They say money can’t buy happiness, but for the Roys of HBO’s Succession, it seems to have purchased an unlimited supply of dysfunction. Throughout the show’s four seasons, we’ve watched the Roy family backstab and betray one another in their attempts to secure control over their multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Waystar Royco.
To say that it has left them all with an excess of emotional baggage would be an understatement. The extended Roy family is messed up in their own different ways, but some are more broken than others.
6. Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun)
“What am I gonna do with a soul anyways?”
— Greg, “All the Bells Say”
In the pilot, it seemed as though the awkward, bumbling Greg would be Succession’s audience surrogate — a normal person giving us an outside perspective on the twisted world of the one percent. However, it didn’t take long for Cousin Greg to show that he fit right into the family.
He’s risen up the company hierarchy by knowing who to suck up to and knowing when to switch sides. The newest role he’s taken is as ATN’s hatchet man, the person in charge of firing employees over video conference. “HR says I’m the right guy because I look like I care, but I don’t,” he bragged to Lukas Matsson in Succession Season 4 Episode 7.
Greg’s only at the bottom of this list because he’s a newcomer — he hasn’t been around long enough to get irreparably damaged the way other characters have. But he’s already sold his soul. Give it a few more years, and he should be able to catch up to the rest of the gang.
5. Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfayden)
“You’re a clumsy interloper, and no one trusts you. The only guy pulling for you is dead. And now, you’re just married to the ex-boss’s daughter, and she doesn’t even like you.”
— Karl to Tom, “Honeymoon States”
An honorary Roy by way of his (crumbling) marriage to Shiv, Tom’s desire to be accepted by his in-laws has led to him becoming the family punching bag. Kendall and Roman don’t respect him and are always willing to cut him down with a snide remark. When the cruises division needed a scapegoat for a scandal, Logan was all too happy to send his son-in-law packing to prison.
And then there’s his relationship with Shiv. He loves her, but he can never be sure she feels the same way. They’ve also thrown each other under the bus several times in order to secure their positions in the company (see Season 3 finale).
Sounds like any other relationship in Succession, but it’s not exactly a recipe for a healthy marriage. Good thing Tom has Greg there to absorb all of his pent-up rage.
4. Connor Roy (Alan Ruck)
“The good thing about having a family that doesn’t love you is you learn to live without it.”
—Connor Roy, Rehearsal
Some might say that Connor should be at the top of the list. Despite being the eldest, nobody really takes him seriously as a possible successor to Waystar Royco. His siblings leave him out of their secret meetings. His mother (Logan’s first wife) was institutionalized while he was a kid, and Connor grew up ignored by his father.
But sometimes being ignored is its own kind of freedom, especially in Succession. Being the most distant from all the family drama, Connor has been able to explore his interests, like running for President and collecting Napoleon’s severed dick. And say what you want about Connor buying Willa’s affection, but at least the two actually seem to have an understanding of one another.
Messed up? Yes. Completely out of touch with reality? Definitely. But if there was any Roy with a chance to finish Succession in a happy place, my money is on Connor.
3. Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook)
“Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up in the morning and not feel like a piece of shit?”
— Shiv, “Which Side Are You On?”
Shiv from Succession seems more well-adjusted than her brothers. She’s the only one of the kids to have a career outside Waystar Royco as a political consultant. Her marriage with Tom may be rocky, but they’re still sort of together. And of all the kids, Logan showed her the most affection and actually wanted her involved in the family business.
But Shiv is a walking, talking contradiction, and the cracks are starting to show. She fancies herself the progressive one in the family, but her growing desire for her dad’s approval has led to her cozying up with Nazi lovers like Presidential candidate Jeryd Mencken and silencing victims of sexual harassment in the company.
Add in her doomed marriage with Tom, her growing isolation from her brothers, and an unplanned pregnancy, and what do you get? Someone ready to come apart at the seams.
2. Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin)
“Waystar Royco? We do roller coasters and hate speech.”
— Roman Roy, “London Calling”
Roman is the joker of the family, perhaps all of Succession, who’s always ready with a snarky quip. He is also the most unapologetic in his love for the power that comes with being a billionaire. It’s why the first impression many had of Roman was as a callous, elitist bully.
While that first impression isn’t exactly wrong, we’ve also seen the scared little child hiding beneath the one-liners. Of the kids, Roman is the most terrified of their father (see the frozen look on his face whenever Logan yells at him) and the most desperate for any form of paternal affirmation. He also seems to have some serious mommy issues and got himself into a weird and inappropriate sexual situation with Gerri, the company’s legal counsel. It’s a big mess, and Roman is definitely going to pay for it very soon in the final episodes of Succession.
1. Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong)
“My dad is a bastard, they need to know I’m a bastard too.”
— Kendall Roy, “Lifeboats”
From the very beginning, Kendall has tried to prove that he has his dad’s killer instinct. Unfortunately, things haven’t really worked out well for the poor guy. Relapses into his drug addiction. A divorce. Multiple failed attempts to take over the company. Let’s not forget the time he was responsible for a car accident that led to the death of an innocent waiter. And then the time that his father used the accident as blackmail material against him. Oh yeah, there’s also the (possible) suicide attempt in the pool. It’s a lot.
The Roy kids each have their own way of dealing with the trauma of having Logan Roy as their father. Kendall’s response is to try and replace his dad. Whether he’ll succeed or not is still up in the air, but either way, the damage has already been done.
Honorable Mention: Logan Roy (Brian Cox)
“Life’s not knights on horseback. It’s a number on a piece of paper. It’s a fight for a knife in the mud.”
— Logan Roy, “Chiantishire”
Ranking the most messed up characters on Succession is incomplete without mention of Logan. He is the root of all dysfunction on the show, the crowned emperor pitting his children in a gladiator-style battle for succession.
It was poetic justice when Logan died an off-screen death alone in an airplane bathroom. He died estranged from three of his four kids while skipping the wedding of his one child that stood by him. Before his body even got cold, the people around him immediately started scrambling for pieces of his empire. He did so much, inspired so much fear and awe, made so much money, and gained so much power — but in the end, he left in the most unceremonious manner.
