What was it like directing Sarah Snook during Shiv’s moment of realization that she can’t have it be Kendall? And why can’t she?
One of the things I love most about “Succession” is that what seems in the moment shocking and surprising is screamingly inevitable if you step back and perhaps watch the show a second time. That’s the case with Logan and Tom’s interaction at the end of Season 3, or Kendall’s press conference at the end of Season 2. As soon as I watch it a second time or consider it more — how the heck could Shiv ever really vote for her brother? You can track all four seasons, of course, but you can also track her through just this episode. Once Shiv learns about Matsson’s betrayal, she pivots incredibly quickly by necessity. It’s a survival mechanism. At that point, “What’s my least worst option?” Bam! There’s my new alliance with my siblings. And there’s an elation that comes with that, walking away from the responsibility of ambition.
But of course, that’s an illusion. Once they get back to New York, and the closer it comes to that moment where she has to raise her hand, Sarah knows instinctively to feel those layers — shedding those defenses those delusions. When they’re in Logan’s office, she sees how Stewy and Kendall are a couple of cronies together, and she sees how sidelined she could be by that relationship. When Kendall puts his feet up on Logan’s desk, there’s that visceral appalled reaction we see from Sarah. As she walks down the hallway into the boardroom, in the moment we might interpret it as determination and focus. But on a second view, we might see it as doubt. As Kendall struts around the board meeting as if he owns the place, we cut to Shiv to see the erosion of that lie she is telling herself. By the time she actually has to raise her hand, it’s as impossible as it is for Roman in Season 1.
