‘Succession’ Season 2, Episode 3 ‘Hunting’ Review: Unhinged

Succession started with various surprises coupled with corporate ruthlessness. This time, the Roys do not stop their streak. After cutting some loose ends, the Patriarch prepares to acquire a company so expensive it could save them from the bearhug. However, an action that drastic equal to risks just as high, too. In a hunting trip to Hungary, the Waystar-Royco board discusses the company’s next best move.

On Sunday’s episode of Succession, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) adamantly insists on acquiring a rival media company, Pierce. In an attempt to earn their confidence in him, Logan takes the Waystar-Royco board hunting in Hungary. Meanwhile, the Waystar-Royco board deal with their skepticism as well as issues kept from each other. As this happens, Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) tries to convince Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) from ending his presidential bid.

Cowardice

Peter Kramer/HBO

Everyone knew the truth about the Pierce acquisition proposition. It would not work; Pierce will not wish to cooperate with them, either. The problem was that no one wanted to step up and air out their real sentiments. Everyone, except logan, was on the same page about the matter, but their fear of Logan’s wrath had them cowering. Logan perhaps felt the tensions, so he set-up a hunting trip to compel them to agree to his terms. As expected, the entire ordeal did not end well.

Once again, we have Logan’s crazy mind at work. This entire situation is just as bad as the time when he wanted to buy small news outlets, if not worse. The extent of Logan’s desire for Pierce had him offering Frank Vernon (Peter Friedman) his job back because of his connections. At this point, everyone seemed to be staying for the sole purpose of being paid. Well, except for Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong), and Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfayden), anyway. Ultimately, Frank represented everyone when he considers taking the job, reasoning financial matters that needed attention.

Boar on the Floor

Peter Kramer/HBO

The Roys are a bunch of fuck-ups, sure, but Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) was something else. The guy probably received a call from Logan’s biographer and thought a ‘Pre-meeting’ was a good idea. Unfortunately, the biographer ended up with enough info to start on something, and Logan found out about it. Logan was nothing short of pissed as he angrily blabbered about stopping the biographer from publishing anything. With that, Greg’s first luxurious trip quickly turned into what seemed to be his funeral.

Greg was lucky enough to have Tom keep his secret for him. When Logan decided to have the profoundly dehumanizing ‘Boar on the Floor’ game to satisfy his raging anger, Tom did not rat Greg out. Sure, Tom had no reason not to do such things, but he decided to spare the guy Logan’s wrath. Whether Tom saved Greg because they are related, or because he helped him a lot, we will not know for now. Tom himself had much going on, so perhaps it is safe to leave it at being considerate.

Spooked

Peter Kramer/HBO

Roman’s ego got the better of him this time. Thinking that he could surprise Logan, Roman decided that it was a good idea to reach out to one of the Pierces discreetly. Unfortunately, his little surprise quickly backfired on him as the Pierces’ banker heard of the plan, practically spooking the Pierces into a defensive position. Roman was lucky enough to evade the ‘Boar on the floor’ punishment, sure, but Kendall made himself look good by exposing Roman.

Despite the seriousness and work that Roman put into the company, nobody seemed to take him seriously. To most of the board (and presumably to Logan, too), Roman was still the happy-go-lucky guy who did not care about the company. As much as Roman is now part of the board, his reputation still stands. With that said, Gerri Killman’s (J. Smith-Cameron) suggestion made perfect sense; and Roman seems to be seriously considering undergoing management training. After what went down that night, Roman is undoubtedly determined to set the record straight and have the people see him differently.

Meat Puppet

Peter Kramer/HBO

While Waystar-Royco burned itself in its oil, Shiv was out there looking after Connor. The crazed fool dared to post a video of himself threatening to evade tax. On a side note, Shiv found herself a hookup while meeting Willa (Justine Lupe) at a bar to talk about Connor. Meanwhile, Tom was in Hungary, in the belly of the beast, slow cooking inside the trap that the monster Logan Roy created.

Tom returns home, exhausted from the entire showdown. Other than their take on the future of Waystar-Royco, Tom dealt with the nature of their open marriage, too. At least Shive had the honesty to tell him that she did keep herself busy in that context. At this point, all that Tom wanted was a change to their strategy. Their relationship is merely complicated, and Tom desperately needed a break after what he just went through.

‘Succession’ Season 2, Episode 3 ‘Hunting’ Final Verdict

Once again, we have a taste of Logan’s unreasonable tendencies in this chapter of Succession. Also, everything seems to be coming to place now. Tom and Greg are no more than equals when it comes to their relevance in the company’s future. Connor is still doing his ‘thing,’ but is causing much family humiliation. Kendall will soon be out of the picture, possibly when Logan retires. Roman is on the road to disappointment. Perhaps the end truly is for Shiv to take over Waystar-Royco. Everyone else, it seems, wishes to make the most of what they can get before they would ditch the enterprise.

Succession continues Sunday, September 1st, with ‘Safe Room’ at 9/8c on HBO.