Return (Succession)

"Return" is the seventh episode of the second season of the HBO comedy-drama television series Succession, and the 17th overall. It was written by Jonathan Glatzer and directed by Becky Martin, and aired on September 22, 2019.

"Return"
Succession episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 7
Directed byBecky Martin
Written byJonathan Glatzer
Original air dateSeptember 22, 2019
Running time64 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

"Return" depicts the Roy family members in London, where Kendall, Roman, and Siobhan are instructed to convince their mother to side with Logan in Waystar's proxy fight. Tom grapples with the aftermath of the Brightstar Cruises exposé. Meanwhile, Logan's relationship with Rhea deepens.

Plot

Logan throws a party at his apartment to maintain healthy relations with his wider circle amidst the Brightstar Cruises sexual misconduct scandal. Frank and Gerri call Logan, Kendall and Roman upstairs to discuss strategies to keep Waystar's shareholders on their side amid both the looming cruises scandal and Sandy and Stewy's takeover bid. They decide to fly to London to meet overseas shareholders, including Logan's second wife Caroline, who owns 3% of the company's shares. Roman informs Shiv that she has been sidelined from the discussion.

The next day at work, Tom is interviewed in an internal investigation regarding the cruises incidents, and is surprised to receive pointed and hard-hitting questions, contrary to what he was led to believe. Shiv assures Tom that his job is safe and decides to fly to London to confront her father. Tom, meanwhile, confronts Greg, who had kept copies of the documents pertaining to the scandal, and demands they be destroyed. However, while burning the copies that night, Greg discreetly recovers some of the pages.

In London, Kendall and Roman are surprised to see that Logan has invited Rhea along to aid their efforts on account of her strategic mind and business savvy. Logan and Rhea later spend the night together. Kendall continues his relationship with Naomi Pierce. Stewy and Sandy have begun running smears on Logan invoking the death of Andrew Dodds, suggesting that it was a suicide triggered by Logan's mistreatment of his staff. Logan asks Kendall, still reeling from the accident, to join him in meeting Dodds' family, and has Roman talk to his mother.

Shiv arrives in London and has lunch with Rhea, who offers her own former position as CEO of PGM to Shiv. Shiv senses that this is a ploy concocted by Logan. Meanwhile, Kendall and Logan visit Dodds' family; Kendall is visibly shaken, but Logan tells him the family attributes Andrew's death to his drug problems and don't blame the Roys. Later that night, Kendall secretly delivers cash to the family's mailbox.

Shiv and Roman visit their mother and tell her the acceptable range of money Logan is apparently willing to offer to buy her loyalty to the company. Caroline sees through the ruse and demands either the family's summer home in the Hamptons, or a simple $20 million on the condition that she sees her children every Christmas, allowing Logan to ultimately choose. Kendall arrives that night and attempts to open up about his guilt over Andrew's death, but Caroline asks to discuss the matter the following morning. However, Kendall wakes up to find that Caroline has already left the house.

Shiv confronts Logan over her position at the company. Logan accuses her of conspiring against him, confirming that he orchestrated the meeting with Rhea. The others fly back to New York without Shiv. Logan grows increasingly comfortable with Rhea. Shiv calls Kendall to warn him that Rhea is likely dangerous.

Reception

Ratings

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 0.508 million viewers, with an 18-49 rating of 0.13.

Critical reception

"Return" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has a rating of 93% based on 15 reviews, with the critics' consensus stating, "With its sharp writing and strong performances across the board, "Return" keenly shows how Logan Roy and Lady Caroline manipulated and warped their adult children for personal gain."[1]

Randall Colburn of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A and called it one of the series' best episodes, praising Jeremy Strong's "astounding" physical performance in the scenes where he visits Dodds' family, as well as the dynamic between Kendall and Roman.[2] The episode received five stars from Scott Tobias of Vulture, who also praised the direction of the scenes at the Dodds home, as well as Holly Hunter's performance as a "diabolical" character.[3] Noel Murray, writing for The New York Times, noted Nicholas Braun's performance as some of his "best physical and verbal comedy this week."[4]

Accolades

Harriet Walter received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance in the episode.

References
  1. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/succession/s02/e07
  2. Colburn, Randall. "Family is a four-letter word in one of Succession's best episodes yet". TV Club. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  3. Tobias, Scott (September 22, 2019). "Succession Recap: Parent Trap". Vulture.
  4. Murray, Noel (2019-09-22). "'Succession' Season 2, Episode 7: London Calling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-30.


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