You’d better start your sequel, Joachim Trier, because there’s a new Worst Person in the World in Norway — and his name is Lukas Matsson.
Succession’s fifth episode of the season, “Kill List,” takes the Roy siblings — and pretty much every other major character — to the icy Scandinavian hills of the GoJo company retreat to try to finally seal Logan’s last deal. And while we’ve encountered the Swede before, Matsson is on a whole new level as he stakes his spot as the newest villain in the Roy family’s lives.
Before we fly to address the business across the ocean, though, we have extremely important business to attend to right here in NYC: Kendall and Roman’s first day as co-CEOs of Waystar Royco. In one of the show’s most delightful callbacks, we see Kendall riding in the back of his limo listening to rap — just as he does in his first ever scene in the show. He’s a little more subdued than he was in Season 1 and he’s rocking his new glamour glasses, but it’s still giving “you’re the man, Mr. Roy” energy.
Unfortunately, this energy doesn’t exactly carry over into his boardroom leadership. He and Roman — the “CE Bros” — seem more than a little unsure of themselves and of their dynamic as co-leads. This discomfort only increases when Matsson surprises the group by requesting the attendance of the entire Waystar Royco leadership team, for what they presume to be a “cultural compatibility check.”
The whole gang boards their private jets — including Greg, who invited himself and is pumped up for Scandinavian women and the chance to get a “bit of Norwegian wood,” which is now the worst joke I’ve ever heard anyone make in my life. On board, things are immediately tense. First of all, Karl and Frank immediately don their compression stockings. It feels a little bit insensitive to call this a sight gag but… I also laughed harder than I did the entire rest of the episode. Meanwhile, Kendall and Roman are poring over documents to prep for Matsson, while Shiv is attempting to turn their attention to the negative press that is mysteriously showing up about Logan. I hate to say it, but Shiv seems constantly out of her depth. Her brothers are by no means business geniuses, but it is clear that they have at least held corporate leadership roles before. At least enough to understand what the current priority should be.
The rest of the team is mulling over the potential that Matsson is likely comparing them to his current team, to see who will make the post-acquisition cut. Hugo is particularly worried about his GoJo counterpart, who was a near Olympic bronze medalist for ski jumping. You know… a transferable business skill. But Gerri is quick to (ski) jump in with a pump up speech: “Sure they’re young and they’re fit, but they’re Europeans.” Tell ’em, mama.
Once the crew lands in Norway, they’re taken via golf cart to their luxury cabins, where Roman immediately takes out a bottle of pills and I am very worried about that! I can’t imagine a type of pill that Logan was taking that is good for Roman to be popping unsupervised.
The setting is gorgeous, but cold — apt for Lukas Matsson’s territory. Because nothing is ever easy, the Waystar Royco team must take an electric gondola up the side of the mountain to reach the GoJo retreat. And because Kendall can never do anything in a non-dramatic way, he finds a clipboard on said gondola and writes “144” to convey his minimum acceptable share price for the company. Instead of just, you know, telling the team that he and Roman won’t accept a bid lower than $144 per share.
In agreement on the number, the team disembarks on the mountaintop to meet their Scandinavian counterparts. Each has their own strategy for throwing off their competition — Hugo, for instance, goes with shadily belittling his rival’s Olympic skiing performance — but none is as effective as Karolina’s. Upon seeing Ebba, GoJo’s Director of Communications, she tells her, “You look well. Very refreshed,” with a look that nearly killed me, and I wasn’t even there! Never mess with Karolina.
It’s quickly time for the main event: Matsson arrives in an anorak with the hood up because he’s cool like that. He takes Kendall and Roman aside to have their official deal talk, and immediately begins a barrage of techniques to throw the brothers off their game. His tactics include: acting surprised that they brought the full team whose presence he specifically requested; showing zero sympathy for their father’s passing; dramatically offering to buy Waystar Royco for $1; and, of course, removing his jacket in a way that flashes his Alexander Skarsgård abs.
Speaking of Alexander Skarsgård… he is truly killing it in this role. He is sickeningly condescending, giving Matsson a demeanor that is unhinged, yet smart enough to make this wildness dangerous. He’s the killer Logan always pushed Kendall to be.
Eventually, Matsson delivers an actual offer: $187 per share, 50/50 cash and stock. The catch? He wants ATN back in the package. He tries to pressure the CE Bros to share their thoughts on the spot, but Roman (who more and more seems better equipped than Kendall for the pressures of the job) buys them some time to talk with the senior team.
Outside, the retreat is… frankly, chaotic. There’s a lamb on a spit. There’s a drone for some reason. And there’s Greg, who’s done some recon work and discovered that Matsson likes to have sex while wearing noise canceling headphones, to which I immediately said out loud, “Oh, DiCaprio style.” And then immediately paused to consider my life and my choices.
Greg does actually have some useful information, though — there’s apparently a “kill list” of Waystar Royco employees who will be fired as part of a GoJo acquisition. He shares with Tom, who immediately goes into self preservation mode and tries, painfully awkwardly, to schmooze Matsson and his colleagues. They, in turn, ask him the absurd question, “Is France gonna make it?” Which… of course they ask that. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Succession business school (and from being on Twitter in the age of Elon Musk) it’s that these kinds of rich business “leaders” operate by obfuscating their lack of depth by posing Big Questions that sound important but actually contain no understanding of how the world works. Is France gonna make it? As opposed to… what? Tom fumbles an answer and Greg tries to cite The Economist, leading the GoJo crew to mock them both in Swedish. I don’t speak Swedish but I recognize “Hapsburg” when I hear it.
Later that night, Kendall and Roman meet as the rest of the crew has a dance party (how they’re not tired out from their daytime visit to the sauna, I don’t know. Also how do I get invited on a corporate retreat?). Earlier, Shiv had made it clear that they should push the deal forward, but Roman had hesitations, as ATN was Logan’s baby. Kendall decides he wants to tank the deal — he claims GoJo isn’t a good fit, but I know part of it is his desire to stay in the CEO seat he’s finally won. Kendall literally gets high on business — it’s in his face as he gets Roman on his side, without Shiv.
But Shiv has her own thing going. After an earlier, weirdly chemistry-filled conversation, she and Matsson are in his office, drinking and doing drugs. Or at least he is, while she looks to be pretending (given, you know, the baby). Matsson is in full manipulator mode. He asks her to compare Ebba and Karolina, to help decide which one he should carry over through the acquisition, seemingly valuing her opinion. He tells her that he likes her, that he thinks she’s cool, and — the kicker — that he can see Logan in her. He also shares another little piece of information. A little casual story. About how he used to be involved with Ebba and when she tried to break it off he sent her a frozen brick of his own blood. Not metaphorically or artistically rendered, just… his blood. In a frozen brick. A totally normal thing that a person would do, right? The fact that Shiv takes that in stride and offers him PR advice for the hypothetical situation of this coming to light in the U.S. media is either Shiv doing anything to get the deal across for her brothers — or her genuinely not being fazed by this if it puts her in a power position. It could go either way. Kendall will tank a lucrative deal to stay in power, Shiv will strategize a defense of sending someone your blood… it’s genetic I guess?
It’s the last morning of the retreat, and time to make a deal.
Kendall is screening what he believes to be a terrible early cut of a movie from the company’s film studio to sour the GoJo group. Outside, Shiv and Tom talk. Or, rather, Shiv tries to scuff Tom’s sneakers and he responds by flicking her ear and saying, “Your earlobes are thick and chewy. Like barnacle meat.” Somehow, this is the most flirting I’ve ever seen these two engage in. Weird flirting, but we must call it what it is, and it’s flirting. Marriage back on?
Meanwhile, Kendall and Roman gondola up the mountain to meet Matsson for a final offer. On the way, Roman is thrown further off kilter by Connor, who has been wrestling Marcia for control over Logan’s final resting outfit. The eldest Roy texts Roman a picture of their dad’s body, against their wishes. It’s in this state of mind that the youngest brother arrives on the mountaintop.
Matsson kicks things off by marveling at the view of the nearby resort — “People are fucking tiny. Not us.” Sound familiar? Matsson really has vaulted over every Roy’s head to be the closest replacement we have to Logan. He then gets down to business — the business of telling off Kendall for his obvious attempts to tank the sale. “Are you Scooby-Doo’ing me,” he asks. “Did you go to the Hanna-Barbera school of business?” He’s so evil, but he’s also so funny.
Not funny to Roman, though. As Matsson goes to take a pee (why is this man always peeing?), Roman has had enough. He confronts the Swede, reminding him of the time he asked when Roman thought Logan would die, and revealing how utterly broken he is in the wake of losing his father. I feel like I say this with a new actor every week but… Kieran Culkin, get your Emmy! Roman tells Matsson he hates him. Matsson threatens to tell the Waystar Royco board about Roman’s outburst as the reason the deal didn’t go through.
But it’s an empty threat in the end — on the plane ride home, Frank gets the call that Matsson’s final offer is $192 per share, with ATN included. The team rejoices, all except for Kendall and Roman. Shiv, after another brief and weird flirtation with Tom, then gets a call from Matsson, who asks her to send him a picture of Kendall and Roman’s faces. Evil! Shiv complies, knowing that she secretly helped push this sale over the line (or at least that’s what Matsson is making her believe to have her on his side).
The joy only lasts so long, because the next item to arrive is the titular Kill List. On it: Ray, Mark, Hugo, Frank, and Karl. Pour one out for my dudes!!! Not on the list: Gerri, Karolina, and Tom. Let’s go girls (and Tom)!
Alliances are being tested, formed, and destroyed by the MINUTE this season, and as the new era of Waystar Royco begins we’re sure to have a lot of drama ahead as the series begins its final stretch.
