Spoilers below for the latest episode of Succession, so be very warned if you haven’t yet watched!
Immediately after HBO aired the latest and arguably the most shocking episode of Succession yet, fans and critics immediately started lauding it as the best installment of the show, of the season, and of the year, with some putting it in the Greatest Of All Time annals. Everything was top notch, from the acting, the direction, the production design and more, but arguably the episode’s biggest achievement was the confusion and shock value stemming from Logan Roy dying mostly off-camera only three episodes into the ten-installment final season. As it happens, the crew went to some amusing and impressive lengths to preserve the secrets and avoid spoilers leaking out.
Succession Kept Brian Cox Around For More (Faux) Filming
Given that creator Jesse Armstrong had the narratively stellar idea to kill off Logan long before fans expected it, it meant that star Brian Cox wouldn’t have any real need to stick around the sets for the remaining months of production. But then a complete dearth of the actor would almost necessarily inspire speculation from those nearby that Logan was killed off in some way. As such, they talked to Cox, who agreed to stick around for much of the shoot’s remainder, as a way to keep onlookers guessing. Here’s how director and executive producer Mark Myold put it to Variety:
Luckily, we’d already put into motion an idea: that in order to try to preserve the secret of this episode, that Brian would be around for subsequent episodes. And would even appear in a much later episode, so that we would see him down the line, and hopefully try to head off rumors that the character had died. So he was always around.
Considering Mylod specifically mentioned seeing him down the line, the outlet asked if that meant fans could expect to see a flashback sequence with Logan once again in the flesh. Alas, that's apparently not meant to be. In his words:
No, not a flashback. No, the stuff in a subsequent episode, we basically bring him on to shoot dummy scenes — scenes that didn’t actually exist. As a misdirect.
So as sad as it may be to hear once again, we have indeed seen our last scenes featuring Logan Roy. That said, I can’t help but feel like we’re owed a post-credits sequence in the finale that features Brian Cox’s character in the afterlife telling either God or Satan to “fuck off!” Hell, that could have been the reason why Jesse Armstrong wanted to end the show, from a desire to see Logan curse out a spiritual entity.
How Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David Played Into It
As incredible as it would have been for Larry David to sign on for Succession in order to take over the role of Logan Roy, it might not have made a lick of plot sense, and is kind of an insane thought to have all-around. That said, he does manage to have a key set of initials that matched up with the ep's major plot bombshell, and so that's how the writers ended up referring to the death of the family patriarch. Here's how one such staffer Georgia Pritchett put it:
This was a tough secret to keep! We decided it in the #Succession writers' room in Jan 22. So nobody found out we used code on the whiteboards. Larry David meant Logan Dies. So episode 403 said Connor's Wedding, Larry David. Mind you, that would also have been a great episode. pic.twitter.com/VH1HuHCFOCApril 11, 2023
Now I'd love to hear what any passersby thought after seeing Larry David's name tied in with Succession plot points. Also, how fucked up would "Connor's Wedding" have been if the tuba stings from Curb Your Enthusiasm's theme song would have hit right when Roman was walking away from the Waystar jet after EMTs took Logan away. Yet still weirdly perfect. Maybe Brian Cox and his co-stars will enter the mix of Curb's best guest stars of all time.
Brian Cox Actually Appeared On Set For Logan's Funeral Scene
To be expected, Succession will indeed give fans a bit of closure through a funeral sequence, which will presumably take place in Episode 4, barring any further setbacks. Since there were plenty of paparazzi, photographers, and general lookie-loos all over, that was one day where the crew aimed to film one of the aforementioned dummy scenes with Brian Cox in the nearby church. Unfortunately, time was running short, and they weren't able to set the shot up properly, so the actor was told he wasn't needed on the set any longer .
However, Cox was more than aware of the value of secrecy at this point in the filming process, and decided to go against others' wishes by sticking around anyway, so that the illusion of Logan's continued survival could be maintained. Here's how Cox put it to Deadline:
I said, look, I’m coming in, because I know there’s going to be a whole lot of paparazzi there, and they’re going to be wondering what that funeral is. I am coming in. So, I said to my driver, I said, 'Joe, let’s go, we’re going.' So, and as soon as I got out of the car, there were paparazzi shooting me left, right and center, and therefore, they thought, Logan’s at the funeral, what is he doing? You see, and if I hadn’t done that, if I hadn’t come, they would’ve gone, it’s Logan’s funeral. And I was the one who took that responsibility. They didn’t even think of it. They were so rushed, and so much, you know, this last season was very difficult to film.
That Brian Cox sure is a show-saver, amirite? It's perhaps also worth noting that while the actor did film unusable scenes for later episodes, he wasn't the one on the floor in the plane in Episode 3. That was a stuntman with a passing resemblance to Cox, and one who could more easily deal with taking on so many chest compressions without snapping.
Succession totally pulled out the stops in order to stop viewers from learning about the big death too early. Even though many people expected it would happen by the end, I can't imagine many people had "dying in the bathroom of his jet after potentially hearing Roman call him a cunt" wouldn't be on the top of anyone's predictions list.
New episodes of Successon air Sunday nights on HBO at 9:00 p.m. ET. Head to our TV premiere schedule to see what other major dramas are starting up soon.
