"Heirs" Season 4, Episode 3: Almost no longer do you make television as hypnotizing, addictive and sensitive as this one - voila! culture

Promo "Heirs" season 4 episode 3 (HBO)

Column Chapter 4.01 |

Chapter 4.02

Attention, the article reveals major events that take place in the third episode of the fourth season of "Heirs".

It is recommended to watch the episode before reading.

There is something false about the grand promise of a photographic medium, such as television or cinema, to "photograph life".

Document human behavior in an authentic and true to reality manner.

The point is that the stimulus threshold of us, the viewers, is at odds with this idea.

We no longer get a record of a moment in life, it has to be dramatic, epic, larger than life.

Something that will justify our time.

And so, ironically, life on the screen, including in the highest quality dramas, deviates time and time again to the melodramatic and exaggerated.

We are presented with pieces of life, or death, that do not really represent our experiences.

Sometimes it takes seminal episodes like the third in the fourth season of "Heirs" to remind us how much the experience of life is stronger than any scripted exaggeration.

The courage and genius of "Heirs" is in its willingness to face the greatest moment in its history, while clinging with all its strength to the truth of life.

In other hands, Logan's end would have tried to transcend the mythic figure he is, perhaps even channeling his Shakespearean contexts and connections: murdered by one of his children, perhaps killing them himself, setting his own empire on fire as he burns with it.

But death in the real world is an event that almost always occurs by surprise and usually with a weak response, even if we are prepared for it.

In the very first scene of "Heirs", the disoriented Logan is seen lost in his own house, peeing on the carpet.

And that was before the stroke.

His impending end was there, hovering over the series the whole time.

Everything we learned about Logan foreshadowed that he would not willingly turn the chair over to anyone.

And yet when the end came - it felt like a punch in the gut.

Almost all of us have been there in such moments of a confused phone call like the one that landed on Roy's children.

Reality lands with a blow and clouds the senses, taking out of us our natural reaction to deal with moments of crisis.

It is a very lonely moment, very diminishing against the power of the universe.

The helplessness, the emotional flooding, the unwillingness to accept reality as it is.

If "Heirs" had focused on Logan himself, on the collapse and the hopeless struggle of the medical staff, she would have chosen melodrama.

At the end of the harp.

After all, death is a struggle for those who are still alive.

The decision to film life, literally, and focus on the grief and reactions of Roy's children and those close to him, made this episode so powerful and heartbreaking.

She robbed her heroes of all their privilege, cynicism and detachment, leaving them as broken skeletons of humans.

In a reality where people like Logan Roy are considered gods, where billionaires play the world as puppets on a string, death is the great equalizer.

The last sign of humanity.

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Maybe it's just an exercise?

Brian Cox, "Heirs" (Photo: screenshot, HBO)

If we could ask Logan Roy how he would like to go, the scenario set for him was probably the one he would have chosen: the great winner on his way to the deal of his life in his private plane, getting rid of the last enemies on the stairs and with an exciting new project in the form of the new and militant ATN waiting for him over the horizon.

This event takes place just hours after the family confrontation at karaoke the night before.

In fact, Logan's last words to his children were: "I love you, but you are not serious people."

This is the legacy he left to them as they face his passing.

The shards they became were largely a product of Logan's fatherhood and business style, but he hoped one of them would be tough enough to withstand it.

Just like him, with the scars on his back, there will be the son or daughter who will be strong enough to cope.

And as difficult as the gospel is for the children, it is no less difficult for him.

It is a very lonely, cold and alienating death.

Logan collapses in the services of a luxury jet, surrounded by people who enjoyed sheltering in his shadow but never loved him.

Shortly before the dramatic events, Logan is at his peak.

He informs Roman that he won't be attending Connor's wedding, but he bought him "something Napoleonic".

Letters of the French commander and emperor to Josephine de Boerna: a destitute divorcee and mother of two sons, six years younger than him, and who saw in his relationship a real chance to change the course of her life.

The letters were sent to Josephine from the battlefields led by Napoleon for the conquest of Italy.

All the while, whoever thought of his lover, took advantage of his absence to sleep with younger and handsomer officers than him, and her new position to integrate into the top of the aristocracy in Paris.

Only 13 years after their marriage, Napoleon abandoned her because she failed to produce an heir for him, although he confessed his love for her even after that.

It's a tiny gloss, but so characteristic of the almost brutal precision and efficiency of "Heirs".

A kind of small gift from the screenwriters (and maybe also a cruel sting from Logan) in the spirit of the series to Willa and Connor, for all the baggage that characterizes their relationship.

"Heirs" was built around the larger than life character of Logan, he was the sun around which all the other stars revolved.

She got us so used to his superiority over everyone else that the very choice to kill him off camera created question marks.

Maybe it's all just a trick after all, maybe it's just Logan's sick instinct to see his weak children falling apart, begging for his love and survival, proving how much they need him to confirm their own existence.

Only 21:50 minutes later, we see the first close-up that proves to us that the man undergoing CPR on the floor of the plane is really the Almighty Patriarch.

The episode's director, Mark Mailod, testified that he cringed from that particular whip.

Even in a series that lives its characters so much, constantly wandering after their eyes and trying to penetrate their souls, it was a chilling but necessary moment.

Proof that Logan is mortal, despite all the evidence to the contrary we've received so far.

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Their words of love came too late.

"Heirs" season 4 episode 3 (photo: HBO)

Weddings are where the big "Heirs" dramas happen.

Yes, like in that series.

In the first season it was Shiv's wedding where the grumpy, drugged and drunk Kendall led an innocent waiter to his death.

In the third season, it was Caroline's wedding that was the background to Tom and Greg's "slave rebellion" that thwarted the Roy children's takeover plan, and this season it is Connor's wedding that is overshadowed by Logan's death.

Beyond the scripted logic and visual aesthetics of such events, there is another small message hidden here from the creator Jesse Armstrong, who wrote this episode, and his screenwriters.

Like the legend of invincible billionaire gods, weddings are also a kind of fairy tales about happy endings, happiness and wealth.

Life itself does not align with this utopian vision.

"Heirs" makes sure time and time again to ensure that its heroes do not feel safe, even when everything around them sparkles.

The decision to place Tom as the mediator of the event on the plane for Roy's children and for us, is another small flash of genius.

Beneath the great cynicism and opportunism there is an extraordinary coolness that has apparently always been hidden in Tom and just waiting to erupt when Logan or Shiv are not there to abuse him.

His first phone call is to Shiv, who screens him and thus apparently loses the chance to talk to her father while he was still alive.

He then stands up to her barrage of bites and dismisses her by saying "she had a hard day", and at the end of the day she takes comfort in his arms after the statement to the media and calls him to accompany her in her car on the way home.

We will return to the delicate situation Tom is in, but it is clear that his attitude towards Shiv is authentic, even if he needs her as much as she needs him.

Roy's children are divided almost equally in the model of the stages of grief upon receiving the good news.

Roman is in denial and looks for reasons to believe at all costs ("His heart stopped, but that doesn't mean he's medically dead"; "We don't know for sure he's gone"; "What if it's all just a trick?").

This is also why he is the only one of the children who insists on going and seeing the body come off the plane's press, to get the certainty that the suffering will be relieved.

Kendall is in the bargain.

He looks for those responsible, demands answers that no one can give him, insists on talking to the pilot (as if there is anything he can do in such a situation).

He dictates to Jess an imaginary conference call with his doctor, his doctor Logan (Dr. Judith Hamzoin), the best cardiologist in the world and the best in-flight medicine specialist in the world (not really a profession), and asks to hold it in two minutes. Even on The estrangement from Logan has a disagreement with Frank: "We weren't estranged, we had a family event yesterday." Yes,

Shiv is in the depression stage.

She is the closest of the three to acceptance, but still struggles within the burden of her emotions: regret, confusion and anger, probably also helplessness for the future.

In a chilling moment of clarity she admits: "I think I was hoping it would be Mom."

Of all of them, Connor goes through the process the fastest and reaches completion.

"God, he didn't even like me," he blurts out in a moment of honesty, then leaves the room and finally decides to complete the journey and get married anyway.

After all, he is "a cactus that lives on rocks and feeds on insects that die inside", he is the son who survived Logan and also did the Logan act: he got his way despite everything.

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in full control.

"Heirs" season 4 episode 3 (photo: HBO)

Speaking of logical acts, Wistar's cold and matter-of-fact side is on the plane, a few meters away from the failed resuscitation attempts.

Carl suggests a drink in his memory, Carolina compiles a list of contacts and a timeline for a press release.

They appoint Hugo as contact person with the children and quickly get rid of the shock cases.

At the same time, Jerry also recognizes an opportunity to cancel the dismissal notice she received.

While the children pathetically deal with the defective range of emotions that causes them to shy away from contact, and Roman not being able to say "I love you" even when he really wants to, the real business people understand the opportunity that falls into their hands, just before a fateful board meeting.

Kendall is the one who comes to his senses first and understands the significance of allowing the arena to shrewd advisors.

"Everything we say and do today will go into memory books," he tells Shiv and Roman, "it will go into the congressional archives, it will be in the board meetings and files of the Securities and Exchange Commission... What we do today will always be what we did the day our father died.

Suddenly Kendall is the one Shiv and Roman look up to, accepting his wisdom and leadership.

But Kendall's big dream has always been to lead Wistar.

The move to buy PGM was part of the never-ending war at Logan, but now suddenly the barrier that stood in his way all his life is no longer there.

Already in his reassuring words to Shiv, a fraction of this sentiment can be discerned.

Yes, of course he is committed to the buyout deal, but let's see what happens.

In the previous episode, we saw what he thought about the broadcast schedule of the news network.

This is not where he feels comfortable.

At the top of PGM there was room for all Roy's children, apparently.

Not sure that will be the case if the target is Wistar again.

At the same time, Tom, who has been in complete control all this time as Shiv, Kendall and Roman unravel from the second past of the phone, finds a refreshing moment.

The understanding of the consequences of the event that made him bald from all sides, lands on him.

His big gamble failed.

Logan is gone and with him his guaranteed place at the table and the protection against Shiv's moves.

"He passed away and you were lucky," he says to Greg, "I lost my shield."

This is the illusion that Logan has always fostered among his casual associates, the feeling that someone cares about them despite everything they know about him.

But Tom is no longer the easy target for Shiv's control games.

He proved that he was able to surpass her, but equally not to despise her.

Not using her weakness against her, as she would have done in his situation.

If the dynamic between them balances out, Logan's death might not be as big of a deal as it seems right now.

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A fun game for all children.

"Heirs" season 4 episode 3 (photo: HBO)

This was an episode with a rocking collection of acting performances that very few series can boast.

Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin were breathtaking in the way they reacted to the happenings around them, to the point where small, fine performances by the other cast members alongside them were almost common.

Some of the scenes were filmed in a continuous 28-minute take, designed to bring out of each of them real-time reactions that are usually reserved for the theater.

All the power of "Heirs" coalesced around these performances, with the frenzied shooting style that increased the drama and pain, with the precise editing that presents so many points of view in a short time.

It was mesmerizing, addictive and sensitive television that seems to be diminishing as time goes on.

Still, and even though he appeared in only two scenes in this episode, parting with Brian Cox is particularly painful.

Logan Roy is one of the biggest characters on modern television, at the top of the list with the names you probably think of right now.

Everything that characterizes this character, from writing to clothing, helped her become the formidable villain she is.

And after all that, it's hard to think of anyone other than Cox who could have made her so memorable, with the squinting looks, the deep voice and the sense that he physically towers over everyone who stands in front of him.

Logan was a daunting, larger-than-life, admirable figure.

In an interview with the official podcast of the series, Cox told how he urged Armstrong to give Logan a Scottish background to suit his character.

Armstrong insisted until the ninth episode of the first season that Logan was American, until he informed Cox that he had granted his request.

And as a true Scotsman himself, tough and unapologetic, Cox breathed into Logan the same fire of the immigrant determined to fight, for whom every day is a new war of existence.

Beneath this brutal and uncompromising mantle, beneath the criminal mind, a thin but deliberate layer of emotion has formed.

A layer that came out sparingly, but every time it happened it painted Logan in new colors, emphasized in him compassion and love for those around him, prevented him from becoming a one-dimensional evil that is easy to hate and forget.

presented a logic to his actions, as cruel as they were.

For making us secretly admire a terrible man and for an unforgettable display of play, there is nothing left but to say goodbye in the only possible way: Puck off Logan.

A new episode of "Heirs" is broadcast every Monday next to the United States, Bis Hot and Cellcom TV.

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