Weddings have always been breeding grounds for incredible dramatic moments in the hit show Succession, and Connor Roy’s nuptials were no different. Spoilers ahead: Some could say it was the most dramatic moment of the whole series considering it was Logan’s death episode. Director Mark Mylod recently said that the wedding being the backdrop for hyper dramatic moments was intentional.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair for their “Notes on a scene” series, Mylod broke down the scene and just how they worked out the existential ballet that was Logan’s death scene, and why Connor’s wedding was the best place for it.
“Connor’s wedding and Logan’s death overlap partly as a script device really. There’s a bait and switch there,” he said. “We point the audience’s attention in one direction and the real thing creeps up and clashes you on the head from behind. The kind of classic juxtaposition of that. And also, because on Succession, we really like to mess up weddings.”
In previous weddings, Kendall Roy accidentally kills a caterer and Roman blows up a satellite, so suffice to say there needed to be something big to happen to top those.
The death, Mylod said, was intentionally “anti-Shakespearean.” It was more of a “modern-day death, the death that many of us experience in families. That’s by separation and is learned by email or phone call or text even. And we went to most extremes there to isolate all the siblings and to put Logan at, you know, 35,000 feet.”
The siblings’ only connection to their father in that moment is Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) relaying the information about their father to them from the plane. Mylod said this was done to add to the separation felt in the moment.
“All that performance from Matthew is live,” he said. “That is his voice, not like we record it separately and played it in. Matthew was actually back with his family in London at the time but spent literally all day attached to the phone, going through that again and again to feed the actors. And we did a bunch of sound tests on the phone to make sure it would come through just the right amount.”
It really goes to show just how much work goes into those little moments that the regular viewer might not notice. The episode is so well down I don’t know if I was more shocked by Logan’s death or by hearing Macfadyen’s real voice for the first time.
The whole thing is worth watching and very insightful, especially if you’re into juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits.
The final episode ever of Succession airs on Sunday on the newly-minted Max streaming service.
Published: May 25, 2023 02:41 pm