boss.” But in truth, Kendall secretly struggled as he works hard to pay up the debt that his dad made decades ago. Without any tricks up his sleeves, Kendall tried seeking the bank’s help, which did not end favorably.

With no one else to depend on, Kendall meets up with his friend Stewy (Arian Moayed), who actually saved his life by investing $4 million to Waystar/Royco, buying off the dept and answering Kendall’s wishes. Little did Kendall know that Stewy had an ulterior motive. Following the debt’s payment, Greg later sees Stewy engaging in a shady conversation with Sandy Furness (Larry Pine), Waystar/Royco’s rival in the game.

Kendall also got a call from Marcia (Hiam Abbass), Logan’s wife, saying that his husband wanted to see him. Kendall arrived, hoping for an “I’m proud you, son” moment, but instead got something worse. Logan knew something terrible was going to happen if the company would get an investor such as Stewy. Logan then emphasized that what Kendall did was a very bad judgment call.

Whats Wrong With Logan?

Everyone wondered why Marcia didn’t want Logan’s children to go near him or even peep into his room when he got out of the hospital. During the early parts of the episode, Shiv (Sarah Snook), wanted to see her dad. When both Shiv and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) dropped by to check on Logan, a nurse stormed out crying. Marcia then prevented Shiv and Tom from seeing Logan. When they asked the staff and private doctor what the deal was, no one gave a coherent answer. This prompted Shiv to contact her ex-boyfriend for a spying job. Shiv didn’t trust Marcia that much, so she asked her ex to run a background check on Marcia.

Peter Kramer/HBO

Later, Shiv had to do something so she could see her father. She called up Tom and her brother Connor (Allan Ruck) to threaten Marcia and force her to let Shiv see Logan. What happened after that was a weird and awkward exchange between Shiv and Logan. Shiv entered Logan’s room and was greeted with a sweet “I love you” from her father. But what seemed like a harmless term of endearment turned out to be a twisted way for Logan to get Shiv into fulfilling his sexual urge. That was when they all questioned what Logan’s diagnosis really was.

Marcia then confronted Shiv, telling her that if she wants to know something about her, all she needs to do is ask. Marcia found out about the profile check.

Knows Too Much, but Cares Too Little

With Greg knowing most of the happenings in the Roy household, this might be implying that Greg will be in the hot-seat in the next episodes of Succession. With Greg now in the company, Tom continues with his odd innuendos towards the boy. But still, as we all know Greg, his attention for the obvious is running a bit short. Here’s to hoping that his cluelessness will eventually evolve.

Peter Kramer/HBO

Weird

Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin), Kendall’s younger brother and Chief Operating Officer of Waystar/Royco, was acting strangely in this episode. Roman also had an odd sexual exposure in the first minutes of the episode, not to mention Roman’s weird behavior towards his personal fitness trainer. Before this, though, Roman blatantly showed his lack of knowledge about being the COO of the company (or maybe he was doubling it up with sarcasm?) That leads us to question what’s up with him, seeing how everything seems to end in a cliffhanger towards the end of “Lifeboats.”

‘Succession: Lifeboats’ Overall Verdict

Even with a lot going on, still, “Lifeboats” delivered a lot of stories that again ended in cliffhangers, leaving us wanting more of it. Although it was a mouthful, “Lifeboats” stands out compared to the first and second episodes of Succession. With a lot of unfinished stories jammed in an hour-long episode, it’s very likely that next week’s chapter would come in strong after tonight’s “gun start.”

Succession continues next Sunday, June 24th, with “Sad Sack Wasp Trap” at 10/9c on HBO.