Succession season 3 premiere ending explained

Succession is officially back, everyone! This gripping drama returned tonight on HBO for its third season premiere, and fans couldn’t be more excited.

The tension between Logan (Brian Cox) and his son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) came to a head last we saw the Roy family in the season 2 finale, when Kendall turned against his father at the press conference and blamed him for the cruise line scandal. We suspected the season 3 premiere would start off intense, and we definitely were right in that.

Spoilers ahead for Succession season 3.

Succession season 3 recap

Dealing with the fallout of Kendall’s actions, Logan is desperate for a plan to save the business, Waystar Royco. Shiv (Sarah Snook) feels the siblings should just support their dad and be there for him, while Roman (Kieran Culkin) thinks they shouldn’t cooperate with the government and instead throw Kendall under the bus.

Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) is the only one who’s ready with next steps, and the family begins to do some damage control. They decide to go after Lisa Arthur (Sanaa Lathan) as their lawyer, who Shiv is conveniently friends with. Logan also tells everyone that he has to step down as CEO temporarily to save face, and thinks about who should pick.

It isn’t an easy decision for Logan to make, and he narrows it down to three options, Shiv, Gerri, or Roman. After Roman reminds his father how inept he is to run a company and Shiv fails to land Lisa Arthur as their lawyer, Logan names Gerri the new CEO of Waystar Royco.

It’s a huge decision that’s made surprisingly early in the season, but we’re sure it won’t be smooth sailing from here. As for Kendall, he’s got Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) and Karolina (Dagmara Domińczyk) on his side, plus, of course, his assistant Jess (Juliana Canfield). In the season 3 premiere, he’s also frantically checking in with what the public is saying about him online, and is happy to hear people are supportive of him.

Kendall stays at Rava’s (Natalie Gold) while taking business meetings and even meets with Lisa Arthur. While she makes it known their meeting is just “preliminary,” Lisa certainly seems interested. Kendall’s girlfriend Naomi (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) also stops by and meets Rava for the first time. Kendall is extremely cocky in the premiere, which we’ve seen many times before — usually when he’s working against his dad.

How does the Succession season 3 premiere end?

In the final moments of the Succession season 3 premiere, Kendall calls Logan, who gives the phone to Frank (Peter Friedman) to answer. After a short conversation, Frank is hesitant to tell Logan what Kendall said, but of course, Logan demands answers.

Frank delivers the big news: Lisa Arthur agreed to take on Kendall as her client. Logan laughs it off, tells Frank they’ll get another lawyer named Leo Upton, and then delivers one of the best lines in the show’s history: “We’ll go full f***king beast!”

Logan storms out and looks into the night, visibly shaken before the credits start to roll.

So what does this mean for Succession season 3? Well, Kendall’s got a leg up on Logan, and Logan knows it. But this isn’t going to be an easy battle for Kendall. Yes, Waystar Royco has seriously dirty laundry that’s come to light, but Logan is one of the most powerful people in the world. He’s friendly with the president and has more money than any normal person could ever imagine.

And Kendall’s not an evil person. At least, not as evil as Logan is. Logan will do literally anything and everything in his power to win this and save his company, even if that means ruining Kendall’s life and never speaking to him again. He has no remorse in the decisions he makes.

We’ve seen Kendall this arrogant before — it happens nearly every time he betrays his dad. Unfortunately for him, something always goes wrong. Plus, he can’t forget what Logan has on him. As fans will remember, Kendall was involved in a hit and run while high on drugs back in season 1 which left one person dead. Logan found out and covered it up, and he’s been keeping it in his pocket as potential blackmail against Kendall ever since.

I can’t see Kendall taking down Waystar without his crime coming out in the process. Obviously, Logan is furious at the end of the season 3 premiere and there’s no telling what he’ll do next.

We’ll find out next week when Succession season 3 continues! New episodes air every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.