At the end of Succession: Since those early Succession days, Kendall has been through hell and back again dealing with trauma, grief, substance addiction, the breakdown of his marriage and, of course, the line of succession. The end of the series sees him fighting to reclaim his crown, and with Shiv and Roman backing him in the final episode, he almost pulls it off. Except, as we now know with Kendall, he is his own worst enemy. His egotistical attitude in the board meeting results in Shiv reconsidering her vote for Kendall, and at the last minute, she votes to go ahead with the GoJo deal. Kendall, who feels like he’s lost his one true purpose in life, is left alone to contemplate his thoughts. For once in his life, he can’t think of his next move.

At the start of Succession: In the beginning, Shiv is more interested in the realm of politics than the internal machinations of Waystar Royco — even going so far as to work for a Democratic congressional candidate rather than toe the company and family line of swinging Republican. Unfortunately, Shiv’s desire for her father’s recognition and adoration comes at the cost of her political career. She switches gears and attempts to claw her way to the top job alongside her other siblings.

At the end of Succession: Personally, Shiv has one of the saddest endings in the series for me. Throughout the show, she was constantly screwed over by everyone — including her own brothers and husband — time and time again. She ends up getting stabbed in the back, once again, when Matsson places Tom in the position of US CEO, rather than Shiv. While she attempts to join the Kendall bandwagon, she backs out after seeing his egotistical attitude during the board meeting. She can’t stomach a future with him steering Waystar Rayco, so she elects to push the GoJo deal forward — because at the very least, she’ll be able to have some influence there with Tom, right? But while it feels like Kendall and Roman get to start fresh with a new slate, it feels like Shiv is still stuck playing second fiddle to all the men in her life in the end.

At the start of Succession: Roman, the middle child, is a snarky, immature and masochistic inpidual who thrives off of humiliation (both his own and others). Despite wanting to be the best in the business and achieve love, respect and admiration from his father, Roman doesn’t take his responsibilities seriously. 

At the end of Succession: Although Roman is a terrible person, we learn that he is the way he is because of his upbringing. The death of Logan only brings more of his trauma to the surface, resulting in him vetoing any chance he had at being the one to hold the crown at the end of the game. Roman takes it out on himself, throwing himself into the line of angry protestors to get beaten up. His weaknesses are also taken advantage of by Kendall, who convinces Roman to, once and for all, concede and submit to him. After the big sibling bust-up, Roman has a moment of clarity where he realises that all of this — including Waystar Royco, the GoJo deal, and the Roy family — is bullshit. During his final scene, Roman is alone, but perhaps free for the first time in his life as evidenced by the slight smile on his face.

At the start of Succession: Connor is the only child from Logan’s first marriage. He’s not hugely interested in corporate matters involving Waystar Royco and instead chooses to reside at a ranch in New Mexico with his girlfriend, Willa.

At the end of Succession: It seems fitting that we don’t see much of Connor during the final episode. He’s largely removed from the internal battles his half-siblings are facing with Waystar Royco and instead chooses to devote his time to planning Logan’s funeral and looking after his father’s antiques. There are moments of importance with Connor though. In Logan’s funeral episode, we learn that Connor is the only one who ever knew about his dad’s mausoleum, meaning that Logan took the time to communicate with him about this. Then, in the final episode, we see Connor in the home video he presents to Kendall, Shiv and Roman. It’s a happy and sweet occasion, showing that out of all his siblings, he was perhaps the only one who was actually close to Logan — most likely because he never showed any interest in the crown. This most likely meant that Logan could view Connor as a son, first and foremost, rather than a competitor. 

At the start of Succession: Willa is first introduced as Connor’s younger girlfriend, who also happens to be an escort and aspiring playwright. While Connor has legitimate feelings for Willa, she views their relationship as purely transactional. 

At the end of Succession: Willa and Connor get married in an extravagant wedding — because, as Willa said, “fuck it”. This man is rich and wants to make her happy, so she may as well. Despite her initial reluctance to become Connor’s wife, Willa settles into the role easily. She becomes Connor’s biggest supporter, even during his doomed presidential run (did you know that Connor was interested in politics at a very young age?). During the final episode, we learn of Willa’s plans to redecorate the family home and be involved in a play while Connor works in Slovenia as part of a deal with Jeryd Mencken. However, with Mencken being involved in court proceedings, Shiv points out that it’s looking likely that Willa will have Connor all to herself. Lucky her!

At the start of Succession: Logan is the billionaire founder of media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. He’s known for being a brute in the office, choosing to focus more on his company, rather than his four children. Although Logan had initially named Kendall as his successor, during the first episode he reveals that he no longer wishes to immediately step down. Things are thrown into further disarray when Logan has a stroke, leaving his line of succession open to anyone.

At the end of Succession: Although Logan is killed off early on in Season 4, his presence is still heavily felt throughout each episode — with Kendall, Connor, Shiv and Roman processing the conflicting emotions they have towards him. The final scene with Logan featured in it shows him in a completely different manner — it’s a home video captured at a dinner with Connor and the Old Guard, where they are…dare I say it, having fun?

At the start of Succession: Tom is introduced as Shiv’s fiancé and then her husband. Although he’s frequently dismissed by the Roy family’s inner circle, Tom enjoys the power and influence of being associated with them. He goes from being a Waystar exec to the head of the amusement park and cruise pision to running ATN, Waystar Royco’s global news outlet.

At the end of Succession: Tom’s calculated scheming and ability to adapt has paid off, resulting in his transformation into a fully-fledged power player. Tom’s not only ruthlessly playing both sides, but he has the guts to ‘shiv’ and betray his own wife to curry favour with her father. During the final episode, we see him act out his latest move, which involves charming the pants off Matsson. It works, with Matsson recognising Tom’s potential to be a puppet for his own goals and wishes. Shiv is out, Tom is in, and, of course, we know by now that he’s the one raising the crown alongside Lukas at the end of the series. Who would have thought? He still attaches himself to Shiv though, but as we can see by their barely linked hands, there’s no love lost between them.

At the start of Succession: Cousin Greg’s introduction is one of the most memorable in the series because we see him literally vomit through the eyeholes of his Waystar Royco theme park mascot costume. Once he cleans himself up, Greg manages to weasel himself into Logan’s birthday celebrations and somehow gets a job in the family company. 

At the end of Succession: My, how far you’ve come, Greg. Once a doormat for both the Roy family and Tom, in Season 4 Greg now considers himself an equal. He’s no longer uncomfortable with all the manipulation that’s going around him and instead, has become quite the opportunistic slime-ball. During the final episode, he informs Kendall of Matsson’s moves to place Tom as the US CEO instead of Shiv. Although this move backfires on him and greatly harms his relationship with Tom, Greg is still able to secure a prime place at the table — as long as he keeps in line.

At the start of Succession: Frank is Logan’s longtime confidant and the vice-chairman of Waystar Royco. Being a close friend of the Roys, he has a softer and more caring approach towards Logan’s kids — especially Kendall, who is Frank’s godson. 

At the end of Succession: Like other characters, Frank has flip-flopped his allegiance from person to person, depending on what chaos is brewing at Waystar Royco. After Logan’s death, he assumed his position in the Old Guard — and watching his developing friendship with Karl has been one of the highlights of Season 4. In the end, he places his eggs in the GoJo basket, voting against Kendall at the board meeting. But that doesn’t help his situation, considering that Tom planned to axe both him and Karl anyway.

At the start of Succession: Serving as a longtime exec and general counsel to Logan, Gerri is terrifyingly good at her job. She expertly manages to balance dealing with boardroom nonsense and the Roy kids’ entitlement (including erotic phone conversations with Roman), while being a pivotal player in Waystar Royco.

At the end of Succession: Despite being fired by Roman (which resulted in a huge payout for her — yes, we love to see a queen like Gerri succeeding in life), Gerri remains a pivotal player who is right in the thick of the action. During the final episode, she’s seen talking to big-wig execs (at least, that’s who I’m assuming they are) and Tom names her as part of his future team at Waystar Royco. You get ’em, Gerri.

At the start of Succession: Karl is Waystar Royco’s Chief Financial Officer and a member of the company’s legal team. He’s fiercely loyal to Logan, despite being humiliated by him (throwback to ‘Boar on the Floor’) and the Roy children (who constantly tell Karl that he should be fired) several times.

At the end of Succession: As part of the Old Guard, Karl stands his ground after Logan’s death — even going so far as to threaten Kendall during Season 4, Episode 6. All he wants to do is use part of his golden parachute to buy a Greek island with his brother-in-law and nothing — I repeat, nothing — will get in the way of that plan. In the final episode, we see Karl and Frank consider going another round and continuing as part of the new Waystar Royco — but, of course, we know that Tom has both their heads on the chopping block. So, I guess it’s Greek island time for Karl. 

At the start of Succession: Hugo is a senior communications exec for Waystar Royco. Like Karolina, he’s in charge of cleaning up the Roy family’s shit and crafting their public image to perfection.

At the end of Succession: As seen throughout Season 4, Hugo isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty when his bosses need him to. I mean, Kendall essentially tells him to be his dog and Hugo is ready and willing to say “woof, woof”. Except, the thing is, Hugo hitched himself to the wrong Roy because when Kendall loses he is left with nothing. Karolina had already preemptively planted the seed to Shiv to get rid of him, while Tom seemingly wants nothing to do with Hugo in the end. I’m sure he was making bank though, so really I don’t feel bad for him at all.

At the start of Succession: Karolina is introduced as the head PR for Waystar Royco and a member of Waystar Royco’s legal team. She helps navigate the Roy family out of many sticky situations and is just, in general, a badass at her job.

At the end of Succession: I saw a Reddit post discussing Karolina’s character that was titled something like “When you’re so good at your job, it doesn’t matter who wins” — and that’s Karolina to a tee. Whether the Roys pulled through or Matsson succeeded, her place in the new Waystar Royco was always secure as demonstrated by Tom immediately asking for her when Hugo comes to congratulate him. 

At the start of Succession: It’s not until Season 3 that we’re introduced to Lukas, a billionaire CEO of GoJo — a new tech streaming media giant. He’s cocky, egotistical, problematic, socially awkward, and has the means to acquire Waystar Royco.

At the end of Succession: Despite interference from multiple members of the Roy family, the GoJo acquisition is finally pulled off in the final episode of Succession. Although Lukas initially named Shiv the US CEO of Waystar Royco to appease Jeryd Mencken, he ends up backstabbing her and making Tom his new CEO. Why? Because Tom will essentially be his puppet and unlike Shiv, there’s no potential risk of sexual relations. A jerk until the very last minute.

At the start of Succession: In the beginning, Stewy is Kendall’s friend from the Buckley School and Harvard — except he becomes so much more when he wrangles a board seat after Kendall has to sell a large percentage of company stock in order to save Waystar Royco from the debt Logan had put them in.

At the end of Succession: Stewy is still an important and pivotal player in the Succession game, as demonstrated by Kendall counting on his vote to stop the GoJo acquisition. While Stewy can be loyal, he’s immediately seen warming up to Tom after Kendall loses.