Succession season 4 episode 3, Connor’s Wedding, is already being regarded as one of the best episodes of television ever made, in one of the best TV series ever. It has an essentially-perfect 9.9 score on IMDB, and it broke Succession viewing figure records.
The success of the episode was primarily due to – spoiler warning, if you somehow don’t know – how it dealt with the death of Logan Roy. The Succession character‘s death has been built up to across the entire arc of the show, but audiences were still shocked when it finally happened.
What made the episode all the better was watching how the rest of the Succession cast dealt with the fall-out of Logan Roy’s departure. His family (with who he hasn’t always had the best relationship) were particularly struck by his death, with and in one moment especially the impact was seen when Roy siblings fell into an emotional hug.
It turns out that this sweetest moment wasn’t even in the script. Speaking with Variety, the episode’s director Mark Mylod explained the situation. “That lovely unscripted, three-way hug between them, which I thought was really beautiful, they just fell into.
“No [it wasn’t in the script]. They just fell into each other there, which was just gorgeous. And then the separation of the three characters, Sarah going that way, and Shiv wanting or needing the support of Tom in that moment, despite everything. Roman feeling the need to go on to the plane to see his father’s body, and leaving Kendall alone there — I found that tremendously poignant.”
The director concluded, “That was an incredibly busy day shooting. But it was a very, very emotional for all of us.”
It was emotional for the audience too, who have been watching the rise (and fall) of these characters for years now. As the season now deals with Logan Roy’s death, Succession is on its final stretch of road: one of the best drama series ever made really is coming to its end.
For more on Succession, check out our nifty guide on how to run an empire like Logan Roy. Or, learn more about how Logan Roy died in the run up to the next episode.