Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from Season 4 Episode 1 of Succession.HBO’s hit satirical dramedySuccessionis finally back for its fourth and final season, with its premiere episode “The Munsters” reminding us just how much contempt the Roy family (and their entourage) have for us normies. The Roy siblings have never had to imagine a life without wealth, and their attitudes are so pervasive that those in their inner circle treat people the same way, which in this episode is expertly demonstrated through a strategically chosen Burberry tote.
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The Roys Have Never Cared About Regular People
Though it’s a focal point of the first episode of Season 4, the Roys have never been shy about their disdain for regular people. As we are first introduced to the Roy family in the pilot episode, we see Roman (Kieran Culkin) toy with the lives of a poor family. During the Roy family softball game, he spots a child nearby with his parents and offers him a million dollars to hit a home run, writing him a check then and there. When the boy fails to do so, Roman cruelly rips up the check right in front of him, incredibly amused by the whole encounter. What would have been a life-changing amount of money for this boy and his family is chump change to the Roys, used with abandon to manipulate others for their own entertainment.
Inthe final episode of Season 1, when an already intoxicated Kendall (Jeremy Strong) leaves Shiv’s (Sarah Snook) wedding with a young waiter in search of drugs, he swerves off the road landing the car in a lake instead. Though Kendall escapes unharmed, he is unable to save the waiter. Kendall is plagued by guilt for the rest of the first and second seasons, but Logan (Brian Cox) quickly sweeps the incident under the rug. When Kendall finally tells his siblings that he killed someone inthe Season 3 finale, Roman quickly downplays his involvement and comforts him the only way he knows how: by making inappropriate jokes (“Who hasn’t clipped the odd kid with a Porsche, am I right?").
The Most Horrific Examples of the Roys' Disregard for Human Life
This brings us to one of the most despicable examples of the Roys' (and Waystar as a company) general disregard for human life. When secret documents are unearthed confirming a large-scale coverup of crimes committed on the company’s cruise line including sexual assault and possibly murder, a whistleblower reveals an acronym used frequently when referring to such incidents: NRPI or “No Real Person Involved.” This horrific term is used to refer to an incident involving a sex worker or migrant worker rather than a guest or permanent member of staff. Logan later uses this term when offering to cover up the death of the waiter on the night of Shiv’s wedding.
Another example of the Roys' flagrant disregard for the lives of regular people takes place during the Congressional hearings on the cruise’s coverupin Season 2, when Shiv meets with one of the victims to convince her not to testify. She doesn’t try to intimidate her but reminds her of the inadvertent negative consequences of telling her story to the world. She’ll be slut-shamed, called a liar, have her past scrutinized, and will only be known as a victim for the rest of her life. It almost comes across as a genuine attempt at solidarity because historically, all these things are true for women who come forward about sexual abuse, but even Shiv admits that she’ll always have her own best interests at heart. This conversation works, and the woman does not testify, but to the Roys, she was yet another roadblock in their attempts to spare the company from further public scrutiny and possible criminal charges.
The Burberry Tote Debacle in Season 4, Episode 1 of ‘Succession’
Episode 1 of Season 4 reminds us of the Roys' disdain for regular people, especially those who try to fit in with them, by poking fun at Greg’s (Nicholas Braun) date to Logan’s birthday party. Logan’s assistant Kerry (Zoe Winters) immediately grills Greg about his plus-one Bridget (Francesca Root-Dodson), baffled by his decision to bring an outsider into their midst while the company is on the verge of a huge deal with PGN (she could be a hostile corporate asset after all). But it’s Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) who immediately zeroes in on Bridget as an outsider trying and marvelously failing to fit in, tearing her to shreds in a side conversation with Greg. He quickly recognizes all her ineptitudes — using the display towels in the bathroom, asking people personal questions, posting on social media, eating too many canapés — the most egregious of which being her choice of purse,a “ludicrously capacious” Burberry tote.
Said Burberry purse is not a cheap accessory by any means ($2,890to be exact), but having followed the Roys and their entourage for three seasons, it’s rare to see any garish fashion choices or visible luxury branding. This is not to say their clothing isn’t expensive — there’san entire Instagram accountdedicated to identifying various pieces from each episode, including, most recently, a knit tank top worn by Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) originally priced at $990. An ensemble worn by the Roys in any given episode could very well add up to tens of thousands of dollars without a visible logo or indication of its steep price point in sight. The Roy siblings inherited their money from their father and grew up accustomed to the height of luxury, while Tom, Willa (Justine Lupe), and Greg were brought into it later in life, forced to adapt in order to maintain a spot in their circle. Though Tom and Willa have spent enough time around the Roys and have learned to conform to the style choices of billionaires, Greg bringing Bridget as his date shows he’s still not all the way there yet, while poor Bridget is completely out of her depth.
Its comically large size isn’t the only problem with Bridget’s purse. The classic checked pattern makes it easily identifiable and thus outrageously tacky in the eyes of New York’s elite, and anyone accustomed to the understated fashion choices of the old money crowd would raise their eyebrows at the sight of a Burberry at a birthday party fortheLogan Roy. All of this is made astronomically worse when Bridget reveals that she asked Logan for a selfie, making it clear that she is not a suitable match for Greg if he wants to continue to fit in with high society.
According to author and journalist Bolu Babalola,Succession’s showrunnerJesse Armstrongrevealed at the Season 4 premiere that theyinterviewed a wealthy New York womanon the matter, asking her what would be the tackiest, offensive bag a woman could bring to an event like Logan’s birthday in an attempt to fit in. They settled on the bulky Burberry bag that immediately identified Bridget as an outsider who brought her most expensive accessory in an attempt to blend in, accomplishing exactly the opposite. As Tom eloquently puts it, “It’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job.”
New episodes ofSuccessionSeason 4 premiere every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
