WARNING: Spoilers for Succession Season 4 Episode 6 below.
As Succession barrels towards its series finale, the latest episode saw Kendall and Roman try to their first “big swing” as co-CEOs while Shiv may or may not be undermining them at the behest of Alexander Skarsgård’s Lukas Mattson. While the Waystar Royco board is dead set on selling the company thanks to a ridiculously high offer from Mattson, the boys are secretly hoping that Living+, Logan’s last project before his death, can be enough of an earnings boost to stave off the sale.
However, like all things with the Roy children, things get real messy real quick. Roman’s firing people left and right (including Geri) while Kendall has that “gleam in his eye” as he micromanages the Living+ launch and starts making outrageous demands like having a full house built on a stage in less than 24 hours.
At one point, Shiv and Roman come to an increasingly rare agreement that the Living+ launch needs to be tanked, but when Roman tries to pull the plug, he backs down at the last minute and leaves Kendall to do the presentation solo. Despite a wobbly start, and a very Elon Musk-esque tweet from Mattson, Kendall surprisingly nails the presentation even though the earning potential for Living+ is severely optimistic.
With a win seemingly secured, Kendall goes for a walk on the beach where he can’t resist getting into the water. As Succession fans know, Kendall’s relationship with water is fraught with meaning, from the watery crash in Season 1 to his ambiguous suicide attempt in Season 3. Seeing Kendall in the ocean brought back all kinds of memories for Succession fans, who mostly saw nothing but positive vibes from his latest dip.
You can see some of the reactions below:
babe wake up new kendall roy water scene just dropped#succession pic.twitter.com/HY7qnUhKkH
— ivy (mourning succession) (@ohhhhherewego) May 1, 2023
KENDALL NO DON’T GO NEAR THE WATER GET AWAY FROM THE WATER KENDALL!!!!!! #Succession pic.twitter.com/UZL0gZbH7j
— waystar co-ceo ❀ (@blkwatcher) May 1, 2023
for the first time, we have a kendall roy water scene that is not about the end of life, but about the beginning of a new one. baptize the new king! pic.twitter.com/0zOG938Hyt
— meg succession text posts (@successtextpost) May 1, 2023
Kendal + water = chaos #succession pic.twitter.com/5LeCIXH4pq
— elizabeth camarillo (@elicam95) May 1, 2023
Kendall face up in the water at the end was a great throwback to this scene. #succession #hbo #kendall #KLR pic.twitter.com/rodx9sSvfb
— Mikey Madness (@MichaelMadness) May 1, 2023
since the car accident, in which he almost drowned, kendall has always looked at the water as an element to let himself go, forever, but in this episode it was a kind of rebirth#succesionhbo #succession pic.twitter.com/V5UFYEq2ja
— dile (@dilelannister) May 1, 2023
It’s not a season of Succession without Kendall Roy in a body of water pic.twitter.com/yst0zeM5SD
— Jillian (@JillianChili) May 1, 2023
While the vast majority of the tweets saw Kendall’s return to the water as a good thing, one user floated a theory that the symbolism might not be as rejuvenating and positive as it looks.
“He may look blissed out and facing the right way this time but that head is barely above water,” Laura Shepard tweeted. “Thinking a big fall is coming or he fails his way into becoming his father.”
He may look blissed out and facing the right way this time but that head is barely above water. Thinking a big fall is coming or he fails his way into becoming his father. #Succession pic.twitter.com/yChcLRJKRt
— Laura Shepard (@LM_Shepard) May 1, 2023
New episodes of Succession Season 4 air Sunday on HBO.