Succession episode 1-4 spoilers below
Forget Shiv’s pregnancy. Forget Marcia circling the foyer, Kerry’s appearance, Connor’s house deal, Gerri’s snipes, Frank and Karl’s power plays, Tom’s sycophantic grovelling, and Lukas Matsson’s shifty behaviour. Let’s face it, episode four was all about the paper, all about Kendall, and all about that line drawn in pen.
It was the moment Kendall had been waiting for his whole life: there on a paper, stored at the back of Logan’s safe, were the jaw-dropping words that his father, at some point, wanted him to be his successor.
Immediately there were questions around the paper’s validity. When was it written? Did it hold any legal weight? Kendall, of course, believed it did.
But that wasn’t all. There was a line, in pen, sort of underlining, sort of crossing out, Kendall’s name.
The internet was at once in an uproar about it. Some said it was obvious that Logan Roy was going for an underline. Otherwise, why would he start at the bottom left of the name? Others said it was clear he’d gone for a strikethrough. Others sat back and enjoyed watching the fallout of this Shakespearean-level twist, which will, surely, come to define the rest of the season.
Here’s our pick of some of the best takes online about one of the questions that’s going to divide friends and households for weeks to come...
“Underlined or crossed out?” pic.twitter.com/BDlABNOuXe
— Succession (@succession) April 17, 2023
Was it underlined or crossed out? #Succession #SuccessionHBO pic.twitter.com/nI4HVEEyIR
— Brit Mockler (@bamcklr) April 17, 2023
Team underline
There were some very strong arguments on this side. Many people said that you don’t cross out a line starting underneath the word. It’s true, you don’t. So was Logan being lazy? Perhaps he started from the right handside? Or perhaps he was trying to underline Kendall’s name.
#Succession #SuccessionHBO He totally underlined Ken's name. When you cross out a name the pen doesn't start beneath the first letter it strikes right through it.
— Grant Steele (@mrgsteele) April 17, 2023
Underlined. If it was crossed out he’d have really made it clear and put like a giant X over it. #Succession
— Zak (@MisterJ831) April 17, 2023
It is underlined. He’s the number one boy.#SuccessionHBO pic.twitter.com/z0mrvD28V8
— Wernullah Herzog - Succession Era (@shoewherzogate) April 17, 2023
guys am I crazy for thinking that frank gerri and karl underlined it before calling the kids to cause a rift between them and so that either gerri or karl can take over ??? #SuccesionHBO #Succession
— tamara (fan account) (@nostalgiaseb) April 17, 2023
IT IS UNDERLINED LOGAN ROY WOULD NOT HAVE JUST NOT RETYPED IT
— not jos (@thekendallroy) April 17, 2023
Team crossed out
But then, on the other hand, why would Logan need to underline Kendall’s name if he still wanted Kendall to become his successor? Surely he would have just left the paper as it was? But then if he was crossing out Kendall’s name, Logan seemed like the kind of person who wouldn’t leave things to chances. Surely he would have put a giant sharpie pen line through the name, crossed out Kendall a million times, set fire to the paper?
That's definitely crossed out. Why would he underline it?
— Kaz DF (@MusicOfU) April 17, 2023
But who cares? Kendall's Odyssey is nearly complete.
#Succession pic.twitter.com/26Q90D6cwx
Kendall knows damn well his name was crossed out not underlined 😭#Succession
— THE HOOD BASQUIAT ☆ (@gelxaan) April 17, 2023
Why would you underline that? We all know the truth. #Succession
— Hilary Goldstein (@N00bintheTube) April 17, 2023
Then there were the admirers
Others didn’t make a decision either way, but turned online to show their appreciation to the person who actually drew that perfectly enigmatic line. It is, after all, a magnificent piece of work.
i want an entire feature on Succession’s art department having to make the perfectly ambiguous underline/strikeout combo
— Michael Gold (@migold) April 17, 2023
like how many versions of that black line did they go through
Whoever drew the underline/cross-through on that sheet of paper is tonight's true MVP, because it is ambiguity itself #Succession
— Sage Young (@sageyoungest) April 17, 2023
Kendall will be looking at that paper for the rest of his life wondering: is it underlined or crossed out? And that’s the brilliance of #Succession.
— Hunter Ingram (@hunter_wesley) April 17, 2023
Where can I get an underlined/crossedout Kendall Logan Roy shirt?#Succession
— may s. santillana (@dwellerina) April 17, 2023
