Spoilers below for the penultimate episode of HBO’s Succession, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched what’ll presumably be the most elaborate TV funeral of 2023.
To be expected, Succession delivered a tour-de-force gut-punch with its second-to-last installment, “Church and State,” which boasted a runtime of 65+ minutes that was almost entirely dedicated to Logan Roy’s rather regal funeral ceremony. Save for the first act laying down the chaos running rampant across the country due to Jaryd Mencken being recognized as the new President Elect, that is. That outside-world reaction came crashing down on Kendall’s already crumbling optimism, while Roman was crushed by his inner emotions boiling up to the surface, and while Shiv rather swiftly cemented her alignment with Matsson, with a bit of help from Justin Kirk’s divisive politician. And somehow, the entirety of that mess was eclipsed by a short and shockingly sweet scene involving Logan’s four mistresses, with the previously unrevealed paramour being someone quite important to star Brian Cox.
Logan's Four Mistresses Met, And It Was Glorious
I truly expected some highly flammable sparks to fly in all the directions once Harriet Walter’s Lady Caroline approached Zoë Winters’ Kerry inside the church, especially after her encounter with Shiv was such a judgmental and icy exchange. And it certainly continued to give off such explosion-y vibes when Caroline ushered in a character viewers had never met before, and had them all sitting in the front row across the aisle from the Roy siblings. In Logan’s ex-wife’s words:
Marcia, this is Sally-Anne. . . . Sally-Anne was my Kerry, so to speak. So, it’s all water under the bridge now, innit? Should we go and pile in?
But while it first came across as a harsh and possibly malicious way to rub Logan’s infidelity into others’ faces, it soon became more clear that it was just Caroline taking charge and knocking down the barriers meant to keep the four somewhat like-minded women away from one another, despite their shared love (at different times) for the late billionaire. Even Marcia appeared ready for mental blows, only to find herself softening and understanding that to continue carrying any grudges after Logan’s death would be a needless burden. It might not be how everyone would react in such a situation, but it speaks to whatever Marcia’s innate goodness quotient is that she made the effort to show a crying Kerry physical comfort. (Now she’s even more justifiable as a candidate for the characters I feel deserve a happy post-finale outcome.)
The four women sharing such an important time together so cordially speaking volumes about the kind of women Logan was affectionate for, and speaks further volumes about how far in the other direction his children are on that emotional spectrum. They’re a collective mess (except for maybe Conner?), and their only instincts and loyalties are to the company that Logan built, instead of the man himself. Granted, they didn’t view their pops in the same way that Marcia, Caroline, Kerry and Sally-Anne did — well, maybe Roman’s gross ass — but there’s so much the sibs could learn from his inamoratas.
The Actress Playing Sally-Anne Is Brian Cox's Real Wife
Considering Kerry brought a lawyer in case she was blocked from getting into the church, she definitely didn’t expect to be welcomed into anyone’s group, and one would imagine Sally-Anne felt the same way after all these years. But no reason to suspect her portrayer, Nicole Ansari Cox, would be steered away from the premises, since she’s the real-world wife to star Brian Cox. I love that kind of easter egg that doesn’t go too hard on the winking. Had she said, “I wish I’d have known what it was like to be married to him,” or something, that would have been too much.
One of the reasons why the actress might have been around on the set that day was because Cox himself was also part of the funeral’s filming. The actor explained in the aftermath of Logan’s death episode, the equally fantastic “Connor’s Wedding,” that he went out and filmed a scene or two around the cemetery and church in order to keep fans from speculating that it was his character’s funeral being filmed. So it’s possible he knew he wouldn’t need to be around that much, and made a family trip out of it. Or maybe Jesse Armstrong looped Nicole Ansari-Cox in because she’s already a talented and established TV actress. Having started her acting career as a child in Germany, Ansari-Cox has been in episodes of Deadwood, The Blacklist, FBI, and most recently a Law & Order ep in January 2023.
“Church and State” also finally gave viewers answers for Logan’s sister Rose thanks to Ewan’s powerful eulogy that helped turn Roman into an emotional wreck. Fans can relive the chaos with a Max subscription while awaiting the series finale.
