Handwriting is very important, people.
One very small detail with potentially massive consequences in the latest episode of Succession has viewers at odds this week. A mysterious piece of paper found in Logan’s safe seems to suggest the Roy family patriarch has chosen his son Kendall as his successor.
However, it’s unclear whether he underlined or crossed out Kendall’s name on his controversial safe-dwelling document – leaving viewers very confused over Logan’s intentions.
Speaking on the Succession podcast, series writer Lucy Prebble said that the ambiguous pencil-drawn line suited the show’s overall style perfectly, with characters taking their own interpretations and creating a narrative around it.
“Jesse [Armstrong] had had this idea that maybe there was a name in the safe and it was an interesting idea, but there’s something almost mythical about it and we don’t normally love that kind of stuff.
“And it was when somebody pitched that maybe there’s a line – maybe it’s underlined but maybe it’s crossed out – you just know it’s a Succession story because that level of confusion is so grounded and human and the argument that people can have about that in the moment just feels both funny and heartbreaking, which is where we love to be.”
Give the Emmy to whoever drew this line #Succession pic.twitter.com/HpbleDGGt8
— anna (@ajose25) April 17, 2023
It turns out it took a couple of attempts to create a perfectly vague line, which would lie directly in the grey area between underlined and crossed out.
“You got someone whose job it is on set to underline a word but it looks like it could also be crossed out. So you’re looking at like ten different versions of it and then picking the one and going, ‘no that’s nailed it, that’s exactly between underlined and crossed out.'”
Did Logan underline or cross out Kendall’s name?
Prebble weighed in on what side of the fence she sits on, with both her and host Kara Swisher agreeing that Logan crossed out Kendall’s name, rather than underlined it.
“I think it’s much more likely to have been crossed out. That’s exactly the thing I can imagine Logan doing, he’s sort of petulant in that way. I just can’t imagine Logan sitting down to bother to underline Kendall’s name, that’s just not his style.”
Whether it was his intention or not, in the episode Kendall saw a perfect opportunity to use the ambiguous line to his advantage and take the CEO crown alongside his brother Roman. In typical Succession style, we’re sure this will come back to haunt him further down the line.
You can listen to the full episode of the Succession podcast below.
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