Succession fans believe a key part of the show’s finale lies within a scene from the latest episode.
The show’s penultimate episode, titled Church and State, aired on Sunday (May 21), and saw the Roy siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Connor (Alan Ruck) navigate the funeral of their father Logan Roy (Brian Cox).
- READ MORE: Succession season four, episode one recap: deals, drama and divorce
While at the funeral, the siblings attempted to win over newly elected US president Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk), who has the final say on Waystar Royco’s future and their proposed deal with tech start-up Gojo, owned by Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).
After Mencken previously hinted to Roman that he would scrap the deal, allowing Roman and Kendall to maintain control of Waystar, the president suggested that he was reconsidering his options following the funeral.
Seeing an opening, Shiv, who is in cahoots with Matsson, pitched to Mencken the idea of pushing through the deal and appointing a US CEO – with Shiv positioning herself as the prime candidate to take the job.
Towards the end of the episode, Matsson called Shiv from the backseat of his car, where he said Mencken had approved the idea, adding: “And I think I can make a US CEO work.”
Matsson is looking directly into Greg’s sexy eyes when he says this to Shiv, isn’t he? pic.twitter.com/c6FbiLBoG2
— John Dioso 🫡 (@johnnydioso) May 23, 2023
Along with his wording – which doesn’t refer to Shiv specifically taking the role – viewers noticed that Matsson’s eyes appeared to be looking at a character off-screen.
This has led to speculation over who the potential candidate could be, with some believing Greg (Nicholas Braun) or someone outside the family could end up running Waystar.
You can check out more fan reactions below.
Lukas said, “I think I can make a US CEO work”, not that he can make Shiv the CEO. Considering he also wants absolute control, he will go with TOM.
— Essilfie, MD (@iam_essilfie) May 22, 2023
Lukas Matsson saying “I think I can make a US CEO work” not that he can make Shiv the CEO was key imo. I can’t see Mencken ever agreeing to Shiv as CEO even though sheʼs willing to be accommodating. #Succession
— Junior Maruwa (@juniormaruwa) May 22, 2023
#succession shiv roy keeps flopping bc she’s too blind to see above her entitlement. like why are you celebrating matsson’s “i think i can make a US CEO work” what part of that explicitly says siobhan roy as CEO ??? GIRL WAKE UP
— yaine (@bitnaneun948) May 22, 2023
According to Entertainment Weekly, the final episode, titled With Open Eyes, will have a runtime of “around 90 minutes”.
The Succession finale airs this Sunday (May 28) on HBO in the US at 9pm EST. In the UK, the episode will premiere on Monday, May 29 at 2am BST on Sky Atlantic.
