Hunting

"**Hunting**" is the third episode of the second season of *Succession* and thirteenth of the series overall. It premiered on August 25, 2019 on HBO. It was written by Tony Roche and directed by Andrij Parekh.

## Premise

Logan informs his skeptical management team of his plan to make another attempt to acquire Pierce, a rival media company and one of the most respected names in news, and brings back Frank to work on the deal. Convinced the acquisition is a terrible idea, Shiv asks Tom to deliver the message to Logan at a corporate retreat in Hungary.

## Plot synopsis

Greg meets with book editor Michelle Pantsil, who wishes to gain information on his uncle Logan Roy, but he quickly becomes scared and leaves.

Logan's doctor sees him in his office, and reminds him to not overexert himself. Logan then leaves for a board meeting, where he informs the board that he wishes to acquire media-giant PGM. Everyone agrees but once Logan leaves the room, discuses their concerns about the deal. Roman insists that Logan only wants to acquire PGM to upset his brother Ewan, as well as because they own The New York Mail who once spoke negatively of the company. Logan also decides to rehire Frank Vernon, as he is personally close with the head of PGM, Nan Pierce. The Roy family and Waystar's executives are preparing for their annual company retreat, which this year will take place in Hungary.

Later, Roman reviews Connor's presidential campaign video with Tabitha. In the video, Connor states that he plans to rid of taxes within 10 years and doesn't intend to pay his in the meantime. Roman also asks his girlfriend if she can get him in contact with Naomi Pierce, considering that they're friends and previously had a sexual encounter. Meanwhile, Logan tasks Shiv with talking to her brother about his anti-tax campaign, which could jeopardize several of Logan's important connections.

Greg once again supplies Kendall with cocaine. Shiv reveals to Tom that she had been on the phone with Gerri during the board meeting and is aware of the deal with PGM. She believes that it's a bad idea, and asks that Tom talk to Logan while in Hungary and attempt to change his mind. While on their flight to Hungary, Karolina informs Logan that Michelle Pantsil has a source from his inner circle. Logan first accuses Kendall, who quickly denies it. He then demands Sam investigate.

Shiv attempts to talk her brother out of having his no-tax message as the base for his campaign. Willa heads out for drinks with her cast members, and Shiv invites herself along. At the bar, Shiv is introduced to a handsome man who is cast in Willa's play, and decides to bring him back to her place. Connor, against his family's wishes, proceeds with his no-tax message. Meanwhile, in Hungary, Greg informs Tom that he did in fact speak with Michelle Pantsil and begs Tom to keep this secret. Tom berates Greg for his ignorance, and reminds him to be wary of Sam. Kendall and Roman also discuss the book agreement. Kendall confides that he got a call from Pantsil as well. Roman then suspiciously excuses himself to take a call, leaving the others confused.

Everyone is stood on high towers with their rifles, ready to shoot wild boars that will be released. Eventually, a pig is shot and the hunters take their photo with it before it is served for dinner. Before dinner, Gerri and Karl approach Tom and also suggest that he attempt to change Logan's mind about PGM. Meanwhile, Logan is informed that someone informed the Pierce family of his plans. Tom instead reveals to Logan that several of his executives oppose of the deal, further angering him.

Logan invites everyone to dinner and locks them in. He confronts his staff members, demanding to know who had been in contact with Pantsil and the Pierce family. He first insults Frank, then asks Karl if his wife knows of all his visits to the whorehouse. Logan proposes that they a play a game called "boar on the floor", and has Karl, followed by Tom and Greg, stand in the front of the room. They're then instructed to get on their hands and knees and fight over sausage, the loser being considered the mole. While doing so, Logan berates and shouts at them, and has everyone else join in. Meanwhile, Kendall discovers that it was Roman who had been in contact with Naomi Pierce. Roman claims that he was just trying to help his father, but Logan is furious and berates him. Logan then asks the room who backs him on the PGM deal and Kendall sees that Logan is alone, yet he plans to go ahead with it anyways.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone is seemingly still shaken up. Cyd takes the opportunity to take a jab at Tom. Karolina updates Logan that Moe had spoke to Michelle Pantsil, prior to passing away just the night before. Logan considers the issue resolved, relieving Greg. That night, Logan informs Shiv that it's finally her time to be welcomed into the company, and will shadow him tomorrow. Gerri convinces Roman to take the 6-week management course, believing it will impress his father. Before arriving back home, Frank informs Logan that Pierce's CEO, Rhea Jarrell, emailed him and is interested in meeting.

## Cast

* Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch
* Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy
* Dagmara Dominczyk as Karolina Novotney
* Peter Friedman as Frank Vernon
* Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini (credit only)
* Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans
* Alan Ruck as Connor Roy
* J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman
* Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy
* Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy
* Rob Yang as Lawrence Yee (credit only)
* Danny Huston as Jamie Laird
* Jessica Hecht as Michelle Pantsil
* Justine Lupe as Willa Ferreyra
* Caitlin FitzGerald as Tabitha
* David Rasche as Karl
* Scott Nicholson as Colin
* Patch Darragh as Ray
* Juliana Canfield as Jess Jordan

Guest* Saamer Usmani as Chris
* John Rue as Dr. Judith

## Trivia

* Scenes at the Roys' hunting lodge in Hungary were filmed at the Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York.
* Jesse Armstrong was partially inspired by Joseph Stalin's dinner parties, which were also based in Hungary, for the location of the Roy's retreat. At the parties, Stalin was said to frequently play cruel jokes on his close associates.
* For the sadistic game of "Boar on the Floor", Armstrong named Sumner Redstone, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Rupert Murdoch, who also famously used extreme methods of handling interpersonal conflict, as inspirations. Parekh drew inspiration from the Stanford prison experiment, an example of how people settle into habits, causing them to do things they wouldn't normally do. Parekh noted that certain parts of the scene, such as the actors crawling on their hands and knees, were not originally in the script. He did, however, attempt to minimize the discomfort of the actors when filming the "awful" and "gruesome" scene.
* The episode was nominated at the Primetime Emmy Awards for its direction.
* Brian Cox submitted the episode to support his nomination at the Primetime Emmy Awards.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Succession Ep 3: Hunting | Official Website for the HBO Series | HBO.com
2. ↑ Shows A-Z - succession on hbo | TheFutonCritic.com
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Succession*: Season 2, Episode 3: "**Hunting**"
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
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Succession’s Creators Break Down Last Night’s Hog Wild Episode | GQ
7. ↑ Vodka Shots with Stalin: On the Dinner That Changed the War ‹ Literary Hub (lithub.com)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 2020 Emmy Nominations: Nominees For 72nd Annual Awards – Deadline