Warning: Spoilers ahead for season four, episode three of Succession.
There were a lot of surprising things in episode three of Succession, but there was one key moment that had everyone shocked: when Roman and Connor shared an awkward hug. There was also the whole dad dying thing, but you already knew that!
In the emotionally-charged episode, the siblings are forced to confront the thing that they had been afraid of (or working towards) the entire show after Logan Roy met his end on a flight to Sweden. The rest of the episode is dedicated to the aftermath of the patriarch’s death, which inspired many Emmy-worthy performances from the Roy siblings. And tears from every viewer at home.
But back to that shocking moment– a hug between Connor and Roman (Alan Ruck and Kieran Culkin). Director Mark Mylod confirmed that it was an improvised moment between the actors. “No, that wasn’t in the script. That just happened organically in a lovely, clumsy way,” Mylod told GQ.
Mylod also shared another pivotal moment that wasn’t initially planned but helped the audience see the impact that their father’s death has had on them. He explained, “One of my favourite moments in the episode just happened, too. Right at the end of the episode when Sarah’s character has just done the press briefing, and the three of them fall into this three-way hug before going their separate ways. That wasn’t in the script. But Sarah’s character and Jeremy’s character holding hands that was in the script, and it killed me on the day.”
Even though it wasn’t in the script, the moment helped put the moment into perspective for the audience. “Any time we just get that window into their childhood is such a lovely thing. It just deepens our connection to those characters and our understanding of them,” Mylod added.
While Logan is really, truly dead, there is still an opportunity for one more “F*ck You” from the patriarch, as Brian Cox confirmed he would “pop back” for flashbacks in a few more scenes. There are still seven more episodes of madness left, so you never know what will happen.