‘Succession’ Season Finale ‘Nobody Is Ever Missing’ Recap: Reconciliation

Usually, celebrations happen after successful endeavors. However, someone in Succession decided to get too cocky. The marriage may be something to celebrate, but coordinating a hostile takeover is an entirely different issue. As Waystar/Royco’s current administration scrambles to counterattack, the takeover duo partied the night away. Unfortunately, the desires of the flesh become too high, costing the duo’s key player.

In the season finale of Succession, Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) becomes involved in an accident, canceling his team’s hostile takeover. Meanwhile, Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) opens up to Tom (Matthew Macfayden) about her feelings on a monogamous relationship. When Tom learns of Shiv’s affair, he asserts power by kicking Nate Sofrelli (Ashley Zuckerman) out of the wedding afterparty.

Lawfully Wedded Husband

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Tom loves Shiv not because of her family, but because of who she is. Despite Shiv’s confession about her stance on monogamous relationships as well as her ‘number’ with Nate, Tom’s love does not falter. Instead, Tom understands and accepts Shiv’s sentiments. However, Tom is no pushover. After fulfilling his duties to Shiv as her husband, Tom eliminates the threat to their marriage. When Tom finds Nate, he frankly tells him to leave. Tom publicly humiliates Nate by having him pour the wine in his glass back into the bottle. Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) gives Tom an affirming smile, knowing that his warning did not go unnoticed.

Tom’s character actively changes because of the marriage. For the most of the season, Tom seemed not to know what to expect. However, the marriage changes everything. Before the wedding, Tom saves Waystar/Royco from legal issues, having Greg cover up the cruise ship incident. Tom becomes more of a Roy when he humiliates Nate during the wedding after party. Tom may not be an asshole, but he does know how to handle himself.

The Launch

Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) could not contain his excitement as he tells Shiv about his surprise. As a wedding gift, Roman moved the launch to Shiv’s wedding night. Roman wants it broadcasted as it happens, but Shiv refuses. However, Shiv’s decline saved Roman from humiliation as he watched the live stream of space shuttle’s explosion on the launch pad. Because of this, Roman decides not to tell anyone about what happened.

Moments later, Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) notifies Roman about the incident. Pretending to not know about the accident, Roman acts surprised and denies knowing about the explosion. Still, Roman worries throughout the night until Gerri brings him the news. The launch may have been unsuccessful, but there were no casualties. Because of this, Roman tells his older brother, Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) about the news, even though some of the staff at the launch lost thumbs and possibly an arm.

Roman’s character is unfit for a COO. Most of the time, Gerri and the other higher-ups of Waystar/Royco save him from corporate disasters. In fact, none of his decisions for the company are his own. For the most of the season, Kendall swindled him into working for him. When Logan takes the company back, Logan intimidates him into voting against the motion to have Logan replaced. Roman is a company liability. Kendall could have gotten rid of Roman, but he has his issues.

The Desires of The Flesh

Colin Hutton/HBO

After Kendall informs Logan of his plan to take over the company, he and Stewy (Arian Moayed) celebrate privately. Throughout the night, Logan finds ways to psychologize Kendall. Kendall loses control after Logan has him talk to his siblings about the takeover. Because of this, he resorts to drugs once more. Since he and Stewy snorted all the cocaine Stewy had, Kendall finds a way to have some more. Eventually, Kendall meets a waiter who was smoking marijuana in the parking lot.

Colin Hutton/HBO

Kendall wanted cocaine, so when he finds out that the waiter knew where to get some, Kendall jumps on the offer. However, since the waiter is too stoned, Kendall drives. Unfortunately, they met an accident on the road. Left-hand driving is not a skill that Kendall knew. Also, Kendall does not usually drive manually. As a result, the car flips over and falls into a nearby lake. Kendall may have avoided hitting a deer, but his involvement in the accident would cost him everything.

The next morning, the news about the waiter’s death reaches the public. Logan privately talked to Kendall, smelling his involvement in the accident. Because of this, Kendall’s composure broke. In the end, Logan got what he wanted. Because of the accident, Kendall had to lie low for some time. With Kendall out of the picture, Logan could do whatever he wanted to do with the company freely.

Peter Kramer/HBO

When Kendall resorted back to doing drugs, events like this are bound to happen. Sadly, his ascension to being Waystar/Royco’s new CEO needed to wait. Kendall is a mess. Now, with Logan’s reign unchallenged, the company would have to survive his unwise business ventures. Hopefully, Kendall would return as a better man in Succession’s second season.