- Logan looks for a sacrificial lamb among his closest allies as the future of the company hangs in the balance.
- The episode opens with Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) entering the Senate hearing room and taking a seat at the witness table. Senator Gilliard (Linda Marie Larson) gavels the opening of the hearing and turns the questioning over to Senator Eavis (Eric Bogosian). Greg takes his cue from Hugo Baker's advice to the others to stall answering to chew up time. Unfortunately Greg lacks the verbal skills or mental capacity to employ this advice, leaving him sounding like he is either a moron or high, or both. In Europe, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and Hugo Baker (Fisher Stevens) are driving to Venice. Hugo is watching Greg's performance at the hearings. Logan is drawing up a list of potential sacrificial lambs and asks Hugo to review the page. Hugo suggests that Karolina be added. Logan asks Hugo if Roman is safe. Logan gets a phone call from a very influential and important shareholder, Phillipe Layton (Angus Wright). Colin is driving the black Audi and they stop at a coffee shop along the highway so Logan can talk. Layton tells Logan that the shareholders are very unhappy and that perhaps it's time for Logan to step aside at Waystar-Royco. Hugo tells Logan, "I tell you what. Greg might be talking himself onto your list."
Credits Roll.
The Logan Roy yacht sits in port somewhere in Greece. A large crew is preparing the vessel for a family get together, described by Shiv as a family mini-break. The limousines pull up. First on the yacht are Willa (Justine Lupe) and Connor Roy (Alan Ruck). They discuss the play, the reviews and Connor's financial status. Next to board are Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) and her husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen). Crew greet the arriving guests with moist towels and cold drinks. Tom and Shiv discuss a possible three-way sexual encounter with one of the female crew. Shiv wipes her neck with the towel as they head toward their cabin. Tom questions the description as a family get together since the Company General Counsel, Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) and the CFO Frank Vernon (Peter Friedman) followed them on board. Greg explains his testimony to Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong). Ken is with Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones). He is holding her hand and the three stroll on board. Since Marcia had the boat refitted, the rule on teak decks is no shoes. Greg is embarrassed by his fungus infected toenails. The yacht powers out into the Mediterranean Sea. Connor and Willa are relaxing when the reviews of Willa's play arrive. Willa knows the critics hated her play, but is hoping some will be generous. Connor keeps scrolling through the list for something he can show his prostitute/girlfriend. Connor is laughing and describes the reviews as a mixture. Willa eventually grabs Connor's tablet after his unsuccessful stall for more time. She is shocked and furious. She throws the tablet into the sea, then sulks. A launch from shore brings Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin), Karl (David Rasche) and Jamie Laird (Danny Huston). Shiv yells, "Here they are, the heroes of Asia. Asia Minor!" Roman admits, "It was actually f**king scary and we thought that they might kill us." The trio won't discuss the outcome of the financial talks, but Laird hints at success, "The kid did good."
Roman, Shiv, Ken and Tom exchange news and gossip about the hearing and Rhea's status. Shiv states, "But she [Rhea] agreed to not say anything publicly until after the shareholder meeting." Logan's helicopter arrives and lands on the bow/forward landing pad. Logan immediately directs Roman, Karl and Laird inside to discuss business and asks, "So, on the money. What's the situation?" Laird reiterates, "The kid did great. I think, Mr. Roy, you can take your firm private. While Eduard [Asgarov] and his father have titular responsibility for the sovereign wealth, the president's son-in-law, Zeynal is the key guy now and Roman slam-dunked it." Karl adds, "The Azeris say they can put in $10 billion, Laird can put together the rest." Just about the time Karl and Jamie have reassured Logan, Roman casts a gloom over the celebration. He expresses his impression that it was not a serious offer and Logan can't depend on it happening. When it becomes clear that Laird cannot salvage this deal he expresses his disappointment and warns, "Someone's getting tossed out of the balloon and someone is likely going to jail. So, goodnight ladies and good luck." Jamie Laird takes the launch back to shore. Logan sees the banker off from the deck. Kendall joins his father and asks about the deal. Logan admits that taking the company private is not the solution. Ken informs his father, "You know, Stewy's in Greece." Logan dismisses the very notion of going to Stewy for a deal.
Word quickly spreads that Roman's mission failed. All agree that with the deal off, someone or a couple of people will be sacrificed. So the question is who? Connor approaches his Dad to ask for help with positive reviews for Willa's play. Logan brushes off the suggestion. Connor admits that, "It's a half a million a week [in expenses]." He adds that his campaign for president is bleeding him dry. He asks for a bridge loan of $100 million. Logan tells his son, "Maybe. But you have to quit your campaign [for president]...It's a horseshit pipe dream! Everybody thinks you're a joke, and you're f**king embarrassing me." Logan next tells the group that he will not make the announcement tonight, so they should all enjoy themselves. Roman sums things up, "So, someone's getting shit canned."
Ken is planning to join Naomi on the jet ski when Logan appears. He asks Ken why Naomi is present without his permission, adding "I wasn't properly informed." Logan is concerned that Naomi is an enabler for Ken's drug problem, which of course, she is. Its evening and Shiv and Tom have retired to their cabin. Shiv asks if Tom wants the three-way now. Tom expresses his reluctance to participate. He was intrigued by the possibility, but reality causes a case of cold feet. The next morning Logan awakes in his stateroom without Marcia. He was hoping she would have joined the family on the yacht. Kendall sees Naomi off on the launch. She is disappointed and asks Ken to join her, but departs alone. Connor joins Willa for breakfast. When the waitress asks what he would like, Connor responds, "I will take a full bottle of Burgundy." The time has come to discuss the pros and cons of each person to be sacrificed to appease the shareholders. Logan volunteers himself. All agree that Logan should not step aside, but sincerity levels are mixed. Logan is relieved. He tells the assembled, "I need one meaningful skull to wave." He opens the floor to discussion. Each takes his/her turn to disparage the others. This is a day of long knives for the Roy clan and senior management. Ken offers up Gerri. Roman suggests Frank, and Frank suggests Karl. Karl throws it back to Gerri, reasoning that as named successor she is the logical choice. Roman defends Gerri and suggests the logical choice is Tom, as he was heading up the Cruises Division when the story broke. Roman adds that Greg would be a good garnish to add to Tom. Kendall and Karl agree that Tom is the logical choice. To Tom's shock his own wife, Shiv, chimes in that "Tom looks logical." When Logan asks if Tom works, it is Kendall that concludes, "I don't think he's a big enough skull." Connor volunteers to take the fall in exchange for cash. Logan smirks, thanking his oldest son for the gesture. Logan takes his leave, "I need to reflect."
Kendall is exercising on a treadmill when Logan enters the room. Logan asks, "Are we okay? I told her she [Naomi] was welcome." Then Logan broaches the touchy subject, "Is Stewy available?" Ken is quite surprised, as Logan himself made it quite clear earlier that a deal with Sandy and Stewy was out of the question. Ken warns his father, "It might be humiliating." Tom and Shiv take the launch to one of the islands to sit on the beach and talk. Logan and Kendall meet with Stewy Hosseini (Arian Moayed). Stewy is eating lunch on Paxos and was expecting the Roys for lunch. Logan cuts to the heart of the matter, "So, I've come to make a deal. This isn't a negotiation. It's a one-bang, final deal offer and it's generous. So don't insult me with a counter." Logan explains the offer. Stewy mulls the terms, then, to Logan's surprise, rejects them wholesale. He tells Logan, "No. I don't think that works." Stewy explains that he and Sandy are, "Persuading more and more shareholders every day that we offer them just a slightly better chance for them to make a little bit more money." Logan and Ken take the launch back to the yacht. Not a word is spoken. Shiv and Tom sit in the sand. Shiv is reading, while Tom stares out to sea. The last few hours has been a revelation for Tom about his marriage to Shiv. It comes to a head and Tom makes it clear that he isn't so sure marriage was a good idea. He confesses that continuing the marriage is an option he is now considering. Shiv never imagined her husband felt so strongly, and realizes that she wants to salvage the marriage. Tom tells Shiv, "I think a lot of the time, I'm really pretty unhappy. I wonder if the sad I'd be without you would be less than the sad I get from being with you."
Back on the yacht, Logan is having his lunch. Tom joins his father-in-law at the table and grabs a piece of chicken off Logan's plate and eats it. Tom and Shiv walk away, but Logan confronts his daughter to ask about Tom's behavior. Shiv does not tell her father that her marriage hangs in the balance, but explains that the tension is getting to everyone on board. Shiv directs the conversation to the hit list. Logan proposes that Tom, Gerri and Greg might be sufficient because of the Cruises and Documents. Shiv wants to know why Ken isn't the better choice. Shiv, switching into save the marriage mode, begs her father not to offer up Tom. Logan sits down next to Shiv and asks her to make a tough choice, one a possible next CEO would have to make, no matter how painful. Shiv admits, "I can't choose, Dad." Then Shiv reiterates, "Just not Tom. Please. For me." Shiv motions for Kendall to go see Logan. Kendall joins his father in Logan's stateroom. He has been both expecting and dreading this meeting. Logan tells Ken he will be the sacrificial lamb. Logan adds that he trusts his son to take the blame and not complain. When Kendall asks if he was ever considered for the CEO job, Logan admits that no, Kendall was never considered. He tells Ken, "You're smart, you're good, but you're not a killer. You have to be a killer." At that moment Kendall see his father for what he truly is. Ken kisses his father on the cheek. Logan will realize later that he received the classic kiss of death, the bacio della morte, a forewarning of betrayal. The two join the rest of the family to make the announcement. Logan informs Roman that he will be taking over as COO. Frank will be responsible for the Cruises cleanup.
The next morning Ken and Greg take the helicopter off the yacht and back to the airport. They fly back to New York where a press conference has been arranged. Jess Jordan (Juliana Canfield), Ken's PA meets her boss outside company headquarters. Ken enters the building with Greg, carrying a briefcase, in tow. Karolina (Dagmara Dominczyk) joins the three. They take the elevator up to a conference room where the press has been assembled. Logan had made arrangements with Karolina earlier on what Ken was to say. She prepared his press announcement. She tells Ken, "You Dad just texted. He's watching." On the yacht, Logan is watching the press conference. Shiv joins her dad to watch Ken's press briefing. Karolina tells the press, "Mr. Roy has a prepared statement he'd like to read." Ken goes to the table and Greg, Karolina and Jess wait in the back of the room. Ken starts to explain that he was chosen to take the blame for the misdeeds of the company, but midway through, pivots to drop his bombshell. As Logan watches from the yacht, Ken states, "The truth is that my father is a malignant presence, a bully, and a liar, and he was fully personally aware of these events for many years and made efforts to hide and cover up. He had a twisted sense of loyalty to bad actors like Lester McClintock. And a disregard for the safety of migrant workers, non-union and union workers, and for vulnerable performers and guests. My father keeps a watchful eye over every inch of his whole empire, and the notion that he would have allowed millions of dollars in settlements and compensation to be paid without his explicit approval is utterly fanciful." Karolina, arms folded in shock, realizes that her carefully crafted statement has been jettisoned, and Kendall is not going to follow the script. Greg is holding a manila envelope. Ken alludes to having records [presumably the ones Greg is holding] showing Logan's personal sign off for all payouts. Ken sums it up, "I think this is the day his reign ends." As he leaves the table, Ken tears up Karolina's note cards. Karolina is on the phone. All she can say is, "f**k! f**k! f**k!" The last scene is of Logan on his yacht with a smirk on his face.
End Credits Roll.
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