A Deleted Scene From Succession's Finale Would Have Been A Very On-Brand Roman Moment
For every incredible moment in "Succession," ten more never made it off the cutting room floor. As the show drew to a close and storylines were tied up with a bow, hilarious jokes and poignant moments were edited out. In the finale, the Roy siblings have reverted to their childhood selves, for better or for worse. The sibling dynamics are at their strongest, including the quippy back-and-forth between Roman and Shiv. As it turns out, a line that could have been one of Roman's best insults never made it into the show.
Shiv's quest to become CEO of her late father's media empire is finally thwarted in the eleventh hour. Playing a double agent has blown up in her face and left her politically vulnerable, while her pregnancy leaves her physically vulnerable (Sarah Snook, whose performance as Shiv has earned her an Emmy nomination, was also pregnant during filming). Shiv is forced to team up with her siblings for a final chance at holding onto the family business, a multi-billion dollar company that is about to be sold out from under them.
It's not often that the Roy siblings come together, but the fourth season finds them collaborating perhaps more than any other. At the beginning and end of the season, they are working together — albeit a bit reluctantly — while still covertly trying to manipulate the others into benefitting their own best interests. The final episode forces them to collaborate again if they have any chance at all of hanging onto Waystar and, unfortunately for everyone, the only option for the top job is Kendall.
"She's boxed into a corner," Snook explained her character's position to Variety. "So she has to go with Kendall. And again, there's that sibling relationship — so seductive when they're all getting along well."
Roman cracks a joke before crowning Kendall
Before they officially crown Kendall with a meal fit for a king, Shiv and Roman have a rare moment alone to make their decision. They stand on the shore deliberating whether or not it might be easiest just to murder Kendall and be done with it before swimming out to meet him.
Now, the two youngest Roy siblings have a special dynamic, often expressing their affection through firing insults at one another. Of course, this is the love language of the entire Roy family, but Roman and Shiv speak it more fluently than either of their other siblings. Many Roman quips have stood out over the years, but one hilarious line was inevitably cut out of the show.
"There's a scene that got cut where Roman and Shiv are swimming out to the pontoon where Roman asks Shiv about being pregnant: 'Is it being fat at the front?'" the Australian actress added.
As much as Snook — and the fans — might wish that this moment made it into the final cut, she feels that the editors made the right decision by leaving it out. Still, it remains one of her fondest memories of the "Succession" set.
"I understand why they cut it because of timing, and the energy needs to move from, 'Are we going to kill him' to swimming out and the audience going, 'Oh, s***. Are they going to kill him, or are they going to crown him?'" Snook explained. "So having this sort of moment, this peaceable moment between Roman and Shiv isn't quite right. It was such a beautiful scene to shoot, because we're swimming in the Caribbean ocean and talking about being pregnant with one of my dear friends."
Snook and Culkin have a sibling dynamic in real life
Kieran Culkin's portrayal of Roman has earned him three Emmy nominations, but it also earned him a lifelong friend in his onscreen sibling, Sarah Snook. Snook and Culkin weren't just great scene partners — the pair also acted like brother and sister in real life. They became great friends through shooting "Succession" and developed an excellent rapport, often trading lines with one another.
"I'll just throw at Snook, and she'll catch the f***ing ball and bounce it back at me and elbow me in the face," Culkin told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's just the most fun sibling dynamic on the set. We get to play around and be cruel to each other as our characters. That's even more fun because between the two of us, there's nothing but just pure joy and love."
For the most part, Shiv and Roman express their love through witty banter, like Roman's line about being "fat at the front." Culkin and Snook, too, exchange their fair share of barbs, even occasionally taking it too far. Snook once joked that she and her co-star would never work together again after "Succession," which made him "want to cry," he confessed to Esquire. The jab "hit him much more than I thought it would," Snook admitted.
The softer side of Shiv and Roman's dynamic rarely reveals itself, but it does rear its head in one of the final moments of the series. When Kendall chokes his younger brother, Shiv tries to pry his hands away, and Kendall grabs her arm. A previously dormant Roman — who is often submissive to Kendall's violence — immediately jumps to her defense. "She's f***ing pregnant, you piece of s***!" he cries, tackling his brother. This is a moment of pure, unadulterated love for his sister, exhibited through a fiery and uncharacteristic impulse.
Another deleted scene from season 2 was a great Roy sibling moment
This hilariously crass pregnancy joke wasn't the only moment inevitably excluded from "Succession." Another joyful exhibition of the Roy sibling dynamic was also spliced from season 2, while the family is on a yacht in Croatia. The scene takes place after its decided that Kendall will take the fall for the cruises scandal — a confusing moment for his brothers and sister, given that the real reason for Kendall's submission to Logan is not revealed to them until the season 3 finale. As it turns out, Culkin pitched a competitive addition to the scene that did not make its way into the episode.
"There was a scene with the four siblings on the top of the yacht, basically talking to Kendall about how he feels about that," Culkin revealed to TV Insider. "I pitched the idea of us playing the game spoons [...] It was just so alive and so much fun. It was one of those scenes where when it was done, writers were happy. The director was like giving out hugs. There were people on the crew saying, that was an 'amazing scene.'"
The scene would have been another rare moment of togetherness for the Roy siblings, truly showcasing their dynamic at its best — cut-throat, but joyful. However, it might not have made sense at a moment in the series when they are so emotionally distant from one another. "I had the feeling of disappointment that that scene was gone and a full understanding as to why it was gone and why it didn't need to be there," Culkin added.
Did the editors make the right decision?
"Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong surprised almost everyone when he announced that the acclaimed drama would be over after only four seasons on air, and not everyone feels like the show should have wrapped up so quickly. Sure, the promise of the title is fulfilled — Logan passes away, and his successor is crowned. But was every plotline tied up with a satisfying bow? Did every character find a true ending to their narrative arc? Not necessarily.
J. Smith Cameron revealed that her beloved character Gerri originally had another scene in the finale where Tom asks her to come on board again, per Time. And it wasn't just the series finale that saw major cuts like this — the season 3 finale also excluded a major scene between Frank and Roman. This scene was cut because Armstrong decided to condense the season from the originally planned ten episodes into only nine, Brian Cox said on the Hell & High Water podcast.
It's a shame that so many great moments were left on the cutting room floor, but not everything could make it into the series without ruining its momentum. The writers knew what they were doing, but so did the editors. If the cast can understand why some of their major moments were cut, then so too can the viewers at home. Fans would gladly watch a whole extra season comprised of those deleted scenes alone, but let's not be greedy. But if anyone at HBO is reading this — would some deleted scenes in the DVD extras be too much to ask?