Tag: logan
‘Succession’ Season 4, episode 6 features a surprise Logan Roy cameo
Succession Season 4, episode 6 opens with pretty much the last person you’re expecting to see: Logan Roy (Brian Cox), seemingly back from the dead.
Is it a flashback? A memory? Nope, it’s an old video clip recorded for Waystar Royco’s Investor Day before Logan’s death, in which he speaks about the company’s plans for a new product called Living+, while casually berating the staff members behind the camera (“You’re as bad as my fucking idiot kids!” he bellows at one point).
It’s not initially clear why interim co-CEO Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) and his team are watching the footage in the present, but it ends up playing a pretty key role in the episode. So what exactly happens, and what’s the real significance of Logan’s cameo?
Why is the Logan Roy video so important in the episode?
The whole episode has a mild Black Mirror feel to it, with Waystar’s Living+ (essentially, a luxury retirement home that aims to prolong the lives of residents through Waystar’s health and technology connections) feeling like something straight out of the mind of Charlie Brooker. Logan’s cameo is very much in keeping with the Netflix show’s dystopian handling of technology, as Kendall and Greg (Nicholas Braun) quickly find an editor to manipulate the footage of Logan to say exactly what Kendall wants him to — basically deepfaking his own dad.
Kendall and co-CEO Roman’s (Kieran Culkin) aim in the episode is to continue trying to tank the GoJo acquisition deal, this time by inflating the potential worth of Waystar Royco so much that GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) $192 per share offer appears no longer good enough. Using manipulated footage of Logan allows Kendall to do this without angering the company’s CFO Karl Muller (David Rasche), who gives Kendall a strict pre-presentation lecture about not giving Mattson any numbers he hasn’t personally approved.
Kendall’s workaround, therefore, is to get his dad to say them for him, with Logan’s comment about a “significant boost to the earnings of our parks division” suddenly becoming “double the earnings of our parks division”.
In the audience, Karl doesn’t look convinced. But Logan is the one man he’d never question, and Kendall knows this.
Why does Roman keep watching that deepfake of his dad at the end?
As well as the video of Logan becoming a key weapon in Kendall’s arsenal, it’s also something Roman turns to at the very end as a strange mixture of comfort and self-flagellation. After abandoning his brother to do the Investor Day speech alone (essentially because he predicts it’s going to be horribly received), Roman doesn’t know how to handle it when the reaction to Ken’s speech is actually largely positive. He’s already spent the episode questioning his decisions after being berated by Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) for firing Waystar’s studio exec, and Kendall’s speech reception is the straw that breaks the youngest Roy’s back.
In the car on his own, Roman watches an edited meme of his father’s video in which Logan says, “I’m convinced that Roman Roy has a micro dick and always gets it wrong.” Listening to the clip over and over again, he closes his eyes and holds the phone close to his ear. It’s an expression of his unprocessed grief, a means of self-punishment, and a way of highlighting the low opinion Roman has of himself — something that’s clearly been drummed into him over the years by an abusive father who continues to haunt him from beyond the grave.
Succession is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
Logan Paul’s First WWE Action Figure Was No Easy Task For Mattel
When Logan Paul made his WWE debut in 2021, it was only a matter of time before he was immortalized the same way most WWE superstars are: with his own Mattel action figure. He’s not getting anything as simple as the company’s line of Basic figures or even an entry in the long-running line of Elite toys. Paul is starting on top, with WWE and Mattel creating an Ultimate collection figure–the most-detailed and articulated line of toys WWE has. Getting to a finished product was no easy task, though.
Paul’s Ultimate is the second Mattel has offered via their Mattel Creations website as a presale exclusive item. The first, Ultimate Cody Rhodes based on his Wrestlemania return in 2022, will arrive this summer. Still, while it won’t be available in stores at release, the toy giant pulled out all the stops to make sure the Ultimate lives up to its name. And where that all starts is with many, many pictures of Paul.
The design team used what they have dubbed a 3D virtual studio, a portable scanning rig capable of taking 64 photos simultaneously. It gives them the ability to capture every single angle of a facial expression, and the team first brought Paul into their headquarters to be scanned. Per Mattel, a scanning session could take up to a few hours, as superstars are asked for a number of facial reactions. Some of them aren’t used, while others wind up on the toy heads included with the figures.
Amazon’s James Bond game show casts Logan Roy — sorry, Brian Cox — as its M
007’s Road to a Million is after that “villainous and cultured” Succession energy
John Hennigan ‘puts KSI on blast’ and slams ‘overnight tough guys’ Jake and Logan Paul after Creator Clash win
JOHN Hennigan called out KSI and slammed the Paul brothers after his explosive win at Creator Clash.
The former WWE star, 43, dominated Harley Morenstein in their bout in Tampa, Florida on Saturday night.
John Hennigan thrashed Harley Morenstein in Creator Clash on Saturday[/caption]
Hennigan called out British YouTube fighter KSI[/caption]
Hennigan put his opponent on the canvas three times in the opening three rounds before the fight was called off.
And wrestler Hennigan called out KSI for a fight after his dominant win on the pay-per-view event.
He said: “Boxing is different from wrestling and stunt choreo. I know how hard I worked, I know how hard Harley worked.
“I have all the respect in the world for that man.
“But there are some influencer boxers I have zero respect for.
“Jake Paul, Logan Paul. They make me sick. Overnight tough guys. The entire Misfits boxings.
“Jake Paul got beat. Logan got beat by KSI, which is why I’m going to put KSI on blast right now. You hear me? Come on.”
KSI will take on Joe Fournier in London on May 13 in his next fight.
Hennigan’s clash with Morenstein was the co-main event on Creator Clash 2 in Tampa.
In the main event bout, Alex Wassabi beat iDubbbz by majority decision.
Wassabi won the four-round contest 39-37 on two cards while the other was a 38-38 draw.
He also slammed Jake and Logan Paul as ‘overnight tough guys’[/caption]
‘Dad’ calls out entire WWE and takes swipe at Logan Paul after Creator Clash victory
NATHAN Barnatt called out the “entire WWE” and took a swipe at Logan Paul after his dominant Creator Clash win Saturday night.
The YouTuber star known as Dad won his fight against AB Starkilla on the pay-per-view event in Tampa, Florida.
‘Dad’ fought in Creator Clash on Saturday night in Tampa[/caption]
He took a shot at Logan Paul and called out the entire WWE[/caption]
It was his second straight boxing victory having beaten Matt Watson last summer.
And the 42-year-old claimed he had a signed WWE contract “for the last ten years” and accused WWE stars of avoiding him.
He said in the ring: “I would like to call out the entire company of the WWE.
“If you know me and you’ve been watching me for 20 years on YouTube then you’ll know the WWE sent me a signed contract twice.
“I still have that contract signed.
“Triple H knows me, Vince McMahon knows me, half the roster knows me.
“They’ve been dancing around me for 10 years and I’m not waiting any more.”
Dad then turned his attention to Seth Rollins and his WrestleMania showdown with Logan Paul.
He continued: “So Seth Rollins, you want to go toe to toe with a phoney YouTuber, a con artist?
“How about you go toe to toe with a boxer, a YouTuber from the original days, who actually wins his fights?
“I’ll be waiting for you at the front doors of your training facility until you answer.”
Succession season 4 sets the board for life after Logan
How did the show get so many to care so much about a real rat bastard?
Succession Season 4 Episode 3: Logan Roy dies on an airplane
Remembering Logan Roy: An obituary for ‘Succession’s CEO and family man
Succession‘s Logan Roy (Brian Cox) has died. The founder and CEO of Waystar Royco passed away on a flight to meet with GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), which he chose to prioritize over the wedding of his eldest son Connor (Alan Ruck).
A Rupert Murdoch-meets-King Lear type, Logan was a titan of media, a ferocious businessman, and creator of beloved game Boar on the Floor. But while he died a billionaire, he would be the first to remind you that he came from humble beginnings.
Born in 1938 in Dundee, Scotland — the “North Bank” as son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) described in his infamous rap, “L to the OG” — Logan Roy built media conglomerate Waystar Royco from the ground up. The company is known for its flagship network ATN, which is known in turn for employing controversial anchors like Mark Ravenhead (Zack Robidas), who may or may not be a Nazi. (Signs like reading Mein Kampf multiple times point to “probably a Nazi.”) Waystar’s cruises division was also the subject of Succession scandal, as the surfacing of sexual assault allegations led to employees of Waystar Royco testifying before Congress.
A friend of many high-profile figures, including presidents, Logan weathered several such scandals throughout his time as CEO. He also survived multiple attempts to take over Waystar, including one brought about by his Number One Boy, Kendall.
To say Kendall and Logan’s relationship was “complicated” would be an understatement. Logan blackmailed Kendall over his manslaughter, then attempted to use Kendall as a sacrificial fall guy for Waystar’s wrongdoings. In turn, Kendall exposed his father in the subsequent press conference, calling him “a malignant presence, a bully, and a liar.” (This was not long after the aforementioned rap, in which Kendall said, “Since I stan Dad, I’m alive and well.”)
Credit: Peter Kramer/HBO
Their father-son connection was just one of many of Logan’s tumultuous personal relationships, such as his strained separation from his older brother Ewan (James Cromwell) and his three failed marriages. The first two ended in divorce, while the third, to Marcia (Hiam Abbass), was deeply fractured by the time of Logan’s death. Cheating on your wife with former PGM CEO Rhea Jarrell (Holly Hunter) and your current self-described “friend, assistant, and advisor” Kerry Castellabate (Zoe Winters) will do that!
But those relationships are just tiny spills compared to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch of mess that was how Logan treated his children Connor, Kendall, Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin). Logan’s many showdowns with Kendall made that relationship the most public, but he was withholding and abusive towards all his kids. He pitted them against each other for control of Waystar, neglected them when they did not interest him, and could always be counted on to call them “sicko” or some choice homophobic slur. At the Argestes retreat, Logan even slapped Roman. Himself a victim of abuse at the hands of his Uncle Noah, Logan continued that vicious cycle right to the end of his life.
Whatever love Logan failed to show his kids, he showed to his business. Even as he sold Waystar to GoJo, he demanded to remain in control of ATN. In the days before the deal was set to go through, he moseyed terrifyingly around the ATN newsroom like a hitman Santa Clause before delivering a rousing speech about destroying the competition. “This is not the end,” he told his fired-up employees as they cheered his name. But the world had other plans for him.
The loss of Logan Roy — and Brian Cox’s brilliantly blustery performance — will no doubt leave a gaping hole in our Sunday night viewing, just as it will leave a hole in the hearts of his children and a vacancy at the very top of Waystar’s corporate ladder. But before we turn to wondering about who will succeed the late Logan, join me in wishing the OG himself farewell with his two favorite words. You know exactly which ones I’m talking about.
Succession is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
Here’s how ‘Succession’ handled that game-changing Logan Roy moment
In the third episode of its fourth season, Succession does the unthinkable — and we’re not just talking about Connor (Alan Ruck) finally tying the knot with Willa (Justine Lupe). This pivotal episode may be titled “Connor’s Wedding,” but it’s really going to go down in TV history as “The One Where Logan Dies.”
That’s right: Logan Roy (Brian Cox), patriarch of the Roy family, founder and CEO of Waystar Royco, L to the OG himself, is dead and gone.
Logan’s death is Succession‘s biggest narrative swing yet, bigger than any business deal or betrayal. If Succession is a game of chess, this twist is the equivalent of removing the king from the board. Scratch that; it’s the equivalent of throwing the board on the floor and leaving the other pieces to flounder in emotional (and likely financial) distress.
While the ramifications of Logan’s passing will be major — who will succeed him as CEO? — the most fascinating aspect of his death remains Succession‘s daring handling of it. There is no grand finale for Logan. In fact, Succession separates the audience from Logan’s death as much as possible. We never see him collapse on his flight to meet with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), nor do we get a clear shot of his body. Instead, we experience Logan’s death as his children do: from far, far away. It’s Succession‘s way of telling us that the moment of Logan’s death doesn’t matter. What really matters is his children’s reactions.
When it comes to Logan’s death, distance is everything.
Credit: Macall B. Polay/HBO
None of Logan’s children are with him when he dies: They’re all at Connor’s wedding, something Logan skipped to speak to Matsson. Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) get a call from Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) onboard Logan’s plane. He informs them of Logan’s collapse and lets them speak their last words to him through his phone. The sequence is eerily reminiscent of Season 4’s very first episode, which saw Tom act as a proxy between the Roy children and their own father as they entered a bidding war over Pierce Media.
Tom’s role as go-between is just one of several ways in which Succession distances the Roy children, and by extension the audience, from Logan’s death. Just like we never see Logan fall, we also never get a clear glimpse of his body. We spend most of our time watching Kendall, Shiv, and Roman worry through the phone, unable to do anything for their father except react in the moment.
Succession heightens these reactions further by emphasizing the physical space between Logan and his children. Emotionally, these characters are far apart even when they’re in the same room, but after the Roy kids’ sound rejection of Logan’s attempted karaoke apology, that emotional distance has never been greater. Succession reflects that in its location choices. The kids are at sea, on a boat to Connor’s wedding, while a dying Logan is thousands of feet in the air.
Logan’s death is Succession at its most stressful.
Credit: Macall B. Polay/HBO
The fact that both parties are in transit only adds to the tension of the episode. “Connor’s Wedding” is an excruciatingly stressful hour that sees uncertainty gradually morph into shocked acceptance. From their place on a boat — to a wedding, no less — Kendall, Shiv, and Roman have absolutely no control over the situation. All they can do is sit, and talk, and try to keep the news of Logan’s death from leaking to the press. Since we spend most of the episode squarely in their point of view, we feel just as powerless as they do.
Distance isn’t the only trick Succession has in its playbook to make us feel the enormity of this moment. As the Roys speak to their father and process the possibility of his death, the show strips back Nicholas Britell’s score — barely any music accompanies these key scenes. On top of that, continuous shots trained on the Roy siblings keep us firmly in their point of view, while the juxtaposition of the wedding celebration and Logan’s death only serves to heighten the horror of the situation. It also calls to mind a pivotal moment from Season 1, when Kendall returns to Shiv and Tom’s wedding after leaving a waiter for dead and has to act like his world isn’t completely falling apart.
One major difference between Kendall’s wedding manslaughter and Logan’s wedding death? The former is a finale event, while the latter occurs in the third episode of a season. Those kinds of major character turning points, especially a death, are the kinds of moments we’ve come to expect from late-in-the-season episodes and finales. That Logan’s death comes so early and that it comes before the deal with Matsson goes through are no doubt shocking. “Surely they can’t kill him now,” I kept telling myself throughout the episode. Yet kill him they did — and when you watch back through Season 4, you see just how inevitable it was.
Logan’s death is a total surprise — and also completely inevitable.
Credit: David Russell/HBO
On the one hand, Logan’s death is a wild shock to Succession‘s system. Just last episode he delivered a bloodthirsty speech to his ATN staff from atop a stack of printer paper in a Rupert Murdoch-inspired moment. In the speech, he waxed poetic about cutting his opposition’s throats before proclaiming, “This is not the end.” One episode later, we’re hit with the opposite. Even after all of Logan’s big talk while boarding his plane, it is, in fact, the end.
Succession has certainly hinted at this throughout the season, especially in its first episode. In a parallel to Season 1, Season 4 opens with Logan’s birthday — a reminder of his deteriorated relationship with his family and, naturally, his own aging. He even contemplates mortality with his bodyguard Colin (Paul Nielsen), wondering about what comes after life. In true Logan Roy fashion, he thinks the answer is nothing.
The parallel to Succession‘s first-ever episode also recalls the near-fatal stroke Logan has at his 80th birthday party in Season 1 — something he survives, along with countless attempts to wrest Waystar Royco from his control. After all, Succession has always made the point that Logan is an unkillable man. Yet the reminder of that first stroke is enough to make you realize that Logan is a goner as soon as Tom reveals Logan’s critical situation. Succession wouldn’t pull the same near-death storyline with Logan twice, especially not as the show approaches its endgame. Of course, the Roy siblings wouldn’t be thinking like that, so we’re left to sit with them in limbo as they wait for confirmation of their father’s passing.
To show Logan’s death or not to show Logan’s death, that is the question…
Credit: Macall B. Polay/HBO
The only move more daring than killing Logan so early in the season is killing him offscreen. It’s a choice that is sure to be polarizing. People who hate Logan might wish they’d seen him flounder in his final moments, while people who love him might have wanted a chance to say one last farewell. In keeping with the episode’s throughline of distance, Succession gives neither party the satisfaction. Logan haters and fans may have different interpretations of the exclusion of Logan’s death. Is it a slight or a sign of respect to this character whom the show has built up as a tyrannical titan of media? A more likely answer: This is simply how Succession operates.
Throughout its run, Succession has made a pattern of not showing key events to the audience. We don’t see Shiv’s initial confrontation with Tom about his actions in the Season 3 finale, nor do we see the Roy siblings coming up with The Hundred. These omissions are a sign of Succession‘s confidence in itself — it knows the audience can infer characters’ shared histories given a few well-placed lines. However, it’s also proof that Succession knows when to show exactly what matters. We don’t need to see Logan die, we just need to know it occurred in order to understand the behavior of everyone caught in his orbit. The aftermath of Logan’s passing is what Succession is truly interested in, which is why we still have most of Season 4 to go. How it happened is secondary.
Succession is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.