In the fourth and final season of “Succession,” episode six, “Life+” shows the Roy siblings at peak hysterics, as the Roy family found themselves in a “tightrope walk on a straight razor” in Sunday’s episode.

The deal with Lukas Mattson is up in the air, as Roman and Kendall try to stop the deal while Shiv works against her brothers. After seeing Tom and Shiv play “bitey” at a public party, Kendall order flight suits for his “performance” and Roman firing multiple staff members, it’s fair to say that the kids are taking the loss pretty hard.

HBO’s “Succession” is on its fourth and final season. The drama centers around Waystar Royco, a media brand owned by the ruthless Logan Roy and his complicated family.

The Duality of Shiv

Shiv’s character developed into a pseudo-Logan, power-hungry heartbreaker this season, who tosses Tom around. In Sunday’s episode, Tom and Shiv get back together in the most cringe-worthy of ways. After Shiv repeatedly tells Tom how low she thinks of him, the couple starts to bite one another’s arms in a game to see who can withstand the pain the longest. Tom wins, maybe because he has a lot of pent-up anger towards Shiv, or maybe because he can endure the many pains brought to him in life, but one thing is for certain: their baby is in for a wild ride with these two as parents.

Shiv also seems to have a back-and-forth relationship with Mattson, who revealed last episode that he sent his ex-lover bricks of his blood. Not a red flag at all. As Shiv “schedules her grief” and leans on Tom for support in her plight with Kendall and Roman, we get to see a softer side to her extremely harsh exterior. Although Shiv is harsh, cutting and even cruel, there is a softer side to her that makes her likable despite it all. You can’t help but root for Shiv as she is constantly undermined and passed over by all the men in her family. Shiv has a game to play, and it’s clear that she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Can Kendall be the Number One Boy?

Kendall has “that gleam in his eye” as Roman describes it, and reverts back to his once neurotic, overbearing insanity as he slips further into his role at Waystar Royco. Now set free from Logan’s presence, Kendall is attempting to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the CEO and brainchild of Waystar. This change from the rebellious and bitter Kendall from last season is worrying, and his continuous inflation of vision toward the dying company is setting him up for an epic crash. His constant movement and excitement toward the next chapter at Waystar resulted in a painful speech that was utterly painful to watch. Surprisingly, after Kendall promises his audience eternal life through home living controlled by Waystar, his ratings come out strong. Kendall’s manic disposition is the utter opposite of his father’s stone-cold silence, but it seems to be working. For how long this persona will be perceived as positive is unknown. Kendall’s perception could change at any moment, which as a viewer, makes his character clouded in doom. We see Kendall get into the ocean, floating above the waves to close out the episode as if to illustrate how he isn’t drowning like he was before. Although this scene had an element of triumph, as a viewer, you can’t help but be worried about Kendall, especially in a body of water.

Roman’s Dealing with Grief

Roman is starting to accept the power he has come into and begins to show hints of Logan’s cruelty in this episode. Although Roman may have inherited some of that cruelty, he did not inherit Logan’s chess-like plays regarding the company’s well-being and begins to let his ego take the forefront of his rash decisions. Roman gets offended quite easily, especially when compared to his father (although he states to have “pre-grieved,” meaning he is perfectly fine.) Asserting his dominance, he ends up firing Joy, an executive at Waystar Studios, and Gerri, who continuously saves Waystar from crashing and burning. Roman threatens to fire Karl, who despite his yes-man nature, stands up for himself, threatening Roman right back. Roman continues to speak about what his dad would do in every situation presented to him, and after his freak out with Mattson in the previous episode, Roman seems to be attempting to channel his father in his most harsh ways. Roman and his father clearly had a strained relationship, looking at the way Logan hit him and talks about childhood abuse, which manifests in Roman having some severe emotional issues.

What’s Next?

With only four episodes left in the final season of “Succession,” the viewer must throw out any previous ideas of what they think will happen in the following episodes. Time and time again, “Succession” is a masterclass in coming out of left field and throwing in painful twist after twist to make sure each character gets beaten down once again. Can we wish for a happy ending for the Roy children? Yes. Will they get it? Probably not.

Olivia Baier can be reached at [email protected].