‘I’ll be broken when you die.’
Spoilers ahead, but you know that already
As we attempt to recover from the overwhelming second hand embarrassment from watching Roman Roy accidentally send a dick pic to his dad, Succession has left us wondering which of the many villains in a show about obscenely wealthy, terrible people doing obscene, terrible things, will emerge top of the power rankings after their trip to Tuscany. It has also sparked conversation about who might end up at the bottom, or even dead.
Episode 8 saw Logan and Kendall meet again, this time in actual privacy, for clear-the-air talks. Predictably, the dinner didn’t last long, as Logan flexed his patriarchal muscle, using young Iverson as a prop, to undermine his son. He also reminded Kendall that his superiority complex is exactly that: a complex, and that every time Kendall ‘fucked up’, Logan ‘cleaned up his shit.’ The most notable example of course being the tragic death of the fired waiter at Siobhan’s wedding in season 1, episode 9 (which got two mentions throughout the episode.)
#succession CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP pic.twitter.com/kuC34Fb4OS
— kendalicent stan (@ancientlovesong) December 6, 2021
With Kendall nursing a wounded ego and once again being ostracised by his family, the episode concluded with him sinking into another depressive episode. As his children wonder off back inside, Kendall seemingly falls asleep atop an inflatable in the swimming pool, dropping his beer. This sparked a frenzy of fan theories about what fate he might suffer in the season finale. The most popular theory, for which there is a lot of supporting evidence, is that he dies.
Firstly, you’ve got the fact that he’s fallen asleep in a swimming pool with nobody around. It’s perfectly plausible that he drowns.
But dive a bit deeper, if you’ll pardon another aquatic metaphor, and the case that “okay buddy” was the last line we’ll ever hear from Kendall becomes overwhelmingly convincing.
Visual evidence to support this idea is Kendall’s complete absence from the promotional video for the season finale.
Notorious Ken: Ready to Die pic.twitter.com/wO00rtsKGT
— NO CASINO IN FLUSHING (@GoodFundies) December 6, 2021
Not only that, but almost every shot included in this trailer is of a family member looking crestfallen. Keep an eye out for Logan, who’s not exactly the most loving grandfather, sitting with an arm round Iverson.
Roman, head in hands. Tom, kissing a distraught-looking Shiv on the head. Clearly, something happens in this episode to unite warring factions in mutual grief, or at least sadness.
Then we move onto the theme of water throughout Kendall’s various peaks and troughs throughout the show.
As journalist Kendall Baker points out, various shots across all three seasons show Kendall [Roy] “slowly drowning.”
The top left image: Kendall escaping the lake where the young waiter drowned. Top right: Kendall at a secluded retreat at the start of season 2, as he attempts to wash away the guilty. Bottom left: Kendall contemplates his life choices in an empty bath tub at the start of season 3, gearing up to take on his father – again. Bottom right: Kendall falls asleep in a swimming pool after another failed attempt to topple Logan.
Kendall Roy, slowly drowning pic.twitter.com/xqJBNrrCEH
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) December 6, 2021
There would be no more poetic way for the show’s third season to conclude than with Kendall passing in this manner. And while it’s easy enough to get wrapped up in a theory like this only for the show creators to throw another curveball, this season needs something big – like the car crash in season 1 – for its crescendo, having endured a slightly ponderous first few episodes.
Maybe they’re toying with us, maybe he survives and his absence from the promo is a red herring. But it does all seem to add up rather well, doesn’t it?
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