Succession Featured An Extremely Funny Cameo For Brian Cox's Real-Life Wife
This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Succession."
When Logan Roy's ex-wives and mistresses gathered in the pews of a New York City church to mourn the angry, powerful man they loved, it was a quietly powerful moment in a "Succession" episode full of them. Viewers knew three of the four women who made up the front row of funeral attendees: there was Marcia (Hiam Abbass), Logan's current wife who left on a permanent shopping trip, only to return to assert her dominance in the wake of his death. There was Kerry (Zoe Winters), Logan's assistant-turned-rumored lover who proved herself a terrible news anchor when he was alive and a genuinely emotional person once he died. And then there was Lady Caroline (Harriet Walter), the icy, aristocratic mother of Kendall, Shiv, and Roman.
It was Caroline who made the surprisingly sweet gesture to bring all the women together, and Caroline who introduced the others to the fourth woman, Sally-Anne (Nicole Ansari-Cox). At first, I thought she might be Connor's long-lost mother, a character who the show has never named or confirmed as dead or alive, but whose mental health problems have been mentioned frequently. Caroline quickly clarified, though: "Sally-Anne was my Kerry ... so to speak," she told Marcia, implying that the woman was the mistress Logan ended up entangled with when married to Caroline.
Nicole Ansari-Cox made an appearance in the funeral scene
Hilariously, though, that's not all Sally-Anne is: she's also a clever casting choice, as the character is played by Logan actor Brian Cox's real-life wife, Digital Spy confirms. Ansari-Cox is an actress who has appeared in shows like "Deadwood," "The Blacklist," and the German show "SK Kölsch." In "Succession," though, she takes on a totally new role as yet another woman whose life was in one way or another defined by the former Waystar CEO. Sally-Anne doesn't talk much in the episode — though the women do share a nice moment in which they joke idly about Logan while waiting for the service to start — but she's a testament to the show's ever-ambiguous narrative style.
We only know exactly as much about these characters as the "Succession" writers want to tell us at any given time, which means the series' penultimate episode can realistically introduce a new former love interest without batting an eye. Sally-Anne's name did actually come up once before in the show, though, when Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) talked about when Logan got smitten with her and bought her a harp back in season 2.
Sally-Anne is a testament to the show's knack for ambiguity
Ansari-Cox's eleventh-hour appearance is just one of many ways "Succession" continues to complicate Logan's legacy in its final season. Since his sudden death, his adult children have constantly asked themselves what Logan would do in any given situation, and the answers haven't come easy. Logan's own wishes weren't exactly clear; a document naming Kendall his successor seemed to be either underlined or crossed out, an ironic bit of ambiguity that perfectly aligns with how he felt about his heir apparent when he was alive.
With just one episode to go, "Succession" has a lot to wrap up, from the Gojo deal to Shiv's pregnancy to the future of American democracy. Yet it seems increasingly likely that the show will leave us hanging in some way or another, and the late introduction of Sally-Anne – a character who we'll probably never see again – is a testament to the show's rare ability to be ambiguous and satisfying all at once. Plus, it's just sweet that Cox's real-life wife got in on the fun.
"Succession" airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max.