Succession - Logan Roy’s Toxic Parenting Explained (Season 3)

It's also interesting to note that in the episode with the family therapy (1x07 - Austerlitz), one of the Roy siblings comments about how Logan can't swim or never swims because he can't even trust the water. But at the end, we see him clearly able to swim and we see his back scars as the creator included in the video. He doesn't swim around his children because he doesn't want them to see his scars and question them. Perhaps there's some shame there too, but it's so revealing that he doesn't want his children to see him at his most vulnerable.

I think at the end of the day Logan's true child is his company.

This character couldn’t work without someone like Brian Cox bringing him to life. Because the kids’ failures and weaknesses are more readily apparent, I think Logan is the character who most easily could have become cartoonishly evil. His vulnerabilities are more nuanced, seen in his moments of illness. I think Cox brings those subtle notes of insecurity as well as incredible charisma that makes it plausible that he could be both hated and loved. In society at large, when viewing victims of abuse, the most common question is “why do you put up with it? Why do you stay?” I think the excellent writing team does a great job of depicting the complexity of being in any kind of relationship with an abuser…and the cycle of abuse that spans generations.

Please do an analysis of Gerri. She is popular but for some reason her character gets overshadowed among fan favourites. She knows how to play the game really well and stay on Logan's good side. An analysis on her would be very interesting. Don't think anyone has done it till now

My personal answer to the question “Does Logan love his kids?” is that he does love them but only as long as they remain extensions of himself. As soon as any of them try existing independent of him he lashes out and puts them back in their place. Kendall tries to run the business? He’s tricked into signing it away. Shiv tries supporting a political candidate he doesn’t agree with? He makes her feel as alienated as possible. The reason he despises them for not being killers and growing up in luxury is because of his ego, he can’t stomach that his children’s faults are due to his own failure as a father so he instead chooses to attack their individual character.

This is exactly why when people dismiss the show is being about a bunch of deplorable rich people they miss out on one of the show's theme about evaluating familial trauma

“Everything I’ve done, was for my family” (c) Walter White

It seems like the one person Logan loved was his little sister Rose, who died at a young age. While it's not stated exactly what happened, we can infer from a scene with Ewan that Logan felt responsible in some way. I wonder if this at all contributed to how Logan views family. As if to prove to himself his own responsibility, Logan takes it upon himself to harm everything around him to confirm his own culpability. But he also has an intense need to control everything in the world like a God.

He both wants his children to fight him but doesn’t want to lose. I think he likes the competition more than the idea of them actually beating him. It really all is just a game for him

I think it would be so cool if they did a prequel to this show in the 80s so we could see the 4 kids and how they were raised but also to see how Logan builds waystar and all the dirty things he did to succeed. “You have to be a killer” I wanna see that first kill or whoever taught it to him.

Bro i love your breakdowns of "Succession", they are genueily so enjoyable and so great

I still think Logan's reaction to Kendall stabbing him in the back publicly is wonderful. Is there any other time he smiles? Also, the abuse and gaslighting by Logan is wonderful portrayal of an abusive father. Claiming he doesn't even know if he hit his son after punching him

Wow, insightful. @2:18 "As far as Logan's concerned, power necessitates the ability to endure pain. The scars on his back are a daily reminder of that. And until you've paid the same price he did or possibly even more, you don't deserve it as much as he does." Perfect summary of how parent-to-child abuse works. Just replace the word "power" with a word of your choice (success, happiness, comfort). It's a jealousy, spite, and a with holding just because you yourself suffered. A twisted form of revenge, but taken out on your own kids. As an abuse survivor, this statement struck a chord for me. Fantastic analysis.

Ive never watched anything so triggering in my whole life. Logan reminds me so much of my father and captures very well what it feels like growing up with a narcisssitc parent and the trauma and abuse endured.

In the name of all children with narcissistic parents or with parents with narcissistic tendencies, a big thank you to the creators of this show and everyone involved in it!

I very much enjoyed this analysis. Although, I don't think Logan was being nice or using kid gloves when he "considered" Connor for the presidential pick. He was just making Shiv and Roman (and Greg) be the ones to shoot Connor down. It's just another instance of him using the siblings against each other.

All of this is true. One thing it’s missing is the psychological mechanics of Logan being a malignant narcissist. In every narcissistic family there are roles. This family is no exception. Shiv is the golden child, Kendall is the scapegoat, Roman is the Mascot, and Conner is the lost child. The show does do an excellent job of demonstrating how narcissistic families operate, especially their biological mother as an enabling partner. The analysis is good, but the center of the show resolves around the power dynamics of narcissism.

This analysis floored me. Every sentence was spot-on, every observation perfectly substantiated. Bloody well done :D. After this, I'd be very interested in an essay on each child's relationship with Logan individually.

another great essay that makes the series even greater

I can relate to Logan's toxicity because back in the day my mom was like Logan Roy in some ways one example of what I mean is whenever Logan is wrong, instead of admitting his wrongdoing to his children he just gets envious, angry, shouts insults & belittle them