\n<\/p>\n
The first moments of Succession\u2019s<\/em> new episode, \u201cKill List,\u201d feel familiar for good reason. The episode opens with Kendall (Jeremy Strong<\/strong>) in the back of a chauffeured car pumping himself up with music ahead of walking into the empire his father built, Waystar RoyCo\u2014\u201ca throwback to the pilot,\u201d points out director Andrij Parekh,<\/strong> who was also the cinematographer on Succession\u2019s<\/em> first episode, \u201cCelebration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In that episode, four seasons ago, Kendall\u2019s father Logan (Brian Cox<\/strong>) was still alive; his psych-up track was Beastie Boys\u2019 \u201cAn Open Letter to NYC;\u201d and the words he chose to open his meeting were, \u201cAre we ready to fuck, or what?\u201d This time around, Logan is dead<\/a>, and Kendall and his brother Roman (Kieran Culkin<\/strong>) have recently been given the Waystar reins. So, Kendall\u2019s psych-up track is, aptly, Jay Z\u2019s<\/strong> \u201cThe Takeover.\u201d His opening words to staff are similarly jarring: \u201cAll right, look at you fucking chumps.\u201d<\/p>\n Kendall has experienced a lot since the Succession<\/em> pilot\u2014most notably, his Chappaquiddicking of a cater-waiter, his near drowning, countless humiliations by his father, and, now, his father\u2019s death. But the opening sequence of \u201cKill List\u201d and the ego high that Kendall rides most of the episode make you wonder whether the entitled Roy heir has matured in four seasons. \u201cI don\u2019t know that he\u2019s changed,\u201d Parekh laughs. \u201cI think he still wants the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the brothers have been elected equals by the Waystar board, they approach their new roles differently\u2014Kendall jamming out to Jay Z and peacocking in front of his subordinates, while \u201cwe find Roman in the office almost business as usual, avoiding mourning,\u201d and curled up in a corner, Parekh says.<\/p>\n