Pre-Nuptial

"**Pre-Nuptial**" is the ninth episode of the first season of *Succession* and ninth of the series overall. It premiered on July 29, 2018 on HBO. It was written by Jesse Armstrong and directed by Mark Mylod.

## Premise

The Roys assemble at an English castle to prepare for Shiv and Tom's wedding. The children reunite with their mother Caroline, who is every bit as acerbic as Logan. As guests mingle and clash, Kendall learns from Stewy and Sandy that their plot for a hostile takeover of Waystar has been fast-tracked in order to catch Logan off guard.

## Plot synopsis

At the request of Caroline, the Roy family assembled at the Eastnor Castle in England to prepare for Shiv and Tom's wedding. Logan wishes to hang back but, out of concern for the negative press attention that this would cause, ultimately decides to attend. Meanwhile, Kendall meets with Stewy inside an old English pub to finalize their plan of overthrowing Waystar.

Outside of the wedding venue, the younger Roy children reunite with their mother. Roman has arrived with Tabitha, with whom Tom recently had a sexual encounter. Greg arrives and Caroline, upon realizing who he is, nonchalantly reveals his father used to try to sleep with all the men in Sausalito. Inside, Connor and Willa are speaking to the priest when Willa jokes that Connor "doesn't do anything," insulting him.

During the big party, Shiv speaks with Gil Eavis, who has recently offered her a job position. Roman, alongside Kendall, attempts to sabotage this interaction but fails. Shiv later talks with Tabitha but quickly leaves when she notices Tom speaking to Nate, with whom she's been having an affair. Nate has introduced himself to Tom and informed him that he and Shiv used to "date." Once she interrupts them, Tom pulls Shiv aside and she assures him that Nate is nothing more than an old friend and that he and Kendall were once business partners. She again asks Tom about his cover up of the cruise files and he reluctantly agrees to give her more details.

Kendall runs into his estranged wife Rava and, having just done cocaine in the bathroom, becomes irate at the mention of their divorce and causes her to leave. He then becomes paranoid that Frank and Gerri are gossiping about him. Once they reveal that they're only reminiscing about the castle, Kendall is embarrassed and quickly excuses himself. Greg spots Shiv and Nate outside and, growing suspicious, watches them as Nate touches her back. In the second half of the party, Logan makes his grand entrance by helicopter and has a quick, heated exchange with his daughter and Gil before heading up to bed. Marcia and Shiv are left alone on the staircase and Marcia berates her, as well as implies that she is a "spoiled slut."

Tabitha is getting ready for bed when Roman confesses his feelings for her and even suggests that they get married, to which she playfully declines. Shiv meets with Gerri to share with her the information she has on Tom. Gerri says that she will either have him promoted or moved away from his current position at Waystar to ensure that he isn't hurt by the scandal. Kendall is informed by Stewy and Sandy that the hostile takeover will now take place tomorrow during the wedding. He asks them to reconsider under the guise that they don't have enough time to prepare, though he likely wants to avoid ruining the ceremony. As the night comes to an end, Shiv, Kendall, and Roman meets at the docks for old times' sake. They smoke a bit of marijuana, share a group hug, and soon realize they forgot to invite Connor.

In the morning, Shiv and Tom begin getting ready for their wedding. Greg stops Tom to inform him that he believes Shiv is having an affair, but Tom grows defensive and begins hitting Greg, insisting that this must be a misunderstanding. Shiv gets into the car with her father there to comfort her. Meanwhile, Kendall and Stewy place the final touches on their plan.

### Notes

1. ↑ Connor also tells the priest that in Logan's absence, he will performing the father role during the ceremony.

## Cast

* Hiam Abbass as Marcia Roy
* Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch
* Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy
* Peter Friedman as Frank Vernon
* Natalie Gold as Rava Roy
* Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans
* Alan Ruck as Connor Roy
* Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy
* Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy
* Rob Yang as Lawrence Yee (credit only)
* Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini
* J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman
* Justine Lupe as Willa Ferreyra
* Harriet Walter as Caroline Collingwood
* Larry Pine as Sandy Furness
* Ashley Zukerman as Nate Sofrelli
* Eric Bogosian as Gil Eavis
* Caitlin FitzGerald as Tabitha

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Succession Ep 9: Pre-Nuptial | Official Website for the HBO Series | HBO.com
2. ↑ Shows A-Z - succession on hbo | TheFutonCritic.com
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Succession*: Season 1, Episode 9: "**Pre-Nuptial**"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Succession | Official Website for the HBO Series | HBO.com
5. ↑ Shows A-Z - succession on hbo | TheFutonCritic.com